Page 88 of The Night We Met

“You just couldn’t wait, could you?” I yell bursting at the seams as Mason does a little jog to where I’m standing.

He picks me up by the back of my thighs. His arms wrap around my body leaving no space between us. “Not a chance, baby.”

We stay like this. Wrapped around each other in full view of my neighbors that prefer to sit out front of their houses. The calm I felt that existed before, makes itself known to me now.

“I missed you,” I mumble into Mason’s neck.

“I missed you too, baby.”

I do my best not to compare our relationship from before to what we’re building it to be now. But already, the missing him that I felt is greater than what it was back then. Mason loosens his hold on me and sets me down on solid ground.

“I’ll get your bags,” Mason turns me around and lightly pushes me to my front door.

Taking that as my cue, I pull my house key out of the side pocket of my bag and unlock and open my front door. Holding the door open for Mason, I breathe out a sigh of relief that my reset period starts now.

Before I can take a step towards my kitchen to sort out any mail that was brought in, Mason redirects me to the stairs. “Go light your candles and start your bath. I’ll be up there in a minute.”

I’ve never had anyone here for me when I get home from a show. Stopping, I turn to face him and kiss him. In the privacy of my home and not on the front steps of my house for anyone to see. The care in which he’s making sure I’m okay and cared for threatens to burst me apart. “Thank you.” Three other words are begging to be freed from my lips. But it’s too soon. We’ve barely had more than a week of uninterrupted time. I know it’s quality over quantity, yet it makes it hard to wonder if I’m falling for the man I’ve built up in my mind or past Mason.

“You’re welcome, baby. Now go upstairs.” With a kiss to the tip of my nose, Mason turns and walks down the hallway to my kitchen.

Dragging my weary body up the stairs, I hop on one foot to get my shoe off and drop it with a clunk in my bedroom, followed by the other shoe. My socks soon follow along with my hoodie that kept me cozy the entire flight. Walking into my bathroom I head for the vanity and lookfor the essential oils, bath salts, and Dr. Teal’s of choice for my bubbles.

Walking over to the bath, I turn the water on high and pull the stopper. Getting the lighter from my bedroom, I walk back in and light the plethora of candles I have in my bathroom. When the water is about halfway I fill the tub with my bath essentials then strip off the rest of my clothes and get in the tub. Instantly my body relaxes as the heat from the water and the scent of my bath concoction overtakes my senses.

Sleep is close to overtaking until Mason walks into the bathroom. “Here’s your wine, baby.”

Peeling my eyes open, I sit up and take a healthy gulp. “Thank you. You wanna join me?”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” Scooting forward so he has room.

I watch with rapt attention as he peels his clothes off. The ripple of his abs and the flex of his forearms. He really has gotten more handsome with age. My mouth goes dry when his pants hit the floor. Trailing my eyes up his toned body I meet his smirk as he walks over to the bath.

The water rises as he settles in behind me and pulls me into him. Now my body fully relaxes.

“Did I tell you I missed you?”

His hands knead into the knots in my shoulders. “You did. I missed you too. But I spent seven years missing you.” Mason’s hands drift down my back to wrap around my stomach as my head falls back to his shoulder. “Us being apart from each other was hard. I don’t think we’ll ever be done talking about the past. All of the what could’ve been and what should’ve been. But I’m hoping with more time we can talk a little more about our pasts.”

“You really want to do that?” When we met again allthose months ago, I knew I’d have to tell him more about how me and Liam came to be.

“I do. There’s so much about your life that I know nothing about.”

“Baby, that part of my life is so hard.” Confessing that life hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows is hard to admit. “Do we have to talk about it now?”

Mason places a kiss to the side of my head. “No. Not now. Why don’t you tell me about the show?”

“It was incredible. Paris had rare warm weather so having the show outside was bearable.”

“And what collection was this for?” Our fingers twist and twine together and I watch with a giddiness that can barely be contained.

“This was for Spring. It still drives me wild that pieces for new seasons are shown way in advance. But I love seeing what other designers come up with. The buzz from consumers is what makes designing clothes exciting.”

“I’m so proud of you. I know I’m coming in in the middle of your success, but it means the world to see you succeed.”

My throat feels tight with the sudden urge to cry. I didn’t have this type of support with Liam and here Mason is giving it freely. Turning to face him I search his face and look into the eyes that captured my heart when I was eighteen years old. “Thank you. That means the world to me.”

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