Page 69 of Kickoff

“Sure you did. I never saw it coming. You never disclosed that one piece of information, you know, the one where you should have told me you were a trained swimmer.”

“Oops. In my defense, you had beaten me at basketball all day. I didn’t wanna lose again. A girl has her pride.”

“If I win this time, what’s the prize?” I asked, waggling my eyebrows. We hadn’t changed that much over the years. Our competition was still destined to end with some sort of bet.

“Prize?”

“Oh girl, you’re adorable. You’re as competitive as me. Don’t tell me you’re not silently dreaming of beating my ass once again.”

She giggled, the sound addictive. “Mase, you know I’ll beat your ass. Don’t assume otherwise. I’m the pool nerd between the two of us.”

“So, what’s the prize? For the winner...” I pretended to think. “A kiss?”

Melinda’s eyes rounded in surprise. “Huh…Mase…no… Is that what you want?”

I shrugged, trying to look unaffected. “I was joking…but if it’s what you want, I’m sure we could work it out.” I’m not joking. I’ve been dreaming of kissing you for years. Please, put a guy out of his misery. Subtlety isn’t my strongest suit.

“It sounds like we’re back to being kids. When things were amazing and then became awkward between us within a few days.”

“About that—” I said, not knowing how to broach the subject of the game of basketball that changed everything for me.

“Let’s not go there. It was a long time ago.”

“I’m sorry. I was clueless back then. I shouldn’t have been that upfront and then said those things at school the next Monday. It was wrong to claim you and put you on the hot spot and tell everyone not to talk to you because you were my friend only and that I would kick their asses if they even looked at you.” I rubbed my nape with my fingers, at a loss for words. “I wish I could go back in time and fix it. I hated it when I saw you crying, sitting all by yourself, because no one would talk to you, and you wouldn’t talk to me. I’m glad you stepped up and made it right the next day. Even if it meant you pushed me away while doing it. Anyway, I should have said that I was sorry a long time ago.”

“It’s okay. We were kids. And I thought you were adorable back then. I shouldn’t have run away that night after I won the race. It was wrong. I wanted to be your friend so bad, but I also didn’t want all the attention on me. It was kinda too much, and it freaked me out. I had just moved into town, and everyone knew who I was before I had even stepped foot at school. For a long time, I wished things were different between us. I’m sorry too.” She averted her eyes, and I sensed the air tensing around us. Mentally, I slapped myself for making things uncomfortable between us. Here, I had a chance to make things right, and stupid me had offered a kiss as a prize. I needed to think fast—and fix the moment so we could go back to the camaraderie we’d been experiencing all day.

“What about a horror movie marathon? And I’m not talking about one or two movies, I’m talking about an entire night. Three movies of my choice. I’ll provide the snacks and the arms to hide when you scream in terror.”

Melinda’s attention darted back to me, the trip down memory lane forgotten for now. “You like to get spooked, or you want me to be?”

I smirked. “I hate horror movies. They always run upstairs when the bad guy is after them. Nobody likes jumping out of their skin when he catches them. I know I hate it. And the special effects are so bad most of the time.”

Her eyes rounded, and she frowned. “Why would you subject yourself to a marathon then?”

“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 brightened. “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.”