Then There Was Maverick

Chapter 6

         The closer it got to six o'clock, the more nervous I became. I had never been nervous around Mason. I mean, sure, I had a puny teenage crush on him my freshman year of high school, but he was the golden boy of Southridge High. There wasn't a single girl in that school that didn't have a crush on him. If I wasn't bothered by his presence then, why am I so torn up about it now?

As the clock reached 5:45 pm, I rolled out of bed and begin to put on my shoes.

"You headed out?" Bonnie questioned in a confused manner, causing the other two girls to turn their attention from the movie to me.

"Uh, yea," I responded, "I should be back soon. I just have to go meet up with an old friend for a few minutes to catch up."

"Mmmhhmmmm," Max hummed in a state of disbelief, "Does this friend's name happen to start with a 'Z' and end with an 'H'?"

"Close," I said jokingly while rolling my eyes, "but no cigar. I'll see y'all in a little bit. Maybe we can grab some dinner when I get back?"

"I'm down," Haley contributed.

I grabbed my key and my phone and headed out the door and down the stairs for the second time today. As I approached the crosswalk, I noticed how nice of a day it was. The temperature wasn't too hot and there was a cool breeze blowing, making for a rather pleasant evening. The pleasant weather eased my nerves slightly as I breathed in the warm air and the scent of the flowers that had been planted in the landscaping earlier this spring.

Dismissing myself from my endless stream of thoughts, I made my way up the concrete steps and through the doors of the Student Center. I began to look for Mason in the numerous clusters of couches, only to find that he was not yet here. It was only 5:50, and he did say 6:00. That's one thing that hasn't changed. Mason has always had a talent for arriving right on time – not a minute early, not a minute late. He claimed that arriving early made you look like a try-hard and arriving late made you look rude. Naturally, he did as he saw fit and showed up to everything right on the dot.

As I waited for the boy to show up, I checked my texts and saw that there was one from my dad.

"Hey, sweetheart! We sure did miss you at Church this morning! The whole congregation was asking about you and told us to send you their best wishes! Call me later when you get a chance. Love you so much!"

A large smile formed on my face at the sight of this text. Although it had only been a day since I'd left, my father still found ways to make me miss being at home for Sunday morning service. He had worked so hard on this morning's sermon, I was sure it would be the best one he'd given yet. Mom claimed the reason he had spent so much time on his work this past week was to avoid the fact that I wouldn't be there the next. Perhaps he was just preparing himself for what was to come.

As I typed a response to my dad, promising to call him later, I noticed the presence of a larger figure it down on the couch across from the chair I was sitting in. I locked my phone after pressing the send button and looked up to greet the boy who was now sitting across from me.

"Hey," I greeted him with a polite smile on my face.

"Hey," he returned the gesture with a stoic expression while removing his jacket.

I had to say, I was not upset about the view in front of me. Since the last time I had seen him, Mason filled out in all the right places. Before, he was just an attractive boy with a stocky frame, but he had matured in his looks and gained muscles that made him look as if he were an Abercrombie model.

"So, uh, was there a reason that you wanted to meet up or just because you wanted to catch up?" I asked as he awkwardly sat there.

"Look," Mason said, scratching the back of his head, "I just... I wanted to see how you've been and, uh, apologize about the whole disappearing act I did after his accident."