Chapter 23 - My house

It wasn’t that Giovanni O’Connell was surprised. Well, he was. But not over the fact that Mason had just declared his feelings for him by asking him out on a date, but because he had the guts to blurt it out. I mean, it had only been what? Ten years since Mason has been helplessly in love with him.
The young man was flattered. Mason and Giovanni have been friends for more than a decade and it was through him that he met Gary and Joshua. As teens, they would either boycott classes or run off to an unknown destination to smoke weed which Gary stole from his father. Mason made sure to do Giovanni’s assignments for him in school, he would cover up for the young man whenever he didn’t feel like coming to school, and even went as far as pretending to be Mr Arthur O’Connell whenever Giovanni’s teacher called to check in on him.
That aside, Mason had a heart of gold. Psychically, one would think he was a little scoundrel as he looked brut and rough on the outside, when in reality, he was a big softie, and sometimes, a crybaby. If Giovanni ever thought of men that way, then for sure he would have been able to give Mason the reply he hoped to have, which is why it pained the young man to say what he said next.
“Mason” Mason’s shoulders slumped in disappointment after hearing the tone of Giovanni’s voice, so much so that, he didn’t even want to hear anything after that.
“I’m flattered. Really I am. But you know I don’t swing that way” Giovanni hoped that his statement was gentle, but still conveyed the message he wanted to set across.
Mason sighed in disappointment. Slowly, the young man stood but froze when Giovanni held his hand. His gaze shifted to Giovanni’s hand, sending shivers down his spine. Giovanni had never held his hand his like, which is why it pleased him. But at the same time, the young man knew that his mind was creating scenarios that didn’t exist in real life. It psychically hurt Mason as he gradually took off Giovanni’s hand on his, making him instantly miss his touch.
“I’m sorry” apologised the young man, just as Giovanni was about to say something, he caught the attention of someone he thought to be Wren. Against his will, Mason’s eyes became interested in what caught Giovanni’s attention and when his gaze landed on Wren, his heart sank further. He couldn’t handle the hurt and the embarrassment that was to come, which is why he walked out of the club before he burst into tears.
Giovanni hadn’t noticed that Mason was no longer standing next to him, as his gaze was fixated on the girl he didn’t think he would get the chance of seeing for another week, given what went down between them yesterday.
Nothing around him was important at this point. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the blonde. The way her lips swayed as she walked, the way she tucked away a strand of hair behind her ear and the way she laughed at whatever joke Gwendolyn said was simply mesmerizing to him.
The smile on Wren Austin’s face disappeared whenever her gaze landed on Giovanni, and although it pained the young man because he hadn’t finished staring at perfection, still, he was grateful because she didn’t make a U-turn for the door when their eyes met.
And he was even more stunned when Wren offered the first word.
“Hey” the blonde greeted as she pulled out a chair and sat, whereas Gwendolyn walked behind the counter and got settled in.
“Hey” he tried to mask the surprise in his voice but he failed at it.
“What’s up?” she questioned.
This right here, what she was doing, was something Wren Austin absolutely abhorred. She would rather play in traffic than be part of small talk, yet she was the first to engage in one. Still, she would choose that any day over walking out of the pub. That, was her way of showing the young man that was happened yesterday left her unfazed.
Which by the way, was a gigantic lie.
“Nothing much and you?” Giovanni questioned back.
Wren Austin was mentally dying. She wondered how long she could bare this horror.
“Same” was her simple reply. After that, there was an awkward silence between them. The blonde could feel the young man digging a hole in the side of her head, but she didn’t dare turn in his direction. If anything, she prayed, I mean really prayed that Gwen come in and save her because leaving was out of the question.
“Uh, Wren. Can we talk? Outside? Or perhaps somewhere quiet?” the young man questioned warily. He hoped that the nervousness he felt didn’t reflect in his voice.
For the first, Wren looked in his direction. It was a while before she responded.
“Yeah. Give me a minute” the blonde replied.
“Sure. I’ll be waiting outside” he replied then left the pub.
“Gwen! Line up five shots, please. I need all the courage I can get” the blonde uttered once Giovanni was no longer next to her.
“Five? That’s a little too much don’t you think?” Gwen replied warily, completely clueless about what had just happened.
“I’m about to talk,” she say in air quotes “with Giovanni. Make it ten” she added.
“Wow! Back the fuck up! Say what now?” expressed Gwendolyn as she slammed a glass of shot before Wren and filled it, then proceeded to fill a glass for her.
“I know. I don’t know why I suddenly feel so nervous” she replied, gulping the contents of the glass.
"Yeah, I do too" uttered Gwen, earning a frown from Wren.
More shots were lined up before Wren, of which she emptied everything. When she felt she was tipsy enough to the handle the conversation, she exited the pub but not without Gwen wishing her luck.
The moment she stepped out of the pub and found Giovanni O’Connell casually leaning across the wall, she understood that even thirty shots wouldn't make her tipsy enough.
"I didn't think you'd come" the young man iterated standing from the pillar. Wren didn't reply to his question, and awkwardly stood before him.
"Does talking out here work for you?" he filled the silence and was meet with more silence.
Wren didn't want to talk out here, in public with the nosey asses of the people of Craigsburg. If she wanted to have a proper talk, it needed to be done somewhere quiet, making the next words that left her mouth taste sour.
"Let's go to my house"
----------