My Middle School Crush (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Little Italy

Mason sat on his living room couch, his arms and legs crossed as he waited. His right leg, which he had thrown over his left, was gently swinging up and down, up and down. It was a way to distract him while he waited for Mark to arrive. Despite Mason's earlier complaints about not wanting to get up early, he ended up jumping out of bed at 10:00, eager to start the day. He was just too excited about going on another date with Mark. Mason thought it was truly wonderful that he could even be saying that right now. Another date.

Mason had wasted some time in the morning, getting a light breakfast, working on a little post for his second Instagram account. But, once he noticed how close the time was getting to 2:00, he felt that he had to be ready. That was why he was now watching his leg go up and down, up and down in his living room. He would have used his phone to pass the time, Lord knows he's done that time and time again. However, Mason—always one to plan ahead—didn't want to waste power before a long day out.

Maybe he could have found a better way to pass the time if he was in a more interesting room, but the living room was boring to him now. He'd seen it far too often to find anything interesting about it. Mason looked up, noting the pale yellow walls adorned with odd paintings and family photos his mother thought were adorable. The matching dark brown couches that rested on the floor weren't a style choice, Mason knew, but a strategic purchase made by people who knew they would be parents one day. Mason winced, imagining what the accumulated stains would have looked like if the chairs were white. Everything in this room, the walls, couches, and randomly placed items, were just too familiar to him.

So, Mason looked back to his leg, which he continued to stare at until his mother entered the room.

"Oh, you look nice, Mason. Where are you going?" She asked him curiously. Mason looked down at himself, getting reacquainted with his clothes, realizing that he had cuffed everything. The sleeves on his muted yellow shirt were cuffed. His shirt was tucked into his jeans, which were cuffed as well. Mason wondered if dressing like this was the reason why Gabe decided to flirt with him the first time they met.

Mason decided to keep that thought for another day and focus on his mom.

"I'm sorry, I thought I'd already told you. I'm going out with Mark today. We're going to hang around little Italy for a while." He told her, unwittingly giving far more details than necessary.

"Oh, that sounds fun." She hummed, entering the living room further. She walked past Mason, sitting on the opposite end of the sofa, and stared right at him with an excited gleam in her eyes. "You think this will be the major step for your relationship?"

"What?"

"Oh, Mason, don't play dumb with me. I know your father, brother, and I mostly just teased you about it but I really do think that you and Mark would be a great match. Is this where you guys cross the line from friends to boyfriends? Are you two going to kiss tonight? Oh that would be really exciting!"

"Mom!" Mason yelled, covering as much of his face with his hands as possible. Subconsciously, Mason hoped that if he couldn't see his mother and the world around him, he would suddenly be able to disappear. "It is not a date. Oh my gosh, I can't believe you just said that."

Mason's embarrassment and pure mortification did not just come from the fact that he was discussing this with his mother, though that was a large part of it. He was also embarrassed because their relationship had already changed. They'd already kissed, on multiple occasions, though Mason assumed his mom wouldn't figure that out from his reaction. Mason also felt a tiny bit guilty. His mom had obviously assumed that if Mason and Mark kissed, she would know about it quite soon afterwards. He felt a bit bad about keeping everything a secret, but he doubted his mom would be so positive if she learned that Mason planned to not only open his heart but spread his legs.