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It was silly to think that Mason would ever want you. Stop crying and shake this off. You’ve gotten over him before and you’ll do it again.
With that final thought, I take a sip of my tea and feel the warmth of it fill me, but somehow I’m still cold. With a deep exhale, I put down my cup and pick up my book.
If I can’t have a real life happily ever after at least I know my book won’t disappoint me. This time though, I have a difficult time losing myself in the story as the image of Julia throwing herself in Mason’s arms keeps playing in my mind on repeat. The words begin to blur as I can no longer stop the tears from falling.
Chapter Thirteen
Mason
I stare at thedoor Emily just closed and peel Julia’s arms from around my neck. I take a big step back, putting distance between us.
“What are you doing here, Julia?” My tone is tired. I’m not in the mood for her. I came here to talk to Emily and clear the air.
“I’m here to see you. I’ve missed you.” She looks at me in a way that a few years ago would’ve made me want to give her anything. But now I see through it. It has nothing to do with me and everything to do with Julia wanting something.
I stare at her with a blank face not believing one word out of her mouth but choosing not to say anything. I look back to Emily’s door before returning my gaze back to her face.
“I know the way I ended things hurt you and I’m sorry. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you and I want anotherchance.” Her eyes are pleading with me to believe her. “What are you doing with her?” She tilts her head toward Emily’s door.
There is a dismissive tone in her voice. One that, I now realize, has always been there with anyone she felt was beneath her. I feel anger rise up at her talking about Emily like that.
“Emily, who you’ve met before, is my best friend’s little sister. She’s been doing me a favor by going to these events with me. Nothing else.” The words fall flat and I feel the untruth of them. Emily isn’t just my best friend’s sister but after seeing her with Adam tonight I’m honestly not sure if how I’m feeling makes any difference. All I know is Emily and I need to talk.
“Look, Julia, it’s been a long night and I’m tired. I am not up for talking about this with you tonight.” I look at Emily’s door again, hating that she saw me and Julia. Wondering what she's thinking, how she’s feeling. When I came to her house, Julia standing at her door was the furthest thing from my mind. We need to talk but this isn’t the time. Or the place.
I feel Julia’s fingers on my face, dragging my eyes back to hers and I flinch at her touch. She drops her hand and gives me a questioning look which she quickly covers with a fake smile that doesn’t reach her eyes.
“I understand, Mason,” she says in a saccharine sweet voice. I can’t believe I used to love when she talked to me like that. How did I not see how fake she is?
“Maybe we can get together tomorrow and talk. Will you take me to dinner?” She asks in that same tone.
Going to dinner with her is the absolute last thing I want to do. I want to fix things with Emily but I need some time to think on how to approach how I feel with her. I know I can’t go back to the way things were a few weeks ago and I don’t want to. Maybe going to dinner with Julia will be a good distraction.
I can let her get whatever she wants off of her chest and then we can close this relationship for good. I’ll be very clear that I don’t want anything to do with her. That ship has sailed.
I give Emily’s door one more look before grabbing Julia’s elbow and escorting her off Emily’s porch.
“We can do dinner tomorrow,” I say as we walk toward the sidewalk.
I already feel myself dreading tomorrow night.
I walk into Cuzzy’s with Julia and immediately see Adam and Emily sitting at a table in the back. Adam sees me and waves. I wave back, just as Emily looks over to see who has caught Adam’s eye. We make eye contact and a smile automatically splits my face.
Wow, she looks beautiful tonight. I nod my head in her direction. Her eyes light up and her smile stretches across her face. I feel my body start to move in their direction but then Julia grabs my arm and pulls me toward her. I see Emily’s smile wobble and the light in her eyes dim.
Why did I think coming to dinner with Julia was a good idea again?
“Mason,” Julia whines. A bit of annoyance tinges her voice. I feel my entire body tense up as I gently remove her hand from my arm. I think I see what might be embarrassment in her eyes and her smile fades. She quickly recovers and puts on an overly bright smile.
“Right this way.” The hostess starts to walk us in the direction of our table. I glance over my shoulder at Emily and Adam but they are engaged in a conversation and seem lost in their ownworld. Adam suddenly throws his head back and laughs. I feel my heart beat against my ribcage and I clench my fists. I take a deep breath and work to slow my breathing.
Adam is a good guy but he’s not the one for Emily. I catch up to the hostess and Julia.
“Thank you.” I smile at the hostess. Pulling out Julia's chair, I make sure she's the one facing Emily and Adam. That’s a good thing so I can focus on Julia and just get this conversation over with.
“Mason, honey what is good at this place?” I clench my jaw at the pet name ‘honey’ dripping from her lips. I’m realizing just how much I don’t like her using any endearments when it comes to me, especially when it’s being used to cover up her distaste for my choice of dinner venue.
“Everything. There isn’t anything on the menu I wouldn’t recommend. I'm getting a cheeseburger and fries,” I say and have to work to hide a smile at the look on her face. I swear she looks like I just told her we were eating at McDonalds instead of one of the best taverns in Cottage Grove.
