Page 38 of Chief's Addiction

“My music isn’t shit, Mr. Sosa. It’s the fuel to my soul.” I was laying it on thick, but it didn’t make it any less true.

He shook his head from side to side, but I didn’t miss the big smile on his face.

I felt my own lips pull up at the corners at his reaction. I loved R&B. I always had. As a young girl, my mom always had the greats playing. Chaka, Tina, Whitney, Marvin; the list went on and on.

When we pulled into the beach parking lot, I felt Mason’s mood shift. “This is where you teach your lessons? At this hour?”

I followed his gaze around the empty parking lot. Okay, so maybe this wasn’t the best area of Jacksonville, especially at dawn.

The beach was beautiful, but the surrounding neighborhood had seen better days. Broken streetlights, abandoned storefronts, and more than a few sketchy characters made it a little suspect.

“It’s fine during the day,” I said defensively. “Besides, the waves are perfect here.”

“It’s not fucking fine, Cora,” he growled, throwing the truck into park with more force than was necessary. “This area has gone to shit in the last few years. Drug dealers, gangs?—”

“Mason,” I snapped, unwilling to listen to any more of his lecturing. “I’ve been teaching here for two years without any problems.”

“Because you’ve been lucky,” he countered, his jaw tight. “Not because it’s safe.”

A pair of headlights swept across the parking lot, catching my attention. Relief flooded through me at the sight of Marley’s mom’s Range Rover pulling into a spot nearby and saving me from Captain Worrywart.

I patted Chief’s thigh and leaned over to press a quick kiss to his jaw. “Get over it.”

Before he could launch into what promised to be an epic meltdown, I hopped out of my truck and slammed the door behind me.

Marley waved through the windshield of her mom’s car, her blonde ponytail bobbing as she bounced in her seat. I waved back with a grin. She was seriously too stinkin’ cute.

As soon as Marley climbed out of the Range Rover, her mother rolled down the window.

“Morning, Erin,” I called, walking over to them. “We’ll be done around 6:30.”

“Thanks, Cora.” Erin Thompson gave me a tired smile. “Paul’s picking her up today. He’ll text her when he’s on his way.”

I nodded, used to navigating the complexities of Marley’s co-parenting situation. Her parents’ divorce had been finalized a few months ago, and they still weren’t all that great at communicating with each other.

“No problem. Have a good day at work.”

As Erin drove away, Marley bounced over to me in her pink wetsuit, surfboard tucked under her arm. Then her eyes went wide as they fixed on something behind me.

“Who is that?” she whispered.

I glanced back to find Mason pulling my board from the bed of my truck, his muscles flexing under his T-shirt. A smile tugged at my lips. Like most of the female population, Marley was completely enamored by the bad boy vibes Mason was putting out.

“Chief,” I said, remembering to use his roadname as I waved him over. “This is Marley, one of my students. Marley, this is my...”

I paused, suddenly unsure how to introduce him. What were we exactly? Friends? Lovers? After one night together—well, one night five years ago and then last night, did that even mean anything? Were we dating now?

“Boyfriend,” he supplied, stepping forward and extending a hand to Marley, whose eyes somehow got even bigger.

I could feel the heat coming off my cheeks.

My boyfriend… The words shouldn’t have made my heart do that stupid flippy thing again, but they did.

“Nice to meet you,” Marley managed, shaking his hand with a star-struck expression.

Mason turned to me, his eyes softening as they met mine. “Which of these do you need, baby?”

“Uhh…” I climbed into the back of the truck, grateful for the distraction, and grabbed my black and purple wetsuit. “Just the red Roxy board. The rest stays here until Beckett shows up.”

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