Page 138 of Anything To Be With You

I look at him. Instead of seeing a man before me, I see a little boy. His bright turquoise eyes and sweet smile looking up at me from his highchair, with chocolate ice cream all over his face.

A small whimper escapes. "You’re not my baby anymore."

Mason wraps his large arms around my shoulders. "I’ll always be your baby."

"Oh…God." I sob.

He chuckles and his arms wrap tighter around me. "Come on, Ma."

I pull back and wipe my face. I take a deep breath and give myself a shake. "No more sex in the house when I’m not here or when I am here," I wave my hands. "No sex in the house period."

"Deal. The backseat of cars or seedy motels it is."

I laugh. "Smartass." I touch his cheek, feeling the stubble that’s there and start to tear up again.

"Do I need to call Auntie Erin?" he asks.

I give a watery laugh. "No, Bubba. I’ll be okay."

He stands and kisses the top of my head. "I guess you know now. Does it…does it bother you?"

"That you’re having sex? Yes. Very much."

He rolls his eyes. "You know what I mean."

I take his massive hand in mine. "No, it doesn’t bother me that you’re gay. I was shocked, not going to lie about that, seeing as how back in July you had the girl with the attitude in your room while your friends were destroying my house. However, what bothers me is that I outed you before you could tell me."

Mason sits next to me again. "Nothing happened between me and Kyra. We started, but it didn't feel right. She thought I was scared and when you yelled for me, I used that as an excuse to get the hell out of there." He looks down at his lap. "And I didn't know how to tell you."

I take his face in my hands. "Bubba, you know you can tell me anything. I’m not going to judge," I kiss his nose and he groans. "Unless you kill someone, then I’ll kick your ass. After I help you bury the body of course."

He huffs out a laugh. "Of course."

"Do the boys know?" I question, worried that he’s going to tell me they’re no longer talking.

"They know. Clay is the one who introduced me to Chase." Mason smiles to himself.

That makes me so happy. They accept Mason because of who he is and not because of who he is attracted to.

"I really like Chase, Ma." Mason confesses.

"Tell me about him."

Mason’s smile brightens. "He’s sweet and caring. Funny too. And he makes me feel…amazing. And not just because he’s good at sucking co—"

I slap my hand over his mouth. "If you finish that sentence, I’m going to tell you all about my sex life."

Mason gags behind my hand. "Deal. Even though that would be a short story."

"Smartass." I grin. "Would you like to invite him over for dinner one night?" I ask, removing my hand from his mouth.

"I’d like that." Mason smile.

"Good," I kiss his forehead. "Now, go do some homework or something." I wave him away. "Tell Chase I’m not mad at him and that I’m excited to meet him properly."

"I will." Mason leaves the kitchen and I slump back in the chair.

I don’t like the idea of Mason growing up, but at least I can rest assure that my sex talk worked.

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