“I’m so proud of you, you know,” I said, meaning every word. Mason had been working pretty closely with Mark on the various shots taken for the calendar. Whenever he came home he’d talk about it for hours, using all kinds of technical, foreign terms I’d never heard of. But still the sheer enthusiasm in his voice when he talked about it, the glint of excitement in his eyes, made me want to listen to him forever, even if I didn’t have a clue what he was saying.
“That means a lot. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, tiger. It’s the truth.”
“Well I’m still grateful. Mark’s talking me through my college options today. I’m more nervous than I thought I’d be. This shit is starting to feel kinda real.”
I’ll tell you who else made me proud. Ivan, Sawyer and Jake. Between them they offered to help fund Mason through college with the promise if he ever wanted to go into erotic photography, they would hold open a guaranteed job for him. That right there was family, and if things didn’t work out the way I hoped with my parents, I knew I would always have somewhere I belonged no matter what.
“It is real, Mason. You’re really doing this, following your dream. I admire you so much and I just know you’ll achieve great things.”
“I hope so,” he muttered. “It just feels sort of surreal. When my mom passed away I completely gave up on the idea, gave up on most things really. Focusing on stuff again, on the photography, on you, it makes me feel so damn alive.”
And that was exactly what I meant - the passion, the fire in his eyes, the higher pitch to his voice…
“You’re fucking beautiful.” The words slipped accidently from my lips, interrupting him and clearly taking him a little by surprise. I hadn’t learned to be all that good with the ‘serious’ stuff yet, you know, the whole ‘sharing feelings’ that people expect in relationships.
“We’re doing good, don’t you think?” Mason asked, taking hold of my hands in his as he scooted a little closer. “We’re making it work.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, sighing in almost disbelief. Because I couldn’t believe it sometimes. I couldn’t believe I was actually learning to share myself with someone, trust someone, perhaps even…love someone.
“You look nervous.”
“I am nervous.”
“About us?”
“I guess. Not because I’m regretting anything, it’s just going to take a while to get used to. To believe it, I suppose.”
“Well you’d better believe it, because I’m not going anywhere.”
“And honestly? I don’t want you to,” I admitted, smiling at how good those words felt on my tongue. Mason leaned in to kiss me and I wound my fingers into his hair, but just as his smooth lips coated mine, my phone rang in my pocket. “Fuck,” I grumbled. “That’ll be Elle. If I don’t answer she’ll just keep calling.”
“No problem. I gotta get going to Mark’s anyway.”
Removing my phone from my pocket and noticing it was indeed Elle, I blew Mason a kiss as I swiped across the screen. “Perfect timing,” I answered.
“Ugh. If you’re about to tell me you were balls deep in Mason then don’t bother.”
“Firstly, no I wasn’t, and second, do you think I’d have answered the phone if I was?”
“I don’t even want to know. Anyway, I’m just calling to say I’ll be round in five minutes. Just wanted to give you a heads up in case you were, um, busy.”
“I’m not busy.” Anymore, I tacked on in my head. “See you in five.”
“Make that one. I’m just pulling up.”
Ending the call, I did a quick tidy round – grabbing my dirty clothes from the floor and tossing them in my bedroom, and then putting all the breakfast dishes from the surfaces into the dishwasher. Of course, the mess was all mine. Mason was the perfect housewife. Elle’s buzz came as I was loading the last mug and I gave my hands a quick rub on my jeans and went to let her in.
“I’m gonna miss yooooooou!” she sang, throwing her arms around me the second she stepped through the door.
“I’ll be back before you know it,” I assured her, prizing myself out of her constrictive grip.
“Well it’s looking like Kylie might be here by the time you get back,” Elle said, following me through to the living room. “She’ll have completed her exams by then. I thought it was still a few months away so of course she made me feel like shit for not listening to her. Damn teenagers.”
“And your mum’s okay with it?”
I’d only met Elle and Kylie’s mum twice but I knew she was a selfish, irresponsible bitch and doubted she would let Kylie go without a fight – just to be awkward if nothing else.
“She doesn’t care as long as she still gets some money. I’ve told her I’ll replace her Child Benefit payments and add a bit more besides. The money means nothing to me. I’d rather Kylie have a shot at a decent future with someone who gives a shit about her.”