Page 74 of Kickoff

“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.”

20

I’m waiting for a sign

“Mason Pierce, what are you waiting for? Why haven’t you asked my best friend out by now?” Paige asked as I entered the kitchen a week later. She was busy baking something while my brother was doing his homework, sitting at the table.

“Hello to you too, babe,” I told my brother’s girlfriend, sneaking up behind her and dipping my finger into the chocolaty batter she was stirring with a whip.

She slapped my hand away. “You know the rules, Mase. No touching and no tasting before the final product is ready and served.”

I made a show of licking and sucking on my digit.

Paige spun around and pushed me back with both hands. “Gross.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Answer the question. Now.”

I mimicked her stance. “No. First, it doesn’t concern you, and second, you’re gonna babble everything I say to her. No thank you.” I knew she wouldn’t, but I liked to mess with her. Just like my brother, Paige was fun to rile.

“I won’t say a thing, I swear.”

“Not even under the girls’ code or the sleepover-hair-braiding confession or shit like that?”

She fake-zipped her lips with her thumb and forefinger.

I snorted. “What about nail-polish-and-facemask-night promises? Or naked-pillow-fight and truth-or-dare nights?”

“First, you’re a pig. And second, those do not even exist.”

“Are you really really sure?”

“Yes. Don’t change the topic.”

“It’s just… I’m not okay knowing all my fantasies aren’t real,” I argued.

From his seat at the table, my brother chimed in. “FYI, I wish all of these existed too.”

Paige shook her head with so much velocity it could have detached from her neck. “Not you too. Don’t side with Mase on this one.”

He lifted his hands in surrender. “All right, I’ll stay out of it.”

He and Paige exchanged smiles and stupid love-filled gazes, and I sighed. “You two, get a room. I’m serious, this is a kitchen, not a motel. Take your PDA somewhere else.”

“Relax, we’re not even touching.” Craig met my eyes with a funny expression.

“In your case, I think it’s even worse. I can feel your sappy love spiraling all around me. I don’t need to get caught in your web of love tentacles.”

Paige failed at hiding the curl of her lips. “Mase, stay away from poetry and focus on football instead. Better yet, you could become an author for Valentine’s Day cards if one day you need to reorient your career.”

“Everyone needs to stop meddling in my life and pushing me to reorient my future. Geez, are you all in on this?” I swept my gaze back and forth between my brother and her girlfriend.

Craig shook his head. “I swear I have no idea what it’s all about.”

“Me neither,” Paige added.

“Something Mom said the other night. It doesn’t matter anyway. The point of this conversation is to let you know you can bang in a bed upstairs instead of eye-fucking each other when I’m around. I’m younger than you guys. You should protect my innocence.”