Chapter 36
MASON
“Joel told your parents about your degree?”
“Yep.”
“And Callum told them about you two being an item?”
“Yes.”
“And then he told his dad about you both and your mom got him arrested?”
“Precisely.”
“And Joel and your cousin broke up?”
“Thankfully.”
“Geez, you miss one day in Northwood, and the entire place goes haywire.”
Mason chuckles as he interlinks his arm with Jenna’s.
He’s glad he has her by his side again after going the whole weekend having to deal with the police and his family.
It’s almost finals and he had completely forgotten about it all in the madness of everything.
Jenna gets a text, and Mason watches as her face completely flushes.
Mason cranes his neck to try and see who she’s texting, but she angles her phone away from him.
He decides not to push it.
The air feels lighter as he walks across the frosty quad of Montgomery. Everything’s out in the open. He’s a well and true physics major who’s also on the school paper. It’s the same as it used to be, but knowing that his parents already know is enough of a weight lifted off his shoulders.
Whenever he sees Joel, he just laughs at him, watching him dejectedly try to avoid eye contact with Mason whenever he passes by.
He still hasn’t seen much of Callum since that day in their clearing.
It halted everything in their relationship, but he still can’t stop thinking about Callum’s confession to Mrs. Fanning and to Mr. Brown.
He had fully told them that they were boyfriends, which must mean that Callum is ready for whatever they have going.
With most of their drama behind them, Mason has to prepare himself to be ready, but he’s sure that he is.
Suddenly, he’s nearly toppled to the ground by a strong force.
He gasps as strong hands snake around his waist.
“Found you.”
Mason relaxes as he realizes it’s Callum. Mason whirls around to see Callum grinning at him like he’s won the championship game already.
“What are you doing?” Mason asks, on the verge of a chuckle.
“I wanted to see you, duh,” Callum retorts.
Jenna stands next to them, crossing her arms and smirking at Mason as she watches them.
“How do you feel about a weekend getaway?” Callum whispers in his ear.
Shivers run down Mason’s spine. He blinks. He’s almost in the middle of finals. He still has his semester project for his journalism class and four textbooks worth of content to study for.
“Uh… I’d say you’re crazy.”
“I’m gonna—go to class…” Jenna says as she smiles suggestively at Mason and Callum before turning away.
“Uh, bye?” Mason says more as a question, wondering why she was taking off already.
“It’s… not crazy, actually. You need the break,” Callum says after waving goodbye to Jenna.
Mason frowns. “And what about you? Don’t you have… games? Practices?”
Callum shrugs. “They said I can have time off to ‘rest’ after all that’s happened… I haven’t taken it off yet but… maybe I should.”
Mason stiffens as he thinks about Callum taking some time off football. He’s not crazy about the idea, since he wants Callum to get drafted, but he knows he can’t stop Callum when he wants something.
“What about championships? Aren’t they soon?”
Callum snorts and puts his hands on Mason’s shoulders and rubs them softly. “We’ll be back before that starts, obviously. It’s just one night, Mase. Come on, what do you say? Take a break from your calculator?”
Mason sighs and stares into Callum, whose eyes twinkle as he stares down at him.
He’s more worried about Callum making a wrong decision than falling behind on his studies. He just wants Callum to be fully in it. He just lost his dad, and even if it’s something he’s always wanted, maybe he still has to grieve.
Mason sighs. “But on one condition.”
Callum nods eagerly. “Anything.”
“I get to bring my textbooks.”