CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
MASON
The second Rowan touched me, my brain completely short-circuited.
Not dramatically.
Just enough to piss me off.
Her fingers brushed the side of my neck while fixing my collar, and suddenly I was way too aware of everything again.
Her hand.
Her perfume.
How close she was standing.
Damn it.
Rowan seemed to realize what she was doing at the exact same time because her hand stopped for a second.
Then she pulled back fast.
“Sorry,” she said immediately.
“It’s fine.”
Too quick.
Too rough.
Great job, asshole.
Her expression shifted slightly. “You always do that.”
“Do what.”
“Act weird after touching me.”
I stared at her.
“That sentence sounds insane out loud.”
“You know what I mean.”
Unfortunately, I did.
ROWAN
He looked genuinely annoyed at himself.
Which was… weirdly reassuring.
Like okay, good, I’m not the only one losing my mind here.
“You make everything awkward,” I muttered.
Mason scoffed. “Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“You touched me.”
“Oh my God.”
“You did.”
“I fixed your jacket, not proposed marriage.”
“That’s still physical contact.”
I blinked at him. “Are you hearing yourself right now?”
“Unfortunately.”
That almost made me laugh again.
Almost.
Then Mason rubbed a hand over his face and looked away toward the city for a second.
And just like that, the joking faded a little.
Not completely.
Just enough.
“You really hate talking about your dad, huh?” I asked quietly.
He went still.
There it is.
MASON
Most people got uncomfortable around silence.
Rowan got curious.
Which honestly felt more dangerous.
I leaned back against the bar beside her. “He’s a lot.”
“That sounds diplomatic.”
“It’s easier.”
She waited.
Didn’t push.
Which somehow made me want to keep talking anyway.
Annoying.
“He thinks everything’s about basketball,” I said finally. “Or winning. Same thing to him.”
“And you?”
Mouth of a damn sniper.
Every time.
I looked down at my drink for a second.
“I don’t know anymore.”
That one slipped out accidentally.
Rowan noticed immediately.
Of course she did.
“You don’t mean that.”
“I kinda do.”
The music got louder again somewhere behind us. People yelling lyrics badly. Someone dropped a glass.
Normal party shit.
Meanwhile I was standing here saying things I usually didn’t even admit to myself.
Great.
ROWAN
He looked tired again.
Not physically.
Just done.
And suddenly the Mason everyone else saw made a lot more sense.
The control. The perfectionist crap. The constant pressure.
No wonder the guy acted like relaxing was illegal.
“You know,” I said slowly, “you’re allowed to want things outside basketball.”
Mason laughed once under his breath. “Tell my father that.”
“I’m serious.”
“I know.”
He looked at me then.
Actually looked at me.
No walls. No sarcasm. No teasing.
Just honest for one second.
“That’s the problem,” he said quietly. “I don’t even know what I’d pick anymore.”
Well.
That hit like a truck.
JACE
Okay, I wasn’t trying to spy.
Technically.
But I walked back over and immediately caught the emotional trauma energy happening at the bar.
Which honestly? Terrible timing for them.
Because Luca and Tessa had just come back from doing whatever sinful activities they disappeared for earlier.
Tessa took one look at Mason and Rowan and whispered, “Oh damn. They’re having a feelings conversation.”
Luca physically recoiled. “That’s rough.”
“Should we save them?” Jace asked.
Tessa considered it. “No. This is educational.”
ROWAN
I noticed the idiots approaching immediately.
Mason noticed too and looked irritated before they even reached us.
“You guys look serious,” Luca said.
“That’s disgusting,” Tessa added.
“We were talking,” I said.
“Exactly,” Tessa replied.
Mason looked exhausted. “Do you people ever leave anyone alone?”
“No,” Jace answered proudly.
Tessa leaned toward me conspiratorially. “For the record, he’s looked at you like you invented oxygen all night.”
Mason nearly dropped his drink.
“Tessa,” he said flatly.
“What? I’m helping.”
“You are absolutely not helping.”
Luca grinned. “Nah, she kinda is.”
“This is painful to watch,” Jace admitted.
“Then go away,” Mason snapped.
“Oh, he’s cranky now,” Tessa said. “Cute.”
Mason looked seconds away from walking directly off the rooftop.
Honestly? Kind of adorable.
MASON
I hated every single person here.
Rowan was trying not to smile again.
Which made this worse.
“Why are your friends like this?” she asked.
“Childhood trauma probably.”
“Damn,” Luca said. “That was kinda funny.”
“Don’t encourage him,” Jace warned Rowan immediately. “That’s how he gets confidence.”
“Too late,” Tessa replied.
Then somebody near the center of the rooftop started chanting about afterparties.
The crowd instantly got louder.
Luca perked up like a damn golden retriever. “Now we’re talking.”
“You’re not going to another party,” Tessa told him.
“You literally met me at a third party.”
“Yeah, and you looked hot holding a beer looking emotionally unavailable.”
Luca looked touched. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
Rowan laughed beside me again.
And without thinking—
I looked at her first instead of the conversation around us.
Bad sign. Very bad sign.