Chapter 119: Party like it’s 2022

Chapter 119: Party like it’s 2022

Supper actually smelled amazing. A dozen civilians were working on a feast, mostly using new supplies brought by the Sanctuary folks in magical storage. With people from practically everywhere in the world, the cuisine knowledge covered every continent and style you could think of. Competence and opinions, however, were just as varied...

Rosa and Adele got in a fight before the first course. Pretty soon half a dozen women were standing around arguing, Haley and Hank in the middle trying to calm them down, everyone else at tables or playing games in the entertainment hall as they waited.

Mason sat with Rebecca and her nurse friend Aila.

“So I hear you’re from...” Mason’s brain blanked. He felt a little embarrassment come on as he mostly just stared at the very slight, very pretty blonde.

“Finland,” Aila finally helped him and grinned.

“Right.” Mason cleared his throat and watched the girls exchange amused feminine looks he certainly wouldn’t be unpacking. “Don’t think I’ll pretend to know anything about that. Just another dumb American here.”

“Five and a half million people,” Blake exhaled as he answered from nearby. “Capital Helsinki. Stuck between Russia and Sweden on the Baltic Sea. Very nice pastries.”

Aila pulled back and stared, looking very impressed. Mason rolled his eyes.

“Have you been to Finnland?” she asked, raising her voice slightly to be heard over Rosa and Adele’s increasing shouting match.

“Unfortunately no,” Blake slid a little closer and smiled with his handsome, slightly punchable face. “And now I suppose I never will. But I’d love to hear all about it.”

Aila glanced at Rebecca, who shook her head.

“Sounds like you know everything anyway,” Aila said as Blake was sliding ever closer to her seat.

“Shouldn’t you be sorting out your feast?” Mason nodded at the red-faced pack of civilians now jabbing fingers in each other’s faces. “I’m hungry.” Streak whined with a slight growl beside his chair. “And so is my increasingly large and impatient wolf.”

Blake slid away from Aila with a wink and a sigh. “You’re right. Duty calls. And anyway I’m a taken man, so you really shouldn’t be flirting with me.”

Aila and Rebecca laughed, and Mason just shook his head as his brother wandered off towards the kitchen.Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com

“He’s quite the character,” Aila said when he was gone, and Mason blew out a breath.

“Yes he is. But at least he kept my childhood entertaining.”

“I bet.” Aila grinned and they had a few moments of comfortable silence before Rebecca jabbed her friend’s arm.

“So how’s your love life?”

Haley pursed her lips, put back her hair and met Mason’s eyes.

“A little. But they know I’m with you and I think they don’t talk to me about such things as much. He's not sleeping with civilian girls two at a time or anything, so that helps. And he listens to people.” She smiled a little.

“And of course everyone's pretty afraid of you, so they don’t say much. But I'll keep an eye on things.”

Mason was about to protest about why anyone should be scared of him, but he guessed he understood. “Thanks.” He grinned. “I can't believe I almost left you in the forest.”

She opened her mouth in mock offense and slapped his arm, then Rebecca was traipsing over glaring at them both drunkenly. “Get up here. Not you, Mason, it’s girls only!” she said, grabbing the Canadian and yanking her up with a little too much strength.

“Easy on the civilians!” Mason said, laughing a little as he watched the dance floor swell with practically twenty girls.

Then Rosa was beside him, looking stunning as usual even in an apocalypse-issued plain white dress. She met his eyes and smiled shyly, her hands somewhat awkwardly twined in her lap. It definitely wasn’t in character, and Mason was a bit surprised.

“I talked to Haley earlier,” she said, and Mason as usual decided it was best to keep his mouth shut. “She said if I wanted you I had to play nice with Rebecca.”

Mason just nodded, and a little of the girl’s expected fire flared in her eyes, but she clearly fought it down.

“So your girlfriends need to approve of me?”

He sighed. “They're more than that. We're like family. So yeah, they need to approve of you.”

Rosa’s war with her temper clearly continued, but again she fought it down.

“I'm not sure how I feel about that.”

“I get it,” Mason shrugged. “You don't have to do anything. I like you, Rosa, and I want to see a lot more of you. But that's just the deal. We’re sort of making this up as we go along, but so far that’s the only rule I know.”

Rosa nodded, clearly unsure but handling it well. Mason smiled and took her hand. “Whatever you decide, you saved my life. Just like you saved everyone from Sanctuary, whether they know it or not. You’re one of the most impressive people I’ve ever met. And you’re also so sexy it breaks my brain a little.”

He wasn’t sure why he said it, except it was true. And suddenly the idea of Rosa saying no and wanting nothing to do with him seemed like a deeply troubling possibility. Her eyes were a little watery, and he leaned in and kissed her on the lips, probably lingering longer than he should have.

When they finally separated Rosa let out a long breath and gave him a playful slap on the cheek. “Maybe if the orcs don’t kill you, we can talk.”

She stood to leave, and Mason smiled, not remotely hiding his stare as she turned.

“I’ll do my best.”