It had been a few weeks since she last saw Mason at Declan's house, the training schedule must've finally gone her way, or he was avoiding her. Either way, she preferred it like this. Neither her or Declan had brought up the events from that day. Her mind ran back to Mason, she found herself thinking about him and silently stalking him on social media. It was easy for her as he had millions of followers and she didn't have to worry about him noticing that she had been watching everything he had been posting.
"You off to your weekly mothers meeting tonight, Floz?"
"You remembered! Of course I am!"
Declan had remembered because Mason had spent the past few weeks trying to convince him to go out around Chinatown in hopes of bumping into them. His logic being Chinatown wasn't that big so it would only take an hour maximum to find them. Declan always shut the idea down, he didn't want to invade Florence's privacy like that. However, this week Mason had somehow managed to convince him that it would be a good idea.
"Are we okay to film that tiktok now?" Declan asked as Florence took a bite of her breakfast bar, typing away at her laptop. She diverted her gaze towards him, lifting her hand to cover her mouth whilst nodding her head slightly.
"Sure! Which idea were you thinking of?"
---
Florence greeted Marco, the server, with a grin as he acknowledged her. "You alright, Flossie?"
"I am, cheers! How was your holiday?"
Florence and the server chatted for a while whilst she waited for her friends to arrive. She heard Adam and Kyle shout their hellos from the entrance. She gave them a little wave as they stomped over to their usual table. The two of them talked about current office gossip that Florence had missed out on since being based at Declan's house.
The group's chatting was interrupted by a massive fuss forming outside the restaurant. People craning their necks to turn around. Florence heard a voice mention something about some famous football players outside. Hearing this made her lose interest in finding out what had caused this crowd to form in the middle of the area.
"What a mess." The voice was familiar but she couldn't quite figure out who it belonged to. She felt a kick to her shin from Larissa and a small nudge from Aimee. She kept her eyes on Larissa who mouthed something at her that she couldn't quite read.
"Oh my god, it's Declan Rice." A voice in the background squealed.
"With Mason Mount." Adam whispered to Florence, leaning into her side "Did you know they were coming?"
Florence shook her head. "Of course I didn't. If I knew Mason Mount was going to be here, best fucking believe I wouldn't."
Florence felt a hand on her shoulder and she had no choice but to turn around and look at the owner of the hand. For a moment, she had hoped it would be a hand without a body like 'Thing' from the Addams Family but unfortunately for her it wasn't. She was met with Declan and Mason standing over her.
"Hello stranger, fancy seeing you here." Mason grinned.
Florence ignored him and looked at Declan a smile on her face. "Stalking me, are we, Mr. Rice?"
"Just can't stay away from you, Flossie G. Martin."
Mason watched the interaction between the two and grimaced. He couldn't bear to watch his friend flirt with the girl sat in front of him but he didn't understand why.
"Come join us!" Aimee grinned at the two men "I'm sure Marco wouldn't mind you guys pulling up a chair. I'm Aimee by the way."
"You're Heung-min Son girl." Declan smiled back at her, taking the empty seat next Larissa. Mason stood awkwardly behind Florence, smiling at the people looking at him. Aimee moved up one seat and patted her previous seat. Mason shook his head to decline.
"Actually, Florence, can I have a word with you in private?"
"Yeah, sure but I think it'll be hard when you've got a group of people watching you through the windows. Let me ask Marco if we can nip upstairs really quickly."
The pair headed upstairs and Mason turned to face her immediately, her back against the wall. The light hit her face in a flattering way, it made her eyes shine. Her cheeks slightly blushed from the heat of the restaurant. Looking at her made him realise that his constant disdain towards her was him mixing up his feelings for her. She looked up at him, her light eyes meeting his dark ones. He knew he only had one choice and that was to push his feelings aside and act like he wasn't interested in her like before. She looked up at him, obvious of their close contact. She felt watched.
"What did you want to talk about?"
Mason found himself flustered, his cheeks heating up as the girl continued looking up at him. He broke the distance between the two of them, connecting their lips. He felt her kiss him back briefly before pushing him away.
"What the fuck was that about? You don't like me, you ignore me and make me feel like I'm a pain in the arse to you but I don't know why, because you've literally got beef with me for some unknown reason, but for some reason I just need you to, I don't know, not hate me!"
"I don't fucking ignore you, Florence, I listen to everything you say, I take note. I think about what you say for days and take interest in what you talk about. You are the furthest thing from a pain in the arse, I'm just a prick. I like you." Mason paused, thinking of what to say. "I don't know, Florence but fuck! Look, I wanted to talk to you to say sorry, not whatever the fuck just happened!"
"No one saw that, right?"
Mason shook his head, his eyes fixated on her lips. He fought the urge to kiss her again. He wanted to badly, the brief initial kiss wasn't enough for him but he knew his boundaries and Florence clearly didn't reciprocate his feelings about their kiss; yet she didn't step away from him. The distance was killing him. She was so close yet so far away. Florence was silent, not saying a word, her eyes flickering around scanning the room. He watched her intently trying to read what she was doing. His heart skipped a beat as her arm wrapped his neck. He watched as she began to get closer to him, his heart now racing. It felt like she was teasing him, and he began to grow impatient. When their lips finally met, Mason's heart ran at 1200 miles per hour and he couldn't help but smile. He pulled her closer, not wanting it to end.
"No one can know about this. Especially Dec! For everyone's sake, I hate you and you dislike me, or whatever Declan thinks."
She made her way downstairs, grabbed her bag and headed towards the bathroom. She pulled Marco aside and told him to leave her table a message and headed out the door as Mason watched her from above. With a sigh, he made his way down and rejoined the table.
"Hey guys, Florence had to dip. Apparently, she needs to go see Sasha, I think. Says she's really sorry for leaving without saying bye. Also to tell Declan that she'll be at work tomorrow bang on time and not to worry!"
Aimee let out a laugh, looking directly at Mason. "What did you say to her to make her literally go running to Sasha?"
Mason began stuttering, not sure what to say. He felt a bit betrayed that she was running off to Sasha to most likely tell her what had happened. If that were the case, he would tell Declan what had happened. "I don't know. She refused to talk to me and then Sasha called her and she ran down the stairs. I thought she came and joined you guys but clearly not."
"Sorry but can we talk about how bizarre it is that we're sat at the table with two prem players?"
---
Sasha grinned as she saw the girl in front of her with nothing but her laptop bag and a dream. "What are you doing here?"
"I kissed him, Sasha."
"Who?"
"Mason Mount."
Sasha's jaw dropped. She stared at Florence, who stood in front of her with a sheepish grin. "Come in! What the actual fuck, Flossie?"
"Jack's not in, is he?"
Sasha shook her head. "No he isn't. When did this happen? Did you drive here?"
"No, I took the train. It literally happened today. I just got up and left and went straight to Euston and took the first train here! I panicked and went straight to you. Cost me a fucking arm and a leg in train tickets though!"
"Can you tell me what the fuck happened for you to be kissing Mason Mount?"
"You CANNOT tell Jack! Pinky promise you won't tell him. Dec can't find out it happened!"
Sasha held her pinky up to Florence and they intertwined their pinkies. Florence sighed, staring at the ground "He kissed me first. I pushed him away and then, I don't know, something clicked in me! I kissed him again, and then I panicked and told him no one could find out it happened. I fucked up massively. I shouldn't have kissed him."
"Err, I don't know, Flossie! He did kiss you first. Plus, he's easy on the eyes, unlike the other men you've dated! I think you should go for it!"
---
florence <3
flossiegmartin
22:49
So sorry if I overstepped the
boundary today. Idk what came
over me! Xx
you didn't !! don't worry. i'm
sorry i sprinted out. i panicked x
i'd like to see you tomorrow so we
can talk ?? x
Sure! Will pick you up from Dec's
after you finish. Xx
Read
---
Florence approached Mason's car that was parked a few houses down. Florence scans her surroundings before opening the car door and getting into the car. She had been doing this same routine daily for a few weeks now. She knew it was risky but she throughly enjoyed Mason's company.
"Hey! How was your day?"
"Productive. How did training go?"
"Alright, a bit sore and sweaty now though!"
"If you're tired, we could always go back to mine instead of driving back to yours. Aimee won't be back 'til late."
"Go on then. It's a lot closer to here!"
They sat in silence as Mason drove. Florence watched the scenery, looking at everyone they passed. Everything seemed grey and dull outside, the bright colours of summer had begun to fade into the oranges and browns that autumn claimed. Mason glanced at her for a brief moment, moving his hand to her leg. This action snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked over at him, the smile on her face matching his. She noticed his dimples popping and his eyes gleaming and she couldn't help but to poke his cheek, causing a laugh from him.
"Do you think we're fooling Dec?"
"Not if you keep looking at me like that, Flo!"
She hadn't heard anyone call her Flo since her mum had passed and she made sure to correct everyone who tried but she felt different with Mason. She could've listened to him call her Flo all day.
"I'm making pasta tonight, is that okay with you?"
"Of course, Flo! Am I alright to grab a shower?"
Florence nodded her head, walking over to a door and opening it. She passed him a towel. "You can use the shower in my room. I'll lay some clothes out for you to change into!"
He walked over to her and engulfed her into a hug, pulling her closer to him. She could hear his heart beat as they stood in the embrace. "Go shower, you stink! I'll start cooking so food will be ready when you're done!"
Florence didn't quite understand how she ended up in a situation where she was secretly seeing Mason Mount despite being so adamant she wouldn't break her client's trust in her by doing so. She had never kept a secret from Aimee and she felt like she had betrayed her. She had hoped that when she was ready to tell people about the situation she was in, Aimee would take it well. It had been a month since they first kissed and no one, but Sasha, knew or suspected anything. Florence was glad that she had someone to talk about her fling with Mason, freely. She was anxious about telling Mason that Sasha had known about the situation but also felt anxious that talking about it would spiral into other people having to know. She knew it wouldn't be the end of the world if people found out but she didn't want people to think she had gotten to where she was by sleeping with her client's close friends, not only would it drag her name through the mud but it could potentially ruin her career. Punishing Mason wasn't what Florence wanted to do but she knew that after that evening she would have to slowly distance herself from him.
"You know, I'm pretty good at cooking pasta!" He snaked his arms around her waist and leaned his chin on her shoulder.
"I bet but tonight I'm the one cooking, so you should go sit down and relax!"
Mason didn't argue and made his way to the living room and sat on the sofa, scrolling through his phone. He was excited, this had been a big step for them. He never thought she would invite him back to her home, in fear her friends would find out. To everyone, they had disliked each other and Florence was happy with that privacy. Mason thought he was happy with the arrangement but he wanted to tell Declan and anyone who would listen. At least he could relax without having to worry about details being released to the public without his consent.
Mason placed his arm around her shoulder and Florence leaned into his side, pulling the cover over her and him as 'About Time' began to play. Florence had spent an hour trying to convince him to watch it, adamant that it was one of, if not, the best rom-coms to date. He eventually gave in, knowing she wouldn't.
As the film drew to a close, she moved away from his side and sat with her legs crossed, watching him rather than the movie. She preferred to watch his reaction than the actual film ending, not wanting to cry like she had lost a family pet in front of him. He wiped the tears from his eyes and looked at her. "You're evil for showing me that." She laughed at him and took her place back at his side, as he put on 'Tangled'. He knew that he was due to leave soon but he had been enjoying Florence's company too much and didn't want the evening to end. He looked down at her and found her fast asleep. He pulled her closer to him and closed his eyes.
He was awoken by the girl shaking him. He groaned, keeping his eyes shut not wanting to wake up. He was comfy sleeping next to her and didn't want to move. "Mase, we should go to bed! It's too late for you to drive home now." He opened his eyes and looked up at her squinting, the room was bright and he hadn't fully adjusted yet, checking the time on his phone. It was 3 in the morning.
"I'm coming." He yawned "How did we sleep for so long?"
"I don't know, I fell asleep with my contacts in though, I'm pissed!"
---
aimee chambers<3
Today 01:01
Why tf are you and Mason Mount
cuddling on the sofa rn? When were
you going to tell me ??