it?”
“No, I guess not.” I looked out toward the street, smoking the cigarette he’d given me.
We continued on in easy silence and I was glad. Any moment he would ask more questions about me and I had no idea how to answer any of them. I didn’t know if I wanted to answer any of them.
“Are you from California?” Mason asked, turning toward me.
I should be a mind reader. “No. I’m from Florida.”
“Conversations usually aren’t this difficult for me,” he laughed.
“I’m sorry okay? There’s just a lot of shit going on in my life right now and I don’t know why I’m telling you that but I am. Things are just screwed up and I don’t want to involve anyone else.”
Mason stared me down with those damn green eyes that didn’t have any effect on me until that moment. It was a genuine, worried look; something I hadn’t seen directed at me in a long time.
“We all need a little help or a push in the right direction every now and then.”
“You helped me already, Mason.” I sighed and began to stub the toe of my shoe against the pavement.
“The only one setting limits on my help here…is you, Fallyn. I’m not offering any sort of unfair judgment, just help.”
I had no idea what he had found out about me on his own. For all I knew, he’d bribed Jill for information. It sure sounded as if he knew more than he was letting on. “Why do you want to help me so fucking much? Truthfully.”
Mason pushed off from the back wall of the building and paced around in the alley a bit. “Truthfully, I can’t give you an exact reason. That’s irrelevant in the end because I’m going to anyway.” He stopped his pacing directly in front of me. “I hope you enjoy the show tonight. I’ve got some shit to do after but you should meet me tomorrow, in front of the same place I saw you earlier today.”
My shoulders slumped in defeat. “What time?”
“Noon, we’ll grab some lunch.” He squeezed my chin between his thumb and index finger before yanking the back door open and disappearing inside.
Oddly enough I did enjoy the show that night. I let my guard down a little and danced with the bouncer, who was named Tony. I asked his name and even smiled at him once or twice. It wasn’t the fact that Mason was going to try and help; it was more that he wanted to know more about me and I would actually have someone to talk to.
* * *
The next day I met Mason in the same spot he’d asked me to. My backpack was slung over my shoulder, holding everything I owned. Usually I would get lucky and stash it at someone’s place or leave it in a locker at the shelter. Unfortunately, all the lockers and beds were taken when I’d gotten to the shelter the night before.
Part of me hoped lunch would be somewhere with a drive thru and so many people, no one would notice me. I was wrong.
“I look like shit, I can’t go in there,” I said pointing at the café in front of me. There were far too many fake breasts and little purse sized dogs on the patio for my liking.
“Fuck them,” Mason said, pulling me up to the podium. “We’re paying customers, don’t worry about it.”
The hostess gave me a shitty look but I glared at her extra hard for good measure as she showed us our table. Mason actually waited for me to sit before sitting himself. I didn’t think men did that anymore. Had he tried to order for me, I would have punched him in the nose.
“Did you have a good time last night?” he asked, taking a sip of the ice water sitting before us on the table.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this but, I had the best time I’ve had in a while. It’s shocking.”
Mason looked away from me to the backpack propped up against my feet. “Fallyn, we need to talk. You can roll your eyes but I’m going to tell you anyway.”
Jesus, he acted like he knew me or something. I reconsidered my trigger for punching him in the nose.
He continued in my silence. “I know you don’t have anywhere to go.”
My eyes doubled in size, I could feel them. I didn’t think he would mention my apparent homelessness. “What else do you think you know about me, huh?” I spat, earning a