Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Emery
After getting us cleaned up, I held on to Mason for a long, long time, lying together in his bed, just listening to each other breathe.
My mind reeled. I could hardly believe we’d done what we’d done, but it also felt right.
It felt perfect, like we’d slotted together the missing pieces of a puzzle that I hadn’t realized were missing in the first place.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Mason started to chuckle, his chest rising and falling in laughter. I pulled back to meet his gaze, and he was grinning. He cleared his throat and tried to suppress his laughter. "Remember how we used to bicker so much more whenever either of us got a girlfriend?"
I narrowed my eyes warily. "Yeah…"
He shrugged. "I was just thinking, maybe it wasn’t about being jealous that you didn’t spend as much time with me. Maybe it was about being jealous of them."
"You think?"
"Why not? It’s like… I didn’t realize it at the time, but I hated it when your focus was on someone else. I always had all these feelings I didn’t understand. Like I couldn’t put into words what was going on, I just knew I hated it."
I nodded thoughtfully, my body warming at the thought, another piece of the puzzle clicking into place. "Yeah, me too. You know, now that I think about it… When you had crushes on girls, and we’d compete to see who she’d fall for first, it was more about getting your attention than hers."
"Exactly," Mason said, pulling me close to him again. "Did you ever… I don’t know, think you’d have feelings for a guy like this?"
I elbowed him playfully. "Who says I have feelings for you now?"
"Oh, fuck you."
"Seriously, though? The answer is no. But I never imagined having feelings like this about a woman, either. Not this way. This… strong."
"Me too," he murmured. "Me too."
"Does it feel weird to you? Like, we were just friends, like, two months ago.”
He shifted to look at me. "Not at all. It feels natural. Right. The way it’s supposed to be." When I nodded, he continued. "I’m glad it happened.”
"Same." I let the conversation die out for a few moments before I let the topic shift. "Do you remember the night of our senior prom? How we stayed up all night?"
Mason chuckled. "I remember. Where are you going with this?"
"Just trust me."
"Of course." He squeezed my hand. "Yeah, I remember. What I remember is leaving prom behind—and our dates—to drive around back roads with the windows down and the music up loud."
"So loud. I don’t think my ears ever recovered."
He laughed again, shaking his head. “Do you remember her? Christina? She made it clear she wasn’t interested in hooking up. Or even hanging out with me. She just wanted me to be her date so she didn’t have to go alone."
"I remember that. Do you remember going to that all-night diner in Silver Lake? And making ourselves sick on milkshakes and fries. And the server, she was really cute and asked us if we were interested in joining her after her shift."
He shook his head at that. "I don’t remember that part."
"You don’t? She flirted hard with both of us. You first. And then when you went to the bathroom, she started in on me. But once you came back, it was both of us."
A smirk crossed his face. "I don’t remember that part at all. I guess I was too focused on hanging out with you."
"In any case, she invited us back to her place. She was in college, I think. But you turned her down. I remember thinking you must have been feeling sick or something. Turning girls down wasn’t exactly your style.
But I was relieved, too. Not just because I didn’t want to be with her.
But because I didn’t think I could stomach watching.
I had thought at the time that it was me being jealous of you.
I guess I know now that wasn’t it at all. "
Mason hummed and squeezed me. "And then we went to the park and played on the playground until it started to get light, and we laid down and watched the sun rise together."
"Come to think of it, that might well be the best date I’ve ever been on," I said with a little laugh.
Mason pulled away and looked at me. "Come on, Em. That can’t be true." When I shrugged, he shook his head and frowned. "Well, that’s not good enough."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means I’m going to take you on a date. A real one. Your best date of all time can’t possibly be with your best friend, spent worrying about whether he’d rather be out fucking someone else. You deserve better."
My cheeks heated, the tips of my ears burning as I blushed. "Okay, then."
"Good. Now that that’s settled, let’s go take a shower and see if we can get ourselves up for round two."
A week later, I found myself at home and getting cleaned up for a date with Mason after a long day of relaxation, one of the few I granted myself even on summer vacation.
I took a long, hot shower and stood in front of my closet for far too long as I tried to decide what to wear.
Mason had given me instructions, but I was worried I’d miss the mark.
He’d said comfortable and casual, which didn’t necessarily fit what I imagined Mason would consider romantic.
I’d assumed he would’ve pictured us going to a fancy restaurant and drinking an expensive bottle of wine.
Not that I’d be opposed to that, but it wasn’t what I personally considered very romantic.
After waffling for what felt like an hour, I settled on a pair of jeans and a black graphic T-shirt with a band logo on it. I topped off the outfit with a decent pair of sneakers, and I was ready for my casual, comfortable, romantic date.
At the appointed time, there was a knock at my door.
I practically jumped to my feet and then laughed at myself, shaking my head.
There was no need to act like a nervous teenager on my first date with the hot, popular jock, even if I felt like a nervous teenager on my first date with the hot, popular jock.
When I opened the door, Mason stood on the other side, grinning.
He looked… Well, in his jeans and V-neck T-shirt with a plaid flannel button-down open over it, I just wanted to pull him inside and get to what was under those clothes.
After a quick kiss, I pulled back and looked at him. "What are we doing tonight? I thought we were going on a romantic date."
Mason grinned. "We are."
"You’re not taking me to a fancy restaurant looking like this, are you? Because I don’t think I’d meet the dress code."
He shook his head, grin widening. "Do you really think that’s the only way to have a romantic date? Because I’d expect more imagination from you, Mr. Theatre Teacher."
I held up my hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. Lead away."
Mason took my hand and guided me to his truck, opening my door for me before hurrying around to the driver’s side. He tapped his phone a few times and music burst out of the speakers. At first, I thought the song was just weirdly familiar, but I couldn’t figure out why.
When it hit me, I laughed. "They played this at our prom."
Mason shrugged, his cheeks reddening a little. "I actually found a list of prom songs from our graduation year and made us a playlist."
"Seriously?"
"It’s not a big deal," he muttered, putting the truck into gear.
"Where are we going?"
Mason rolled his eyes. "Patience."
I didn’t have much patience for surprises—I wanted to know now. Still, I bit my tongue and braced myself for whatever Mason had in store, listening to the music from our prom night as he drove.
I didn’t have to wait long. He turned the truck down a long one-lane road covered in just enough asphalt to count as paved, which eventually turned into a bumpy dirt road.
"You taking me out here to murder me?"
He shook his head. "Like I have the stomach to murder someone. I can’t even kill spiders. I just take ’em outdoors and let ’em go."
“You know that doesn’t help the spider.”
He shrugged. “It makes me feel better. Gives them a fighting chance.” Eventually, the trees parted and we found ourselves in a parking lot next to a public lake.
The view was beautiful, and I spotted a spacious canoe tethered to the dock.
Mason hurried to open the door for me and grabbed an actual, literal picnic basket from the back of the truck before leading the way to the water. "Here we are."
"A canoe?"
His smile faltered for a second. "Yes?"
"I’ve never been on a canoe."
"Wait—you’ve had that cabin all your life, and you’ve never been canoeing?"
I shook my head. "My mom is afraid of boats, so we never owned one. I’ve always wanted to try it out."
"Well, let’s go then." Mason carried the picnic basket to the canoe and helped me get inside before joining me. He rolled up his sleeves and paddled us out to the middle of the lake before pulling the oars in and opening the picnic basket. He removed the lid and began pulling out surprises.
He removed containers of fruit, trail mix, and a small container of sandwiches. "Did you make all this yourself?"
"It’s not a big deal."
I didn’t argue, but it felt like a big deal. Nobody had ever gone through so much effort for me on a date. Usually, I was the one making an effort, if I dated at all.
As we ate, we watched the sun set, and soon, stars were twinkling in the sky, just like that night all those years ago.
"This is beautiful," I murmured. When I looked at Mason for confirmation, his gaze was fixed on me instead, and my heart melted a little.
I turned my attention to him. "Can I ask you a question? "
"Of course."
"Now that we’re in this thing, you know, as boyfriends… what’s next?"
Mason chuckled a little. "Well, eventually I’ll paddle us back to shore and—"
"No," I said, rolling my eyes fondly. "I meant us. What’s next for us?"
"Oh, that." Mason was quiet for a long moment. "I want us to be together. Like for real. We’ve already come out to our families." He shifted in his seat and took a slow breath. "I’m in love with you, Em. I think, in a way, I always have been."
A lump had formed in my throat and I swallowed hard, nodding. "Yeah," I murmured. "Me too. I’m in love with you, too."