Take My Breath | Catnipz

twenty seven

"You look different tonight," I traced the rim of my wine glass with the tip of my finger. "This is all new to me." I gesture. Mason was in a tight fitted black dress, hair loosely curled and her face covered in make up. She looked ethereal.

Embarrassment clouded her distinct features. "Right. Well, I thought I'd be underdressed for the occasion," She blinked. "I haven't been to one of these before," She added. "Fancy restaurants..."

I bit down on my lower lip to withhold an oncoming chuckle. "Sure you haven't. Not quite your style, is it?" I watched her shake her head.

"It feels weird," She said honestly. "But in a good way. You're here with me so it's not all that bad." A small smile formed across her pretty face.

"That's good," I took a swig of the cheap wine I'd been avoiding the whole evening, hoping to hide the smile that was creeping onto my lips. "I'm glad. But you haven't ordered anything," I point to her empty plate. "Anything you wanna order?"

She scratched her arm and looked over at me hesitantly, "I don't really have any money on me," Mason sighed. "I'm not that hungry though so—"

"You'll let me watch you starve?," I shook my head and called for the waiter. "Not happening."

"Mara, you don't have to order me..." Her voice softened and quickly turned to soft mumbling
when a young waiter approached our table, all smiles. "I feel bad enough as it is that you..."

"How may I assist you ladies this evening?"

I smiled brightly at the young man. "I'd like to order a steak, medium rare with mushroom sauce and if possible, a generous serving of mashed potato and a glass of lemonade with ice please."

The waiter nodded and took the order before walking off towards the kitchen. "If there's anything else you want just let me know, alright?"

Mason looked at me, stunned. "That was...," Her cheeks flushed pink. "Impressive." She added.

"I just took your order, baby. It's not much." I swallowed hard, realising what I just said. "But um, like I said, if there's anything else then..."

She shook her head. "There's nothing else that I want," She smiled softly. "But it really was impressive. You know what I like. That's all."

Of course I know what you like. I love you. "Pssh, you're just saying anything at this point." I said.

Mason blinked rapidly and nodded slowly, body moving to the groove of the live band playing in the corner of the far end of the restaurant.

"How was your date?," She then asked. "It looked like it went well. I saw it. She kissed you." But it didn't mean anything—not to me at least.

"She did," Another swig of wine. "She was just being nice. Nothing more to it," I lied. The girl was in love with me more than I thought she did.

Mason sucked in a breath. "Kisses are an act of kindness these days then?" She mumbled under her breath. "I'm sure she meant it differently."

She did. More than you know. I wasn't sure how to navigate the conversation—but I needed it to change—I needed to talk about us. How I feel.

Mason lowered her head and fiddled with the hem of her dress. She was starting to feel uncomfortable. I knew it as soon as she started to look away from me. She puffed her cheeks and hummed a soft tune while tapping her feet.

"Do you see her in your future?," Mason asked. "Can you see Mavis in your future? With you."

I felt my throat begin to dry quicker than laundry out on the line. "I can see her in my future," I began. "I can't imagine life without her. It's hard to even picture it," I confessed. I couldn't help but notice the way that Mason pressed her lips tightly together till they turned white. "But not with her."

Her head moved upward to look at me. "What?"

"I see her in my future. Just not with her."

Her brows furrowed. "You mean that how?"

"I don't see a future with her romantically," I answered. "I see her in my future as a friend."

"Oh. Um. So you're breaking up with her?"

I kept my answer at the very tip of my tongue as the waiter came back with her dinner. "Thank you," we replied in unison. "Much appreciated."

The waiter nodded and walked away to attend to other patrons. "There's no reason for us to break up because there was never an us," I swallowed long and hard. "Not really. Mavis and I—we weren't—it's not what you think. We were just..."

I took her cutlery and began to cut her steak into bite sized pieces. "You don't have to do that."

I ran the tip of my tongue across my cheek. "But I want to, ok? Just let me do this for you."

Mason nodded. "So you and Mavis..."

I was starting to grow sick of her constant mention of the latter. It wasn't a bad thing, and truthfully, I wanted to clear out the air, come clean about my real relationship with her, to finally reveal my truths and all my secrets.

"We were never a thing, Mace. Never. What we had wasn't real. I don't even like her like that..." I set her plate down in front of her. "Here. Eat up."

Mason's eyes widened—expectedly so. "What?"

"Like I said—it wasn't real—it never was and—"

"No, I heard you the first time," She held her cutlery firmly in each hand, stunned, and almost in disbelief. "But where do I fit into all that?"

I felt my forehead crease. "What do you mean?"

"I agreed to be your wingman so you could win her over," Her brows furrowed. "We had an agreement and you said it yourself. I thought you liked her? Is that not...did you even like her at all?" She looked at me like I set her home ablaze.

"It was a lie."

"A lie?," Her shoulders sank. "I don't understand."

"I don't expect you to understand," Another swig. "at least not right now. But, there's a reason," I declared. "A reason that I've been keeping from you for a long time now. It's time that I tell you."