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long
draft from the bottle, her heart beating even faster. What she
wouldn’t give to be alone with Mason right now, without all the
other people getting in the way. Mason was staying with her for a
few days since he’d packed up his stuff and given up his apartment.
Knowing he was sleeping just outside her bedroom had been torture
the night before. He was leaving early Sunday morning, which gave
them tonight and tomorrow. Cassie wanted to spend as much time with
him as she could beforehand, and she was selfish when it came to
those last moments.
    Not that she had a right to be. Cassie
had no claims on Mason.
    So she sat back and watched him,
letting him have his time with everyone else. Her heart breaking at
the thought of him not being there to be her shoulder, her rock,
and her best friend, but she had to put on a brave face, just like
he would when he donned his uniform and faced danger for all their
freedom.
    He was a hero.
    He was her hero.
    Mason spun to look at her
again, and she thought she saw something pass across his face once
more. She turned away, breaking the stare. Damn Ashley, she’s put stupid ideas in my head.
    “ Come on, Cassie, you
can’t tell me you don’t see the way he looks at you. Why are you
being so thick headed?”
    Cassie glanced back to where he’d been
standing, but he was gone. She sighed, knowing she was being
absolutely ridiculous. “I’m his friend and that’s good
enough.”
    “ But it’s obvious that you
both want more,” Ashley argued.
    “ I’m not Mason’s type. I
never will be,” Cassie said. “There’s no point ruining what we
have.”
    Ashley’s gaze lifted and she leaned
back in her seat. “Hi Mason.”
    Cassie’s head spun around and she saw
Mason standing behind her. How long had he stood there? How much of
that had he heard? It was loud in there, so maybe he hadn’t heard a
word. From the dark look he gave her, she wasn’t sure.
    “ I’ll let you two chat.
You’ve surely got a lot to talk about,” Ashley said, rising to her
feet and giving Cassie a wink before hightailing it out of
there.
    “ What was that about?”
Mason asked as he sat down, a frown wrinkling his brow.
    “ Nothing,” Cassie said
quickly before lifting her beer to her suddenly parched lips. She
had no idea what he’d heard, or if he’d heard anything at
all.
    “ Tonight feels surreal,”
Mason said before taking a swig from his long-neck. He slowly set
the bottle back on the table and turned to look at her, his deep
brown gaze filled with melancholy.
    “ I know.” Cassie relaxed
some. Apparently he hadn’t heard or was choosing to ignore it. She
let out a sigh. “We’ve known you were going for weeks, but it still
doesn’t feel like it’s really happening.”
    Mason stared at her, a slight frown
twisting his handsome features. “You’ve been awfully quiet
tonight.”
    “ I’m just a little sad
you’re leaving,” she answered truthfully. Actually, that was a lie.
She was more than a little sad. She was brokenhearted.
    “ Is that why you’re
avoiding me?”
    Avoiding him? “I haven’t avoided you. I wanted you to be able
to tell everyone goodbye and not be in your way.”
    Mason stared at his hands
cradling the bottle for a moment, then lifted his gaze to pin her
with a look. “You’re never in my way.”
    “ I’m not?” The words came
out odd, the hitch in her throat making it hard to
speak.
    “ I’m not used to you
silent and sitting in a corner. I don’t like it.” Mason laid his
hand on hers and leaned closer. The heat of his hand leeched into
her body and she imagined what it would feel like to have that same
hand trailing over other parts of her body, his warmth surrounding
her. She closed her eyes and let his scent drift in, his spicy
aftershave and something else mixed in that was just clean, sexy
male. Mason’s scent—I’ll miss that,
too.
    Cassie opened her eyes and stared at
him, trying to burn the image of his face into her memory. His