“On second thought, you just reminded me why I’m so happy to have Chase here.”
She laughed and turned back to Chase, her bright smile lifting his spirits, almost making him forget that he needed to check in with work, a reminder of that other life that waited on him—a life that had nothing to do with the farm or Mason.
When they finished eating breakfast, they hopped into Mason’s truck and drove into town. Emery plugged her phone into an adapter in the tape player of the old Dodge RAM and blasted some of the music they listened to when they were younger—pop and country songs that didn’t make it any easier for Chase to distinguish between the present and when he was just another member of the Finley family, the only real family he’d ever known.
As the speakers played Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places,” they shouted out the words, Mason as out-of-tune as ever, but looking adorable as he confidently forced the words from his mouth, occasionally glancing at Chase and raising his eyebrows for effect.
They ran a few errands looking for wedding supplies before hitting up Macy’s where Emery enthusiastically displayed various articles of clothing for Chase’s approval.
“I thought this might be a fun beach top,” she said as she held up the blue spaghetti strap top for Chase to see. “Whip it out for the Bahamas honeymoon when I’m trying to get Jasper all hot and bothered.”
“Again with the too much information,” Mason insisted.
“I’m talking to Chase,” she insisted, making a stern but playful expression.
“It’s really cute,” Chase told her.
Mason shook his head. “I think I’m going to go check out the men’s department so that youladiescan do your thing.”
“Well, go be all manly while you’re picking out a nice frock to wear to the reception,” Chase teased.
Mason grinned, and Chase appreciated how much they had relaxed since they started having sex again. To be talking to Mason again, to even just have the promise of being friends with him again, meant so much to him.
As he walked away, Emery held the top across her chest and turned to the mirror on the column behind her, shifting her hips and turning as she tried to get an idea of what it would look like. When she was satisfied, she threw it over her shoulder with the collection she was going to try on when she was finished making her selections.
While she riffled through a few skirts on a rack, she said, “I hate turning you into some sort of fashionista stereotype.”
“Trust me, considering you’re at a department store with a gay man who’s as inept about clothes as Mason, I don’t think anyone would ever accuse you of stereotyping. Unless you actually asked for any advice from him. Then I would totally use that against you.”
“Right? Not likely to happen. It’s nice seeing you and Mason like this, though.”
“Like what?” Chase realized just after he said it that his words came out more defensive than he’d intended.
“Just a lot more cool. I think it’s helped that so much time has passed. You know, it wasn’t easy for him after…” She let her sentence trail off before picking back up with, “I honestly was a little worried. Not that I didn’t want you here or that I wouldn’t have invited you. I mean, it’s my wedding, for Christ’s sake. Of course you were going to be invited. But the reason I was so pushy about you staying this long was because I was hoping you guys might warm up to each other a little more… so it wouldn’t be so difficult for him at the wedding. I was worried that the day of would bring a lot of memories back, not just for Mason, but for both of you.”
“Even coming back this time has brought some things back, I’m not going to lie.”
A lot more than I can admit to.
“Yeah, but this is the first time you’ve come back to visit where he hasn’t just moped around. He was like that a little that first day, but I guess he’s settled back into it. You’ve only visited a few times, and you never stay for very long. Maybe he just needs to see that he can be around you again without having all those feelings coming back.”
Considering what was going on between him and Mason, Chase knew feelings had definitely returned. But it was different. They weren’t kids anymore, and they could discuss how they felt.
At the very least, it was a step in the right direction.
“It feels like it’s easier to be around him than in the past,” Chase confessed. “But it’s still not easy, I don’t think, for either of us. I’m just glad I’m able to be here for you.”
Mason approached from behind Emery, holding a button-up shirt. Chase was relieved because it meant he and Emery were finished with that incredibly awkward conversation. “What do you think of this?” Mason asked.
His expression was so serious, Chase nearly laughed—not because of the shirt, but because Mason was the last person in the world to care about shit like that.
“What?” Mason asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Since when do you give a damn about what you wear?”
Mason’s face scrunched up as he looked Chase over.
In a Banana Republic shirt and pants, he knew he looked a little nicer, and he could tell Mason took offense to what he said, like Chase suddenly thought he was too chic for him.
