Page 76 of Fun and Games
"I told him most of it," I said. "He was really good about it. Understanding."
"Sounds like a keeper." Sheila nudged me in the shoulder with a smile.
I stared at my phone. At the ream of notifications for Mason's messages.
"Yeah," I said. "I think he might be."
Twenty-Nine
The exteriorof Mason's door wasn't familiar. Every time we came to his apartment, we'd either been making out, or laughing with each other, or distracted by Lucky.
Now, standing in front of it, I was able to examine every grain of wood, every small notch. If I stood there any longer the door's facade was going to be permanently etched into my brain.
It had been at least fifteen minutes since I'd arrived at Mason's apartment. I'd raised my hand to knock, then lowered it, a dozen times. Shuffling sounds and faint yelping told me both Mason and Lucky were home.
Mason didn't know I was coming. I didn't want him to be expecting me, because then I'd definitely have to go through with it. I still wasn't sure if I wanted to have this conversation yet.
I was still debating whether or not showing up unannounced was a good idea, still debating whether or not I should just turn around and go back home, when my phone pinged loudly. I hurried to put it on silent mode. It was a text from Sheila, giving me words of encouragement.
For all that she had been overbearing when I was growing up, in the end she really was a great big sister.
I was still fiddling with my phone to silence it when the door swung open. I jumped, startled, with my phone still in my hand and my mouth gaping.
Mason stood in the doorframe. His thick hair fell over his forehead, nearly obscuring his green eyes. He blinked once, surprised, before his expression turned guarded.
"Hey," he said carefully.
I snapped my gaping jaw shut.
"Hey," I said weakly. I shoved my phone into my bag and straightened up. "Can I come in?"
It was the same thing my sister had asked me when she showed up without warning. This time, the person on the other side of the door didn't break down into tears. Instead, Mason silently held the door open wider for me to walk through.
I tiptoed across the threshold, unsure if I was truly welcome. I'd been ignoring Mason's texts ever since I shouted at him to get out. His messages had been full of worry, but I wouldn't have blamed him if he was also angry with me. I hadn't been a good friend to him.
If "friends" was even what we were to each other. We hadn't ever defined our relationship. The last time we'd talked about anything like that, it had been to both confirm we weren't looking for anything serious.
But things had changed between us. Changed in exactly what way, I didn't know. All I knew was that hurting Mason made me feel awful. As painful as it had been to see those wedding rings, the fact that I'd also caused Mason pain had only compounded my heartache.
Before Mason or I could say anything to each other, Lucky ran up to me with his tongue hanging out, panting heavily. He came up to me so fast he skidded on the floor and bonked his forehead into my shins. I couldn't help but laugh as I knelt down and gave him back rubs.
"Such an excitable little thing, aren't you?" I didn't exactly coo at the puppy the way Mason did, but my voice did get higher-pitched. It was impossible to do anything but grin when I had a warm, squirming ball of fur in my hands.
"I was just about to feed him," Mason said.
He went over to the kitchen, got out a bag of dog food and poured a cupful into Lucky's bowl. The puppy's ears perked up at the sound of the kibble hitting the metal dish. He abandoned me and skittered down the hallway to bury his nose in the bowl and snarf down his food.
I stood back up and brushed the fur off my hands.
"Lucky missed you," Mason said.
"I missed him, too."
The two of us stared at each other in silence. The look in his eyes was wary but also concerned.
I had to look away, fiddling with the buckles of my bag to avoid his gaze.
"Can I talk to you about what happened?" I asked.
