Page 29 of Coastal Rewind

I was clueless as to what to say about his mom earlier. I didn’t know where she was or if they were in contact. I didn’t know what he knew, either. I couldn’t tell him that his mother loved him or if she missed him—it could have been all lies. That chipped away a little piece of me.

Who could leave this beautiful little boy?

People don’t know how good they have it. They’re willing to just throw away a life others would kill for.

I moved to stand and pulled MJ up with me until I lifted him into my arms. He was basically dead weight which made me laugh. I was jealous of the way this kid could sleep. When I got to his room, I put him in bed and tucked him in before flipping off the light and closing his door.

I was in bed a few hours later with a book in my hands when I heard my phone buzzing on the night stand. Mason’s name lit up the screen and a rock formed in my stomach. Did the school call him? Fuck, I was messing this up. He should’ve chosen someone with more experience with kids.

I closed my book and placed it next to me before swiping to answer the video call. Mason’s face took up my entire screen and butterflies erupted in my chest as he flashed a relaxed grin at me.

“Hey, Sunshine,” he said, his words a little slurred.

“Hey.” I laughed.

“How’s MJ?”

By the calm tone of his voice, I determined he didn’t know about what happened at school today.

“He’s good. He fell asleep during the game so I tucked him in early. He had kind of a rough day.”

Mason’s brows furrowed in concern. “Is he okay?”

I nodded. “I handled it. But you’ll want to talk to the school when you get home.”

He sat up in his bed. “I’ll be home early tomorrow.”

“Calm down, Superstar. He’s okay. Everything is okay.”

Mason stood from his bed and started pacing his hotel room. “That school has been a problem the entire year. Maybe I should send him somewhere else with people who give a shit⁠—”

“Mason,” I cut him off. He stopped pacing and looked at the phone. “He’s fine. Everything is fine.”

He sank back onto the bed and let out a breath. “I worry about him.”

“And you always will.”

He closed his eyes and stayed quiet.

“So, what did you guys get up to tonight?” I asked.

Mason called a lot, mostly around bedtime to say good night when games ended early enough, but we didn’t usually just chat. I should’ve kept the topic on MJ or hung up but for some reason I wanted to keep talking to him.

“Me and some of the guys went out for a few drinks.” He laid back on his bed and propped an arm behind his head. His bicep flexed slightly and I could feel a little drool forming in my mouth.

“Did you party, Superstar?” My voice was all tease.

He hmphed but smiled. “I had a few drinks.”

It became obvious then as I took in the slightly glassy sheen of his eyes.

“Did Zane get punched again?”

“Unfortunately not. Which is probably good because he doesn’t need to end up in TMZ again.”

I laughed. “That man is like a giant teddy bear, but he really needs to learn how to hit on a woman.”

“I fear that ship has sailed. Whatever woman he finally lands better have a wicked sense of humor.”