I Think He Knows

𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘀 pt 2

A̸𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 D̸𝗮𝘃𝗶𝘀
☾

We walked down the dark wood stairs, Mason in front of me as I nervously grabbed onto the back of his dark grey sweater thinking through all of the possible questions his family might ask about me. My grip on the knit tightened into a fist, the sweater lifting up revealing his pale back without me even noticing as a few passed my mind. Have you ever done drugs? His mom might ask, have you been to jail? Twice? His dad might wonder. Is it okay to lie? Are they rich enough to get a background check on me?

I walked into Mason's back as he stopped abruptly in front of me, one step down made our height difference slightly less drastic although he was still taller despite being on the lower step. He grabbed my wrist gently making me release his sweater before turning around with a smile, "are you okay?" He asked me quietly and I smacked my hand over his lips with wide eyes.

"Shush they can smell fear from here," I told him in a hushed tone. I could feel his smile widen under my palm and matched the expression, "I'm okay."

His kissed my palm before grabbing both my wrists this time, bringing them around his neck then hugging my waist, his arms a comforting pressure throughout my body like a compression blanket. "Are you sure? We could ditch this wild party at any time if you want to," He assured me.

"I really am okay," I said. "I just- I just want them to like me I guess. Plus most of my Christmases ended up in an argument between my mom and I, and I kinda want to enjoy this Christmas... I have you now which is infinitely better than my mom so I think everything will be okay."

"It will be," he promised before leaning in for a kiss.

"Are you two making love on the staircase?" A loud deep voice came from below and I glanced over Mason's shoulder seeing Aiden his older brother. For a moment I thought he was serious since last I had met him he didn't really like me much but he was grinning, clearly in better spirits today than before the water parks.

Their mom didn't quite understand his joke as she came rushing from the kitchen looking up at us with concern for her staircase, taking a breath of relief seeing Aiden was kidding. "That wasn't a funny joke Aiden," she scolded smacking his shoulder lightly. "Mason you're sister and I have been doing all of the work, get down here and help us why don't you?"

Mason shot a crooked smile my way before mumbling, "I'm being summoned," As he walked down the stairs. I followed behind him with my own smile at how adorable he was. It was ridiculous to call a six-foot-five, thirty-four-year-old man adorable but there wasn't any better way to describe him. He checked all the boxes for adorableness.

In the large wooden kitchen stood his sister, Stella in an red and white gingham apron with frills going psycho on a mixture of cookies. Her arm mixed so fast that it was just a blur and her face so serious as she glared down at the bowl, that was until she saw her younger brother and her face lit up. "Mason!" She exclaimed practically tossing the bowl and whisk aside before pulling him into a hug.

The last time I saw her I didn't see them greeting each other, I had missed just how excited his siblings seemed whenever they saw him. When Stella let him go Aiden hugged around his neck and began ruffling his once-neat hair. I watched as my boyfriend's face scrunched up just like a little brother would while being terrorized by his siblings. Stella joined in pinching his cheeks and laughing happily annoying Mason.

He struggled in their confines as Stella grabbed his nose making me burst out laughing. Mason looked at me helplessly as I enjoyed every second of it. Finally, they let him go and he sped across the kitchen back to my side, hugging me to him. "They are so mean," he grumbled and they laughed high-fiving each other.