Page 77 of Home Grown Talent

Alarmingly, the notion made his heart skip.

Taking his favourite spot in the corner of the sofa, Owen stretched out one arm along its back in invitation, and Mason sat beside him.

Fiddling with his wine glass, he took a sip, swallowed, and made himself say, “Okay, out with it. What’s up?”

Owen sighed, his expression reluctant. “I’ve been thinking about today’s segment.”

Despite Mason’s reservations about getting too coupley, he hadn’t been able to refuse Owen’s invitation to sleep over again, and they’d watched Weekend Wellness together that morning, cuddled up on this very sofa. Mason thought their bit was even better than the first episode, and he’d already had a shedload of comments on Insta, as well as compliments from Misty and Frankie, both excited by the buzz growing around his and Owen’s on-screen flirtation. The expression in Owen’s eyes made Mason wary, though.

“I thought you were great,” he said encouragingly. “You came across well. Everyone says how natural you are.”

Owen grunted, and then, to Mason’s surprise, pulled out his phone. It was an old model, with a smaller screen than Mason was used to.

“I found this online the other night,” Owen said. “There’s loads of stuff like it. I’m sure you’ve seen similar things, but…”

Mason took the phone and peered at the image on the small screen. It was a ‘pitcher-catcher’ meme, a shot taken from the first show. He snorted a laugh, but Owen’s silence cut it short. Twisting to look at him, Mason said, “Does it bother you? Sorry, stupid question. Obviously, it does, but it’s just… the internet, you know?”

“Does it not bother you?” Owen asked, and he seemed genuinely perplexed. “Random people thinking about… about what we do in bed?”

Mason shrugged, shifting to sit cross-legged opposite Owen. “I guess not really? I suppose I’ve got used to it.”

Owen’s expression tightened. “You mean, because you’re a model? Because people…” His face flooded with colour. “Because some people maybe…fantasise about you?”

“It’s not something I actively think about,” Mason said, although the high colour in Owen’s face had him curious. “But I’d be pretty naive to think it doesn’t happen. And anyway, there’s loads of crap like this online. Once your image is public property, it’s fair game.”

“Doesn't feel fair,” Owen said quietly. “And this…” He waved at the phone. “I mean, what they’re talking about is more than just fantasy fodder, isn’t it? That’s us. That’s our relationship.”

Our relationship.

The words made Mason’s gut clench. “Well, yeah,” he said slowly. “But we are kind of milking it for Weekend Wellness. I mean, Misty would love this.” He waggled his eyebrows at Owen. “You should totally send it to her.”

But Owen didn’t smile. His lashes shuttered over his eyes as he took back his phone. “That’s sort of my point. Pretending to flirt for a TV show is one thing, but it’s real now. It means something. At least, it does to me. And that makes it different.”

Mason’s skipping heart sped up. He didn’t know what to say to that, but somehow, he found himself reaching out to touch Owen’s knee. “It means something to me too.”

Owen smiled, covering Mason’s hand with his own. “Yeah?”

Breathlessly, Mason said, “Yeah.” And he sort of hated that it was true. This wasn’t what he’d imagined when he took Misty’s advice all those weeks ago to ‘push things’ with Owen. And now, thinking about that, about his deliberate seduction of Owen, made him feel uneasy.

“So…?” Owen said carefully. “You wouldn’t mind…pulling back a little?”

“Pulling back?”

“On the public flirting stuff.”

“What do you mean?” The knot of anxiety returned, yanking tighter this time. “On the show?”

“Well, yeah. And on social media. I don’t mean in real life.”

“But that’s… I mean, that’s what the show’s about.”

Owen frowned. “I thought it was about teaching people how to garden.”

“Yeah, but the ship—the ‘are they/aren’t they’—that’s why people are watching.”

“Is it? Christ, that’s depressing.”

“I don’t see why, if people are enjoying it.”