Chapter 19
Do you trust me?
When we halted in front of my house, Melinda and I bent forward, our hands pressing on our folded knees, breathing hard.
We had gone for a ten-mile run and raced the last mile.
The sun was shining high for a late October morning, and I felt like tearing the fleece off my body.
Even the breeze wasn’t enough to cool me down right now.
Melinda guzzled the rest of the water from the bottle she had left on the front lawn earlier and pinched the fabric sticking to her abdomen away from her as if to air her upper body.
“I think I gotta stretch now. Geez, I had to run twice as fast as I normally do not to lose track of you. How fast are you?”
“My long legs can be considered a superpower, Shepard.”
She panted. “I-I…I won’t argue with that statement.”
“Glad we agree.” I peeled off my shirt and used it to wipe the sweat from the back of my neck. When my gaze returned to Melinda, she stood there, a few feet from me, ogling my sweaty, bare chest. “See something you like?” The heat of her stare was enough to burn holes through my flesh.
She dropped her gaze to her feet. “Huh… It’s not… I-I should go. I’ll see you later.” She looked flushed, and I relished the blush coloring her cheeks.
“Mel.” I stepped closer and held her upper arms before she could flee the scene. “Look at me.”
She stared down, pretending to adjust the hem of her shirt, not meeting my eyes.
“Mel. Look. At. Me.” She lifted her eyes to mine in the slowest possible motion.
She swallowed, and I followed the movement of her slender throat.
I pulled her closer, my other hand landing on her hip.
She felt thinner than usual beneath my palm.
Our breaths mingled. Her chest pushed against mine, and I could feel the wild rhythm of her heart.
Her lips parted, stealing every bit of my attention.
Even if I tried, I couldn’t look away. “There’s something I’ve been thinking about doing for a very long time.
” I inhaled and gathered all my courage. “Do you trust me?”
I moved my hand to her chin, smoothing her lower lip with the pad of my thumb. She shivered against me. My heart jumped around in my chest. It seemed we were both reacting to each other’s proximity.
“I do. I trust you, Mase.”
I framed her face with a hand, leaning in.
“Oh, Mason, you’re back. Hi, Melinda.” Mom couldn’t have chosen a worse time to interrupt us.
“Can you come inside? Your father and Craig left, and I need the oversized pot from the shelf in the garage. I would really appreciate your help because I’m not tall enough to get it without a stepladder, and since my son is almost a giant compared to me, he can grab it without a hitch. ”
I sighed, not releasing Melinda. “Can it wait?”
“Not really. It will only take you a minute. You’ll be back out here in no time.”
“Mom.”
“Mason.”
“Fine.” I let go of Melinda. “I’ll pick you up at noon. We’ll grab food and study for that test. Don’t make other plans, okay?”
She nodded.
I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. “Good.”
“What’s up, people?” Chase said as he spun the empty chair around and sat with his arms folded over the backrest. “You don’t mind, right?
” He didn’t let us speak a word before he picked fries from the basket in the middle of the table, the one I was adamant Melinda and I should share when we’d ordered.
“Why don’t you go elsewhere to see if you’re needed?” I asked, mouthing Sorry at Melinda as my best friend bit into my burger next.
“Nah. All good here. Mel, mind if I stick around and order some food? I’m kinda starving.”
Before she could utter a word, he had stuffed our textbooks in her bag and placed it on the empty chair next to his.
Melinda snickered and pointed to the chair he already occupied. “Suit yourself.”
“Don’t indulge him,” I told her. “We were studying here. Can’t you read between the lines?” I then asked Chase.
“Enough schoolwork. You both will get those full rides to college next year. Don’t stress over it.
You’re like royalties in your own sport.
” His humor faded. “Also…I kinda don’t want to be alone.
” Chase and I exchanged words without speaking any.
“You know how my old man is when he comes back from a work trip…”
Chase’s dad was a motherfucker with a capital M.
Every time Mr. Hillman returned from one of his business trips, he drank to oblivion and screamed profanities at my best friend before passing out on the couch in a drunken stupor.
Once, his father had even thrown a beer bottle at Chase’s head and laughed it off as if it was a joke.
Since his dad was home only one weekend every month, Chase usually did his best to disappear during that time.
“You can stay, man. Don’t worry. We won’t kick you out.” I chewed on a handful of fries. “I’ll tell Mom you’re staying over this weekend.”
Chase nodded, glancing down. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
The server came to take his order, and when he left, my friend turned his chair around, resting his elbows on the wooden surface of the table, his chin braced on his fists, watching us.
Space Burger was the hangout spot for students after school.
It was located in a small shopping plaza that also housed a coffee shop and a pizza place.
During the summer months, there was a small outdoor stage where local bands performed every weekend.
During school year, students from Elk River High often came here to study, fraternize, or grab food.
Contrary to its name, it didn’t have a space-themed decor.
The tables were dark wood, the chairs an array of pastel colors, and the walls were whitewashed wood, with blackboards filled with motivational quotes and menus written in white chalk.
Pool and foosball tables were set in the far corner by the hallway leading to the restrooms. They served a mean black bean patty and avocado burger, and their cheese fries were legendary in all of Michigan.
Melinda pushed her plate away like she was done.
I intertwined our fingers under the table and rested our joined hands on her thigh.
I risked a side-glance at her. She smiled at my best friend, who was biting into his food like there was no tomorrow and moaning in delight.
She hadn’t even eaten half of her Greek salad, the one thing I had convinced her to order after she stated she wasn’t hungry because she had eaten before I picked her up.
We’d been here for two hours, and I hoped she would change her mind by the time we were done.
With all the training hours she put in a week, I rarely saw her eat more than a few bites each time we were together.
I knew girls like Tanya and her friends counted all their calorie intake and checked their figure every ten minutes, but Melinda had never been that kind of girl.
I’d seen her indulge in burgers and pizza plenty of times in the past. Maybe the anxiety was weighing on her these days.
All the student-athletes around the country, hoping to be recruited by their dream college, were waiting for offers.
I knew how stressful the process could be.
I was one of the lucky ones who had already received a bunch of them.
I just had to commit to one. I knew where I wanted to go, but my parents were adamant I took my time and thought it through.
Chase went on about a pro football player at the top of his game who had just announced his retirement after another knee injury, and I scooped a black olive from Melinda’s plate and chewed on it, listening to him.
Melinda let go of my hand. “I’ll be right back.” She stood and walked toward the restrooms.
“You guys are spending your weekends together now?” my best friend asked, sipping his strawberry milkshake with a slurping sound. “Anything you’re not telling me?”
“I’m helping her train so she can go back to her pre-surgery fitness level.
She said she’s behind her teammates, so we’ve been running and lifting weights during our free time.
With the occasional yoga practice. Stuff like that.
No big deal. We both had a free day today, so we decided to study together. ”
He glanced over his shoulder as if to verify Melinda wasn’t back yet. “Don’t train her too much or soon she’ll break.”
“She’s on a new regimen her coach has put her on. Said it should help with her performances. I’m no swimmer and no nutritionist. I trust her coach to watch out for her.”
“You’re probably right. Remember when Coach ordered DeKosky to work with that lady last year? He shed eighty pounds and went from fat to fit within a few months.”
I pushed a piece of fry into my mouth. “Mel’s coach has her eating all through the day instead of regular meals. I’ve heard about that. Not sure I could survive on snacking, though.”
“Fuck that. Me neither. I like food too much, and I’m always starving.” He lifted his shirt to give me a glimpse of his toned abs. “These babies never complain.”
I tossed a balled-up napkin at him. “Stop showing off, man. I’m not interested in your six-pack.”
“You’re more interested in a set of swimmer thighs and rubber ducks nowadays.”
“Rubber ducks, really?”
Chase waggled his brows. “Oh, it’s not what you guys are doing when you’re together? Taking baths and playing with yellow rubbers?”
“Shut up, man. For once, shut it.”
Melinda returned minutes later, resuming her seat next to me.
“Mel, I have a very important question for you,” Chase said in a serious tone.
“Careful, man.” I didn’t want him to spin his yellow-rubber thing on my girl.
“Can I finish your plate? I’m a growing boy, and I’m always famished.”
Her laughter vibrated across the room. “Super original. Mase is always feeding me the same line.”
A mischievous smirk brightened my best friend’s face. “I thought he was too busy feeding you other things?”
“Chase,” I warned through gritted teeth at the same time Melinda said, “All yours.”
“Man, don’t be a pig.” I watched him and shook my head.
“I’m sure Mel here loves it when you’re being a pig. I’m just helping you out in case you lack some moves these days. The rumor is that you can’t score anymore.” He flashed me a smile and attacked Melinda’s leftovers like he hadn’t just inhaled a burger minutes ago.
“Chase,” I warned.
“Just keeping you up with what people are saying about you, man. True best friends watch out for each other.”
I shot him a pointed look and scooted on my seat until my arm brushed against Melinda’s. “You good?”
She turned to look at me. “Yeah.”
“You’ve barely eaten anything. You sure you don’t want me to order you something else?”
“I had breakfast after our run this morning and a protein shake when I woke up. Already told you.” With a finger, she combed away a curl of my hair that was covering my left eye.
Goose bumps blossomed over my back. I shut my eyelids and took a deep inhale, trying not to lose my self-control. We stayed like that, suspended in time for a minute. Chase kept talking, but we both had blocked him out.
“Mase, wanna stay here or go home and have a rematch?” Melinda asked before dropping her hand.
I popped my eyes open. “A rematch?” I cleared my throat. Why did my voice sound rough?
“I haven’t dribbled a basketball in years. It could be fun to…I don’t know…play again, you and me. Make up for lost time… What do you think?”
We stared at each other. Was I imagining things, or was Melinda trying to ditch my friend so we’d be alone, she and I?
“We’re out of here,” I told Chase, jumping to my feet and slinging both our bags over my shoulder.
“I’ll see you later, man. Don’t go home.
Your old man doesn’t deserve your giving him that much power over you.
Some of the guys are playing laser tag at three.
You can have my spot. Be at my place at six for dinner and bring your stuff so you can spend the night. ”
“Thanks, Mase.”
“Call me later. We can have a bonfire tonight. I’ll let you know.”
I grabbed Melinda’s hand in mine. “Come on, let me prove to you I’ve still got it.”
She nudged up against me, her warmth seeping through. “Mase. I would expect nothing less from you.”