Beautiful Together (4 page)

4

As much as I didn't want to admit it, transitioning away from Jesse wasn't that tough at all. I quickly learned to rely on Mason instead of Jesse, finding him to be both an incredible lover
and
friend. It didn't matter if I was happy, sad, or enraged—Mason was always there for me.

Still, what did it all mean? Wasn't it a little cliché to abandon your friends for the hot new boyfriend or girlfriend—just like Jesse had already done to me?

Maybe I was getting carried away, but really, I didn't care. It felt good, so I was doing it. I lost Jesse to Carla, so there was nothing else to do. I stayed occupied, never stopping to be miserable.

Sex hadn't really come up with Mason and me yet, but the rumors were already flying about Jesse and Carla doing it in the girls' locker room. Some poor freshman had walked in on the dirty deed and word spread like wildfire.

The worst part was that Jesse had quickly developed this new persona, this aura of rebellion that I'd never seen in him. He was usually so by the book, so afraid of volatility and risk—and now he took more wild risks in a day than I took in a year.

Whenever I saw him in the hall, I barely recognized him.

He was
very
different. Changed.

I was momentarily totally disgusted by sex after hearing about his locker room exploits. As much as I didn't want to, I unintentionally imagined them doing it—and it made me feel nauseous.

Making out was enough for me, and we did it a lot. And Mason never stopped with the compliments, so that helped me feel especially good about myself.

At the very least, we had graduated to Mason touching my boobs, so we
were
getting somewhere. It was definitely different from just making out. I mean, I was starting to feel unusual inside, overcome by urges I figured would eventually lead to
that
.

But he wasn't pressuring me, and I loved that about him. I was quickly falling in love, and that fact was crystal clear to my teenage heart.

A little over a month into the relationship, I finally told my parents. We were coming home from church and I was in a particularly good mood because I was in the middle of a three day weekend for fall break.

"So I see Jesse Evans has a girlfriend," my mom said, a hint of suspicion in her voice. "Is that why he hasn't been coming around?"

I was a bit shocked that it had taken her so long to mention it. "Yeah. I don't really get along with her. I guess it's fine, though."

"I don't know how much I approve of teen dating," my mom added. "All those hormones going crazy like that. It's a recipe for disaster."

I felt my muscles tense up. The conversation was taking an unpleasant turn.

"C'mon, honey," my dad said. "It's normal to date in high school. It's not always like those MTV
shows or whatever. Right, Naomi?" He glanced back at me with his familiar, disarming smile. And as usual, it worked.

"Right," I said, smiling back.

"I mean, don't forget,
we
dated in high school, Carolyn."

"Those were very different times," my mom added, frowning.

I decided that I needed to act fast. I was going to go for it and just rip off the band-aid.

I swallowed hard, my heart beating fast. "Well, I'm actually... I'm dating someone, too," I said quietly. "Mason Ross. From the football team."

"I figured something was up," my mom said coolly, not looking back at me. Her red hair looked even redder than usual in the warm glow of the sun. "I figured it wasn't just Jesse."

"Mason? Oh yeah, he's a nice boy," my dad said, his eyes never leaving the road. "Talented too. He's in the newspaper all the time."

My heartbeat slowed. I was actually quite pleased by their initial reactions.

"Yeah, he's great," I said. "Really nice."

"Does he go to church?" my mom promptly inquired.

I cleared my throat. "Uh, I don't really know. I think so."

"Well, I hope so," she said. "You know, I've heard about those football players," my mom started. "One of them got a girl pregnant last year and then they both dropped out of school and—"

"Mom!" I said defensively. "It's not like that at all. He's just a nice guy. That's all. He treats me well."

"You know, the Bible says you're supposed to be a virgin until marriage," she sneered. "I hope you're not, y'know, doing
that
already. Brian, I sure hope you're with me on this," she said to my dad.

"No!" I said. "I'm not. And why do you always have to act like this? Give me a break."

As was the norm when things heated up, my dad remained reticent, allowing my mom to call the shots. He was so much more reasonable than her—
unless
she was around. Whenever anything serious came up, he would just follow along and agree with her whenever she demanded it, never giving his real opinion until she was gone.

"I just hope you'll be reasonable in the eyes of the Lord," she said. "I didn't raise you to act like some, well, you know what I mean." She shook her head and trailed off.

"Yeah, fine. Whatever, mom," I said. "I just wish you'd trust me for once."

"Mason
is
a nice kid, Carolyn," my dad said awkwardly, conveniently joining in at the wrong time. She wasn't interested, though.

I shut up, totally familiar with the routine. There was no way to win. Most people would have blown up at her—had she almost called me a
whore
?—but I was so used to it that I didn't let it get to me. And my good mood definitely helped. She had said the same things about every other young, sinful couple in town at one point or another; I could basically recite the whole speech verbatim from memory.

So a few days later, per my parents' suggestion, Mason joined us for a family dinner. And sure enough, my mom was immediately on the offensive. He had just walked in and was hanging his varsity jacket on the coat rack.

"Mom, this is Mason," I said, pointing excitedly back at him. He smiled big and full, his usual inviting and pleasant grin.

"Hi, Mrs. Miller. It's so nice to meet you." Mason reached out his hand and she shook it.

"Hi, Mason," she said. "I'm surprised we haven't seen you at our church," she added, almost in jest, but not quite.

"My mom doesn't usually go, Mrs. Miller," he said warmly.

"Well, do you go with your father then?" my mom asked.

"Mom!" I hissed. "Give him a break. He just walked in." I hadn't even really listened to what Mason said, just automatically assumed that my mom was prying too far—and I was right.

Mason nodded carefully, meeting my eyes and smiling again. "It's okay," he said to me. "My dad isn't around. He left a long time ago. We're not really sure where he is. And we usually don't go to church except for holidays, but we try to be good people anyway. It's hard to make plans with my mom's work schedule."

My mom nodded cautiously, either satisfied or unwilling to ask anything else. "I see. Well, I've got to finish cooking. The chicken's almost done."

As soon as she turned around, I gave Mason a concerned glare. I didn't know anything about his dad, but I
did
know about my mom. I had warned him that she might be a tad bit ridiculous, but he had insisted it would be fine. He just gave me a wry, accepting smile and followed me into the den to formally meet my dad.

"You have to tell me about your dad later," I whispered. He nodded.

That introduction went a lot better. My dad had plenty to ask him about football, and they immediately hit it off. I left the two of them chatting and went to my mom in the kitchen.

"Anything I can do?" I asked.

"He seems all right," she said. "But don't let him pressure you into doing anything you don't want to do. He might be nice now, but—"

"He's harmless," I said, butting in. "For real. Well, unless he's on a football field."

She didn't have anything to say to that.

I set the table, and shortly after, we ate, munching down roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and crescent rolls. A good old American meal.

Mason was a master of disarming my mom's uncomfortable comments throughout the meal, even better than me. And his patience surely impressed her, because there's no way I could have dealt with intense, direct inquisition like that.

"I think football is a violent sport," she said at one point. "I don't like it."

"That's just fine, Mrs. Miller," Mason said, finishing his bite of chicken before continuing. "There's no problem with you thinking that. It
is
kind of violent. People get hurt."

"But it's sure fun to watch," my dad said, a rare act of marital defiance.

"Brian!" My mom shook her head disapprovingly.

"Sorry, dear," he said, grinning. "You know how much I love local sports. Great for the community."

It took every bit of strength I had to not burst out laughing. I couldn't believe what I was witnessing—it was a great sign.

After dessert, Mason and I went downstairs to watch a movie. As was the rule in my house, I had to keep the door cracked open.

"Sorry about all of that," I whispered, even though I knew my parents probably couldn't hear me through the floor.

Mason hugged me and kissed the top of my head. "Sorry for what? You don't owe me an apology, Naomi," he said. "They're your parents. You can't change them. You are who you are, and I happen to think you're awesome."

"Really?" I said. I leaned forward and kissed him. "I think you're awesome, too."

"Your mom
is
a good cook," he said. "I wanted to eat everything on the table."

I giggled. "Yeah, she is."

We ended up turning on a movie and making out. My mom never bothered us, but then again, I didn't expect her to. She was probably dwelling on the horrors of
unsupervised Mason and me
the whole time, but again, she never actually enforced anything other than just angrily talking about it.

Things were great, and I couldn't believe how different life had become. The last time I hung out with someone in the basement though, it was Jesse. That thought hit me during a lull in our kissing.

"Have you seen Jesse?" I asked. "Or talked to him at all?"

"Just heard
about
him. From everybody. He's drinking and partying a lot now. People say that Carla's mom buys them booze."

"That's crazy," I said.

"And he apparently puked all over the floor at Taylor Johnson's house last weekend."

"Oh my God," I said. "That's so gross. I don't think Jesse's ever really drank before."

"It's definitely a new thing," Mason admitted. "Because he's really bad at it."

Hoping to get my mind off my former best friend, I went back to Mason. "I didn't know that stuff about your dad, Mason," I said. "I'm so sorry."

He let out a soft giggle, like he'd heard this all before. "It's okay, Naomi. He left when I was young. I didn't really know him. He was just... eccentric, apparently. He owes a lot in child support, and since he lives off the grid, it's hard to find him."

I gently rubbed his arm. "What about your mom? Is she doing okay?"

"She works at the bar," he said. "Usually late shifts, sometimes doubles. She's been trying to go back to school for years, but she's never found the time with her schedule. And every time she tries to get ahead, something always sets her back."

I held him tightly, feeling his chest rising and falling. "I'm so sorry, Mason. I don't know why I never asked. I feel... selfish complaining about my mom."

"You're not selfish, Naomi. Seriously. It's fine. She's a bit of a handful, but she's okay."

Even with his reassurances, I felt really bad. If I had known beforehand, it might have smoothed out the whole weird, pushy introduction with my mom. It was unusual to me that he was the star quarterback, yet from a somewhat broken home. The sports stars were always the perfect, spoiled, pretty kids from the rich families.

It was actually the first time we had hung out at one of our houses. Prior to that moment, we had always been in his Corvette or at a restaurant or the park. "Is that why we've never gone to your house?"

"I guess so," he said softly. "I didn't want you to feel bad for me. My mom works really hard and she raised me well. She's an awesome mom."

I kissed his cheek firmly. "Aww, Mason," I said. "That's
seriously
so sweet."

"And then there's my older brother, too," he said. "But he moved out a few years ago. We thought he was going to make big money in the financial industry, but now he just works at a pet store." He cleared his throat. "I just want to get a good paying job so I can help my mom out while she goes back to school. I know she wouldn't want to take the money from me, but it's the least I can do."

I felt myself losing it. Hearing him talk like that was absolutely heart-wrenching. I mean, no one really knew about any of this at school as far as I knew. It was so noble of him.