Buried Wishes ✔

Chapter 38: Spit Stain

~ [Evelyn] ~

"Mason?"

"Ev? What are you doing here?" He quickly wiped away the drool escaping the corner of his mouth. I bit back a smile.

"I should say the same. Why are you here?" I asked him, sounding a bit too suspicious. A million thoughts ran through my mind, the first being what he said to me the last time I saw him. The fact that he still wanted me made this chance meeting a bit too much to be a coincidence.

"I'm on my way to this business convention in Vegas," he explained, paused to think, and then continued to ask, "Wait, is that what you're here for? Are you going with Liam?"

"I'm going to surprise him," I told him truthfully, but managed to keep a stern tone and that's what made this sad. Mason and I were good together, even as friends, but now there's a line we can't cross because the gray areas would only spread.

"He'd love that," he stated with a smile as he turned to open his window. Barely anything was visible in the sea of darkness outside, so I squinted at the little lights the twinkled as the plane started moving. "Are you buckled?" Mason asked me, glancing down at my lap.

I scrambled to fasten the belt, but my frantic fingers only let the belt slip out of my hand twice. With a light chuckle, Mason reached over and clicked the two parts perfectly. I looked up at him to see his smile still in place and I slapped his arm.

"Ow! I just helped you," he whined, rubbing his arm as if it really hurt. I didn't say anything, so he took the lull as an invitation. "How are you, Ev?"

"I'm fine. Just a bit tired." I yawned on cue.

"Just take a nap and we'll arrive in no time," he said cheerily.

Eyeing him suspiciously, I urged myself to stay awake, but ended up dozing off anyway. My eyes drooped until they closed and I felt my head sway.

~[Flashback]~

"Hey Ev," I heard a familiar voice greet me from behind me.

"Hey, you," I responded, dodging the fact that I had forgotten his name since the last time I met him.

"It's Mason," he awkwardly told me as he cleared his throat.

"Right! Macy!" Nudging his arm, I wiggled my eyebrows at the joke on his name.

"I can't believe you remember that."

"Well, it's a fair deal. You get to call me Ev if I get to call you Macy," I smiled at him, "So where's Liam?"

I had received a text earlier this Saturday morning to meet Liam and his friend at the park near home for a jog. Normally, I would straight up delete the text and pretend I didn't see it, but Liam had made fun of my laziness the other day in class when I tossed a tissue in the trash instead of getting up to throw it away, so here I am.

"Aw, miss me already?" I heard Liam yell as he ran towards us.

"No," I rolled my eyes, trying to avoid looking at his figure. He chose to wear a black muscle shirt and a navy blue pair of basketball shorts. "Please do us all a favor and get over yourself."

I turned over to smile at Mason only to find his grin beaming at me already. There was a shine in his eyes I couldn't place, like he's amazed or something.

By me? No way. I'm not juggling ten things at once or singing opera or anything.

We all started jogging, and I found myself wanting to give up most of the time until I reached what the guys called a 'runner's high'. It felt good until a few steps after, when I felt my calf muscle shift and I fell mid-stride. Scraping my knee and landing hard on my left palm, I felt my wrist scream in pain as I yelped.

"Ev!" I heard both of the guys call for me. I looked up to find them both beside me, on each arm.

"You're bleeding," Mason noted as he held my hand like it was a delicate flower. Gently, he blew at the wound on my palm to get all the dust off the tenderness. I felt myself soften up for him, seeing how kindly he treated me.

Just as he was about to shift to carry me, I was already in Liam's arms as we made our way to the car. Liam's car. With his arms lifting me into the air, I felt a firmness in his expression that spelled out the protectiveness he had on me.

"I'm gonna take her home," Liam told Mason, and I could see a look of unwavering concern cross his eyes as Liam carried me away.

~[Real Time]~

I awoke from the dream feeling hazy. I kept my eyes closed as I pondered over the memory.

That day was one of the first times I felt a closeness to Liam, when I felt that I could really rely on him at all. Thinking about it now, things would have been so very different if Mason had been a heart beat faster, if he had his arms under me before Liam did.

Would I have fallen for Liam the same way?

I blinked my eyes a few times before realizing that my vision was sideways. I lifted my head off of Mason's shoulder only to feel my drool drag from the fabric of his jacket.

"Hey, you're up," he greeted me gently with a soft smile.

"Fvck," I dragged my syllable under my breath as I sheepishly stared at the spit stain I left on the edge of his shoulder. "Sorry about that."

His eyes followed mine onto the stain on his jacket and he chuckled, "It's fine, Ev. Not the first time I've seen you drool."

"What? When did you ever see me drool?"

"When we dated," he shrugged, "Happened all the time."

I felt heat reach my face and just as I was about to turn away, I heard him inhale as if he were about to tell me something. I turned back to find discomfort and awkwardness in his expression.

"Listen, I know I overstepped last time I saw you, but I've cleared my mind now. Can we just be friends again? I miss you."

I studied his tone, his words, and even the way his eyes softened as he said them. After a moment of considering, I managed a small grin and a soft nod.

~o~

I was glad that I took Mason back as a friend, because I had no idea what I was doing as we landed in Vegas. Traveling alone for the first time has proven itself to be dizzying and before I knew it, I was standing in the lobby of the fanciest hotel I've ever seen. The floor was a sparkly clean marble that shined under the various intricately designed chandeliers that hung from the tall ceiling.

We split in the lobby: Mason went to get himself checked in and I headed for the elevator to go up to the room number I recalled Liam murmuring as he checked in while we were on the phone yesterday.

"Text me if you need anything," Mason offered before I turned to leave.

"Why would I need anything?" I cocked my head in confusion.

"Ev," he lowered his lids, "you got lost from the bathroom to our seats on the plane."

I laughed at the memory and nodded, "Alright, I'll text you if I ever get lost going to the bathroom anywhere." I walked off still giggling to myself.

As I stood in the elevator, I stared at my reflection in the doors. I looked like crap, but I knew Liam would still be glad to see me. With a happy sigh, I stepped out of the elevator as it dinged open. I mouthed the number 438 continuously as I counted the rooms down the hallway and halted in front of the correct door.

Suppressing a smile, I knocked on the door and waited for only half a second before I heard the lock click on the door. I got ready to yell "Surprise" when I was suddenly faced with Grace standing in a loosely tied bathrobe, her light blonde hair dripping wet. Behind her, further back, was Liam, who was in the middle of putting on a white T-shirt.