Three and Out

  “The only thing beneath me is you, so best you mosey the fuck out of here.” Mason scurried his fingers in front of him, showing Piper exactly what he wanted her to do.

  Instead of listening to the annoying prick, she put her car in park, got out of the car, grabbed both of his crutches, and put them in the back of her car.

  “Hey, what the hell are you doing? You’re going to get fucking whore dust all over those and they’re going to leave me too…”

  “Ha, ha, Mason. I’m a skank, I’m a whore, I’ve heard it all. Try something new and get in the damn car.”

  “Hooker?” Mason asked, still leaning back.

  “You can do better,” Piper said, as she stood over him with her arms crossed.

  Mason looked to the sky as if he was deep in thought, and when he looked back at her, his eyes lit up as if he’d come up with the best name ever.

  Licking his lips, he smiled and said, “Satan’s slut?”

  Nodding her head, she said, “Yup, that’s me. Satan’s slut. I visit him once a month to report on my accomplishments, and he pays me in hot and heavy slaps to the ass in his sex dungeon. It’s fucking hotter than hell. You’ll never know that kind of pleasure until you’re slapped on the ass by the devil.”

  A small….very small smile twitched the corner of Mason’s mouth as he said, “You always liked being slapped on the ass.”

  Blushing, Piper let the comment roll off of her and bent down to help Mason up.

  “I don’t need your help,” Mason snapped his body away, instantly ending the somewhat-disturbing but semi-cheerful conversation they were having.

  “Stop being a stubborn fuck. I know Jake and Lexi aren’t home, and that’s where you’re staying. You’re not crutching all the way back to their house, so get in the damn car.” Piper really didn’t know any of that, she just assumed, but she was getting tired of the little game they were playing.

  “Fucking nag,” Mason said, as he struggled to get up. Piper tried to help him, but he pulled away. “I got this,” he said, as he grabbed ahold of a little tree to help him up. Once he pulled on the tree, his muscular build pulled the damn thing right out of the ground, making him fly back on the grass. A very un-ladylike snort came out of Piper’s mouth as she watched the bewildered Mason try to grasp what just happened as he held the lifeless tree in the air.

  Growing frustrated, Mason, tossed the little tree to the side, held out his hand, and said, “Just fucking help me up already.”

  Trying to stop the giggles that threatened to burst out of her, she grabbed ahold of Mason and helped him into her car. She tried to ignore the muscles that were flexing under her hand as she held onto his side and the masculine soap smell radiating off his body as she helped him.

  Piper led him to her car and got him settled in the passenger seat. Jake and Lexi’s place wasn’t that far away, but for a stubborn man on crutches throwing a hissy fit, it seemed like ten miles.

  They sat in silence as Piper drove to the beach house, neither one of them striking up conversation. Once they arrived, Piper grabbed Mason’s crutches from the back and helped him out of the passenger seat. He was reluctant, but when he lost his balance from trying to rush out of her car, she steadied him, and he allowed it.

  Small victory for her.

  Following him up to Jake and Lexi’s place, she waited for him to pull out a key from his pocket. Once he got the door unlocked, he said, “You can go now.”

  Not entirely the thank you she was expecting, but she guessed she shouldn’t have thought he would have been grateful. He was, by far, the most stubborn man she had ever met.

  “Can you get yourself settled in there?”

  “I’m not incapable of taking care of myself. I’ll be fine,” Mason retorted with a testy tone.

  Piper fired back, “Oh, is that right? Because last I saw, you were yelling at your crutches in the middle of someone’s yard while sitting on the grass. That doesn’t speak to me of you being able to take care of yourself.”

  “Fuck off…”

  And there it was, Piper thought, Mason’s instant brush off.

  She watched as his back retreated into the house, watched him toss his crutches to the side, and watched him land his bulky body on the couch. He draped his arm over his face and let out an exasperated breath. His position gave Piper the opportunity to take in his body. Even three months later, she felt this indescribable pull toward him, like she needed to breathe the same air as him or she might fall apart.

  He was just as moody, just as ornery, and just as handsome as three months ago. Damn him, she thought as she teetered between walking into the house to help him and just leaving him and trying to extract the memory of the man from her mind forever. After looking at him one more time, she knew the latter wasn’t an option, so she stepped in the house, closed the door, and headed to the kitchen. Mason went to the bistro to eat some food, and he didn’t get any, so he must be hungry. She would make him some food, and then leave…

  **Hannah**

  It had been a couple of days since Hannah texted Ryker and put herself out there, something she very rarely did. She hadn’t heard anything, so the balls that she’d strapped on to text Ryker had shriveled up and buried themselves as far into her body as possible. No response from Ryker had her feeling embarrassed for saying anything to him at all. She should have sensed his moody attitude towards her in the grocery store and taken the hint to back off, but she couldn’t. Her life was plummeting big time, especially in the last couple of months, and when she saw Ryker, it was like there was a little bit of light peeking through the sludge of her life. She needed to hold onto that feeling she got from being near him and milk it for all it was worth. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much milk, because she was still lonely and embarrassed without a word from Ryker.

  “Are you ready?” Leela asked as she sidled up next to Hannah who was sitting on a bench outside of the shoe store Leela was shopping in.

  “Yeah, did you get the shoes?”

  Leela held up the bag with a bright smile. “I did, I think my date is going to love them tonight.”

  “Date?” Hannah cheered up. “You didn’t tell me you had a date. Tell me all about it. Who is he?”

  Leela shook her head. “No, no, no. No details. All you get to know is that I have a date and these are the shoes I’ll be wearing.”

  “What?” Hannah asked shocked. “Why aren’t you telling me anything? I tell you all about my pathetic romantic life.”

  Leela patted Hannah’s face and said, “Well, yes, but that’s your choice, and it’s not pathetic. It’s just on…uh, what’s the word?”

  “Hiatus?”

  Scrunching her nose, Leela looked at her and repeated the word, “Hi-a-tus?”

  “Yes, like a break.”

  “Ahh,” Leela said, as understanding set in. “I’m still learning all the words,” she said with her cute accent.

  “And you’re doing a great job. If it wasn’t for your hot accent, I’d forget that you’re even from Italy.”

  “Now, don’t say that,” Leela said with a smile. “I need to make sure I keep my roots while I’m here in America.”

  Hannah laughed at Leela’s accent.

  “Now, tell me,” Leela said, “What is going on with that Ryker boy and you? I thought you ran into him in the grocery store and talked.”

  “We did,” Hannah huffed out as they walked around in the mall. “I kind of put myself out there, let him know that I missed him, and that I was sorry, but he didn’t respond. I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me. I was such a hot mess back then. I mean, I still am now, but I at least have a clear head on my shoulders, unlike back then. I was so confused and so insistent upon proving everyone wrong about my relationship with Todd and working things out with him that I hurt the one person who had been nothing but kind and sweet to me.”

  “Maybe you tell him that,” Leela suggested.

  “Believe me, I want to, but he won’t listen to me. He’s
too hurt.”

  “You never know until you try.” Leela stopped in front of Victoria’s Secret and raised her eyebrows. “Oh, do I have an idea,” she smirked.

  Hannah didn’t like the look on Leela’s face.

  Grabbing Hannah’s hand, she dragged her into the store and said, “We need to make you feel good inside and out. This way, when you go to see Ryker, he won’t be able to help listening to you because you’re going to look and feel smoking hot.”

  “Smoking hot?” Hannah asked. “But I never look smoking hot; I’m more the girl next door. You know, Keds and sweater sets, nothing like that,” Hannah said while pointing to the itty bitty bra Leela was holding up while wiggling her eyebrows.

  “Well, you’re going to make a little change, girl. Time to toss those shoes to the side and put on some heels,” Leela said, while pointing to Hannah’s red Keds. “It’s time we win that man back.”

  “Oh, God…”

  **Mason**

  Once the front door clicked shut, Mason let out a long breath that he’d been holding in ever since Piper spotted him throwing a temper tantrum on the side of the road. He hated that he let her help him, but in his current state, he didn’t have an option, especially since Lexi and Jake already left and he was a pathetic mess, who couldn’t crutch his way back to the house.

  Fucking pride.

  Thinking back to seeing Piper had Mason’s body reeling. She was so damn beautiful, it pained him to be near her. He wished that she didn’t have such an effect on him, especially after all the bullshit she put him through, but he couldn’t help it. When she was around, she pulled him toward her; there was no stopping his body.

  Secretly, when she was helping him to the car, he inhaled her scent of vanilla and lavender, the same scent that had played with his mind for the last couple of months. He was a sucker where Piper was concerned. He thought he could stand his ground against her, but after being near her for such a short time, he could feel the wall he put up around his heart start to break down piece by piece. She was his ultimate crutch, the one who could make him or break him.

  A loud crash came from the kitchen, making Mason jackknife off the couch and hold up one of his crutches in defense.

  “Who the fuck is there?” Mason called out, as he continued to hold out his crutch and hop over to the kitchen.

  When he got to the kitchen, he saw a head full of bright red hair bending over and picking up a cutting board from the ground.

  “What the hell are you doing here? I thought you left,” Mason said, as he lowered the crutch, realizing he was trying to use it as a bullet-less gun.

  Piper eyed his crutch and laughed as she picked up the cutting board and set it on the counter. She nodded toward the crutch and said, “That’s one lethal weapon you have there.”

  Mason cleared his throat and stuck the crutch under his arm to help support his body. Ignoring her jab, he said, “I asked you a question.”

  “Oh, that’s right,” she said with her hand on her hip. “I forgot that you’re a giant ass who can’t seem to have any fun.”

  Looking her up and down while biting his bottom lip, he said, “You know better than anyone I know how to have fun.”

  Instantly, her face blushed from his offhanded comment. Satisfied with himself, he pushed past her on his one crutch and went further into the kitchen to grab some water. When his crutch slipped on something on the ground, he flew back and was about to hit the ground when Piper put a stop to his fall by pushing on his back. He was much bigger than she was, so he was surprised she was able to push him up.

  “Go sit down,” she demanded.

  “I’m fine!” Mason shouted, as he tore into the fridge and grabbed a water, as he tried to calm down from the embarrassment rushing through his body from slipping. He hated feeling inferior, useless, like he couldn’t take care of himself at all. He was a strong man, and right now, he felt anything but strong.

  “You don’t look fine. Why can’t you just set your pride aside for one second and let someone help you?”

  Mason turned around and leaned against the counter as he took a sip of his water. “I don’t have a problem with people helping me. If I did, I wouldn’t be at Jake and Lexi’s house. What I have a problem with is you helping me.”

  Piper nodded her head and replied, “I deserve that. I fucked you over and you’re pissed. I get that, but right now, I’m the only one here, and according to Jake’s schedule, he won’t be back in town until Sunday night…meaning you’re alone for the next five days.”

  “Yeah, so…” Mason said indignantly.

  “So…you need someone to help you,” Piper dragged out.

  Mason eyed Piper for a second, and then threw his head back and laughed. Really laughed.

  When he was able to control himself, he looked at Piper and said, “And you think you’re going to help me?”

  “Who else is going to do it?”

  Shaking his head, Mason said, “I’d rather army crawl my way around San Diego to my appointments and to get food than to have you take care of me. Fuck knows if you’re in charge, you’ll end up chewing my dick off and fucking feeding it to the seagulls outside.”

  Piper’s eyebrow rose as she said, “That makes no sense. Face it, Mason, you’re fucked without me.”

  Trying not to show a tell, Mason kept a straight face. She was right. He had a physical therapy appointment on Friday that he needed to go to and had no one to help him in and out of the building, let alone get him there. He’d proven to himself today that he was incapable of doing anything on his own. Why did he think coming to San Diego was a good idea? Probably because he wanted nothing to do with Denver right now; it just reminded him of the season he was no longer a part of.

  She just stood in front of him with her arms crossed as if she knew it all. Cocky bitch.

  “Fuck,” Mason said under his breath, making her smile up at him.

  “I’m glad you realize you actually need help. Now, go sit down and I’ll make you lunch. I’m sure you’re hungry.”

  “Like fucking hell you’re going to make me lunch. You’ll poison it; I’m not a jackass.”

  Quirking her lip, Piper said, “You really think I’m going to poison you? What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “I’ve been burned before. I’m not taking any chances.” Mason reached behind her, opened a cupboard, took out a package of beef jerky, and said, “This will do me just fine.” He ripped the bag open and shoved some jerky in his mouth as he looked at Piper, chowing down.

  “You’re a pig.”

  “You’re the devil.”

  They stared each other down, as Mason continued to chew on the beef jerky, making God-awful chewing noises to grate on her nerves. By the way her eye began to twitch, he knew he was getting to her.

  Finally giving up, Piper threw her hands in the air and said, “Fine, I’ll just make myself lunch and you can watch me eat it.”

  “Fine,” Mason said defiantly.

  Lying down on the couch, making sure there was no room for Piper to join him, he listened to her clang around in the kitchen. His beef jerky was good, but the moment he started to smell grilled cheese and soup, his stomach was roaring.

  “Damn, bitch,” Mason muttered. She knew what she was doing, tempting him with her grilled cheese skills; well, he wasn’t going to fall for it, no way in hell.

  Piper appeared in the living room with a tray full of grilled cheese and a huge bowl of piping hot tomato soup. The aromas were twisting knots in Mason’s hungry stomach, but he averted his eyes from the delectable treats.

  “Just want to enjoy the view outside while I eat my lunch, hope you don’t mind,” Piper said with a condescending smile. Damn her. He either wanted to rip that smile off her face and teach her a lesson or pull her to the ground and kiss her smile until she kissed him back. There was something seriously wrong with him. Not only was his stomach in for a ride, but his emotions seemed to have jumped on a roller coaster today as well.

/>   Licking her lips and taking a gooey bite into the grilled cheese, Piper moaned as she started to chew the lunch staple. Mason’s stomach growled at the sight of the cheesy goodness and the woman who was eating it.

  Slowly, his control was slipping as she dipped the sandwich into the soup.

  “Wow, this is so good. I think using the four slices of cheese on these sandwiches was a good idea…”

  “You’re a fucking bitch,” Mason said as he leaned over, grabbed the tray, and put it on his lap. He dove into the sandwiches and started dunking them left and right into the soup, while shoving them in his mouth like a maniac.

  He caught a glance of Piper as triangles of grilled cheese were flying down his gullet, and she was smiling ear to ear. She might have won this round, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to win the next.

  Chapter Seven

  **Ryker**

  “What are you going to do tonight?” Jesse asked Ryker, as they both put on their shirts. Practice was brutal, given the fact that Mason was out of commission and Ryker was the only one really able to catch Jesse’s throws. The other receivers were alright, but without Mason, Ryker knew he was going to be getting his ass handed to him.

  “Relaxing and drinking a beer. I was thinking about inviting Ashlin over for some dinner…and when I say invite her over for dinner, I mean asking her to make my sorry ass something to eat.”

  “I see,” Jesse said as he turned away, making Ryker smirk.

  It was so obvious that Jesse liked Ashlin, and kind of comical to Ryker that Jesse didn’t talk to him about it, so what else could Ryker do but push Jesse to his breaking point?

  “Yeah, she’s been coming over almost every night since Mason’s injury, making sure I’m fed and that my muscles are relaxed. She can give one hell of a massage, man. Last night’s massage was so good that I almost…”

  Jesse held up his hand and said, “Listen, I don’t really feel like hearing it, so just keep that shit to yourself.”