8. Mason
Chapter 8
Mason
I loved to cook. When I was younger, I even considered going to culinary school. Instead, I ended up making my career in the construction industry. I even owned my own company now. But I still enjoyed my time in the kitchen.
“How about I make everyone dinner?” I offered when everyone happened to be gathered around in the living room that evening. Even Axel’s grumpy ass was there after spending most of the day locked up in his room. He just grunted in response.
“Thanks, man,” Joey said, spread out on the couch as he continued to watch TV. He didn’t even look up, and I felt my dislike for the man flare inside of me.
“Do you need any help?” Poppy asked, popping up from the armchair by the fireplace, where she was forced to sit because her selfish boyfriend hadn’t made room for her on the couch.
“Sure,” I said, giving her a smile. I turned to Axel. “I saw some steaks in the refrigerator. I seem to remember you’re a big meat eater, right?
He nodded, and I turned away with an annoyed huff. I’d tried to reconnect with Axel many times over the years, even before I married Janie, but the stubborn man was never responsive to my attempts. Then, my marriage to Janie made things worse.
I was probably going to just have to accept I’d never re-establish that friendship. It was a shame because I’d always admired the man and even though so much time had passed, I’d always hoped we could be close again someday.
“So, what are we having with the steaks?” Poppy asked as we entered the kitchen together.
“I think mashed potatoes and asparagus.”
She smiled. “I forgot how good you are at cooking. My mom is lucky.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her I could show her exactly how lucky her mom was to have me, but I didn’t think she was ready for such blatant flirting.
“Why don’t you peel and cut the potatoes?” I suggested.
Getting the steak out, I seasoned the meat and heated the pan up. Glancing over at Poppy, I saw she was struggling with her task. I couldn’t help grinning at her attempts to peel the potatoes without cutting away large portions of the it. I forgot she wasn’t much of a cook. It made it more meaningful she offered to help once I remembered that.
A chuckle slipped out, and she glanced over at me. “What?”
“Nothing,” I said, moving to stand behind her. “I just want to give you a hand.”
I could have just stood beside her to show her what to do, but I wanted to feel her luscious curves pressed against me again. So, I wrapped my arms around her from behind and guided her hands through the process of peeling and cutting the potatoes. My cock was already hard for her and it pressed up between her ass cheeks. I bit my cheek and forced myself not to grind into her. Not yet . It was enough for her to just know what kind of reaction she caused my body. I could tell she got the message by the way her spine snapped into place at the feeling.
She was such a good girl that she seemed shocked, and fantasies of corrupting her distracted the hell out of me. My movements faltered and Poppy turned her head to look at me. Our faces were only inches apart. I was captivated by her coffee colored gaze, and my desire to kiss her was almost overwhelming. I hardly cared about Axel and Joey being in the adjacent room, able to peek in at any moment and catch us in the act.
Poppy’s eyes flared with desire, and her tongue darted out between her lips. My eyes tracked the movement, and I suddenly felt like I was losing control of this situation. As if to prove this, she suddenly pushed her ass back into me. For a moment, I couldn’t move, could barely breath. Hunger for her paralyzed me, and I thought I’d never ever wanted to fuck a woman so badly.
But patience was a virtue, and I already had a well thought-out plan.
With all the determination I could muster, I forced myself to step back. The room fell into a tense silence as I began cooking the steaks. Poppy took care of the potatoes and I showed her how to prepare the asparagus for grilling. Merely cutting off the ends of the stalks was all it took. But this time, I made sure not to stand behind her, afraid being so close might tempt me again. I wasn't confident I could resist her a second time.
“You know, we didn’t talk about anything other than your relationship last night,” I said, breaking the tense silence. “Tell me about what else is going on in your life. How’s the job going?”
Poppy had enrolled in college, majoring in anthropology. She found it to be a fascinating subject, but I feared it wouldn't lead to any job prospects after graduation. Janie scolded me for being too involved, reminding me I tended to worry excessively.
It turned out I was right. During the first year after she graduated, Poppy worked a few dead-end jobs because she couldn’t find anything she wanted to do that was compatible with her degree.
Then, a year ago, she got hired to be a fashion designer’s assistant. I figured it would just be another dead end, but she’d been there a year now, so maybe I was wrong.
“It’s…challenging,” she said, keeping her eyes on the cutting board.
“Challenging in a good way? Or a bad way?”
She paused, her eyes meeting mine. Such a pretty green color she didn’t get from either of her parents.
“I guess is depends on the day. I’m not going to lie, my boss is a demanding asshole, but he’s a fashion genius. There are days where he makes me do things like pick all of the red Skittles out of a bag for him because it’s the only color he likes. I have to buy his boyfriend’s birthday and anniversary gifts, even though I barely know the guy. He has even had me wake up at four in the morning to go the fish market because he had a craving for fresh salmon for lunch. Stuff like that drives me crazy.”
“But…”
She smiled. “ But he has me help choose models for his fashion shows and sometimes asks my opinions on a design he’s working on. I help to execute his vision when he needs an extra set of hands at a sewing machine. And I’ve met so many people in the industry by working for him. I’m hoping it will help me in the long run.”
“What do you mean?”
Her eyes lit up with excitement. “I really want to start my own fashion line someday. I’ve been working on sketches and I really think this job is going to open doors for me.”
Joey walked into the kitchen while she was talking, heading straight to the refrigerator for a beer. As she finished describing her dream to me, he let out an annoying snort of laughter.
“Yeah, right,” he said as he popped the tab on his can of Bud Light. “Do you know how far-fetched that is? You know how difficult it is to make it in the fashion world.”
“You don’t think I can do it?” Poppy asked, hurt in her voice. Her shoulders slumped.
Joey shrugged. “You are good at fetching coffee or whatever for that guy you work for. Stick to that. You already know it pays the bills.”
I watched as Poppy deflated from his heartless words, my hands clenched into tight fists at my sides. Fuck this guy. He didn’t deserve her and any reservation I had about my plan for tonight went right out the window in that moment.
“Why don’t you go tell your dad dinner is almost done?” I suggested to Poppy, glancing into the living room and seeing he was no longer there. “I’m sure he went upstairs.”
She hesitated for a second, and I wondered if Axel had done something to upset her too, but she nodded and headed out of the kitchen. I turned to Joey, wanting to kindly suggest he get the hell out of here, flash flooding or not.
Instead, I pointed to the drawer holding the silverware. “Why don’t you get out forks and steak knives for everyone?”
My commanding tone left no room for questioning. Joey's expression turned irritated, but he begrudgingly followed my instructions. While his back was turned as he retrieved silverware, I swiftly pulled out the sedative from my pocket. It was a colorless liquid with a dropper I knew would take effect quickly and with minimal taste.
Four drops into his beer ought to do the trick.
By the time he turned back around, I was already using a potato masher, my focus seemingly on the task of finishing dinner.
The asparagus took no time to grill, and I had just set all of the plates on the island when Axel and Poppy appeared. For a moment, I wished the cabin had a dining room so we wouldn’t be crowded around the island, but when Poppy pulled two stools around to my side of the island, taking a seat next to me, I didn’t mind one bit. We were sitting so close I could feel her body heat and our arms brushed against each other a couple of times.
I noticed Axel sitting across from me, his expression revealing he was not pleased to be seated next to Joey. I watched as Joey took large swigs of beer in between each bite of his food.
Yes. Drink it all up you little fucker.
He’d start to feel lightheaded soon, almost drunk, and then he’d be unconscious all night. I didn’t want Poppy or Axel to notice he only had one beer, so I spent the entirety of dinner distracting them.
I talked about work, the issues I was having with a client who couldn’t seem to make up their mind about anything, and every time they did, they ended up changing it. What started as a two-month job had already stretched into six, and we still weren’t done. It was my company’s first commercial real estate project, and it was proving to be a huge pain in the ass.
But my struggles were interesting enough that even Axel’s grumpy ass listened and commented occasionally on what a shitshow that project was. I kept the conversation going as we all finished our food, subtly keeping an eye on Joey.
When he’d eaten only half of his steak, he started to slow down, his eyelids heavy. I was guessing the beer was empty, because the sedative was kicking in fast.
“You okay, buddy?” I asked, unable to entirely contain the gleefulness I felt as I saw his head droop.
He swiveled his head in my direction, his gaze unfocused.
“Y-yeah,” he said, his words just as slurred as when he was drunk last night. This was perfect.
“Oh, God, Joey,” Poppy mumbled, shaking her head. “You really had to get trashed two nights in a row?”
“Only had one,” he said, the confusion on his face helping to sell the idea he was drunk.
Axel scoffed. “Sure, you did.”
“Why don’t you just go to bed?” Poppy suggested. Her normally kind demeanor had disappeared, and I loved the idea that she was losing patience with him. It was about time. “You look like you are going to pass out at any minute, anyway.”
Joey didn’t bother arguing. Slipping off his stool, he left his half-eaten steak behind, and I held in my chuckle as he stumbled toward the stairs.
“Maybe I should help him.” Poppy said, starting to stand, but I held her in place with a hand on her shoulder.
“He’s a big boy. He’ll be fine. Why don’t you go relax while Axel does the dishes?”
“What?” Axel grumbled.
“Poppy and I cooked, and her boyfriend is useless. So, that leaves you. Pull your weight, man.”
The fact that Poppy didn’t defend her boyfriend told me a lot about her current feelings toward him. And I was eager to widen the rift between them. It was a good thing the sedative would make it unlikely Joey would wake up tonight. No matter what happened.