midnight rain | mason mount

xxiii

AUTHOR POV. 
MAY 28, 2022 

Charlotte sat at the island counter in the kitchen, talking to Phil and some of his Man City teammates who had come to celebrate his birthday. 

"Tell us more stories about him. Please." Bernardo begged, wanting to hear more of Charlotte's embarrassing stories about Phil. 

"Simply ask, and I shall deliver." Charlotte replied, giggling. Phil merely rolled his eyes— they were enjoying this way too much. "There was this one time, I think it must've been the first time he was called up to the senior team. I think it was the pre-season tour in... Where was it again?" 

Sighing, Phil replied, "Houston." 

"Yes! That's the one. In one of the post match interviews, Sergio Aguero said 'I love you' to Phil and he tweeted that Phil was his favorite football player. He FaceTimed me right after and he wouldn't stop talking about it for hours. I heard the story so many times it's like I was there myself. And I'm pretty sure that was his home screen at one point, as well." The others roared in laughter, and Phil simply sighed, putting his hand to his forehead. She was definitely way too drunk.

"I'm never hearing the end of that one, am I?" 

"I don't think so, mate." John said, patting Phil's back as Phil took another vodka shot from the counter. 

The group continued to drink and talk, Charlotte enjoying being able to reconnect with some of Phil's Man City teammates. She had seen them a lot more often before when she was dating Ferran, but after they had broken up, she had purposefully distanced herself from them, not wanting to be reminded of past memories. But now that was really in the past, and she was moving on with her life. 

A few moments later, Mason walked up to them and whispered in Charlotte's ear, "Hey. Can I steal you for a bit?" 

Putting her drink down, Charlotte got up from her seat and left with Mason, waving the group goodbye. All being drunk, Mason's England teammates all whistled as he wrapped his arm around Charlotte's waist and went upstairs. 

"I have something I want to show you." He led her upstairs and to the living room on the second floor, where there was a small box on the coffee table. 

Putting her hands to her mouth Charlotte said, "You didn't have to get me anything, you know." 

"Are you kidding? Of course I had to. Besides, I wanted to. It's your birthday." 

Addressing the elephant in the room Charlotte said, "Hey, I'm sorry I didn't tell you it was my birthday. I guess it just kind of slipped my mind. It's always just been something that Phil and I celebrate together, so it never really occurred to me that I should tell you." She was somewhat telling the truth. It had occurred to her that she should tell him, but she had chosen not to because she didn't want to make a big deal out of it. 

Handing the box to her, he said, "Here. Open it." 

Carefully, she opened the box to find a white and gold alhambra necklace inside. It had been something that she had wanted for a long time. One night, before they had gone to bed, Charlotte had been scrolling through TikTok, when she had stumbled upon this necklace. She had already wanted it for a long time, but seeing it on her feed had made her want it even more. She hadn't said anything, but Mason must've noticed that she was watching that TikTok over and over again. That would explain how he knew that she had wanted this necklace.

Mouth gaping open, Charlotte shook her head and said, "Mase, I can't possibly take this." She closed the box and tried to hand it back to him, but he firmly closed her hand around the box and replied,