How to Steal Mason's Heart

ELEVEN

I couldn’t resist Jason’s puckering lips and pleading eyes once he pulled it off in front of my face. After the cooking lesson he was going to teach, I wanted to go home and plonk myself on the bed and rest while it was still a weekend. My joints were starting to ache as I finished plating my dish because as a chef, quoted by Jason, I needed to be artsy enough to decorate the food to please people who were going to eat.

I wasn’t planning on becoming a chef in the future. Hell, I couldn’t even cook aside from that dish Jason let me cook.

But my fate had reserved other plans for me. Jason wasn’t lying about the Ward family reunion as well as the potluck celebration. His uncles and aunts were bringing various colours of Tupperware containers. Spaghetti with meatballs on one container while pizza was enclosed on a large pizza box with the Yellow Cab printed in bold letters.

Jason was done baking the carrot cake, placing it on a large round plate, covering the orange-coloured cake with white icing and twirling the upper base of the cake with the words ‘Happy Ward Reunion xx’.

“Writing two letter X’s are seriously the gayest s**t I’ve ever seen,” I commented, plopping a baked potato sliced lengthwise onto my mouth, the texture creamy when I dipped it in cream cheese.

“My aunt Nicole likes Greyson a lot,” Jason answered, “so I wanted her to think Greyson did the effort of baking this carrot cake.” There was a smile on his face as he brought outside to their backyard, the small kids running with balloons enclosed on their wrists, their small frames hitting against my thighs.

They almost fell to their knees but I scooped them up, their small mouths filled with grateful smiles.

“What’s your name?” the young boy asked, his bright brown eyes twinkling at me. His hair was curly like Harry Styles’ definitive curls when he was a teenager, the wind blowing his hair away making him scrunch his nose in annoyance. I chuckled at his adorable expression.

“My name’s Alexa,” I answered, bending down to his height. He took my large hand and enclosed on his little fingers, large dimples marring his cheeks.

“I’m Thomas,” he said, touching my black curly mane. He laughed. “You’re so pretty.”

My cheeks blushed in response as I pinched his tiny nose. “You’re adorable Thomas. Can I call you Tom?”

He nodded enthusiastically at me, jumping up and down as he held onto my leg when I stood up, going towards the kitchen to get some of the food Jason and I had cooked.

“Thomas, stop pestering Alexa!” I could hear Jason scolding the little boy from a distance, grabbing him away from me, his eyes looking a bit murderous over the little boy. Thomas’s eyes had gone a little bit of glassy, the tears almost pricking out of his eyes.

“He’s not pestering me, Jase,” I told him, smoothing a smile out of my lips. Jason’s tensed shoulders seemed to soften a little but Thomas’s grip on my leg was gone, a loud cry echoing on his lips, screaming, “Mommy!”

“Look at what you’ve done,” I reprimanded him but my smile was never wavering away from my lips. Although I badly wanted to whack his head for making a poor boy cry, I kept my hands inside my pockets. “You made a little boy cry.”

“He’s really annoying,” he said in annoyance, his eyebrows drawing together. My eyes only noticed his eyebrows were a little bit thicker than the normal ones, and they were plainly straight just above his mesmerizing blue eyes.

Stop complimenting that Loser!

My subconscious was already yelling inside my head. I spun my heel and decided to go back to the kitchen, the first agendum I really had in mind, grabbing the last tray of chocolate cupcakes, snatching one, the smell of cocoa rushing to my senses.

“Thanks for bringing that tray,” Jason said, grasping the tray away from me. I did not complain while my smile just curved up uncontrollably on my lips until Mason’s broad back came into my line of vision, wearing a sky blue shirt that made him look like he just walked out from a male model magazine.

He turned around to my surprise, his gaze trained on me with a light smile touching his lips. My feet were taking little steps backwards until my back was hit by a short, hard wall, the kitchen countertop, trapping me, making me stuck on the ground I was standing.

“I haven’t seen you in a while,” Mason commented, grabbing an apple on the fruit basket, l*****g his lips whilst my heart was pounding loudly against my ears. My palms were sweating again incessantly, my knees going a little weak as his presence near.

Bile rose on my throat. I gulped it away, my eyes gazing at the colourful cakes Jason had baked hours ago. He was a pretty efficient cook and an ingenious baker, his hands skilfully manipulating the amount of sugar needed for the recipe.

“Will Courtney be here?” he asked as my heart dropped ten feet underneath the ground. The memory of him liking Courtney was buried in my train of thoughts, forgetting he did not have a crush on me, but on my best friend who clearly had no clue that the Ward brothers had a special interest on her.

I shook my head but I had already grabbed my phone to send her a text but instantly remembered that Mason’s face was still my wallpaper, my heart instantly doing a mini-heart attack.

He tilted his head sideways, looking at me in an odd manner as if I had grown another pair of head. My cheeks were sporting two large hues of red.

“I’ll send her a text,” I reassured him, scurrying myself away from him, exiting their household, gripping my phone tightly around my fingers.

Snow was falling a little, my body shivering from the dropping of the temperature, the thin pink shirt I had on did not suffice in making me warm. I needed ample clothing to cover my exposed frame.

I sent Courtney a text even though I knew she would have a hard time decoding it. The letters on the screen simply flew all over my face. I thought I had gotten better but these past few days, it had gotten worse. I forgot how to spell my name correctly. I was embarrassed when my Calculus teacher corrected my name in bright red letters with a large question mark sign on top of it.

I did not show it to my parents after class was adjourned, fearing that they might sent me to someplace I would never want to belong.

My phone was beeping, Courtney’s name flashing although the letters were spreading in an ugly mess. I pressed the green button, my breath shallow.

“Hey,” my mouth answered, doing the talking while my mind was elsewhere.

“Hey yourself,” Courtney’s voice resonated in my ears, her voice sounding monotonous just like she really was.

“Can you come over at Jason’s house? They have this reunion and I’m the only one who’s not part of their thing. It’s awkward,” I spoke quietly, biting my lip as I crossed my fingers, praying the stars she could stop by.

“I’m sorry Alex,” she said at the other end of the line, her voice filled with remorse. “My shift does not end at three in the afternoon.” It was sadness and I nodded in understanding, knowing her mother who was possibly working double hours at the hospital was not enough to keep up with their bills.

“But we can get Ben & Jerry’s after,” she added, sounding hopeful. I laughed.

“Sure, I hope that this reunion of theirs would be bearable. Jason forced me to be his chaperone.”

There was a slight squeal emanating from her mouth. Cringing at her reaction, I rolled my eyes albeit she couldn’t see me.

“I’m purely positive Jason likes you!” she screamed I almost got deaf by the amount of pitch that was raised thirty seconds ago.

If you only knew, Courtney then you’d be more surprised.

I gagged. “He doesn’t like me Courtney. He’s giving me lessons on how to you know…”

“How’s it going so far?”

“I don’t know, I’m not sure it’s really working.” I bit my lip, refraining from remembering what Mason had asked me recently. My heart was literally in shambles.

“And what about the other part of the deal? Is it working for him?”

“I’m not sure with him. He doesn’t tell me and I have only done little. He never nags me about the other half of the deal.”

I could hear a loud woman yelling at Courtney and I felt guilty for texting her in the middle of her shift even though I wasn’t the one who initiated the call.

“I really need to go Alex but Ben & Jerry’s at four, okay?”

“Okay,” I responded as the line went dead.

+ + + +

“Deary, can you roast this barbecue while I go fetch Thomas?” Jason’s aunt, Rose, asked me kindly, her hands moving my shoulders towards where the barbecues were roasted, more likely smoked? I didn’t know how the process was called but I was sure they were cooking barbecues.

I nodded, fanning the barbecue as grey smoke emitted from the charcoals. I was wondering why they never bought an electronic version of it, most especially it was more environment-friendly although it could spike up electrical bills.

I had finally talked to Mr. Ward formally, his kind smile contagious enough to create my own. He was a polite man, reserved and his eyes never let out a slip of judgment. Instead, he was open-minded and was really glad to see my presence embarking their celebration.

My family wasn’t the type of having these kinds of celebrations most especially they were on the other corners of the world. My aunts, my father’s sisters, were residing in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Japan and New York.

I wondered why my parents did not move in New York but maybe it was because dad’s work was assigned here.

My mom’s relatives on the other hand were in Vietnam. She knew only a little about them most especially after the Vietnam War they immediately flew to the Philippines. Her father was Filipino while her mother was with a touch of French and Vietnamese. Her two brothers—one dead and one alive—didn’t have any children. Her half-sister was not even married.

Mason’s rich laugh could be heard around the corner, drinking a fresh juice of iced filled in a glass. Jason had the same expression and my heart melted, wishing I could have a sibling.

“The barbecues are almost burnt,” Greyson said out of nowhere. I almost jumped at his sudden presence, the fan I was holding loosening on my grasp, lying on the green grass. I placed the almost burnt barbecues on an elongated plate while Greyson just let out a chuckle.

“Why aren’t you with your brothers?” I asked, putting the new batch of barbecues.

“They’re talking about Formula 1 Racing. It’s annoying because I’m into America’s Next Top Model,” he answered, a peeved look on his face. I laughed, feeling happy that even though he had siblings, he couldn’t relate well with them, just like me, who had no one to relate to. I was glad Courtney came into my life.

“And I’m not even into modelling stuff,” I told him, sitting down on the chair Greyson had offered. He sat beside me, perching a black set of shades at the bridge of his nose.

“But you’re cool.” He was sipping quietly on his juice, staring at his two older brothers who seemed to never stop laughing over something. “And I really notice the way Jason looks at you which makes me want to hang out with you even more.”

I almost fell onto my seat, choking into my own air.

“What do you mean the way Jason looks at me?” I asked, my stomach lowering down to my pelvis. My cheeks were probably red not because I was roasted.

“You’re so blind,” he answered, not elaborating further on that matter. I shook my head.

“Or maybe you’re the one having eye problems,” I retorted.

“Whatever you say Alexa. It’s written in the stars.”

“Alexa!” Thomas’s voice rang through my ears, running towards me until he fell onto his knee, a large cut tarnishing his smooth leg.

“Tom!” I exclaimed, rushing to his side as he let out a wail, his mouth opening loudly.

“Oh my god, that kid will really be at the end of me,” Greyson muttered beside me while I heard him order Mason to get a first aid kit.

“It hurts so much,” Tom complained, biting his lip, restraining himself from letting the tears fall.

“It’s okay to cry Tom,” I told him. I rubbed his back until his cries turned into soft sobs.

“But the girl I like in school said that crying is not for boys,” he insisted, his big brown eyes staring in wonder.

My smile widened at his innocence, squeezing his nose gently. “Crying is for everyone who is hurting or who are happy. It’s not just for girls. It’s also for boys,” I cooed.

“Can you be my crush?” he asked, his eyes filled with mirth.

I laughed awkwardly while Mason was cleaning his wound. He chuckled as he heard the young boy’s question. Tom grimaced a little as Mason poured alcohol on the large gash.

“I’m too old for you, Tom.”

“But I’m going to be five this January so it’s going to be alright!” he exclaimed, spreading his five fingers all over my face.

“I’m sixteen Tom, and I’m turning seventeen sooner or later,” I explained but his expression didn’t seem like he was comprehending my statement.

“But can you be Jason’s girlfriend?” he asked. Greyson had a smirk on his face as I choked again, for a second time in a row.

“We’re friends, Tom. We’re just friends.”