Chapter 4 #2
A hand closed around my elbow, and I sucked in a breath.
Without thinking, I spun around, and my free hand shot to his torso when I realized Mason stood way too close for comfort.
Our chests almost brushed with each intake of air.
For a second, I was tempted to move the tray I was clutching in my other hand between us, to create a physical barrier.
“Hey,” he said, his eyes locked on mine.
“Mase.” I swallowed as I gave him a slow once-over, his closeness intoxicating and bringing back the feelings of the high schooler with a crush that I had been not so long ago.
Mason was at least two inches taller than when we last faced each other, and over thirty pounds bulkier—all lean muscle that he’d gained over the summer.
Wide shoulders and bigger biceps, I felt small beside him. Even at five-foot-eight, I had to tip my head back to meet his eyes.
My fingers itched to run through his tousled light brown hair, a bit longer than it used to be.
A light stubble framed the sharp lines of his square jaw, a look I’d never seen him sport before but suited him well.
The boy I grew up with looked older, more assured, and wiser.
He had turned into a very hot and muscular version of himself.
Gone were most of his boyish features. Mason Pierce was now filled out in all the right places, which added up to a very attractive man.
Heat swirled inside me, and I felt my face growing hotter by the second as he studied me, his expression unreadable.
I worried my bottom lip with my teeth, trying to prevent the last threads of my self-control from slipping away.
All the feelings I had pushed away came rushing back at the sight of him. My knees weakened, and I felt dizzy.
He rested his large hand on my hipbone to keep me upright, and I did nothing to jerk away from the burning touch searing my flesh through my clothes.
From up close, Mason Pierce didn’t seem angry with me. From the spark in his eyes and the way his tongue swept his lips, he looked entranced…or curious about me too.
I hadn’t changed much since I had graduated from high school a few months ago.
My hair was shorter, just past my shoulders now, and my breasts fuller, thanks to the birth-control pills my mother had demanded I take when I left for college.
“Just in case,” she had said. “You can never be too careful with boys.”
“How have you been?” Mason asked. Even his voice sounded deeper than it used to be. It spread shivers all over my bare arms.
I swallowed, trying very hard to keep my composure and not jump into his arms like I would have done back when we were still friends or kiss him like I’d dreamed of doing so many times in the past.
His eyes drifted down, and I noticed my palm was still splayed across his chest, his heart hammering beneath the pads of my fingers.
The heat of his body seeped through mine. Mason was standing so close, but there was a lingering chasm between us—one I’d created.
After all this time apart, I had so much to tell him, and yet so little.
We were still broken because I had forced us to be.
I was tempted to run away from him because facing him was a risk I wasn’t willing to take.
What if he hated me? Or worse, what if he had forgiven me?
In any case, I wasn’t ready to find out.
If the latter turned out to be true, it would throw me off my game—something Mason Pierce excelled at when it came to me—and it would mess up the fragile new life I had made for myself here in Crestwood, Michigan.
It would mean I would have to revisit this episode of my past that I had tried so hard to leave behind.
Those wounds around my heart had healed.
Well, not healed per se, but they were closing, and I should do everything in my power to make sure it stayed that way.
That meant not engaging with him more than I should and keeping him at a distance.
If we had survived without being in each other’s lives for so long, there was no reason we couldn’t keep pretending we had never been friends.
No matter how silly it sounded. Mason was still better off without me in his life.
That I was sure of. And it was my job to keep it that way. In spite of what my heart argued.
With a quick movement, I dropped my arm to my side and stepped back, adding more distance between us. My fingers tingled. They missed the contact. I missed it too.
“I was wondering how long it would take for us to meet again,” he said when I remained mute before him, not sure what to say anymore, my head and my heart still not agreeing with each other.
His lips curved at the corner in a semi-mischievous way I used to adore, and, in that instant, I hated myself for what I had put him through.
How could I find him even more attractive than I used to? I pinched my lips together to keep my expression as blank as possible and said nothing, once again mesmerized by this new version of the boy I used to know and having a hard time resisting his familiar charm.
“Can we talk later? I would really like for us to catch up.”
I shook my head in the slowest possible motion and despised myself for doing so. But I had to protect him from me—and protect myself too—whatever the cost.
He blinked, surprise flashing across his features. “Why?”
“Because.” Finally, my voice had returned. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea. Tell me something. Were you here the other night? I swear I… Never mind.”
“What if I were?”
“Because…when I turned around, you had disappeared into thin air like I had imagined your presence… It was weird. Why would you do that?”
“I didn’t know how you would react seeing me, and I wasn’t ready to be rejected so soon in front of a bunch of my teammates.
Also…I…I didn’t have time to prepare myself and didn’t want to mess up our reunion.
” He sighed. “Anyway, I didn’t expect to see you that night, and after thinking it through, I believed it was better if I left. ”
“But—” I scratched the side of my head. “And now is fine?”
“It’s different. No way would I have let Nichols insult you.”
“Oh, okay. Just to be clear, I don’t need saving. I can fend for myself. Just putting it out there. But thanks.” I surveyed the room around us and pointed behind him. “Anyway, I-I…I gotta go back to work. It was nice seeing you again.”
I started to walk away when I realized his hand was still resting on my hip, his thumb brushing over the bone, the warmth of his imprint igniting a rush of conflicting sensations through my body.
“Mel, wait.”
I kept my eyes trained on him and stepped back slowly until his hand slipped away.
“I really need to go back. It was nice bumping into you, Mase. And congrats on your last game.” Nice?
I must have sounded so lame. In my defense, his presence had taken me by surprise and left me almost speechless. I needed time to regroup.
A slow smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “You were there?”
I shook my head. “Nah. But it’s all everyone around here has been talking about since then. They said you were amazing on that field.”
Not giving him a second to reply, I hurried away, my heart pounding so loud I couldn’t even hear my own thoughts.
After scarfing down a side of nachos during a quick fifteen-minute break in the back, I adjusted the apron around my waist and refreshed my lip gloss, smacking my lips together.
I ran my fingers through my hair to tame a few wild strands, ready to return to work.
Tonight’s patrons were loud, and I enjoyed the silence for the time it lasted.
With a sigh, I left the comforting hush of my cocoon and reached the employee-only restroom across the hall.
The black walls were in dire need of a fresh coat of paint, and the row of light bulbs above my head flickered, two of them burnt out.
One end of the hallway led back to the bar area and the other to an emergency door with a green neon Exit sign mounted above.
On my first night here, I had decided the hallway looked like something straight from a horror movie set and then laughed it off because it sounded silly even though I kinda liked being spooked.
I locked myself in the one-stall restroom with four minutes left on my break.
The lights turned off, and a chill worked through me as I finished washing my hands.
Someone must have flipped the switch by mistake.
The building was old, and the switch was located by the door outside the restroom.
It wasn’t the first time someone had been locked in the dark.
It happened at least twice a week. George said renovating the employee area was the next project he’d tackle.
I tossed the paper towel into the trash can, knowing my way around the confined space, before unlocking the door.
I closed my hand around the knob, but it wouldn’t budge.
Using both hands, I shook the door and pulled with all my strength, but it didn’t give.
Great, I was locked in the dark. I patted my pocket only to recall I had left my phone in my purse inside my locker. Double great.
I tried the door again, but it still refused to open.
“It’s not funny. If it’s a prank, the fun has lasted long enough. Let me out. I gotta get back to work.”
Nothing.
I pressed my ear against the panel, but I couldn’t hear anything on the other side.
I pulled at the knob again. Same result.
Using my fists, I banged on the door. “Let me out. Someone, help me. I’m locked in here. Can anyone hear me?”
I waited, trying to catch a sound, but in vain.
Seriously, this wasn’t funny. Unless it was some kind of prank, there was no reason for anyone to lock me in here. Anyway, it had already gone on too long. I’d changed my mind. I liked horror movies, but I wasn’t so sure I liked being spooked in real life.