Chapter 18 #3
“No idea. It seems like a good idea to face my fears and not be alone while doing so.” And because horror movies mean, at some point, we may comfort each other, and I will never turn down the chance to have you in my arms, no matter what brings you there.
Melinda snickered. “Oh, I had no clue the great Mason Pierce could be spooked easily.”
“I am not.”
Her grin widened. “Mase, all your secrets are safe with me. Perhaps I should be the one providing the arms in case it gets too much and you have to hide your face, no?”
Yes, please. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. I can be brave when I have to be.”
“What if I win?”
“If you do, which seems impossible because, come on, as you just said, I’m Mason Pierce”—I winked, my tone teasing—“then you will…” I paused, thinking about it.
Deep down, I was aware there was a great chance of her winning since our bet didn’t require throwing a ball or running.
I had to come up with another excuse where Melinda would have to rely on me. The gears of my brain worked.
Her face lit up. “Huh, I have an idea…”
“Name it.”
Melinda stared at me, pinching her lips together. “Not sure you’ll agree, though.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sure if I should even tell you…”
“Shepard, spill the beans.”
She took a big inhale and spoke quickly.
“If I win, you-come-to-Winter-Formal-with-me. We had fun at Homecoming, and I wanna avoid a repeat of last time with a guy who’ll ditch me like Landon.
After all, it’s one of my last high school traditions before going to college, and it should count for something. ”
“Whoa, you want us to go to Winter Formal together?” As much as the idea surprised me, it also excited me. If we went together to Homecoming and Winter Formal, perhaps we could score a hat trick and add prom to the mix at the end of the school year.
Alarm flashed on her face, and she flicked her wrist. “Forget it. It was a bad idea. I’m sure you’re already planning on going with someone else.”
I lifted my hands in surrender. “No. I accept. Your proposition. The bet is on. If you win, we’re going together.
If I win, we watch those movies.” In my head, I was doing a victory dance, a fist bump, and bouncing around like a kid on Christmas morning.
If I won, how could I convince her we should go to the dance together, no matter what?
Right now, I wanted to both lose and win.
It had never happened to me before. I was a winner.
Always had been. But Winter Formal was two months away.
Winning would mean spending time together sooner.
My brain overworked. How did this dare turn into an impossible choice?
“Wanna shake on it?” Melinda asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Yep.” Our palms connected, and tingles jumped from hers to mine. Shivers lined my spine at the contact. I yanked my hand away before she could tell I was affected or my dick, now hard as a steel pole, embarrassed me. “Ready to be crushed?”
Melinda tapped my arm. “Prepare yourself to lose, Pierce. I know you’re not used to it, but this is my pool, my sport, and my winning stroke.”
Later, we sat at The White Lotus, eating lemongrass chicken and sautéed vegetables with jasmine rice.
Melinda had not only annihilated my ass when we had competed earlier, but she had done it by at least eight seconds—which was enormous in swimming time.
For the first two laps, I had the advantage, but soon my lack of technique cost me the victory when she passed me like I was swimming backward and she was riding a jet ski.
In all fairness, she deserved the win. I couldn’t be prouder to have my girl making me bite the dust. My girl. It was a dangerous thought—a recurring one—that I had more and more difficulty chasing away when I thought about Melinda Shepard these days.
After our little competition, we’d spent an hour in the weight room at her request. It was part of my I’ll help you get back in shape promise. We ended up doing a push-up competition, which I dominated, and a handstand competition, which she won without blinking.
“You know what?” I asked her after I polished off my food like I’d been starving for days.
Melinda had barely touched hers, playing around with her rice, grumbling about a stomachache which brought back Nurse Pierce, who had inquired about her well-being and made sure it was nothing to worry about or the result of too much exercise.
“I still would have accompanied you to Winter Formal even if I had won.”
“You would have?”
“Yes.”
She watched me, her elbows propped up on the table, a soft expression spread across her face.
“It’s funny because if you wanna face your fears and do a horror movie marathon, I’m your girl.
I’m not easily spooked by rotten zombies, bloodthirsty vampires, or chainsaw-wielding sociopaths.
” My girl. Again, those two words. Heat swirled through me.
Could she tell I’d combust soon or kiss the shit out of her if she didn’t stop staring at me like this? Like I was hers.
I discarded my napkin, crossing my arms. “You think you won’t get scared?”
She forked a tiny piece of chicken into her mouth. “I know I won’t. I may not look the part, but I pack some courage underneath my skin.”
“We should do some sort of trial. See if you can eat your popcorn and not scream when you can’t take it anymore because blood has splattered everywhere the moment the bad guy catches his victims.”
Melinda studied me for a second. “You think I will run and hide?”
I shrugged. “No idea. There’s just one way to find out.”
“Oh geez, you serious?”
“Mel, I never do anything half-assed.”
“But I won the bet. I need something in exchange if we do this.”
“Oh, I love a girl who holds up her own and knows how to bargain.” I paused, reflecting on it for a minute. “If you watch the movie with me, I’ll do any dare you throw at me. I’m a team player, and I lost, so it would only be fair that you get to decide my fate.”
Melinda’s face flushed, and she shook her head, a hand cupping her mouth, laughing. “Are you always so dramatic?”
“Can’t help it. It’s part of my charm. But I lost, so I’m all yours.” And not just for a few hours. For as long as you’ll have me. Can you put me out of my misery now and kiss me?
“We can brainstorm something together.”
“Nope. A bet is a bet. I’ll survive anything you put me through.” I stood and offered my hand for her to grab. “Let’s go. We have a movie to watch.”
She slipped her palm into mine, and nothing had ever felt so right. “Then surprise me, Mase.”
On Monday morning, Melinda rode with me to school. It took a bit of convincing over the weekend, but she had finally agreed. It turned out she hadn’t lied when she said she could watch horror movies without blinking. She had proven I was the bigger coward of the two of us.
We ambled down the hallways together after she grabbed books from her locker.
“I’ll walk you to your homeroom,” I said.
“Mase, I can do this.”
“I know. It makes me happy to do it.”
“Oh, okay.”
I draped an arm over her shoulders to make sure she did not run away when we crossed paths with a pissed-off Tanya, who murdered me with her brown irises framed by thick eyeliner and fake eyelashes.
“Wanna go to the weight room during lunch?” Melinda asked once we halted in front of her classroom. “I was thinking we could get ahead of that schedule of yours.”
Hope swirled inside me. It was the first time Melinda offered to spend time with me on her own. I was usually the one scheming up excuses just to be with her.
“Sure, but we went for a run earlier, and you have swimming practice after school. Isn’t it too much in one day?”
“Nah. I can take it.”
I stared at her with one raised brow.
“I swear.”
“Okay then. Coach wants to talk to me after the bell about Friday’s game, but it shouldn’t take more than five minutes. We can walk there together. Won’t you be hungry? I know I will, but I have a free period after lunch, so I’ll eat then.”
“I’ve been snacking all morning. I’ll do the same this afternoon.
It’s easier to go for smaller meals throughout the day than a big lunch when I have practice.
It’s part of the latest diet plan I’ve worked out with Coach Vivien.
We’re trying this new thing to see if it helps with my performances.
” She turned to walk away. “See you later, Mase. And thanks for doing this.”
My name rolling on her tongue had never sounded better. She flashed me one last smile over her shoulder. Every part of me prayed the happiness shining on her face had everything to do with me.
My eyes were trained on her backside as she disappeared through the mass of students entering her homeroom.
It was hard to explain, but ever since the surgery, there was something different about her.
She looked frailer. More fragile. Perhaps it was all in my mind.
The protective part of me, who had been scared she wouldn’t make it that night, had been stuck in worry mode since.
I was being silly. She was fine. She had told me so herself. Her coach would intervene if it weren’t the case, right?
With one last glance in the direction of her classroom, I walked away, silencing my thoughts.
I hit the row of lockers with the heel of my hand, the sound filling the empty hallway.
Something didn’t sit well with me. I just wished I could tell what it was.
I shook my head to chase the feeling away.
Why was my life so confusing these days?