Mason Maloney

"What's his name? Is he cute?" Sandy asked excitedly.

Sandy had been questioning me about Sam since I had walked into the bakery. She basically pounced at me when I got behind the counter.

I let out a heavy sigh. "His name is Sam and I don't know."

Sandy rolled her eyes at me. "You should be able to tell if another guy is good looking."

It was no secret that Sam was good looking with his chiseled cheek bones, sharp jawline, and green eyes. However, I never wanted to admit that to Sandy.

"You'll see when he gets here," I muttered, walking back into the kitchen.

I looked around to see if Charlene had left me anything to bake for her. She usually got all the baking done in the morning and throughout the day, but sometimes she would leave something for me to do. I sighed when I realized there was nothing and I was going to have to sit around with Sandy until she left at five. A few moments later, I heard the bell on the door ring and Sandy let out a surprised gasp.

"Sorry, I'm a little late," Sam said when I met him at the counter.

I just shrugged. "It's fine. Charlene hired you knowing you would have to be late sometimes."

"I'm Sandy," Sandy cut in annoyingly, pushing me out of her way so she could offer her hand to Sam.

He smirked and shook her hand. "Sam."

"Nice to meet you, Sam. I look forward to working with you," Sandy responded with a wink.

I scoffed and motioned for Sam to follow me back to the kitchen. He grabbed his apron and put it on, tying it around his waist.

"Hm," Sam hummed.

"What?"

"I can't seem to tie this. Can you do it for me?" he asked teasingly, holding the ties of his apron.

I knew he was just messing around by the look on his face, but I walked behind him and started tying his apron anyway. Being in such close proximity to him, I finally saw that he was a good four inches taller than me and smelled surprising good for someone who had just come from football practice.

"Too tight?" I asked from behind him, my hands still on his apron.

Sam turned his head to face me. He smiled slightly down at me and shook his head.

"Just right," he answered.

The two of us stared into the other's eyes for a few moments. I noticed that his green eyes looked slightly blue in the light and his eyelashes were long enough that they curled upwards.

I cleared my throat and stepped away from him when I noticed I had been staring for too long.

"So... um, we should go help Sandy out front," I muttered awkwardly.

Sam laughed at my discomfort but didn't comment on it.

"Alright," he said, walking ahead of me toward the front of the store.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts before I followed him. A little while later, Sandy's shift ended and I was still feeling awkward around Sam as I swept up around the counter and he recounted the drawer.

"It's even," Sam told me after shutting the register drawer.

I nodded without looking at him. "Good."

"So," he started, leaning against the counter like he always did. "When are you going to teach me how to bake?"

This caused me to look up at him. He seriously wanted to learn how to bake?

I shrugged and went back to sweeping. "Maybe we can start some of the easier stuff next week."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, like basic cookies and cupcakes," I answered, leaning the broom against the wall.

He nodded before changing the subject. "So that Sandy girl talks a lot."

"That's only because you're hot," I blurted before I could stop myself.

My hand immediately shot up to cover my mouth as I started at Sam's smirking face with wide eyes.

"I meant because she thinks you're hot," I quickly amended.

"Don't worry, Mase. I know I have an affect on people," he teased.

My embarrassment only grew and I could feel my cheeks burning up and turning pink. I didn't think Sam Knight would be able to affect me, but it was clear that I was wrong. I tried avoiding eye contact with him, but he wouldn't let me get away with that. Sam walked up to me, forcing me to look at him.

"You're cute, Mase," he said with a grin, punching me on the shoulder lightly and effectively confusing me.

Cute?

***

The awkward tension never left as Sam and I closed up the bakery. I let him man the register and he seemed to be a natural at it. The only time I spoke to him was when he had a question. Other than that, I hung out in the kitchen and cleaned up.

Sam and I walked out of the bakery together silently. I had almost forgotten that I had driven myself to work so I was instantly happy that I could go straight home.

"Wow, you have the car tonight?" Sam asked me, pointing toward the unoccupied car.

I looked at him, scratching the back of my neck. "Yeah, I kinda screamed at Nathan and made him feel bad so he let me have the car."

Sam chuckled and shook his head. "Whatever it takes, I guess."

I nodded, feeling the awkwardness from earlier start to disappear. Sam seemed to be the type that didn't get flustered or embarrassed easily. He just went with the flow of things. Hopefully he could rub off on me.

"See you Saturday?" I asked, knowing we had an opening shift together.

"Bright and early," he agreed. "Unless you've accepted my invitation to my game tomorrow."

I rolled my eyes as a smirk took over his face. "Not gonna happen."

"One day," Sam responded, his smirk turning to a friendly grin.

"Maybe," I replied before getting into the driver's seat of my car.

Sam waved to me as he drove away. I just sat and thought for a moment alone. Being around Sam made me feel different. What was he doing to me?

***

"I'm starving," Pete complained from beside me. I couldn't help but agree with him as we waited for Bella and Ross to return to the bleachers with our snacks.

Our afternoon plans didn't work out like we had hoped. We hadn't gone shopping for food nor had we gotten movies from Redbox like we wanted. Instead, we waited around for Pete to finish a test he had to take after school and then spent the rest of the time until the football game playing video games at Ross's house.

Ross and Bella soon returned with bags of popcorn and water bottles. Knowing Pete, this wouldn't be nearly enough to satisfy his hunger.

"We have to get some food after the game," Pete said with his mouth full of popcorn.

"We are doing a movie night!" Bella reminded him sternly.

"We can do that after some Chipotle!" Pete snapped back.

"Chipotle sounds so good right now," Ross agreed with a hungry groan.

Bella huffed and crosses her arms over her chest with a pout. She liked everything to go exactly as she planned it, but it almost never did. Not with a friend like Pete who made us wait around for him all the time or a friend like Ross who got annoyed so easily. Or, a friend like me who was indifferent to most things that Bella planned on.

Soon enough the football game started with our team having the ball first. I knew this must have annoyed Nathan. He liked it better when their team received the ball first in the second half.

"Nathan's throw is looking good," Bella commented happily from beside me.

"It better be, he practices every damn day," I replied, crossing my arms as I watched the game.

I enjoyed watching football, mostly because I enjoyed watching Nathan do something he was good at. It filled me with pride to see my brother excel at something he loved. Our parents tried to attend most games, but they usually sat with some of the other parents they had become friends with over the years.

"His throw has to be good if he plans on beating Sam Knight this year," Ross pointed out. "That kid's a beast."

Bella quickly shushed him. "Don't talk about him here!"

I hadn't bothered to tell any of my friends that I was now working with Sam. The longer I could keep it a secret from everyone at school, the better. Everyone would freak out the way they do when they find out about the cheerleaders getting with him.

"He's not wrong though, Bell," Pete interjected. "Knight completely dominated last season."

I kept out of their conversation, not wanting to talk about Sam. I was glad that most of my conversations with Sam were unrelated to my brother and football. He seemed to know I wouldn't want to talk about that stuff with him and that was probably why the two of us got along well.

My friends startled me when they stood up and started cheering. After the initial shock, I stood up with them and noticed that our team had scored a touchdown. Our special teams went out on the field and quickly kicked the extra point, making the score 7-0.

Bella started yelling loudly and cheering as our defense took the field. I knew she had a thing for one of the defensive players, but she hadn't admitted it yet.

Luckily our defense was able to hold off the other team's offense until halftime. The score at halftime was 14-0.

"Can the game just end now?" Pete asked dramatically. "I want Chipotle."

Bella smacked his shoulder. "Quit complaining, Peter!"

Pete gasped, holding his hand to his chest. "Don't you dare call me that."

"It's just one letter, I don't-" Bella started.

"Stop it," Ross snapped in annoyance.

I shook my head at their behavior, but didn't comment on it. Bella and Pete were always arguing and there wasn't much that we could do about it.

Soon enough the game ended with a score of 21-7. Pete and Bella were both jumping in joy, but obviously for different reasons.

I got in the front seat of Ross's car, leaving Bella and Pete together in the back. It only took a few seconds before the two of them were arguing about something.

"They're so annoying," Ross complained as he started driving toward Chipotle.

"I think they just love to fight with each other," I responded with a sigh.

"You're probably right," Ross agreed with a nod.

Pete and Bella were done fighting by the time we got to Chipotle. Pete nearly hurled himself out of the car as it was still moving and beat us all inside. I couldn't help but laugh at his eagerness. After we all got our food, we found a table near the corner for the four of us. Bella and Pete sat across from Ross and me, facing the front of the store.

"I'm in heaven right now," Pete moaned with a mouth full of burrito.

"Ugh Pete, that's disgusting. Don't talk with your mouth full!" Bella ordered.

He moved closer to her face and started opening his mouth wider as he chewed just to annoy her. She pushed his face away roughly with a scowl. Bella looked over at me and her eyes widened as she let out a gasp.

"What?" I asked, setting my burrito down.

"You'll never guess who just walked in," she said, astonished.

"Who?"

"Sam Knight!" she said in a whisper.

This caused me to whip my head around and see Sam standing in line, laughing with his friends. His smile was so wide that he had crinkles by his eyes. He looked as if he had just showered. His hair was damp and slicked back and he wore a white t-shirt that fit him perfectly along with some gray Nike sweatpants. I knew if Sandy was here she would be talking about how sexy he looked.

"Damn, why does he have to be so attractive?" Bella wondered as if she was in agony. I found myself silently agreeing with her. He looked good.

"You didn't even want us talking about him earlier and now you're saying how hot he is," Ross pointed out with an eye roll.

"Because this is neutral territory," Bella told him. "You can't talk about him at our field."

I could tell that Sam and his friends were getting closer to us as their voices began to sound louder. The group of boys sat at the table behind us, causing me to tense up.

"Mase, can you go fill up my drink?" Bella asked with innocent doe eyes, dragging me out of my thoughts.

I took the last sip of my own drink and nodded, taking her cup in my hand. I stood up and turned around to see that Sam and his friends were all staring at me.

"Mase?" Sam asked confusedly.

I awkwardly waved with the cups in my hands. "Hey, Sam."

I could feel my own friends staring at me with wide eyes, but I couldn't turn to look at them. Sam surprised me by standing up with his own empty cup and motioning me to follow him to the soda machine.

"Thought I wasn't going to see you until tomorrow," he told me with a smirk as he filled his cup with lemonade.

"Well, this is the only Chipotle around," I pointed out as I filled my cup with ice.

Sam chuckled. "That's true."

"How was your game?" I asked him, filling my cup with Diet Coke.

"It was good, we won," he answered, taking a sip of his drink.

"That's good, so did Nathan," I told Sam with a smirk as I filled Bella's cup with Root Beer.

Sam shot me a smirk of his own. "That's good. I like when my opponents do well. It makes it feel so much better when I beat them."

"Cocky aren't you?"

Sam shrugged. "I like to call it confidence."

We stood in silence for a few moments. I didn't know why I didn't just walk back to my friends, but I did know I liked being in Sam's company. Sam looked back toward his friends and then back at me, scratching the back of his neck nervously. I didn't think I had ever seen him look nervous.

"Hey, can I get your number?" he asked with a heavy breath. "Just in case either of us need to contact each other for work or something."

He didn't need an explanation. I would have given it to him anyway.

I nodded with a small grin, pulling my phone out of my pocket. "Sure."

Sam smiled back and handed me his phone where I added my contact. Our fingers brushed lightly when we returned the phones to each other. I pulled my hand away quickly at the warm sensation of his skin touching mine.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mase," Sam said with a wink before turning away back to his friends.

I stood still, dumbfounded for a moment. I couldn't understand why I was being affected by Sam in the way that I was. It felt like every time he looked at me I melted into a puddle. Just by his look, he had the power to turn anyone to dust. I didn't want him to have that power over me.

When I returned to the table, all of my friends were staring at me. I placed Bella's drink in front of her while taking a sip of my own. I could feel the presence of Sam directly behind me and it took everything in me not to turn around just to look at him.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," Bella whispered harshly.

"Later," I dismissed her, not wanting Sam to hear us talking about him.

Pete carried the conversation for the rest of dinner. He was good at bringing down tension and making everyone forget for the moment being. However, when we got in the car, after I bid Sam another goodbye, the questions were hurled at me.

"How do you know him?"

"Are you friends with him?"

"What's going on?"

I let out a sigh and rested my head on the window before answering. "He just started working at the bakery. I'm training him."

"Working with him?" Bella asked incredulously. "So you have to see him everyday?"

I nodded and hummed in agreement.

"That could turn out bad," Bella commented with a shudder.

"What do you mean?" I asked, turning around in my seat to face her.

"What if he tries to use you to get to Nathan or the team?" she pointed out with her eyebrows raised.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "He's not a bad guy and we have to work together. He's not going to do anything to make working together unbearable."

"I kinda agree with Bella on this," Pete interjected. "Don't get too close to the guy. He knows how much sleeping with our cheerleaders gets to Nathan, imagine what befriending his brother could do."

Ross scoffed in the driver's seat. "You're both being ridiculous. Not everything is a fucking scheme."

I was thankful for Ross's input in that moment. He always seemed to have a level head and good reasoning. It felt good when he was on your side because his opinions were trustworthy.

That was the last we spoke about Sam for the night.