Page 105 of Escape Velocity
“And how was he?” Joel asks.
Mason sighs. He doesn’t know what Joel’s angle is right now. He doesn’t know about Mason and Callum, but he surely knows it’s a sore spot. There’s history between them, and Joel can seek that out like a predator trying to catch its prey.
“He was pretty belligerent if I’m being honest. He was being really hard on Callum. He was sitting behind Jenna and I.”
His mother squints at him, trying to gather some kind of information from him that he doesn’t want her to know.
“So you agree then? The Browns always want to be the center of attention?” Joel pushes.
Mason opens his mouth and his gaze darts between his parents and his cousins.
Now he knows without a shred of doubt that Joel knows about them. He’s not sure how. They’ve been discreet. They’ve only hung out in private. But the way Joel looks at him and the questions he’s asking, he knows about Callum and him being more than just friendly.
It’s cruel. He wants to see how far Mason is willing togo to lie to his family, and not only to lie, but to lie at the cost of Callum’s integrity.
“By the way you’re holding court in the living room and dunking on your own teammate and roommate, I would think you like to be the center of attention yourself, Joel.”
He almost slaps his hand to his mouth as he says it, but it flows out of him like his pen to paper when he writes about Callum.
“Mason,” his mom chides, her eyebrows furrowed like she’s surprised at him for his snark.
Joel laughs. “Good one, Mason. I knew I could rely on you to have a good comeback.”
The rest of the room starts to laugh as they realize that they think it’s a joke rather than a diss.
Mason doesn’t understand Joel. What is he getting out of antagonizing him? He took the bait and bit back. But Joel’s playing it off as a joke instead of exposing Mason.
Is it fun to keep torturing Mason like this? Is Joel waiting for the perfect moment to put him under the microscope?
Joel goes back to holding court and Mason goes back to attempted murder on the potatoes.
He turns around, takes out his phone and texts Callum.
Mason
Joel’s making this the Thanksgiving from Hell.
He won’t stop dunking on you.
You need new friends.
And a new roommate.
Mason looks back at the living room and catches eyeswith Elena, who looks at him curiously, like she can sense the tension between them and doesn’t think Mason’s snark was a joke or a comeback. That he was being truly honest with Joel.
He smiles at her briefly and looks back at his phone as he starts getting a call from Callum.
He gives one final glance at the family before going to his room and closing the door so no one can hear him on the phone.
“Please come and save me,” Mason says as he answers the Callum’s call.
“You know I would in a heartbeat if it didn’t mean both of our families would spontaneously combust.”
Mason plops onto his bed. “Well, our families are not made of hydrocarbons, so that would be pretty hard.”
Callum laughs on the other end. “You’re such a dork, you know.”
Mason grins. “So I’ve been told many times by a very cute football player.”
