Where Would I Be Without You - By CJ Hawk Page 0,25

dull after I turn thirty."

He laughed with a soft sound and then held my face as he looked into my eyes. "Doubt it. But hey, if you need a support group in this new challenge, I'm up for it."

It was as if the gates of heaven opened up, and a spotlight shined down on him while angels sang, and heavenly music cued in. Therefore, I looked at him questioningly and asked. "Really? You want to help me be a better person?"

"Only if you do. I like you the way you are, and I googled you. Sorry, force of habit. Had a few crazy girlfriends in my past; you think your Steve guy is crazy, I can one up him. Besides I couldn't take you on Sunday to meet my parents if I didn't. House rules for all of us kids. Besides, I could do a little growing up on my own. Maybe we could help each other out."

I was shocked. Ok. Not about the Google thing because it was almost a prerequisite to dating anymore. Perhaps I would not be in so much trouble if I had done that with Steve. Admitting to crazy girlfriends didn't shock me because with his looks and the way he carries himself, I was sure he attracted everything, even the odd ones. It was the fact that he already wanted me to meet his parents. He talked about how formal his family was as we tried to create a diversion last night from other things. Talking family seemed to quickly cool both of us down. It felt good to be with a man whose family was as judgmental, competitive, and crazy as mine, although his did seem to have a lot more money and structure. I guess you don't have to be poor to be dysfunctional, rich people do it just as well.

"Hey Mason. I'm glad things are turning out much better for me. Only a week ago, things were a bit different."

He lifted me off the counter and set me on my feet. "We should probably try to find another distraction for a bit, before we get too excited again." I had to agree. I found him a bit too irresistible, and talking about life seems to put things back into perspective for us.

I grabbed his hand to pull him towards my front room to try out the new window seat cushion. He grabbed his tee shirt off the chair as we walked by. We sat down in the window seat facing each other and looked at each other in the face. I felt my demon girl side get bothered by the fact he put his shirt back on, as my mature woman side agreed, it was for the best.

"Your sister has good taste. It's soft, and I like the blue silky fabric."

"I told her that your favorite color is blue."

I looked at him inquisitively. "How did you know that?"

"Blue curtains, light blue couch, blue comforter and when I folded your laundry, most of your clothes were in shades of blue. My sisters told me that a woman's favorite color would show in her clothes and how she decorates. Having three sisters, I do learn a lot about women."

I laughed. "Then you are already broken in and know the game rules. Gosh, you're going to be an easy boyfriend. Wait here. I am going to grab some cushions to lean against instead of the wall."

I walked over to my couch to grab some decorative cushions off, and before I could turn back around to walk over to the window seat, Mason stood there right in front of me. He pulled my body into his, causing me to drop the pillows, and he started to kiss me. When he pulled back, he joked. "Not a good idea to bend over in front of me right now."

We both stood there staring at each other with an internal battle of taking this date so much further. Then I spoke. "Well, I'm not officially grown up until tomorrow."

He replied without hesitation. "Yet, something tells me we might want to wait a few more nights. You mean more to me than an overnight quickie."

"Really?" I was taken aback. A man was stopping me from being stupid.

"Besides. One day to thirty is just a day. If you really want to do the mature thing, not that I do, but I know it will be better for both of us if we did, then waiting a few more days would