Forever mason, p.10
Forever Mason, page 10
I read until I start yawning. After I mark my chapter, I set the book on the table and turn my light out. I have work in a couple of hours, but only until noon. As soon as I close my eyes, the visions return. I have no choice but to let them play out like a movie. If counting sheep worked, I’d do it, but right now, the only thing I can count is the make-believe kissing that’s going on in my head because half the stuff my brain conjures up never happened. I bet this is how rumors get started.
If I have learned anything, it’s not to go to a party on a work night. Today sucked. No, it more than sucked, but I honestly don’t know how else to describe it without adding a bunch of swear words to give my crappy day more emphasis.
When I come into the house, my mom greets me in the doorway. “Katelyn called,” she tells me, and my heart falls to the floor. Would my mom ask her about our fake date? God, I hope not.
“Oh,” I say because I really have no idea what else I should say right now. “Wh—what did she want?” My words stumble over themselves. Can mom see that I’m nervous? Probably, she has a radar for everything.
“Just asked that you call her when you got home from work.”
I nod and make my way into the kitchen where the phone is. My steps seem heavy, weighted down by guilt. Damn, I can never tell another lie. After I pick up the receiver, I dial the number written on a notecard above the phone. My mom likes to keep everyone’s numbers in the same place—just in case.
Three rings, and she picks up. Her voice is excited. “Hello, Cohen residence.”
“H—” I clear my throat and start over. “Hi, Katelyn. It’s me, Mason Powell.” I wish I wasn’t so nervous. She already knows my last name.
“Hey, Mase,” she says. I’m not sure how I feel about the nickname, but whatever. My mom is hovering, and I don’t feel like getting into the finer details of how I’d like her to address me. “Would you like to come over and go swimming?” she asks. “It’s hot out, and I thought we could lay by the pool.”
“Okay, let me check with my mom. I just got home from work.” I set the phone down on my shoulder and glance at my mom. She’s pretending to wash dishes and probably doesn’t think I saw her look from over her shoulder toward me then out the window. She likely pinched her neck with her eavesdropping. “Mom, may I go to Katelyn’s to swim?”
“You saw her last night, right?”
Crap, did Katelyn hear that? I nod because the frog in my throat is preventing me from saying anything.
Mom turns and looks at me. “I’m okay with it as long as Mrs. Cohen will be there.”
I put the phone back to my ear and say, “Will—”
“Yes, my mom is home.” Great, Katelyn heard my mom.
“Thanks for the invite,” I tell her. “I’ll be over in a few minutes. With my towel,” I add before hanging up. I leave the kitchen and head upstairs to change and grab my towel. I spot The Outsiders on my nightstand and decide to bring it with me. I hope Katelyn’s read the book, and we can at least discuss the characters, and if she hasn’t, well, I’ll tell her all about it. But I’m not lending her my copy.
On the drive over to Katelyn’s, I think about what I will say if she asks what my mom meant about seeing her the night before. I’m going to assume she didn’t hear the conversation, and she just assumed my mom would want to know if her mom was home. This seems logical in my mind. I park along the curb, in front of Katelyn’s, and grab my things. The same conundrum is before me on whether or not I should go to the front door or the gate. I don’t know why it’s so hard to figure out, but I will ask Katelyn about it and see what the preference is. As soon as I hear splashing, I head to the gate, reach over and unlatch the lock to let myself in.
Katelyn looks toward the gate and smiles when she sees me. Her hair is wet and stuck to her back as if she just got out of the pool. I’m upset that I missed her diving into the water. The last time I was here and saw that she was a sight to behold. Maybe she dreams of being an Olympian diver or something.
“Hey,” I say, giving her a wave, which, when you think about it, seems sort of dumb. I drop my hand and continue toward the lounge chairs. “Thanks for inviting me over.”
“You’re welcome,” she says. I watch her lie down and bring her knee up slightly. Water droplets move all over her skin, and I find myself jealous of them. What would it be like to touch her? Would she want to touch me back? I really hate having thoughts like this. More so because I don’t know how to act, what’s appropriate, or how to tell if she even likes me. Maybe she’s just really nice and feels sorry for me because Liam is gone.
I sit down and mimic the way she’s lying. It must be comfortable. “Remember the other night when we talked about summer reading?”
“Yeah,” she says without looking at me.
“I don’t know why I didn’t tell you then, but this is my favorite book.” I hand it to her. She looks at the cover and then flips to the back. “My dad gave it to me.”
“What do you love about it?” she asks.
I shrug. “It’s sort of a manly story, I guess. It shows you what it’s like to have brothers, and since I’m an only child, it’s nice to see that dynamic. Don’t get me wrong, they fight, but whatever. There’s a girl in there as well, so it has that star-crossed romance thing I always see on my mom’s soap operas. You know the one where someone is from the wrong side of the tracks, but you can’t help but be in love with them?”
Katelyn flips through the pages and reads for a bit. “I think I’d like this.”
Well, you can’t have mine! “Maybe we can go to the library and check a copy out for you.”
She laughs and hands my book back. “I’m sure going to the library is high on your list.”
“It is, if it’s with you,” I say.
Her head turns, and she looks at me. “I invited you to go swimming.” Is this a reminder? “But if you’d rather go to the library, I can ask my mom to take us.”
“Do you think if I ask your mom if I can drive you, she will let me?”
Her face scrunches, and I can see she's trying to find a polite way to tell me no. Katelyn stands and reaches for my hand. “Only one way to find out.” She tugs me behind her until we get to the back door. I follow her into her house and up a small flight of stairs until we’re in the kitchen. That’s when she drops my hand and turns the corner into a nook. Her mom is sitting at the table, thumbing through a magazine.
“Mom, this is Mason.” Katelyn points to me, and I step forward to shake hands.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Cohen.”
“You too, Mason.”
I clear my throat. “I know Katelyn isn’t allowed to ride in my truck, but I’m wondering if you’d be okay with me driving us to the library. I showed Katelyn my favorite book and suggested she read it.”
Mrs. Cohen looks at Katelyn. I expect to see fire shoot from her eyes, but I see nothing but kindness, which doesn’t really describe the way Katelyn talks about her mom. “You know the rules, Katelyn, but I’ll allow it this one time since you have books due.”
Katelyn rushes to her mom and tackles her with a hug. “Thank you.”
“To the library and back,” her mom says pointedly and looks at me over her daughter’s shoulder.
“Yes, ma’am,” I say.
Katelyn tells me she will meet me outside because she needs to get her books. I’m thankful she doesn’t have me wait in the kitchen because I don’t want to have an awkward conversation with her mom. Katelyn runs to my truck wearing a dress, but I can still see the ties from her swimsuit. She clutches her books in one hand and her purse over her shoulder. I hold the truck door open for her and wait until she’s inside before closing it and heading toward the driver’s side.
“I can’t believe she said yes.” Katelyn’s out of breath and gasping for air.
“It must be my charm.”
Katelyn snorts. “That or she doesn’t want to drive later. She has anxiety sometimes.” I can’t imagine not wanting to drive. Right now, I can’t find enough places to drive to.
It doesn’t take us very long to get to the library, and once we’re inside, we head to the young adult section and look until we find a copy of The Outsiders. After Katelyn checks it out, we’re on our way back to her house.
“I feel like I should’ve negotiated a stop for drinks or something.”
I laugh. “Don’t rock the boat.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
When we get back to the house, Katelyn tells her mom that we’re back, and then we sit by the pool. She’s holding her copy of the book in her hand and says, “We should read it together and discuss each chapter.”
“Okay, and then we can watch the movie. I think we can rent it at Blockbuster, but sometimes it plays at the drive-in.”
“I’d like that, but first, let’s swim. This heat is killing me.”
Katelyn stands, and she pulls her dress up and over her head and kicks her shoes aside. I stay where I am because from here, I can watch her dive. Plus, this vantage point allows me to stare at her without getting caught. She sashays away. Her hips move in such a way that it’s like they’re asking me to look at them. And I’m doing a ton of looking.
She climbs the diving board. It’s only two steps, but she makes it seem like it's more. When she hits the water, I shake my head, get up from the chair, and jump in the air to do a cannonball. Before I hit the water, I think I'm going to kiss her today.
Sixteen
Two people swimming in a pool is sort of awkward. Katelyn and I splash around, and we laugh, but each time I try to get close to her, she swims away or dunks under and then comes back up in the deep end. Maybe I’m reading her all wrong, and she’s not flirting with me and just being nice because she feels sorry for me that my best friend is gone for the summer. It could be that Katelyn’s using me since her best friend is working and she needs someone to spend time with. Either way, I’m confused. But I’m also cool with things if she just wants to be friends. However, I have to know.
“Do you wanna get some floaties or something?” I ask her, remembering she mentioned them before.
“Yeah, for sure.” Katelyn swims to the deep end and uses the small ladder to get out. I follow, figuring this must be quicker or easier than walking around. She walks to a shed and opens the door but doesn’t turn on the light. I step in behind her. She startles and starts to lose her balance. My hands land on her hips to steady her, and she turns slightly toward me.
“You scared me,” she says.
“I’m sorry.” I take in everything around us. We’re in a shed, with tiny light beams coming through the gaps in the wood. I haven’t moved my hands from her hips, and we’re alone. What more do I need?
I lean forward and press my lips to hers and then pull back when she gasps. Did I do something wrong? I try again, and this time neither of us pull away, and she doesn’t make a sound. Katelyn puts her hands on my forearms, and we continue to kiss. Or press our lips together. I try to put my tongue in her mouth because I really like that, but it’s like her mouth is locked down or she doesn’t want to French kiss. I guess it’s not for everyone.
“Katelyn, your mom—” The light goes on, and there’s a large gasp behind us. We both jump, and Katelyn looks down at the ground and then turns away. “Hey, Mason,” Josie says from the doorway.
“Hey.” I wave and offer a weakish smile. “We were just getting some floaties.”
“Uh, huh,” she says. I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I’m pretty sure Josie doesn’t believe me, and I’m fairly sure she caught me kissing her friend. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do right now. Do I stand here? Head out to the pool? Grab an air mattress? Help!
Katelyn hands me a pink innertube. Without telling her that pink isn’t exactly my color, I take it and go back to the pool, and instead of being cool or smart about things, I toss the tube into the water and try to jump into the center of it. I miss, of course, and I am thankful water doesn’t hurt that bad when you land wrong. And I’m also grateful the inner tube is plastic and nothing harder because I could’ve given myself a concussion.
“Are you okay?” Josie asks when I surface.
“Yeah, just being dumb.”
“My mom says all boys are dumb, men too, and that they really don’t grow up until their eighty,” she replies.
Lovely, so I’m going to be stupid for the rest of my life.
Katelyn and Josie enter the pool, both using air mattresses to hold themselves afloat. But, seriously, why couldn’t I have one of those? I finally maneuver myself to sit in the center but hate that my feet are sticking out of the water. No one wants feet in their face all the time. I flip over, stay underwater for a few seconds to clear my thoughts, and then pop up through the middle. It’s a tight fit but manageable.
“I thought you had to work today?” Katelyn asks Josie.
“I did, but it was so slow they sent me home. I figured you’d be laying out and took my chance at coming over.”
“Do you like working at the ice cream shop?” I ask.
“I love it,” Josie says. “Except on Friday nights.”
“Why?”
“Because my friends show up and want to chat, but we’re always so busy that I can’t. Or some upperclassmen will come to my window, flirt, and expect free ice cream. They get so angry when I tell them I can’t do that.”
“That’s rude of them,” I say, and Josie nods.
“It’s a thing, apparently,” she says. “The owner said he used to do it when he was in high school, long before he bought the place, of course. What about you, do you like your job? I saw you washing a car the other day.”
“Yeah, it’s fun. Hard work and sometimes my arms hurt, but I like Willy. He’s a good boss.”
“I wish my mom would let me get a job,” Katelyn interjects.
“How come she doesn’t?” I ask.
Josie chuckles, which I find odd.
“Remember earlier when I told you my mom has anxiety?”
I nod.
“Right, well, she thinks I’m going to get kidnapped or something. I think it has to do with the books she reads. I don’t know. Like, right now, she’s in the kitchen, watching us. She acts like I can’t see her, but I know she’s there.”
“At least your mom cares, Katelyn. Mine,” Josie pauses and shrugs. “Mine thinks I should make all my own decisions and live with the consequences.”
“Well, my mom is somewhere in the middle,” I tell the girls. “She definitely cares but is trying to give me the freedom to do things. But I know she worries about me and what I do, more so since I started driving.”
“Oh my gosh, Josie!” Katelyn squeals. “My mother let me ride in Mason’s truck today. He asked her if we could go to the library to check out his favorite book.”
“Did you actually go, or did you go to the cliffs to make out?” Josie teases. Katelyn splashes her with water, and I just float there, wondering if I defend Katelyn’s honor or say anything at all.
“Yes, we went. Don’t be a jerk,” Katelyn says.
“Well, you guys were getting hot and heavy in the pool shed.”
Hot and heavy? Clearly, Josie hasn’t been to a party yet because then she’d know there wasn’t anything hot and heavy about what Katelyn and I were doing.
Katelyn glances at me, and I wink. She blushes a little, or she’s overheated from embarrassment. Either way, I hope she knows I want to kiss her again—next time, with tongue.
The girls and I float around for a bit and then decide to lay out in the sun. I’m a third wheel and wishing Liam was here so I could have someone to talk to. I suppose I could leave and let the girls do their thing. They’re talking about some character they both like, and since I’m out of the loop, I have no idea if he’s from a book or television show. Honestly, if he doesn’t play football, I probably have no idea who he is. After I’ve dried off, I tell them that I’m going to head home. I thank Katelyn for inviting me and tell her I’ll call her later. I want to think I will, but she’s getting harder to read the more time we spend together.
When I reach my truck, Katelyn yells my name and continues to follow me until she’s standing with me at my driver’s side door. “Thank you for telling me about your favorite book and taking me to get a copy.”
“You’re welcome.”
“And thank you for parking this way.”
I look at her oddly. “Which way?”
“With your truck door facing the street.”
“Okay. Why?”
“So, I can do this.” Katelyn rises onto her tippy toes and presses her lips to mine. The kiss is short, sweet, and completely changes my mind on whether she likes me or not. “If you don’t call me, I’m going to call you, Mason,” she says this so pointedly that I believe her. Before I can say anything, Katelyn runs back to her house and disappears behind the fence.
When the phone rings, I spring off the couch to answer it, knowing it’s going to be Katelyn. “Hello?”
“Hi, Mason,” she replies. I’m happy she didn’t call me Mase but have also thought that if she did it again, I’d be okay with it.
“Hey,” I say in a somewhat hushed tone. I press my shoulder against the wall, blocking my parents from seeing me. They’re both sitting at the table, and the only phone is in the kitchen. I wish I had one in my room.
“Do you want to meet me at the movies?”
Is this a date?
“Do you want me to ask your mom if I can drive you?” I ask, remembering how things worked out for us earlier.
“No,” she whispers, and that’s when I get it. She doesn’t want her mom to know we’re meeting. Okay, I can play this game.
“All right, what time is the movie?” I don’t even care what we see because we can sit in the back and make out. It’s not ideal, but it’s unlikely anyone will see us in the corner, and if they do, no one really cares. Katelyn tells me the time, and I say I’ll be there. After I hang up, I realize I didn’t ask beforehand. It would really suck if my parents said no.
