Leap Through Eternity

By Sara Stark

Being evacuated from his apartment in the middle of the night because some idiot forgot his cookies in the oven isn’t the ideal way to meet a guy, but Mason’s hot neighbor Cole sure looks great in his underwear. The trouble is, Mason
is
the idiot who started the fire, and Cole doesn’t appreciate being lied to any more than he appreciates being driven out into the cold. It looks like their romance might end before it gets started, but Christmas is a time for second chances…

M
ASON
PACED
around. He tried not to hum the melody of a Christmas song that had been stuck in his head the whole evening. He knew that wouldn’t be a good idea, considering the situation. The firefighters were all over the place, most of them shooting daggers his way. He wrapped himself in the Christmas sweater he wore and tried to ignore them. It was all right. At least he kept telling himself that.

Most of the firefighters had gone inside, so Mason stood in front of his apartment building, trying to get a peek inside. One of them guarded the door, making it impossible to go in. So he gave up again and paced some more.

It
wasn’t
his fault. Mason kept telling himself that too. It was Christmas evening in two days. The whole town had been decorated weeks ago. It hadn’t snowed yet, though, and that disappointed Mason on a daily basis. He loved snow. He loved Christmas. He loved the colorful lights and presents. He loved baking cookies. The latter got him in trouble.

Mason felt nervous about Christmas. It would be the first Christmas in ages he’d have to spend by himself. His parents had decided to go out of town, traveling across Europe for the holidays. His sister had gone skiing with her family. His younger brother was spending the holidays with his girlfriend’s family. Mason told everyone he’d be okay. They knew how much he adored the holidays and how much it meant to him to spend them with the people he loved. He insisted everything would be fine. It felt weird, though. He got presents for everyone and decided they’d just have to wait under his Christmas tree until they came back. But the closer Christmas got, the more restless Mason felt.

At 11:00 p.m., he decided to bake some cookies. He baked a lot. So he got to it. He put them in the oven at 1:00 a.m. and went to check if there were any Christmas-themed movies on the television. Well, that turned out to be a huge mistake. He was surprised to come across one of his favorite movies, and he managed to forget about the cookies. He wrapped himself in one of the many Christmas sweaters he had in his possession and watched the movie.

Until the fire detector went off. The beeping noise finally caught his attention and he got up. His heart stopped for a second. Mason felt bewildered. He ran into the kitchen and realized the cookies were on fire. He panicked. He grabbed a bottle of water and opened the oven to attempt to put out the fire. That also turned out to be a mistake. The smoke rolled out and made the fire detector ring even louder. He panicked more. He opened the window in a desperate attempt to get the smoke out. And then he just ran around his apartment, wishing the ground would swallow him whole.

Half an hour later, he was wandering around outside. The firefighters showed up. They weren’t too pleased. Neither were his neighbors, because the firefighters made sure everyone was evacuated. The inhabitants of his building were forced to go outside. Some of them waited in small groups. Others seemed confused. Some of them angry. Mason was happy no one told them who had started the fire. At least not yet. Luckily, a lot of people were out of town, visiting their families or traveling. That left the building half-empty.

“Hey, careful there.”

Mason almost rammed into someone because he wasn’t paying attention. The unknown voice stopped him, and he looked up.

There was no way he could prepare himself for
this
. A stranger stood in front of him. He seemed amused by the shocked look that had to be on Mason’s face. But how else was he supposed to react? The stranger was wearing only his briefs. Mason knew his eyes stopped there for a second too long. It was rude to stare at people’s private areas, right? He managed to forget about that, and he felt his cheeks burning up when he remembered.

“Oh. H-Hi.” Mason stammered. Who was this? Where were his clothes? His body was lean, the muscles toned. Mason glanced up to see a pair of green eyes patiently looking back at him. The guy was tall. The features of his face were sharp. His hair was dark, and for some reason, it looked soft. Mason took a deep breath. At least the stranger was wearing boots, even if they didn’t seem to be too helpful in the cold.

“Hello,” the stranger finally responded, and a tiny smile blossomed on his lips. “I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but under the circumstances…. Well, you know.” He shrugged and Mason nodded along.

Right. Circumstances. Those were his fault. But Mason didn’t mind them right now. Would he ever get a chance to see this particular stranger in his briefs if not for the fire he’d started? Not likely. Mason wondered if he should feel guilty for not feeling guilty.

“So, you’re one of my new neighbors?”

Luckily, the stranger distracted his thoughts once again. Mason looked up to find him checking Mason out. “Yes,” Mason managed to say. “Why are you so naked?” he blurted out before he could stop himself. Not a question you asked someone you just met, but he couldn’t help himself. He also noticed countless cats printed all over his briefs. It was adorable. Mason realized he was glancing down there again, and he hurried to look up.

“I apologize. They didn’t give me much time to get dressed.” The stranger seemed uneasy. Maybe because Mason had pointed it out? It didn’t seem like he minded standing there in his briefs. He had an air of confidence around him. Mason couldn’t blame him. He’d probably be pretty confident too if he looked like that.

Then he realized the stranger must’ve been woken up by the firefighters and most likely thrown out of his bed. Well, that sucked. Right?

“Oh, yeah. I was watching a movie. And I was a bit cold.” Mason was making excuses for himself and he knew it. He was still in his cozy Christmas sweater, and he even grabbed a scarf on his way out.

The stranger nodded. “I am a bit cold now. But I’ll survive. Do you have any idea why there was a fire?”

Mason could have squealed, but he managed to stop himself before it could happen. “No,” he lied. He blushed again. He knew lying wasn’t nice, but he couldn’t tell the truth either.

“I’m guessing some idiot is to blame,” the stranger went on, and Mason knew for sure he couldn’t tell the truth.

He kinda
liked
the stranger. He was attractive, and Mason liked his smile a lot. He wanted to get to know him better. Hell, he wanted to take him home and wrap him up in something warm. Maybe make him some hot chocolate so he’d be okay for sure. Would it be a good idea to tell him this unpleasant situation was his fault?

“God, I just hate irresponsible people like that. I mean, this isn’t even a real fire. We’d see it. Someone must have forgotten he left his oven on or something like that. And thanks to that moron, I’m freezing.”

Mason froze a little too when he heard the angry rant. Oops. He sounded genuinely upset.

“Here!” Mason pulled the scarf off because it was the least he could do. It took him a while because the scarf was huge, but that meant it was so much warmer. “Please, take it. I’m in my sweater anyway and it’s woolen and it will keep me warm enough. I’d hate it if you caught a cold or something like that.”
Especially because that would be my fault. I’d hate to see you stuck in bed because I did something stupid.
But he didn’t say the last bit out loud. He didn’t have the heart to do so.

The stranger looked surprised. “For real?” He sounded pleased. He took the scarf and wrapped it around his neck, flexing his muscles while he did so.

Mason realized he was staring again. But how could he
not
. The man was so good-looking, it should be illegal. Mason swallowed and made a sound that was supposed to be approval. This would be much easier if the man didn’t look like a model for a calendar, featured on December.
God, someone should take a photo of you.

“Thank you so much! Oh, right, I’m Cole. Did I introduce myself yet? I’m freezing my butt off here, I don’t recall it.” Cole chuckled hoarsely while Mason’s eyes escaped lower when he mentioned his butt.

That must’ve been a fine ass. Not that he could see it.

Cole offered him his hand.

Mason was a bit hesitant to accept it at first, and Cole must’ve figured that out.

“Come on, I don’t bite! Well, I can, but only if you ask me to!” He winked at Mason.

Oh. Oh no. Was Cole flirting with him? Was that possible? No, no. Couldn’t be. He was getting flustered, and his face felt hot. Was he blushing again? Could Cole tell?

“I’m joking!” Cole laughed and shook his head. “You’re a shy little fox, aren’t you?” He grinned, and Mason coughed to clear his throat.

“No. Yes? No. No, stop that.” He bit his lip. “I’m Mason,” he said and reached for Cole’s hand. He just wanted to shake it and let go, but Cole captured it in a firm handshake.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mason.” His smile was warm. Mason couldn’t help but wonder whether he’d still be pleased if he knew the truth. Cole ended up freezing and standing outside in his underwear, and Mason was the one to blame. He
also
enjoyed the view a bit too much. So he just nodded.

“I’m just sorry we met like this,” Mason blurted out. So much about him feeling guilty. His words sounded sincere, and he even made the effort to put a warm smile on his face. “Sometimes I wonder if people even think about what they’re doing, you know?” He read somewhere that the easiest way for people to bond was to dislike a common object, or in this case, subject. In his defense, he liked Cole a lot. He gave him an odd feeling he couldn’t quite name, and he felt hurricanes in his insides when Cole smiled. It had to be something, even if Mason was always awfully awkward in these situations.

His sister once said he was like a baby deer, stumbling around. Confused and lost, but also adorable. Mason disliked the comparison. He told her he wanted to be graceful and elegant, not clumsy and disoriented. She just laughed at him because they both knew she had a point.

Mason could generally be described as a lost person. He had the ability to lose himself even in the places that were known to him, and he always misplaced something. He got distracted often, and most of the things he said were long and complicated because he got perplexed again and again. And sometimes he’d forget what he wanted to say midsentence.

But Mason refused to acknowledge those things. He chose to ignore everything he didn’t like anyway. It turned out to be easier that way, even if he didn’t like it when things were easy. He read tons of books, and he loved the idea of leading an adventurous life. So far his adventures included skinny-dipping—but that didn’t count because he did it on his own—and baking at midnight—and that clearly didn’t end well. He was starting to think that he simply wasn’t the type of person to live dangerously….

But now Mason found himself standing in front of a building in the middle of the night. The firefighters were inside, putting out the fire he started. And he was talking—flirting?—with an attractive stranger who could be described as almost naked. Well, wearing only his briefs. And, of course, Mason’s scarf—he couldn’t just forget that! It filled him with something new. Excitement? He usually got excited over new books and cake. This felt like a different kind of excitement, and he loved it. It also made him feel like the worst person ever for liking the situation, since it was quite obvious Cole was cold.

“Well, people are idiots. It’s what I always said. My ex-boyfriend told me I should be more optimistic about it. Then again, people always disappoint. Wow, I’m sorry, that was dark.” Cole chuckled again, and Mason couldn’t help but smile. He had to admit that for someone who claimed he said dark things, Cole sure liked to laugh. It was the good kind of laughter too. Not forced or fake, just natural and amazing, and
wow
, he was thinking about his laughter a lot. Also, did Cole just point out he had an ex-boyfriend?

“Are you cold?” Mason’s words sounded concerned, and Cole arched his eyebrows in reply.

“I might be.” Cole smiled and Mason frowned. That was not the answer he was looking for. It’d been a simple yes or no question. Not like he could help him, but he could always worry! He did it best anyway. And he had a lot to worry about those days. He wondered if his parents would be safe in Europe. He worried about his sister because he knew she wasn’t a good skier. He felt concerned about his brother and the girlfriend’s family—he knew it was important to him. Mason had always been a worrier.

Then again, he forgot a lot of essential things for someone who worried about everything. He forgot he had cookies baking in the oven, for crying out loud! He was hopeless.