Chapter 4

“So is that a yes or a no?”

He could afford it. That wouldn’t be an issue in the least. And it wasn’t like anyone would find out. Not anyone he cared about anyway. He would be hours from home, in a place way too rural to catch the eye of his friends or associates.

“Mason?”

A week. A whole fucking week. Of someone that would be, at the very least, faking an interest in what he wanted. Someone that was doing everything in their power to make him feel good, in all kinds of ways. That was an alluring thought.

Greg held his hand up to his mouth, speaking into it like it was some kind of communication device. “Earth to Mason, come in Mason.”

Mason caught Greg’s eyes with his own and swallowed hard. He dropped the as yet untouched chicken wing on to his napkin, his appetite gone. “It’s a yes.”2

Tuesday evening

“All right,” Mason squared his shoulders and straightened the front of his jacket, “you can do this.”