7
Janet
Was I seriously going to do this? Staring at myself in the mirror, I took in my reflection. Did I look okay? Would he like what he saw?
Normally when I was set up on blind dates, I always grew nervous thinking about how I appeared. I wanted whoever I was meeting up with to like what they saw. But Mason wasn’t exactly like my blind dates. He had seen me in more ways than most have and he still seemed to want even more. My normal dates normally never got past the first one. But with him, I stopped counting how many times we found ourselves sitting across from each other.
I still didn’t know if I should consider getting ice cream with him as a date. At the time, I didn’t think that’s what he would have even considered it as. But then he seemed genuine with his questions as he listened to me talk. He didn’t make it seem like he was forced to be there.
The man had my heart without even knowing it, I was pretty sure I was in deep for him. After the way he kissed me, I knew positively that I wanted him. I didn’t think I would be able to hold back anymore. I had to be true to myself and accept how I felt for him.
Running my hands down the front of my dress, I could feel how clammed up they were from my nervousness. Even after telling myself that Mason was the one who told me to come, it didn’t make it any easier.
I had to remind myself that I was going there because I wanted to as well. It was my decision to meet up with him, no one else’s. While I wasn’t exactly sure if what Mason and I wanted was the same thing, I would make sure that by the end of the night, he would know how I felt. I wasn’t in this just for the sex, Mason really was perfect and I wanted to be more than just some hookup.
Grabbing my purse, I swallowed any other doubtful thoughts I had about this before turning away from the mirror. I had taken the extra time to make myself look good for him and I was pretty excited to see his reaction. Taking in a deep breath, I pulled away and headed towards the front door.
“Keep an eye on the place,” I called out, noticing Snickers curled up on the couch. The best I got was a lazy meow before she ignored me to go back to sleep. Nodding to myself, I opened the door and stepped out.
The air felt nice and cool against my warm skin as I walked to my car. Just from thinking earlier about the kiss, it left my body feeling flushed. I still couldn’t get it out of my head how his hands felt against my body. The first time we had hooked up, it took forever to get all of his touches out of my mind. Now, I was starting to remember them. It was like I was purposely trying to get my body to react.
I was pretty sure he would be able to do that for me the moment I got a good look at him. After going days with him in my mind, I was ready to see him again.
Driving over to the bar, there was a new feeling growing within me as I looked at the building. Normally, I would have this heavy weight in my gut because I knew when I left, whoever I had gone in to meet would not come my way again.
“He’s different,” I whispered to myself in hopes of reassuring myself from the heavy thoughts.
Getting out of the car, as I approached the bar, I could hear some rock music playing. It reminded me of the ride over to that ice cream shack. If Olivia could sing along with most of the tunes that played on the radio, I could only imagine how much Mason enjoyed listening to it.
Multiple people were hanging out around the building, some just conversing, some smoking. It was the weekend, I expected it to be busy but I just hoped that the business wouldn’t get in my way. Walking past the clouds of smoke, I went inside.
Just as I had expected, multiple people were inside sitting at tables and drinking. While some of their attention was on the flat screens hanging up, others were simply just socializing. It was loud inside and I could barely even hear my own thoughts.
Heading over to the bar, I nearly bumped into someone on the way there. Now that I was seeing exactly how packed they were, I was starting to become doubtful. Once I made it over, I managed to spot Mason but could see the rush on his face. Having never actually paid attention to him before, I never noticed his skill. By the way he was slinging drinks without slipping up, I knew he was meant for this job.
Going over to one of the stools, I took a seat and rested my arms against the bar itself. I had to be patient, he would have to eventually make his way over. I still needed to figure out what I was going to say to him anyway. I needed to prepare my words for my confession so he could know how I felt about him. While I might not exactly be ready to drop the ‘L’ bomb, I definitely knew I liked him. Enough that I wanted to be able to see him outside of our jobs. I wanted to be with him.
There was still a fear that ate at the back of my mind. After being rejected countless times, I didn’t know what I would do if Mason would just become another part of the count. I didn’t want to think about it. The way he looked at me, there’s no way I was overthinking it, right?
“What can I get for you?” a bartender approached me, unfortunately not the one I wanted.
Sighing softly, I drummed my fingers across the table. If it were Mason, I wouldn’t have to tell him, he’d already know. “Do you know how to make a Cinderella?” I asked curiously. By the guy’s expression, I got my answer just as quickly. “Just make it a Shirley Temple then.” The moment he stepped away, my chest tightened. Mason had made me a drink off menu in hopes of cheering me up, the realization left me feeling giddish and happy. I just wished I realized who he was before getting myself in all of that blind date mess to begin with.
Waiting around, I searched for Mason once more but he was long gone. Probably off to help another customer. Damn, I was actually feeling pretty disappointed. Moving my eyes down towards my lap, I could already feel a sigh forming.
Once the glass was set down in front of me, I didn’t have to look long to notice that this was not what I ordered. Already feeling a frown form because of my impatience, I noticed the familiarity of the fingers wrapped around the glass. Looking up, my eyebrows rose and my heart skipped.