Inked

10

I arrived in the small pet shop to find Mason crouched in front of a play pen filled with corgi puppies. I paused briefly behind him and just watched in curiosity. He reached his hand into the pen and allowed the dogs to sniff it before reaching to pet one. The dog was a bit skeptical at first, but quickly warmed up to him and begin jumping at the side of the pen excitedly.

Mason laughed quietly and began to pet the small pup gently. I was caught up in how cute the whole scene was as well as how funny it was. That boy had to be at least six feet tall yet he was so gentle and calm, especially when there are tiny dogs involved. Honestly, the dog that he was petting was practically the size of his palm.

I giggled softly while looking at how content the corgi was to be pet by Mason. He must have heard me because he pulled his hand out from the pen and turned around to face me.

"So, you found me." He said smiling brightly.

"And you found a new best friend. That puppy sure looks happy to see you." I replied, returning a smile. He raised his eyebrows slightly and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"You do too."

I've begun to notice just how quickly Mason's entire demeanor can change. One minute he'll be wearing a flower crown and blushing, while the next he's confident and flirty. However, it's easy to see that the latter side of him is an act, considering he was just gawking over the adorableness of a small dog not more than two minutes ago.

"Oh?" I challenged stepping towards him. "You seem pretty confident in that fact."

"Yep, and I'm also confident in the fact that you blushed fifty shades of red when that lady called on the loud speaker." Speaking of blushing, I could feel heat on its way to my cheeks as soon as he said that.

I was about to get defensive when I noticed one of the pet shop employees standing beside us. I turned to them and ignored Mason, who was currently smiling smugly at the knowledge that his remark flustered me.

"I'm sorry about him," I gestured to Mason. "Did you need something?"

"Save it. I can sense the sexual tension all the way from the cash register, so you two better not end up going at it behind the fish tanks over there." The worker pointed behind them at a wall of aquariums. This time both of us had pink scattered across our faces as we exited the store and finally left the mall.

We arrived back at the apartment around eight that night. I got out of Mason's car and immediately turned my attention towards the night sky. I have always had a fascination with space since I was younger. My mom would take me out in the country most nights after my father fell asleep, so that we could look at the stars together. Ever since then I look at the stars whenever I get the chance. It was our escape from all the bad things. It still is.

Mason must have noticed me literally staring off into space because before I knew it I was being pulled by my hand into my apartment building. I snapped out of my content trance and abruptly stopped walking in protest. He looked back at me and smiled reassuringly.

"Just trust me." He said, tightening his grip on my hand a bit before continuing to pull me. 'I already do.' I thought silently to myself as we made our way up the steps of the building. After a few minutes and quite a bit of stairs we reached a small landing just before a heavy looking metal door. In all the years that Callie and I have lived in this building I had not even once went beyond this door.

Mason put his free hand on the door before looking back at me and squeezing my hand slightly. He slowly opened the door to reveal the buildings roof. It looked abandoned despite the fact that there were many people living in the complex. We walked out to see the dark, purple and black sky with small lights filling the vast space. I stood in wonder at how beautiful the sight was and what an excellent vantage point this was.

'This building has a rooftop? Since when? How did I not know this?'

"Well? What do you think?" Mason prompted. I smiled widely at him in reply before tilting my head back up towards the sky to continue gazing. He slowly guided me to the middle of the roof and gestured for me to sit down. I quickly obliged and laid down on the cool concrete. The moon was huge and glowing  with a subtle mauve tone while the tiny stars shone white light across the sky.

I was so absorbed in the stunning picture above me the I didn't notice that not only was Mason still holding my hand, but he was resting his head on my shoulder watching me. I turned my head to ask him what he thought when our noses almost touched. I stopped breathing out of fear that he would hate me for being so close to him, but neither of us turned away.

I looked into Mason's blue eyes as if they would give me a hint as to what was going through his mind. I watched as they flickered own to my lips and lingered there for a few seconds before returning to my gaze. 'Apparently he can read my mind.' I thought to myself. 'Wait. I'm ruining the moment.'

We both stayed still for a little while, observing each other. 'I knew it. Why would he kiss me when he has a boyfri-'

I froze as Mason gently placed his lips on top of mine.