Shark Strike Survivor

Chapter 9

The date with Mason went well, and it went better than I expected. He graciously accepted my apology, and I accepted his for his overstepping my boundary with water. We have made plans for another date, and it is set for Sunday afternoon since both of us do not work that day. We are meeting at the movie theater at 2 p.m. I am taking the bus, so no one has to give me a ride there or home. Does Mason know this? Nope. I would rather walk the distance from the bus stop to the theater than ask for a ride.

By 1:57 p.m., I am walking into the lobby of the movie theater, glancing around for Mason, and when I find him just inside the doorway to the left, he is frowning at me.

"What is the matter?" I question as I walk over to him.

"Did you seriously take the bus here?" he demands as if he would be angry with me if I did so.

Frowning at him, I shrug as I answer; "Yeah is that a problem?"

"Yes it is because I could have picked you up, and dropped you off at home," he grumbles with furrowed brows.

"Thanks for the offer, but I promise I am okay with taking the bus," I honestly answer since it is the truth.

"If you are gonna be angry with me over this, then I am just go home," I say with my own frown.

"Then go home," Mason spits out, venom dripping from his words.

"Cool," I dryly reply, turning around toward the door, but turn back to him for a moment. "Lose my name, number, and address, and I will do the same for you. Have a nice life."

Exiting the theater, heading toward the bus stop in anger. Upon reaching the bus stop bench, I sit down at the end closest to the theater, and wait for the next bus that should be here in five minutes. Taking deep breaths, trying to calm my temper at Mason. Perhaps I should have asked Mason for a ride, but I do not see the problem with me taking the bus to and from our date. I can understand Mason's frustration, but he never offered to pick me up, either.

When the bus arrives, I climb on, paying the $1.75 fare, and make my way to a seat. Plopping down, and since the bus is nearly empty, I cross my right ankle over my left knee as I cross my arms over my chest with a slight pout.

"Hey, are you okay?" a deep voice asks from behind and across from me.

Lifting my head up slightly to look at who spoke to me, I find an attractive male looking at me in worry. He looks to be around my age with platinum blond hair, beautiful blue eye color, and looks to be around 6'3". My heart is instantly pounding away in my chest, and I am unsure of what I am feeling.

"No, I am not, but I will be eventually," I reply, trying to keep the sadness and nervousness from my voice. "Thanks for asking."

"Of course, I hate seeing a pretty boy like yourself being all sad and pouty," he replies with a small frown. "I am Chandler Greene, and you are?"

Grinning slightly at him as I answer; "Nice to meet you, Chandler. My name is Larken Carrigan."

"Nice to meet you, too, Larken," he replies, standing to his feet to move to sit next to me with a large grin.

"So, do you wanna talk about what has you so upset, or should we discuss other topics?" he asks curiously, leaning back against the seat.

Sighing softly, I tell him what happened between Mason and I, and then I ask Chandler if he thinks I am overreacting with my response to the situation with Mason.

"Nope, I think you are right," he replies. "You are an adult, and you get yourself where you need to be. He did not offer to pick you up, and drop you off for the date."

Giving him a tiny smile in appreciation; "Thank you, Chandler. I appreciate your honesty as I am stuck between feeling pissed at Mason, and pissed with myself for not asking him to pick me up, so we could have avoided the entire situation.

"Can I have your hand, please?" Chandler requests sweetly, and I hold my right hand out toward him, palm side up as he digs into the pocket of his hoodie.

He pulls out a black ink pen, holds my hand in his to write his phone number onto the middle of my palm with a large smile. When he finishes, I pull my hand back, and I smile wider, too. Pulling my phone from my front left pocket of my pants, I put his number into my phone as a new contact, and text him, so he can have my number, too.

"There, now you have my number, too," I chuckles as my smile grows.

"Great! I hope we can become amazing friends," Chandler grins.

"Me too," I agree with a nod as the bus comes to a stop at my stop. "This is me. Nice to meet you, Chandler, talk to you soon."

Standing, I move to the front of the bus to exit, and walk home. Upon arriving home, I am surprised to find Mason and Lyric's vehicles parked in the driveway. Groaning as I walk to the front door, and enter, walking toward the basement door, ignoring Mason, and saying hello to my brothers.

"Larken, wait a minute, please?" Mason requests with a gentle voice as I grip onto the door knob, and let out a loud frustrated sigh.

"Why, so you can get prissy with me again for trying to be an independent adult? You did not offer to pick me up for our date, so I am still unsure why you got mad at me," I say, frustrated as I turn around to face him with a scowl.