Never Date a Genius

Chapter 18

Sophie woke up the following morning to the ringing of her cellphone. She grabbed her phone, still groggy from sleep and saw Yasmin calling her. She groaned when she saw that it was past noon. Jason left their house past midnight and she enjoyed talking to him. He was smart and was very funny. It was a good thing that her parents were out on business and it was already Saturday and they had agreed that they will go out on a date tonight.

"Hi! Good morning Yas." she groaned while rubbing her eyes, trying to wake up.

"You mean good afternoon Sophie. It's past noon. What time did you sleep last night?"

"Umm, very late?" she replied, uncertain.

"Late? Why? Mace was here by 10 and he was in a terrible mood. He was glowering at me the whole night. I didn't even do anything except ask him about your double date. Did you guys get into a fight again?"

"No, he was just being a jerk to Jason. We didn't even do anything and he was looking at Jason as if he was taking advantage of me. It wasn't even me who has her tongue shoved in another man's throat. Geez, Marissa was making out with him inside a restaurant and he has the guts to be angry!" Sophie exclaimed.

"Mason was making out with Marissa inside a restaurant?! That's kind of hard to believe. C'mon Sophie, I don't think Mason would behave that way. He barely tolerates her."

"Well, Jason said he didn't kiss her back. Not that it matters. I don't even know why he's angry with me. It's not as if he likes me." Sophie replied, still hurt last night.

"He definitely likes you Soph. It's quite obvious. I bet even mom and dad knows that."

"No, he doesn't."

"You're mistaken. He's a jerk but even I can see that he likes you. He's probably in love with you but he's just too stupid to realize that." Yasmin replied sincerely.

"I asked him Yas and he said he doesn't like me. It's quite pathetic really. Anyway, it doesn't matter. By the way, why did you call?" Sophie replied changing the topic.

"Well, I called to ask you what time should we pick you up for basketball team's party since they got in the quarter finals?"

"Oh, shucks, that's tonight. I totally forgot. I'm going out with Jason. I'm not sure I can make it."

"No, you have to go Sophie. Mace will go ballistic. You never miss any of his parties. You're always his plus one."

"Not anymore. I bet all the girls are lining up to be his date. It's not as if he cares."

"Come on, Sophie. It will just be at Chris' house and you know this is important to him. He is expecting you there. You guys are like an institution. He is insufferable as it is and he will definitely be unbearable when he realizes you're not coming."

"Geez, it's not as if I'm his girlfriend Yas. Isn't he dating Marissa? I don't see any reason why I should go." Sophie adamantly insisted.

"Alright Sophie, if that's what you want. Anyway, I have to go. Mason's calling me. Bye!"

Yasmin sighed as she ended the call. Sophie can be so stubborn sometimes and she was irked at the way Mason was behaving. Mason knocked at Yasmin's room and peeked inside.

"Was that G?" Mason asked.

"Yes, that was Sophie."

"So, what time are we picking her up?"

"Umm, she said she won't be coming." Yasmin replied and was not surprised to see his crestfallen face. He was staring at her uncomprehendingly.

"She never misses any of our parties." he said, stating a fact. "Is she still angry with me for last night?"

"What happened last night Mace? I thought you went on a double date with Jason and Sophie."

"We're supposed to go on a double date but Marissa took ages to change. It's irritating really. Sophie is never late and I don't get it how it takes almost an hour for Marissa to change. I should have just left her. We had to wait for the movie to finish since we were late. Anyway, I'll just go to Sophie's house and talk to her. She can't really be that angry with me."

Mason turned around and left Yasmin's room. He went out to get the keys to his car and drove to Sophie's place. He got there in approximately 15 minutes. He pressed the doorbell and waited for Sophie to open the door.

Sophie was still sleepy but she went down to open the door. Her hair was still mussed from sleep and her eyelids heavy. Her eyes widened at the sight of Mason who was freshly shaven wearing jeans and his white shirt straining against his sculpted torso. She was suddenly alert and she shifted her eyes to Mason's face.

"Oh, hi Mace! What are you doing here?" she asked, startled by his sudden appearance.

Mason raised his hands to his head, combing his fingers to his messy hair and looked at Sophie questioningly. " Yas told me you can't go to the party later. Is that true?"

Sophie's heart thudded at his downcast face. Mace had always been confident and it was disconcerting for Sophie to see him look so uncertain. "I'm sorry Mace. I promised Jason we would go out." she replied averting her gaze at the sudden hurt she saw in his eyes. This was the first time she ever refused him and it's driving her crazy the way Mason looked so dejected. It's as though she was breaking his heart and not the other way around.

"But we always go together..."

"We're dating different people Mace. I'm going out with Jason and you're going out with Marissa. You're not my boyfriend. Wouldn't it be weird for us to still be going together?" she said, her eyes downcast.

"Fine. You can bring Jason if you want. Just be there!" Mason said and walked stiffly back to his car. His whole body tense and he drove without looking back at Sophie.

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So what do you guys think? Is this too abrupt? Hope you like it. Could you be a dear and vote? Please? Comments will also be very much appreciated. Sorry for any grammatical errors. I wrote this during break.