“Yeah.”
“That accent. I thought the Southie thing Rafe has going was hot. Phew.”
“You just had a baby. Please relax.”
“Sorry,” Sloan laughed.
“I should go. You get back to your man and said baby.”
“Okay. Call me anytime. It’s just me and the boys this weekend. Addison and Avery are at Disneyland with Monica and Joe.”
“I will. Enjoy your kinda quiet house.”
“Oh, we already are.” That was code for “we just finished fucking and we’re gonna fuck again.” They said their goodbyes, then Xeni stood to go inside. She looked out at the night sky. It was clear, no moon.
She found Mason in the kitchen where he held out a spoonful of cinnamon swirl for her to taste. After they finished half the pint, she took him to the room she’d dubbed guest room B where she’d already made herself comfortable. While she wrapped her hair, he climbed under the covers of the queen sized bed that barely provided enough room for his large frame. When she joined him, he curved his body around her, tucking his knees in tight behind her legs. It was a perfectly tight squeeze and in that position they both fit on the bed just fine.
* * *
An odd but welcome sense of clarity had come over Xeni some time during the night. She’d slept like shit ’cause, while cramming into the bed was romantic as hell, Mason actually needed all the room he could get. Xeni ended up sleeping half on top of him and woke up with the worst pain in her lower back, but as she made her way to the bathroom, she realized some of the numbness that had been weighing her down had finally lifted. She didn’t have it all sorted out. For that day, though, she had a plan.
She showered and when she came back to the guest room, still wrapped in her towel, Mason was awake, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Ooooh, Christ, I slept like the dead.”
“That makes one of us,” Xeni said, smiling a bit.
“We need to move our sleepovers to a bigger bed.”
“Agreed. Do you have plans for today?”
“I told Silas I’d watch Princess P tonight, but my day’s clear until then. What’s on your schedule?”
“I’m going to start packing up this house. Like, actually do it. Even if I don’t sell it, I want to get all my aunt’s things packed up. I’ll junk stuff that needs junking and ship stuff I want or think my mom or my aunts might want back to L.A..” Just saying it out loud made her feel better. She had a plan.
“Happy to lend a hand if you like.”
“I would like, thank you. And then maybe if you want, I can come watch Palila with you.”
Mason sat up straight and Xeni watched as a little smile tilted up the corner of his mustache.
“What? I don’t have to come if you don’t want me to.”
“Of course I do. I’m just pleased and a little bit shocked by your request. It’s not every day my wife asks if she can spend more time with me.”
“I think we need to get this out of the way. I like you. I like you a lot. I like your energy and I like your big ass hands. Maybe after we get divorced, I might fly back out here and ask you on a date. Maybe.”
Mason came across the room and Xeni suddenly remembered how naked she was under the towel. Mason pulled her into his arms, but instead of kissing her, he leaned over and pressed his lips to her neck. She let out a noise like a frightened peacock when the kiss turned into a tickling raspberry. She squealed, trying to get away from him, but he just held her closer, blowing bursts of air up and down her shoulder until she was doubling over from laughter.
He let her go and set his expression to neutral, like his own face wasn’t bright red from their playful struggle.
“You have boxes?” he asked, running his fingers through his hair.
“No, I need boxes.”
“You get dressed. I’ll run back to my place and change. I’ll grab us breakfast and coffee, and you head over to Home Depot and get the boxes. It’s right near the Target.”
Xeni remembered seeing the big home improvement store on her way to meet Liz. For some reason, though, she didn’t think this plan of attack was the best use of their time.
