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“Fuck!” Shaking, I attempted to call Humanity House direct but misdialed three times before connecting.
“I-I need to talk to Jasper,” I gasped out when the secretary answered.
“I’m sorry, he’s in a meeting at the moment. Can I take a message?”
“No—I have to speak to him now. It’s an emergency.” My voice edged on hysteria.
“Can I ask who’s calling, please?”
“Mason. His boyfriend.”
“Oh, hi, Mason! I’ve heard so much about you!” Her evident joy would have been welcome five minutes earlier.
“Jasper,” choked on his name, my mind ready to tumble into lockdown mode. “N-Need him.”
“Okay…can you hold on for just a minute?” Concern bled through the line as though she’d picked up on my anxiety, and I managed to whisper an affirmative.
It took longer than sixty seconds—I counted while waiting. By two hundred, my lungs began to close off. At three hundred, I struggled for breath, going light-headed.
“Mason?”
Jasper.
I couldn’t say his name, but I managed to make a noise so he knew I was there.
“Mason, what’s going on? Where are you?”
“C-Can’t breathe.” I managed to gasp out the two words.
“Baby—I need you to listen to me. I’m here, and I can hear you. You’re going to be all right—I promise.” His voice alone calmed me enough I got a sip of oxygen into my lungs. “You’re going to follow my directions, okay?” Jasper asked, and I nodded, only half-aware he couldn’t see me. He began counting, telling me when to inhale and exhale.
With every second that passed, my closed eyes and mind focused on the sound of his voice that brought me away from the edge of falling under. His control, his calm tone when telling me I was doing such a good job swept through my thoughts, wrapping them up in a comfortable hold.
Restricted lungs relaxed, and I eventually inhaled on my own.
“I-I’m alright,” I finally told him, less terrified but far from the high I’d been on while walking out of Silas’s building.
“What happened, baby?”
“I got the job.”
“Damn!” Jasper laughed as though relieved. “That’s amazing, Mason! I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks.” I sagged onto my driver seat, tipping back my head as though I had zero energy left in my body.
“Is that why you had an anxiety attack?” He’d figured it out without my explaining—had known exactly what I’d needed.
God, did I love him.
Tears stung my eyes, and I swallowed down a sob.
“Mase?”
“He’s at it again,” I whispered.
“Joseph?” Jasper asked, his tone wary.
“Yes.”
