20. Mason
Chapter 20
Mason
Junior Year
Prom is tonight and I’m starting to get nervous. I am supposed to pick up Callie in an hour and the closer it gets to needing to leave, the worse my nerves get. I want tonight to be perfect for her.
I am sitting at the island as Ma walks in.
“Mason, shouldn’t you be getting ready for prom? I thought you had to leave soon?”
“I just need to put my shoes and jacket on, Ma. I’ve got time.” I say, a little too harsh.
Ma doesn’t say anything back to me just gives me a stern look as she walks from the kitchen to the living room where my dad is currently watching one of his true crime shows.
I get up to head to my bedroom but decide I need to apologize for my tone.
“Ma, I’m sorry I had a tone with you. My nerves are getting to me, but I shouldn’t have taken that out on you.”
“It’s okay, Mason. Prom will be fine. Stop fussing over it. Just allow yourself to have fun.” I don’t know what it is about Ma’s voice, but it always calms me. I’m definitely a momma’s boy.
I smile and turn to grab my jacket and shoes before heading out to my car to make my way to Callie’s house.
I pull into Callie’s driveway and am met at the door by her little sister who’s jumping up and down, squealing about how beautiful Callie is and she can’t wait to see my reaction. Em has way too much energy for me.
Em is running down the hallway toward Cal’s room before I can respond to her. I can hear her yelling that I’m here as if her loudness hadn’t given that away.
I stand there, nervously, as her mom rounds the corner phone in hand.
“Mason, don’t you look handsome.” she gets out before snapping approximately ten photos of me.
“Thank you, Mrs. Callahan,” I say before turning towards the hallway where I hear a commotion.
Callie makes her way to the end of the hallway and I’m speechless. She’s gorgeous and that dress… it’s the perfect one for her, for tonight.
“Cal, you’re... gorgeous.” I spit out still trying to gather myself.
Her cheeks pink and she looks down at her feet. “Thank you.”
Before I can speak again Em is posing us for pictures while her mom snaps away. I start laughing, nervously, which makes Cal laugh and before I know it, we’re both about to fall over from laughing.
“You two are perfect. One last picture and I’ll let you go.” I hear her mom say before Em walks up and sets my hand on Cal’s hip. “Perfect,” she mutters to herself and walks away.
As soon as we pull up to the school, we can hear music coming from inside the school. The bass coming through the DJ’s speakers is felt as we make our way up the sidewalk to the main entrance to the auditorium. As we enter the doors we hear “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis both through the speakers and being yelled by many of the students as they dance and make their way around the auditorium.
We are pointed in the direction of the photo booth area where we’ve got the option for photos with fun props or more professional-style prom pictures taken by a photographer the school hired. We opt for two fun photos and then stand posed together for a nicer picture for our parents.
Once the photographer is happy with what she captured we walk up the red carpet that starts at the front door and leads us to the edge of the dance floor. On the right are tables set up for us to eat at and to the left is the food buffet and drink table. The tables where we’ll be eating are round with six chairs placed at each. On top of the gold tablecloth, there are utensils and napkins as placeholders and a set of three candles sitting in the middle.
The team who planned and set up the auditorium did an amazing job. There are string lights hung from the beams across the top of the room, a balloon arch sitting at the backside of the dance floor; another photo op, I’m sure. There’s a gold neon sign sitting near the front entrance that reads prom.
I’m being dragged to the dance floor and I allow it only because Cal wants to dance. I’ll do anything for her. It’s a slow song now so once we’re on the floor Cal and I step closer together. She sits her arms over my shoulders, fingers entwined. I gently lay my hands on her wrists and we start swaying together to the music.
I’m not a dancer but from the looks of it, I’m doing okay and we’re matching everyone else. Cal lays her head on my chest as we sway until the song finishes.
I whisper "I love you” in her ear before she pulls away. She mouths it back to me, or maybe she says it. I can’t hear anything over the loud booming music.
We gather as a group on the dance floor with Matt, Jen, Amber, and a few other people. The energy flowing through the room gets us all moving.
We all dance to a few more songs before deciding to grab a table and eat. I take off my jacket and place it on the back of one of the chairs before placing my hand on Cal’s lower back and walking up towards the buffet tables. The food was brought out about fifteen minutes ago and my stomach is growling from the smell alone. I’m not sure what all is being offered but based on the smell, I’ll be eating good tonight.
The prom went on until a little after midnight. I enjoyed spending time with Cal and our friends in a different environment, even if it was at school and all the chaperones were teachers. Seeing her dressed up with a smile on her face was the best part of my night, though. She doesn’t need to dress up to look good, don’t get me wrong. She looks just as good in a pair of sweats and an oversized t-shirt. The smile on her face while being outside of her comfort zone is what I’m talking about. I hate that she doesn’t see herself like I see her. I remind her all the time how beautiful she is, how gorgeous her smile is but sometimes it’s just not enough to make her feel good about herself.
We are making our way back to her house when I hear her quietly say “Thank you” and I’m not sure what she’s thanking me for.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you I don’t think. Are you thanking me?”
She looks over at me with a nervous expression painted on her face. “Yes. Thank you. I had a good time tonight and was able to quiet my brain for a while. All because of you.”
“I’m glad you had a good time tonight and that I was able to shut your mind off for a while. But you don’t have to thank me. I’m more than happy to help in any way that I can, even if I don’t know I’m helping.” I look over at her and smile before quickly turning back towards the road ahead of us. She always yells at me when I take my eyes off the road while driving so I can’t look her in the eyes like I want to right now.
We end the night with me walking her to her front door and planting a kiss on her lips. We’re both tired so we don’t hang out on her front porch too long before she says goodbye and turns to open the door.
I wait till she closes the door before heading back to my car and driving the short distance to my house.