Chapter 23 #3
Without a word, and never releasing my hand, we climbed to the fourth floor.
Mason removed the key from my shaking fingers, unlocked the door, and let me in first. I flicked the light switch on, casting the room in a soft glow.
We sat side by side on the edge of my bed after we removed our jackets, and I kept my hands locked together between my thighs.
“Wanna tell me what’s going on? For real?” He stared at me, waiting for an explanation.
No way would I admit to him that Evan Nichols had cornered me and threatened me.
The last thing Mason needed was to be more at odds with his teammate and feel more pressured.
If Nichols realized I hadn’t said anything about his extra-curricular activities, then he would understand I wasn’t the enemy and wouldn’t make Mason pay on the field.
Yeah, it was better if I kept my mouth shut, for everyone’s sake.
“This customer was being an ass. I’m usually good at not letting patrons get to me, but tonight, for some reason, it just upset me more than usual. I’ll be all right.”
“Come here.” He lifted me up and set me over him until I straddled him, the position a little too intimate for two friends. He pushed my hair back and stared into my eyes. “Are you sure that’s all?”
I faked a tiny smile. “Yeah. I should go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a new day. Blank slate.”
His gaze roamed around the room. “Where’s Cassie?”
“Sleeping at Declan’s. He lives right across Hot Shot, and she sometimes crashes on his couch when she works early.”
“Got any more anonymous calls lately?”
“No. I’m almost never here, so if they’re still calling, I’m not aware.”
“Good.”
“Do you wanna see who arrived by mail yesterday?” I asked.
Mason nodded.
I reached behind him, beside my pillow, and presented him with Mason, the elephant.
“You kept it?” he asked, visibly shaken by the realization.
“Why would I have gotten rid of him? He was all I had left from you after everything. That and the hoodie you gave me. Mom sent it over after I asked her to.”
Mason rotated the stuffed animal between his fingers.
It was the one he had given me after my appendectomy.
“I’ve missed this little guy. Do you recall what you said out loud in front of your mother about his trunk being too big for his body that day?
It sounded like I had been feeding you my dick to help you heal.
She looked like she was about to faint.”
“Don’t remind me. I’m sure I traumatized her for life.” I hid my face against his shoulder. “I would be a terrible druggie.”
“I have to agree with you on this, Shepard. Nonetheless, you were very entertaining while on pain meds.”
“I made a fool of myself.”
“Nah. I thought you were adorable. That was the day I knew for sure I would never be able to ever walk away from you. That I knew how much you meant to me.”
I leaned back to look at him. “You’re telling the truth?”
“Yep. I was so afraid of losing you. You scared the shit out of me. The entire time you were in surgery, I thought I’d puke. It was the longest night of my life.”
I squeezed his arm. “I’m sorry I put you through that.”
“I’m not. If you hadn’t gotten sick that day, maybe we never would have become friends. Nurse Pierce gave me the opportunity to insert myself into your life and be there for you. Can I ask you a question, though? Why were you so angry with me that day at school?”
“You’ll think it’s silly.”
“Never. Tell me.”
I stared into the distance. “I saw you with Tanya. She was wrapped around you, and you two seemed very cozy together. I-I was a bit jealous.”
“Say it, Shepard. You fancied me back then.”
“I wasn’t—”
He laughed.
“Okay, fine. I did. I hated the idea you would get together with her after you saved me from Nathan’s assault.
I let myself believe we could be more, and then you were with her, and I don’t know…
I felt like I would never be good enough to be with someone like you or that you would never see me as more than the girl next door or Paige’s friend. ”
“Tanya was the one not good enough to be with me. She had never been. She’s the devil.
I hate her, her guts, and everything she represents.
You’re nothing like her, and it’s the best thing you could ever ask for.
Anyway, I didn’t want anything to do with her and wanted everything to do with you even back then. ”
“Do you…huh…do you want to maybe stay over?”
He cocked one eyebrow. “Shepard, you want us to share your tiny single bed?”
I shrugged. “Kinda. I’m not ready for you to go yet.”
“I’m never ready to leave you. Join the club. And how can I ever say no to you?”
We both chuckled.
“You’ll miss the team’s late dinner, though.”
“I see the guys twice a day almost every day. They’ll survive without me.” He lifted me and put me back on my feet. “Go get ready. I’ll warm up the bed.”
I snickered behind my fist. “I love the sound of it. I hate sleeping in cold sheets.”
I changed into a pair of eggplant-purple sweatpants and a yellow T-shirt while Mason discarded all his clothes, only his boxer briefs remaining.
We positioned ourselves on my too small for both of us mattress, and I relaxed against him, forgetting all about my face-off with Nichols tonight.
The guy spoke a big game, but I doubted he would jeopardize his entire future because of his sexual orientation.
He had no reason to fear me. I hadn’t even told Cassidy when we had dinner together because, after the initial shock, it felt wrong to gossip about it.
Mason’s body blanketed most of mine, even though his back pressed against the walls.
“Are you sure you’re comfy?” I asked him for the third time.
“I love playing hot dog with you, Shepard. I think it has become my new favorite thing about us.”
“Hot dog?”
“That’s how it feels right now. Like, you’re super tiny against me, and I take way too much space. I’m the bun to your sausage.”
“Well, I’m comfy, so I guess playing hot dog with you should be a favorite thing of mine too, then.”
His lips lingered on my neck before he pressed a soft kiss there. I smiled against my pillow. Minutes later, the sound of Mason’s steady breathing rocked me to sleep.