How to Steal Mason's Heart

NINE

“Are we there yet?”

My mouth opened, spewing complaints at Jason for almost fifteen minutes of walking without stopping. My energy was draining the life out of me, my whole body paralyzed by the amount of calories burnt in my body. We stopped at a large sign with the Burger King logo standing bright and proud against the Texan sky.

“We’re here,” Jason announced, clapping his hands as he grabbed my hand, almost dragging me into the burger joint. The air conditioning reeked of burgers and spices, my mouth watering just by inhaling its aroma, my stomach churning in hunger.

“We could’ve hailed a cab,” I complained at him as he walked us towards a secluded booth, as if he knew the place by heart, his legs manoeuvring their way to the chairs. “And I thought you told me that we’re going to eat at your favourite diner?”

He chuckled, the crinkles visible in his face. He ran a hand on his hair, his lips coy. “This is my favourite diner.”

He turned his back without a word, before I could even yell at him, noticing he was wearing a brown trench coat around his a little bit built frame. I assumed he went to the counter. My phone beeped in the pocket of my jeans, grabbing it, receiving a text message from Courtney Dunst.

Courtney: Heard that you stood up that asshole Andrew.

My mouth was widely showing off a grin, typing hastily away a reply.

Me: Leames fr0n th3 best$.

I hit the send button while Jason held a black tray on his hand, his mouth gaping wide at my message, placing the tray on the booth, seizing my phone on his hand. I was about to snatch it back from him but he suspended it up in the air, just like the first time I formally met him.

Crossing my arms across my chest, I let out a huff, a glower imprinted on my eyebrows.

“This really looks like a bad message,” he said, his lips sealed in a frown, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

“Can we please just eat now?” I asked and at the same time my stomach growled from starvation. He handed me back my phone, as I peeked over it, seeing that he sent me a message that was the same but spelt correctly from mine, in which I realized the words I typed were not properly typed.

“Are you having problems with spelling and reading?” he questioned, tilting his head sideways, giving me the burger he bought. “That’s a Whopper King, the best-tasting burger in the entire state or in the entire world,” he added, a crevasse marring his cheek.

Dodging his first statement, I took a bite of the burger, my mouth gallivanting in all parts of the patty. The tomato and the lettuce were fresh, my tongue tasting the right amount of saltiness and consistency. I licked my lips, closing my eyes and opening them to see Jason sstaring at me with his stupid smirk.

“Looks like someone’s enjoying the food,” he teased, smearing a bit of ketchup in my forehead.

“Hey!” I yelled, squeezing a bottle of mayonnaise on his face. “Don’t ever point that icky thing to me again!” Ketchup was my least favourite sauce, and I never tasted every single bit of it although I ate tomatoes at regular bases.

“Afraid that the ketchup might eat you alive?” he joked, l*****g the mayonnaise beside his lips with his tongue. I scrunched at what he did, feigning puking sounds on my throat. “I know you want me to lick you—“

“Ew! That’s honestly the grossest thing you have ever said!” I bellowed, closing my eyes as I looked at him with a disgusted look on my face.

“You’re such a dirty-minded person, Alex,” he said, grinning at me showing his pearly set of white teeth. They were shining but not the kind of sparkle diamonds had. His teeth never possessed total internal reflections. “I just wanted to lick your burger.”

My cheeks were flaming in fire, cringing in embarrassment while he guffawed, throwing his head back like a little kid watching how hilarious Tom and Jerry were. He patted my shoulder, his mouth beside my ear as he let out a whisper, “But it would be very fun to do you.”

I pushed him while he tittered in amusement, as if he never laughed like that in his entire life. I sent him a punch on the face while he grunted in pain at the unwanted contact. It was my time to snicker at his distress as he shot me a murderous look.

“That’s what you get for being a perverted pig, Loser.”

He stuck a tongue out, stealing my burger, putting the whole piece to his mouth. His cheeks had gone puffy.

“I guess now we’re even i***t,” he exclaimed, releasing the burger out of his mouth, his saliva covering the burger I had just eaten.

I crinkled my nose in displeasure. “For the record, I just contracted myself with STD,” I told him with the straightest look on my face. He choked on his own air, coughing loudly in the air after his eyes widened. He took a hold of the water on the booth, drinking all of the contents in one single gulp.

The mother sitting on a chair beside me gave me a horrified look, covering the ears of her child. She immediately grabbed his arm, her blue eyes staring at me while she escorted her son to the exit until she left the burger joint.

The guard standing at the entrance walked towards us, a disappointed look on his face. “I’m sorry but I think you need to leave,” he said in a clipped tone, his brown hand taking mine in a light force. I did not try to loosen his hold of me with Jason tailing behind me, taking my burger with his saliva on it, biting and chewing loudly for me to throw profanities at him.

I flicked Jason on the forehead as soon as we exited Burger King whose smirk was not wiped off on his smug face.

“You promised to pay my bill and you did but you ate all of my food!” I shrieked, giving him another flick in the forehead. He growled in agony, his forehead reddening like all of the blood was concentrated on his head.

“But I never promised I won’t eat yours,” he retorted cheekily, winking at me. That bastard would be the end of me. I punched his gut lightly but he cringed in pain, his blue eyes widening at my surprise attack.

I immediately rushed to him, opening his trench coat and removing his grey shirt.

A large bruise was on his chest and on his stomach as my fingers trailed on them. He winced in pain at the contact but he pushed me away, wearing his shirt and his brown trench coat.

“How did you get those?” I asked, tilting my head sideways in wonder.

His eyes had gone cold, the fun and warmth of his expression was gone the minute I asked him. “It’s nothing,” he answered, rubbing his ear twice. He thinned his lips, the air suddenly turning quiet and a little bit awkward.

“You should go to the clinic and have your bruises healed. You probably need a lot of rest,” I told him, his eyes wandering at the road, not even taking a glance at me. His expression looked angrier than I saw him, his shoulders were trembling a little.

“And then what? I don’t want to give them bullshit answers. I can’t even answer your simple damn question,” he replied, his lip quivering while his blue orbs had gone glassy.

My mouth was lunged onto my throat. My voice disappeared as I parted my mouth to reply.

“Okay,” I mustered to say, surprising myself the tone I held was calm and collected than I really was.

Jason hailed a cab on the street, ushering me inside, the taxi driver taking us back to school.

“I’m sorry Alex,” he said, “for blowing up on you.”

“You did not blow up,” I insisted because he never did raise his voice on me, “and it’s your private life. I don’t have the right to pry.”

He nodded, his eyes looking haunted in distant, staring from afar, making me look at the window, counting how many trees we had passed but my mind never strayed to his fresh bruises as if he was beaten up.

But who?