The boy next door

Chapter Thirty-Six: Caveman

I watched as the boy rolled the small white ball in his hand, before he successfully aimed for one of my cups. The boy's team erupted in a series of cheers, waiting for me to drink out of my cup.

A loud groan escaped my mouth, and I turned my head to look at Mason, but he just shrugged.

I seriously can't believe I have to drink a half-full cup, of whatever they put in there. It looked frightening. I spun the brown substance inside the cup. Pinching my nose with my fingers, I took a hold of the plastic cup and downed it. I grimaced. It tasted horrible.

A series of applause came from our small group, when I put my cup down. "It tasted horrible, but thank you!" I laughed, and watched as the curly-headed boy game me a polite smile. "Your turn." He told me, and I grabbed a small white ball from the table.

Before I threw the ball into one of the cups, I blew on it for luck. I watched as the ball bounced once, before it landed into one of my opponent's cups. I immediately held my hands over my head in victory. I heard my teammates cheer me on, and even caught a glimpse of my opponent giving me a quick wink. I winked back at him.

As the game went on, I successfully landed many white balls into my opponent's cups, as he did mine. To my dismay, the curly boy ended up winning. And I ended up getting a bit drunk. Well, 'a bit', was an understatement. I guess I was a lightweight.

"Didn't know you had it in you." Mason praised, wrapping his arm around my waist, and pulling me gently into his body so my back was pressed against his chest. I put my hand over his, and beamed. "Me neither! Did you see that, though? I was on fire, right?" I hype myself up, and the sound of Mason's chuckle vibrated against my back.

"You were, I'm proud." He confessed. I snuggled closer into his warm body. Surprisingly, I didn't feel nervous cuddling with Mason in front of our small crowd. I tried to blame it on the alcohol, but even I knew it was because over the last few weeks, Mason and I have become more comfortable with each other. It seemed unbelievable, how fast I discovered this man brought joy into my life. I wanted to tell him that, but I never got the balls to.

I watched as the boy from earlier, approached Mason and I, with a charming smile on his face.

"Hey! I didn't catch your name?" He told me, a sparkle in his light brown eyes. I felt Mason shift uncomfortably behind me, but I ignored him.

"Sofia." I replied, and returned his bright smile. "What? Did you come here to brag about your win?" I taunted him, and a small laugh came from his mouth.

The red floral button down shirt, that loosely hung onto his body, suited him perfectly. He paired his simple look with a pair of black jeans, and black and white Vans.

"I could've let you win but you refused, remember?" His eyebrows rose, a playful smile on his lips.

I rolled my eyes. "False. I wanted to lose so you wouldn't feel bad. Your ego seemed to spiral, by the time you had to play against me." I giggled—and again—Mason shifted uncomfortably. I was going to question him about it, but the boy spoke up again.

"My name's Arturo, by the way." Arturo held his hand out to me, for a handshake. I outstretched
my hand and shook his.

"Arturo? What a nice name...you're Spanish?" I asked him, referring to his name, but he shook his head.

"No, but I understand where you're coming from." He laughed. "Italian, on my father's side." I nodded my head, very interested in our topic. That was until Mason cleared his throat.

"We have to leave." Mason mumbled, his tone seeming very annoyed. I turned my head to look up at him, my eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?" I questioned him, but he shook his head.