Iris & Mason

7. Iris

When I woke up in the morning, the previous night's events replayed in my head. Spending time with Mason's friends wasn't exactly enjoyable. They all seemed like perfectly nice people but I was uncomfortable.

The way they kept calling me 'Mason's girl' and embarrassing him with wiggly eyebrows and stupid remarks probably made Mason feel the same way I did. I mean, I wasn't his girl and there was no reason to push the subject other than to get me to start thinking about what I was to him.

Mason and I were new friends but it seemed like I'd known him forever. Obviously his physical appearance attracted me to him in the first place, but what did he think of me?

Instead of laying in my bed thinking about it, I made myself a bowl of cereal, turned the TV on, and then thought about it. Pathetic, yes. But having a day off meant spending it in bed in my pajamas. It was a rule.

I guess that was until my phone started to ring.
I had this awful habit of answering way too early without even checking the caller I.D.

Luckily I was happy to hear the voice on the other end.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Iris. Hey." Mason's low, husky voice was like music to my ears. I could recognize it anywhere.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I was wondering if you were busy today. I mean I know it's your day off and everything so I thought maybe you'd want to go-"

I had to cut in and stop him right there. I wasn't about to go anywhere. "Actually Mason, I have a strict no productivity rule on days off. Staying in pajamas and in bed is all I have on my agenda today."

A muffled laugh just barely came through to my ear and Mason replied with, "Pajamas, huh? Alright well I hope you have a nice day in bed."

"I didn't say I had to spend it alone." I hinted.

"Oh, was that an invitation?" The smile could practically be heard in his voice.

"Yes but pajamas and bed only."

"Forcing me into bed with you already? I didn't think you had it in you."

This made me blush a little bit but I cleared my throat and tried to sound as annoyed as possible. "Shut up and get over here."

With that, I hung up and rolled out of bed hurriedly, straightening my apartment up- especially my room- and making sure I didn't look like a train wreck. Mason didn't have to know just how unattractive I could get, did he?

I was excited to spend the day with him and just have time to settle down and talk. We never seemed to run out of things to say since we were so new to each other. There was something about him that lured me in. Maybe it was his bad boy look, or cute smile, or the way he could cook. Mason was really just the full package of everything I could ask for. And my feeling for him grew a little bit stronger every time I saw him.

It took about twenty minutes for him to show up, but when he did I was very pleased with what I saw.

"Hey." He smiled awkwardly at my doorstep, dressed in a pair of matching flannel pajamas.

I smiled back widely and invited him in. "Come in, come in. I like your pjs."

"I'm glad you do because I just walked on the street for fifteen minutes." Mason huffed.

"Wow." Is all I said before I led him back to my room without another word, just the sound of our feet moving across the floor.

Mason seemed to be taken aback by the array of snacks and movies scattered around my bed. It looked like a sleepover I would've had a few years ago with some friends.

"You really know how to party." Mason remarked sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes and hopped back onto my bed, patting the space next to me so he would know where to go. "This isn't a party. It's a lazy day."

Shrugging, Mason sat down next to me with his legs stretched out beside mine. I passed him the bowl of popcorn which he took gratefully.

"So..." He trailed off awkwardly.

Way to make things awkward.

"How'd you sleep?" I blurted. That was the only question that came to my head.

A small smile formed on his plump lips when he heard my very lame question. "Fine, and I know you slept well. You were so tired last night."

"It's true; I slept like a baby." I shrugged and stuck my hand into the popcorn bowl on his lap, grabbing a handful. Mason quickly stuck his hand in too so our hands touched in the bowl. It was like that awkward middle school movie date moment.

"Smooth." I commented, turning the volume up so that I could hear the romantic comedy I had started to watch. Before I could take my hand out of the popcorn bowl, another hand gripped fine, interlocking our fingers.

Mason was holding my hand.

Voluntarily.

Did he like me?

Was it just a friendly thing?

Do I acknowledge it or just watch the movie?

"Just watch the movie." Mason replied to the voice that (I thought) was in my head.

I just said that out loud. Good going, Iris.

"Oh my god." I muttered in embarrassment. Both of my hands played a big role in covering my face that was either extremely pale or red.

"Hey, it's okay." Mason told me in a voice that was loving and soft. He took both of my hands away from my face and held them in his. "You're a dork."

I sighed internally.

"But I love that about you." He continued. "Don't be embarrassed, it was cute, I promise you."

He didn't just call me cute, did he? Was he trying to turn me into a tomato?

Instead of embarrassing myself further, I moved a tiny bit closer to him, leaned my head on his chest, and said, "Shut up."

So we watched the movie for the next few hours, laughing a few times, me sighing at the romantic parts while Mason groaned at how cliche it was.

Of course I couldn't stop thinking about how Mason had held my hand, and how I'd embarrassed myself, and most importantly how sweet he was about it. Finding a guy that's sweet, funny, and attractive is rare and it seems that I've lucked out.

"Iris?" Mason tore me from my thoughts.

"Hmm?" My head snapped in his direction attentively.

"Do you maybe wanna go out sometime?"

He bit his bottom lip as if nerves were eating at him. The golden specks in his eyes seemed to captivate me. He captivated me so much that I didn't even process what he'd just said.

"Wait-what?" If I had been drinking something, I would've spit it out.

"I'm asking you out." He clarified, breaking our eye contact.

"On a-"

"Date? Yes." Mason finished my sentence for me.

My eyes widened. Oh my. I didn't know he liked me...

"So what do you say?"

I forgot to answer, of course.

"Y-yeah that sounds amazing." I couldn't help but allow a smile to spread across my face. The moment felt completely surreal.

"Are you free Friday at eight?" He asked.

I couldn't help but giggle at that question. "Mason, I'm always free."