Why are you surprised? You saw their cars downstairs. I don’t appreciate the snark from my inner cheerleader when I’m in the middle of trying to figure this out.
“Short Stack!” Trav pauses in flipping burgers on the built-in grill to my right to wave with the spatula, and G holds a cup up in a toast while mixing drinks at the bar next to him.
“Took you guys long enough,” Alex comments, Kev agreeing with a nod when I look to my left. They’re both stretched out on lounge chairs with tan all-weather cushions surrounding a sunken hot tub.
“Eep,” Q squeals, almost dropping the plate she’s setting in front of one of the dozen chairs surrounding another massive rectangular table, this one in wrought-iron that matches the chairs around the jacuzzi. A large red umbrella is open to offer shade. “We’re all here now.”
CK is helping her set the table, placing different serving bowls filled with food in the free space available.
“How can you call yourself my best friend when you didn’t bring me one?” Em liberates my coffee from my hand, taking a sip before returning it.
“Uh…” My words putter off. Why does it seem like I’m the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on?
“You still haven’t told her?” Em asks Mase.
“No. Figured it might make more of an impact if I showed her.”
I’m at risk of catching flies with how my jaw drops open.
“Well what are you waiting for?” Q makes shooing motions with her hands. “Go, go.”
“Food won’t be ready for another ten,” Trav says, and Mase nods.
“Come on, Skit.” He takes my hand in his and leads me back inside.
We pass one of the biggest dining room tables I have ever seen in my life, and I’m obsessed with the gorgeous funky industrial light fixture above it.
The grandeur continues along with the tour: a chef’s dream kitchen, a laundry room, a bathroom, a handful of bedrooms. My confusion over what this all is only grows as I spot one of E’s jerseys framed on the wall, as well as an artfully done sepia action shot of Mase and the guys celebrating after the national championship.
Questions churn through my mind with each step we take up a glass-sided staircase. With all the natural light filtering in from the wall of windows, the glassed railings, and the loft-style second floor, the already impressive size of the apartment is amplified.
Befuddled from everything that’s happening, my mind doesn’t register the contents in the picture collages hanging on the walls as we walk by them. There are more rooms up here, but Mase ignores them, leading me down the long hallway to the opposite side of the apartment, coming to a stop at a closed door.
His chest rises and falls with a deep inhalation. His chin dips as he takes me in with a nervous glance before turning the knob, and then the door swings open to reveal what I assume is the master suite. A California king bed with a tufted smoke-colored headboard and footboard sits dead center, neatly made with black and white animal print bedding.
My head snaps around to where Mase has paused inside the doorway. The way his hands are tucked into the pockets of his shorts, the toe of his shoe worrying a spot on the floor in front of him, he looks…uncomfortable? Almost nervous, maybe. It’s a side of him I rarely see.
“I’m fine,” he says when I take a step in his direction. “Keep looking around.”
Like all the other rooms, the entire far wall is made of glass. A matching glass desk and black leather chair are positioned in the corner facing it with a cool round chair in the same smoke color as the bed a little farther down. I notice there’s a large dog bed and remember I also saw one downstairs.
Through the open doors, I can see two different walk-in closets. The curious thing about them, though, is that they are completely empty. The third open door in the room leads to one hell of an en suite bathroom, and I even notice a TV on the wall where the large jacuzzi tub is, perfect for long bubble baths.
Coming out of the bathroom, I stop in front of Mase, placing my hands on his hips and tilting my head back so I can see his striking seafoam green eyes.
“Mase…what is all this?” I wave my arm in a circle, indicating the apartment as a whole. “Why are we here?”