Lemonade (WLGYL #2)

Chapter 18-Past

**Song: Cold & Clear // Cajsa Silk**

A few days after my 18th birthday, Mason surprised me with a trip to the Masterson lake house a few hours away. Mason, Jessie, Caleb, Reyna, and I packed into their minivan and drove up North; our first vacation alone.

In the car, Caleb was singing along to every song queued up by his phone, Reyna was reading, Mason was sleeping, Jessie was gossiping, and I was listening, taking everything in.

Our first night, we had a bonfire in the backyard by the water, nestled in blankets amongst the chilly November air. We played card games and watched movies and Mason held my hand in the dark of the room. I got to open my birthday gifts: gift cards from Caleb, a new purse from Jessie, makeup from Reyna, and a silver ring from Mason, rivaling his lemon necklace.

On the last night, Jessie paused while pulling out her clothes for dinner. "You're not coming with us," she said, turning around to face me.

I scrunched my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

She leaned in closer to me like she had a secret. "I'm not supposed to spoil the surprise..."

"But..."

Jessie rolled her eyes. "But...Mason has something planned for you."

I sat up straighter. "Meaning?"

She sighed. "Meaning I'll go to dinner with Caleb and Reyna, and you're staying here."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Should I be nervous."

Jessie came over to my perch on the twin bed. "Never." She kissed my cheek. "Happy late birthday."

***

While the rest of the crowd drove off in the minivan to dinner in the nearest town over, I walked into the kitchen, and immediately stopped. There were flowers on the kitchen table—roses and baby's breath—the fireplace was burning, and there were plates of steaming pasta on two pink placements.

Mason was leaning against the counter, an apron tied around his waist. He was grinning. Stretching out his hands, he said, "Welcome to your belated birthday dinner."

My jaw was still open. "You did all of this yourself?"

He shrugged. "The fire was Caleb, the decorations were Reyna and Jess, but the food was all me."

"This is the best birthday ever."

Mason laughed, untying the apron. He made his way over to me and pulled out the dining room chair so I could get in. "Hey, it's not over yet."

I knew he thought I was being dramatic and exaggerating, but it was the best birthday. So what if the pasta wasn't the most gourmet I had ever had? So what if I could feel the November frost seeping into the house, even with the fire blazing? I loved Mason, and I loved that he did this, planned this, all for me.

I moved my empty plate to the side and leaned over the table to kiss him.

"Woah," Mason said. His eyes were still closed when I pulled away, his mouth still slightly parted.

Silently, I stood up, grabbing Mason's hand and pulling him to his feet. I led him to the basement, to the guest room he was staying in. And when I finally pulled him inside and locked the door behind us with one hand and started to lift up his shirt with the other, he started to get the hint.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm ready," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. Throughout my whole relationship with Mason, I didn't know what would make me feel "ready." What would change that I now wanted to go all the way with the boy of my dreams. But this trip, this birthday, it clicked. I wanted Mason in all the ways you wanted a person.

Mason grabbed my hands, gently moving them from his bare chest. "Emma, I didn't make you dinner and buy you flowers so you'd have sex with me."

"Mason." I moved my hands to his face. "I love you. I want this."

I could see his jaw working, his throat bobbing. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Mason moved slowly, leisurely. Like he had all the time in the world, not like he'd been waiting for me. Our pace had never bothered him. Now, his hands ran down my waist, my hips, up my arms and my back. They traced my jaw and brushed through my curls, already falling out without hairspray.

And as Mason's hands reached down to pull my shirt up, I was suddenly more nervous than I had been all day. Not that Mason hadn't seen me without my shirt on, because he had. He had seen me in bikinis all my life, and he'd even seen me in a bra. But this felt different; it felt real. There was no going back. I knew I could tell Mason to stop whenever I wanted him to; I knew that I could set any boundaries, but I wanted this. I was okay with it.

When Mason let my shirt drop to the floor, and his eyes raked across the light pink bra I'd had for years, it was all worth it. He looked at me like I was art. He touched me like I was a painting he was afraid of tearing. His gaze came back up, a question written all over his face.

"Keep going," I said, my voice raspy. I brushed my fingers across his bare chest, pushing him back onto the bed.

Mason groaned and flipped us over, dipping his head low to kiss me. First my lips, and then cheek, and then my neck. He started moving down my body, his kisses light flutters against my skin.

He stood up suddenly and rushed over to the light switch. "To make things more comfortable, maybe," he explained as he turned off the lights, leaving only the soft glow from the desk lamp in the corner. I liked that he was nervous. I liked that he had done this so many times before, but with me it was still something brand new for him.

When Mason came back to me, hovering over my body, he hesitated, pausing over me with his hands on either side of my face. "Are you sure? Really sure?" he asked again.

I nodded, and then realized he couldn't see it in the dark. "Yes," I whispered. My hands were twined in the softness of his hair. "I'm yours."

Mason breathed out. I heard the crinkle of foil, could feel the light touch of his fingertips rippling over my bare skin.

I was ready, I knew that I was, but I was still a bundle of nerves. I took a deep breath and waited, either for the inevitable pain, or for my life to change forever, like in the movies.

In the end, there was neither. There was a little pain, of course, but Mason's loving words and soft touch eased it. And my life didn't change. Mason had already affected the course of my future the very day he kissed me at our bonfire, where our story truly began. This was only a highlight, one of the very best parts of the story of us. An awkward, but real, moment that I wouldn't trade the world for.

And with our arms wrapped around each other, our breath mingling as one, I knew I would love him forever.

A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! (;