Not a Reunion

Chapter 48

Thea

I'm hurrying up the meal that I am cooking because Mason was going to get here in any minute. I hadn't even gotten a chance to change out of the clothes that I had been wearing. It was just my pajamas, and I had slipped them on in order to work on the meal. That had been a good decision because, after cutting vegetables and cooking meat on the stove, I was in need of changing my clothes. And a shower. I needed to take a shower first.

I'm wiping at the sweat on my eyebrows when I hear the intercom ring. I put the stove on low and curse as I head to my door. The intercom turns on again, and this time Mason is talking. "Hi, Thea. I'm here. I'm just standing out here waiting for you to let me in." There is humor in his voice, but I'm not laughing as I wipe my hands on my clothes. I've been hurrying my meal, but I still haven't been able to get it done.

What the heck was wrong with me? I had started to cook as soon as I had gotten back from work. On top of that, I had changed the time I wanted Mason to come an hour later from the time he had asked for earlier. But I wasn't ready, though. The meal took longer than I thought it would.

I press on the intercom and say, "Hey, Mason. Just come on up." The intercom buzzes, letting in Mason, and I know that he is going to be here any moment now. So, I open the door and head into my bedroom to take out the dress I was going to wear tonight. I take it with me to my bathroom, and I think that I'm going to just change, but I hop in the shower. The water is running down my body when I hear the front door open.

"Thea?" Mason calls out into the empty apartment. I can hear him walking in the living room. I scrub at my skin with the body wash and call out, "I'm in the shower."

"Oh," Mason sighs back, and then he says, "Are you still getting ready?"

I hurry to clean up as I shout back, "Yes. Give me a few minutes."

"Take your time," Mason calls back. I want to say that I shouldn't, but if I was going to let Maosn see me tonight, I needed to look good. I take my time showering, making sure that I am fully clean. Then I hop out of the shower and lotion up. Slipping into the dress is a little harder than I thought, especially with damp skin. I have to shimmy into it, but after a while, I'm dressed.

The dress I chose for this evening was a velvet green dress that fell to my thigh. The neckline was plunged, and it pronounced my collarbone. I liked it, even if it was a little fancy for a night in. I didn't know what Mason was wearing, but I knew that wherever he was, he was going to be looking good in it. Mason had grown up into an attractive man, one who could look bad on his worst day.

I move toward my bedroom and then take my hair out of the claw clip I put it in. My hair falls down in waves along my back, and I brush at it. I hoped that it looked good despite not being able to do anything to it. I spray perfume on myself and then look at myself in the mirror. I hoped that I didn't look like a mess in front of Mason, even if I looked good in front of the mirror.

I decide to slip on a pair of tiny heels just because I cannot imagine walking barefoot in a dress. I mean, I could, but I didn't want to. I slip out of my room with a smile on my face.

Once I walk toward the living room, I find that Mason isn't in there. I move toward the kitchen and find that he is at the stove, flipping the steak that I was working on. I frown as I make my way to him. Mason hears me walk in, and I watch as his hand goes to put the stove on low as his eyes take in my appearance. His blue eyes move from my face and then down to my dress. He has a small smile on his face as he gets down to the full length of me.

He then brings his eyes up to my face and tilts his head to the side. I tuck a piece of my hair behind my ear, scared of what he is going to say. He glances at the pan on the stove, and then he turns back to me. "Hey," he said with a large smile. Then his eyes trail down the length of me again as he says, "Are we going out tonight?"