Lemonade (WLGYL #2)

Chapter 13-Present

"I miss you," I said through the phone, my feet propped up on the coffee table. Sipping my tea, I looked over at Mason's closed door. He left for work at around eight in the morning, and I hadn't seen him since. I had just gotten back from my own shift at the photography studio, and I decided to catch up with my favorite person with the two free hours I had before dinner.

"I missed you, too," Jessie said. "I wish you weren't so far away." I heard her sigh.

"You should visit. I think you'd like LA." I blew on my mug; the tea was still a little hot.

"If I can get days off from work, I will." Jessie had an internship at a fancy writing website in Chicago; she wanted to work in publishing someday and, so far, she loved her job. "How's everything with..." she paused, drawing out the tension dramatically. "You-know-who?"

I rolled my eyes. "Whoever do you mean?"

"Your ex-boyfriend, my brother, the person I still want you to selfishly marry, Mason Reed Mast—"

"Okay, okay, I get it," I interrupted. The person I still want you to selfishly marry. I didn't know Jessie felt that way. "In the week he's been here, it's been fine. As expected." Barely any more awkward run-ins or nostalgia. I still wasn't sure what he'd done with the garter I found in his car. "Today's my six-month with Liam," I added. I had to get the apartment and myself ready for that. And I had to kick out Mason.

Even though I couldn't see her through the phone, I knew Jessie was raising her eyebrows. "Does Mason know that?"

"No, I'll tell him later. But it's not like he would care, anyway"

Jessie snorted. "I think you underestimate my brother and his emotional capacity."

The front door twisted open, and Mason walked in, his hair wet from the rain.

"Speak of the devil," I mumbled to Jessie.

"Ooh, is that Mason? I need to ask him something."

I sighed. "Hey," I said to Mason.

He looked up, noticing me on the couch. "Hey." He glanced at the phone against my ear with raised eyebrows.

"It's Jessie." Pulling my phone away from my ear, I reached my hand out so he could grab it. "She wants to talk to you."

He grinned, clutching the phone. "Hey, Jess. What's up?"

I desperately wished I could hear what they were saying. I tried to read Mason's face, his reactions, but he was giving absolutely nothing away. What did Jessie need to ask him about? Something mundane, like how his job was? Or was it about me? Why did I care?

Mason walked towards the window, his face away from me as he listened to Jessie. "Yeah, yeah. I know. It'll be fine."

My eardrums were about to burst from straining to hear through the phone. What was going to be fine?

Finally, Mason returned the phone to me and, when I hung up, my gaze moved back to him. "What was that about?"

He shrugged. "Nothing important." Walking into his room, he set down his rain jacket and took off his shoes.

I raised my voice so he could hear me through the open door. "Nothing important?" I repeated.

Mason looked over at me, still untying his shoes. "Yes, Emma. Just typical Jessie stuff."

Typical Jessie stuff? Mason could be so frustrating. God, why did I even care so much?

I decided to change the subject. "What are your plans for later?"