6. Chapter Six

six

Chapter Six

Mason

Mason's stomach dropped to his toes. Are you serious? He started to slide away from Adam but he wasn't quick enough, and Drew burst into the room. Adam, still shirtless, rolled over, and there they were, caught cuddling post-sex in Mason's bed.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Drew's eyes went wide, his eyebrows so high they practically disappeared into his hairline.

"Drew? Is everything okay?" Linda appeared behind Drew in the doorway. "Oh!" She turned away quickly.

Drew burst out laughing. "Get your asses dressed and get out here." He closed the door as he left the room.

There was murmuring in the other room. Mason's nerves were on fire as he scrambled to get dressed. He scurried to find a t-shirt, clean boxers, and jeans in the dresser.

"What are they doing here?" Adam hissed. "I thought you said Mom told you it was going to be a few more days ."

"She did! I don't know what happened." Mason yanked some clothes out of Adam's suitcase and tossed them to him. "Get dressed. We have to go figure out what's going on."

They changed and made their way into the living room, Adam still hobbling but not as badly as the day before.

"Adam, what happened?" Linda said as soon as she laid eyes on him.

Adam shrugged and hopped to the couch. "It's nothing, Mom. I sprained my ankle is all. Mason's been a big help though."

From the kitchen, Drew snorted. "I bet he has."

"Mrs. Bowen—" Mason started, but Linda cut him off.

"Mason, you know better than to call me that. It's Linda."

Mason nodded and cleared his throat. "Linda, what, uh—what happened? I thought you said the Bozeman airport was closed and you expected Chicago to be shut down today."

Thomas Bowen was starting a fire in the fireplace. He stood and looked directly at Mason. Is he glaring at me? Shit! Oh wait, no. He's just … he looks angry. Or tired .

"Actually, Bozeman was closed until late last night but we managed to get a flight to Portland, and from Oregon we caught a red-eye flight this morning. We missed the storm, rented an SUV in Bozeman, and drove straight here. You weren't kidding, the roads are terrible. The main roads have been plowed, but getting up this mountain was dicey." Thomas went back to working at the fire.

Linda glanced to Thomas and then to the Christmas decorations. "Were you boys able to stay warm? Did you have enough to do?"

Once again, Drew laughed. "Mom, I'm sure they had plenty to do."

Adam shot his brother a glare and then looked back to his mom. "I cut the tree down yesterday, and we decorated all day. It was a lot of fun, actually."

Linda smiled. "Good. Now that Thomas is done with the fire, I think we'll go unpack and take a nap. Does anyone need anything?"

"No, ma'am," all three of the guys said in unison.

Thomas pointed to Drew. "Keep it down out here. Some of us didn't nap on the flight and sleep the whole drive here."

"And there are groceries in the car. Someone bring them in, please." Linda stood and scooped up her suitcase before heading into her bedroom, following her husband.

Mason stood. "I'll help with the groceries. Drew?"

Drew nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Of course Adam's figured out a way to avoid helping." He winked at Adam and grinned. "Be right back, little bro."

Mason slid his boots and coat on and followed Drew outside. They loaded their arms with groceries, talking as they did.

Drew didn't beat around the bush. "So, did you fuck my little brother or something?"

Mason's face heated. He knew it must have been bright red. "I, uh, not exactly. Sort of, I guess. We—"

Drew held up a hand with a grocery bag. "No, wait. I don't want to know the details. That's disgusting."

"Because it's two dudes, or because it's your brother?"

"My brother, man. I don't want to know about his sex life. Jesus." They went back inside and began putting groceries away. "Listen," Drew said, after a while. "It's gross, don't get me wrong, but if you and Adam …" He shrugged. "It's fine by me."

Mason tilted his head to one side. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Mason smiled and nodded, then looked at the floor. "Thanks. I really like him."

"Gross," Drew shot back, and snapped a hand towel in Mason's direction.

Adam stood up and started to make his way towards the kitchen. "Wait a second. Are you giving me away or something?"

Drew shrugged. "Sure am. Merry Christmas, Mase, you can have him."

Mason chuckled. "Thanks. I think I'll take you up on that." He reached for Adam and kissed him on the mouth quickly as Drew made gagging sounds behind them.

Without another word, Mason and Adam simultaneously flipped Drew off. When they parted, Mason nodded again, but he kept his gaze on Adam. "Thanks, bro. Merry Christmas to you, too."