Iris & Mason

6. Mason

When I invited Iris to come to Adam's house with me, I assumed she would be ready to go by the time I got to her apartment. But that wasn't the case at all when I knocked on her door.

The door opened slowly to reveal Iris in a pair of matching pajamas with a tired look on her face. "Oh, hey- I wasn't expecting...what time is it?"

"It's eight thirty at night." I laughed. "Why are you sleeping?"

"I'm awake now." Iris groaned and took my hand, pulling me inside roughly.

"Okay why were you sleeping?" I repeated.

Sighing, she sat down on her couch and began to explain. "Work was crazy today. I had to work from earlier than opening time to closing time which was just half an hour ago by the way. I'm so tired and I thought I'd take a five minute power nap but I guess it lasted a little longer than I thought."

"Do you just want to stay home? I'm sure everyone will be fine with meeting you some other time." I smiled at her. She looked so cute when she was tired.

"No, I really want to go. Just let me get ready really quick." Iris scrambled over to me, grabbing my hand again and dragging me over to her bed. "Have a seat, make yourself at home. Watch some TV." A remote was thrown at me before she disappeared into a walk in closet.

"Okay then." I muttered to myself while turning the TV on. I kept the volume low so I could hear Iris struggling to find something to wear in her closet. She muttered to herself softly, I knew that, but I couldn't quite figure out what she was saying.

"Do you need any help in there?" I called toward the direction of the closet. The smile could probably be heard in my tone of voice.

"What do the girls usually wear to these...gatherings?" Iris asked with hesitance, opening the door to her closet and blowing the hair out of her face.

I chuckled at her cuteness and responded. "Girls aren't usually there, remember? It's casual, don't worry about it. Put on some jeans and a tee shirt and you'll be all set."

"All set?" She looked at me like I was insane. "I have to fix my hair and put some makeup on before I even consider setting foot out of this place."

I shook my head at that, unable to believe that she really thought she needed that. In my eyes, she looked perfect just the way she was.

"You don't need that." I argued.

"Mason, you're very sweet. But I do. It'll only take a few minutes." She quickly shooed me away and back to the TV where I spent the next thirty minutes waiting.

***

"So should I know anything before we go inside?" Iris asked me as soon as we arrived at our destination.

"The guys are all very-" I paused to search my mind for a word that wouldn't scare her off. "Loud."

"They're really nice, I promise you'll love them." I corrected myself. I had to admit was a bit nervous about her meeting my buddies just because I knew they'd try to embarrass me. It happened when Nate first introduced Delilah a few weeks ago, but this was different. Iris and I didn't have a label other than friends.

Iris took a deep breath and stepped to the side so I could knock on the door. Not even two seconds after, Adam opened the door.

"Look who finally decided to show up!" He threw his hands up in the air and gave me a look before his eyes fixed on Iris. "You must be Iris."

"That's me." She giggled nervously.

"It's nice to finally meet you. Mason hasn't been able to shut up about you." A smug grin formed on his face as he waved us inside.