Tempting Eve

Chapter 27

"Are you ok?" Mason's head kept snapping towards me for seconds at a time as he sped around the city - face pinched in concern.

"I... I'm... in a bit of shock I think."

A puff of air left his mouth. "I think I am too. That was wild."

He took a hard right, jarring me a bit, and I realized I hadn't put my seat belt on. I pulled it across my chest and fumbled with the latch, but my shaking hands couldn't make it work.

"Here." Mason grabbed the piece of metal and popped it into place right as his phone began to ring for the third time, and once again, he sent it to voicemail.

"Shouldn't you get that?"

He shook his head, eyes darkening. "No, it's just coach... and I'm not in the mood for the tongue lashing he wants to give me."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He sighed. "I'm supposed to stay out of trouble until I'm drafted. No doubt one of my teammates called him as soon as they saw us take off, and I'm sure coach will consider this some sort of scandal."

My chest squeezed. God, I hope I didn't get him into any trouble. "I'm so sorry."

He smiled, and the tourniquet around my lungs eased. Slightly. "No worries. I appreciate the concern, but I'll be just fine... you on the other hand..." His jaw clenched. "He should have protected you from this."

"He's trying," I said a little defensively. "It's not like he asked for all of this to happen. Everything kind of... just fell apart."

His jaw was still tight, but his eyes opened a little wider. "Yeah. I can understand that."

He was driving at a more normal speed now, and rubbed the back of his neck as if he were trying to relieve the tension there. "So, should I take you home?"

I thought about it. "No, I'm sure they'd just find me there."

"Do you want to come to my place? A bunch of dudes live there, but it's not too disgusting," he laughed.

"Um, let me just tell Ethan what's going on, and see if he wants me to meet him somewhere."

He nodded, eyes on the road, as I dug my phone out of my bag. Holy shit! Twelve missed calls and just as many text. Some from Sarah, but the majority were from Ethan.

Ethan York: Call me as soon as you see this.

Ethan York: Eve! Please call me! Don't go to school!

Ethan York: Where the hell are you?

Ethan York: Are you ok?! Eve!!!

And on they continued, getting more frantic as they progressed. I hit the call button and waited as it rang, gnawing on my bottom lip.
I'm not here, leave a message.

Shoot. I hit call again, but no luck, so I sent him a text.

Me: Hey! My phone was on silent. I'm ok. I'm going to Masons house. Call me when you get this.

I turned back to Mason. "Your house it is."

He laughed, shaking his head. "He's going to fucking kill me."

***

"This is really nice." We had turned around at some point and made our way closer to campus. The outside was dated, with peeling white paint, but when you stepped through the old door, it was like a wealthy bachelor pad. Complete with an air hockey and a ping pong table smack in the middle of the dining room.

"Being a hockey player has some perks, huh?"

Heat crept up his cheeks as he nodded. "We get taken care of pretty well." He took my jacket and my bag, hanging them up on some hockey sticks that were screwed to the wall as a sort of, makeshift coat rack.

We heard noise from around the corner and followed it.

Between a good sized couch and a couple of black, leather recliners, it looked like half the hockey team was huddled in front of a huge flat screen TV with controllers in their hands, yelling and shoving each other until Mason cleared his throat. "Hey assholes. This is my friend Eve." I noticed one of the guys was Dylan. He was ridiculously hot, with his dark, nearly black hair and defined features, but something about his gaze felt oily. "Eve, the assholes."

Now it was my turn to clear my throat, "uh, nice to meet you, although assholes is a terrible name. What were your parents thinking?"

They laughed and a giant guy who looked like he could be Swedish with his blue eyes and nearly white hair, winked. "I like her already."

Just then, my phone started ringing in my bag and I rushed over to get it.

"Ethan?"

"Why the fuck are you at Mason Hawks house?"

My eyes widened. I don't think I've ever heard him this mad.

"There were people at school when I got out of class... with cameras and... Mason got me out, but I didn't know where to go."

"If he lays one single fucking finger on you."

"I'm fine. Everything is fine Ethan." I gritted while trying to keep my voice down. No one here needed to hear our conversation.

"I'll be there in ten minutes. If I have to come in, someone's going to end up in a body bag."

"I guess I'll stand by the door and watch for you then," I snapped before hanging up the phone.

"Trouble in paradise?" Masons arms were crossed causing the veins on his muscular forearms stick out. He looked pissed too.

Jesus. Men and their freaking testosterone.

"Everything's fine. Thank you for helping me out... I'm just going to wait outside for Ethan, ok?"

He shook his head grabbing our jackets. "I'll wait with you. I still owe you a story."

I slipped my arms through the leather. It wasn't the warmest jacket to wear in January, but, even though I was pissed at him, I loved that it still smelled like Ethan. It was comforting.

"Ok," I said, as we went outside. "Let's hear a story."

***********

Anyone else putting schedules together for summer writing conferences??? I'm getting ready and I'm super excited!

I've been hitting a bit of writers block lately, so I've been editing another book I found in some old journals from a couple years ago. I forgot how freaking good it is (not to toot my own horn. lol) and I can't believe I just let some of my books sit in storage like that.

Just like Eve had a New Years Resolution, I have one to finally get published, or at the very least, get an agent this year. Do any of you have resolutions they're trying to keep?

I hope you guys have an amazing day!

With love always,
xxxBre