Dodge Mason // Mystery Boy

5

*rrrring*

—

As soon as I get home I walk into Kai's room. "Kai!" I yell eagerly bursting through the door.

"What!" He yells back startled tossing his book into the air and landing beside him on his bed.

"I have a date tonight! Is it cool if you stay here by yourself?" I ask as genuinely as I can hoping he'll say yes.

"Yeah, of course. I'm 15 now," he scoffs. "Jeez no need to scare the living daylights out of me just to tell me you have a date— wait you have a date?" He realizes and looks at me puzzled.

"Yep!" I grin blushing a bit.

"Huh," he ponders. "Maybe you're not as weird as I thought then," he says laughing at me.

"Ha ha very funny," I reply sarcastically. "But seriously are you gonna be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah, if you guys go to dinner will you bring me leftovers?" He picks his book back up and looks for the page he was last on.

"Of course," I reply.

"Thanks," he responds while going back to reading. I make my way out the door. "Oh and uh... have fun i guess. Don't weird him out too much," he teases.

"No promises!" I call back heading towards my room. "Now... what should I wear?"

As I begin to get ready, I call Heather. *rrrring*

"Hey what's up?" She answers after one ring.

"I have a date!" I exclaim.

"What?! With whoooooo?" She sang like a middle schooler.

"New kid. Dodge."

"Ouuuu mystery boy?"

"Well you know me," I laughed.

"You do love a mystery. Have fun and be yourself. Also be safe tonight I have a feeling the signal is coming soon," she warns.

"Will do boss," I say trying to put her at ease. "If anything happens, you'll be the first person I call," I reassure.

"Same here. Oh I gotta go Lily needs me for something. Have fun and remember to leave use protection," she teases.

"See ya loser," I laugh before I hang up.

—

It was about 7:45 when I left my house to meet up with Dodge. I don't have a car so I had to walk. I reach Dot's Diner at 7:58 and walk inside. It was practically empty and I look around to see Dodge sitting on a stool at the bar wearing a grey t-shirt, black jeans, and some black boots. He looks over his shoulder and smiles at me. I smile back and head over to him. He stands and pulls the stool out slightly and gestures for me to sit. I let out a small laugh and sit down next to him and see he has two glasses of apple juice waiting for us.

"Hmm you sure know how to charm a girl," I tease as he sits back down next to me.

"Only the best for you m'lady," he says picking up my hand and kissing the back of it. I roll my eyes and we laugh.

We start making small talk. Talking about our favorite colors, movies, books, music.

"What is your favorite kind of pancakes?" He asks.

"Hmm," I think about this for a second wanting to give a genuine answer. "Probably good ol' chocolate chip."

"Lame," he replies.

I scoff fake offended. "Well what is your favorite mr. fancy pants?" I ask.

"Blueberry is where it's at," he replies smugly.

"Ugh that's just as basic as mine!" I argue.

"Yeah but mine's better," he detests.

"How so?"

"Because I'm better," he replies as we laugh.

We tell childhood stories, talk about what we wanna be someday, go on about the things we love, and rave our passions.

"No way," I chuckle in awe. "You're a cowboy?!"

"Well, more like... avid rodeo competitor," he counters with a laugh.

"I knew there was a reason i'm so fond of you, Mason," I swoon.

"And what might that reason be, Knightly?" he asks staring at me.

"I got a thing for cowboys," I tease making us both laugh. We have a moment and find ourselves just staring at each other, kinda admiring.

"So..." I start. Why did you and your family move here?"

"Well..." he begins. "Hurricane Harvey wiped us out, my mom lost her business, and then our insurance told us to file for bankruptcy to pay for..." he pauses, "hospital bills," he says just above a whisper.

"Hospital bills?"

"My sister. Dayna," he says slowly. "She was paralyzed." He spoke so softly and I was a bit surprised by his honesty.

"I'm sorry," I speak softly putting my hand on his rubbing circles with my thumb.

"It's okay," he says giving me a small smile. "What about you?" he questions. "What's your sob story?"

"Uhhhh..." I thought for a bit. "Well, when I was 8, I lost my dad to cancer."

"I'm sorry. You don't have to talk about it if you don't feel comfortable," he reassures me.

"No no it's okay," I give him a small smile "I trust you." He nods for me to continue whenever I feel ready. "He was a kind soul and a great artist, and even when he was literally dying, he would still brighten the room. Kai was still really young then, so he doesn't remember much, but my dad was really something special," I finish. "Ugh sorry for bringing the mood down so much," I laugh dryly.

"Hey no, I asked, and I'm just glad you trust me enough to share that with me."

"Yeah," I breathed out. Suddenly we hear fireworks outside and we turn our heads to the windows at the front of the restaurant. Dodge stands and walks over and I get up and follow behind as we both look into the sky. Then, my phone goes off. *rrrring*