Page 45 of Hammered and Nailed
"Soloud. I don’t think my ears ever recovered."
He laughed again, shaking his head. “Do you remember her? Christina? She made it clear she wasn’t interested in hooking up. Or even hanging out with me. She just wanted me to be her date so she didn’t have to go alone."
"I remember that. Do you remember going to that all-night diner in Silver Lake? And making ourselves sick on milkshakes and fries. And the server, she was really cute and asked us if we were interested in joining her after her shift."
He shook his head at that. "I don’t remember that part."
"You don’t? She flirted hard with both of us. You first. And then when you went to the bathroom, she started in on me. But once you came back, it was both of us."
A smirk crossed his face. "I don’t remember that part at all. I guess I was too focused on hanging out with you."
"In any case, she invited us back to her place. She was in college, I think. But you turned her down. I remember thinking you must have been feeling sick or something. Turning girls down wasn’t exactly your style. But I was relieved, too. Not just because I didn’t want to be with her. But because I didn’t think I could stomach watching. I had thought at the time that it was me being jealous ofyou. I guess I know now that wasn’t it at all."
Mason hummed and squeezed me. "And then we went to the park and played on the playground until it started to get light, and we laid down and watched the sun rise together."
"Come to think of it, that might well be the best date I’ve ever been on," I said with a little laugh.
Mason pulled away and looked at me. "Come on, Em. That can’t be true." When I shrugged, he shook his head and frowned. "Well, that’s not good enough."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means I’m going to take you on a date. A real one. Your best date of all time can’t possibly be with your best friend, spentworrying about whether he’d rather be out fucking someone else. You deserve better."
My cheeks heated, the tips of my ears burning as I blushed. "Okay, then."
"Good. Now that that’s settled, let’s go take a shower and see if we can get ourselves up for round two."
A week later, I found myself at home and getting cleaned up for a date with Mason after a long day of relaxation, one of the few I granted myself even on summer vacation. I took a long, hot shower and stood in front of my closet for far too long as I tried to decide what to wear. Mason had given me instructions, but I was worried I’d miss the mark. He’d said comfortable and casual, which didn’t necessarily fit what I imagined Mason would consider romantic. I’d assumed he would’ve pictured us going to a fancy restaurant and drinking an expensive bottle of wine. Not that I’d be opposed to that, but it wasn’t what I personally considered very romantic.
After waffling for what felt like an hour, I settled on a pair of jeans and a black graphic T-shirt with a band logo on it. I topped off the outfit with a decent pair of sneakers, and I was ready for my casual, comfortable, romantic date.
At the appointed time, there was a knock at my door. I practically jumped to my feet and then laughed at myself, shaking my head. There was no need to act like a nervous teenager on my first date with the hot, popular jock, even if Ifeltlike a nervous teenager on my first date with the hot, popularjock. When I opened the door, Mason stood on the other side, grinning. He looked… Well, in his jeans and V-neck T-shirt with a plaid flannel button-down open over it, I just wanted to pull him inside and get to what was under those clothes.
After a quick kiss, I pulled back and looked at him. "What are we doing tonight? I thought we were going on a romantic date."
Mason grinned. "We are."
"You’re not taking me to a fancy restaurant looking like this, are you? Because I don’t think I’d meet the dress code."
He shook his head, grin widening. "Do you really think that’s the only way to have a romantic date? Because I’d expect more imagination from you, Mr. Theatre Teacher."
I held up my hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. Lead away."
Mason took my hand and guided me to his truck, opening my door for me before hurrying around to the driver’s side. He tapped his phone a few times and music burst out of the speakers. At first, I thought the song was just weirdly familiar, but I couldn’t figure out why.
When it hit me, I laughed. "They played this at our prom."
Mason shrugged, his cheeks reddening a little. "I actually found a list of prom songs from our graduation year and made us a playlist."
"Seriously?"
"It’s not a big deal," he muttered, putting the truck into gear.
"Where are we going?"
Mason rolled his eyes. "Patience."
I didn’t have much patience for surprises—I wanted to knownow. Still, I bit my tongue and braced myself for whatever Mason had in store, listening to the music from our prom night as he drove.
