Mason could, though. His dimples, his easy smile, his non-stop chatter about any stupid thing. Oh, somehow he’d gotten me, too.
Two men at once. It was ridiculous, almost like a strange set up for a sitcom or something.
But, no. This was my life, and it would never end up like a sitcom. Eventually, one would leave, or they’d force me to choose, and I’d be so paralyzed with indecision that they both would get angry and leave.
Hmm. Maybe that would be a good thing. Then my life could go back to the way it was, me zoning out every day, going on with life with no hopes or cares. Right now my mind thought far too much about both men and the feelings they stirred within me.
I hardly recognized myself anymore, some days. I mean, I thought about kissing them, for God’s sake. I thought about their mouths, their hands, their bodies…I wondered what it would be like to be caught under the sheets with them.
Not once in my life had I ever thought about sex, in the way of actually having it. Sure, I thought about it before, but that was always me wondering what the big deal was, why everyone always claimed it made a relationship or broke a relationship, why it was so important to so many people. I’d gone twenty years of my life without having it; clearly, it couldn’t be that important.
“Earth to Bree,” Mason’s voice chimed in, causing me to snap out of it and meet those warm, inviting amber eyes. “You in there?
I blinked. “Yes. Sorry, I was…” I trailed off, not sure what I was doing. Of course, I knew what I was thinking about—sex—but it wasn’t like I wanted to freely admit that to Mason. No, I was pretty sure he would only get the wrong idea.
Or he’d get insanely jealous because he’d think I was only imagining myself with Calum, which I wasn’t.
“It’s okay,” he said, picking up the clue that I did not want to say anything about it. “We’ve been going at this for a while, now. We could call it quits for the night.”
My phone sat on the floor beside me, and I checked it. For the time, not for any missed messages from Calum. It was just after five. Mom would be downstairs, figuring out dinner, and Dad wouldn’t be home until seven since it was his late night at work.
Mason began to pack up the papers, a small grin on his face, as there usually was. Such a cute, eternal grin, it was permanently imprinted in my brain. That grin popped up any time I thought about him, any time I pictured him, and it was something that would stick with me, long after he moved on.
When my bedroom floor was all cleaned up, he zipped up his bag and turned that grin on me. “Hey,” he started, the grin dimming somewhat, “I was wondering if you’re free tomorrow night.”
Tomorrow night was Friday. If there was one thing Mason should know about me by now, it was that I never had plans, except for the few times Calum had taken me out. But he wasn’t here anymore, and I hadn’t heard of him wanting to visit, so as far as I was concerned, I would spend my Friday alone.
Although, maybe not.
“You want to work more on the project?” I asked. It was true, if Mason wasn’t as talkative about every little thing, we probably would’ve been way ahead of where we were now, but I wasn’t complaining. He had passion, life. He enjoyed talking about everything; who was I to stop him and rain on his parade?
“Not exactly what I was thinking” was what he chose to say, confusing me.
“Then what…” Surely he couldn’t mean—
“I was thinking I could pick you up, bring you to my house. We could hang out for a bit. Watch a movie, do some eating.” Mason shrugged. “You know. Normal stuff.”
Maybe it was just because my mind had been on sex earlier, but I found myself asking, “Like a date?” Was Mason asking me out on a date, or was it all in my head? Did I just make a fool of myself for asking? I guess I’d find out shortly. Shit. I hated not knowing.
That devilish grin appeared again, growing tenfold when I mentioned the word date. “It doesn’t have to be a date. It could be just two friends hanging out and spending time with each other,” he suggested, pausing before adding, “or it could be a date. Is that what you want, Bree?”
What did I want? At this point, I was too frightened of what I really wanted to admit it to anyone.
I decided to ask, “What do you want?” Kind of a pointless question, because I thought the whole world knew, at this point, what Mason wanted from me. Him being late that day had set off a chain of events and threatened to change my life, and frankly, I didn’t know how to handle it.
“I want it to be a date,” he rattled off, “but I’m happy with any time with you. I’d never push you into anything—I hope you know that.” He sounded so sincere, so genuine, and the way he looked at me, as if I was his whole world…what could I possibly say to him?
Well, besides, “Then it’s a date.” Because that’s what I said, before I thought better of it.
Whoops.
Mason beamed, and I had to look away, feeling too warm inside from that handsome, dimpled grin. “Great,” he said. “I already have something planned. I hope you like it.”
I barely said anything else, fearing what other shenanigans I’d get myself into, as Mason left. I walked with him to
