Page 10 of Fun and Games

"What?" Mason asked.

"Nothing," I replied. "Right now, I'm a front desk admin at a tech company."

"Is it one of those trendy start-ups?" he asked.

"They're more the stuffy suit-and-tie type."

"Less Snapchat, more IBM?" he guessed.

"Exactly."

"I hope you're getting stock options."

"No stock options, I'm afraid," I replied. "It's a temp position for only a few months, filling in for someone's parental leave."

Mason switched the leash from his right hand to his left and sidled up closer to me. The dogs acted as a furry barrier between us.

"And how are you enjoying that?" he asked.

I lifted a shoulder. "It pays the bills for now."

"Do you have other plans after this job?" he asked.

I hesitated, not knowing how to answer. My plan was to have no plan. To take things one day at a time. I never knew where I was going to be in a few month's time, and I preferred it that way.

"Don't most people have grander plans?" I asked, deflecting. "Do you dream of being a bartender forever?"

"I'm actually not a bartender," he said.

"You're not?" I asked. "But you do work there, right?" It wouldn't have made sense for him to intervene with the trivia game if he wasn't an employee.

"I'm the manager," he replied.

"So it's your job to deal with all the angry customers?" I asked.

"Pretty much." Mason shrugged, bringing my attention to his shoulders.

I knew his upper arms were muscled even through his long sleeve shirt. I'd felt them myself, strong and inviting.

My eyes drifted to his chest, lingering on the skin exposed at the collar of his shirt. Those three undone buttons gave me just enough of a peek to make my belly heat up. I resisted the urge to reach out and lift his shirt up, to run my hands all over his bare chest and prove it was just as firm as I remembered. But I didn't think Mason would appreciate being felt up in public.

"I've only been working there for a few months," Mason spoke up, breaking through the fog of my lust-riddled brain. "My best friend hired me to run everything. He and his older brother own the bar."

"So it was nepotism," I teased with a nudge of my elbow in his ribs. It was an innocent touch, but it still made my stomach stir.

"You could call it that, I guess," he chuckled. "I'm still learning the ropes. But I think I'm doing a good job so far."

"If you're the manager, then you didn't get in trouble for giving me a free drink?"

"Were you worried about that?" he asked.

"I had hoped your boss wouldn't give you a hard time about it."

"I don't mind giving out free drinks," he said. "I like to keep customers happy."

"Did you think I was going to start making a scene?" I asked.

"It crossed my mind, at first," he said. "But then I started talking to you."