My Middle School Crush (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Epilogue

"Okay, the chicken's in the oven, the potatoes are on the stove, we got vegetables in the small pot, and your father bought the pies and drinks." Eleanor Moore recited, counting off the items on her fingers. Then she gasped. "Juice! He didn't get the pineapple juice! Oh, goodness."

Mason kept back the smile trying to grow on his face and placed a comforting hand on his mother's shoulder.

"Mom, it's okay." He told her warmly. "We don't need pineapple juice. The bulk box of soda cans will do just fine."

Mrs. Moore seemed unconvinced as she looked at her son, but after a few silent moments, she sighed in defeat.

"Alright. We'll leave out the juice." She finally agreed with a small smile. "We can just serve it next time. If all goes well between you and Mark, there will be many more dinners between our families."

Mason was suddenly on the defense and found his cheeks growing warm with a blush. He and Mark had been officially dating for two weeks when they agreed to tell everyone, including their parents. Now, only a month since Mark and Mason confessed their feelings to one another, they were having dinner at Mason's house to celebrate. And everything was coordinated by Mason's mom.

Forgetting about the remnants of roasted potatoes on her fingers, Eleanor began to pinch at his cheeks.

"Oh my lord, I just can't believe my little boy has a boyfriend." She cooed, adding salt to the wound by making obnoxious kissing noises. Mason wriggled to get his face out of her grasp. After a bit of struggle, he was finally free and wiped at his face with a grimace.

"Mom, I've already dated people before." He argued with a frown. "You met nearly all of them."

"But none of them were Mark Tyler and you know that makes a difference." She retorted with a quick wink. Wiping her hands against her apron, Mason's mother started toward the stairs in the foyer. "Come on, let's get cleaned up. We have to welcome the Tylers properly."

Mason shook his head. His mother was usually a little extra but this dinner was bringing out all the different sides of her. Yet, Mason never complained. In a way, her excessive effort showed how much she supported him and Mark. Mason had to be grateful that his mom always accepted him no matter what. With a smile on his face, Mason followed her up the stairs. After all, he still had to clean the potato off his face.

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The best way Mason could describe dinner with Mark and his parents was comfortable. The two families had known each other for years and were already intertwined by the marriage of their eldest sons. And funny enough, now they came together again to celebrate their youngest boys becoming official. Mason thought that his mom would be the most extra with all the food she prepared for the day, but Tania Tyler rivaled her for the position when they opened the door to find her and her family carrying a comical amount of desserts and drinks.

"Pineapple juice!" Eleanor had exclaimed when she noticed the bottle in Mark's hands.

"I know it's your favourite." Mrs. Tyler had smiled.

Everyone just knew each other so well. It was easy for Mason to talk to Mark's dad about new things the man discovered in his travels or to joke with Tania over Mark's meticulous habits. Their parents weren't being introduced but were instead catching up with one another, getting updates on life events and business ventures.

Mark wasn't treated like Mason's new boyfriend, he was simply Mark, a boy the Moores had known for years. Dave Moore pushed Mark to eat his vegetables nearly as often as he did Mason and teased them both about needing to bulk up.