Chapter 17: Chapter 17

As soon as we stepped foot over the threshold and into the restaurant, the delicious smell of pizza and garlic flew through my nostrils and I licked my lips, instantly salivating at the thought of some beautiful pasta or mouthwatering pizza. My stomach grumbled and I clutched it, trying to muffle the noise.

“Hungry?” Mason chuckled, as my cheeks grew as scarlet as the bold, golden-trimmed tablecloths.

“Yes,” I admitted, “This place smells heavenly.”

Mason agreed with me, just as a waiter appeared. His face was flushed and I could see droplets of sweat appearing on his brow. He looked young, barely eighteen, with adolscent spots of acne dotting across his face.

“M-M-Mr. Stone,” He greeted, his hands shaking slightly as he held onto the menus with a iron-clad grip, turning his knuckles a pale white. “I have your usual table prepared.” He gestured for Mason to follow him, his eyes never drifting towards me for even a second.

“Thankyou,” Mason replied, “Where is Nathaniel tonight?”

The boy licked his chapped lips, “He’s taken the day sick Sir. This is my first week, he told me to expect you.”

“It’s no problem,” Mason said kindly, as we arrived at our table. “Please can you send a bottle of house wine and two glasses?”

The boy nodded and I was sure to catch a glimpse of relief in his face as he scuttled away. Mason pulled my chair out and I gratefully accepted, having never been on a date where a man was an actual gentleman. Paying for a ninety-nine pence cheeseburger and eating it in his crappy Corsa was not my idea of a romantic date. Still, at fifteen, I was just enamoured with the fact that hehad a car. Shaking my head, I looked up at Mason who was perusing the menu in front of him, strands of his hair falling in front of his eyes.

Christ, I thought,the Lord must really be feeling guilty for all the shit I’ve been through.

“So,” I cleared my throat, “Why did that kid look scared shitless of you?”

Mason looked up with a surprised expression, as though he wasn’t expecting me to speak so suddenly. He folded his hands together on top of his menu and blew upwards at the strands of hair on his face.

Good grief, that was attractive.

Where were these thoughts coming from? I had banished all lewd thoughts from my brain years ago, refusing to allow myself to think of men in a positive or sexual manner. Men were supposed to be off the cards.

Supposedto be.

“Myself and my family spend quite a bit of money in here and my father is friendly with Nathaniel, the manager. I’m not sure what Nathaniel told him, but he reeked of fear,” Mason snorted.

I furrowed my brows slightly, how could you smell fear? Mason seemed to notice my confusion, as panic dotted across his features for just a moment. Just as I was about to ask, the sweaty waiter reappeared, carrying a bottle of red wine and two glasses. He set them down, making an awkward clinking sound and I grimaced slightly.

“Would you like me to pour?” He asked, trembling slightly.

Luckily, Mason caught my expression of ‘definitely not’ and took the wine from his outstretched hands.

“I can take it from here, kid. Can you come back in five minutes to take our orders?”

The waiter nodded quickly, his head bobbing up and down like a buoy in a storm. He retreated from the table and left us alone once more. Suddenly realising that my mouth had gone dry, I reached for the bottle to pour myself a drink, but brushed my hand across Mason’s as he thought the same thing.

“Allow me,” He said, pouring the wine into my glass.

“Stop,” I breathed, when it was half full and he smiled, pouring his own.

“Anything look good?” he asked, taking a sip.

I perused the menu, but as my eyes glanced over it, my brain didn’t exactly read the words. I couldn’t, as I could feel his eyes on me and smell his cologne that was trying to tempt me in.

I pointed to a random dish on the menu, “Um, the ′polpettine di manzo’,” I stuttered, my Italian sounding more like I was choking.

“Spaghetti and meatballs, a classic,” Mason observed with a twinkle in his eye. I smiled, thanking the heavens I had chosed something simple and not overly complicated. He looked up to spy the waiter hovering by our table. With a sigh, that demonstrated to me he would rather get up and cook the meal himself, he gestured him over with a flick of two fingers. The waiter hurried over eagerly, his pen hovering over his notepad.

“What can I get for you?”

“I will have the meat feast calzone and she will have the‘polpettine di manzo’.”

The waiter jotted the choices down on the menu before hastily walking away. I could feel my heart beating faster, just at Mason’s pronunciation of the Italian meal. Hearing the words melt as they danced across his tongue was one of the sexiest things I had ever heard and I couldn’t even deny it to myself. I felt suddenly warm, as though my blood had heated itself several degrees higher and I fanned myself, taking a rather large gulp of wine.

“Are you warm?” Mason asked innocently, cocking his head to the side.

Yes, I thought,My body is on fire because I’m on a date with a god damn adonis.I smiled instead, “Just a little. I think we must be near the ovens.”

“I can ask to move tables?” He replied, placing his hands on the table as though to stand up.

“No,” I rushed, “I’m fine, really.”

“So,” Mason began, “Tell me a little about yourself.”

Oh, boy. I wasn’t even sure where to begin. Did I tell him the truth or just another honking great lie? My stomach fluttered, and this time it wasn’t because I found him attractive.

“Uh, well It’s just me and mum, I don’t really know my dad and we used to live around two hours from here.”

“You’ve got a slightly unusual accent,” he noted. “No siblings?”

I shook my head, “Nope. Is Ella your only sibling?”

Mason nodded, “Yeah, but Isaac is like a brother and the others are all family, whether or not we are related by blood.”

“You guys all seem incredibly close, I’d give anything to have a big family like that.” I smiled, but I knew it didn’t quite reach my eyes. I loved mum, but life was pretty lonely with just the two of us.

“It’s all I ever known,” Mason replied, running a hand through his hair. “Sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s tough.”

“How so?” I queried, leaning on my elbows, subconsciously resting my chin in my hands to get closer to him.

“Well, it can get kind of wild. My family are like the centre of the madness and I’ve already taken over from my father for the family business. It’s a lot of people to look after.”

I frowned, I wasn’t actually sure what he did, I voiced it to him and he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Family business. We own a few properties in town, like the Bed and Breakfast, the cafe and Dee has her own shop. I manage those properties and make sure everything is running smoothly.”

“You’ve got a lot on your hands then, I presume?”

Mason nodded, “Yes, but I’ve known this was my duty since I was a pu-a kid. I’ve always known my path and I’ve been trained how to lead since I could walk.”

“Is that what you’ve always wanted to do?” I asked, I could sense the hestitancy in his voice, it sounded like his pre-destined path wasn’t quite his choice. I was thankful, I now had the freedom to choose.

Mason smiled, although it didn’t quite reach his eyes, “I’m a born leader. But, enough about me. What did you do before you came to Penshaw Lake? Work? Study?”

I frowned, Dan never let us work and as soon as I finished high school that was it for my education. I looked into Mason’s beautiful chocolate eyes, so full of geninue wonder that I couldn’t face lying to him. But I was lost for words...I simply didn’t know what to say.

“I...um...I always enjoyed English. I never got the chance to go to University, but I think I would have studied that.”

“How come you didn’t go?”

I sat back in my chair, I just didn’t know how to answer his questions. My face fell, how could I date someone if I couldn’t tell them anything about myself without the fear that somehow it could link me back to Dan? As though he could sense my hesitancy, Mason held up his palms.

“Hey, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to.”

I sighed with relief, “Thank you.”

As soon as I spoke, our mains were placed in front of us. The steaming pile of spaghetti in front of me was enough to make my mouth water. I raised my eyebrows at Mason’s plate, sitting on it was a monster of a calzone. He caught my eyes and coughed a laugh, and I thought I caught a glimpse of embarrassment on his face.

“I need to eat a lot. This place does the best calzone.”

We talked about mindless things as we ate. As I spun my spaghetti around on my fork, Mason asked for my favourite animal.

“Wolf,” I replied, with a mouthful of meatball. I spluttered a little and threw my hand over my mouth. Mason let out a barking laugh and passed me a napkin. “Oh god I just spat at you,” I cried, swallowing the meatball.

“Wolf huh?” He raised an eyebrow and I watched his eyes begin to darken. “Why a wolf?”

I shook my head, “They’re beautiful. I’m a dog person, but wolves are stunning and they’re so clever. I could watch programmes about them all day. The wolf fountain in the high street? I could sit by it and read for hours.”

Mason grinned, “I think mine would be a lion. The apex predator.” He snapped his teeth at me playfully, a low growl rumbling from his chest. I laughed, flicking my hand at him all the while being too aware of the dirty inner thoughts that were at the forefront of my mind.

He could bite me anyday.

Our conversation flowed well past our meals being finished and our plates being cleared. Mason ordered another bottle of wine to share and, now on my fourth glass, I was beginning to feel slightly tipsy.

“You did not,” I cried with laughter, “You did not do that!”

Mason held up his hands, “I’m not kidding, when I was fourteen I snuck into my dads’ liquor cabinet and stole a two hundred pound bottle of premium whiskey, drank half of it, and vomited it straight back at him.”

“All for a girl?” I snorted.

“All for a girl,” Mason confirmed. “Come on, you must have some fun drinking stories when you were a teenager?”

I shrugged and dropped my head, Dan kept us locked up pretty tight, but there was the odd occasion I tried to rebel, as any normal teenager would. I soon learned, especially after I turned sixteen, not to disobey Dan for it would only end in tears.

“Not really, I never drank much as a teenager, I guess I was a bit of a loner.”

Mason frowned as he stood up and gathered his jacket, “You? A loner?”

I didn’t answer the question, instead standing up with him, “Are we leaving?” I asked, not bothering to hide the disappointment lacing my voice. I wanted another wine.

“No,” Mason chuckled, “There’s a bar area attached to the restaurant with some comfy booths. I thought we could continue our date in there if you like?”

I nodded and grabbed hold of my jacket and my handbag that had been swung over the side of my chair. Mason gestured for the waiter once more and told him of our plans.

“Of course, I’ll get your tab transferred over.”

I slid down into the comfortable booth, immediately feeling more at ease than I felt in the restaurant. The red leather seats kept in tune with the red and gold colour scheme and there were two golden candles romanticsing the table. The lighting in here was dimmer too and there was a singer setting up in the corner of the bar.

“I fancy something a little stronger,” Mason said, and I noticed he hadn’t sat down. “Would you like another wine or something different?”

“A raspberry gin would be nice,” I smiled, watching as he headed straight to the bar and be served by a chipper, older man who leaned across the bar to clap him across the back heartily. When Mason came back, he was nursing a whiskey and carrying a fruity drink in a gin glass. I smirked at him, the glass looked so tiny in his hand and it looked like the last thing he would be carrying.

I took a sip when he passed it to me and sighed with contempt. I loved raspberry gin. I could immediately feel the refreshing hint of raspberries float down my body, and the alcohol float straight to my head.

“It’s a double, is that okay?”

I gave him a wry smile, “Well what’s the point in a single?”

He chortled and held up his glass in a cheers, “To a wonderful first date,” He began as I clinked my glass with his, “I hope you’ve enjoyed yourself, I don’t do this often...or at all really.”

I grinned at him, “You must be having me on?”

Mason took a large gulp from his drink, without so much as a shudder, “No, I don’t date, I’ve been...waiting.”

“Waiting for?” I pressed, my stomach in knots for a reason I couldn’t quite decipher.

Mason had a look on his face that almost made me think he was about to say ‘you’, but he frowned and finished the remainder of his drink, “For the one I suppose. I’m going to get a refill.”

I watched him leave back to the bar and bit my lip in frustration.The one?The one really?Did he think I was somehowthe one?I shook my head, there was no way that once he knew about my past, knew about Dan, knew that I was basically damaged goods that he would think I wasthe one.The realisation sent a jolt of dismay straight to my gut and my happy mood was destroyed. I could feel the tears in my eyes begin to well and I gritted my teeth, I had not cried over a man in a year and I was not about to start now. I blinked them back and placed a false smile on my face as Mason returned.

I was not the one.

But it was a step in the right direction.

And I’d be damned if I was about to cut this date short without a few more gins first.