by Troy Hunter
Cole smirked then snorted and then burst into laughter. “You could have just come by the bookstore, you know.”
“Yeah, I know. But I bought books yesterday, so it seemed like I needed a reason to stop by. So, I thought about it a while and then came up with dinner as a good enough excuse.”
He wasn’t wrong. The pizza smelled amazing.
“Come on behind the counter, I have plates and stuff in back.” Cole went and grabbed the plates, then set them out on the small table in his office next to the desk. He usually did the inventory lists at the table because he could spread them out better, but Mason set the box on the table. They sat across from one another and Mason opened the box.
“This looks amazing!” Cole inhaled the scent of cheese and pepperoni wafting into the air.
“I went with the standard because it occurred to me I don’t know what your favorite is.”
“Pepperoni is perfect.” His real favorite was Hawaiian, but he figured that was irrelevant. He loved all kinds of pizza.
“Really?” Mason was giving him the stare down and he looked away feeling sheepish.
“Hawaiian is my favorite, but really, I love pepperoni too. Thank you for bringing dinner.”
He dug into the pizza and grabbed himself two slices. Mason chuckled and followed suit, and soon they were eating in silence, too busy devouring the slices to talk. He felt like Michelangelo on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, because he just couldn’t stop going back for more.
He smiled, thinking about Olivia. She’d be mad when she found out he’d had pizza without her. She loved the stuff. She also loved the Ninja Turtles, but “the purple one” had always been her favorite. Cole had tried to tolerate the princess cartoons, but some of them were so insipid it drove him mad, so he’d introduced her to the turtles and she’d fallen in love with Donatello. It made him proud that his baby recognized she could be smart and tough and still be loveable. He figured if there was anything Penny would turn over in the grave about, it would be introducing her to boy cartoons, so to make up for it, a couple of months ago he introduced her to an oldie but goodie, Scooby Doo. There was a mix of smarts and jokes and she’d taken an instant liking to Scooby and Shaggy, even though he pointed out how clever Thelma was. He didn’t understand the new cartoons kids watched. He wasn’t sure what an anime was and he figured this was something he could share a love of with her when it was TV time.
Breaking into his thoughts, Mason asked, “What time do you have to go get Olivia?”
“Ah, I’ll close up shop, then I want to stop at the hardware store and then I’ll go get her.”
“Something broken?”
It was an innocent enough question, but Cole needed a moment to figure out how to answer it. “I hate the color of my walls.”
“Huh?”
“They’re so…plain. Beige. I don’t know what I was thinking…well, I do know what I was thinking, but I looked at them this morning and realized I can’t stand them.”
“Right. How did you come to this epiphany? For most people, it takes a month or two to convince themselves it’s a good idea to paint their house. And they usually only do one room at a time. Your whole house is beige.”
“I know. So, you can see my predicament,” he didn’t answer the question, but Mason laughed at his dilemma nonetheless.
“What colors do you like?”
“Bright. I’ve always liked bright colors, like book covers. She…Penny,” he emphasized her name, trying it out for the first time. It still felt strange, but he supposed it was bound to. “Penny said beige was what was socially acceptable. The house we used to live in was beige too. That way, she could decorate it with any color combination she wanted. She was good at it, but I am not good with accessories. I like colors.”
Mason let him talk about Penny, and he didn’t seem put out by it. He nodded and then said, “That’s going to be a big job, painting the whole house. Do you maybe want some help?”
Cole paused, surprised again with how at ease Mason seemed to be. He’d never met someone so willing to be open and helpful. Most people would have shunned him; he found it refreshing.
“That would be really…wow. That’s really nice of you. I know Olivia will want to help, especially with her own room, so I’ll let her pick the color in there.”
“Two is better than one and three is better than two, so the offer stands. I see Olivia every day at school. How do you think she would feel if I came over to help?”
Cole had to think hard about that because he honestly had no idea. “I think she’d be OK.”
“Perfect, I even promise not to act like her teacher if you want.”
Cole chuckled. It was in Mason’s nature to guide and teach kids. At least, he assumed it was since he’d been a successful teacher for so long. He didn’t think they would intentionally butt heads with Olivia if she needed guidance. He was her dad and he didn’t think Mason was trying to step on his toes.
“OK, I think that would be fun. She asked me the other day if I was going to make any new friends here.”
“When do you want to do it? I can even bring more pizza.”
“You don’t have to. You brought nachos last night and pizza today, what can I give you for it by the way?”
“Nothing.”
“Oh, come on, I insist. That, and you’re going to help me paint.”
“I’m sure I’ll think of something.”
The wolfish grin on Mason’s face made Cole hot under the collar. He tugged at his polo shirt and swallowed hard, wishing it wasn’t so tight. He felt himself sway towards Mason a little, and wished he had the courage to lean over and kiss him like Mason had done last night. Mason took charge, though, by leaning toward him and giving him what he wanted and Cole moaned into his lips.
“Did you think about me in bed last night? Was it good?”
Cole gasped. No one had ever talked to him like that before, except… He groaned and nodded once. He couldn’t bring himself to say what he’d done, but Mason knew as he dipped his tongue between his lips again. He sighed, feeling the strokes of Mason’s tongue against his own as he inhaled the scent of Mason’s aftershave. It was crisp, like apples, and he wondered what brand it was.
When Mason broke off the kiss, Cole found it difficult to remain in the plastic bucket seat at the table. His khaki shorts were bunched in a way that was pinching his dick, which seemed to have a mind of its own lately because it was once again hard, jutting up and aiming for the sky like a freaking monument. Pride had never been a facet of Cole’s personality and he liked to think he was relatively modest, but there it was, bulging the fabric of his shorts for everyone to see. He cleared his throat and made a show of throwing out the paper plates, folding up the pizza box and trashing it. Mason sat back in his chair and watched him reminding Cole of a cat, ready to pounce.
Cole closed out the cash register and Mason followed him silently around the stacks, which unnerved him. He half expected to turn around and Mason would be on him, but maybe this was another of his methods to push Cole? He wasn’t sure but the more he felt his eyes on him, the more aroused he became.
“I’m ready!” He sort of bellowed the words at Mason as he shut the lights off in his office. Then he thought about what he’d just said and blushed, a reaction he just couldn’t control.
Mason smirked and let his eyes wander over his body, not bothering to try to hide it, and Cole felt like he had just been x-rayed. It made him shiver and he wished Mason would give him one last kiss before they left, but he simply nodded. Cole flipped the sign on the door to closed and they walked out onto the sidewalk.
“The hardware store is only a couple of blocks, but you can ride with me if you want. That way if I see any colors I want, I don’t have to lug the buckets back here.”
“That’s alright. I drove my car into town, but I’ll follow you over there and have a look at the color choices with you. Maybe I can even make you second guess yourself with every choice. It’s fun mak
ing you blush,” and with that, Mason turned and walked down the sidewalk a ways until he climbed into an eco-friendly car.
It took Cole a minute to snap out of his shock and get into his own car and then he drove, absentmindedly, to the hardware store, wondering and anticipating all the ways Mason might make him second guess himself. He hadn’t been flirted with in a very long time and had almost forgotten what it felt like. He found he was quite enjoying it.
He pulled into Augie’s Hardware and parked. The shop wasn’t closing for another hour, and he waited beside his car until Mason pulled in. When he got out of the car, Cole cleared his throat.
“Now, Mr. Savage, are you going to behave in the store or will I have to…” He couldn’t finish the sentence. He was grinning so wide his cheeks hurt.
“You’ll do what?” The heat in Mason’s eyes was evident, but Cole looked around the parking lot to see if they were being watched.
“I’m sure I’ll think of something,” he teased. He figured he might as well try his own hand at flirting, and he found he enjoyed dishing it right back to Mason.
They went into the store together and met Augie Friedman, an older man with a bald head. His trousers were covered in paint stains and his belt clacked as he walked to the paint center. He was carrying various tools and his utility belt must have weighed ten pounds.
“Now, we have some nice neutral tones here. These are my best sellers for men,” Augie was selling to him. “There’s beige, brown, a light bronze,” Cole nodded politely and hip bumped Mason as they walked down the aisle behind him. They were the only ones in the store and Mason was giving Cole a mocking look with every neutral tone Augie listed. He was wondering what the reaction of the man was going to be when he told him he wanted bright, vivid colors.
When they got to the paint center, Augie held out paint swatches of the colors he had listed, and Cole shook his head. “No thank you. My house is already beige. I want color. Tons of color.”
As he expected, Augie’s white eyebrows, the only hair on his head, raised so they looked like two white caterpillars creeping across his bald, shiny pate.
“Are you sure about that, son?”
“Positive. Is it OK to browse the swatch boards?”
“Well sure, it’s just unusual to have a request like that.”
“Oh I know. I’ll be back later this week to help my daughter pick out the color for her room too.”
“I see, and what does the missus think about all this? She out of town or something? You’re gonna be in the doghouse when she gets home.”
Cole saw the swatches in front of him blend together and he suddenly wasn’t sure this was a very good idea. “Umm…”
“Mr. Freidman…”
“Ah, you’re that teacher up at the elementary school, right? The one the town was talking about back when you first started? Some folks said it was downright strange for a man to be teaching the little kids.”
Cole felt a burn of anger light up his chest. There was nothing wrong with Mason wanting to teach kids, whether they were elementary or older kids.
“Come on Mason. I’ll go to the hardware store in the city.”
Augie looked confused then he looked between them. “You two aren’t…you know…”
“What we aren’t is any of your business Augie Freidman.” Mason looked like he was ready to hex Augie on the spot.
Cole knew small towns came with some small-minded views sometimes, but they both had the odds stacked against them because of the unusual way they lived their lives.
“Come on Mason, let’s just go.”
Cole turned and walked back down the aisle. It seemed to be closing in around him as he made his way to the door but he didn’t turn back around to see if Augie was angry or puzzled by their behavior, he didn’t want to. When they burst through the door, he took great gulping breaths of air as he felt the panic that was threatening to send him into an attack rise in his chest. His ears were ringing and he felt like there were black spots in front of his eyes. It was annoying and he kept blinking rapidly, trying to clear his vision.
“Take a deep breath. Calm down, Cole.” Mason’s voice was somewhere near his ear.
“He…”
“I know.”
“And we…”
“I know. Just breathe. Forget about him.”
“But you…”
“I’m still just me, Cole. Just because he has a closed minded view about it doesn’t change who I am. His opinion doesn’t matter to me.”
“But what happens if he says something and it gets around town and…”
“Cole, I want you to get in your car, calm down, drive home, and then I’ll take you to pick up Olivia.”
“I can go get Olivia.”
“You’re too upset to be driving that distance right now. Make it home and I’ll follow you, OK?”
Cole nodded, unlocking his car door with shaking hands. He drove extra carefully on the way home, and when he got there, he waited for Mason to pull up behind him. He wasn’t sure how long he waited, but Mason ended up coming around the house from the back. He walked up to Cole’s window.
“OK, go around to the passenger seat.”
“Really, I’m OK.”
“Has no one ever told you it’s alright not to be OK?”
Cole got out of the car and stared at him. He’d never once thought of it like that.
6
Mason Savage
Mason drove in silence for about ten minutes, letting Cole settle down. He knew the last twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind, his own mind was still reeling from everything, but he had no issue with whether or not people wanted to judge him for who he was. Cole, on the other hand, had lived his life based on what other people thought of him and others’ expectations of how he raised Olivia. Mason felt sorry for him, that was a tall order to live up to.
“You know, something I tell the kids all the time is, it’s OK to be mad, sad, frustrated, or anything they might be feeling in that moment.”
“I thought the issue in schools was the excess of angry kids.”
“No, the problem lies in telling the kids to bottle it up and behave. We teach children that it is OK to be happy and pleasant all the time, but we deny them the chance to feel the bad feelings they might have. The work place shows us we have resources we can utilize like Employee Assistance Programs, Counseling or Human Resources, things like that. But we teach kids that it is not OK to be angry.”
“I don’t understand why you’re telling me this.” Cole’s fist was balled up and his elbow was on the window ledge. He was pressing his knuckles to his lips, and to Mason, he looked like he was ready to scream.
“I’m telling you this because for two years, you have had to be alright for Olivia’s sake. I’m betting for everyone else too.”
“Yeah, and your point?”
“You don’t have to be alright all the time when I’m around. Just be what you are in the moment, whether it is good or bad.”
Cole blinked and looked over at him.
“Yeah I know. Kind of a crazy notion to grasp when you’re the rock in someone else’s fortress all the time. My point is, forget Augie and his opinions. It pissed me off, too, but I can do one of two things - I can let it get to me, or I can carry on with my business, help a new friend paint the heck out of his house, and forget about him.”
Cole’s lips twitched and Mason knew he was getting through to him.
“We didn’t get paint.”
Mason thought about it a moment. “Yeah, so we’ll pick up Olivia, get her something to eat, hit the hardware store on the way through the city, and then bring you both home.”
Cole couldn’t really argue with that plan, so he nodded. Mason was glad the moment of panic was over. He could understand why Cole had reacted the way he had. It had taken him a minute to work through his own anger, and when he had, he realized there would be backlash to the encounter. But he’d already had a discussion with Mrs. Redner when he was hir
ed for the position. He never mixed work with his personal life. This time he could see a discussion coming, but he still wasn’t violating any rules.
“What’s the address?”
Cole directed him and they rode on in silence. He let his hand fall on the arm rest between them and kept his palm up and fingers open. It took five minutes before he felt Cole’s fingers lock with his own. He gave his hand a little squeeze for reassurance.
When they pulled into the driveway, Olivia and an older man and woman were sitting on the front porch waiting for them. They got out of the car and Mason noticed the older woman look between him and Cole and get that knowing look in her eye. The older man looked confused but said nothing.
“Mom, Dad,” Cole called out a greeting. “And how’s my girl!?” He scooped Olivia up in his arms when she came running to the car and she squealed with delight.
“Daddy! What’s Mr. Savage doing here?”
“He was helping Daddy with a project, sweetie. I’ll tell you all about it in the car. How was your weekend?”
“It was OK. I played Monopoly with Grampy, but I think he cheated.”
Cole raised his eyebrows at Bill who looked sheepish.
“I didn’t know she knew money increments so well.”
“He tried to pull a hussy!” Olivia pouted, and it took Cole a minute.
“He tried to hustle you?”
“Yeah! So, we ended the game because I had all the properties and he only had one house and I got a popsicle instead.”
“That sounds like a fair trade.” Cole shifted Olivia onto his hip and gestured between Mason and Loretta and Bill.
“Mason, this is Olivia’s grandparents, Loretta and Bill. Mom, Dad this is Olivia’s teacher, Mason Savage. He’s, uh, a friend of mine.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Loretta held out her hand and Mason shook it, followed by Bill.
“Olivia talks about you all the time.”
“I hope it’s all good things,” Mason laughed. He tried to relax his face. He knew he must look reserved at best, but he couldn’t help the fluttering in his stomach. It seemed strange that the meet the parent’s moment was so soon, or that it would come at all. Not that they knew what Cole meant to him anyway. He’d come to love the way Cole viewed the world. Being a bookstore owner, he interpreted the world in many different ways and had a very nonjudgmental way he viewed people who were different from societal norms. This endeared him to Mason. He had a big heart and loved so much and so many different things, when Mason thought about how he spread that love, especially through Olivia, he felt like his passions helped complete the way the world worked in a complete circle with itself. That circle was familiar to Mason and that’s why he was so emotionally invested, he wanted to be part of Cole’s circle.