Mason Maloney

I felt like shit.

I rolled out of bed, coughing mucus up from my throat. My nose was running from congestion so I quickly grabbed a tissue to blow it. Once I had finished my coughing fit, I went to the bathroom and almost winced at my reflection.

I looked like shit.

The tip of my nose was an irritated red color while the rest of my face was pale besides the dark bags under my eyes. My hair was messy, sticking up in different directions and my eyes seemed dull.

It was probably in my best interest to stay home from school, but I knew I wouldn't. It was more of a hassle for me to miss school and have to make up work than it was to just go and stay on track. I could make it through the day and then I could just make Sam do everything for me at work.

I would be fine.

Hopefully.

"Holy shit, you look awful," Nathan commented as he walked into the bathroom.

I scowled at him before turning my head into the crook of my elbow to let out a throaty cough. He winced at the raspy sound and turned to lift the toilet seat to take a leak right in front of me. I groaned and turned away, turning on the sink to throw some water on my face.

"I look awful because I had to walk home from work last night in the rain," I croaked out, resting my hands on both sides of the sink.

Nathan's eyes widened as he finished at the toilet and turned to look at me. He zipped his pants and walked over to where I stood at the sink.

"Shit," he let out with a sigh. "Mason, I'm sorry." Nathan shook his head in shame.

I moved away from the sink so that he could wash his hands. An involuntary sneeze sprung up on me, causing an ache in my chest. Nathan winced as I put my hand on my throbbing chest.

"Whatever," I said in a stuffed up voice, now only being able to breathe through my mouth.

"I totally forgot," Nathan replied in an almost pleading tone, like he was begging for my forgiveness.

"How could you forget something you're supposed to do every day?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

It seemed like we had this conversation all too often.

Nathan smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "I'm forgetful."

I just shook my head and left the room.

***

"Are you sure you should be at school?" Ross asked in a grossed out tone.

All of my friends decided they would sit across the table from me at lunch so they wouldn't catch my cold. I was sitting at the table with my head in my hands, eating my mozzarella sticks every so often. I was actually beginning to feel better. My illness felt more like a cold than anything else and my sneezing and coughing had died down quite a bit.

"I'm fine," I told him, looking up to see three pairs of eyes staring at me.

"You could have called one of us to pick you up," Ross pointed out seriously.

The thought had occurred to me, but I was hell bent on defying Sam that I decided to suffer through the cold walk home.

"Not me," Pete interjected. "I passed out so early last night."

Bella shook her head at Pete then turned to me. "Why didn't you just get a ride from Sam?"

I shrugged, letting out a light cough. "We don't get along."

"I'm sure he would have driven you," Bella countered.

I'm sure he would have too. I decided to drop the topic, not wanting to speak more about Sam, especially to Bella. She seemed to be willing to do anything to get me to talk about him. Maybe he was right, she was obsessed with him.

"Do you want to go running after school tomorrow?" Ross asked, changing the subject.

I groaned aloud at his suggestion but nodded in agreement anyway.

Ross smirked. "Perfect."

"You can count me out of that," Pete cut in, shaking his head. "I won't even be there for moral support this time."

"Good," I shot back. "Didn't want you there."

Pete placed a hand over his chest. "Mase, you wounded me."

"I'll drive us to my place after school tomorrow," Ross told me, ignoring Pete. "We can use the trail behind my house."

"We're running on a trail?" I asked in an almost whining tone.

Ross nodded. "I figured it's better than just running around the track a bunch of times."

While Ross was probably right, I wasn't a big fan of being out in the woods. It wasn't that I hated the outdoors, I just hated bugs and the possibility of poison ivy and the threat of getting attacked by an animal.

"Do you think Sam would like me if I was more athletic?" Bella asked curiously, stabbing her salad with her fork.

I threw my head back and groaned. When I brought my head back down to look at her, Bella was giving me a scowl, her green eyes dark and shooting daggers at me.

"No, he won't," Pete answered her with a laugh.

"By the way Bella," I started. "Please don't hang around the bakery today."

Her scowl deepened and Pete let out another obnoxious laugh.

"You stalked him at the bakery?" Pete asked, not able to contain more laughter.

"I hate you guys," was Bella's only response as the lunch bell rang. She was quick to grab her backpack and her tray and head out of the lunch room ahead of us.

"She needs to chill," Ross commented as the three of us made our way out of the cafeteria.

I let out a sigh and nodded in agreement. "I don't know what her problem is. Of all people she has to be after Sam Knight."

"We have to find her a new dude to hook up with, then she will be over him," Pete suggested before he bid Ross and I a goodbye and headed toward his class.

Ross and I stopped in the hallway where we would have to part ways.

"I'll try and keep Bella busy today so she doesn't go to the bakery," he said thoughtfully, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder.

"Take her out somewhere so she won't feel like going to the bakery after," I suggested with a slight smirk.

Ross nodded with a solemn look on his face. "Good idea."

After our exchange, the two of us headed off to our own designated classes. I passed by Nathan and his group of friends as I made my way toward my math class. He gave me a worried look before excusing himself from his friends and catching up to me.

"How are you feeling?" Nathan asked kindly.

I kept walking quickly, but Nathan had no trouble keeping up with my pace.

"Fine," I answered blandly.

"Let me know if you need to go home early," he said.

I could tell he was just trying to suck up to me so I wouldn't be mad at him. That or he was hoping I would want to leave early so that he could leave early.

"I'll be fine," I told him seriously as we stopped outside of my classroom.

Nathan stared into my eyes with an unreadable expression for a few moments before he waved and walked away.

***

Sandy stood at the register, staring longingly at the door as she waited for Sam to come in so she could leave. He was always a little late on days he had practice in the afternoon and Sandy acted as if it was a huge inconvenience for her to stay an extra half an hour.

I was filling the pastry cases when I heard Sandy let out a sigh just like she had been doing for the past twenty minutes. I closed my eyes in annoyance before opening them again and turning to look at her. Sandy leaned on the counter with her head in the palm of her hand as she stared out at the parking lot.

"You can just go," I told her. "Sam will be here soon."

Sandy immediately shot up at the sound of my voice. She turned to face me and gave me a look as if to see if I was actually being serious.

"Don't have to tell me twice," she said before tearing off her apron and bringing it into the kitchen where she would hang it up. She didn't say another word to me as she left the bakery, the annoying bell ringing as she opened the door.

I sighed in relief when she was finally out the door. I had been working with Sandy for years and at first, we got along great. However, the more I got to know her, the more she began to annoy me. I still somewhat liked her, but I could only take her in small doses.

Sam arrived at the bakery within the next ten minutes. His hair was wet and slicked back like it always was after practice. He smelled of sandalwood with a hint of mint. I could even catch a scent of coconut as he breezed by me to grab his apron.

"Charlene wants me to start teaching you some baking," I said blandly as he walked back into the front area.

He nodded as he stood at the register, leaning against the counter as I continued to fill the shelves.

"We just have to keep an eye on the front," I told him, my voice still sounding slightly blocked and nasally from my cold.

"Are you sick?" Sam asked thoughtfully.

"Just a cold," I mumbled, closing the pastry case and setting down the tray I was holding.

"Should have gotten in the car," he replied, almost tauntingly. I just decided to ignore his response and change the subject.

"We're making blueberry muffins," I said, motioning for him to follow me back into the kitchen.

I heard Sam's footsteps follow me closely behind. Once we were in the kitchen, he leaned against the preparing table in the center of the room while I rummaged through shelves and cabinets to find the correct ingredients. After placing all purpose flour and sugar down on the table, I paused for a moment before letting out a strong sneeze that rattled my chest.

"Shit," I muttered quietly, holding a hand to my chest.

"You know, you wouldn't be sick if you just swallowed your pride and let me take you home," Sam said with a pointed look.

I threw a scowl his way. "Why would I get a ride from you? We aren't friends."

Sam rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "I was trying to be friendly."

I stared at him with wide eyes. "Friendly? You're the one that wanted nothing to do with me."

Sam's glare matched mine as he turned to face me more directly. "Don't act like you wanted to be my friend. It's obvious you didn't considering what you said to Nathan."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked exasperatedly.

What I had said to Nathan? I couldn't think of anything I said to him that would cause Sam to think I didn't want anything to do with him.

"You know what you said," Sam nearly snarled.

"I really don't," I replied quickly, stepping closer to him. "What are you talking about?"

"You know he wrote it all over my car," he told me as if I would have a clue. I shook my head, signaling that I didn't know.

"Sam," I started, speaking softly. "What did he write on your car?"

Sam's gaze softened and his eyes became their usual warm shade of green that I was used to, the shade I liked to see.

"You really don't know," he observed thoughtfully.

I shook my head again.

"Unbelievable," Sam muttered, looking down at the ground.

"What happened?" I asked, standing beside him now, shoulder to shoulder.

Sam let out a deep breath. "Nathan and his friends wrote some stuff on my car calling me gay," he admitted. "He left me a note saying that he 'knew' that I had been flirting with you and that you told him how creepy and gross I am."

I was shocked at the revelation. The reason Sam had been so cold toward me lately was because Nathan had made up lies. My face was etched into a glare and I clenched my fists in anger. How could Nathan lie like that? How could he lie about me?

"Sam, I never said anything like that to him," I said, practically pleading. "I promise I didn't."

Sam nodded and looked over at me. "Yeah, I should've known."

A realization hit me and it caused even more anger to flood through me. Sam must have noticed because he gave me a concerned, yet questioning look.

"What?" he asked confusedly.

"Nathan lied so that you would stay away from me," I said, pulling the pieces together. "He wanted me to stay away from you but knew I wouldn't listen to him, so he made up some lie so that you would hate me," I explained further.

Nathan was used to getting what he wanted. I should've known he was capable of doing something like this without thinking of how it would affect me.

"No offense, but your brother is a bastard," Sam concluded. I couldn't help but agree with him.

"Yeah, I know," I agreed.

The two of us stayed silent after that. I finished gathering the ingredients and showed Sam how to measure everything out. I let him pour the contents into the mixer and showed him how to used it. Once we were done mixing, we poured the batter into the tray and placed them in the oven. We stood in silence for a few more moments before Sam spoke up. It was then I realized he had been staring at me.

"I was so angry and embarrassed about what Nathan did," he admitted calmly, still staring into my eyes.

"That's understandable," I assured delicately.

He took a deep breath and looked down at the floor. "I think I was so offended because it was true."

My eyes widened and I stood up straighter from my leaning position. Sam shook his head before looking back up to me with his lips pinched together tightly.

"What do you mean?" I wondered, my voice shaking.

Was Sam admitting what I thought he was admitting?

"I mean," Sam started, clearing his throat, "I mean that I was flirting with you in the beginning."

Delight coursed through my veins at his words. It seemed as though all and any confusion I had about my feelings toward Sam were gone in that moment. I knew I was attracted to him. I would be lying if I said I didn't want him to be flirting with me. My heart was pounding as I waited for him to continue.

"I was into you," he admitted, staring directly into my eyes. "Still am."

I would never forget the vulnerable look on his face. His always intimidating sharp features seemed to soften as Sam opened up to me. He let his deep green eyes pierce me, waiting for a response.

I had no idea what to say, so I did the only thing I could think of.

I stepped closer to Sam so that we were merely an inch apart. We were so close I could feel his breath on my skin, giving me goosebumps. His chest was visibly rising and falling as if he was trying hard to control his breathing. I hesitantly reached my right hand up to stroke the back of his head, my fingers getting caught in his dark brown hair. Sam's breath hitched and he gave me the most alluring look I had ever seen. That was when I went for it.

My left hand met my right at the back of Sam's head and they worked together to pull him to me. I met Sam halfway and our lips connected, a feeling of pure ecstasy igniting in me. We were both hesitant at first, our lips barely moving with each other, but it didn't take long for Sam to take charge.

Sam brought his hands to caress my face as his mouth started moving faster, gripping onto my lips with his. I had never felt this amount of pleasure from just a kiss. Sam's lips were like candy and I couldn't get enough. Eventually, he moved his hands to my waist, gripping me so tightly I was starting to think I would have bruises in the shape of his finger prints.

Our lips lapped together sloppily, leaving our tongues in our respective mouths. It wasn't until Sam gripped me tighter and lifted me onto the table that I gasped and he slipped his tongue into my mouth. Sam lied me down on the table so that I was flat on my back as he hovered over me.

I moved my hands from Sam's hair, tugging on the bottom one last time. My hands found their way to his back and rested underneath his shirt, touching his warm skin. My legs hugged his hips, making sure there was no space between us.

Sam moved his lips from my mouth to my jaw. My eyes remained closed and my mouth hung open in pleasure as he brought his lips to my neck, sucking a tugging on my skin. I was in pure bliss until the bell at the front of the store rang, causing the two of us to spring apart.

We looked at each other breathlessly for a moment before Sam swallowed, took a deep breath, and walked out to the front of the store to greet the customer who had interrupted us. I lied breathless on the table, resting my head back and closing my eyes.

Pleasure still ripped through me like Sam had never left. My skin burned where his lips were just moments ago.

Whatever confusion I had about Sam was gone. He wasn't just handsome, he was hot. For some reason, someone like him found me attractive. I wasn't going to complain about that.

In that moment all I could think about was Sam and nothing else. I didn't let my mind linger to what this new found attraction meant about my sexuality. I definitely didn't think about Nathan and what he would do if he found out about this. Sam was all I could think about.

Just Sam.

**

Hi! I decided to post early because my only class today got cancelled so I had some time.

Thanks for all the votes and comments!

Please let me know what you think :)