“Can you try, please? For Mason,” she whispers with a shaky voice.
“I’ll think about it,” I mumble. I don’t know if I can handle another rejection from him.
“Thanks, Lily,” she sighs.
I give her a nod before I turn to leave.
In the car, I plaster on my fake smile as I listen to Harry give a play-by-play of my game as if it were the best thing he’s ever seen.
“I heard you were a great player, but seeing it in person was a whole other thing,” Jonah smiles, leaning between the two front seats.
“She’s the best damn player in the state!” Harry hollers as he pulls up outside the ice cream parlor.
“And how good does her ass look in those shorts?” he exclaims as we walk inside to the near-empty shop.
“I’d turn straight for you,” Jonah nods in agreement.
“You two are weird,” I roll my eyes with a chuckle before spinning around too quickly and bumping into someone.
“I’m so sorry!” I exclaim, grabbing hold of their arm to steady myself.
“Careful, princess.”
My whole body breaks out in goosebumps at the sound of his low voice.
“M-Mason,” I stutter out, whipping my head up to look at his face.
Brittany and Liam were right. He does look like shit.
His usual sparkling green eyes look dull and have dark circles underneath.
“I-I didn’t see you, sorry,” I blurt out.
“I guessed,” he half-smirks down at me.
I open and close my mouth, wanting to blurt out everything I’ve been feeling, but decide to settle with a simple I miss you.
But just as I’m about to tell him, a brunette walks up to us, glaring at my hand, which is still on Mason’s arm.
“You ready?” she asks him while I quickly rip my hand away, instantly missing the feeling of him.
“Yeah. Let’s go,” he replies, barely glancing at me as she slips her hand into his.
“Who’s this?” the girl asks, narrowing her eyes slightly at me, not moving.
“Just some girl that bumped into me.” Mason brushes me off casually as he gently tugs her hand and they both leave.
So I guess after all that, Brittany was wrong.
Mason didn’t miss me.
LILY
Friday night, I’m sitting huddled next to Jonah at Westmoreland High, watching the football game. Ava decided not to come with us.
She said she was still trying to get with a guy from Christ College and is going to their game instead.
“That’s a touchdown, right?” Jonah asks as Oliver catches the ball and everyone cheers.
“Yup,” I answer, clapping along.
“We’re going to win!” he exclaims, looking at the scoreboard.
There are ten seconds left and Ridgewood has won by far.
Once the final whistle blows, Jonah and I rush down to his car to wait for Harry.
“That was actually really exciting!” he exclaims as we sit on the hood of his car.
“I feel hyped.” He laughs.
“Wait until Harry gets here.” I join in with his laughter, knowing Harry is going to be like a hyper bunny.
“Did you see us?” Harry exclaims, running up to the car and sliding to a stop with the biggest grin plastered on his face.
“You played great!” Jonah exclaims, opening his arms and hugging Harry.
“Get in here, babe!” He doesn’t give me a chance to reply before he’s pulled me into their hug, which is pretty much just me being squished between them.
“Come on. We’ve got a party to go to!” Harry hollers, giving us one last squeeze before he lets go.
“Where’s the party?” Jonah asks, climbing into the driver’s side.
“Some rich kid from Christ College is throwing a huge party at their house and invited all the schools,” he replies.
“I need an address.” Jonah chuckles.
After Harry finally finds the address, Jonah pulls up outside a fucking mansion.
It seriously looks like a prince should be living here.
“We’re under strict instructions not to fuck with Greendale or we’re never invited back,” Harry explains as we walk up the drive.
“I’ll try my hardest to behave,” I tease, looking at all the people.
“It’s you I’m warning.” He laughs, throwing one arm around my shoulder and the other around Jonah’s.
“Let’s get fucked up!” he yells, deepening his voice.
And that’s exactly what we do.
I don’t know how long it’s been or how much I’ve had to drink, but I do know when I stumble into the kitchen, I find a familiar face.
“Ava!” I exclaim, wrapping my arms around her lazily.
“Lily!” she exclaims back, hugging me.
“This is Jack.” She introduces me to a tall guy with dark hair.
“You’re tall.” I hiccup, making him laugh.
“Maybe you’re just short,” he replies.
“This is my buddy, Killian,” he says, nudging the blond guy next to him.
“You are more beautiful than Ava said,” Killian smiles down at me, giving me the shivers.
The bad kind. Not the Mason kind.
“Babe!” Harry yells, making me turn my head to see him walking-well, stumbling-toward us.
“Sorry, boys, I need my girl back.” He slurs, grabbing my wrist and dragging me away.
“That guy gave me the creeps,” I say as he pulls me into another room.
“What did he do?” he asks, stopping and becoming tense.
“Just said I was beautiful, but there’s something about him,” I explain.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.