Keep Me In | DR3 | BOOK 1

29 - Masons Visit

"What if he wants an answer? A yes or no?"

"A yes or no?"

"Like... an 'are we', or 'aren't we'."

"Ah," Noah sighed, adjusting in his seat. "And so? What would your answer be?"

--

"Mason!" I exclaimed, my arms grasping tightly around his broad shoulders, keeping me elevated as he lifted me in an embrace. "You have no clue how excited I am that you're here, how happy I am to see you."

He placed me back on the ground, offering a hand to help keep me steadied. "This was long overdue. Way long overdue."

"I can't believe we let two months pass before seeing each other..." I trailed off before planting a kiss on this lips. "I'm sorry, I haven't been on top of this. I want to give you more, I do."

"Let's make the most out of this weekend then, yes?"

"Agreed," I smiled, leaning in for another peck. "Let me help you get your bags in the car," I gestured to the opened trunk of my Range Rover, stopped in the arrivals area at London Heathrow, emergency lights flashing. Mason refused, shaking his head and chuckling as he swiftly moved his one bag into the trunk, closing it when he was done.

"Oh, before I forget- I made you something," I said, sifting through my phone in my drivers seat as Mason clicked his seatbelt in.

"You made me something?" he smiled, kissing me on the cheek.

I quickly turned my body so I was facing him, my back to the window. "No peeking!"

I hit the 'engine start' button, adjusted the volume in the car as I remembered I had been blasting music on the drive here, and immediately the music began playing over the speakers. I smirked, placing my phone in the center console before setting the car to drive. Mason looked at me, expectantly. I looked to him, then to the entertainment screen, then back to him, hinting at what I had compiled for him.

"You're hot, but you're a little stupid sometimes, you know?" I rolled my eyes jokingly. He wasn't getting it. "Check your phone."

He scoffed, "We remember I'm getting my PhD, right? I remember when that impressed you, those were the days..."

I shook my head in response, lifting a hand from the wheel to motion his attention back towards his phone. "I sent it to you, so you could listen to it and think of me whenever."

His eyes lit up as he hit the Spotify link in our iMessages. He scrolled through the list of 20 songs, smiling and letting out a surprised breath in realization. "You made me a playlist?"

"It's the modern day mixtape," I blushed. "Do you like it?"

"This was the song playing at that party on New Years, when we kissed at midnight!"

"Yeah, it doesn't fit the overall vibe, I know. But I had to include it, I thought it was important." The EDM feature stood out like a sore thumb, and I had to pester Charlie to ask his DJ what specific mix it had been from, based purely on fuzzy sounding videos and my own 'dee doo boop'ing.

His smile dropped suddenly, his expression turning serious as he looked up at me, "'Christmas Tree Farm', by Taylor Swift? Really?"

I looked back at him, struggling to stifle my laughter. I let it go, relieving the bubble of air collecting in my throat, joining in as he began laughing. "It makes sense, alright! Do you like it or not!?"

Mason grabbed my hand closest to him, placing another around my shoulders as I drove, "I like it. Thank you."

We listened to the playlist as I drove back into the city; even 'Christmas Tree Farm' (though he was reluctant). I was more than aware of the fact that he had put more effort into our long-distance dating than I had. To make up for it, I really wanted to make this weekend special for us. Pull all the stops. I used to always make mixtapes for my friends when I was younger, playlists of songs that we would scream-sing at sleepovers. Though a small gesture, I knew it wouldn't fall into blind hands.