Wait, what the hell was I thinking?
He was a prisoner. I shouldn’t want him. It was insane.
But the truth is the truth.
Mason Evercore.
Just then, the phone rang.
It was so unexpected that I blinked in confusion, cocking my head to the side, trying to figure out what was going on. Only after the third or fourth ring did I leap forwards, grabbing the phone off my desk.
Oh no.
It was Jim.
I stared at his name on the screen. Why was he calling me?
My heart felt like it had turned to stone, threatening to drop to the ground. Jim was just a shadow of a man compared to Mason. Deep down, I knew he was the right choice, but at the same time, trying to force myself to be attracted to him was like pulling teeth. The man was a wet noodle while Mason was a live wire. They didn’t even compare.
Still, I couldn’t just ignore the call. That’d be rude.
Besides, Jim was a good guy and I didn’t want to be the bitchy lady.
So here goes.
“Hello?” I answered in a chipper tone.
“Hey Laney,” came that meek tone.
Oh god, here he goes with his milquetoast shit. Seriously, the guy was almost thirty and he was as timid as a four-year-old. It was damn annoying.
“How was your day?” he asked, voice luttery.
I rolled my eyes. It was always the same old routine. Jim would call, ask about my day, but not wait for the answer. He’d then dive into his own day, droning on and on about his work at the vet clinic or how he just beat a new level on some video game.
“It was good,” I said, keeping my answer short. After all, I wasn’t going to tell him what I had done in the bathroom with Mason. A pang of guilt stabbed into my chest. Had I cheated? Couldn’t be right? We weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend after all.
But maybe I had.
Oh god.
This was so confusing.
And yet my pussy sizzled, just thinking of Mason again.
Jim’s voice interrupted.
“Oh?” he asked like a chipper squirrel. “What’d you do?”
I nearly moaned just at the memory. But that would never do, so swallowing heavily, I smiled wanly into the receiver.
“Um, you know … work stuff. Did a bit of writing and then went down to San Nemo.”
“That was today?” he asked. I could almost hear the frown in his voice.
“Yes.”
Jim was quiet for a moment. I remembered his comments about the prison the last time we went on a date. He wasn’t thrilled by the idea of me working at a correctional facility, and I appreciated the concern.
But honestly, it wasn’t his choice to make. This is my life, and I’m a free woman. Besides, it was more than just literacy and a prison newspaper. There was Mason Evercore, and my soul thrilled at the memory.
“They treating you alright over there?” he asked mildly.
More than alright, I thought silently. More than you could ever imagine.
But Jim’s voice went on, without waiting for an answer.
“No one’s tried to do anything bad, have they?” he asked with a frown. “They haven’t been reprobates and degenerates, have they?”
Reprobates and degenerates? The words were so hoity-toity that I almost laughed.
“No,” I answered with as much gravity as I could manage. “Everything’s been fine, thanks.”
Of course, I had no idea why he was asking. It’s not like if someone had tried to hurt me, Jim would be able to do anything about it. With his scrawny frame, he’d be snapped in half the second he walked inside. Mason was twice his weight, and a head taller, come to think of it.
“That’s good. I’m glad,” he said with a relieved sigh. “Real glad to hear, Laney.”
“Mmm,” I murmured noncomitally. “What about you?” I asked. “What’s been going on with you?”
Immediately, I regretted the question. Because it was a sure-fire way of opening a Pandora’s box of nonsense. If Jim was good at anything, it was running his mouth. I swear, he loved to hear himself talk, whether about his day, his car, his apartment, or his video games. Sometimes, I wondered if he wasn’t a bit of an egomaniac under the play-dough exterior.
“Well, I went to work. We had a few stray dogs brought in. They were in pretty bad shape, but with a little TLC, they’ll be adopted soon. Oh, and there was this cute little kitten who got stuck in a drain pipe. You should’ve seen her. I was tempted to bring her home with me, but as it turns out, she already had a family. Her owner, a sweet ten-year-old girl, was so happy to see her cat. It was so heartwarming. Just another reason to love my job.…”
Jim continued to ramble, but I stopped listening, putting him on speaker.
With his voice babbling on and on, I walked into the kitchen and put the kettle on to boil. Maybe some caffeine would do me good. It’d give me the boost to get through this phone call, that was for sure.