Page 94 of Game Plan

“Never. Tell me.”

I stared into the distance. “I saw you with Tanya. She was wrapped around you, and you two seemed very cozy together. I-I was a bit jealous.”

“Say it, Shepard. You fancied me back then.”

“I wasn’t⁠—”

He laughed.

“Okay, fine. I did. I hated the idea you would get together with her after you saved me from Nathan’s assault. I let myself believe we could be more, and then you were with her, and I don’t know… I felt like I would never be good enough to be with someone like you or that you would never see me as more than the girl next door or Paige’s friend.”

“Tanya was the one not good enough to be with me. She had never been. She’s the devil. I hate her, her guts, and everything she represents. You’re nothing like her, and it’s the best thing you could ever ask for. Anyway, I didn’t want anything to do with her and wanted everything to do with you even back then.”

“Do you…huh…do you want to maybe stay over?”

He cocked one eyebrow. “Shepard, you want us to share your tiny single bed?”

I shrugged. “Kinda. I’m not ready for you to go yet.”

“I’m never ready to leave you. Join the club. And how can I ever say no to you?”

We both chuckled.

“You’ll miss the team’s late dinner, though.”

“I see the guys twice a day almost every day. They’ll survive without me.” He lifted me and put me back on my feet. “Go get ready. I’ll warm up the bed.”

I snickered behind my fist. “I love the sound of it. I hate sleeping in cold sheets.”

I changed into a pair of eggplant-purple sweatpants and a yellow T-shirt while Mason discarded all his clothes, only his boxer briefs remaining. We positioned ourselves on my too small for both of us mattress, and I relaxed against him, forgetting all about my face-off with Nichols tonight. The guy spoke a big game, but I doubted he would jeopardize his entire future because of his sexual orientation. He had no reason to fear me. I hadn’t even told Cassidy when we had dinner together because, after the initial shock, it felt wrong to gossip about it.

Mason’s body blanketed most of mine, even though his back pressed against the walls.

“Are you sure you’re comfy?” I asked him for the third time.

“I love playing hot dog with you, Shepard. I think it has become my new favorite thing about us.”

“Hot dog?”

“That’s how it feels right now. Like, you’re super tiny against me, and I take way too much space. I’m the bun to your sausage.”

“Well, I’m comfy, so I guess playing hot dog with you should be a favorite thing of mine too, then.”

His lips lingered on my neck before he pressed a soft kiss there. I smiled against my pillow. Minutes later, the sound of Mason’s steady breathing rocked me to sleep.

24

Here comes the stupidest girl the world has ever seen

“What are you doing?” I asked Mason, who was clad in a black tux and a top hat, as I stepped out of Hot Shot a few days later on my way to my first class. “You look…huh… I’m not sure right now.” I studied the full length of him. “Is that a magic wand in your hand?”

He grinned big. “Yep.”

“And why is that? Isn’t it too early to do magic?”

“Never. I’m here because I’ve decided to cast a spell on you.”

Students and faculty members passing by looked at us with a quizzical stare, but Mason didn’t seem to care. Everyone was in a hurry to get to class, so they didn’t stop to eavesdrop, which I was thankful for.