Knight

09

Mason Maloney

"Mason?" Bella asked as I was zoning out, looking down at my pizza at lunch on Monday.

"Hm?" I hummed a reply and looked up. Bella, Pete, and Ross were all looking at me. The boys had annoyed looks while Bella's was hopeful.

"Do you have Sam Knight's number?" she asked innocently, batting her eyelashes.

I groaned. "Why?"

She gave me a deadpanned look. "Because I need it."

"I thought you said we weren't supposed to talk about him here," I reminded her of what she had said at the football game.

Bella rolled her eyes. "We can't talk about him at games."

It seemed like she was just making up the rules as she went along, but I didn't want to push the subject even further.

"I'm not giving you his number," I told her sternly.

"Told you he wouldn't," Pete boasted with a smirk. "You don't need to be getting involved with him anyway."

Bella crossed her arms and pouted, looking down at her salad. I tried not to think about the fact that one of my best friends had sex with Sam, but she made it hard to ignore. It was like she had fallen in love with him afterwards and I knew he did not share those same feelings.

"Yeah, Bella," I agreed with Pete. "He'll just hurt you."

She would only get hurt by his lack of interest. I didn't think he was the type to lead a girl on and break her heart. It was the girls who stupidly fell in love with him that got hurt and I guess Sam really couldn't be blamed for that even if I wanted to be able to blame him. It wasn't like he promised Bella anything more than that night they shared together.

I could tell by the look on her face that Bella wasn't going to give up her pursuit of Sam. She had always been very determined to get what she wanted and right now, she wanted Sam Knight. No one would be able to stop her, no matter what we said.

***

Bella sat at a table by the window in the bakery while Sam and I stood behind the counter. I eyed Bella warily as Sam was taking care of a customer. She had been there for nearly as long as I had, munching on a muffin and reading a book she had for English class. Bella claimed it was quiet here and that she wanted to see me, but I knew the real reason why she was sticking around.

Sam paid her no mind, not even sparing her a glance when she looked longingly at him. It was like he saw right through her or he was blocking her from his memory. I felt bad for thinking it, but I wanted Sam to forget about Bella. I couldn't tell if I wanted this for her sake or my own.

Part of me wanted to believe that I wanted Sam to stay away from Bella purely for her best interest, but the other part knew that wasn't entirely true. I hated the fact that Sam and Bella shared such an intimate moment while he wouldn't even speak to me. I didn't want to call it jealousy, it wasn't like I wanted to have sex with Sam, I just wanted him to at least pay attention to me.

God, I sounded so needy.

"Is your friend obsessed with me or something?" Sam asked, not quietly as he pulled me from my thoughts.

I looked over at him to notice his slightly messy hair was falling into his face. He pushed it back with his hand, a loose strand falling back down on his forehead.

"No," I lied defiantly.

"Right," he said, unconvinced.

I rolled my eyes. "You need a lesson on humility."