Chapter 135: This Time, I’m Staying

Chapter 135: Chapter 135: This Time, I’m Staying

Audrey sat on the edge of the guest bed, staring at her packed duffel bag. It would be so easy to zip it up. To find an apartment. To put up a wall and play it safe.

She spent the entire morning running the same questions through her head.

Was she staying because she felt guilty about leaving Alexander behind? No.

Was she staying because Mason’s shoulder was still healing, and she felt obligated to nurse him? Definitely not.

Was she just trying to paste over the seven years they lost by rushing into living together?

She let out a slow breath, looking out the bedroom window. She asked herself one simple question.

If there was no fear, no guilt, and no messy past between them, would she still want to wake up beside him?

Yes.

The answer had never been clearer.

She left the bag unzipped on the bed and walked downstairs.

Mason was in the living room. He was reading something on his phone, but he looked up the second she walked in. His shoulders tensed just a fraction. He was bracing himself, waiting for her to say she found a place.

Audrey walked over to the sofa. "I’ve decided something."

Mason set his phone facedown on the coffee table. He looked up at her, cautious. "That sounds dangerous."

Audrey smiled. All the heavy anxiety she had been carrying all morning just melted away. "I’m staying."

Mason went still. His dark eyes locked onto hers, searching her face for any sign of a joke. "Here?"

"Yes," she said softly. "With you."

A muscle feathered in his jaw. He tried very hard not to look ridiculously happy.

He failed .

The corners of his mouth tipped up, transforming his whole face. But just as quickly, the smile faded into something much more serious. He stood up and stepped into her space.

Because of everything they had been through, Mason didn’t want her making another decision she might regret by tomorrow. He needed to be sure.

"You don’t have to stay because I asked," Mason said, his voice low and serious.

"I know."

"And you don’t have to stay because you’re worried about me."

Audrey tilted her head. "I know."

"Then why?"

Audrey stepped closer, closing the last bit of distance between them. "Because I want to."

That was enough.

Mason pulled her into his arms.

It wasn’t like the frantic, desperate hugs of the past few weeks, where they held on like they were drowning. This was warm. It was steady. It was secure.

He buried his face in her hair, breathing her in as his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

"Good," he murmured quietly against her hair.

Audrey laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "That’s all you have to say?"

"I’m trying not to scare you off," Mason replied, his chest vibrating against hers. "If I say too much, you might go back upstairs and zip up that bag."

They decided to make dinner instead of ordering takeout. It was a normal, domestic thing to do. Their first real evening as a couple living together.

Except Mason made it entirely impossible for Audrey to focus.

She was at the kitchen island slicing vegetables, and he kept finding reasons to touch her. When she reached for the salt, his hand settled warmly on her waist. When she passed a bowl across the counter, his fingers dragged deliberately across hers.

Whenever she turned around, he was right there. A kiss pressed to her temple. A thumb brushing her cheek.

Audrey finally put the kitchen knife down and turned around to face him. "Are you going to let me cook?"

Mason leaned back against the counter, looking innocent. "I’m supervising."

"You’re distracting me."

"That’s not my problem."

"Mason."

He smiled, that devastatingly handsome look that made her stomach do flips. "Audrey."

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling too. She nudged him away with her hip.

They weren’t pretending anymore. They weren’t dodging each other’s feelings. They weren’t saying goodbye tomorrow.

She was staying.

After dinner, they ended up side-by-side on the couch.

The television was playing softly in the background, but neither of them was paying attention to it. Audrey was resting against Mason’s chest, his arm wrapped comfortably around her waist. It felt entirely natural to curl up with him like this.

They talked quietly about the past few weeks. About the strange, surreal reality of actually being together again.

Audrey traced the lines of his palm. "Sometimes I still can’t believe we’re here."

Mason looked down at her, his expression softening. "Neither can I."

She looked up at him. The conversation faded naturally, the silence stretching out between them, comfortable and warm.

Mason reached up, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. His fingers lingered on her cheek.

She didn’t pull away. She leaned into his touch.

He leaned down and kissed her.

It was slow. Soft at first, just a gentle press of his lips against hers. But as Audrey shifted, turning her body toward him and looping her arms around his neck, the kiss grew deeper. She pulled him closer, kissing him back with everything she had.

There was no desperation this time. No frantic need to prove they still existed to each other. Just two people who finally knew exactly what they wanted, taking their time.

Later that night, the living room lights clicked off, and they went upstairs.

When Mason closed his bedroom door behind them, a sudden wave of nervousness hit Audrey. She stood near the edge of the bed, suddenly acutely aware of how quiet the house was.

She wasn’t scared. And it wasn’t because she didn’t want him.

It was just because this was different. This wasn’t a clumsy college hookup. This wasn’t their old, toxic arrangement where they hid their feelings.

This was them choosing each other as adults. The emotional weight of it made her heart pound against her ribs.

Mason noticed her hesitation immediately. He stopped a few feet away, keeping his hands at his sides. He watched her with those dark, patient eyes, reading her perfectly.

"We don’t have to do anything," Mason said quietly.

Audrey looked at him. The man who had waited seven years for her to come back.

"I know," she said. She took a breath, letting the nerves go, and stepped closer. "But I want to."

Mason didn’t rush her. He waited for her to initiate.

So Audrey stepped into his space, placed her hands flat against his chest, and pulled him down for a kiss.

The shift was instant. Mason wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against his body. The kiss turned hot and heavy, tasting of mint and years of suppressed longing.

When they tumbled onto the bed, it was a tangle of discarded clothes and heated skin. But Mason never rushed. He was entirely focused on her. His hands were everywhere—tracing her waist, sliding up her thighs, worshiping her skin. Every time he moved over her, he paused, his eyes flicking up to hers to make sure she was still with him, still wanting this.

He wasn’t trying to possess her or claim her. He was loving her.

"You’re so beautiful," he whispered against her collarbone, his breath hot against her skin.

Audrey gasped as his lips moved lower, her fingers digging into his broad shoulders. She pulled him back up, needing to see his face.

When they finally came together, it was slow. A deep, aching connection that made both of them groan in the quiet room.

With every slow, deliberate movement, Mason held her gaze. He was silently pouring every unspoken apology, every year of loneliness, and every ounce of love right into her. Audrey matched his rhythm, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. Not from sadness, but from the overwhelming feeling of finally being exactly where she belonged.

She held onto him tightly as they shattered together, whispering his name like a promise into the dark.

Sunlight spilled through the blinds the next morning, painting bright stripes across the messy bedsheets.

Audrey woke up slowly. The first thing she felt was a heavy, warm arm draped securely over her waist.

She turned her head on the pillow and just stared at Mason sleeping. He looked younger like this. The harsh lines of stress and corporate responsibility were smoothed out.

The man she had lost. The man she spent years trying to forget. The man she had finally chosen.

A few minutes later, Mason’s eyelids fluttered open. He blinked against the sunlight, then caught her staring. His lips curved lazily.

"Why are you looking at me?" he asked, his morning voice thick and raspy.

Audrey didn’t look away. "I’m making sure you’re real."

Mason chuckled, a low rumble against her side. He shifted, pulling her flush against his chest so there wasn’t an inch of space between them. "Unfortunately."

She laughed, resting her chin on his chest.

Mason stroked her back slowly, his eyes tracing her face. "You’re staying?"

Audrey smiled, her heart was full. "I’m staying."

He closed his eyes again, burying his face in the crook of her neck, clearly satisfied. "Good."

Audrey poked his chest. "You’re very clingy."

"I’ve earned it," he mumbled against her skin.

She couldn’t argue with that. She let her eyes close, sinking into his warmth.

Audrey realized that staying with Mason wasn’t about fixing the past anymore. It wasn’t about recovering the time they had lost. It was about building something entirely new.

Seven years ago, they had loved each other, and they had lost each other.

This time, Audrey wasn’t leaving.