Chapter 18: Lost in a Horror Maze

KARA

My eyes blinked open, and I stared up at the white ceiling in Layla’s bedroom. I stretched my arms above my head and groaned when I heard my bones crack.

Allowing myself to sit up, I glanced around. My eyes landed on her alarm clock, and I saw that it was noon. My phone vibrated, telling me I had received a new message.

Sex God

Be at my place at three.

My eyes widened at the name he was saved under. I quickly went to my contacts and changed it to something more suitable before responding to him.

Jason must’ve put his number into my phone on Friday when he was “playing a game.”

“Why are you smiling at your phone?” Jess croaked from across the room. She was sprawled out on the floor.

“I’m not.” My smile dropped, and I got off of Lindsey’s bed.

“Sure you’re not,” Jess said and leaned up, running a hand through her messy black hair. “What time is it?” she asked, looking around for her phone.

“It’s noon,” I replied. Jess cussed and got up, tripping over the pillows that were all over the floor next to her. I burst out laughing, while Layla woke up confused. Jess groaned from the ground.

“Ouch,” Jess hissed and got up. “I forgot I have to work at one,” she rushed and stood up quickly.

“Speaking of, you two need to go.” Layla rubbed her eyes and tried her best to fix her messy hair. Jess and I stared at her as she smirked at us.

“Are you kicking us out?” Jess asked. Layla nodded before laughing and stretching her arms over her head.

“I’m going out to eat with my family.” She sighed in contentment, thinking of delicious food.

I rolled my eyes at her and began to get ready. “Lucky you,” I muttered. “I have to go tutor Jason.” Layla smirked at me, and I threw a pillow at her in response.

Jess grinned as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

“Have fun ‘tutoring’ him,” she muffled from behind the pillow. I grabbed my duffel bag and walked toward the door.

“Goodbye, Layla,” I sighed, ignoring her comments about Jason. “Tell Jess I said bye too,” I shouted and slammed the door behind me.

Time to go see Jason.

***

A couple of hours later, I arrived at Jason’s. Once I got home, I rushed to get ready but then got nervous and began cleaning my room. It took me a while to finally get the courage to drive over to his house.

“We’re starting with math,” Jason shuddered as I said the word.

I rolled my eyes and sat down next to him at his desk. I quickly studied him, noticing his white T-shirt and gray sweatpants.

I looked at the books on his desk before he could catch me staring and began to open up the math book.

“Let’s start,” I sighed, and we began.

By the time we were done, we were both exhausted from overworking our brains. “That took longer than necessary,” I mumbled at Jason.

“It’s not my fault it’s so boring,” he protested and leaned back into his chair, stretching his arms above his head, slightly revealing his smooth stomach.

We both sat silently, letting our minds relax. The silence was comforting. My eyes closed as I enjoyed the moment.

“Thanks,” Jason quietly said. I turned my back to look at him, blue eyes already on me. “In general.” My eyebrow quirked.

“What do you mean?” My heart raced as I waited for his response.

Jason bit his lip, staring up at the ceiling while he took a moment to think. “Sexual things aside,” he began, and I blushed. “You’ve been a good friend.”

My heart ached at his words. So he did see me only as a friend?

Trying not to overthink, I stood up. “Should we call it a day?” My back arched as I stretched. I wanted to go home and cry.

Jason nodded, making my heart drop. I hated that I wanted to spend more time with him. But I needed to spend less time with him if I wanted my feelings to go away.

I began packing up my things quickly, wanting this horrible feeling to go away. “Let’s go to the corn maze?”

My hands stopped moving and I glanced up at Jason, who held his phone up. I read the ad detailing the fall festival that was going on.

Our eyes remained connected, and I blinked when he dropped his hand, eyebrows furrowing. “It looks fun,” I finally replied. “When?”

“Right now,” Jason replied, watching my reaction. My heart swelled, surprised that he still wanted to spend time together.

“Okay,” I breathed out, sounding more excited than I wanted. Jason grinned and began packing up his things. Jason walked toward his closet and pulled his shirt off, revealing his naked torso.

My mouth parted as I watched the muscles on his back bulge while he changed. Holy fucking shit.

Jason turned back toward me just as he tugged a long-sleeve shirt over his head, barely giving me a peek at his firm abs. “Ready?” Jason smirked, knowing I was drooling over him.

I nodded, forcing my blush to go away.

Thirty minutes later, Jason bought our tickets and we walked in. “Finally,” I breathed. I was excited to see what they had going on.

My eyes wandered as we saw food stands at first. Pumpkins were scattered everywhere, and the maze was all the way in the back. The scent of apple cider filled my nose and I hummed.

“Food or maze first?” Jason stared down at me. I perked up, too excited to even decide. Jason laughed as he watched me, filling my stomach with butterflies.

My feelings for him were growing. I was fucked. ~Go with the flow.~ Jess’s words filled my mind. “Maze,” I decided, since I was too nervous to eat.

Jason nodded and we made our way through the crowd and to the back. When we got closer, I read the sign. There were two mazes: the corn maze and the horror one.

“Do you have a preference?” Jason nudged me. The sky was getting dark already, making it the perfect setting for the horror one.

I nodded and walked toward the horror maze. Jason stood frozen in place, and I grinned over my shoulder as he watched me.

“Is somebody scared?” I called out, and he shook his head, following behind. Luckily, the line was short, and we began the trail in no time.

“It’s so quiet,” Jason whispered as we followed the dark, narrow path. We shuffled closely, turning a corner. The scattered lamps barely gave us any light.

Jason followed behind me as I led the way. My heart raced as we continued. I slowed down as we came to another corner. “What was that?” I asked in horror.

Jason stopped in his tracks. “What was what?” I turned to stare at him. His blue eyes were wide, trying to hide the terror he felt. The chill in the air caused goosebumps to appear.

I lunged at him with a scream, causing him to jump in terror. My laughter erupted as I bent over, not able to control myself. “Your face.” Jason stood, glaring at me in his spot.

“I’m sorry.” My stomach was aching from laughing. “I had to.” I gave him an apologetic smile, and he rolled his eyes, urging us to continue. I faced forward and continued walking.

Just as we turned a corner, a masked creature jumped out at me, and I screamed horribly, jumping backward. Jason caught me in his arms.

His chest rumbled against my back as his laughter filled my ears. “Don’t you love karma?”

The mask’s mouth was covered in fake blood, showing its viciously sharp teeth. I stared into its white eyes, shivering in disgust. It let out a low hiss before continuing past us.

My chest heaved as I tried to calm my racing heart. “Fuck,” I breathed out. Jason’s arms were around my chest, and I hadn’t realized I was gripping onto them for dear life.

“Sorry.” I untangled myself, glad that it was dark. My face was flushed.

“C’mon.” Jason pushed past me, grabbing my hand in the process. My heart fluttered as his large hand provided warmth.

We continued through the maze, laughing wildly as we took turns getting scared. Jason held my hand the entire time, never letting go.

“Okay, all that screaming definitely made me hungry,” Jason groaned as we walked out of the maze exit. I nodded in agreement, sniffing the air.

“I smell pizza.” Jason tugged me toward the long line, wood chips crunching under our feet. It was brick-oven-style pizza. No wonder the line was long.

Once we were standing silently, Jason let go of my hand, stuffing his into his pocket. I was a little disappointed but also okay with it because our hands were clammy.

My head tilted back, looking up at the clear dark sky. The stars were barely visible.

“Can I ask you something?” I flashed my eyes back at him. The ends of his blond hair fell onto his forehead as he stared down at me. I bit my lip nervously, nodding back. “Would you consider this a date?”

The air left my lungs as I processed his question. “Like in general, or between me and you?” My stomach knotted nervously. I almost wanted to throw up.

“Between us,” Jason boldly replied.

I blinked, not knowing what he wanted to hear. “Um…” The words wouldn’t leave my mouth. I was too nervous to reply. Did he want it to be a date? Or was he making sure I saw us as only friends?

Fuck.

“Be honest,” Jason added. I began to internally panic as he stared down at me, waiting for my response.

“It’s a date.” The words finally blurted out. I couldn’t contain them. My heart raced as he said nothing—just stared down at me. The line began to move quicker, forcing us to move.

“Good,” Jason replied, giving me a small smile. We moved forward. I almost started crying in relief. “I wanted to ask you earlier, but I chickened out.”

“What made you ask now?” My eyebrows furrowed. We stood side by side as we began getting closer to the front of the line.

“You didn’t let go of my hand,” Jason barely whispered, and my heart fluttered. I felt like I was dreaming. Was this even real?

“I guess I’m kind of oblivious.” Jason threw his head back and laughed.

“Kind of?” I tilted my head. What was he trying to say? “I’d say you’re really oblivious.” Jason shook his head while laughing at me.

My mouth opened, about to ask what he meant, but we were called next. Jason ordered for us, and my mind was now consumed by the pizza. My stomach ached, begging for food.

I moaned as I took a bite of our pizza. The savory taste satisfied my taste buds, and I continued devouring the slice of heaven in my hand.

“Thanks for coming with me,” Jason added. I met his blue eyes, his words surprising me. Jason bit into his pizza, looking away toward the crowd shyly.

The corners of my lips curled in amusement. “Thanks for taking me on my first date.” Jason’s eyes snapped back to me in surprise.

“This was your first date?” I nodded as I continued chewing nonchalantly. Jason stopped eating and continued staring at me.

“What?” I responded once I swallowed my food.

“Not even with—” Jason cut himself off, not wanting to say his name.

“Not even with Adam,” I confirmed quietly. Adam and I hadn’t dated for too long, but we spent most of our time watching TV together. It wasn’t a very eventful relationship.

“I kind of feel special.” Jason grinned proudly. I laughed at his reaction, but on the inside, I was doing backflips. If only he knew how I felt about him.

“You should.”