Not a Valentine

Chapter 52

Mason's phone takes us to a local restaurant in town. I look up at the building in unease, feeling weird that I was back here after being on a date with another guy just over a week ago. Mason notices my reaction and says, "I'm sorry. Did I choose a bad place? Your mom told me you liked this restaurant."

"I did—do," I correct myself with a little shake of my head. I turn back around to Mason and frown when I see the frown on his face. I didn't like that he was a little sad, so I said, "It's nothing."

Mason moves his hand toward my knee and says, "No, tell me. I want to make the date good for you."

"No," I say, but Mason still looks at me as if he thinks it's him who caused this. I shake my head and say, "No, I just had a thought that I was here with someone the other week."

"Elijah," Mason whispers, his eyes having a different emotion in them. He looks away from me and toward the parking lot that was kind of full for it being early right now. Mason sighs and says, "I didn't want you to be interested in him. I had wanted you to see me and see that I was the one who truly liked you. But then you came to me all excited about him, and I knew that I would have to wait for you."

I'm quiet for a moment before I say, "If it's any consolation, I was never content in that relationship. I hadn't even thought that Elijah was genuine in liking me, and the whole time I was trying to tell myself that I do like him and that I can be with him."

Mason doesn't say anything, so I turn to him and say, "But it's different with you."

"I don't know," Mason says softly. "I think that maybe we are going too fast, that maybe we are just two teenagers just wanting to be physical with each other."

"Mason, no," I say with a shake of my head. I point my chin at him and ask, "Ask me, what was my favorite memory together today?"

Mason blinks at me in confusion but still asks, "What was your favorite memory together today?"

I'm not hesitant to answer; the response is easy to say: Because this memory had been an awesome one. I meet my eyes with his and say, "When you gave me that heart, when I saw how saddened you were that I had used the original ones for that basket, you had been so adamant about me having a heart that you made it again. I watched you stick two different scraps together, but in the end, it was the one that I loved more. All of the others were perfect, but this one wasn't, which made it even better; you worked a little to make this. Just so I can have a heart."

Mason is awestruck, but I keep going. "Then you gave me my Valentine's, but I didn't feel as content in that moment as with the pipe cleaner heart." I'm leaning toward him, my hand wanting to grab for his face. "So, you say that we are too physical? I do love that part." I'm giggling. "I do love the fact that you can kiss me like that and make me forget about all of that."

"But I just love the idea of being with you," I say with a smile. "I just love the idea of us being able to have small moments, just as long as we are together. Because this is new, and I'm excited to see where it goes."

"Really?" he asks with a smile. I nod, caressing his face in my hand, which he leans into. He only chuckles into my hand and whispers, "I really like that."

"I do as well," I whisper to him as I press a kiss to the side of his face. Then I pull my hand away, and Mason looks out the window, past my head.

"So, what do you want to do about the restaurant situation?"

I look at the cafe and smile. The memory of me being here with Elijah was faint now; it wasn't important anymore. What I remembered now was the fact that I came here with my dad and mom every year and that now I was going to go in there and create new memories with Mason. It didn't matter if I was here on a dull date with a guy I didn't even know.