Page 63 of Not Another Dark Romance

Grant shrugs. “He only told me about being bi more recently, but I’ve been dying to meet the person he’s been so distracted by for that long.”

Mason laughs again. “Well, I’ve heard a lot about you too. Sorry I’ve been such a distraction.”

“No worries, man.” Grant waves him off. “I just like giving him a hard time. I’m dying to hear about how you two met. Zane has been so secretive.”

I look at Mason with a raised brow and nod, curious to hear how he’ll answer the question. A smile slowly takes over his face. “Well, Zane was my waiter at The Salty Duck, and I was immediately drawn to him. I was eating alone, and I had a book with me, so we talked a little about that.”

“Oh yeah, he told me about the audiobooks. Who knew that Zane was so into reading,” Grant teases.

I didn’t think Mason would say anything about how that night really went, but it’s still interesting to hear him tell a different version of events so readily. He and Grant chat while I get everyone’s coffee poured with their preferred creamers. Then I lean back against the counter, appreciating the moment.

Mason looks thrilled to be chatting so casually with someone else. We should do this more often, invite Grant and Eric over, maybe even go out together. I’m not sure how any of that would work. I’m still processing everything that changed after last night. I don’t feel the need to keep him locked in my room out of fear that he’ll turn me in if he escapes. But I’m also not sure how to approach his new freedom.

I still want him here all the time, and I do think he wants to be here. Maybe I can give him his phone back?

I’m debating with myself how to handle the change when Pete decides to finally join us downstairs.

“What the fuck, man?” Grant turns to me, sounding pissed. “You have a dog, and you didn’t tell me? What other secrets are you hiding?”

My face burns at the accusation because there’s a lot he doesn’t know, but I plan to keep it that way.

“Uh, he’s actually my dog,” Mason explains.

Grant smiles knowingly. “Bringing the dog over. Things really are serious. So did you guys have a pretty late night? Is that why you slept through all my calls?”

“Yeah, we were watching a true crime documentary,” Mason lies smoothly, and I cough to cover up my surprised laugh at his chosen topic.

Grant perks up. “Oh yeah? Was it the one made up entirely from the home security camera footage? I keep seeing the commercials. It looks good.”

Mason smiles easily, going along with it. “Yeah, I won’t spoil anything, but it was really interesting to watch.”

That gives me an idea, and I turn to Grant. “Hey, do you still have that guy’s info who did the security cameras at the brewery? I’ve been wanting to add some here.”

Mason sits up straighter, beaming at me, and I think it’s safe to say he likes the idea. Maybe that could be a way for me to still hold some control over him while I’m gone without trapping him in a room or restraining him. A way for us to feel like I’m in charge, even if he can freely go. Because even if we haven’t talked about it yet, that seems to be where we’re heading. Mason proved to me that he’s loyal, he’s meeting my best friend, his dog lives here, and I know how to get into his apartment. I can only hope what we have truly outweighs everything else, and I finally believe it does.

Grant nods. “Yeah, he seemed cool so I made sure to keep his business card. I think I took a picture of it, actually. Give me a second, and I’ll send it to you.”

He does, and I call right away, mentioning Grant recommended him. He’s available to come out later today for a consult. Perfect.

Mason asks Grant if he’s seen a different true crime documentary with similar footage that I had never heard of, and they launch into a detailed discussion of what happened and why they thought it might have actually been the neighbor.

“Well, I should probably go get groceries,” Grant announces a while later as he stands. “Do you want to come, Zane?”

“You cool if I skip this week?”

“Yeah, but don’t make it a habit,” Grant says without any heat before turning away from me. “So glad we finally got to meet, Mason. I’ll see you next weekend at the brewery launch party, right? You have to come.”

Mason’s eyes widen at the invitation, probably assuming I don’t want him to leave the house. “Oh, I’m not sure if⁠—”

“He’ll be there,” I interrupt because I want him to come. I want Mason to be at my side all the time, but especially at a big moment like that. And if he’s not going to turn me in, maybe I really do still have a future with the brewery.

This morning might not have been how I pictured introducing Grant and Mason, but I’m so glad it happened. Seeing them getting along so well feels like even more confirmation that Mason and I might actually be able to make things work. That we could have a real future together.

29

Ican’t believe I just met Zane’s best friend… as his boyfriend! And that he invited me to the brewery opening Halloween party. I don’t want to get my hopes up, though, because it wasn’t Zane’s idea, and I’m still not sure where we stand with my “freedom.”

Even after last night, I don’t expect Zane to suddenly let me have free will to go in and out of his house when I please, and honestly, I’m not sure I want that either. I’ve enjoyed the full immersion of being his pet, and I don’t know where we’d stand if we completely changed our dynamic like that. But going to a work party at the brewery he owns with his best friends? That seems like a gigantic step. So while the sentiment is nice coming from Grant, I’ll have to wait to see if Zane actually wants me there when he isn’t in front of his friend.