Before You

Chapter 38

"Evy? Your alarm clock is going off in here." Mason says, sticking his head into my bedroom.

"Huh? Oh okay. I'm coming." I reply and hop out of my bed.

I walk into the kitchen and see my phone lying on the counter. My six o'clock alarm is still going off, ringing out loud. I pick up the phone, turning off the alarm. Mason has made his way back to the couch. I turn to face him. He's standing in front of the couch, stepping into his denim jeans. I watch as he pulls them up quickly covering his black boxers. Mason's torso is even more defined than the last time I saw him. He appears to be putting some major time in at the gym.

"Evy, did you hear me?" he asks.

I look up and meet Mason's eyes. "What?"

Mason gives a small laugh. "I said that I need to go ahead and take off."

"Okay. Give me one second." I say and walk into my bedroom.

I shut the bedroom door behind me and lean against it. I can feel the heat in both of my cheeks. I don't know why I was looking at Mason like that. He definitely saw me glaring at him though. The thought brings more heat to my cheeks. I don't want him to see me like this. I give myself a few more minutes and return to the living room. Mason is fully dressed and has placed all of the folded blankets into a pile.

"You didn't have to do that." I say pointing to the blankets.

"Of course I did. I want to make sure I'm a good house guest so you'll invite me back." He says smiling.

"You know you're welcome here at any time." I say.

"Thanks Evy." Mason says and pulls me in for a hug.

"I'll see you next week. I'm coming home for fall break." I tell him.

"Really? That's great! Maybe we can get together while you're there?" he asks.

"We better." I say smiling.

Mason flashes a huge grin on his face before walking out of the door. "Later, Evy."

I watch Mason through the blinds as he gets into his truck and leaves. I hate to see him go. Even without Boston around, we still have so much fun together. I remind myself to call her later and update her on everything that happened with Gage. I wonder if she knew he was coming to Atlanta. The second alarm on my phone goes off reminding me that I need to get ready for work. I really don't want to go in today, but Peyton will be there so it won't be too bad.

I walk into the clubhouse kitchen just as my shift starts. Peyton is already standing inside waiting for me to arrive. As usual, her face is lit up and she's ready for work. I tie the apron around my waist as I walk up to meet her.

"Susan came by a few minutes ago. She said that we both need to report to her office after our shift is over." Peyton says.

"Is everything okay?" I ask.

"I think so. It's probably just to discuss how you're doing here at work." She replies.

She's probably right. I forgot that I've surpassed my two-week trial run. Susan's been very busy so she hasn't approached me about a meeting. Today must be the day. Peyton and I jump right into work. The breakfast and lunch crowd is much busier today. We rush from table to table, not having any time to stop and chat. I follow as Peyton walks to one of her tables.

"Here you go, Mr. Jones." She says handing him his tab. "I'm glad I was able to serve you today. I hope you and your family have a wonderful trip to Maine."

Mr. Jones has to be in his seventies, but looks about ten years younger. His hair is brown, but the roots are a light gray color. I assume that he's been getting it dyed. At seventy years old, I would just let it grow out naturally. However, I imagine with these type of people, looks are everything.