Chapter 66: Chapter 31: Napa and the Elephant in the Room

Mason

I took hold of her wavy blonde hair, wrapping it around my hand, thrusting harder and faster as we both drew closer.

I was watching her in the floor-length mirror in the corner of the room, her expression of enjoyment every time I slammed into her from behind, and the way her breasts moved with every thrust.

I’d never expected to be doing this during my lunch break, but the opportunity presented itself, and I couldn’t resist.

Despite the two o’clock meeting that I was probably going to be late for, I couldn’t stop myself.

I reached my hand around, rubbing her clit and causing her to moan even louder. I was still holding her little black thong to the side of her toned ass with my other hand.

“Fuck!” I groaned, unable to contain how turned on I was to stop myself. I thrust with urgency and released my load into her.

The room was quiet, except for our ragged breathing. I lay down on the mattress next to her, taking the opportunity to catch my breath.

“Mmm!” she moaned. “That was so good! The best I’ve had in a long time, actually.” She chuckled at her comment, knowing that she was being cheeky. She then turned her body toward mine.

I turned my head and raised my eyebrows at her. “Is that so? I thought they’ve all been pretty great.” ~I’m an expert in the area of sex. She has to be putting me on.~

“Well, of course, every time we have sex is amazing. But I kinda like it when you’re a little rough with me. Plus, this was very spontaneous middle-of-the-day sex. I like middle-of-the-day sex!”

“I’ll put you in my calendar for my lunch hour every day this week then.” I smirked, then turned my head to look at her.

She lay on her stomach with her hair flowing to one side. I reached my hand over and touched it. “I like it blonde.”

“I wasn’t sure you would.” Jamie released an exasperated sigh. “I guess I just wanted a change. Carmen’s out of my life now, so I want a fresh start. A new Jamie!

“Speaking of a fresh start, I was thinking maybe you and I could plan for our future. You know, if we have one?”

“I’m not dying on you yet!” I replied, making light of what she’d said. I quickly realized that maybe I shouldn’t have. Women don’t like that.

“Well, I’m not dying on you either.” Jamie moved closer to me, folding her arms on my chest and looking at me. “I just want to know what’s next, basically.

“You know I’m a woman who likes to have a plan, Mason.”

“Clearly!” I chuckled. “Look, I’ve been meaning to bring this up with you anyway. Now seems like a good time since we’re on the subject.”

“What?” she asked, looking chirpier than before.

“I want you and Penelope to move in with me. The house is mine now, and we can move in as early as next week. It’s a big place with plenty of space, too big for just me. I think Penelope will like it.”

I couldn’t tell by the look on her face how she was feeling or what she was thinking. We were already living together, so I didn’t understand why she would be hesitant.

It was the right next step to make, in my opinion.

“Move in?” she asked and paused, thinking about her next words. “But what about my house?”

“You could sell it,” I replied, and she shook her head in a firm no. “Rent it out to someone. Ethan is staying here. Maybe he’d like to do that long-term.

“It would save him looking for somewhere else, so if you think about it, you’re doing him a favor.”

“I don’t know about taking money from a friend, Mason. That’d be a little awkward. Although I’m sure if I were to trust anyone with my home, I could trust him.”

“So, is that a yes?” I asked.

“Hmm…” Jamie smirked, keeping me waiting in suspense.

“Only on the condition you allow me to do all the decorating. I don’t want to be living in a bachelor pad with leather couches and artwork of naked women on the walls.”

“You can decorate. I’ll bring you up there during the week so you can see it for yourself.” I grabbed her bare ass in my hand. “We can christen the place while we’re up there.”

“But there’s no furniture,” she replied innocently.

“When has that ever stopped us?” I winked at her and pulled her on top.

Soon we were going at it for a second time. I just couldn’t resist her.

“We better make this a quick one. You’re making me late for my meeting.”

Jamie hovered her lips over mine, her naked chest pressing against my skin. “You’re the one that initiated this, not me!”

“You’re the one that’s tempting me.” As she sat on my cock, I moved my hands up her body and cupped her breasts.

I enjoyed watching her bounce on me for a further twenty minutes, definitely making me late for my meeting. But it was worth it!

The images of her stayed with me for the rest of the day.

***

Jamie

It was never my plan to join Mason, Penelope, and Harry on their trip to Napa, but they were pretty insistent that I join them.

Mason wanted me to go. He said I needed time away. The man was right!

~Another wedding~, I thought and arrived here surrounded by vines with a feeling of dread inside.

I liked the idea of being away with Mason for a couple of days, but I didn’t feel up to slapping on a smile for four days when I just wasn’t feeling up to it.

We were staying with his Uncle Sid and his wife while we were here. They were adamant that we stay with them since they have a huge house with lots of land surrounding it.

This was where the wedding would be anyway, so it made it more convenient.

Convenience is key when you have a child.

“How are your eyes, Jamie?” Barb asked from the other counter that was full of chopped-up fruits and vegetables.

It was only six of us for dinner, but apparently, Barb didn’t get the memo. “Are you okay to chop up another onion?”

“Sure, I can handle it!” I took the onion from her and started to chop.

Luckily, Mason’s family were all very welcoming and so nice, unlike my family to him. “So, is everything ready for the big day tomorrow?”

“Almost. The flowers are arriving in the morning as well as my two sons. It’ll be nice to have everyone together.” Barb took a pie from the oven and set it aside for dessert.

“How old are your sons?”

“Let me think…” She paused in thought. “Adam is thirty-two, he lives in LA, and he works in finance. Jeff is just shy of thirty. He lives in London, so we don’t get to see him very often.”

“You must miss them both! Tomorrow will be a nice reunion.” I placed the chopped-up onion into a bowl and set it beside her on the counter.

“Thanks, darling!” She smiled, grateful for the help, and continued with her preparations. “So, Harry mentioned that you had a wedding recently. I think he said it was a friend of yours.”

I knew I wouldn’t be able to escape the mention of the wedding and the mention of my used-to-be best friend. I wanted to close the subject as quickly as it came.

“It was my best friend, actually. I didn’t attend the wedding in the end. We had a falling out the night before.”

“That’s a shame.” She turned around and looked at me, her face full of curiosity. How could she not be? “It must’ve been hard for you not being there for her. Do you mind if I ask what happened?”

I paused in awkward silence, not knowing how best to reply, what words to say, or if I even wanted to say any.

Barb quickly sensed this. “You don’t have to. I shouldn’t be putting you on the spot like that. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay.” I folded my arms across my chest and walked toward the window. There was a view of the garden and the land they owned going far back.

“Her husband came onto me the night before their wedding, and she believed him and not me. She threw years of our friendship away for a serial cheater. Now she’s having his baby.”

“I’m so sorry!” She released a sigh. “Some people choose not to believe what’s right in front of them. Blinded by love, or perhaps what she thinks love is.”

“That’s what I said.” I smiled lightly at her and got back to looking out the window. The men were in the backyard, chatting among themselves while cooking meats on the barbecue.

“I’m surprised at him.” Barb tipped her head in Mason’s direction, where he was playing with Penelope on the grass.

“I never did picture him as the father type, but he’s good with her. He seems happy in himself.”

“I hope he is.” ~I don’t want to screw this up. I want to make him happy. I hope I’m making him happy enough to stay in my life.~

“Do you ever think you two will get married?” she asked. “It must cross your mind since you have Penelope.”

“He’s made it pretty clear that marriage isn’t something that he wants. It’s a miracle to get him to settle in the same house. I don’t want to push my luck.”

I walked toward the kitchen island and started to tidy all the onion peelings.

Barb followed after me with questions. “But what do you want? Do you want to marry him?”

“Of course I do. I didn’t think that marriage was something that I wanted, but I do. I want that now. He doesn’t.” I shrugged my shoulders. “It is what it is.”

“You shouldn’t settle for a life you don’t want, sweetheart.

“My nephew is a good guy, and it’s obvious that he’s madly in love with you, but if you want something and he wants something different, it’s going to cause a rift sooner or later.”

“I don’t know what I can do. I can’t ask him if he wants to marry me. I’ll just look like…” I paused mid-sentence after hearing a throat clear behind me, and I noticed Barb’s eyes go big and round.

I turned around, and of course, Mason was standing by the door to the kitchen.

~Just my luck! He heard every word, didn’t he?~

“Jamie and I were just chatting about girl stuff. What’s up, sweetheart? Your Uncle Sid didn’t burn the steaks, did he?” she asked him, trying to play it cool, but it was already too late.

“No, the steaks are good so far. He just wanted the marinade,” he replied, and Barb was quick to fetch it for him.

It was a little awkward and so obvious that he heard every word I said. With a jar of marinade in hand, Mason walked toward the door of the kitchen. “I’ll let you two get back to your girl talk then.”

He left, and I was blushing and completely embarrassed.

~Now he knows that the no marriage thing is an issue for me. I wonder, will he bring it up later? Or will it cause a rift between us like Barb warned?~

Mason didn’t bring up the conversation during dinner nor afterward when we were putting Penelope to bed. It’s likely that we will avoid the subject to avoid causing an issue between us.

Harry was on baby duty for an hour, giving us a break to be alone. I suspected Barb told him everything. Mason and I took a walk around the land as the sun began to set.

“It’s relaxing out here.” They were the first words he’d spoken since we’d started walking. He was trying to break the awkwardness between us.

“I didn’t think it would be your thing. You’re used to the city life.”

“I’m full of surprises.” He threw me a wink and continued to walk alongside me with his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans.

“This is exactly what I need, but I can’t work from somewhere like this. My place is in New York!”

We continued walking in silence for a further few minutes before we came to a bench by a tall oak. We sat next to each other, watching the sun setting.

It was supposed to be a relaxing moment for us both, and for my body, it was, but for my mind, it was a different story. It was the only part of me that wasn’t relaxed.

“What’s up, Jamie?” he asked. “I can tell when there’s something wrong.”

“Nothing. I’m fine!”

~Just let it go~, I willed inside. I didn’t have my big speech prepared yet. What to even say? I didn’t know.

Mason released a sigh and glanced around at our surroundings. “This is about the conversation I walked in on earlier today, isn’t it?” he asked, but I didn’t reply.

“I didn’t want to bring this up, but I don’t feel I have a choice now.”

“You told my family that you didn’t see marriage or more kids in your future.” I turned my head in his direction and looked at him. “That’s something you never discussed with me, Mason.”

“I didn’t see the point since we weren’t there yet in our relationship.”

“That kind of thing should be discussed at the beginning, so we both know what we want going into this. I want marriage and kids, and you don’t.”

It was off my chest. Now he knew what I wanted.

“Are you saying you wouldn’t have gone ahead with us if you knew that I didn’t want to get married in the future?” Mason asked, and I shrugged my shoulders.

I could tell that my shrug irritated him. “That’s just great, Jamie. You would really let that get in the way of us?”

He was acting like I was the one being selfish for wanting different from him.

In his eyes, I was selfish for not giving up what I wanted in life for him, and in my eyes, I was justified in feeling angry that he didn’t seem to love me enough to marry me.

“I just realized that I want to be married someday. I want a husband to come home to, and I want that security and commitment. I want more kids in the future. Isn’t that something that you want too?”

He stood up from the bench without a word and stood in front of me. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Honestly, I want you to tell me that you’ll marry me someday. If you love me as much as you say you do, then why is marriage completely off the table?”

“Because I don’t believe in it,” Mason snapped in the heat of the moment.

He turned away from me and released a sigh. I was struggling to understand him and his reasons. Why wouldn’t he believe in it?

“I’m sorry!”

He turned around and looked at me. “Can we just table this conversation for now?”

“Okay,” I replied because what else could I say or do? This conversation wasn’t going any further right now.

“Let’s head back. It’s getting cold.” Mason laced his fingers with mine, and we walked toward the house, through the rows of grapevines in silence with the big elephant between us called marriage.