Rainy Days

Chapter 14

***14~Mason

The next morning, I woke up feeling refreshed and excited. I got up and went about my day with no word from Lilli. That was fine, of course. I didn't expect to hear from her every second of the day. As I was sitting down for lunch, my phone chirped. I snatched it up and typed my passcode in.

I felt my chest deflate when I realized it wasn't her, but I was still happy. It was Brady letting me know my bike was fixed. I finished my leftover lasagna and headed out, figuring I could use a workout. Brady lived four blocks away, and once I'd gone around three, I regretted my decision. I was panting and covered in sweat as I approached Brady's driveway, and he cracked up when he saw my winded appearance.

"We need to get you to the gym, m'friend," he joked as he wheeled my bike to me. I acted offended, but I couldn't help the smile that snuck out. Brady's brown skin was slick with sweat, and he'd obviously been outside all day. I didn't have to guess at what he'd been doing.

"Brady, my man, when are you gonna give up on that old hunk of junk?" I asked jovially. His eyes narrowed as he stroked his old car's hood.

"Don't talk about her like that, she's all I got!" he replied defensively. The only time I could really get him riled up was by making fun of his car, which he honestly had an unhealthy obsession with. Brady insisted on calling it a "she" and spent most of his weekends fiddling with it.

I laughed and shook my head, but honestly 'she' wasn't so bad. It would usually run just fine and had saved me from being late on more than one occasion.

Brady returned to the hood of it, wiping his hands on his jeans and staring at me with his usual smirk.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you gonna help?" he asked, and I went to stand beside him as I so often did on lazy afternoons. Soon, we both immersed ourselves in his car, and for that moment, I stopped worrying about why Lilli hadn't called me yet. As usual, Brady was there to provide me with something to take my mind off things