Mason Maloney

My neck was sore when I woke up the next morning. I had slept practically sitting up on the two-seat couch with Sam leaning his head on my shoulder. Pete passed out on the larger couch while Ross slept on the recliner. I cracked my eyes open, squinting at the bright sunlight coming in through the blinds and let out a groan. Sam shifted beside me, moving his head from my shoulder to the arm of the couch.

When I looked over at him, that was when it hit me. Nathan was going to be coming home today and I had no idea when, but we Sam couldn't be here for it.

"Sam," I hissed, shaking him. "Wake up."

Sam groaned and mumbled incoherent words, his voice muffled by the couch. I shook him more harshly until he sat up, looking at me with a sleepy expression.

"What?" he asked in a tired, annoyed tone.

"We can't be here when Nathan gets back," I told him, choosing to ignore his rude tone.

"Well, when is he coming back?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm not risking it."

Sam nodded, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. I stood up from the couch, tugging Sam up with me before shoving Pete in the shoulder. Pete let out a loud groan and sat up with an angry look on his face.

"Let me sleep!" Pete exclaimed, waking Ross up in the process.

"We gotta go," I said, starting toward the stairs to get to my room.

I changed into dark blue jeans and a crew-neck sweatshirt and quickly went to the bathroom to brush my teeth before going back downstairs to see my three friends waiting impatiently.

"We're always waiting on either you or Bella," Pete said in an annoyed tone, his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

I ignored him, shaking my head, before heading out toward the door. The four of us left the house, starting toward Ross's car. I felt someone tug at my arm and turned around to see that it was Sam. He pulled me aside as Pete and Ross went to the car.

"I'm gonna head home," Sam said, looking down at me.

I frowned. "You don't want to come to breakfast with us?" I asked.

"You know I shouldn't," he said with a knowing look.

I sighed and nodded. He was right. It was one thing to hang out with us in the comfort of my home, but it was another to be out in public with us. I couldn't imagine any of his friends would be too happy if they found out about this, especially so close to the rivalry game. I couldn't wait for the football season to be over, then the two of us could be free.

"Okay," I said with a slight pout. "I'll see you at work later."

Sam nodded with a small, close-lipped smile. "See you."

Sam walked off to where his own car was parked, waving at Ross and Pete. I watched as he got in and started it up before I made my way to Ross's car and threw myself in the backseat.

"Step on it, Ross," Pete demanded as soon as I got in the car. "I'm not getting any younger and I'm starving."

Ross mumbled incoherent words with a dirty look on his face, shaking his head, before throwing the car in reverse and peeling out of my driveway.

We were barely half way down my street when Pete's stomach growled, causing him to clutch it and throw his head back, letting out a loud groan.

"Ross," Pete complained.

"Can you maybe develop a real personality?" Ross snapped. "Because being hungry all the time is not a personality trait."

"Why are you being so pissy?" I asked confusedly.

Ross groaned. "I'm sorry. I'm just fucking exhausted."

"I will forgive you if you get us to breakfast in two minutes or less," Pete said, still grabbing onto his stomach.

Ross sent him a brief dirty look before turning back to the road.

I wished Sam was here so I wouldn't have to deal with my bickering friends alone, but it would be a while before the two of us would be free to be together publicly.

That time couldn't come soon enough.

***

Sam Knight

"What kept you out all night?" Jonah asked as I walked in the front door. He sat on the couch with Mae tucked into his side, the two of them watching the morning news.

"Stayed at Mase's," I said casually.

"Yeah, we figured," Mae replied with a smirk.

"His brother wasn't there?" Jonah asked, giving me a cautious look.

I shook my head. "His friends were though."

Jonah nodded but didn't say anything, looking back toward the TV. Mae looked at me with a large smile and patted the spot next to her on the couch for me to sit. I did as she said and she immediately spoke up.

"You should invite Mason to my parent's house for Thanksgiving," Mae suggested, nudging Jonah in his side.

"Seriously?" I asked slowly, as if I thought she was kidding. But I knew Mae, and she wasn't joking.

Mae nudged Jonah in the side again and gave him a look that only wives could give.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Jonah started, appeasing his wife. "You should definitely do that."

I thought about it for a moment. It wasn't actually a terrible idea. Mae's parents lived about half an hour away, so we wouldn't be near town. Besides, we would be at their house so it wasn't like we would be seeing anyone from the Knights or the Warriors.

"Okay," I said. "I'll ask him today."

Mae squealed in excitement, clapping her hands.

"Are you sure it's okay with your parents?" I asked her timidly.

The last thing I wanted was Mae's parents being unwelcoming and making Mason uncomfortable. They weren't bad people, and I knew them pretty well, but I didn't know their stances on this. For all I knew, they could be homophobes.

"Yes, they're totally fine with it," she replied with a serious look on her face, placing her hand on my shoulder so I would catch the double meaning to her words. They were okay with Mason coming and with me dating him.

I nodded and sent Mae a small smile of gratitude.

"Do you want any breakfast?" Mae asked me suddenly.

"I can get myself something," I assured her.

"Are you sure? I can make something," she insisted.

I nodded. "I'm fine. Thanks though."

Eventually, I got up from the couch and made my way to the kitchen. I grabbed a bowl and some milk and cereal before sitting at the table to eat my breakfast, scrolling through my phone. I already had texts from my friends who were looking to get together during the day. While I was scrolling through my texts, I got a call from Christo.

"Hello?" I answered, my mouth full of cereal.

"We're going to the gym, you in?" he asked, his words sounding like they came out of his mouth faster than he could even think of them.

I checked the time. I still had a few hours before I had to be to work. A little bit of a work out couldn't hurt.

"Yeah, I'll meet you guys there," I answered, standing up to place my bowl in the sink.

"See you," Christo said, hanging up immediately after.

I went up to my room to grab my gym bag and clothes. Before heading back downstairs, I brushed my teeth and ran some water through my hair to tame it. I slung my gym bag over my shoulder and jogged down the stairs.

"Where are you going now?" Jonah asked, giving me a confused look with his arm slung around Mae.

"Gym," I answered blandly before exiting the house and getting into my car.

The gym was surprisingly not crowded by the time I got there. I noticed Christo's car was already there when I pulled in and I was sure Jake's was close by. Once I walked in the gym, I was greeted by Christo, who was in the middle of spotting Jake.

"Hey!" Christo exclaimed as I made my way over to them.

"Focus!" Jake yelled at him, lifting the barbell he was holding.

Christo looked back down at Jake with wide eyes and continued spotting him. I shook my head at the two and immediately headed to the locker room to get changed. Once I was done in there, I went back over to the weights to lift some dumbbells before going for some more heavy lifting.

"Where did you run off to last night?" Jake asked, sitting up on the bench, his chest rising and falling deeply.

I kept my eyes off of him, watching my arm as I lifted the weight.

"I was just home," I lied. "I was tired."

My shoulder ached slightly as I continued to lift the weights, but I paid it no mind. I couldn't afford to have an injured shoulder, not this late into the season of my senior year. I would just have to power through it.

"Whatever," Christo said. "But you have to come out with us Thanksgiving night to celebrate the win."

I rolled my eyes with a scowl on my face. "You need to stop acting like this is going to be an easy win. It never is."

"I'm not saying it's going to be easy," Christo defended himself. "But they beat us last year, we can't let them do it two years in a row. We have to win."

I wanted to win just as much as everyone else. Losing to the Warriors was never a good feeling and I can vividly remember just how pissed off everyone was about it last year. Nathan Maloney is the only quarterback in the state that can give me a run for my money and losing to him was one of the most frustrating, infuriating things I had ever experienced.

I felt another ache in my shoulder and placed the weights down on the rack. I would not let my shoulder be what kept me from a victory over the Warriors. Not in this lifetime.

***

Mason Maloney

I sighed, holding my phone up to my ear and listening to the rings as I waited for Sam to pick up. Nathan was nowhere to be found, as usual, so I had not way of getting to work and I knew if I decided to walk I would have Sam and Nathan pissed at me. Even though it was Nathan's fault I was stuck home anyway.

"Hey," Sam answered happily.

"Hey," I replied. "Can you come pick me up?"

"Idiot brother left you stranded?" Sam asked.

I didn't have to answer for him to know the answer to that question.

"Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes," Sam said after a moment of silence. I thanked him before hanging up the phone.

He showed up ten minutes later, like he said he would. When I walked outside to his car, I noticed Sam looked handsome as ever, his hair slicked back like he had just taken a shower and ran his hand through it. When I got into the car, I didn't hesitate to lean over and give him a chaste peck on the lips to which he smiled and leaned in for more. I pushed him lightly in the chest with a smirk.

"Let's go," I said, giving him a knowing look.

"We still have to finish what we started in the bakery the other day," Sam reminded me as he pulled the car out of my driveway and headed toward the bakery.

My smirk widened. "I'm sure we'll have time for that tonight."

Sam let out a chuckle. "Let's hope."

After a few moments of silence, Sam spoke up again.

"So, uh, Mae wanted me to invite you over for Thanksgiving," he stammered nervously.

I gave him a questioning look. "Mae wanted you to invite me?"

"I want you to come," he said quickly. "But she suggested it."

"At your house?" I asked.

Sam shook his head. "Mae's parents. They live about half an hour out of town."

I thought about it for a moment. Meeting Sam's extended family would be undeniably nerve wracking, but it would make our relationship feel all the more real.

"I'd like to go," I said shyly, looking at Sam out of the corner of my eye.

He smiled widely. "Great."

"I'll have to make up some excuse to my parents," I said, thinking aloud. There was no way they would want me to miss out on family time at Thanksgiving.

Sam nodded. "We usually do dinner kinda late because Mae's sister works during the day."

"That could work out then," I said. "Because our dinner is usually pretty early, like right after the football game."

"Perfect," Sam said with a dazzling smile, looking at me briefly as he turned into the bakery parking lot.

I couldn't help but watch him as he maneuvered to park the car. Everything about Sam was so captivating. He didn't even have to do anything and I was intrigued with him. He was just one of those people who were so hard to look away from, his aura being enchanting.

Sam sighed once the car was parked and looked over at me with a soft smile. I automatically mimicked his expression and leaned toward him.

"Ready to go spend the next eight hours working?" Sam asked jokingly.

"Yeah, as long as I get to spend it with you," I said before I could stop myself. I really was an idiot.

Sam laughed loudly, shoving me in the shoulder. "Don't go all cheesy on me now."

The bakery was quiet later in the evening when the two of us started cleaning up. I played my playlist from my phone as Sam went to the kitchen to grab the broom and I started placing the chairs up on the tables.

"Turn this one up," Sam said, as he came back out front, when "Bloom" by Troye Sivan started playing.

I chuckled but complied with his request and turned the music louder.

"Hey," I said suddenly, after a few moments of us not speaking.

"Hm?" Sam hummed, turning to face me as he continued sweeping the floor.

"Where are you planning on going for college?" I asked seriously, staring at Sam intently.

The two of us had never really spoken about college. I tried my hardest to never even think about it, but application deadlines were approaching so I had to make up my mind. Would I want to go to college with Sam? Would we even be together by then?

Sam was silent for a few moments before clearing his throat. "Um, I've been looking at UCF."

"Is that in Florida?" I asked.

Sam nodded. "It's in Orlando."

The two of us didn't say anything for a few moments. I didn't know how I felt about Sam wanting to go to Florida. It was so far away and if the two of us did end up staying together, I didn't know if we would survive the distance between us. But I also didn't know if Florida was where I wanted to go.

"What about you?" Sam asked. "Any plans?"

I sighed, leaning back against the table behind me. "I don't know. Bella wants us to all go together somewhere out of state. I want to go some place warmer, but she's willing to go just about anywhere but here."

Sam chuckled lightly. "You should go to Florida."

"Should I?"

Sam rolled his eyes at me and took a step closer. "Yes."

"You would want me to go with you?" I asked with my eyebrows raised, looking for clarification.

"I don't want you to sacrifice anything for me, but if you wanted to then, yes, I would want you to come with me," Sam explained sincerely.

I smiled up at him, pushing myself off the table to continue stacking chairs.

"So, what are you thinking?" Sam asked curiously.

"I have no idea where I want to go," I admitted, turning to face him. "But I want to look into some schools in Florida."

Sam smiled widely at me and took two large strides to give me a peck on the cheek

I immediately felt my face flush, but I didn't care. Everything with Sam just felt so right. It felt as though my life wouldn't truly be my life without him in it. Now that we were making future plans together, everything felt so real.

And I had never felt this way before.

** 

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Please let me know what you think of the chapter :)

Next chapter is the Thankgiving football game between the Knights and the Warriors! Any predictions about who will win?