Housekeeping Page 14

  For one reason only, Mason had never dated. He was still young but this was Mason Thompson, the guy who, whenever pictured at official events and various parties, always had a woman on his arm. And of all people, he decided to ask me.

  “I can't believe it,” I murmured to myself, but I was grinning and no longer scared but happy about being that girl. The one he wanted to date, compared to all the rest who were most likely prettier, sexier or richer than me. None of them made him change his mind, only me.

  The fact he’d never actually dated and wanted me to be his girlfriend… I had to admit, it was pretty sweet. So even though I was berating myself for giving into him once again, I didn’t regret it. If anything, I just wanted to see him more!

  “But first, a proper shower.”

  Before, I’d only jumped under the shower spray for a minute to clean up from last night. I’d been too impatient to see him and I could hear him cooking in my kitchen, so I’d toweled down, then dressed in some old clothes I found lying around and tried to act calm when I went out to see him. He must have bought the act, which was good because I didn’t need him to see just how much he affected me, or he’d use it against me in the future, I just knew it.

  As I went to the bathroom, I turned on the stereo and played some music from the radio. I left the music loud so I could hear it over my shower, though my neighbors would probably complain of noise again if it went on for too long. I hummed along as I listened to the music, my secret weakness: punk from the early 2000s.

  The song switched to one of my favorite bands to date, Green Day. I’d listened to the song enough times to have it all memorized, and I sang along loud and horribly off key.

  Back in college, my study had been in music. I’d figured back then that if I loved it enough to want to listen to it all the time, I should try my hand at making my own. My reasons for picking the major may have been simple, but I’d thrown myself into it. I’d wanted to sing, but even back then, I knew I probably didn’t have a chance at it. I might have gotten a voice coach, gone through several practices and caught a glimmer of hope. But no matter how much I liked it, it was the easiest thing in the world to give up when the time came.

  The playlist moved on, and another song I’d heard over and over but couldn’t get tired of went on. I hummed quietly to listen properly to the lyrics, because it always hit me right in the feels, and especially so at that moment. The song told a tale of first love and how it was lost. Saying ‘fuck it all’ to love, because it could be painful whether you had it or you didn’t.

  Considering my current situation with Mason, I thought the song was very apt. It made me wonder what would become of us, if I would end up like the subject of the song, alone and singing in my shower to old music like one of those women who refused to stop using two cans of hairspray a day to keep their 1980s hairstyle from falling.

  In the fantasy, my hair was long and straight, I didn’t have a specific hairstyle, nor would I ever, but the dream was so vivid I shuddered just thinking about it.

  Before Mason, I’d only ever had the one real boyfriend. He was the guy who stuck it out with me for nearly a year. In college, I’d mostly just done a few one-night stands, and my first attempt at dating failed miserably in a couple of weeks, so I couldn’t even count it. I didn’t even mind, because I was serious about college, no matter how slim my chances were of getting the ending I wanted. I hadn’t known then that I had to cherish the time I had while I was healthy. I’d wasted it.

  Then I got sick.

  After the cancer treatments, the first two guys I tried to date couldn’t stick around for long after they’d seen me naked because it bothered them. It was around that time I decided to have a nipple tattoo to replace the one cut out after the surgery, covering up the scars that remained behind.

  I may have been judging Mason too harshly, because considering my previous experience, he was by far the best. Besides him being younger, and annoying me in the beginning, there was nothing wrong with him. It was a little strange thinking of him that way, but the thought certainly rang true, and it made me feel a little better about my decision like it wasn’t entirely the wrong choice.

  The water cooled down, and I yelped and turned it off, coming back to myself. I didn’t know how long I’d drifted off, but I needed to get out before my skin started to shrivel up.

  Even once I had the shower off, I still didn’t move. Instead, I stared at the shower walls as thoughts ran through my mind.

  “I’m dating Mason Thompson,” I said out loud and shivered.

  Darn, it didn’t even feel real. The Thompson name was such a big name to everyone that worked at the hotel. Heck, it was even a part of the hotel’s name! Even when a guest wasn’t necessarily related to the Thompson family, if they had the same name, the staff made sure to look out for them specifically. It was made into a rule.

  Everyone would flip if they ever found out the news, not that I was going to tell them. I wasn’t even sure when I would tell Jessi. I had to tell her with her being my best friend and all. I’d have to muster up some courage to manage it, but I could get through it later.

  A draft went through my bathroom, and I shivered because I was just standing there, all wet, and I got out and picked up a towel to wipe myself down. Then I picked an outfit, one of my best, and slowly pulled it on.

  Was this… going to be okay? Even if we were just trying, I was already in too deep with this kid, falling even deeper would probably just bring worse results later on. At the moment, I could at least put up with my disappointment. Eventually, I’d move on. But if we got closer, it would be harder.

  Sure, for the moment, Mason rocked my world. I couldn’t keep lying to myself and claim he meant nothing at all when that was not the case. But that didn’t mean any of the problems I’d thought of before were suddenly gone. If anything, now that we were trying and it wasn’t just a one-night thing, I’d probably get to see it all clearly when I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

  Could I take this chance? Or, the more appropriate question, should I take this chance? Because after that time I’d been sick, I’d decided to make sure I lived without regrets, and this didn’t feel like one of those times where regrets wouldn’t crop up. I was happy, sure, but I also couldn’t help but be uneasy about everything, and didn’t that speak volumes? If I couldn’t just be wholly happy with this…

  “What are you talking about, you stubborn girl?” I scolded myself, interrupting the negative thoughts.

  After everything, what was my motto now? In spite of all my regrets, I would always look forward to the bright side. So why was I sabotaging myself by thinking about all the things that could go bad?

  If regret happened down the line, then I could deal with it then. I had to admit, if only to myself, that if I let this chance pass me by and ignored it instead of trying to work toward it, I would regret not trying at all when it was something I was already losing sleep over.

  “He said he trusted me,” I muttered, picking up my mirror and looking at my frowny face. “He said he trusts me, so…”

  As fake as his pretty words had sounded, I completely believed everything he said because it was probably the sincerest I’d ever seen him. He didn’t look like the kind of man who divulged his secrets to people easily, so it would only be fair if I responded in kind, right?

  I was going to try and trust in him. The moment he broke it, I’d probably run, but for the moment I had no reason to.

  “Please Mason,” I said with a sigh. “Don’t give me a reason not to trust you, okay?”

  I finished getting myself dressed, and realized I still had some time. So I finally sat down to continue the knitting from last night with the little time I had to wait before lunch. I kept checking the time as I worked, not sure exactly when he wanted me to arrive anyway, growing ever so impatient as the time ticked away slowly.

  24

  Laura

  My nerves started to get the better of me as I threw the knitting aside. It
was mostly done. All that was left was the bottom of the hat, then I could add it to the new pile. Usually, I would use my day off to knit and watch some TV because I only ever got the one day off a week.

  It was half an hour past noon, but I figured it was enough time. I got up and packed my things away. I hesitated a little in my room, not sure if I was supposed to take anything with me. In the end, I picked one of my small purses and put in some money, my cards, and my phone. Then I left the apartment.

  I took the walk plenty of times, usually every day when going to work unless it got too cold out, but today the distance felt especially great. I practically jogged most of the way there and stopped a way off from the hotel to catch my breath. I looked down at myself, feeling a bit self-conscious. This was probably the dressiest I’d ever looked near the hotel, in a pencil skirt that tied at the waist and went down just a bit above the knees, and a white blouse with a black polka dot collar, with frills down the front.

  What if someone I worked with saw me?

  It probably won’t happen, I tried to psych myself up. Most of them have time off too, or they’d be working. So there was no reason why they should see me, right?

  I couldn’t steer clear of all the staff.

  “Jessi lives here,” I said aloud to myself, a little surprised I’d forgotten this fact. Jessi had been given a small room at the hotel that she’d stayed at. It wasn’t a consideration that was given to just anyone, and it cut quite a bit out of her salary every month to stay there, but her place was at least better looking than mine.

  If anyone asked, I could just say I was visiting my friend. She’d back me up.

  With a deep breath, I walked into the hotel. I kept my head down, fingers holding tight to the straps of my purse. I was so tense, feeling like I might be stopped on the way, but no one stopped me when I got to the elevator. It was one of the few times that I wasn’t using the staff elevators, and even as I breathed a sigh of relief when the doors closed, leaving me alone, I couldn’t help but still be anxious.

  When the doors opened on the right floor, I practically ran to Mason’s door, then hesitated some more before knocking on it. He only took a moment to answer the door though, grinning when he saw it was me there.

  “Hey. I almost thought you wouldn’t make it.”

  I frowned. “I’m not that late, am I?”

  “Nah. I just had a visitor I wasn’t expecting, so I got a little impatient waiting for you to get here.”

  I froze, then peeked around him. “Visitor…?”

  “Don’t worry, he’s gone and he won’t be coming back. Give me a minute, and we’ll head out.”

  He left the door open as he walked further into the room, and I took it to mean I could wait inside. I stayed right by the door after I closed it behind me. He only took a minute, coming back while pulling on his coat.

  “Where exactly are we going?” I asked as he let us out of the room. “I thought you were going to make me something?”

  I was a little anxious walking around the hotel with Mason, in case anyone else saw. His big frame stuck pretty close to my side, so I hoped most people would just be looking at him and ignore that I was right there. He had that kind of presence.

  “I didn’t say I was going to cook you anything. At this point, it would be fairer if you cooked me a meal first.” He arched an eyebrow at me, and I felt my face flush.

  Right. I’d forgotten that he’d cooked for me three times already. I just didn’t think anything I could make could be up to his standards.

  “So, what are we doing now?”

  “Right now, I’m taking you out to eat. It’ll be a surprise where. I thought we could both benefit from a day spent outside.”

  I didn’t say any more and followed after him. We made our way outside the hotel, stopping at his car. He opened the door for me, then walked around to his seat. He put on some music for the ride, and I hummed along to the songs I knew as we spent the time mostly silent. I was curious about where exactly it was we were going.

  By the time we got there, passing a post that let me know I wasn’t wrong in my thinking, I was gaping.

  “Mooresville? To a restaurant on Lake Norman?”

  The lake was a huge one, and manmade from what I knew, created by Duke Power to supply energy to North Carolina. It was still used for the same reason, but the artificial waterline had created a boom in lake-front properties and shops catering to an upmarket crowd. The lake was also used for water sports like sailing, and even had a few showboats for dinner and entertainment on the water.

  I’d heard of it ever since I got to North Carolina, and I’d always been curious about it, but never enough to make my way there. Especially since the shores were now polluted with lake houses that were pretty much McMansions for the rich. I’d heard there was a public shore where people could go and admire the sights, but I’d never had enough courage to go there.

  Mason, of course, didn’t take us to the public area. He took a turn somewhere, and I noticed how much closer we were getting to those expensive looking houses.

  “Your house isn’t out here, is it?” I asked.

  “Of course not,” he retorted. “Dad wanted the family mansion to be further inland, so it is. We do have a small house out here though,” he admitted.

  I shot him an incredulous look because there weren’t any houses in the vicinity that I would exactly call ‘small.’

  “Is that where we’re going?”

  “Nah. The family only visits there occasionally, but Dad would still know if any of us stayed over there on our own. We won’t be going anywhere near the house.”

  As he spoke, he took another road that led us closer to the lake.

  “Isn’t it a little strange? I mean, your house is less than forty-five minutes from this lake, so why on earth would you still have another one in the same area?”

  He shrugged. “You’d have to ask my Dad to answer that question, I never really bothered to ask him.”

  “As if that would ever happen,” I said with a snort.

  The car eventually came to a stop and Mason got out. I scrambled to follow after him, and he led us even closer to the lake. I wondered if we were going to have a shore side picnic or something, but then we reached the docks, and I was gaping again when I saw where we were going.

  “Is that a yacht?”

  “Yeah,” Mason said, glancing at me over the shoulder. “It’s the family’s sailing yacht. I mean, technically it’s Dad’s, but anyone can use it whenever it’s free because he’s rarely ever on it. I have lunch waiting for us onboard.”

  My steps slowed, but I still followed after him as he made his way to the expensive looking boat. Was this the reason they had another house by the lake? Was it necessary, just for them to dock their yacht there? I didn’t think so…

  “What are you doing?” Mason called, making me jump. “You’re lagging behind, Laura. Come on.”

  I was feeling a little overwhelmed, being close to something that probably cost more than I could ever earn in my lifetime. Then again, just about everything surrounding Mason made me think that way. Still, seeing him standing there, holding his hand out to me, it lessened the need to run just a little. I picked up speed, then slid my hand into his, and we walked together to the yacht.

  Getting on it was an adventure on its own. Mason had to help me, and I was scared of falling the entire time. I couldn’t swim, so large bodies of water tended to scare me.

  “I hope you don’t get seasick,” Mason said.

  “I... don’t know,” I answered truthfully.

  “Then we’ll just have to find out.”

  With that, he set us out, starting the yacht’s engine and steering us a little further into the lake, but not too far. The shore at least looked close enough to swim to, even if it looked like it would be a long swim. There were plenty of life vests on the boat too, so I could breathe. The swaying of the boat was disorienting at first, but I quickly grew used to it. I’d probably feel a
little queasy by the time we got back.

  Mason expertly handled the boat, letting the sails do the work after a while, and steered us into a quiet cove, where I could see the orange of the dirt on the shore. He set the anchor and turned back to me with a smile.

  “Come over here,” Mason called out to me once more.

  He was giving me his hand, and again, I took it. He led us around the outside of the cabin, to the back of the boat. I gasped when I saw a table fully set like something from a restaurant—with an expensive tablecloth, silverware, and food—covered by an umbrella so there’d be some shade.

  “I didn’t make it this time, but I hope you still like the food,” Mason was saying, as he led me forward then pulled a chair out for me. “I hope I got everything we need here, but if there’s something you want, you can ask me. There’s some wine, and some snacks below and I thought we could hang out here for the rest of the day. Just us, where nobody could get to us.”

  So, we ate, soaked in some sun, and lazed around on the deck. Later, we had some of the wine and cheese snacks, and it was all very pleasant and sweet.

  As great as it all was, I couldn’t help feeling a little down, wondering if he’d change. And after going through such a luxurious afternoon, by the time we were on our way back, I wondered if I even wanted him to change, and that was probably a dangerous thought to have.

  25

  Mason

  The last few weeks had been fucking amazing. If I’d known that being with a woman like Laura could feel like this, then I would have done it a long time ago. Yet no one had sparked that kind of interest in me until now. No one but Laura. She really was special even if she didn’t feel it at the best of times. She was the kind of woman who made me feel so small. She seemed to think that because I was rich that I was in some crazy way superior to her. But she beat cancer and came up on top with a smile on her face all the time.