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That’s where I was headed soon with Charley. The nurses in oncology were the best and the most caring. You had to be, working around that kind of thing all the time.
My gaze shifted to the rolled up sleeve of his shirt, where a Band-aid held a white cotton ball in the crook of his elbow. “Wait, did you just give blood? That’s awesome.”
“Um...yeah.” He looked down at the Band-aid and then rubbed the back of his head. “It’s all right, I guess.”
That was another thing to add to the list of Mason’s secret do-gooder events. He wasn’t as above it all as he liked to act. Giving blood was a totally selfless thing to do. And the fact that he was trying to hide it was pretty cute. Not many high school guys I knew would give blood on a random Saturday morning. And the ones who did would’ve tried to shout from the rooftops how awesome they were.
Mason was different.
“You know, I’m totally jealous,” I said with a grin. “The last time I tried to give blood, I ended up passing out on the chair. Needles and me do not mix.”
He cocked his head to the side and grimaced. “Your parents want you to be a doctor, but you’re afraid of needles?”
I laughed nervously. “Yep. Makes sense, right?”
“Totally.” His gaze trailed down the hall to where my sister sat slumped in her black hoodie, her expression stormy. She yelled at her phone screen, scaring a couple of old ladies passing by. “Does that belong to you?”
“Yes, but I take no responsibility for the snarky and anti-social behavior of my little sister,” I said, with a wink.
He nodded solemnly. “Noted.”
I realized that now might be the perfect time to delve into Mason’s background. Learn more about him. No laptops to hide behind. No teachers to interrupt. The deeper I dug on someone, the easier it was to find out what made them tick.
Mason was edging toward the door, as if he thought he could just slip away. There was about fifty feet between us and the hospital entrance. That left just enough time for me to unearth some gems as I walked him toward the door.
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
He shrugged and picked up the pace a little. “Nah, it’s just me and my mom.”
The silence that followed his statement made me cringe. Mason was so not the chatty type. If I was going to learn anything, I had to pry a little harder. I had twenty feet left and counting.
“So...you and Polly Thompson, huh?”
Not exactly the smoothest segue, but it got the job done.
He wrinkled his nose. “We dated for a bit, but now we’re just friends.”
“Really? How long were you together?”
He winced and worked his jaw. “Technically, two years. We met at a summer camp after freshman year.”
I raised my eyebrows. That was a long time to date someone. I’d be heartbroken, too, if I were him. “What was it? Some kind of cheerleader and athlete matchmaking camp?”
He smirked. “That’s not actually a thing.”
“Well, maybe it should be. Seems like cheerleaders and jocks always end up together. What was it, then?”
“Is this some sort of interrogation?” He stopped short of the front door and glanced back at the bustling hospital. “Or do you always quiz the guys in your classes?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him my most innocent, wide-eyed smile. “I’m just trying to get to know you, Mason. I told you, you have potential.”
“Yeah, we’ve established that.”
His gaze took in my face and seemed to linger on my lips for just a second longer than anywhere else. It was nothing amazing or shocking, but for some reason, my body decided to respond like a human furnace. A flush worked its way up my chest and I was pretty sure I was radiating heat.
“What kind of camp was it?” I asked again, desperate to stop whatever this reaction was.
An exasperated sigh left his lips as he rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his weight. “It was a camp for kids that have had cancer in their families. It’s supposed to help them deal with death and stuff.” He glanced at me with an unsure expression, as if he couldn’t believe he’d just told me that. “For the record, my mom forced me to go. Polly was the first friend I made.”
