Royal Jester

4. Mason

Mason loathed Josh with every fiber of his being.

"You're fucking shitting me," he stated incredulously after the stranger's announcement. To think his new roommate had seen him naked within the first five seconds of meeting.

The girl standing before him bit her lip, seeming to hesitate before responding. "I'm sorry?" Her eyes were still covered by her hands but - on further inspection - Mason realized that this girl couldn't be considered anything but a woman. Despite how uncomfortable she appeared, he could still see that she was self-assured in just the way she stood.

"Is this also a prank," Mason asked after remembering why he was in this situation in the first place. "Very funny Josh; you got me," he announced sarcastically. "You can come out now," he called out after there was no response.

"Sorry to disappoint," the stranger began, "but this isn't a prank."

"Of course it fucking isn't," he muttered. 

"You mentioned someone named Josh," she observed after a beat of silence. She had an accent, Mason suddenly noted; he wondered silently where she was from. "He was actually the person I contacted about the room. He said that your other roommate moved out and you needed a new one, so here I am."

All of that was true, and Mason fucking despised that she knew it because that really meant it wasn't a prank and he had just scarred a poor random woman. 

He bent down to pick up the textbook he had accidentally knocked onto the floor earlier, cringing as the girl deliberately turned her head away from his direction. Apparently her hands weren't very effective in blocking him from her view. 

"Shit," he sighed and ran his free hand through his still damp hair. "I'm - uh - going to get dressed," Mason moved to walk past her after setting the book back down on the coffee table. 

Just as he walked next to her he could've sworn he heard her whisper, "Good idea," and had to stop himself from laughing.

Mason practically bolted into his room before slipping on his boxers, a random t-shirt, and an old pair of jeans. He paused for a moment to process the situation, realizing with an eye roll that Josh most likely knew their new roommate would be showing up today and could've prevented the entire situation if he had only told Mason.

"So," Mason said as he re-entered the living room. He noticed that the woman had moved from the entrance to the couch, her eyes now uncovered and her face fully visible. He sat on the empty cushion beside her, watching as her gaze roamed over the room. "I'm Mason," he introduced.

"I'm Paris, nice to meet you." He wasn't sure how to explain it but she spoke so  . . . prettily; maybe it was because of the accent.

"Your parents named you after a fucking city," he chuckled slightly. 

"Isn't Mason also a city?" Mason's laughter stopped because she was probably fucking right, although he had no idea how she would even know or remember such a miniscule thing.

"Right," he cleared his throat. "So you still haven't looked at me since I got dressed," he stated bluntly. Paris drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly before she adjusted slightly to turn towards him. 

Mason regretted his words as soon as they made eye contact because holy shit her eyes could stare into the depths of a person's soul. 

He also absentmindedly noticed that her cheeks were slightly flushed and he felt mildly guilty for being the reason for it. "There, I looked at you," she cleared her own throat and turned away from Mason once more. 

It was silent for a few moments, neither one of them initiating any sort of conversation until - abruptly, "Can you please stop staring at me." Mason hadn't even realized he had been.