Cash In Now Honey

I woke up again the next morning and looked over to see Mason was still asleep beside me as Scotty and another guy I didn’t know came into the room. They sat in front of the almost nonexistent fire, eating cereal.

“Scotty, can you put another log on?” I asked. My voice was almost gone. I could only imagine Mason’s voice. Scotty chuckled but nodded.

“Carson, this is Kevin Pearce,” Jack said to me.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said in a low, hushed voice. Kevin smiled in return before taking
eating a spoonful of his cereal. “Where’s Danny?”

“Squid’s truck got stuck so he went to go pick him up,” Jack told me.

“Squid and stuck?” I questioned.

“Yeah, some huge ass surprise storm came through last night and we got like a shit ton of snow. All of the slopes are closed because it’s so bad out. Luke, my little bro, was on his way here but got stuck,” Jack told me. I nodded and laid my head back down on Mason’s chest.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so happy and he’s asleep,” Kevin said to Scotty.

“Yeah, I know,” Scotty replied. The front door opened and shut. Danny and who I figured to be Luke soon appeared. The kid was attractive to say the least. He had this crazy curly hair that looked untamable but in the most adorable way possible. He seemed to be my age, maybe a year older, and had the most captivating grin. Danny tried to ruffle my braided hair on his way over to the couch but I swatted his hand away. He smiled at me and sat by Jack.

“And this is the Frends crew,” Scotty said with a smile. “Well, minus Keir and Mikkel.”

“Carson, this is Squid,” Jack said to me.

“Actually my name is Luke but you can call me Squid if you want,” he said to me. I nodded and slowly stood from where I was beside Mason. I went to grab my crutches but steadied myself against the wall when I began with a coughing fit.

“I knew we’d both be sick,” I heard Mason say in a hoarse voice from behind me. I nodded and grabbed my crutches, sticking them under my arms.

“Do any of you need a change of clothes? I’ve got lots of them,” I offered. “Wait, Scotty, have you seen Barrett?”

“Yeah, he was upstairs earlier when I went up there. He’s probably in Justin’s closet like usual, hiding from the cold. He’s a freaking Huskie, why is he scared of cold?” he replied. “And Carson, some clothes would be nice.”

“You still wear the same size?”

“Yep,” he replied.

“Oh and he could maybe not like cold because when he was two months old someone
forgot to let him back into the house for two hours,” I said to Scotty.

“Hey, I was a little preoccupied with you,” Scotty shot back. I smiled at him before I headed upstairs and sat aside some clothes for him and was going to put the tubs away when Mason appeared. He grabbed another pair of boxers, socks, and a t-shirt along with a hoodie.

“You can have your hoodie back,” I said to him. He looked over at me and smiled.

“You keep it,” he said to me. “So, where can I take a shower?”

“In my bathroom. I’m sure I’ve got some not so girly smelling soap under my sink,” I said to him. “Or I bet Justin’s got some in his bathroom.”

“I’ll just use his. Which door is it?” Mason asked.

“Down towards the stairs, it’s the door on the left that has a black mark down the front of it,” I told him. He nodded and headed for the bathroom. I went into my bathroom and showered as well. I took my hair from the braids it was in once I was done and went into my room. I has just put on some cheekie panties and a bra when the door opened.

“Fuck, sorry,” Mason said as he stepped out of the room and shut the door. I looked and saw his jeans on the floor and knew that’s what he’d come for. I pulled on a pair of boyfriend cut jeans before I went over to the door and opened it.

“You can come in,” I said to him.

“Are you sure?” he asked as he looked me up and down.

“It’s just like a swimming suit just slightly flimsier material,” I said to him. I never understood why girls got so bent out of shape from guys seeing them in their underwear. A swimming suit has the same coverage and they don’t even think twice about it. I pulled on a red fitted cami and Mason’s hoodie over top. I went and brushed my teeth and headed back into my room. Mason was sprawled out on my bed, limbs in every direction. I laughed and went over to the end of the bed.

“Come on, I’ll make you breakfast,” I said to him. Mason stood and followed me downstairs. I pulled a whole bunch of stuff from the fridge. “Lago, come here.” Scotty appeared and I tossed a package of bacon at him.

“Make this for me please,” I said to him.

“Do you have more?” he asked as he grabbed a skillet from the cupboard.

“I have some sausage in the fridge otherwise it’s all frozen,” I told him as I cut up potatoes to make breakfast potatoes. Scotty took the sausage from the fridge and began making that as well. I put the potatoes in a huge cast iron skillet and that them fry up while I began cracking eggs. Scotty and I still made a good team. We didn’t even have to ask each other for things, we just knew when the other needed something. The other guys kind of watched in amusement as we worked on breakfast. I toasted some bagels and english muffins and put them on a plate.

“So, how do you guys already work so well together?” Luke asked. Kevin left the room when his phone rang.

“Carson and I have known each other for a while,” Scotty replied.

“Yeah, we dated for a little under three years,” I told him.

“What? And we never met you?” Jack said. I shrugged and continued with making eggs.
Kevin came back into the kitchen just as I was sitting the bowl of eggs on the counter. Scotty put out a pile of plates, forks, and knives.

“If you want anything to drink, the fridge is stocked,” I said as I put some things in the sink. The guys dished up and headed into the living room. I opted to sit in the kitchen with Scotty so I wouldn’t have to struggle with my crutches and my plate.

“We still make a pretty good team,” Scotty said before he took a bite.

“I was thinking the same thing,” I replied. “I put clothes for you in the office on the desk.”

“Thanks,” he said to me. Barrett appeared beside me and begged for food. I gave him some sausage and he laid on the floor beside my chair. The rest of the day was spent inside, hanging out. I got to know the guys pretty well and enjoyed hanging out with them a lot. I could see myself becoming really good friends with Kevin and Luke. Night fell and everyone crashed again. Mason and I ventured up to my room and slept in there with Barrett curled up at our feet. The next morning, everyone headed home since the roads had been cleared. I went with Mason to the slopes and watched him as he did a few runs on the pipe before I told him I was going inside. I had been sitting in the lodge for a while when I saw the Mitrani’s wander in. Jack nodded to me and he and Luke came over.

“Hey Carson,” Jack said as he sat on the couch opposite me.

“Hey,” I replied. Luke sat beside Jack and shook some snow from his hair.

“Where’s Mason?” Jack asked me.

“Outside. It’s kind of cold with my boot,” I said, lifting up my leg.

“I agree with that. Been there, done that,” Luke said. Mason came inside then and sat beside me. He scooted close and placed his arm behind me on the couch.

“Brr, you’re cold,” I said scooting away.

“And you’re warm,” Mason replied, pulling me closer to him and wrapping his arms around
me as tight as he could without hurting me. I struggled a little but gave up.

“Did you learn this from Scotty? Douche used to do this to me all the time,” I commented.

“Nah, you’re just warm,” Mason said with a smile. I spent the next few days with Mason for
the most part, just hanging around but not clinging. It was Saturday night and I had just finished packing everything into my car. A car pulled into my driveway and the engine shut off. A door
slammed and arms wrapped themselves around me a few seconds later.

“Hey,” Mason’s voice floated into my ear as he kissed my neck.

“Hi,” I replied with a smile as I turned my head and looked up at him.

“This is bumming me out a little bit,” Mason said to me.

“I agree,” I replied as I shut the back hatch to my car. I tucked my crutches under my arms and began into the house. Mason and I spent the night on the couch, building up our personal time and storing it away for the next week. I woke up the next morning with Mason laying behind me, his arms wrapped around me. I yawned and stretched. I got up and got ready before checking everything in the house to make sure it was ready for Justin and Ryan. I heard someone on the stairs and looked over to see Mason walking towards me, stretching in the process.

“You want to go out for breakfast before you head back?” Mason asked as he wrapped his arms around me.

“Sure,” I replied with a smile. I went upstairs, as did Mason, and found a change of clothes. I put on a pair of skinny jeans, a white Henley 3/4 sleeved shirt, and an emerald green beanie over my salt water spritzed waves. I pulled on one of my brown UGG boots and headed downstairs with my dirty clothes in a backpack. I was pulling on my coat as Mason came downstairs.

“Do you want me to drive separately so you don’t have to come back over here?” I asked him.

“Absolutely not,” he replied. I smiled at him and he opened the front door and we went to his car. Mason drove to The Breakfast Club and we headed inside. I was in a bit of a mood from having to leave and Mason could tell I think.

“Carson, it’s only a week,” he said to me. I nodded and looked down at the table, suddenly interested in the wood grain. “Car, really. Nothing’s going to change.”

“I know,” I replied. Our food came and we ate. Mason tried to make some conversation but he knew that leaving was bothering me. We got back to my house and climbed out of the car. I started my car to let it warm up a little and stood with Mason in the driveway.

“Well, I need to get going,” I said hesitantly to Mason.

“Carson, wait a second,” he said to me. I looked up at him and he smiled at me. “Look, I know you don’t want to leave but it’s only a week. Nothing is going to change I promise, I bet it’ll be better went I get home.” He leaned forward and kissed me, making me smile a little.

“Was that a smile I felt?” he asked. I smirked a little and looked up at him. “I know we’ve only known each other for almost two weeks but I was wondering if you’d consider being my
girlfriend?”

“What?” I asked him.

“Yeah,” Mason replied.

“Of course,” I said to him. He pulled me into a hug before opening my car door for me. He leaned in once I had climbed in and kissed me.

“I’ll see you on Friday,” he said to me before he pulled back and closed my door and headed for his car. I watched him walk away in the mirror and smirked. Damn was he good looking. The drive back to Carlsbad was long like usual but at least I had Friday to look forward to.