None of our missions were very fruitful today.
Duncan isn't close to Mark Coleman anymore so he doesn't know any of his plans. He also makes sure to stay clear of him so he's got very limited information.
At Golden Age, all I got was that Charlotte has a boyfriend in prison. The security guards told Mason and Justin that no one, ever since the Colemans got sent to prison, had come to see Martha.
The poor woman was all alone in her last days.
That is what confuses me even more. If she had no visitors, how would she have known that I could be in danger?
I snap out of my thoughts as the car comes to a standstill. I lift my head up and Max's home comes into view.
There are small tables and chairs around his front yard but not a single person in sight. Either the cold chased them inside or the party is over.
"We've had one heck of a day," Max comments, "I think we should come inside for some cocoa or something."
"Yes, please." Priya replies.
I remain seated as she and Max open their doors and exit the car. Justin and Bianca took a cab so it's just the four of us.
"Do you want to go inside?" Mason asks and I slowly shake my head. "Uhm, guys, we'll stay outside for a bit."
Max and Priya nod before he ushers her up the driveway.
"Let's take a walk." I suggest with a smile.
He nods and I turn to open my door and step out of the car. The first thing to welcome me is the chilly air. It's not that cold but it's enough to seep through my white cardigan.
Mason comes over to my side. He takes my hand and we begin to slowly walk up the street. We're silent, both in deep thought.
For our friends, this was just some sort of an adventure or just a way to help us. For the two of us, this was a heavy experience.
I know it's been hard for him to come here and bring me along on this search for answers. I actually wish I hadn't bumped into Charlotte that day. There's no evidence to substantiate Martha's claims. It's as if we've both got worked up over nothing.
Mason's been trying to be calm but I know this is scary for him as well. He seems to be keeping some things from me. I know Duncan told them more than he's willing to let me know.
It's been a long day, Maya. Just, let it all go.
I look up, my eyes scanning the houses we pass. Some of them seem to still be in the Thanksgiving spirits, still entertaining people. The others are quiet, with the interior lights turned off.
"Are you okay?" He finally speaks.
"Yes," I sigh, "I'm not as freaked out as I thought I would be. Mainly because we didn't really receive any bad news."
"Yeah," I look up at him, "all Duncan told us was that he doesn't know anything."
"That's all he said?" I question, still looking at him.
"Yeah." His grip on my hand momentarily tightens.
He's withholding some parts of their visit to Duncan from me. Whenever I mention him, there's this look of fear that passes his face.
"Are you scared?" I ask.
He doesn't reply immediately and I give his hand a gentle squeeze.
"Just a bit," he turns to me, "but today has shown us that we're not actually in any danger."
"I hope so. Mark Coleman can be very dangerous."
"He can't do anything to me in there." He replies, trying to reassure me.
"We can never be sure of that. You have to remember that you put him in jail, he's not going to give you a hug if he sees you."
"Dont worry. I made sure I never got killed when I was working for him, I won't die now." He grins.
I narrow my eyes at him and he smiles.
"We have nothing to worry about."
I open my mouth to speak but he puts his hands on my shoulders and pouts.
"Please don't get yourself worked up. It's such a lovely night, let's enjoy it and just forget everything."
"Fine." I say looking up into his eyes.
"Good." He places a soft kiss on my forehead. He intertwines our fingers and we resume walking under the streetlights.
I wish I weren't as worried as I am. It's just that, I've lost Mason before and I don't want to lose him again.
What if Mark Coleman somehow hurts him? What if I find out that he is out for revenge. What do I do then? Will he and his family have to relocate again?
"No worrying thoughts." He says, looking ahead, as if he can read my mind.
"Okay, okay." I look down.
"How was dinner?" He asks, trying to distract me.
"It went really well. It was the first time I had dinner with my parents in so long. It was just great. I really do miss them."
My mom also didn't start any fights with me. Whenever Priya mentioned Mason, she wouldn't make any bad comments. I could see she wasn't completely happy with the idea of us staying together, but she didn't voice out any of those worries.
I sigh and look up at the sky. Heavy clouds cover the sky, hiding the stars and moon. It has looked like it will rain for most of the day. I hope it's calm and soft if it rains. I do not need another thing to make me anxious.
"What's wrong?" Mason asks.
"Nothing." I say, still looking up.
"Approximately 200 billion galaxies, eight planets in our solar system and over seven billion people in the world and I was lucky enough to find you."
I stop, causing Mason to do the same.
"So cheesy." I snort. "Where did that come from?"
"From a place that wanted to make you laugh." He chuckles and I smile. "I want that."
"You want what?"
"To see you smile. To always see you smile." A smile of his own graces his face.
"I won't always smile, I won't always be happy."
"Yeah, I know," he pushes strands of my hair behind my ear, "but I want to always make you happy."
"I want that too."
"You want what?" He grins.
Before I can answer, a big raindrop splashes on my head. I gasp and look up, my hand finding the now wet spot on my scalp.
"Let's go back." I say.
"What? Why?"
"It's raining."
"Really?" Mason looks up. "It doesn't look like it. C'mon, let's keep walking for a few more minutes."
"We can keep walking," I reply, "back to the house."
He remains quiet, as if considering his options.
I don't know what he's thinking about but I'm not trying to catch a cold.
"I'm leaving." I state.
I'm not going anywhere without him.
"What if I want to be outside for a little longer."
"Then Maya will be safe indoors and Mason will still be outside for a little longer."
"What?" He gasps. "You would seriously leave me all alone in this cold, rainy night?"
"And I wouldn't even look back." I grin and playfully push him backwards.
Before he can react, I turn around to run away away but two steps later, I feel his fingers wrap around my wrist. He swings me around to face him and I let out a yelp, quickly replacing it with a giggle.
He looks into my eyes, his arm slowly snaking around my waist. I feel my breath hick as goosebumps form on my arms.
"You're so beautiful." He says, his eyes never leaving mine.
He leans in until our lips are an inch apart. I feel his heavy breath on my lips as it entangles with mine. I slowly close my eyes and a second later, he pulls my body closer to his and kisses me. I bring my hands up to his neck and softly part my lips.
Every bit of my body seems to ignite, forgetting the soft drops of rain hitting me. In this moment, I forget every pain I've ever felt. I forget all the nights I cried after he left. I forget the misery that clung to his absence.
He's here. He is mine, I am his and I am grateful.
We slowly pull apart and he rests his forehead on mine, his eyes closed.
We exchange no words as he straightens up and takes my hand. He looks at me and smiles and I return the gesture. Slowly, ignoring the rain I was just complaining about, we walk back to Max's house.
"I can't believe you left Pluto out."
"It's not my fault it got itself kicked out of the cool kids club by being small."
"Cool kids-" I begin laughing.
***
Mason's POV
By the time Maya and Priya walk out of Mrs. Jones's house, they can't stop laughing. One of Max's uncle is a comedian and after a few drinks, he was ready to give us a free show. On top of that, Mrs. Jones kept feeding us all the leftovers.
Max has to drop off his aunt so he took my car and he'll be dropping off Maya and Priya.
Almost everyone has left now. Only Max's grandparents, who are still in the living room watching TV, are still here. His dad drove some of their friends home.
I grab a dishcloth to begin drying the dishes I've just finished washing.
"Don't worry about the drying and packing Mason." Mrs. Jones says as she puts away a gravy boat. "I'll finish up and Peter will help me when he gets back. I understand that it hasn't been an easy day for you."
She gives me a sympathetic smile. Max and I told her where we were going today. She's been very understanding. I thought she would be upset to see me but she was very happy and became emotional.
I say goodnight to her before heading out of the kitchen. As I make my way up the stairs, I can't help but smile.
Thoughts of Maya fill my mind. Her furious smile whenever I compliment her, the sound of her laughter and the way her eyes look into mine each time she tells me she loves me.
I close the door to the bedroom and immediately take out my phone. This idea passed through my head a couple of times but now, I'm sure I want to go ahead with it.
I unlock the phone and search for the number. As the phone rings, I press it to my ear.
"Hello. Mason?"
"Hi, Bianca, I need your help."
"With what?"
"A date. My first date with Maya."
"Oh my gosh!" A loud thumping sound comes from the speaker. It sounds like a pile of books fell.
"Oh my gosh!" She repeats. "Your first date. I can't believe you two have never had a first date. You've been in love for so long, it feels like you've gone on many."
We've never. Not even when we were pretending to be dating.
"When is it?"
"Tomorrow." I reply. There's complete silence on the other side of the line.
"I can't believe you're planning your first date so last minute!" She almost shouts.
"Well, you see...it was... I cou..." I scratch the back of my neck.
"You know what? Let me get Lilly on the line. We need reinforcement."
"Wait, what-"
Bianca's voice changes to a monotone recording informing me that I've been placed on hold.
I look around the dark room before walking over to stand next to the window. I look out into the backyard of Max's neighbours. There's nothing much, just their dog sleeping on the lawn, a few feet from its green painted house.
"Hello." Lilly's familiar voice says.
"I've already filled her in." Bianca explains.
"I'm so excited about this!" Lilly squeals.
"This date is almost three years late. It has to be perfect." Bianca states.
"I know." I say, smiling.
"Why don't you just have it when you guys come back to San Francisco?" Lilly asks. The question is followed by a crunching sound and I assume she's eating chips.
"I don't know," I walk over to the window, "Lancaster is her home. She loves this place. I feel like she'll be happier having our first date here."
"True. I mean, whenever she spoke about her first date, she imagined it would be here." Lilly replies.
"So, I need your help with planning everything."
"Okay, firstly, when will you tell her about this?"
"In the morning." I say.
"Mason, you do know Maya, right? She likes planning and knowing everything she needs to get done. If it's not on her to do list, chances are that she won't do it."
"Oh, it's her date with Mason. She'll forget about lists and schedules." Lilly laughs.
"Alright." Bianca says. "So, what are you thinking? Dinner?"
"No." I shake my head. "I'm thinking a series of activities throughout the day."
"Aww... That's perfect." Lilly gushes.
I feel like we've missed out on so much time together. I'd like our first date to be more than just one thing. We didn't get the high school sweetheart experience but I want her to know she was always in my heart. Every day.
"Okay, take out a pen, Mason," Bianca instructs, "We're going to look at everything she loves here and choose which ones will be perfect for tomorrow."
I'm sorry I keep disappearing but I'm back now.... And Chris was all this and that and my look didn't really fit the rap, it didn't match🎶🎶 (sorry, I couldn't let that one pass😅😂). For the Let It Shine lovers 😆.