Mason was laughing so hard I could feel his chest shaking under my head. He really did find this situation entertaining. I let him hold me enjoying the familiarity, but didn't say anything in my defense. I could feel myself still trembling even in the safety of Mason's embrace.

He pulled back to look at me with a concerned face, "Hey are you shaking Paris?"

I just shrugged. Words seemed to be completely lost on me. I had so many emotions dancing close to the surface I wasn't sure how to describe what I was feeling. Embarrassment began to boil over as the concern on him face became confusion.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have laughed at you, I guess I thought that you were exaggerating," Mason attempted to apologize while he ran his free hand across my forehead and soothingly down through my lose hair. My once clean hair felt matted with sweat and I wanted to pull away before he noticed, but Mason held me firmly.

"I mean you've seen your dad," Mason tried but I cut him off.

"No, I haven't," I yelled into his chest. I shook my head gently trying banish the idea from my head.

"Okay, Okay," Mason spoke soothingly and ran a hand down my back. He began to rock from side to side gently, "I'm sure that it was scary for you."

I pulled away enough to take a deep breath, "I know you don't understand, but it was. I have never been that terrified before."

"What about it was so frightening," Mason tilted his head down making a genuine effort to understand, "you know they don't really hurt the feeders don't you?"

I grabbed onto Mason's tee shirt making two fists at the hem of his shirt attempting to banish the trembling, "Yes I know. It's one thing to know about something and it's completely different to be faced with
the reality of it."

"Don't get all philosophical on me Paris. Think back, what part scared you?"

I could feel my eyebrows pull together in confusion, but I took his advice and thought back. "Well, it was partly because I was so caught off guard. Paisley didn't come out and tell me where we were going. Mathew tried to stop me, but I was so angry with him about last night." I shook my head trying to pin point what exactly it was that made me run from the room.

"Just think about it," Mason spoke encouragingly and interrupted my thoughts, "it might help you out in the future."

I promised him that I would and returned to chugging a second bottle of water. It was definitely making my stomach feel better.

"So what did you do today?" I asked attempting to change the subject to something more normal.

"Not much, I was thinking about going skiing but someone is currently holding my jacket hostage," Mason said sweetly.

I felt terrible, "I'm so sorry, what a selfish jerk I am. I didn't even think about it." I made a mental note to track down his coat.

"Paris I was just teasing you, relax." Mason kissed me softly on the cheek, "After spending the day out with you, I couldn't go alone. I would be thinking about you the whole time. Do you think that you are feeling up to getting something to eat?" Mason wondered, "It might make you feel better."

"Not yet, I'm still way too jittery. I need to work out all this extra energy." I tried to explain, "I feel like I need to go for a long run or something."

Mason seemed to pep up, "After you finish off some more water we could go down to the gym. This place has an amazing set up. I could show you around."

"That sounds fun," I agreed. It was just what I needed to keep my mind off of earlier.

After I finish a third bottle of water I convinced Mason that I was feeling up to checking out the gym. Mason gave me directions and left to change his clothes. I texted Paisley to tell her that I was okay and thank her for sending Mason after me. It was a relief to have Mason to lean on after Mathew's declaration.

I changed my clothes into a tight purple razor back shirt and my favorite grey under armor yoga capri pants. They were probably the most comfortable clothes that I owned. I located the new pair grey and purple Nike running shoes I had gotten for Christmas.

I grudgingly called my dad to try to fill him in on information Mathew had tried to squeeze out of me, but I got his voicemail. I was totally confused if Mathew was being honest about wanting me to trust him. I was going to need my dad's help, but I hated bothering him.

When I walked up to the entrance of the gym I was surprised to see Mason already waiting for me. He was wearing a simple red tank top and black athletic shorts. Mason's clothes were simple, but showed off his amazing shoulders and strong legs. I already knew that Mason was a good looking guy, but seeing him in his element was going to be fantastic. Coming to the gym was starting to look like a great idea.

I felt Mason's eyes travel up the length of me. Even though I was wearing a heavy sports bra, I noticed him pause on my chest. "Paris," he said softly. His eyes turned urgent, "Do not come here alone. Don't go anywhere dressed like that alone."

I hesitated, and looked down at my outfit. I felt confident that I looked fine. I had worn this outfit many times before. Without thinking I rolled my eyes and said flippantly, "You are so overprotective Mason. You sound like my boyfriend."

Mason laughed, "I guess I do," he gave me a shy smile, "would that be such a bad thing?"

Our conversation had taken an unexpected turn, "No that wouldn't be such a bad thing."

"Come on," he said taking my hand and leading me through one of the heavy glass doors of the entrance. We walked up to a huge wrap around mahogany desk and checked in. Mason handed me a large bottle of water and he started to show me around.

The gym was amazing. There was the usual equipment, treadmills and ellipticals lining the glass walls of a large room that looked out over the one side of the snow covered mountain. A separate room housed every piece of weight lifting equipment that had ever existed. There was a giant room full of just Pilates equipment and even a room designated solely for fencing.

Mason and I settled in at a couple of treadmills in the corner of the enormous room.

"Don't be annoyed if I ignore you Mason, when I turn on my iPod I tend to zone out," I warned him. Mason smiled at me, but didn't complain. I cranked up the running mix that consisted mostly of my favorite guilty pleasures. I rocked out and we ran in companionable silence. Before I knew it the machine read eight and a half miles. I finished an even nine and looked over and was surprised that Mason had disappeared.

I wiped off my equipment and turned around to step off when I noticed Quinn, Abe's guardian that had accompanied us to dinner, on the treadmill behind me. I gave him a small wave and was relieved to see Mason walking down the long aisle toward me.

Quinn and Mason shared a masculine head nod as he returned, "You all finished?"

"Yes, I'm actually starting to get my appetite back."

Mason smiled, "We can go get something to eat soon, but first I have a surprise for you.

"A surprise," I said doubtfully, "where here at the gym?"

Mason nodded, "Yup follow me."

I let Mason lead me down a long hallway passed some racquetball courts and another sauna to the end of a strange hallway. "How far did you run," Mason wondered.

"Not too far, nine miles," I answered dismissively.

"Really, that's excellent," Mason commented. He appeared impressed, "Do you run often?"

"My Mom's the runner in our family. She talked me into training with her last time she did a marathon. I think that you need to me a certain kind of person to really enjoy running. I can totally zone out, it's kind of like meditating for me," I tried to explain.

"I would agree with that," Mason agreed, "for some people running is torture, but if you can lose yourself in it, running can be therapeutic.

When we got to the end of the long hallway Mason opened the last door and motioned for me to enter. It was a bizarrely arranged room. The floors were completely covered in a thick white mat that was soft underneath my feet. Each of the four walls were lined floor to ceiling in a similar looking mat, but it was thicker and softer. There was only one small window that one or two people could use to observe from.

Mason sat down in the floor in the middle of the room and crossed his legs in front of him. I followed sitting comfortably across from him.

"Okay where are we Mason?" I said stretching my legs out an touching my toes, "it looks like your trying to have me committed."

Mason chuckled, "I probably should if you keep hanging around Zelkos," I rolled my eyes at his comment, but didn't respond. "This is a guardian training room and we were lucky to get one they only have six."

I was on my feet and moving toward the door before Mason could finish his sentence. Unfortunately, Mason was faster, when I reached for the door handle my palm collided with the firm ripple of Mason's abs.

"Here me out? Please Paris, I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do."

"Damn right you're not," I told him softly, but didn't move.

"You told me that you didn't want to fight and that's fine. I just want to make sure that nothing happens to you. Do you know how much guilt I would have if you got hurt or worst killed? I can help you. Please let me help you," Mason begged.

I looked down at my hand, it was still firmly placed on his stomach. I avoided looking into his sad puppy dog eyes, "Eddie has been giving me this same speech for ten years, what makes you think I'm going to listen to you."

Mason took my hand off of his stomach and lifted it to his mouth, "Eddie didn't have the right motivational tools," he said and softly kissed my hand behind my knuckles. He pulled me back to the middle of the room not letting go of my hand.

"What kind of motivation do you have in mind," I asked cautiously and Mason flashed me a wicked grin. Before I knew what hit me Mason had me flat on my back and with both of my hands above my head in one of his. It didn't hurt, the soft mat absorbing the impact, but I was not prepared for the sudden assault. Mason leaned over me, "When you do a good job I'll reward you," he said quietly against my neck and began kissing and softly sucking until I let out an embarrassing moan. "Positive reinforcement is a legitimate teaching technique. Okay?" he whispered into my ear.

I let out a breathy, "Okay," and Mason helped me to my feet.

"Right," Mason spoke closing his eyes and shaking his head gently to clear his thoughts. I was pleased to see I wasn't the only one affected by his teaching philosophy. "So anytime you are approached in a compromising situation what's going to give you the best chance to remain unharmed?"

"You sound like a text book or an informational pamphlet," I cringed having been accused of the same thing many times. Mason let out a breath and cracked his knuckles intimidatingly. "So wait are we talking about Strigoi or just in general?"

"I think we should just focus on Strigoi. We can do general self defense another time. You are already faster and stronger than any human anyway just do your best to keep alert," he muttered and put his hands on his hips. "This is easy Paris, what do you do if you see a Strigoi?"

"Light them on fire," I grinned, "extra crispy."

Mason slapped his forehead, "Okay if you don't have a blow torch what do you do?"

I stared at him not sure what the answer he want was.

"Paris we only have this room for half an hour."

"I really don't know what you want to hear Mason," I announced tapping my foot. I was ready to give up before we had even started.

Mason grabbed me around my waist and pushed me against the closest wall. I was trapped. He made a cage with his arms and lowered his head so that he could look directly into my eyes, "Paris if you ever see, or even think that you see a Strigoi you need to run. Fast and far," he was suddenly very quiet, "do you understand? Leave whatever you're doing and go fast and far." He repeated. "Luckily, you have pretty good endurance, but they are incredibly fast."

"Yes, I understand," I attempted to be convincing. I fisted his shirt in both of my hand and pulled him toward me. Mason came willingly and kissed me hard. This kiss had all the electricity of our first kiss, but I was getting bolder. I ran my hands under his shirt, along his waist, and up his back. Mason returned my enthusiasm grasping my butt and pulling me up and into him.

I was lost in Mason and when he pulled away my knees were so weak he reached out to steady me. Glancing over I was grateful that had pushed me next to the window and not in front of it.

"Don't worry Paris I signed the room out no one will bother us," he looked down at his watch, "at least not for another twenty-five minutes. We have a lot to do lets go."

Mason took me back to the middle of the mat, "Have you ever done any kind of Martial arts?"

"Nope that is Ben's area of expertise not mine."

"The best thing for me to teach you is how to get away. I don't have enough time to show you how to incapacitate a Strigoi," he told me and I nodded along like a good student. "If you are caught from behind you need to try to use your smaller size you your advantage," Mason proceeded to show me how to leverage my weight and break away.

After walking me through the steps several times he said,"Okay lets try." Mason grabbed me tightly and I did my best to get away from him. It was strangely exhilarating when I broke free. "Now what do you do, Paris?"

I smiled up at him, "Run!" I reached up and gave him an enthusiastic high five. I wasn't expecting him to flip me around and pull me backwards toward him.

Mason's lips were in my ear, "That was very good Paris." He rewarded me by running just the tips of his fingers along the bottom of my breasts. My nipples were getting hard and I turned my head into his shoulder to avoid looking at them. Mason kissed my ear softly and released me.

My next lesson was to avoid being caught when he came straight at me. I know he was being gentle, but every time he knocked me down on the mat it was jarring. I just couldn't seem to get a handle on it and I was getting incredibly frustrated.

Probably the tenth time Mason pinned me down on the mat I didn't get up. I laid on the mat and stared up at the ceiling.

Mason hovered over me, "You have to stop thinking of me as Mason and start thinking of me as someone that's trying to attack you. I promise I won't let you hurt my pretty face." He smiled beautifully showing me for the second time his adorable dimples.

The next time he came at me I gave it all I had and managed to push him off of me briefly. Just as I was about to celebrate he grabbed me and pulled me down again.

"Hey," I yelled, "I thought that I had it that time."

"You did," he returned, "but I like you underneath me." He stared into my eyes and leaned back to put his butt to his knees. He softly moved his hands up my legs past my knees and I started to squirm. "Has anyone ever touched you here before," he asked me boldly as he reached the top of my thighs.

"No," I admitted and willed in to continue.

Mason let out a long even breath and his face got very serious, "I'm glad."

Even with my pants on when Mason ran his thumbs lightly over the apex of my legs I bucked up on the mat and seized his shoulders.

"I think that you might be right about this motivation stuff," I barely got out.

Mason continued moving his hands up over my hips and stomach, "I don't know, do you think it's affective?'

I put my arms around his neck and pulled myself to sit up, "I think you could write a book. But, I do have one complaint."

"What's that?" Mason beamed.

"I'm sick of being the one on my back," I spoke quickly and catching him off guard I was able to push him sideways and straddle him.

"If you wanted to grapple you should have just said so," Mason laughed, "now that you have me here the question is what are you going to do with me." He laid back unconcerned.

I threw my head back and laughed, "I'm going to torture you the way you did me." I leaned forward and started to mercilessly tickle him. I started under his arms and moved quickly down to his stomach. Mason was caught off guard. He looked shocked and bucked fiercely under me.

"You little," he shouted and flipped me back underneath him.

"Witch," I finished proudly.

Mason shook his head and looked at me adoringly "Angel," he ran his left hand over my face and pushed my now wild hair out of my eyes. "I've been involved with witches before and no way you are like them." Mason kissed me quickly and stood up pulling him with me.

I put my hands on my hips stated proudly, "You know Mason not all witches are bad."

Before Mason could answer the heavy door to the room opened. Rose and Eddie busted in shocked to see us.

"Hey Mase, how did you two manage to get a room?" Rose wondered, "It's totally booked up."

Mason responded calmly, "We've been here for a while. Went for a run and waited until one was available."

"That was smart. We saw your name on the sign up sheet thought we'd come see how you were doing." Rose explained, but, when we didn't respond she continued, "You don't mind do you?"

I just shrugged in response. "I should probably get out of here," I tried to escape.

"No way," Eddie spoke up for the first time, "I have been waiting to work with you for a decade. You meet Mason and in four days he's talked you into it. I'm wounded." Eddie covered his heart with his hands and pretended to be offended. I suspected it wasn't completely an act.

"I was coerced," I said my expression completely dead paned.

"I bet you were," Eddie rolled his eyes.

"What can I say," I threw my hands up palm first, "Mason has better dimples."

Rose tossed her head back and let out an explosive laugh.

Mason folded his hands in front of himself in protest, "I don't have dimples."

Rose reached up and pinched Mason's face in one hand, "Yes you do, they just don't come out unless you are genuinely happy. It's not often enough."

I smiled smugly. "We don't have much time left so I'll just let you folks get to it," I attempted again to leave."

"We booked the slot after you," Rose smiled, "so we have plenty of time."

"How did you do that?" Mason said disbelievingly, "The guy told me there was a two hour wait when we got here."

"Your mom talked him into it," Eddie said unsurprised, "she could sell ice cream to an Eskimo. I'll never understand why they only have six of these rooms. No matter what time a day it is, there is never any available." I supposed that if you could break into a prison you could probably sweet talk a gym attendant.

"What did you bribe him with?" Mason wondered.

"I can't share all my secrets," Rose responded smartly. "Now quit stalling and show us what you're working on.

The room was a good size, with plenty of room for all four of us. It was just incredibly awkward. I was suddenly feeling very shy and Rose had to practically shove me at Mason. When Mason grabbed me all I could think was how he had touched me. I couldn't clear my head. Mason continued to easily pin me to the mat, but our earlier banter was gone. He just politely helped me up to try again.

Watching Eddie and Rose fight was something of beauty. The way they moved was like a well choreographed dance routine. The talent in their movement and skill level was off the charts. I made a mental note to never piss off Rose.

When we were almost finished Eddie was so impressed he put an arm around Mason, "I'm so glad that you talked Paris into this. Hopefully, it's just the beginning."

I chucked under my breath and started stretching.

"Paris did you show Mason all of your tricks?" Eddie said casually.

Rose spit out the swig of water she was drinking,

"Get your mind out of the gutter Rose. I'll I meant was that Paris can walk on her hands for like a mile." Eddie explained.

"It's a very useful talent," I conceited and switched to stretch my other leg.

"I figured you'd show off one of the crazy back flips that you used to do," Eddie tried again.

"I'm not much of a show off," I said shyly, "you do realize I'm not twelve anymore right?"

Eddie came over and sat in front of me, "I know you're not, but I forget sometimes." He smiled sweetly and I knew something was up,"Do you think that you could do me a favor? If I got you some sheet music could you play a song for me?"

"On the piano?" I wondered.

"Yeah, I was hoping at dinner tomorrow," Eddie explained.

I looked up at Mason, who was hovering near by "Are we still planning to?"

"Yes, we definitely are," Mason finished without making me explain the plans for our date.

"What are you two up to?" Rose butted in and sat opposite me.

"We just have plans for dinner tomorrow," Mason said casually.

"It's a surprise for Jill, but we could probably do it Thursday instead," Eddie said nervously.

"Tomorrow night is the luau, we can't miss that," Rose insisted. "I don't care how anti social you are feeling like being Mason, it's a tradition.

"We'll see," Mason declared, but didn't elaborate on any more of his plans.

"Thursday is New Year's Eve Eddie, very romantic," I told him encouragingly, "plus it will give me a little time to practice."

Eddie didn't seem convinced, "You think so?"

"Totally," Rose added, "I read an article on the plane that said New Year's Eve is the second most popular day to get engaged after Valentine's Day. It would be a great time for a romantic gesture."

My hands flew up to my mouth, "O my God are you going to propose?"

Eddie blushed and looked over at Mason, "Women, you can never keep a secret from them."

I jumped up and started clapping my hands like a monkey with symbols.

"I'm so excited for you Eddie" I told him as he stood up, "I promise I'll play perfectly." I gave him a huge hug. "Then you can lots of babies," I joked squeezing him tightly.

Eddie let out a huge laugh, "One thing at a time." His face got very serious, "Don't tell her Paris, you have to promise."

"Scouts honor," I responded holding up two fingers.

Rose got up and hugged Eddie. I looked over at Mason who had suddenly gotten very quiet.

As we walked out of the door I noticed Quinn standing a few steps away from the door. That seemed very strange and I flashed him a confused look. It suddenly occurred to me that Quinn could have been watching Mason's earlier lesson and a deep blush began to form on my cheeks.

"I'm so hungry I'm weak," I said trying to ignore my earlier thoughts. "I could probably eat a whole cow." I looked over at Rose, "How do you deal with all these tiny bits off food all the time?"

"I order more than one meal most of the time," she told me candidly.

"Good idea," I remarked following her down the hallway.

We continued to walk back out of the labyrinth of the gym and when we got to the outer doors I said my goodbyes to Eddie and Rose. Even under duress I had to admit I had a good time.

I looked up at the now ashen Mason, "You are looking a little weak too, ready to go get some dinner?"

Mason stopped abruptly, "I think that I'm going to go get a shower and spend sometime with my parents.

The smile fell from my face. "Yeah you totally should. I'm sorry for assuming you'd want to go with me. I've been monopolizing your time." I told him quickly, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty.

"No, it's not your fault," he said stoically. "I'll text you with the information for tomorrow."

I agreed and he gave me a very quick peck on the check. I stood in place and watched him leave in the same direction as Rose and Eddie. Mason's abrupt mood swing was confusing and I was disappointed not to get more time with him. I tried to remind myself how little time he got with his mom and dad.

I started back to my room grateful for the detailed directions Mason had given me. When I stepped onto the elevator I was again surprised to see Quinn follow me on. We were the only two in the elevator and it was starting to get uncomfortable.

"Is it just a coincidence that I've seen you three times today?" I asked him, but frustratingly he just shrugged his shoulders.

"If you're going to follow me around don't you think the least you could do is talk to me," I fired again.

Quinn smiled at me, "I just go where Abe tells me to."

My jaw hit the ground. When Quinn spoke he had an incredibly thick Irish accent that was totally unexpected. He was a decent looking guy, tall with light brown hair, but his accent made him go from a solid eight to and eighteen. "Abe told you to follow me around?" I said confused, "He thinks I'm not safe here?"

"Honestly I didn't ask," he said chuckling softly.

"You do everything he tells you to do?"

"You make it sound like a bad thing," Quinn teased.

I didn't expect him to follow me further, so when I stepped off the elevator and Quinn fell instep with me I frowned.

"So Abe must really trust you if he ask you to follow me around," I spoke losing patience.

"He has his reasons," Quinn muttered softly.

"You're not going to stand outside my door or anything weird like that are you?"

I asked uncomfortably.

He shook his head at me with a smirk.

"Good because I'm suddenly in the mood to crank The Cranberries," I joked as I opened my door, "see you around."

Quinn let out a quiet laugh and said vaguely, "I have a feeling you will."

I opened the door I was assaulted with the smell of fresh cut flowers. Sitting on the glass table in the sitting room as an enormous bouquet of purple hydrangea. The card sticking out of the top read, I'm was jerk. Forgive me. Matty

His words weren't poetic, but I appreciated his gesture. This was the first time I had ever received flowers from someone other than my father or Abe and it was kind of exciting.

My phone buzzed and looked down to see my dad was on his way back to his room. I walked through the adjoining door and waited for him to arrive.

"Geez it smells like a sweaty garden in here," my father complained entering the room with his nose crinkled up.

"Sorry I stink," I apologized. "I had a good work out though."

"That's good." He smiled, "Flowers from Mason or Mathew?"

"Mathew," I disclosed, but didn't elaborate.

"I had a long chat with him earlier," Dad started. "He wasn't lying when he apologized. He seems to be truly sorry."

"I got the impression that Dimitri put the fear of God in him," I snickered.

Dad nodded," I would say that is probably a correct assumption. However, he didn't share his thoughts about your mother with me. Abe went and had a chat with him a couple hours ago. I'm feeling reasonably confident he can keep his mouth shut for two more days."

"Two days?" I asked my voice getting quiet.

"Yeah the St. Vlad kids leave on Friday night," he confirmed. "They have their own plane that takes them back."

I couldn't breathe. I knew they were leaving, but I hadn't been faced with the reality of it yet.

"Enough about them, I feel like we haven't spent anytime together," Dad told me regretfully.

I forced air into my lungs and plastered on a fake smile, "I know it kind of sucks, but I have been having a really good time. Even today down in the gym I worked out with Eddie and Rose and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"Really," Dad looked speechless. "Have you put anymore thought into your grandmother's proposal?"

My first thought was to tell him about what Eddie's proposal, but I quickly remember if I told Dad I would quite possibly be also spilling the beans with Jill.

I contained my excitement and responded, "No, I don't think it's a good idea. I'm not sure I want to be so far away from my family. Me just leaving would really effect Ben, he depends on me. It's something that I might consider for next year, but this semester I am going to stay put."

"We all love you Paris and we want you to do what's best for you," Dad smiled, "make your decisions based what you need and we will all be behind you. The reason I asked you now is because your grandmother would like to have breakfast in the morning and I have a feeling she is going to ask you."

I nodding understandingly, "I'll think about a good way to break it to her."

Dad decided to drop the bomb, "You want to talk about what happened earlier up on the sixth floor?"

I started down at my hands suddenly feeling dizzy at the thought of what had happened. "Who told you about that?" I asked quietly.

"Doesn't matter," Dad remarked dismissively. "That doesn't have anything to do with your decisions about school does it?"

"No," I told him quickly. I was totally mortified that he had heard what had happened, that meant other people were talking about it. "I'm really not ready to talk about it."

"When your ready I'll be here," Dad said and pulled me out of the chair and into a big hug.

"Okay I'm going to grab a shower and get something to eat I'm starving."

Dad smirked, "Good you stink. I'm going to bed."

After giving me the details for breakfast I returned to my room and put The Cranberries, Treasure Box album on shuffle and took a long shower. After I finished and dried my hair I noticed I had two missed calls and a text message from Mathew. I figured since I had a little more than two days left with him, it was probably a good idea to tell him I had forgiven him. So I called him back.

"Do you still hate me?" Mathew answered his phone.

"No," I sighed, "I'm over it. Thanks for the flowers by the way, they're beautiful."

"I'm glad. What are you doing?" Mathew asked enthusiastically, "You attached to Mason at the moment?"

"I'm going to get some food. If I don't eat soon I'm going to chew off my own arm. Mason is spending time with his parents, why?"

"Perfect," Mathew shouted the background noise on his phone suddenly getting loud. "We are up on the tenth floor at the piano bar. Come join us they have a great menu."

"Who's we?" I wondered cautiously.

"Don't worry Nicole is doing mandatory family time too. Paisley has been freaking out all night, she thinks you hate her. I'll even order you some food so it's ready by the time you get here."

Mathew's offer was so tempting I could hear my stomach growling. "Order me a steak, a big one."

"You got it, how do you want it cooked," he spoke pleased with his victory.

"Well done," I yelled into the phone. We both busted out laughing, "Please tell Paisley that I don't hate her."

"Tell her yourself when you get here," Mathew joked. "O and Paris wear something hot!" he called out and hung up.

I found a great little black dress hanging in my closet that wasn't too short or low cut, but tight enough in the right places to be hot. Not having any patience I tossed my hair up in a neat bun and secured it with some sparkly clips. I grabbed some super high heals, my wallet, and was out the door.

In a wonderful twist of fate the elevator was waiting empty on my floor and it only took me a minute to get up to the tenth floor. Just as Mathew had promised the piano bar sat directly opposite the elevator and was super easy to find. A neon sign read, Play It Again at the top of the entrance. I walked in and easily spotted the group at a great table up front opposite an enormous piano.

As soon as she saw me Paisley jumped up and ran toward me. Paisley shouted over a very good rendition of Only the Good Die Young, "Please tell me that you forgive me. I was so stupid," Paisley grabbed a hold of my hands and looked at me apologetically, "I should explained where we were going."

"I don't blame you Paisley, there's nothing to forgive," I spoke into her ear, "now can we never talk about this again. I think the food has arrived. "

Paisley smiled and nodded enthusiastically. She led me over to the empty seat between her and Mathew. Andrew greeted me along with a couple of people I hadn't met. It was way too loud for introductions.

The waiter was a short balding man. He had been around long enough to know the huge steak was mine. A beautiful 24 ounce well done porterhouse sat before me and I couldn't help but give Mathew an enormous smile.

Next Chapter of Mason should be up Monday! Thanks for reading everyone.