Page 27 of Game Plan

My admission didn’t make him recoil like I’d hoped it would. I was encountering a new version of Mason Pierce for the very first time, and I had no playbook for how to navigate the situation.

His irises were an even darker shade of blue now—almost black. His scent clung to me, making me lightheaded, when he grazed my cheek with his rough one—another thing that was different from the Mason I used to know. I shivered down to my toes at the slight contact. His mouth hovered over mine, so close I could kiss him without even having to move my head. An ache stirred low in my belly. Goose bumps blossomed all over my body. It was still as traitorous as it had always been around him.

“Mason. I—” All my words deserted me. The urge to mold my lips to his became hard to resist. I had to force my brain to recall why I had pushed him away last winter. Still, right now, it didn’t seem to care.

We stayed like that, almost kissing, but our mouths not touching, our bodies pressed together. A wave of heat filled me, only to realize it was Mason’s warmth seeping through my clothes. The rigid planes of his body felt wonderful against the soft curves of mine.

When I thought he would claim my lips, unable to resist the tension developing between us anymore, he opened his stupid mouth, his words acting like a cold shower. “Still thinking about going on that date, or did I succeed at making you change your mind?”

“Wh…what?” It took me a few seconds to register his question and how I’d just been played.

“You heard me.”

“You’re an ass. What am I to you? A joke? Are you trying to get back at me? To make me pay for what went down between us?”

“Mel, you should know I’m not a player.”

I snorted. “Yeah, right. Did you forget I’ve been there all along? I know how you roll, Mase.”

“What does that mean?”

I pushed him back with both hands flat against his muscular chest, and he stepped away. “You know exactly what it means. And it also means you’re a jerk, and I’ve lost enough time with you today.”

“You’re lying to yourself.”

“Wanna bet? I’m not wasting any more of my time on you. I gotta go.”

“Who said I was ready for you to go?”

I shook my head, a new surge of anger building inside me. “Are you hearing yourself right now?”

“Loud and clear. Are you hearing yourself, Shepard?”

I balled my hand into a fist, but he stopped me before it could connect with his chest, enveloping my hand with his. “Mason, I really can’t deal with you right now. By the way, this little power play started when you said Oh after I told you who Jett was. Don’t try to seduce me to avoid answering.”

“I’m not seducing you. I’m just trying to prove a point.”

“No point proven. You’re only trying to make me late. I still wanna know what you meant when you said Oh.”

He shrugged. “Nothing.” His other hand twitched at his side, and he stretched his fingers before hiding them in his pocket. Since when was Mason jittery?

“It was not nothing. Try again.”

“Nope.”

I yanked my fist free from his grip. “Why? Why are you acting like a jackass? It doesn’t suit you. I wanna know. I won’t let it go. What did you mean by Oh?” I was starting another fight and couldn’t seem to help myself. What was wrong with me? A whole lot by the level of anger boiling inside my veins. “Tell me. Now.”

“Cool it, Shepard.”

“Mase, don’t tell me to cool it. You played me seconds ago, and I let you like an amateur. You can do better.”

“It was just a word.” He tapped his foot against the floor again. “Let it go.”

“I just wanna know why you’re judging a guy you’ve never met,” I asked. Keeping the conversation around my date felt safer than trying to figure out why I was being an idiot and thinking about kissing him.

“I am not. Stop projecting. Geez, it was just a two-letter word. Nothing to get riled up about. I didn’t even recall saying it until you brought it up.”

We entered a staring contest, neither one of us budging. I noticed his pulse hammering beneath the skin of his throat and the tension straining his shoulders. Gone was the attraction I felt before. The face-off with Mason was putting me in a sour mood, almost making me forget about the three ribbons in my bag that were supposed to make this day almost perfect.