Page 33 of Hammered and Nailed
We spent the rest of the evening in a near-constant state of touch—me kissing Mason breathless against the refrigerator, him hauling me onto the counter, both of us unable to keep our hands off each other on the couch and ending up a tangled mess of limbs, leaving hickeys and beard burn everywhere we could get to. We allowed ourselves to act like insatiable teenagers and it was glorious.
We woke late the next morning and explored each other’s mouths again in sleepy, languid kisses, dragging fingertips along the other’s body, slowly cranking up the heat between us until we both came, gasping and desperate.
When we finally parted, we got dressed and headed to the hardware store to pick up the windows, our final step before putting the furniture back where it belonged and calling the cabin done.
While we were getting ready to go out, I decided I’d follow Mason’s lead, uncertain of just how much PDA he’d be comfortable with. Hell, I wasn’t sure how much PDAIwas comfortable with, either.
"Hey," I murmured as we made our way to my SUV. Mason looked at me, brow furrowed. "Don’t feel like we have to be public about this if you’re not ready." I gestured between us. "I can stay here if you want."
His smile wavered. "Do you want that?" When I shook my head, he hesitated. "You’re not worried about someone finding out?"
The question—and his hesitation—stung me deep in my chest. "No. Are you?"
He shrugged, but looked uncertain, his frown deepening. "No."
Why didn’t I believe him? I sighed, taking decisive action. "I’ll stay here. You go.” It felt like maybe Mason wasn’t ready to be public with our relationship, and that stung, as much as I wished it didn’t.
"Okay." Mason nodded once, not sounding certain at all. "Okay."
I watched him pull out of the driveway in my SUV, biting my lip and trying not to let it hurt that he sounded afraid to be seen in public with me.
Chapter Sixteen
Mason
Imademywaythroughthe hardware store to the aisle with the windows, measurements stored on my phone, and stewed over what had just happened. I didn’t mind being seen together in public, even if we did look like a couple of teenagers who couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. What I worried about was Emery’s job. What if a parent of one of his students saw us and told the principal? Would he face consequences at his workplace? Emery had said he wasn’t worried, and maybe I should let that be the final answer. Then again, if he really hadn’t been concerned, would he have stayed at the cabin?
I quickly found the windows I was looking for and put them on a rolling cart. As I stood in the checkout line, the cashier, a guy who appeared to be maybe twenty, looked me up and down and grinned. He had his hair pulled back in a ponytail and a ring through one nostril. He didn’t strike me as the type to work at a big-box hardware store, but who was I to judge? When it was my turn, he raised his eyebrows.
"Well hey there. Find everything okay?"
"Yep, I just need the windows today."
He took my card and rang me up, and as he passed it back, he spoke again. "Can I get your phone number?"
"Oh, I…" Was I giving off vibes that made him think I'd be interested in a guy almost half my age?
"For our points program," he clarified.
"Ohh." I nodded and rattled off the number.
"I mean, not that I’d mind giving you a call sometime, if that’s okay."
"I’m—I’m not—single. I’m not single," I managed to stammer, unsure of what to say.
The checkout guy nodded and shrugged. "Oh well. I figured it couldn't hurt to shoot my shot."
With a small laugh, I took my card back. "Guess not." I headed back to the SUV with my purchases, ready to tell the story to Emery. Once I was back at the cabin, I rushed inside to find him.
“Em! You’ll never believe what happened to me. The cashier hit on me. He asked if I wanted him to call me sometime."
"What did you say?"
"I said no, of course. I told him I’m with someone."
Emery nodded slowly. "But you didn't want him to know it was me."
"No, that’s not—I mean… What’s going on with you?"
