Mason

by Lisa Helen Gray

  Chapter Thirteen

  Finally dressed up for the date Mason and I are going on, I begin to feel nervous. Over what, I don’t know, because whenever I’m with Mason I feel like I’m being my real self. I don’t need to pretend to be a happy, cheerful, go-getter Denny everyone assumes I am.

  First impressions of me are always answered differently. Some say I’m too easy going, some say I’m too honest and need to think before I speak, but then, there are the others, the ones that see the happy, smiling, cheerful me, or the ones who think I’m a stuck up brat with rich parents.

  Honestly…I’m just me.

  “You look fucking hot, babe,’’ Mason says making me jump. He walks up behind me and presses his front against my back, his chin resting on my shoulder as his hands slowly –ever so slowly-slip around my stomach. We’re both looking in the mirror at one another, and in all honesty, we look kind of perfect together. Big-headed of me, I know, but who cares.

  “Thanks,’’ I tell him, looking at his eyes through the mirror. They darken and my breath hitches. I love it when his eyes do that, turn darker, the chocolate brown turning almost black and he only does it when he’s turned on. Like he is now.

  “Stay right there. Don’t move,’’ he warns me before slipping one hand around to the back of his dark jeans. His white buttoned down shirt goes great with them, and with the sleeves rolled up and the top few buttons undone, it looks sexy as hell. I love this look on him.

  When he brings back his phone and lifts it up in the air for a selfie, I nearly burst into tears, but instead, what I do, is start giggling. We’ve not had a picture with just the two of us taken yet, so him doing this makes my heart and belly do funny things.

  “Say, Mason is sexy,’’ he smiles, his chin resting back on my shoulder and I smile into the camera. “Mason is an idiot,’’ I say through my smile and Mason clicks the picture, before bursting out laughing.

  “I guess I deserved that,’’ he chuckles, still standing behind me, looking like he has no plans of moving.

  “Let’s have a look,’’ I tell him, grabbing his phone. I click on the picture and my heart stops. His one hand is wrapped around me, resting on my large stomach, and his chin is resting on my shoulder, but his eyes, God, his eyes are shining with such happiness it takes my breath away.

  “We need to get going,’’ he tells me, but makes no movements. When I feel his hot breath against my shoulder my knees almost buckle and I gasp. His soft, full lips are next and I lean my head to the side to give him better access to my neck, where he places a line of soft kisses up towards my ear. His tongue feels slick against my skin and all of a sudden, the temperature in the room has hit a boiling point.

  Reaching around, I grasp his firm, tight bum and press the tips of my fingers in it, pressing him closer to me. His large, hard bulge has me craving for something more than his lips and his touch.

  When he finally turns me around I do a mental happy dance, hoping he’s going to finally touch me, touch me in a way that I can finally explode, and get rid of the ache between my legs that has done nothing but build rapidly since the day I moved in.

  “Yow Mase, can I borrow your Hunger Games DVD,’’ Max shouts startling us both.

  Mason growls in my ear, his head tucked into my neck before pulling away muttering. “I swear I’m going to fucking kill him if he keeps cock blocking me.’’

  I giggle and grab my clutch off the table and grab the Hunger Games DVD from off the shelf. It’s up here for a reason. Max, so far, has wrecked nearly every DVD we’ve lent him, but whenever he does now, Mason charges him double of the price the DVD originally cost.

  “Where are we going again?’’ I ask, knowing he’s taking me for dinner, but not where he’s taking me.

  “Babe, I know you’re hungry, but be patient. You’ll be fed soon enough my woman,’’ he grins before giving me a light smack on the ass. I squeal out in surprise and turn to narrow my eyes at him, but as soon as I turn back around to head down the stairs, my face breaks into a huge grin, finally having back the Mason I fell in love with all those years ago.

  Oh my God!

  He didn’t.

  He freaking has.

  Mason and I walk up the street towards McDonalds and I look down at my outfit in sheer embarrassment. How could he let me dress up for McDonalds?

  “Mason, really? I know you love your burgers, but seriously? I could have just worn my pyjamas to eat here.’’

  I don’t even bother to cover my disappointment, or the fact I feel like a complete ass that he’d bring me here for a date nonetheless.

  “But you’ve been craving Mc chicken sandwiches for weeks now. I thought it would be romantic,’’ he frowns, with a slight gleam in his eyes.

  “Whatever, let’s hurry up before I murder and eat you. I’m starving,’’ I snap, carrying on towards the fast food restaurant.

  He laughs behind me and I don’t bother to turn around to glare, or to even snap at him. I’m too worked up and I know for a fact whatever is going to come out of my mouth will sound bitchy and ungrateful, but most of all, I know I’m on the verge of crying.

  Just as I get to the door, Mason grabs my hips and pulls me back easily to his front. “Baby, why do you think I’d take you here? We’ve got a table there,’’ he chuckles in my ear, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine.

  I follow his pointed finger to one of the highest priced restaurants in Coldenshire. It’s just a few doors up from McDonalds, which I never really noticed before. My mind was too busy thinking of ways to kill Mason for bringing me on a date here. Not there is anything wrong with McDonalds; I just wanted to have a memory of us in an intimate setting.

  “Huh? What? Jesus Mason, why didn’t you tell me this before I started cursing at you for thinking you were taking me to McDonalds?’’ I growl, my anger rising.

  “You’re so fucking sexy when you’re pissed,’’ he chuckles, his arms once again surrounding me, holding me to him.

  “Answer me, goddamn it.’’

  “Alright, alright… I booked a reservation the other day. I honestly didn’t know it was next to McDonalds, or that you’d think that is where I’d take you,’’ he grunts.

  “Sorry,’’ I tell him honestly, my head bowed to the floor.

  “Babe, there’s no need to be sorry. Let’s go in before they give our reservation to some poor fucker who didn’t think to book in advance.’’

  “Okay.’’ A smile lights my face, and I link my arms through his as we make our way inside.

  “Hi, can I help you?’’ a young male waiter greets us, his eyes raking across my body. I’m not sure if it’s hormones, or the lack of sleep, but I’m pretty sure he’s checking me out.

  I’m not going to lie, he looks pretty fit, but he’s not my type, that and the fact he’s nothing compared to Mason. It also doesn’t help his case when he asks if he can help us. No mate, we’re just standing in the middle of the restaurant to get our own food.

  It’s like when you go food shopping and the checkout assistant asks if you need any bags. As if you’d say ‘No, it’s fine I have ten million hands that can help.

  “I booked a table for me and the missus. It’s under Carter. C.A.R.T.E.R,’’ he spells out and I can’t help but cover my mouth to cover the laugh that escapes.

  What an idiot!

  “Oh here. C.A.R.T.E.R, Carter,’’ the bloke repeats rolling his eyes.

  “That’s what I said,’’ Mason says proudly, puffing his chest out and I chuckle again. “You okay babe? You seem to have the giggles. You haven’t been around Joan and your Nan have you?’’

  “No,’’ I tell him rolling my own eyes this time and he just smirks giving me a wink.

  “Right this way,’’ the bloke tells us and leads us to a table that isn’t far away from the door.

  “I asked for the best view in the house,’’ Mason tells the bloke.

  “Sir, I can assure you this is the best view in the house.’’


  I want to tell him it looks like the only view in the house as it’s the only one near the window, but I don’t want to hurt Mason’s feelings knowing he’s excited about this date.

  “I like it,’’ I tell them, going to take a seat, but Mason stops me by shouting stop, his voice loud and gaining attention from nearly everyone in the restaurant. “What?’’ I whisper horrified.

  “Babe, it’s a date,’’ he says, like that explains it, then walks around to me and guides me in front of the chair. The chair smacks the back of my legs and I hiss out in pain as my ass slams down on the chair.

  “Thanks,’’ I snap then squeal when the chair moves forward, nearly knocking my pregnant stomach into the round table. “Jesus, Mase, chill-out and go take a seat,’’ I tell him nervously, worried what he’ll do next.

  “Sorry, babe, just wanted to do it right. Max said what to do when we got here,’’ he shrugs embarrassed.

  “You took advice from your whore of a brother?’’ I deadpan, totally forgetting the bloke standing over the table.

  “Um…huh… your waiter or waitress will be with you shortly,’’ he says before sprinting off back to his podium.

  “You scared him,’’ Mason chuckles watching his retreating form.

  “You really took advice from Max?’’

  “Yeah. He had some really good stuff. He looked some shit up on Google, but you can’t blame the guy. He said I needed to woo you to get in…’’

  “Get in my what?’’ I tease, a smirk twitching my lips.

  “Your pants,’’ he sighs, scrubbing his hands down his face. “Honestly, that’s not what I want to achieve from all this.’’

  His hands gesture to the room and I blink surprised. He’s not lying. He really hadn’t taken me out just to get in my pants. Not that he needed to try; he would only need to say the word and I’ll agree, but I’m not going to tell him that.

  “What did you want to achieve?’’ I ask him quietly.

  “Your trust, and the feelings that you had for me before. The old and new us.’’

  “What do you mean?’’ I ask him intrigued. We’ve had heart to hearts a few times since I arrived back in town, but this is the closest we’ve gotten to an honest conversation about his feelings now.

  “Just that before I fucked things up, you looked at me like I made the stars move, and that I made your world turn. When you look at me now, you’re unsure, your walls are up and you seem so tense when we’re together sometimes.’’

  Yeah, it’s called sexual tension, but I don’t voice that out loud.

  “Mason, my feelings for you back then were different. Yeah they were strong, but what we have now is honest, it’s real. I still have trouble understanding why you’d want me. And with the baby now involved it makes me wonder if you’re only with me for her.’’

  “You know that’s not true. This is what I hate the most about what I did to you. You question my motives towards you, and I promise you babe, I have nothing but good intensions towards you. I’d give my life for you.’’

  My belly does a little flip and my eyes soften. He really does mean it. If he can try as hard as he is, then I can try just as hard to push through my childish insecurities. What I feel for Mason hasn’t gone, yes it’s different, but that feeling, that strong feeling I get when he’s around is still just as strong as it was before it all went tits up.

  “How about from now on, instead of worrying about what the other is feeling we talk to each other? I believed it when you told me you wanted to be with me, and I believe you when you tell me that you aren’t with me for the baby. It’s what hurt the most when you did what you did. I knew deep down you felt the same as I did when we were together. I could feel it as strongly as what I felt it for you. But what you didn’t do back then, but are doing now, is giving us a try. It’s more than I ever wanted from you Mason. I would have given you anything, everything, just to be with you, I still would. Even at school, I’d tell Harlow I’d spend one night with you if it meant I could just be with you. What I never counted on was the way I felt when I was actually with you,’’ I shrug, my eyes glazing over from the raw emotion releasing inside me. I needed to get it off my chest, to make him understand and I hope now he does.

  “Wow! I really don’t deserve you, but I promise I’m going to try honey,’’ he smiles and I smile back at him.

  The waitress comes over and takes our drink order and because of how long she took to get to us, we had already decided on what to have for dinner, so we give her our food orders too. Once she disappears I give Mason a smirk.

  “What?’’ he asks after taking a sip of his beer.

  “You didn’t look at her once.’’

  “Who?’’ he asks confused looking around.

  “The waitress?’’ I tell him, looking closely to see if he’s bullshitting me.

  “Babe, seriously, I’m with you. Why would I want to look at someone else?’’

  I’m too shocked to speak. I open and close my mouth what feels like a thousand times until I give up and just keep it closed.

  “Did you go through the nursery?’’ he asks making conversation.

  “Yeah,’’ I smile, my mind picturing the amazing nursery he built for our princess. It still warms my heart that he did that as a surprise for me.

  “Do we need something else? Did I miss something?’’

  “We need a steriliser for the bottles-‘’

  “Hold on, don’t they suck on your… tits?’’ he says pointing to my ample chest.

  “Yes Mason she will, but she might not latch on, or like it. I read it in one of those pregnancy books you’d gotten me.’’

  “Oh, I didn’t get them for you. I needed to do some research so I went out and got everything I’d need to know. I read about breast feeding. It also says you might not feel comfortable to do it. It can be painful. Also you may have an infection which can stop the process of breastfeeding.’’

  “Either way I’m bottle feeding, Mason. I’m not going to be up through the night breastfeeding on my own. So I can breastfeed in a bottle.’’

  “Okay, now I’m confused.’’

  “I can’t believe we’re talking about this here,’’ I chuckle. “You can get a breast pump that pumps your milk into a bottle.’’

  “Like milking a cow?’’ he chuckles, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

  “Yes,’’ I say dryly, my eyes rolling.

  “What else then? I was thinking about going pushchair shopping soon, oh and we’ll need a car seat. I read online somewhere that some baby shop in town will fit them in safely for you. I think it’s worth a shot, at least then they can show us how to do it. Safety is important.’’

  “You’ve been thinking hard about this?’’ I tease.

  “I have babe. We will also need to get your bag ready for the hospital. I have the list written down at home. I’ll give it to you to look over to see if I missed anything.’’

  “WOW! You really have thought of everything,’’ I giggle. “We also need to get her some clothes. I know she won’t need a lot, and a lot of people will buy her outfits, but she’ll need a lot of various sizes. Then we need to stock up on nappies and baby wipes.’’

  “I don’t want to use baby wipes on our baby. I read in one of those books that it burns their skin, so I’m not risking it. I’ve got a list ready to take when I next go to Kara to get nappies and cotton wool and so on…’’

  My face must look a picture. I’m open mouthed, wide eyed and completely stunned to silence. The only sound you can hear is the chatter from the people around us.

  Mason really has thought long and hard about everything, especially if he’s already written a list to go to Kara with. Kara is a large store that sells everything in bulk. They sell anything from washing powder, toilet roll, nappies to sweets. The place is huge and so much cheaper than buying them separately in a shop.

  I open my mouth after taking a sip of my Coke and pause when a large man over at the podium raise
s his voice.

  He’s large and mighty good looking. He’s holding two car seats, each holding a baby that looks around a few months old, both wrapped in pink and standing next to him is a beautiful woman with a bright red face trying to calm him down.

  “This is ridiculous. It’s not like they’re going to run around and disturb people eating. They’re babies. They’ve already eaten and will be asleep for the next two and a half hours,’’ the scary large man snaps, his eyes looking down adoringly at his twin girls.

  “Dante, come on, we can go somewhere else.’’

  “No. This is discrimination. All I could see on the door was a no smoking sign. Nowhere on that door did it say no kids. If kids aren’t allowed in here they would have a sign. Like the smoking one stuck on the door outside. They’re treating us like we’re bringing our own food in. Dude, I haven’t, you can check my changing bag if you want,’’ he tells the bloke, not giving him a chance to talk.

  “As if,’’ Mason mutters under his breath, so I turn back around to face him.

  “I know. You’d think he’d give up and go somewhere else,’’ I agree.

  “What? No way in hell babe. The dude is right. Why should he leave just because he’s got two girls on his arm? Hey you,’’ Mason shouts across to the bloke at the podium. I wish I got his name, so I could stop calling him ‘that bloke’.

  “Yes sir?’’ the podium bloke replies.

  “Does that mean my missus and I need to go?’’

  “What? No. Our policy is strictly no kids. I’m sorry sir.’’

  “Well then, we’ll have to go.’’

  The bloke looks as confused as I do and he even looks around the table, then to my pregnant stomach.

  “Sir, with all due respect, your girlfriend is pregnant, she doesn’t have a child.’’

  “No need to be cocky,’’ the large man at the podium says, shuffling the car seats further up his arms.

  “No but she’s a mom and has a baby with her, inside her. It’s just like their situation. Only difference is, their kids are in car seats and ours is in her stomach. It’s not even past nine, so technically the no kids rule is just something you’d prefer, nothing illegal. So why don’t you find them a seat, and if their kids start to be a disturbance, then get involved. Until then, do your job and find them a seat,’’ Mason snaps, sitting back in his chair. When he stood up is anyone’s guess. I’m too mortified and kind of turned on to even keep up. How he stood up for two kids rights is just…just sexy as hell. And no doubt he’d do the same if that was our little girl.