Learning to Love Again

Chapter 5

(Mason's POV)

"It smells absolutely amazing in here!"

I smiled as Nikki entered my apartment. She was dressed in a pair of light blue skinny jeans and a form fitting black t-shirt, black flip flops on her feet. She slipped them off at the door and followed me back to the kitchen.

"Thanks. I hope it tastes as good as it smells."

I'm a horrible cook but I put in a call to Theo's mom, Kathy. She walked me through the process of making filet mignon with baked asparagus. I followed her directions to the letter but who knows, I could have screwed it up in the process.

Nikki sat down at the table as I plated the food. I tried to make it look as appealing as possible, like the food we had in the restaurant last night.

I walked the plates over to the table, setting one down in front of Nikki before placing my own, getting the bottle of wine that Kathy told me to pair with the meal, a nice Merlot. I poured Nikki's glass before pouring my own, getting seated for the meal, giving my most charming smile to Nikki as I sat across from her.

"It looks wonderful, Mason. I didn't know you were a cook."

I chuckled, "I'm not, really. I have a great friend who walked me through the steps of making all of this."

Nikki smiled, cutting into her filet mignon, taking a bite. I watched as her face showed appreciation for the taste and I let out a soft breath I didn't realize I was holding. I followed suit and began eating my meal.

"What did you do today?"

I shrugged, sipping my wine. "Not much of anything, honestly. I went to the gym and got my workout in and made sure everything was in order there. Even though the weekend crew has been with us from the beginning, I can't help but check in on them. That place is my life."

Nikki nodded her understanding, "I don't blame you. If I owned my own business, I'd be the same way. My brother's a business owner and he always stops in for surprise visits."

"You have a brother?"

Nikki laughed softly, setting her utensils down, picking up her wine glass, "Yes, I actually have four brothers. Two of them are older than me and two of them are younger. I'm the middle child and the only girl. You can imagine how it goes for anyone I date."

"I'm definitely looking forward to that meeting." My sarcasm was evident and that made Nikki laugh again. I grinned in response to her laughter. "I'm glad I'm insured."

Nikki's smile was bright, "I won't let them hurt you, promise."

I put a hand over my heart, "My hero." I took another bite of my surprisingly good food. "So, what about your parents?"

"Well my dad is a mechanic. He works on airplanes." She paused and I caught a look of sadness in her eyes. My heart clenched in sympathy. I knew the rest of this wouldn't be good. "My mother... she died when I was nine." She paused, taking a calming breath. "We didn't live in the best neighborhood, back home in Chicago..."

I stopped her there. "Hey... you don't have to say any more." I slid a hand across the table, covering one of hers, squeezing it gently.

She smiled gratefully took another sip of her wine. After that pause, she asked, "What about you? Any siblings?"

"I have one brother, Kyle. He's four years younger than me. He's going to school at LSU right now. He's a senior." I smiled as I thought about my little brother. I need to give him a call.