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When Trey finally showed up to the party, he instantly began searching for that beautiful head of curly gold. When his search was drawing up blank, Trey quickly found his best bud who he then wanted to throat punch when Liam, the said bestbud, told Trey that he had no idea where the quiet, curly-haired, shy girl had run off to. Trey loved Liam like a brother but damn he was a dumbass sometimes. Maybelle wasn’t helpless but she definitely wasn’t fond of traipsing around large social gatherings all alone, that fact was obvious by all the plans she refused to attend and her very lacking number of friends.
After scouring the chaotic, crowded area a while longer, he finally found her, in the absolute last place he’d ever want to find any soft-spoken girl, with dirtbag Thomas. Trey wanted to break his knuckles across something, preferably Clayton Thomas’s face, as he remembered finding Maybelle alone with the asshole.
He knew Clayton had harassed Maybelle before tonight. Trey and his friends had been behind the school one day and witnessed Clayton with his grubby hands all over an unwilling blonde. Trey’s buddies hadn’t recognized the girl before she ran off, but Trey knew those golden curls anywhere. After school he found Clayton and pinned the jackass against a wall in the locker room as he threatened to absolutely rip the guy apart if he ever went near Maybelle again.
As far as Trey had seen, until the rally Monday, Clayton had heeded his threats by keeping his distance from her.At the rally Trey had noticed Clayton getting handsy but he was stuck in the crowd, not able to get to Maybelle when she needed. So, Trey made sure that when Clayton made eye contact with him Trey shot him a look full of the unrestricted rage he felt, a look that sent Clayton running like a little bitch, as he should.
Honestly, Trey didn’t feel like she needed him to save her. Maybelle was such a badass, at the rally and tonight. She stood her ground and just stared Clayton down like he was no more than dirt. Trey was so impressed, even awestruck by her defiance.
Now Trey was confident, borderline cocky. He could speak to any woman and not get flustered. But Maybelle freaking Mason was a whole other story. She terrified him, from the moment he first laid eyes on her he was speechless. The first time he saw Maybelle it was the summer between sophomore and junior year, she was dropping Liam off for football camp and Trey all about drooled over his new best friend’s twin sister.
His sixteen-year-old heart, at the time, wanted more than anything to hold her hand, kiss her, and take her to the movies. Now his little bit older heart wanted to do a few more mature things with this girl, but you get the picture.
Trey tried to talk to her a couple times when they first met but she had acted like she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. Maybelle avoided him like the plague. He didn’t take it too personally though because he soon realized that she thoroughly avoided anything with a pulse in their teens.
At the time, Trey just thought she wasn’t interested and could care less that he existed, probably wanting nothing to do with her twin brother’s annoying best friend. Trey tried to move on with life by focusing on football and indulging in the occasional flings with other girls. Unfortunately, no one sent his pulse rocketing or his stomach spinning like the way his best friend’s gorgeous sister did.As rejected as Trey had felt those years ago by Maybelle racing away or shutting down anytime, he was near he had to consider it a blessing.
From day one of meeting Liam, he and Trey had easily clicked. Before Liam, Trey hadn’t really had any other friends. He had mostly kept to himself before the Masons had moved in. Trey had focused solely on sports, his grades and his mom. Those three things were enough to completely take over every spare moment Trey had which left little room for friends and free time. When Liam came crashing through his life Trey felt forthe first time in a long time that he could breathe, like he wasn’t so alone.
Maybelle not liking him back had removed a potentially catastrophic hurtle from Trey and Liam’s friendship. Well so Trey thought…
All that changed earlier that week when Maybelle had fallen from his Jeep right into his long awaiting arms. Trey had gotten a kick of courage to try at least one more time to at least be a friend to Maybelle Mason and maybe get her to notice him as more than her brother’s best friend before high school was done and they all went their separate ways. He had leapt from the vehicle to open her door like a gentleman because girls like that shit.
Alas, he didn’t think to warn her so when the door swung open, she fell right out of the lifted vehicle.At first, he had panicked thinking she would be annoyed making his efforts shit but fortunately for him Maybelle wasn't annoyed, she was nervous.
Flustered.
He had felt her tense, her breathing quicken and her heart rate rampage. At that moment, Trey had realized Maybelle Mason liked him, because he made her every bit as nervous as she made him. This fact alone filled him with all the confidence to finally try harder for the girl of his dreams.
Except, after the rally when she practically ran back to the car and completely ignored him, he got stuck in his head again.
Did he read too much into her reaction? Maybe it was solely embarrassment he read in her features, not nerves?
Then Trey was contemplating all of the complications.
If it didn’t go well with her, would it hurt his friendship with Liam? Would Liam even approve?
He stressed himself back into silence until that beautiful, amazing morning when he had been sleeping on the Mason’s couch. Trey had woken abruptly to Maybelle bouncing around and singing extremely off key in the kitchen. As he sat in awe watching the quiet girl dance and squawk all he could think was how happy he would be to wake up every morning to her dancing as she made coffee in her running clothes and how perfect “Maybelle Turner” rolled right off the tongue.
He wanted her, needed her tone-deaf singing, her crazy dancing, her smiles, her blue, green eyes, her powerful glares, her pouty, full lips, andoh god, that hair. Trey had never witnessed Maybelle’s hair down in all its glory until that day and he knew he could not go one more day of his life with it up in a knot or pulled back into a tight braid.
When Maybelle had strolled up to the ceremony building in that blue dress and those damn curls bouncing around her shoulders down to the shelf of that perfect ass… He had to lean against that wall for stability as he crossed his legs to hide the uncontrollable reaction happening in his dress pants.Trey almost didn’t say anything to the twins as they passed him so he could just stare without consequence but felt like a dick if he didn’t interfere on Maybelle’s behalf during the awkward encounter with Williams.
Trey shifted in his car seat as he remembered the rest of the night, specifically when he had Maybelle in his arms. The way she had looked up at him and asked if this was a game, admitting that, like him, her whole heart was out on the line.
He tensed thinking back to their almost kiss. The kiss he had been fantasizing about for almost three years. Recalling how it felt having her hauled up against him, literally a breath away from finally pressing into her fully when the reminder of Liam’s face full of anger and betrayal interrupted.
That sucked.
Trey felt like such a tool, letting his desperation and attraction for Maybelle fog his common sense. He should have talked to Liam about his feelings a long time ago. Liam was chill, he would have been completely fine with Trey liking his sister. Tonight, Liam had been caught by surprise, a little drunk and finally had his arm around Penny Howell.
The pretty redhead cheerleader he’d had his eyes set on all senior year. Liam was obsessed with her, but Penny played hard to get which drove Liam crazy. She must have finally given into his begging tonight but finding Trey with Liam’s sister interrupted whatever they had planned.
God, Trey felt like an idiot.
He owed his best bud an apology, he decided he would call him tomorrow after a day of sleeping off the alcohol and dramatic events of the night.
Trey needed to get home, but his mom was working. She would need a ride in the morning, and he was too tired to drive home alone so he reclined his chair back and closed his eyes.
