Page 67 of Game Plan

He pulled me to him, molding his hand to my hipbone to keep me close. “Mel, listen to me. It’s not silly. I was drunk. I didn’t want you to feel like I was making you do things you were not ready for. As if I was taking advantage of you. I would lie beside you a thousand times without either of us touching if it meant you were there with me. Please, never be embarrassed around me again.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It could be. If I asked you here and now, in front of a hundred witnesses, would you go out with me? Like, really go out with me?”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I wanna focus on me right now, and anyway, I think we’re better off as friends. It’s way less complicated—and scary. We were good at it the last time.”

He scratched his head. “Friends. Right.”

Tension rose between us. I hated when we ended up in this kind of limbo. I needed to say something so we could get back to the easy conversation we’d been having just seconds ago.

“Mase, that’s all I’ll ever be…your friend.” Not that it’s what I wish, but it’s what I think is right. Was I making a mistake because there was some undeniable chemistry between us even I couldn’t refute? Yes, it was for the best. I was too afraid I’d go back to my old habits if I got sucked into his vortex once again—no matter what Cassidy had said. Was it an excuse I was feeding myself to avoid getting too close to him, though? Right now, I couldn’t tell if it was a defense mechanism or not. My stomach grumbled again, cutting short my inner tug-of-war.

“Shepard, are you hungry?” The weirdness died between us, and I thanked him in my head for not pressing the issue of dating any further.

“A bit. I worked out a sweat tonight. Lola’s was bustling with people, and I didn’t take a single break.”

“Wanna get out of here? We could grab a pizza and eat at my place. I’m done with this crowd anyway. Unless you want me to drive you home. Your choice.”

“Pizza and your place sound fine. Did you finish the paint job?”

“Yeah. Craig helped me. It wasn’t as fun as working with you since he’s not very talkative these days, but it looks good.”

“Cool, I wanna see it then.” I squeezed his hand. “Before we go, let me check with Cassie first.”

“All right. Let’s find her.”

Holding on to Mason’s hand because it was easier to part the crowd next to him than by myself, we found my roommate in the kitchen, doing shots with a guy I didn’t recognize.

“We’re leaving,” I screamed in her ear so she could hear me over the loud music and chatter. “Do you want a ride?”

She brought her gaze toward the guy she was with, made some sort of grimace, and nodded. “Yeah, I’m done here.”

As if she’d just heard what I said, she watched me and asked, “We? Who’s we?” Then her eyes found Mason, deep in conversation with a guy dressed like a pickle cowboy. “Anything I should know about you two?”

“Nah. We’re only getting food. Wanna join us?”

“Nah. I would much prefer my bed. Can you drop me at the dorms?”

“Sure.” I hooked my arm through hers. “Come on, let’s go.”

She pressed her head onto my shoulder, and I could tell by the simple gesture she had drunk quite a bit. Cassidy always became much more tactile when she had booze traveling through her bloodstream.

I shot Mason a look and jerked my head toward the door. He followed us outside, leading us to his car.

Twenty-five minutes later, we parked in his driveway, a large pizza box resting on my lap.

“You sure it’s okay if we go in?”

“Yes.” He grabbed the box and exited the car, and I followed suit.

Craig and another guy were busy playing video games in the living room when we walked in. “Hey,” Craig said, his eyes leaving the screen for just a fraction of a second, not sparing us a look. He seemed to realize a minute later it was me standing there because he stabbed the pause button on the remote and turned to face us, confusion swirling in his eyes. “Mel?”

I waved at him. “Hi.”

His eyes searched his brother’s next, asking a silent question. Beside me, Mason shrugged. “Pizza?” He asked the guys instead of explaining my presence in their house.

“No, thanks,” his brother said.