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I drain the rest of my Alabama Slammer, and Mase cheers as he motions for the waitress.
Mase
It’snotlongbeforethe rest of the group joins us. Our table from earlier has been commandeered by a group from The Bachelor to Grayson’s dismay. Emmett and David pull a table and chairs up to the booth to make room.
I stay right where I am beside Fiona.
It’s not just Grayson who gives me a warning look; when Bexley returns, I hear the hissed conversation between her and Fiona about needing to talk in the bathroom and Fiona’s refusal. Instead, they bend their heads together and have a little chat right there at the table.
I hear the wordsnice, sweet,and evengentlemanly. Fiona saysfinequite a few times. Even I can tell she’s getting annoyed with the conversation.
I know what people think of me. Heck, there’s been timesI’veeven wondered what the hell I was doing. I’ve been caught up with women who want my money, looking to benefit from my fame, and have been involved withthreelove triangles at different times. I’ve had two very public breakups, and that’s all before the paternity case that was filed against me.
That still makes me burn. I know the baby isn’t mine. Emelia was only looking for her fifteen minutes of fame and happy to smear my name in the process.
Not that I need much help with that.
But tonight, I’m on the straight and narrow. Fiona is a nice girl, a good girl, but even so, I dial up the charm. The real stuff, not the fake,I’m only here to impressstuff.
She’s different.
I like different.
Not that it matters, since we’re not left alone for a moment. Both Emmett and Grayson make comments about paying for the drinks the waitress keeps bringing, but I wave them off. The producers of The Suitor are covering tomorrow night’s festivities, but tonight is on me.
It’s the least I can do for Grayson.
The guy is like a brother to me. Emmett’s a good guy too, but it was Grayson who took an entitled rich kid, well on my way to being shunned by the team because of my attitude and gave me a smart smack to straighten up.
Not literally, but I still remember every word of the conversation when Grayson told me it didn’t matter if I was the best hitter on the team, I was screwing things up royally for myself. I was the type of kid who didn’t play well with others and that needed to be fixed.
I wouldn’t have made it through the Cardinals farm teams without him, and then who knows where I’d be? Working for the family? No, thank you. So, to celebrate the upcoming wedding of my brother-of-another-mother, I will go all out.
My trust fund can afford it. Or rather, the revenue from the club can pay for it.
It’s a good night at Bubbles. The girls leave for a while to dance; sometimes one or more of the guys go with them. Arabella, her posse, plus a group of hangers-on are down on the dance floor, so I stay clear. Those girls don’t have the brains to understand when a paternity test says “no relation,” it means I’m not the father.
They believe there’s some conspiracy, that my grandfather paid off the doctors because I’m that much of a douche who wouldn’t claim my own kid.
It stings, especially since they’re not the only ones who think that.
Sitting beside Fiona, talking to her, listening to her laugh, is a change from my usual evenings, and I’m thoroughly enjoying myself. Hearing the stories Bexley and Boen share about her makes me realize there are other types of women out there. Women who don’t care about likes and status and having the best and brightest of everything. Women who laugh because I’m actually being funny and call me out if I’m being offensive. Women who may even have a good impression of me, despite the stories and photos floating around.
I wouldn’t be anyone’s first choice for Fiona, but she seems pretty content to stay beside me. She doesn’t even move away when I inch closer, letting my thigh press against hers.
I’m not hitting on her. I just like being close to her. She smells good.
I like the sound of her laugh.
The hour draws late, and two by two, the group calls it quits. Biba and David are the first to leave, joined by Demi and Chrissa, who spent most of the night chatting up some redhead down by the bar. But she leaves with Demi, the two of them giggling like a pair of schoolgirls.
I was warned away from Demi as well as Fiona. Jealous boyfriend, Bexley explained. I would never move in on another guy’s girl, but if the guy is a douche, sometimes it’s fun to play with him, as long as he doesn’t take it out on his girl.
Emmett and Shae take off soon after, and I see Boen’s tired eyes turn to Rachel. It’s been a long day for everyone. Soon, it’s only Grayson and Bexley left with us.
“I can’t believe you’re still here,” Bexley marvels.
Fiona is the only one who doesn’t look tired. She leans comfortably against the back of the booth with a smile as bright as when we boarded the plane earlier.
