Chapter Nine
Mason and Emery
Mason
Eventually we headed inside for the night.
I had told Emery he could make the final call about sleeping arrangements, and I had been honest—I would do whatever he felt most comfortable with.
That said, I was absolutely hoping he’d let me get in bed next to him and embrace these budding feelings.
I wanted to hold him, kiss him, and even touch him in ways I’d never considered before.
Once inside, I kissed him again. "Is this good night?"
Even in the dim light, his blush was evident. “I don’t want to sleep alone, if that’s what you’re asking.”
I grinned, the butterflies exploding in my stomach underscoring my nervousness. “Are you sure?”
“I am.”
I exhaled in a relieved rush. "In that case, I guess we should get some sleep. That roof isn’t going to repair itself."
Soon, we were in bed, Emery curled against me, one arm slung across my chest. I found myself listening to his soft breathing, enjoying the solid press of his body and his warmth, and it pulled me under in just minutes.
I woke with Emery still in my arms. He stirred soon after, groaning as he shifted around.
"Morning," I murmured.
He froze for a moment before relaxing back into my touch. "Morning."
"Everything okay?"
When he looked at me, his eyes were soft, matching the little smile on his face. "Yeah. I just forgot where we were for a second."
I nodded. “Understood."
He snuggled in and hummed softly. "We could just stay like this all day."
I chuckled. “Nice try, but I have a roof to repair."
He shrugged. "It’s tarped up. That’s good enough, right?"
“I don’t think that would fly for long.”
A deep sigh escaped him as he pulled away. Instantly, I ached for him. "Fine," he said. "Have it your way."
We got up and ready for the day and as I was downing a third bowl of cereal, Emery cleared his throat.
"So, do you think you’ll need my help today?"
I frowned, brows dipping. "You have something better to do?"
"I thought I’d get some things done inside. I need to do a lot of laundry to get the other bedrooms back online. I thought I might be more useful doing that than…" He pointed to the ceiling.
"Fair. Do you want to come to the hardware store to pick up supplies, or stay here and live out your domestic dreams?"
He laughed. "Fuck you. I’ll come along."
By late morning, I was on the roof, ripping up damaged shingles while Emery was inside doing whatever it was he needed to do.
It was a good opportunity to breathe, to think without him around, without the temptation of his body to distract me.
As I pried up shingles, I let my mind wander, replaying the last few days.
I’d kissed Emery. I’d liked it a lot more than I ever imagined I could.
And I was curious about taking things further.
I couldn’t help but wonder if it would be weird…
Touching, tasting, maybe even taking another man’s cock.
I wasn’t sure I was ready for any of it.
The more I thought about it, the surer I was that I at least wanted to try.
I wanted to explore, to push past what I knew.
I’d kissed him because I’d felt an undeniable pull between us, something I’d never felt with him before.
I wanted to learn more about that pull. Worst-case scenario, one of us didn’t like it and we’d go back to being friends. It would be fine. Probably.
I tried to stay focused on the roof, working mostly on muscle memory as I let my mind wander, thinking about Emery and his body.
***
Emery
While Mason worked on the roof, I cranked the music and grabbed a broom.
It didn’t take long for me to get into a groove and soon, I was sweeping the kitchen and rocking out, singing and dancing along to a high-energy tune blasting from my phone, safely in my pocket.
It was nice to be making progress on the house, and the satisfaction I got from seeing the floors get cleaner and cleaner was worth the effort.
Once I’d finished in the kitchen, I moved on to the living room before heading into the bathrooms and bedrooms to do the same.
Sweeping complete, I put the broom aside and moved on to scrubbing the kitchen thoroughly, using a bowl of warm, soapy water and a sponge to scrub the surfaces of the counters and table, clean off cabinets, anywhere I thought would benefit from at least a wipe down.
I bopped around, putting things where they belonged as much as possible without getting sidetracked.
The cabin had been left somewhat tidy in the fall when we’d packed up and headed home for the last time, but there was always room for improvement, especially post-tree.
I stood back and took a deep breath, proud of my work.
Mason had to be making progress of his own, based on the clatter I heard from above as he worked on ripping shingles from the roof.
I took a few minutes to strip the beds—the ones we’d put in the living room for safekeeping—and then I made my way to the laundry room, throwing the bed linens in the wash and putting a load of towels into the dryer.
Once the machine was running, I rummaged around in a cabinet until I found a bucket and a mop.
As I poured some cleaner into the bucket, I caught my thoughts wandering back to Mason, and to the way things had been shifting between us.
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I thought about kissing him, about how it was better than I’d ever thought a kiss could be.
The few times I’d imagined kissing another guy when I was younger, it had sat with me all wrong, but in real life, with Mason, everything was different.
The scrape of his stubble on my face didn’t hurt, it fired up my nerve endings in a way that made me ache for more.
His strong, firm body against mine was different from holding a woman, but not in a bad way.
I exhaled through my nose as I finished filling the bucket with hot water.
I wasn’t sure what had gotten into me. The thought of him kissing a guy back in college had lit something inside me, something deeply curious and maybe even a little jealous.
Something that made me want to go there, too.
And now that we had, I didn’t think I ever wanted to go back.
The water sloshed a little as I hauled the bucket out of the sink in the laundry room.
Once I was back in the living room, I began to mop, my back to the door as I worked.
Time went by quickly, and soon, I’d moved into the kitchen.
I was so focused on the music and the mopping that I didn’t notice the noise from above had stopped and Mason had come inside.
Not until he tapped me on the shoulder, anyway.
I started and let out a little shout in surprise, spinning to find Mason with a huge smile on his face.
He had to raise his voice to be heard over the music. “Looks like you’re working hard.”
Rolling my eyes, I pulled out my phone and turned the music down. “Done with the roof?”
“Hardly. Just taking a water break.”
“Let me. I don’t want you dirtying up the freshly mopped floor.
” I grabbed a glass for him and filled it with cold water from the fridge.
He took it and immediately chugged the water, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he drank, a soft groan rumbling out of him as he quenched his thirst. I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
When Mason placed the empty glass on the counter, he grinned at me. “Having fun in here?”
“As much as can be expected. It’s mopping, after all.”
“And dancing.” He smirked.
“And dancing,” I echoed. “You’re telling me you don’t dance when you clean?”
He let out a startled laugh. “I don’t dance at all. You know this.”
I shrugged and turned the music back up, loud enough for Mason to hear. “Now’s your chance.”
Mason shook his head. “I can’t. I don’t really know how.”
“It’s easy,” I countered. “Just… move.” To demonstrate, I bounced a little to the music, grabbing the mop as a dance partner.
Another shake of his head. “How about I just stand here and look pretty while you dance?”
“Deal.” I put the mop aside and sidled up to Mason. As I stepped in close, the song died out and a new song began, this one a ballad. I held out my hands to Mason. “Come on, let’s dance.”
It was his turn to roll his eyes, but instead of protesting further, he stepped close and pulled me to him. For a few moments, we slow danced like we were back in high school, swaying to the beat. I was hyperaware of his body against mine and all the things it made me feel.
Mason’s Adam’s apple bobbed again as he swallowed and slowly leaned in.
My breath caught in my chest as he pressed his lips against mine so, so gently.
He moved his hands onto my hips and pulled me closer.
I let out a soft sigh, my heart fluttering, before the music stopped without warning, my ringtone blaring out of my phone instead.
Heart racing, I stepped away from Mason like we’d been caught doing something we shouldn’t have been. He ducked his head, gaze cast toward his feet, and rubbed the back of his neck.
With a chuckle, he looked back at me a moment later. “Guess you’d better get that.”
I sighed reluctantly and pulled my phone from my pocket, checking the number and nodding at Mason as I answered the call. “Hey, Mom.” My throat was tight.
“You okay, honey? You sound off.”
“Yeah,” I said, taking a slow breath. “I’m great. Just working.”
“I’m glad to hear that. How much have you all gotten done so far?”
As I gave her a recap of the work we’d done, I paced around the living room, doing exactly what I’d chastised Mason for doing—dirtying up my freshly mopped floors.
“That sounds great,” she said.
Before I could respond, Mason leaned against the counter, a slight smirk playing on his lips. I swallowed hard as I let myself get distracted by the thought of his mouth and what we’d just been doing. My breath caught in my chest.
“Em? You there?” Mom chuckled softly. “Earth to Emery.”
“Sorry, Mom. Can you repeat that?”
“I was just wondering what’s left to do, then? It sounds like you should be done soon. Your dad is getting worried about you two, up there all alone, with nothing to do but work on the cabin.”
“Yeah… I’m not entirely sure what’s left. Want to talk to Mason about it?”
“Oh, is he there right now? I would’ve thought he’d be off working on something or other. I’d love to talk to him.”
I handed the phone over, and Mason cleared his throat before answering.
“Hey, Mrs. Wilson. Yeah, things are going great here.” He paused a moment while she said something I couldn’t make out. I assumed she was asking about the progress on the cabin until Mason responded. “Oh, no. He’s not bored at all. We’re finding plenty to keep him occupied.”
He waggled his eyebrows at me as he spoke and I covered my face with my hands, mortified. I knew Mom wouldn’t pick up what he was implying, but still, it was embarrassing to think of my mom knowing anything about that part of my life.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m working on the roof today.
It should be a few days on the roof before it’s done.
Once that’s finished, we’ll still have drywall and painting left to do, to repair the interior water damage.
No, the floors came out fine. We’re lucky they’re wood.
No carpet to replace, thankfully. The floorboards are a little warped in places, but it’s nothing a good refinish couldn’t take care of.
That’s not something I have the equipment for right now though.
” He paused again, listening and nodding as my mom spoke to him.
“Sure thing. I’ll give you back to Emery now. ” He held the phone out to me.
Mom spoke before I could say a word. “I’m going to let you go, but don’t hesitate to call if you need anything, okay?”
“Mom, I’m not fourteen. We’re good here. We have a car. We have groceries. We’ll be fine.”
A moment later, we said our goodbyes, me promising I’d give her a call if something came up or I thought of anything she could bring.
I put the phone on the counter, the music playing immediately.
For a fraction of a second, I thought Mason was going to say something about the dancing, but the moment had passed.
“I’m headed back up, okay?”
I nodded. “Be careful up there. We all know I’d be useless if you got hurt and I had to finish the repairs without you.”
Mason laughed. “Whatever you say, Boss.”
After that, I was alone in the big open room, wondering what the hell I was going to do with myself for the rest of the day.