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Chapter Ten

When Mason left the farm, he took off in the opposite direction from home. I glanced over at him. He looked like he knew exactly where he was going. I checked my phone. It was only nine o'clock.

We were both pretty quiet; the only noise came from the truck as it bumped and crunched along the road. The last bit of daylight was disappearing and it made the whole thing just that much more depressing.

Finally the truck slowed and I peered out through the windshield. Mason pulled the car to a stop right next to a huge water tower.

"What's this?"

"A water tower."

"I know that. Why are we here?"

"I want to talk to you. Alone."

This couldn't be good. Maybe he caught part of the conversation with those girls. He was probably going to come out....

On top of the water tower.

I opened my door and climbed out before he could do the gentlemanly thing and open the door for me. He strolled around the front of the truck and looked up.

"Have you ever been up there before?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Nope." He cracked a smile. "Ladies first."

I glanced over at him. I had the whole 'skirt' issue going on, but I knew gay guys didn't care about seeing a girl's undies.

I was giving myself a mental pep talk. This was good. Every girl needed a gay guy as a best friend. It was the best of both worlds. You still got a guy's point of view but with a feminine eye.

This could work. Yeah!

Yeah.

I grabbed onto the ladder and began to pull myself up. I heard Mason climbing right behind me.

A narrow wooden platform circled the water tower. The platform provided access to a little door for water treatment, or whatever they did to water in big towers like this. I carefully stepped onto the platform and shuffled to the side. A second later Mason was standing right by me.

"Good thing we aren't afraid of heights," he said cheerfully.

I looked down. We were a long ways up. I couldn't help but think my mom would probably freak out if she was ever up this high. I sat down and swung my legs over the edge of the platform. Mason sat down beside me; we were shoulder to shoulder.

We were alone. Together. No Wal-mart employees or little brothers or grassy fields on fire. I looked over at him. He looked nervous.

"Mason," I said gently. "It's okay."

He looked at me in surprise. "What?"

I didn't want him to suffer through telling me. I figured it was just easier if I took control of the situation.

"I know what you're going to tell me."

Now he looked really surprised. "You do?"

I nodded. "Yeah. And it's okay. I mean..."

"How do you feel about it?" His tone was eager now. I smiled. I had made the right choice; I was clearing the air. I was a great best friend.

"Well, at first I was a little surprised, but I'm getting kind of used to the idea." I smiled for emphasis. Happy was always good. He grinned.

"Shel, you have no idea how much easier you just made this. I've been dying to tell you, but the words..."

I waved my hand in the air. "It's no big deal. I mean just come o--"

I didn't get to finish. Mason leaned forward and all of a sudden his lips were on mine. But they couldn't be. Because he was gay. I crossed my eyes and looked down.

Nope, he was definitely kissing me...kissing me really well.

I closed my eyes and leaned towards him. This was nice.

I had gotten my first kiss in seventh grade when Andy Parqay had just come up and started slobbering on me. I had feared that all kisses were going to be like taking a bath in a dog bowl. But Mason had the perfect wet-to-lip ratio. He---

I pulled back.

"Wait."

He looked disappointed. "What?"

"Why are you kissing me?"

The disappointment turned to confusion. "Well you just said--"

"Gay guys don't kiss girls...do they?"

His eyes widened. "Wait? Gay guys? What are you talking about?"

Now I was feeling like there had been a misunderstanding.

"Wait, what were you going to tell me?"

"I was going to tell you that you're the most beautiful girl in the world," he said softly. "And that I want to be more than friends." He paused. "How the hell did you get the idea I was gay?"

I was still processing the first part. I was beautiful? Mason thought I was beautiful? More than friends? Like as in boyfriend / girlfriend? Mason? Me? My mouth opened and closed several times.

My lips still felt nice.

"Shel? Why did you think I was going to tell you I was gay?"

I felt stupid. Really stupid.

"Savannah and those girls..."

Mason snorted. "Okay, that makes sense."

I looked at him in confusion. He smiled...with those lips. Those lips that had been kissing me just a minute ago.

Holy moly.

"Those girls have been trying to get me to ask them out forever. Especially Savannah and Susan. Their mom is like obsessed with my dad. That whole 'boy band' thing. It's pretty gross. Addy says she's sure that's why Vanna and Sue are so intent on hooking up with me."

I groaned. This was why I didn't hang out with girls. My IQ always lowered when I was around them. I touched my cheeks; they were flaming hot.

"So," Mason said quietly. "What do you think of my real reason for talking to you privately?"

I looked at him. His eyes were sparkling. I took a deep breath. Then I remembered something. I smacked him on the shoulder.

"You let me go up the ladder first and you weren't gay!"

He leaned back and laughed loudly. I glared at him. Finally he stopped laughing. His right hand snaked over and covered mine.

"Don't blame me for looking," he said quietly. Suddenly all the teasing was gone. It was like it just went 'woosh!' right out into the open night. He leaned towards me. My heart was pounding again. My dad would kill me if I had a heart attack on top of the water tower. Mason's left hand brushed my hair away from my neck.

"I really like those pink panties on you," he whispered. My toes were tingling. I tried to remember if that was the first sign of a heart attack. I didn't have any Bayer. You were always supposed to take Bayer at the first sign of a heart attack...

His lips were on mine again and this time I was kissing back. His fingers slide through my hair and it felt so nice. I closed my eyes and pressed my hand against his chest. Wow, it was a great chest.

I don't know how long we were up there against the light blue backdrop of that water tower kissing. I can say that it didn't seem like long enough. When Mason finally pulled away, disappointment coursed through me.

"You didn't answer my question," he whispered. I opened my eyes and stared into his. They were gorgeous eyes.

"What question?" My voice sounded funny to my own ears.

"Do you want to be more than friends?"

I was pretty sure an hour of lip-to-lip action should have answered the question, but he looked like he needed to hear it. I inhaled deeply. The air smelled good.

Or maybe that was still Mason.

"Yes," I said. "I want to be more than friends."

Mason smiled. Before I could return the smile, his lips were on mine again.

It had turned out to be a great night.