Page 110 of Game Plan

I returned to my seat, and with my hand safely enveloped in his, we drove away. Never before had I felt like I was in the right place at the right moment as much as I did right now.

29

I had six years to plan the perfect date

With my hand still in his, Mason steered me toward the entrance of the middle school. His lips connected with the side of my head. “I’m glad we’re doing this together, Shepard.”

A smile broke free on his gorgeous face.

My heart swelled a little more at the sight.

We were really doing this. Giving what had always been there between us a chance to blossom. I would have to pinch myself later to make sure it wasn’t a dream.

Despite all my fears and reservations, how I ended up giving Mason Pierce a shot still surprised me, but “When you know, you know,” my dad had once told me. And there had been that kiss. The one that had tilted my world and the fragile balance between my head and my heart.

“Me too.” I pressed my head against his shoulder. I wanted to touch him, to feel the heat of his body against mine, to be loved by him, just to make sure it wasn’t a dream after all, and I wouldn’t wake up alone in my bed, sad and confused later.

Deep down, no matter what bullshit I fed myself, I knew Mason had been right. We belonged together, which our kiss last night had confirmed. It was about damn time I stopped fighting it.

Mason dug into his pocket and held out his open palm to me. “Here. Just in case.”

A loud laugh bubbled free. “Ohmygod, you’ll never cease to amaze me.” I accepted the pair of purple foam earplugs he handed me. “Thanks.”

“Better to go in overprepared than not prepared at all.”

I pushed my body closer to his, holding his hand in mine, and kissed his jaw. My head and my heart finally agreed. If Mason Pierce was destined to be mine, I would never let him go.

Titan, Mason’s little cousin, ran up to us when we entered the school and passed the ticket booth. “Massssson, you came.” His eyes drifted to me, and he watched with a wary frown. “Are you Mason’s girlfriend?”

I stifled a laugh and pinched my lips together, not sure how to respond to the boy’s bluntness.

He waited for me to say something. “So, are you?”

“The thing is—” Mason began.

“I guess I am,” I said, cutting him short.

Mason jumped back, grabbing both my hands in his. He cocked one eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. “So, you guess you are?” he asked, his voice quivering and his eyes filling with a cocktail of emotions directed at me that I wanted to bask in for the rest of my life.

I bobbed my head. “Yeah. It’s been a long time coming. That first kiss sealed the deal, didn’t it?”

“It did?”

“It did,” I repeated. “I’m yours, Mason Pierce. Hearing myself say it out loud feels right.”

“So, just to double-check, we are an item now, right?”

I smiled so big I feared I would unhinge my jaw. “We are. One hundred percent.”

“You’re not gonna change your mind?” he asked.

“I won’t.”

“Good.”

He didn’t let me add anything else before capturing my lips with his. Gravity left my body. I was floating. Mason held me against him, the warmth from his palms shooting through me in addictive waves. I wasn’t scared anymore. In fact, I felt oddly at peace.

In that instant, I wanted to sink into him and lose myself in his arms.