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“That’s because you are,” she says reassuringly. “Well, you did hand me the tape. That was invaluable.”
“Wrap faster,” Logan commands. “I want to watch movies.”
“Listen, I’m sucking at this as fast as I can,” Noah huffs. “Why we couldn’t just pay someone to do this ...”
“Because it wouldn’t be as fulfilling ...”
“It would. It totally would,” he says.
I roll my eyes at him. “Just tape, and sign, and look pretty, okay?”
“Ooh, she called me pretty.” Noah grins at Beck.
“Hey, Paxton,” Mason calls out. “Nice of you to finally make it.”
“I do what I can.” He pretends to be a zombie, putting his arms out in front of him. “Braaiiinns ...” he staggers over to the other players, pretends to sniff the air for brains, and then staggers off, disappointed.
“Funny.” Beck makes a face at him.
“Old,” Logan snorts. “Your dad called from the eighties, and he wants his joke back.”
“Your mom called from the seventies, and she wants her insult back.” Paxton grins, stuffs a piece of pizza brains in his mouth, and moves over to the wrapping table. I hand him a drink.
These guys act like big kids and I have to admit it’s endearing. Money hasn’t changed the fact that most of them are in their early twenties with most of their life ahead of them. Mason’s by far the oldest, but it doesn’t change the dynamics between him and his team.
My eyes land on Mason across the room and he winks at me. I look away, trying to hide the blush I can feel sweeping across my pale cheeks.
Does everyone on the team know about us?
I believe that Paxton wouldn’t tell anyone, but they might have guessed anyway. Mason and I aren’t doing a great job of hiding it. We’re acting overly polite to each other in a way that’s not at all natural.
Cecelia hasn’t said anything for the past few days, and I think it’s because she doesn’t want to know. What she’s done, instead, is give me a lot of worried, reproving looks.
Our meeting with the Rovers didn’t really go anywhere. Mason flat-out insisted that he had no idea why Lexi showed up in his neighborhood. His coach read him the riot act. I pointed out that the media had let the whole thing drop pretty quickly because the public just wasn’t that interested. Unless there was a knock-down drag-out fight, or unless the two of them announced they were back together, the news just wasn’t that exciting.
I managed to steer things back to talking about event planning. I avoided Mason’s gaze, he acted professional, and although Coach Hartley still looked pissy at the end of the meeting, the owner was happy and he was the one who ultimately called the shots.
All of which helped to keep Cece and I off the topic of taboo relationships.
I shake my head and reach for a roll of ribbon. There’s no point in worrying—it’s just borrowing trouble. We just need to get through this event, and then I can sit down with Mason, and we can have a talk about where things are going.
“Nice soundtrack,” Paxton says approvingly. I of course brought a zombie apocalypse soundtrack to play on Mason’s sound system, and right now it’s playing “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine).”
“So, Mia, what will you do when the zombie apocalypse happens?” Noah asks.
“Hmm.” She frowns in thought. “Am I in New York City when this happens?”
“Dealer’s choice.”
“Let’s say I’m on the mainland, because that gives me more options. I mean ... don’t we all have fantasies of going to the mall and shopping all we want?” She looks at me and Ruby for confirmation.
“Hells yeah.” I bob my head enthusiastically. “Oh my Goth, I would raid Saks and build my dream wardrobe.”
“But who would you be wearing all those designer outfits for?” Logan asks.
She sticks her tongue out at him. “Dream killer.” Ruby and I boo him loudly, and Mia joins us.
“In this fantasy, the other survivors are extremely stylish, and we hold runway shows for each other every night, while eating all the junk food we want because why not.” Mia tosses her hair over her shoulder.
