“I think the truth was the way to go.”
“Hmm,” was her reply and Mason knew this part of the conversation was over. He’d lost her to the inner workings of her own mind.
“Did you eat?” he asked.
“Not yet. Liz ordered pizza. It’s uh—there’s plenty inside. I’m not really hungry.”
“I might grab a slice or two, but I have to turn in early. Four-thirty start tomorrow.” Regret washed over him as he watched Xeni’s expression completely flatten out. He knew she was hearing the unsaid words. Tonight wasn’t a good night for them to be together. Tonight wasn’t a good night forthem. Mason wanted to take it back, tell her she was welcome to stay over at his place and sleep in his bed, but he couldn’t.
The last few days had finally caught up with him in a wave of exhaustion and clarity. They weren’t a couple and even though they’d found layers of comfort in each other, his conversation with her mother had made one thing abundantly clear that they needed to take a more than a few steps back and remember why they’d gotten married in the first place. It had nothing to do with love, no matter what he was feeling.
“Yeah, okay. Um, yeah…” Xeni squeezed by him and grabbed her bag off the porch swing. She hurried back down the stairs, stumbling in the grass as she turned to him. He reached out to catch her, but she stepped out of reach.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, thanks. Sandal just got caught. Can you please tell Silas and Liz I’m very sorry, but I have to go?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks.”
Before Mason could hug or kiss her, or even shake her hand, she took off, practically sprinting for her car.
* * *
Tabitha Chever handed Xeni her card with a smile. She hadn’t expected Sable’s realtor to be a whole twenty-five years old, but a few minutes after the young White girl with jet black hair showed up, Xeni understood why Sable had decided to work with her. Tabitha knew her shit. She’d come prepared with a thorough list of questions for Xeni and a list of people who could help her with the minor repairs the house still needed. They walked through every room and thankfully Tabitha didn’t do too much reminiscing about her own relationship with Sable.
She kept things nice and professional and by the time they’d circled back to the kitchen, Xeni felt better equipped to make an informed decision. They could get a decent little chunk for the house, but now that her financial situation was slightly different, that decent chunk wasn’t the first thing on her mind.
“Again, take your time. You have plenty on your plate. Even if you decide to rent it out, I can help you out with that.”
“Sounds great. Yeah, I just need to speak to my folks and my mom might want to come out and see the place first.”
“Exactly. It’s a big decision.”
It was just one of the two real estate decisions Xeni had to make. She still had to think about Sable’s place on Martha’s Vineyard. She walked Tabitha back through the house to the front door and shook her hand one more time.
“You’ll hear from me soon, no matter what.”
“Great,” Tabitha replied as she slipped her bag over her shoulder. “Oh, you have a package.”
Xeni looked at the medium-sized box that definitely had her name on the address label. Her confusion only lasted a few seconds. It was the sex toys she and Mason had ordered. She plastered on a smile and glanced back at Tabitha.
“Oh, thanks.”
“See ya!”
Xeni scooped up the box and waved at Tabitha as she backed down the driveway. Back inside, she found a knife and sliced open the taped seal. There was a harness, two different dildos, a butt plug, more condoms, two different kinds of lube and a six-pack of Fleet Enema. There was also a huge bag of Skittles. That had nothing to do with their previously scheduled sex acts, Xeni had just been craving candy. It was one hell of a starter kit and Xeni was pretty sure they would never get a chance to use it.
After she’d fled the scene of her epic and incredibly selfish blunder, Xeni had laid awake in the guest room and tried to pinpoint the last time she’d felt this foolish. When more than one instance came to mind and the twisting pain in her chest became too much, she knew she had two choices. Really lean into the humiliation, knowing that she’d disappointed her parents and put her temporary husband in a terrible position, or try to make things right.
She wasn’t surprised that Mason had nicely told her he needed a night off from her and her family bullshit. She didn’t blame him one bit. A week ago, he’d had no idea who she was and now her mother was probably assembling her old lady crew so they could roll up on him. He had his own problems to deal with and Xeni had opened her big mouth and piled on.
Liz had texted later that night to see if she was okay and that just made Xeni feel even worse. She’d barged into these people’s lives and was making herself out to be a special kind of pain in the ass.
She put everything back in the box but the Skittles, then taped it back up. She could at least give the stuff to Mason as a parting gift. He could find someone else that didn’t drive up his blood pressure to share it with.
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, the idea of Mason doing the intensely intimate stuff they’d discussed with someone else, her heart sank to her stomach. Her whole life was a mess, but she couldn’t deny that she had developed some real feelings for Mason.
