Same Old Love

// twenty-two //

mason ^

"So, what have you been up to?" Mason makes small talk with a grin, one hand on the steering wheel.

"Stuff." I shrug, not looking too much into the question.

"Way more than stuff." Lauren pops her head in between Mason and I. "Anna kind of had a fling with a guy and even lost her virginity WITH ANOTHER." 

"Laur!" I glare at her. This is definitely not where I wanted this conversation to go.

"Wow, Anna. I never would've thought of that." Mason shakes his head. "Do I know this guy that you've had a fling with?" 

"No." I answer immediately.

"Yes, Reed Lawrence." Lauren, of course, had to step in.

Mason steps on the brakes and pulls to the side of the road, causing me to smash my head on the window.

"Ow." I mumble. "I literally just am getting over a concussion."

"Sorry miss 'I had a fling with Reed Lawrence and wasn't going to tell me about it'." He rolls his eyes.

"It was just a soccer fling over the tournament time. I was forced to room with him." I shiver and sigh.

"Well, tell me about this other guy and your losing of your v card." Mason crosses his arms and looks at me.

I sigh. "Can we please not?"

"No, let's." Lauren smirks.

I shove Lauren back and glare. "Do you want to walk?"

"No." She sticks her tongue out at me, causing me to roll my eyes.

"I missed, like, half your life. Please just tell me." Mason pleads.

"It was less than half. Can you just drive? It's already 12 and Wildwood gets busy in the evening." I slump down in my seat, a headache slowly forming.

"Okay." He bites his lip and pulls back onto the road. Silence soon occupies the car, and it's not a good silence. I want the light-hearted vibe passed between us to come back. As a result, I decide to blurt out something to spark some controversy.

"Lauren has a boyfriend. His name is Ethan Sanders." 

"What!" Mason screeches, pulling onto the highway. "I cannot friking believe it!"

"Ugh, Annalise." Lauren lies down on the back seat, her hand on her forehead.

"I actually approve of that fella. Last I heard of him, he gave everyone his jelly beans at recess." Mason shrugs.

"That was literally 4th grade, Mace." Lauren rolls her eyes. "It wasn't even recess, it was our dance thing with our parents and his mom forced him to."

I chuckle from my seat, the look of confusion evident on Mason's face. "Nice try, son." I pat his leg.

"Speaking of dances, are you coming to the charity one for the cheer leading team tomorrow?" Laur looks at me through the mirror. 

"Speaking of dances." I mumble, running my hand over my face. "I don't think so."

"Come on, I'll be there." Lauren kicks my seat.

"Hey! This is a rental." Mason scolds.

I ignore Mason. "Yeah, you'll be with Ethan." 

"I bet I can find you someone. How about one of Oliver's friends?"

I snort. "As if."

"Ladies, we're here. Your dance talk can wait until later." Mason pulls into a parking space in front of the beach and takes the keys out. "Oh, how I've missed my Jersey!" He hops out with a grin.