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I heard a gasp come from Savannah and she grabbed my hand. Unable to stop myself I looked back over my shoulder, Mason chose that moment to turn around, his eyes finding mine over the crowds. As he looked at me, my stomach rolled, and I thought I was going to be sick. He quickly removed her arms from around his neck and pushed her away, anger evident on his face. He started to make his way through the crowds towards us. “Get me out of here Savannah.” I pleaded, tears threatening to fall. She silently pulled me into the crowd, and I followed her blindly, trusting her to not let me fall, my vision blurred from the tears that were now falling down my face.
“Libby wait!!” I heard Mason shout frantically. I felt Savannah increase her pace and I stumbled behind her. “Libby, stop. Please.” His voice sounding desperate. I wanted to turn around and look at him, but I couldn’t make myself do it.
“I’m heading for the maze; we can hide in there for a bit,” Savannah told me. I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. I saw her turn and look behind me. “I think we’ve lost him for now.” She said slowing down her pace.
There was a maze of maize behind the Ferris wheel, and we slipped inside without anyone from our group seeing us. “Savannah, do you know who that girl was with Mason?” I asked her quietly as we stopped just out of view of the entrance. I wiped my eyes as I waited for her to answer me.
She sighed. “Yes, that was Amber.”
“Amber? There was a text this morning on Mason’s phone from an Amber. Do you know her?”
“Only by her reputation. She’s tried getting it on with nearly all of the men in Marble Falls, most of which have let her, according to Brody. She’s the same age as him, and they went to school together.”
“And Mason was one who didn’t say no?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes… but Lib, Amber is known for trying to get her claws in, I think you should speak to Mason, what you saw, there might be an innocent explanation.”
I looked at her, in disbelief. “You’re taking his side?”
“Of course not Libby, but I’ve seen the way he looks at you, the way you look at him. There is something real between the two of you, anyone can see that. All I’m saying is, save judgement until you’ve spoken to him.”
“I like him Sav, I like him a lot. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, it scares me.” I paused, my eyes dropping to the ground. “My heart broke when I found out Mia had died; I can’t go through that again. I know I’ve only known Mason a short time, but I’m falling fast… and they looked pretty cosy. He was hardly pushing her away.”
“Lib I’d give anything for Josh to look at me the way Mason looks at you. I know what you saw looked bad, I’ll be the first to admit that. But don’t throw away what you could have with Mason before you know what happened. Speak to him, please. I’ll be the first to kick his ass if he’s up to anything with that skank, believe me.” She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone, she held it up to me. “It’s on silent, but I’ve got 13 missed calls, all from Mason.” As she held it the display lit up, his name flashing across the screen.
I took in a shaky breath. “Answer it,” I told her. “I’ll speak to him. It’s not like I can ignore him all day.”
She answered the phone, telling him where we were. I could hear him, he sounded frantic. Maybe Savannah was right, and there was an innocent explanation. God, I hoped so. Savannah gave me a few minutes to pull myself together, hugging me tightly before she linked my arm and we made our way out of the maze. Mason was waiting for me by the entrance. Savannah squeezed my arm. “I’ll leave you two to it, I’ll go and find Brody.” She said disappearing into the crowd.
“Sweetheart.” Mason began, reaching for me. I took a step back, his hand dropping in front of him. “Libby, what you saw, it’s not what it looked like.”
“Tell me what it was then Mason,” I replied seemingly calm, although on the inside I was a nervous wreck waiting to hear what he would say.
“The girl you saw was Amber. We’ve been…together a few times over the past couple of months, she wanted more, I never did. After she text this morning, I went to see her.”
I gasped, dropping my eyes from his. “That’s where you were this morning” I whispered, hurt evident in my voice. “You went to her after I spent the night with you?” I felt a lump form in my throat and bit on the inside of my mouth to try and stop the tears that were building. He reached for my hand again, and this time I wasn’t quick enough to pull back.
“Yes, but to tell her that I wouldn’t be seeing her again.” He rushed out. “I knew she wouldn’t take any notice of a text, so I arranged to meet her at the coffee shop in Marble Falls.” He paused. “Look at me Libby, please.” I slowly raised my eyes to meet his. “I told her that I’d met someone and that I only wanted to be with her.”
“So, what was that?” I gestured with my hand to the other side of the fair where I’d seen her draped all over him.
He dragged his hand through his hair and sighed. “She was upset, she told me I’d led her on and that she loved me. I swear to you Libby, I never led her on. I told her the first time I took her out that I wasn’t looking for a relationship, she told me she wasn’t either. She started getting clingy a few weeks ago, so I cooled things with her, but a couple of weeks before I met you…” He trailed off, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “I slept with her again, and now she’s pissed at me. What you saw was her hugging me, she caught me off guard. I’m so sorry.” He reached up and stroked my face under my eyes. “I hate that I’m the reason you’ve been crying. I never want to be the reason you cry again.” Without me realising he had somehow edged closer as we’d been talking, he was now standing right in front of me. I could feel his breath on my skin as he spoke and I closed my eyes and lowered my face, resting my forehead on his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, and I felt him kiss the top of my head. We stood there, neither of us saying anything for a few minutes, my head spinning. “Say something sweetheart.” He pleaded.
I looked up into his eyes, did I listen to my head or my heart? My heart believed him, my head was telling me to run. I’d judged him wrongly before, and I wanted to believe what he’d told me. I decided that I needed to be honest with him. “Mason I really like you.” Embarrassed I dropped my eyes to the floor. “I’ve never felt like this before; it scares me how quickly I’m falling for you. I don’t want to get hurt.” I whispered, looking up at him.
“It scares me too baby, but I won’t hurt you, I promise.” He said, his eyes sincere.
“You can’t promise me that Mason.”
He paused. “I would never intentionally hurt you, Libby.”
“I guess I panicked. When I saw her all over you, I felt like someone had kicked me the stomach. It’s ridiculous I know; we’ve only known each other a week. That’s what’s so scary.”
“Lib, it’s not ridiculous, if I’d seen you in the arms of some guy, I’d have ripped his head off. I’m falling just as fast sweetheart.” He bent his head and tentatively brushed his lips against mine. “Is this okay?” He whispered against my lips. I threaded my arms around his neck, digging my fingers into his hair. I pulled his mouth to mine and kissed him hungrily, brushing my tongue against his. He moaned into my mouth and pulled me closer to him. “I’ll take that as a yes!” He smiled as he pulled away. “You owe me a ride on the Ferris wheel, come on.”
The Ferris wheel was amazing, you could see for miles, although I didn’t spend a lot of time looking at the view, I was preoccupied with the gorgeous cowboy next to me. His arm was around my shoulder, and I was pulled tightly into his side, my new favourite place to be. “Mia would have loved it here,” I told him quietly. “She’d have loved you too. We never argued over men, but I’m sure I’d have had a fight on my hands if she’d met you!” I laughed. “She was man mad!” I really missed her, but I found that I was able to think about her without my chest hurting quite as much as it did.
“I would have loved to have met her sweetheart, it sounds like she was a real character. I can’t wait to hear more about her when you’re ready to tell me.”
