Mind Slide (15 page)

He thought about his newest friend.

He had some feelings for Kelly. He could freely admit that to himself. If he was honest, he had a crush on her ever since they were sixteen.

She seemed to like him. Did she have feelings for him? He honestly couldn't tell. She didn't exactly flirt, unless a short touch of the hand was flirting.

As much as he wanted to simply reach out and hold her hand, he remembered her life was going through a blender. The loss of her father, her new house, her money. She needed time to adjust.

She definitely didn't need a guy drooling all over her.

He smiled as he called up a picture of her in his memory. He thought back to moving day, the only time he'd seen her recently in shorts. There were times he loved his exact memory. Standing in his living room, thinking about Kelly, qualified as one of those times.

Tone legs, sculpted arms, beautiful hair, creamy skin, just plain sexy. What was obvious from watching Kelly at the restaurant was she didn't believe she was sexy. It was odd to watch customers flirt with her, stare at her as she walked away, and she was oblivious to all of it.

How would she act if he flirted with her?

Would that make her angry? Would it be inappropriate? Just a little innocent flirting.

There was only one way to find out.

*****

Mason parked his Jeep in front of Brian's house. He made sure to keep a reasonable distance from Kelly as they crossed the street.

She stopped on the sidewalk, looking over the house and neatly cut lawn.

He turned to look at her. She looked great in her jeans and low cut blue tank top. She had a talent for making the simplest outfits look good.

She was obviously nervous. She talked the entire drive, which Mason found adorable.

They were both breaking out of their shells.

“Are you sure they're okay with this? Me just stopping over with you?”

He laughed. “I told you, they invited us. Believe me, they like you.”

She steeled herself and went to move past him. He stopped her with a gentle hand on the shoulder.

“I do have to warn you about something,” he said. “Brian and Lisa are always trying to play matchmaker. If they make you feel uncomfortable, get me in a corner and whisper something to me.”

“They think we're a couple?”

“I'm afraid to even guess what they think.”

“It's a good thing we know better, right?”

He nodded and turned to walk to the front door. She frowned slightly.

It was obvious Mason liked spending time with her, enjoyed her personality. He didn't find her foot horrible, but did he find her attractive?

Why did she even care?

“If Brian stares at you, let me know,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

He turned around and looked her up and down. His eyes on her gave her goosebumps.

“You're hot,” he said with a slight smile. “I'm surprised you haven't caught me staring at you.”

She blushed. “Well, it seems you're good at keeping secrets.”

“You have no idea.”

He didn't bother knocking on the front door. He cracked it open a few inches and poked his head inside.

“There aren't any naked people in here, are there?”

Brian's voice came from the kitchen. “Get in here. Lisa's making me help with the cooking.”

Mason closed his eyes and enjoyed the smell. Tomatoes, mozzarella, cottage cheese, basil, sausage, garlic bread. It was a beautiful assault on the senses. Lisa could definitely cook.

“That smells really good,” Kelly said.

Dani came running out of the kitchen, wearing a Baltimore Orioles shirt.

“Uncle Mason! Mom's making lasagna.”

“Yeah, we figured that out.” He gave his niece a hug.

Brian stood in the kitchen doorway, across from the dining room. Mason laughed when he saw Brian and Dani wore the same shirt.

“Mason,” he said. “Heads up.”

He tossed a can of iced tea across the dining room. Mason caught it neatly in one hand.

“Kelly, what do you drink? Tea, soda, beer, water?”

“A soda is fine.”

“Hmm. Throwing a soda might not be smart.”

“That hasn't stopped you before,” Lisa said.

Kelly laughed.

Dani threw her arms in the air. “I'll get it!”

She delivered the soda personally to Kelly. Mason smiled. He could see his family already liked Kelly.

“Hey, Kelly,” Brian said as he left the kitchen. “Mason tells me you saw us on television yesterday.”

Mason sat on the loveseat adjacent from the couch. He thought Kelly would sit on the couch away from him, where there was more room.

She sat next to him.

“Yeah. Last night at work.”

“Now, be honest. Who did you notice first? Me or him?”

“Brian,” Lisa said from the kitchen. She appeared in the doorway holding a spatula. “What are you doing in there?”

“Mason,” Kelly answered without hesitation.

Brian feigned shock and looked at his wife. “Do you hear this?”

Lisa laughed and gave Kelly a wink. “Smart woman.”

Brian's smile faded, and he pointed at Mason. “Seriously, though. Good job yesterday, man. I have a few cases coming up that's gonna need some surveillance, if you're interested.”

Mason laughed. “Your captain will love that. He hates me.”

“He doesn't need to play spy for you anymore,” Lisa said. “They're both rich now, remember?”

“Oh yeah. That's right. You guys don't dress rich.”

“Brian!”

Mason and Kelly both laughed. Brian rolled his eyes.

“Back in the kitchen I go.” He grabbed Dani by the hand. “Let's go, Ace.”

Kelly wrapped her arm gently around Mason's shoulders and pulled him close so she could whisper. “
I
think your clothes fit you very well.”

Mason wasn't an expert in flirting, but he was sure that qualified.

He was awkward in many areas of his life after leaving Yingling. He only had five years in the
real
world, but didn't feel awkward around Kelly.

Feeling her whisper in his ear gave him chills.

Kelly could see why Mason loved his adopted family.

They were a lot of fun. Brian laughed and joked around with his daughter while Lisa told them both to behave. Brian and Lisa were both very much in love with each other. Even with a seven-year-old daughter running around the room, they both kissed and sat close on the couch.

When Brian joked with Kelly directly for the first time, telling her she was jealous of the mighty man Lisa had landed, Kelly knew she was part of the group.

The game was nearly over when Lisa stood up to go to the kitchen.

“I'll wash dishes.” She looked at Brian. “Pick a movie for us to watch. And try to remember we have young ones present.”

“Hey, now,” Brian pulled Dani close. “My little girl watches all kinds of movies now.”

“I was talking about you.”

“Oh the comedy wife strikes again.”

Kelly laughed and stood up from the loveseat. She put a hand on Mason's knee before doing so.

“I'll give you a hand.”

“You don't have to do that. You're a guest here. That's husband duty.”

Brian groaned.

“I don't mind at all.”

Kelly followed Lisa into the kitchen. Lisa washed dishes in the sink while Kelly dried with a hand towel.

“So, what do you think of Mason?” Lisa asked.

Kelly opened her mouth to answer when she heard a loud cheer from the living room. Both women leaned in the kitchen doorway to see Brian and Dani dancing. The home crowd cheered on television. Mason sat on the couch, simply watching his crazy family.

Kelly kept her gaze on Mason.

It wasn't only his looks that caught her attention. There was a shy tenderness about him that appealed to her. The few patrons at work that occasionally flirted with her did so in the most obnoxious way. Mason was quiet and kept to himself, a rarity in the loud times they lived in. His face would turn red when she complimented him, and he'd unleash that shy, heart-melting smile.

He saved children for a living, and now that he had money, wanted to do it for free.

She remembered Mason telling her Lisa and Brian would try to play matchmaker. That wasn't necessary. She didn't want to have feelings for Mason, but it was too late.

She wanted to be more subtle with Lisa, but couldn't help herself.

“I think he's incredible.”

Lisa laughed and went back to washing dishes. “Yeah, Mason's great. He slept on that same couch in there for almost a year. I was against it at first. I was dealing with a two-year-old daughter, too.” She rolled her eyes as more cheers erupted from the living room. “Now it's like I have three kids.”

Kelly laughed.

“He likes you, too. I can tell.”

Kelly smiled and nodded. “He keeps a lot to himself. But I'm starting to see that.”

“He introduced you to us. That's enough by itself.”

After the game they watched
Harry Potter
. Kelly kept her hands to herself, but leaned her head on Mason's shoulder. He surprised her by leaning his head on top of hers. She felt like she was in middle school all over again.

The sun was slowly setting when Mason figured it would be a good time to leave. Kelly got another hug from Lisa on the way out the door.

In just a few weeks, Kelly had made a friend in Lisa. And something much more.

Mason talked about a few of the cases he worked on personally with Brian as he drove her back to her house. He didn't like taking money from parents searching for their children, but he had no problem taking a check from the police department.

As always, he walked her to her front door.

He wished her a good night and started the short walk back to his Jeep.

Kelly wanted him to stay. She wanted the simple things. She wasn't ready for heavy emotions. But she wanted to sit with him in her basement, watch television, maybe hold his hand.

“Mason?”

He turned to face her. “Yeah?”

“Would I be out of line if I asked for a hug?”

“I haven't done a lot of hugs in my time. But let's see what we got here.”

She met him halfway up the driveway.

Their short hug turned into a twenty second embrace.

Neither one of them wanted to let go.

He almost raised his hand to rub her back, but controlled himself. Her hair pressed against his cheek, and he realized she wore a tiny amount of perfume. It was either perfume, or she had a naturally appealing scent.

Kelly smiled against his shoulder and pressed her chest tighter against him. Mason liked to keep things to himself, but couldn't hide his attraction. She felt her own breath hitch as he gave her a gentle squeeze.

Physical and emotional attraction mixed together was a fun thing to deal with.

She couldn't believe she used to scowl at the mention of his name.

“Call me tomorrow?” she said.

He finally managed to pull away and smile. He was embarrassed from enjoying a simple hug so much, but hoped he hid it well.

In his defense, it was a hug from Kelly.

He was afraid to think of what might happen if their lips touched. His head would probably explode.

“Yeah. I think I'm gonna go home. Toss a few pounds of ice in the tub.”

She laughed, pleased with herself.

She never had much of an ego, never thought of herself as overly attractive. When his eyes were on her, she felt like the sexiest woman in the world.

She stood in the driveway until he drove away.

It was going to be fun getting to know everything about him.

Mason and Kelly didn't see each other for the next few days. They did talk on the phone most nights, which was the next best thing.

She did perhaps the corniest thing she'd ever done in her life. One night, they both watched the same movie and talked on the phone at the same time.

For a while, Kelly thought he was actually living with a woman named Lucy. She laughed when he told her Lucy was a ferret.

Another surprise was how quickly she became friends with Lisa.

She felt a little out of Lisa's league. Lisa was ten years older, wiser, had a job where she actually had to dress up. But she treated Kelly with respect and didn't act better than her at all.

They talked on the phone as Kelly drove home one night. It felt like they'd been friends for years. They talked about their jobs, how Dani was doing in school, decorating Kelly's new home, and of course, Mason.

“I can't believe you hated him when you were a kid,” Lisa said. “You didn't even know him.”