Array
(
[text] =>

Chapter 14: Bitter Sweet

It took Mason fifteen minutes to forget everything he promised himself and only think of the kiss. The predominant thought was What the fuck was I thinking?! But Why did I do that?! and Why did he do that?! were not far behind.

Mason was barely keeping himself from screaming and kicking anything within sight from frustration. He was so confused, not just literally but emotionally as well.

The kiss had frankly been amazing. Mason had kissed people before. He didn't do it often, but every once in a while he decided he would move on from Mark and find someone to get distracted by. He obviously had a good time since he did it over and over again. But kissing Mark had been nothing like he had ever felt before.

It had been hot and really sexy, but also so gentle and sweet. Mason remembered being unable to think or feel anything else except for Mark and what he was doing with his mouth. And when Mark had dragged his hands up Mason's waist . . . Mason swooned just at the thought of it.

But, the secondary issue of it always came back to him shortly after. What did Mark think of it? Was it the momentary mistake of a teen? The heat of the moment taking Mark as a hostage? A simple thing to pass the time and get through an awkward activity.

Any possibility other than He is just as into me as I am into made Mason nervous beyond belief. Mason cycled back and forth between swooning over the kiss and panicking over Mark's possible reactions.

Mason was a few steps away from where he and Mark had been, pacing as he thought. A girl suddenly walked up to him and he blinked, finding her unrecognizable.

"Can you hold this?" The random girl asked him as she held a dustpan towards Mason, a broom in hand.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Now Mason was helping this stranger sweep the room. Instead of it lasting a minute or two — as he'd expected— it took them over fifteen minutes.

Mason never felt the need to tell her that he didn't agree to help this long and simply dealt with the unexpected responsibility. The benefit of this was it was much harder to think about Mark.

Mason was honestly a bit sad when he and the girl had finished. It had been a good distraction and the girl's random mutterings of where she should sweep next had been nice.

Mason wandered back to his things, his steps faltering when he realized that he was walking back over to the spot where Mark still sat, not having moved.

Sure, Mark was talking to Tobias and Aubrey, keeping him from seeing as Mason walked over, but eventually, he would notice Mason's presence. He wasn't ready! He didn't even know what he would say!

Hey forever crush that I just kissed today. I hope you don't mind if I come to retrieve my things. Of course, you wouldn't mind! At this point, since we have already made out, existing next to me should be no issue. Mark should never say let alone think that again.

Mason's steps slowed as he internally panicked over what he would do when a saviour appeared. No, he didn't fall down from the sky on a white cloud. Instead, he rolled up wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a cocky grin. Gabe. When Mason caught his eye, he sent the taller man a smile, which was quickly returned.

"Hey, babe." Gabe greeted him, pulling Mason into a tight hug that had him groaning softly.

"Hey, Gabe." Mason looked up at Gabe with those big eyes of his and Gabe had to keep himself from mentioning how sexy he looked. He was trying to play this subtly, and he doubted coming on that strong would be helpful.

Gabe got Mason into a light and playful conversation, one which did a great job of keeping Mason's mind off of things. Gabe frequently touched Mason, whether it was his arm or his hair, he regularly made contact. On a normal occasion, Mason wouldn't think much of it.

Today, he wondered if Mark was watching. Was Mark numb to the sight? Was he jealous of what was going on between Mason and Gabe? Mason suddenly found an entirely new reason to joke around with Gabe. Suddenly, he was the person fake flirting with Gabe, not the other way around.

Gabe was at first surprised. Mason had never reacted to his flirting this way before. He assumed this was Mason's way of letting Gabe know that he was into it.

With that in mind, Gabe returned it completely. Everything he said had two more meanings that dealt with them dating or leaving together, and anytime Gabe could get his hands on an intimate part of mason's body, he did.

Mason struggled with for a moment. Stumbling over his replies and blushing when he didn't have laughing to cover his embarrassment up. He wasn't used to accepting Gabe's advances that way and had trouble seeming natural as he "flirted" with Gabe. Mason eventually got the hang of it, channelling his clubbing whore mentality, and was matching Gabe in everything he gave.

"You know, I am very strong." Gabe boasted haughtily, discreetly puffing out his chest and flexing his arms. Mason laughed, finding Gabe's display completely and utterly funny.

"Oh, really? I wouldn't have guessed." Mason told him, over exaggerating his reaction to tease Gabe. Gabe frowned, looking down at his arms as if expecting to see them smaller than usual.

"No, I really am!" Gabe insisted, now not so playful and more serious about protecting his ego. Mason laughed again.

"Oh yeah? Prove it then, big guy." Mason didn't really consider how Gabe would respond to his taunting. He was just going with the flirting flow and trying to keep his mind off things while making Mark as jealous as possible.

Mason was taken by surprise when Gabe suddenly closed the distance between them and lifted Mason up. Mason immediately yelped, wrapping his arms around Gabe's shoulders out of instinct. He followed this up with a loud laugh, finding his newfound position, being tall for once, fun and a bit exhilarating.

"See?! What did I tell you?!" Gabe asked loudly, spinning a bit with Mason in his arms. Mason was giggling and grinning widely. There was no acting for him anymore, he was just enjoying it.

Eventually, he settled a bit and Gabe was able to talk to him. As they spoke, one of Gabe's hands stayed on Mason's waist where it had gone when Gabe picked him up, the other went down to his bum and cupped it. Mason was about to mention it but got distracted by Gabe's next question.

"Do you admit that I'm a strong man now?" Gabe asked him, staring up at Mason with little distance between their faces. Mason tilted his hummed as if he were considering it.

"I guess I will agree about the strong part." Mason said admittedly, drawing a huge grin from Gabe. Mason smiled, knowing that he would bring Gabe down again with his next comment. "The man thing is debatable."

"Aw, come on!"

Mason laughed out loud, his head thrown back and expression carefree at that moment. When he pulled his head in again, he found Gabe staring at him with adoring eyes. Mason was taken aback, wondering if he had missed something. Why was Gabe staring at him like that? Gabe's face was suddenly closer, and his eyes kept going down to Mason's lips.

Is he trying to kiss me?

Kiss . . .

Mason looked over, finding where Mark still sat. He was still talking with Tobias and Aubrey, but his eyes were on Mason and Gabe. His expression, though, was blank, calm. He could have been looking at paint dry. It seemed that, to him, nothing new was going on.

That thought stabbed through Mason like a dull knife. Its worn tip chewing away through Mason's heart until it finally tore it in half. Gabe and the possibility of his friend trying to kiss him had faded from his mind faster than they had appeared, falling behind thoughts of Mark.

He doesn't care.

And Mason didn't care about staying for a second longer.

"Gabe." Mason said, drawing Gabe's attention to his suddenly sad voice. "Can you put me down. Please?"

Gabe didn't say another word. Mason was on the ground and a second after that, Gabe was watching as Mason rushed off. Mason no longer was worried over how he presented himself to Mark and their friends. Mark didn't care, so it really didn't matter what Mason did.

Mason walked over and began to put his things together quickly.

"Hey, Mason!" Tobias grinned, his smile coming off awkwardly due to his confusion. He wasn't sure why Mason hadn't already said hi. Tobias almost never got to say hi first and now Mason hadn't even tried to greet him.

Mason looked over his shoulder, sending Tobias and Aubrey a quick "hi" before he got back to his things. Within seconds he was packed up and ready to leave.

"What, that's it? Hi?" Aubrey asked, slightly confused and completely offended. "Aren't we your friends? Or you don't want to talk to us anymore?"

Mason shook his head, eyes looking at them listlessly and shoulders sagging down.

"Look, I really can't do this right now." Mason admitted tiredly. He didn't once look over at Mark, knowing that he might say something stupid if he had that boy insight. "I'm sorry but I'll see you guys in a couple of days, alright?"

"No, not alright. Mason, you have to explain-"

Mason didn't listen to Aubrey's protests or stop because of Tobias' face. He didn't even consider stopping at the sight of Gabe staring longingly. During the entire thing, Mark was completely silent. If Mark didn't have anything to say to him, he would go.

Mark didn't care,

So Mason wouldn't either.

———————————————

Ayo!

So. I got a tiny break right now and came to finish up this Chapter. Not as light and cute as I had imagined all those months ago but it served its purpose I feel. Regardless, M&M still kissed and no one can take that away from me!

Anywho,

Thoughts?

There are so many juicy gossipy tips to consider in this Chapter. 

Gabe handling Mason. Mason responding back. Aubrey's attitude at the end. Mark's new stoic expression in it all.

Oh, the ways the story could go.

Anywhy,

Vote, Comment, Share, Follow, anything else you can do with this book and I will see you next Chapter.bye!!!👋🏾👋🏾👋🏾

[text_hash] => 673a523c
)