Free Full Court Press by Lolah Lace Page B

me.”
    “Sure, just for a minute.” I didn’t want to go but I felt bad about so many things. All my defenses were in the shop. I needed to pay the mechanic and pick them up so I could get back to my bitchy self.
    We eat and talked about things other than Mason. I was glad to be off that hot topic. I was just coming to terms with the fact that Mason was back in my life. I missed him and I wasn’t capable of letting him go, not yet anyway. If Mason would just rebuff me, ignore me or just disappear from my life. That would be the only way I could move on. I’m weak for him and it seems he is just as weak for me.
    Karen was cool. She was funny and she had a flip mouth. RJ was her oldest kid. He was twenty-two. She told me he was a man-whore. He had slept with the school nurse and two teachers while he was in high school. She told me he was a handful. Karen has a daughter that was sixteen named Masonia pronounced May-Sonia, which sounds like an African-American name to me. She was named after Mason. I wondered if Karen’s husband was black but I was to chicken to ask.
    Karen had RJ when she was eighteen. She told me she got knocked up by her high school boyfriend. They had a shotgun wedding and they have been together ever since.
    After we finished up Karen was going to meet me over at Mason’s construction company. I listened to Elizaveta’s Meant and felt even guiltier about my recent behavior with Mason. Were me and Mason meant to be or was I lying to myself?
     
     
    CHAPTER 6
     
     
    I pulled into a vacant parking spot in front of Rizza Construction. Karen was right behind me. She pulled into the spot right next to me. Mason’s black Maxima was parked out front. I had texted him before I left the restaurant to see if he was in the office or at one of his work sites. He was here at the office. I decided not to tell him I was coming or bringing his sister with me.
    We stepped into the office together and Mike was sitting behind the desk. He looked up and seemed unsurprised to see me but when he noticed Karen he perked up.
    “Karen.” Mike bucked his eyes. He stood for no apparent reason I could think of.
    “Mikey, where’s Mason?”
    “He’s in the lot. He looks good.” He assured Karen.
    “I’m here to see for myself.”
    “I would have called but we’ve been busy around here trying to play catch-up.”
    “It’s okay.”
    “So you used that address I gave you.” Mike glared at me and I glared right back. I still haven’t forgotten that motherfucker called me a black whore. He better pop those eyes back in his head.
    “Whatever works for Mason, works for me.” Karen said as she wrapped her arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. I half smiled. Why did I do that? “Hello, Mikey get on the fucking horn and call him in here.” She snipped.
    “Oh, okay.” Mike snapped out of the stupid trance he was in. He grabbed the walk ie-talkie off the desk and put it to his mouth. “Mason, come in, Mason, you’re needed in the office.” Mike sat down in his chair and waited for a response.
    A voice came over the walkie, it wasn’t Mason. “ Uncle Mike, he’s on a fork in the warehouse.” It was RJ’s voice.
    “Tell him, he has a visitor.”
    “Who?” RJ’s static voice bellowed out.
    “You know who. Just tell him to get over here.”
    “Sure thing, Uncle Mike. DeNiro!” RJ yelled out and the connection went dead. Did he say DeNiro?
    Mike sat the walkie-talkie down on the desk. Karen took a seat behind me. I decided to stay standing. I could see she was getting antsy. What they hell did they fight about to make her so worried? I mean they’re family so it couldn’t be that bad. I only have one brother and we’re close. We haven’t had a fight in our adult life. Not that I can remember.
    It was seven minutes before Mason came through the backroom door. I expected him to come through the front door but that would be stupid to walk all the way around the building. His eyes lit up as soon as