He looks over my face, and a smile splits his. “You like her.”
Taking a step back, I look away as I slide my fingers through my hair. “This isn’t about me. This is about you acting like an asshole.”
He takes a step back and nearly laughs. “No.” He shakes his head, his tone laced with annoying Mason humor. “No, this is about you. You’re all defensive about me giving your girl a hard time.” He looks over his shoulder to see if anyone can hear us and turns back to me, his eyes dancing as he points his finger. “You were the biggest asshole in the world when she first got here.” The annoying fucking smile is still on his face.
I don’t argue, I was an asshole, and I feel like the biggest cum stain in the world because of it. “She’s not my girl.”
“What’s going on?” Dad’s deep voice makes his presence known behind Mason.
Mason looks at Dad and then back at me. “Gray likes Elly.” His schoolboy singsong voice is making me want to punch him in the nose to make it impossible for him to sing anything.
Dad’s lips twitch and he looks between us. Now I want to punch him, too. “Everybody knows that already, Mason.”
Fucking hell, I thought I was being discrete. I turn my head to the wall, my lips pressed together, and hang my hands on my hips.
Mason has the balls to look hurt. “Well, I didn’t. Did this happen in the few days I was gone?” He swings his hand so the backs of his fingers slap my forearm. “I didn’t take you for a fast mover, Gray.”
My jaw tightens and I swear my molars are going to crack as I turn my head back to him. “Don’t you have anything todo? Outside somewhere? Away from the rest of us?”
“Mason, go. I’ll need your help in the stables, since Gray is going to be in Tulsa for most of the morning.” Dad says and slides his fingers in his pockets.
Just to be a dick, Mason cuts his eyes to me with a shit-eating grin and gives my arm a light, friendly punch. “Baggin’ the babe they sent to try to take our home.” He nods and holds his hand up in a high five, but his shit-eating grin falls from his face when I punch his arm twice as hard as he punched mine.
“Ow! Fuck Gray! I was just fucking with you.” He grabs his arm and massages the muscle like I really hurt him. Fucking milker.
“Mason! Go.” Dad barks before things get ugly.
Mason looks at me like I’m the problem and turns while holding his arm where I punched him to go back to the kitchen. My mind flashes back to the many times as kids this exact scene played out over whatever bullshit thing Mason decided to be a little prick about. I take a deep breath as I watch him leave because dad’s eyes are on me.
“You okay? Do you want me to take her?” Dad asks, his usually curt voice is quiet so no one can hear him.
Tight, burning in my chest has me rubbing my fist across my sternum. “No, I’ll take her.”
I promised Elly we would talk, and I plan on taking advantage of that while we’re driving. I want to ask her if something long distance is out of the question.
Dad claps his hand on my shoulder. “Okay, but let me know if you need anything.”
I nod and make my way to the stairs, my focus on the little minx who has infiltrated all my thoughts. The door to the bedroom is open and Elly steps from the bathroom wearing the clothes she arrived in. Her tight pencil skirt reaches the tops of the suede high-heel boots, which hug the curves of hercalves.
It’s a miracle she didn’t fall and break her neck on the ice.
But damn, she looks sexy as hell.
She looks up, and our eyes meet, for several moments we only stare at each other.
Clearing my throat, I ask, “You ready?”
She smiles in that way that doesn’t reach her eyes and nods. “Yeah, I think so.”
Grabbing her big pink bag, she walks past me to the door, and I set my hand on her lower back.
The drive to the highway is long since there are black ice patches on the road. Elly’s watching the landscape pass by out the window, her fingers are linked on her lap. I can feel the tension rolling off her and I’m not sure if it is because of me or just the situation.
I can’t remember the last time I felt so nervous about asking a woman to date me, the first for me is that we have already been intimate. But thinking about dropping her off and never speaking to her again is making my stomach tie in knots.
Reaching over, I set my hand over her linked fingers that are white as paper from clasping them so tight. “I have a question.”
Those beautiful brown eyes turn toward me. “Yeah?”
