Page 21 of Right Number

“I don’t know. Part of me wants to know and part of me doesn’t.” I sat on my bed staring at my phone, unsure of how to answer. It was the exact thing that had led to problems in our last conversation. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I also didn’t want things to end like they did on Friday. Luckily, another message from Mason came through a few moments later. “Forget I asked. Tell me about the Spring Art Show.”

I breathed a big sigh of relief. I wasn’t sure if it was my delay in responding, or if Mason had come to his senses, but whatever the reason, I was glad he’d dropped the subject of Liam. I started texting Mason about the art show and how portfolios were judged to determine which artists would get to display their work. He seemed genuinely interested and asked several thoughtful questions. “This all sounds really amazing! Can you send me some examples of your work?”

Unlike the first time he’d asked, right after we’d met, I got excited by the idea that Mason wanted to see some of my photography. It felt like sharing my photography with him was sharing a really big part of myself and I was ready for it. I scrolled through some of the images I’d saved on my phone, and picked three to send him. “These are not from today, but are some I’ve taken over the past year that might go into my portfolio.”

The first was a great shot of cherry blossoms taken from the ground, up through tree branches, showing the pink blossoms in stark contrast to the bright blue sky. The second was a sunrise just above the tree line with an orange hue so deep and intense it almost looked like the sky was on fire. The final one was a close up of a black and white butterfly perfectly posed on some bright green leaves. The butterfly was one of my favorites.

After I sent the pictures and the message, I anxiously sat on my bed waiting to see what Mason would say. I was always nervous when showing someone my work for the first time. I never knew how people were going to react. When Mason’s message came through, I realized I shouldn’t have been worried at all. “Wow! You’re really talented, Anna! The one of the sunrise is amazing!”

I could feel myself beaming. “Thank you. It was a ‘right place, right time’ shot, but it turned out pretty great. The butterfly is one of my favorites. I have a print of it hanging in my bedroom.”

“They’re all beautiful.”

Before I had a chance to respond, I heard the front door open and Bree shouted, “Hey, Anna! We’re home and we have a bag of popcorn for you!”

“You missed a good movie!” Sarah shouted after her.

I glanced at the time on my phone, suddenly realizing how long I’d been sitting on my bed texting with Mason. “I’ll be there in just a minute!” I shouted back to them.

“Got to go. My roommates are calling me with a bag of movie theater popcorn,” I quickly typed out to Mason.

“Can’t pass that up. Talk to you soon?”

“You better.”

I slid off my bed and had my hand on the doorknob to my room when my phone buzzed again. I looked down and felt my heart start pounding as a huge smile broke out on my face. “Glad to be talking to you again. I really did miss you, Anna.”

Without hesitation I wrote back, “Missed you too, Mason.” I quickly shoved my phone into the back pocket of my jeans and walked out into the living room. Bree was standing in the middle of the room and Sarah was waving at me as she walked into the kitchen.

“Your popcorn, my dear.” Bree handed me the bag with an exaggerated bow.

“Why thank you.” I laughed as I took the bag. “How was the movie?”

“We can talk about the movie later. I want to hear about your day with Liam.” Bree flopped down on one end of the sofa and patted the seat next to her.

“It was nice,” I answered vaguely. I opened the popcorn bag and stuffed a big handful into my mouth to avoid answering further.

“Nice?” Sarah emerged from the kitchen with a glass of water and sat on the opposite side of the sofa from Bree. “You describe it as ‘nice’ but you had a big smile on your face when you came out of your room. You’re holding out on us.”

“Details. Spill it now.” Bree patted the sofa next to her again. I begrudgingly obliged and sat between them. I told Bree and Sarah all about my day with Liam, including the picture he took and what he said about it.

“Wow,” Sarah said when I paused to take a bite of popcorn. “I think the day sounds a little better than ‘nice.’”

“What were you doing in your room before we got home?” Bree asked.

I finished chewing my mouthful of popcorn and answered without even thinking about it. “Texting with Mason.”

Bree and Sarah were quiet as I stuck another handful of popcorn in my mouth. Sarah finally broke the silence. “So the big smile you had on your face, when you first walked out here…was that from your day with Liam or texting with Mason?”

Sarah’s question hit me like a slap to the face. I stopped mid-chew as I realized I didn’t know what the honest answer to her question was. I wanted to say it was from my day with Liam, but I’d also been incredibly excited to text with Mason again.

“Why are you still texting with this guy?” Bree asked as she folded her arms across her chest.

I resumed chewing and swallowed the popcorn in my mouth. My mouth felt dry and I’d suddenly lost my appetite. I carefully folded the top of the popcorn bag down while I contemplated my answer. “He’s fun to talk to.” I leaned forward and placed the bag of popcorn on the coffee table to avoid making eye contact with Bree as I spoke.

Bree shook her head as I leaned back. “It has to be something more than that.”

Was it something more than that? What were my expectations when it came to Mason? We were friends, right? Is that what we were? I sighed. “I don’t know. It’s kind of nice talking to a guy without any pressure.” Is that all it was with Mason? It didn’t feel like that answer was very honest, but then again, I didn’t actually know what my fully honest answer was.

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