Lemonade (WLGYL #2)

Chapter 16-Present

I needed to apologize to Mason. The most we had talked in the past few days were a few awkward "hellos" and "I'll do the dishes." I thought it would be easier like this, not having to talk to Mason, but I actually felt worse. I didn't want him to be mad at me.

On Friday after work, I paused outside of Mason's door. I knew he was home; I had heard him come inside. Knocking a few times on his door, I said, "Hey, Mase?"

I waited for a few seconds. Nothing. "Mason?" I tried again.

More seconds later, and the door opened in front of me. Mason stepped out, holding a pizza box. His eyes landed on me in surprise. "Did you say something?" He pulled his earbuds out of his ears.

"Oh—nothing." I suddenly felt awkward.

Mason walked into the kitchen. He opened the pizza box and put the remaining slices in a Tupperware container. There were four pieces of crust lingering in the box, and I half-expected him to give them to me, the way he always did. That was stupid, of course, because Mason took the remaining crust and threw it away. I sucked in a breath.

"Mason," I started. I just needed to say it. "I'm sorry for how I acted, you know, when we fought."

Mason's eyes flitted up. "Em, it's okay. I get it."

"No," I persisted, my stomach tight. "I was trying to start something for no reason."

His eyebrows furrowed.

I sighed. "It's just weird, trying to be normal with you again. But I do want that."

Mason nodded, a small smile now pulling at his lips. "I want that too."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Now, if only I didn't sabotage this newfound truce.

He looked over at the stove, where a few bowls of pudding rested, from my baking-stint during my lunch break. There was a half-eaten cup of pudding on the counter in front of him. "Did you make these?"

I nodded, and grabbed the pudding cup, maneuvering to the opposite side of the counter from him

Mason's smile grew wider. "You did always love to bake."

"It's a good de-stressor."

"I'm that stressful?" Mason said, raising his eyebrows.

I laughed, feeling better than I had in days. "You have no idea."

Mason laughed too, before gesturing to my pudding. "Let me try some."

I nodded and figured he would take his own bowl from the stove but, instead, he leaned over the counter. He grabbed my spoon and took a bite of the pudding, which felt oddly intimate. And now my spoon was contaminated.

Mason's eyes widened. "Wow, it's really good, Em."

He returned my spoon, our fingers brushing. At least we were okay for now.

***

"No, he's the murderer!" I shouted at the TV screen. "Get out of that house!"

Right on cue, the girl was pushed down the stairs by the assailant who, plot twist, was her brother. Although I could see the ending coming from a mile away, I still jumped. I had to stop watching Amara's crime dramas before I freaked myself out.

The front door creaked open, and I shot up off the couch again. My heart was pounding in my chest as I looked up at Mason, who was standing near the kitchen counter, an amused smile on his face. "You good?" he said. He was clutching an open pack of beer in one hand.

I took a deep breath, trying to slow down my heart rate. "Yeah," I said, turning off the TV. "Just a scary show."

Mason's brows furrowed. "You hate scary things."

I used to. He was right about that. But there was a lot Mason didn't know about me. "Not anymore."

Mason's face fell.

Regardless of our past, I still hated seeing him upset. I didn't want to ruin the apology I had already given him today. "Where have you been?" I asked quickly in an attempt to change the subject. He had left shortly after our conversation for the gym. Now, I eyed the alcohol in his hands.

Mason grinned again. "Do you remember Nathan Rodgers? From college?"

I contemplated. "Your freshman year roommate?"

"Yes!" Mason's eyes were bright, and, for the first time in a while, he seemed truly happy. Like he actually had fun. "I ran into him at the gym and he invited me over to his apartment. He moved here after graduation for law school."

I raised my eyebrows. I did not peg Nathan Rodgers as the law type. The last time I had really seen him, he was shotgunning cheap beer in a fraternity basement. "Oh wow, that's great. I didn't know you two kept in touch."

"We didn't." Mason laughed. "I hardly recognized him. You would not believe the facial hair on that kid."

I smiled. It was easy to forget about everything when Mason was like this. My conversation with Mason earlier had felt normal, easy like it used to be. "It sounds like you had a good time."

"Yeah." Mason's smile faded. His gaze was heavy on mine, freezing me to the spot. "Look, I'm—" he hesitated, his eyes searching the room. "I'm a little drunk, so I might...say things I shouldn't say."

There was a pit in my stomach. What things? I fidgeted my weight onto my left foot. "What do you mean?" Please don't say you're still in love with me. Don't ruin this.

Mason took a step forward, placing the beer on the floor next to him. After a few seconds' pause, he said abruptly, "I don't think Liam's right for you." The tension in the air grew thicker until I could barely breathe through it.

I tried to keep casual, like this couldn't be a serious conversation if I didn't act like it was one. I rolled my eyes. "What, you jealous?" I laughed a little. "You don't even know him."

Mason wouldn't meet my gaze. "Maybe I am jealous." When I didn't say anything he added, "Of how we used to be."

My laughter died as soon as it left my mouth. "Well, we can't change the past," I said softly. "Why can't we just make a new normal? Like how it was today?"

"I don't want a new normal."

"Mason." I took a deep breath. It wasn't fair for him to say these things, to put this on me right now. Not when I had Liam. "I can't. You can't."

At that, Mason finally looked at me, his brown eyes challenging. He took another step forward with hesitation, like he was afraid I'd back away. When I stood my ground, he continued until we were mere inches apart. "I can't what?" He was daring me to do something, to say something. But I wouldn't.

I eyed him warily. His hair was sticking up in the back, tousled from the California wind. His cheeks were red, either from the alcohol or from embarrassment, I couldn't tell. When he was this close to me, I could smell his scent, a mix of his deodorant and cologne, sandalwood and ocean and lemons. I didn't want to fight again. "You can't say things like that to me. Not anymore."

Mason's eyes lost their sparkle. He dropped his gaze to the floor and nodded, chewing his lip between his teeth. "I'm sorry," he said softly. When he looked back up at me, he was grinning. "Like I said, I'm drunk as hell. I always say the stupidest shit."

"Yeah," I said, but I didn't quite believe him. Something felt off. Whether it was the intensity in Mason's eyes, hidden behind the humor, or something else, I couldn't tell.

Mason nodded again, and when he turned around and walked towards his bedroom, I noticed he was swaying.

I narrowed my eyes. As Mason's door slammed shut, I realized what seemed off. He was trying too hard to convince me of something. Because, although Mason insisted he was drunk, proclaiming that it was the reason for his candidness, I didn't smell any alcohol on his breath.

A/N:

Sorry for taking so long with the updates! Because of this, I decided to update three chapters at once. With the holidays coming up, I'm not sure I'll be able to update Lemonade this coming weekend, but hopefully sometime the week after! Instead, I'm planning a surprise update of something else on Christmas (: