Page 10 of Forever Your Touch (Manwhore #4)

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Hey, babe!”

Jo sighed. This was the third time Ray had interrupted her.

And it would be the third time she’d had to start over on her Let’s Play of the new horror game her subscribers asked for.

It didn’t do to have the boyfriend talking in the background of one of her videos.

Not like he wanted to be on her show, anyway.

She’d tried several times to get him to do some quirky videos for Valentine’s Day or Christmas, but he just turned his nose up.

She got up and found him in their bedroom, packing for his week-long trip. He worked construction, and they’d be away on the job site.

“Yeah?”

He frowned, rummaging through a dresser drawer. “Why can’t I find my blue dress shirt?”

“What do you need a dress shirt for? I thought you were going to be on the site all day.”

“Because we might go out for drinks or something. I don’t want to wear work clothes.” He gave her a duh look.

It was her turn to frown. She didn’t know if she liked the thought of him going out for drinks with the guys…

guys she didn’t know. What if he…no. Ray would not cheat on her.

In the years they’d been together, he’d never cheated.

Not once. She’d trust him not to cheat now, even if he was four hours away around people who wouldn’t tell her if he was doing something he shouldn’t.

He’d earned that trust.

She went to the closet and found his shirt. “Here you go.”

“Thanks, babe.” He flashed her a smile and tucked the shirt in his suitcase. “Want to go out to dinner before I have to leave?”

This was the first time he’d asked her to go out since they’d arrived in New York. As much work as she had to do, a date night trumped it.

“That sounds awesome. Let me grab a shower, and I’ll be ready to go in half an hour?”

He nodded. “That works. Gives me time to finish packing.”

Jo rushed through her shower in record time, blew out her hair, and then dug through the dresser for a pair of nice jeans and blue lace top, a black tank under it.

She found Ray in the kitchen going through his phone. He looked up and whistled. “Looking good, babe. You ready?”

“Yeah. Where are we going?”

“Josh told me about this great burger place. Thought we could try it out. Make it a once a week kind of thing if I like it.”

“Sounds good.” She followed him out to the car, and they spent the next half hour talking about the new project his construction company was working on.

They were building a huge apartment complex.

Ray said it would end up being close to three months before it was finished.

Which meant she was going to be by herself for most of the next three months.

Well, damn.

They ended up at a place called Burgerz.

It was all brick and wood on the inside, where cozy tables and booths rested under soft lights.

It smelled delicious. The smoky air only heightened the atmosphere.

A waiter walked by holding a tray with a smoking pan.

So, that was where all the smoke came from.

Once they were seated, Jo dived into the menu. The place offered a large variety of burgers, but they had salads and other sandwiches as well. This could easily turn out to be a favorite spot of hers, even if Ray decided he disliked it.

“See anything you like?” Ray asked, taking a sip of his Dr. Pepper.

“What isn’t there to like?” She grinned, trying to decide on one thing. “It all sounds so good!”

“I’m getting the southwestern burger with onion rings. You want to try it too?”

“No. I don’t like barbeque on my burgers. I think I’m going to get the chicken club. I had a burger for lunch.”

“How’s school?” Ray asked after the waitress took their order.

“Harder than I thought.” Jo shook her head ruefully. “The coursework is drowning me. Makes me miss my old school. We never had this much to do.”

“NYU is a better university than the small college you went to in California. It’s bound to be harder, babe.”

“I guess.”

A loud group came in, and Jo turned to look. She spotted Mason right away. He and a group of friends had just entered. Jo started to wave but froze when she saw him slip his arm around a very pretty brunette. The girl giggled at whatever he said. Jo quickly turned back around.

It bothered her. It shouldn’t, but it did. Seeing him with another girl, all hugged up and laughing, caused a pain in her chest. One she knew shouldn’t be there, especially with her boyfriend sitting across from her. As hard as she tried to push the feeling away, it stubbornly clung to her.

“Hey, isn’t that your brother’s friend?” Ray asked, finally looking up from his phone. He gestured behind her.

She looked again, and sure enough, Mason and the brunette Barbie were still attached at the hip. This time Mason saw her. He grinned and waved. She tossed her hand in the air and waved back but couldn’t force a smile.

“Yeah, that’s Mason. Be nice if he comes over. He’s been really good to me.”

“You okay?” Ray asked, concerned. “You look ready to hurl.”

“I’m fine.” Her reply came out short and a little harder than she’d meant. “I just have a queasy stomach. Haven’t eaten in hours.”

Mason and his friends were seated two booths down from them, Mason facing her. She didn’t look at him. Instead, she focused on Ray. Like she should. He was her boyfriend, after all, and she loved him.

“Can I use the car while you’re gone? I need to go grocery shopping and do some errands.”

“No.” He put his phone down on the table. “I don’t want more miles put on it than necessary.”

“But, Ray…”

“No buts, Jo. I mean it. The less we use it, the less likely we’ll need to fix it.”

That made no sense. Things went bad on cars all the time, whether you drove them or not. Parts rusted. She wasn’t going to push the subject, though. It wasn’t worth the fight.

“Is there anything you need to pick up for the week before we head home?”

“Nah, I got everything.” He toyed with the napkin.

“What time do you leave?”

“Josh is picking me up at eight. We’re driving down to the hotel we’ll be staying in. We start work at nine in the morning. We’re building it from the ground up.”

“It sounds like a big job.” She risked a glance at Mason. He had his head buried in Barbie’s neck. Her stomach cramped. This should not be affecting her like this, but it was.

The arrival of their food pulled her attention away from Mason. Her appetite seemed to have fled as well. She picked at her food while she listened to Ray tell her all about the apartment complex and how excited everyone was to have a steady gig for the fall.

“You should eat more than that, Jo.” Ray nodded to her almost untouched meal. “It’ll settle your stomach.”

“I know, I just can’t bring myself to. I’m afraid I really might hurl.” Lies, but it was easier than admitting the truth, even to herself.

“You ready to go home?”

“Please.”

Ray called for their check and a to-go box for her food, saying she might get hungry later. She nodded, not really paying attention. All she wanted was to get out of here.

She felt him before she saw him. It was a sensation she’d gotten used to over the last few weeks.

It was odd, really, to know the moment when someone walked into a room or to feel them before they came into one’s line of sight.

She’d never experienced this with Ray, but it was like breathing when it came to Mason.

“Josephine, Ray.”

“Mason.” Ray’s smile was tight, and she rolled her eyes. Ray did not like Mason and hated that she spent time with him. She wasn’t too fond of Josh either, but she wasn’t rude to him like Ray tended to be toward Mason.

“You guys heading out?”

“Yeah. Jo’s not feeling well.”

“You okay?” Mason squatted so he could look her in the eye, his expression full of concern. “You were fine at lunch.”

“I think I have a stomach bug or something. It struck all at once.”

“That seriously sucks.” Mason moved out of the way so the waitress could set the check down.

Jo pulled her wallet out, glancing at the check. Taking out a twenty, she handed it to Ray, who did the same.

And it pissed Mason off. He tossed her money back to her and took out his own wallet to pay her half of the check.

“Mason…”

“Not a word, Josephine.” She glanced up at his hard tone. His eyes were glacial. “When you take a woman out, whether it’s your girlfriend, wife, sister, or friend, you damn well pay the bill. It’s disrespectful to make your woman pay half of it.”

Ray snarled at him. “This is none of your business, frat boy. Jo and I…”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m her FIBB, and that makes her my business. Does Keith know you make his little sister foot half the check? Wonder what he’ll say when I tell him.”

“Mason, please don’t.” Jo grabbed hold of his hand to get him to look at her. “I have enough problems without adding Keith to them. Please don’t tell him anything.”

His eyes softened a fraction when they looked at her. “ Moye dragotsennyy …”

“What the hell does that mean?” Ray’s fist curled.

“None of your fucking business.” Mason smiled, but it wasn’t at all friendly. His accent thickened as well, making Jo swallow hard. “All you need to know is if you don’t start treating her right, you won’t only have Keith to deal with, you’ll have me. And I guarantee you don’t want that.”

“Can both of you please tone down the testosterone?” Jo rubbed her temple, a headache starting to bloom. “I just want to go home. I’m tired, and I’m sick. I don’t feel like sitting here listening to two idiots growl at each other.”

With that, she got up and walked out of the restaurant.

She wanted to hit them both. For different reasons, but still, they’d both pissed her off.

Ray caught up to her by the time she reached the car. He didn’t say a single word, just unlocked the door and got in. The ride home was deathly quiet, but she didn’t care.

He barely said two words to her the rest of the evening. He picked up his suitcase and walked out when Josh pulled up, not even telling her goodbye.

Now that hurt.

Sure, Mason was an idiot and embarrassed Ray by paying her half of the bill, but to not tell her goodbye? That was just mean. She sank down on the couch, pulled her legs up, and rested her cheek on her knees. When had her life gotten so difficult? And painful?

Since that day Mason showed up on her front porch.

And it didn’t look like her life was going to get any less messy any time soon.

With that thought, she curled up on the couch and drifted off to sleep, her headache starting to pound right behind her eyes.