Page 78 of Escape Velocity
Callum smirks and shrugs off his jacket but ignores Mason’s beckoning hand and puts it around Mason’s shoulders himself. It’s much heavier on Mason and he partially sags under the weight of it, but he immediately feels less cold. But as he looks at Callum’s warm smile and how happy he looks at Mason wearing his jacket and suddenly the warmth doesn’t come from the jacket around his shoulder anymore, it settles itself deep in Mason’s chest and radiates through his body, forcibly pooling into his cheeks.
“Thanks,” Mason croaks out after looking way too long at Callum.
Callum only smiles back, still unable to take his eyes off Mason, pulling up his black zip-up sweater.
“I just got back from the gym, so I’m too hot anyway to be wearing so many layers,” Callum says.
Mason nods and looks out to the water, the wind mussing his hair. Geese fly above them, a sign that fall is ending and winter is coming on swift wings to Montgomery soon enough.
Mason sighs and looks at Callum again who takes a sip of water from his water bottle.
Mason turns to fully face Callum. “I—I have something to tell—well. More like… ask of you.”
Callum smirks and rubs Mason’s shoulder. “Shoot.”
Mason inhales sharply and rubs his hands together. “You know Joel, right?”
A playful smile morphs onto his lips. “He’s my roommate and teammate, so yes Mason, I do know him.”
Mason chuckles nervously. “Well—you know how I told you about he and my cousin Elena dating?”
Callum nods silently, his smile slowly fading and expression turning more serious.
Mason rubs his hands again, his gaze flickering between the leaves in the water circling a whirlpool in the water and Callum’s eyes.
“He’s uh—he’s…”
Mason pauses. He doesn’t know how to say it out loud. He’s afraid that Callum’s just going to bolt and never look back.
Bringing up one of Callum’s own friends, his roommate, and someone from high school all in one go. It’s a recipe for Callum to ditch him for his football teammates again. And it’ll all have been for nothing.
Callum puts his hand on Mason’s wrist. “Mason. What is it?” he asks in the most delicate voice.
Tears spring in his eyes as he meets Callum’s concerned gaze.
Mason licks his lips and wants to sob. “It’s Joel. He’s threatening to tell my parents about me lying to them about my degree.”
Mason already feels lighter at uttering the words out loud, but he’s terrified of Callum’s warm hand never touching him again. That all he’ll be left is the icy wind and geese flying south for the winter.
Instead, Callum’s grasp only gets tighter. His eyes look down at the rocks.
“I’m gonna ruin him,” Callum says in a voice that’s more disappointed than scared or angry.
“Callum, no—I. I just want it to stop. The more attention you draw to it the worse it could get for me. For… us.”
Callum squints his eyes. “Us?”
Mason nods and swallows. “I think… I think he might be catching on… I don’t know maybe I’m just reading into things.”
Callum shakes his head. “He?—”
He stops and gulps.
Mason sees the gears turning in Callum’s head. He knows Callum can see it too. Mason’s sure that Joel has probably made little remarks here and there about Mason, that he’s catching on to the two of them.
It’s only a matter of when he has proof of when it’ll come out. And since Joel is technically his competitor, it’ll only mean bad things for Callum if it gets out.
“And if he tells my parents, I have no idea what they’ll do, but it won’t be good. For either of us. They won’t want me to see you or anyone again that distracts me from Journalism…”
