Ch. 35: Giddy

-Mason-

"Honestly," Eric mentioned as we pulled into the gym's parking lot, far too smug with himself for my liking. "I'm surprised you let me tag along again, dude."

I frowned, not pleased with the development at all. Although, it wasn't like I'd had much of a choice in the matter. "I was running late and you literally threatened to throw yourself in front of my car and cling onto the roof as I drove away," I reminded him, not bothering to omit the displeasure from my voice. "Did you want me to run you over instead?"

Eric shrugged, patting my shoulder. "I would've preferred it, really. But this is an acceptable compromise."

I didn't bother with a reply, glancing around in search of a parking space. The gym was typically bustling with people around this time, and today was certainly no exception. Of course, there were the rare, blessed days where I happened to pull into the lot just as someone in the front row was leaving; however, that didn't seem to be quite feasible today.

My eyes drifted to the time and I grumbled under my breath, settling for turning right towards the far back of the parking lot and pulling into a space under the shade of a large oak tree. There were no cars back here, thankfully. And hell, at least now I wouldn't have to squeeze my way in when the car beside me disregarded the parking line entirely. And most of these idiots did.

"Alright, dude. So, what's our set looking like today? We doing arms? Legs? Boobs?"

"You mean chest? There isn't such a thing as—" I halted as he poked my chest. I swatted his arm away in annoyance, but that didn't hinder him much.

"I beg to differ," he retorted. "Those mommy milkers are—"

I settled a hand on his shoulder, gripping it tightly. "No. Never call them that again." I cringed at the mere term, acutely aware that I had to nip this shit in the bud unless I was ready for it to become a common part of his vernacular.

Eric narrowed his eyes, trying so fucking hard to suppress a smirk. I only tightened my grip until he let go, narrowing my eyes as he burst out laughing. The cheeky little shit... "Are you threatening me, big boy?"

"I don't know. Is it working?" I retorted while stepping out of the car, opening the trunk and pulling out my gym bag before tossing it over my shoulder, watching him busily texting on his phone when he could be getting his ass out of my car.

I closed the trunk and tapped on both windows to alert him, impatiently waiting for him to get out so I could lock the car. We weren't necessarily late late, but it was definitely cutting it close.

"I'm serious, dude; what's our plan?" he asked while closing his own door, jogging around the car to catch up to me as I crossed the street, pleased at the reassuring sound of the car locking. Eric was buzzing with excitement, which would've been contagious if I wasn't so goddamn nervous about today, my hands sweaty even as I continuously rubbed them against the sides of my shorts. "Are we meeting Bennett inside?"

"We are not, no."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Eric asked while crossing the street, turning back to... pretend to box with me.

I ignored him as he walked backwards and threw fake punches that stopped a few inches short of my shoulder, frowning when a suspicious one ended up a bit too close to my jaw.

"Watch it," I warned.

Eric snorted. "Oh, c'mon. Lighten up, bro. It's—" I yanked him forward by the arm just as he tripped back on the sidewalk, pulling him up before he could eat shit.

"Be careful," I grumbled while steadying him, letting go only once I was sure he wasn't about to crack his skull on the pavement. And, as if he hadn't just barely avoided death, he went right back to throwing hands with the air in front of me. "Also, if any of those weak swings connect..."

Eric scoffed, finally halting. "Hey!"

I chuckled under my breath, pushing open one of the glass doors and tilting my head, signaling for him to hurry the hell up. I knew we still had to check in and whatnot, but I was feeling quite eager to find Bennett. I should probably text him and let him know I was here, right?

"Seriously, though. What's our plan?" he asked while stepping inside the lobby. It was as crowded as usual, though the line to check in was not too bad.

I frowned at my friend while stepping up to the end of the line, slowly shaking my head while pulling out my wallet. Ah, so I still had to break the news to him. "You're not joining us. I brought you along because you begged me to. I'm abandoning you the second we check in," I explained casually.

He scoffed at that, making a point of vocalizing his outrage: "I thought you were going to let me be your wingman! I even thought of good pick-up lines we could use!"

"We?" I questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

Eric huffed in protest as we stepped forward, shaking his head. "I'm being isolated. Rejected! Abandoned, even. It's cruel and unusual, as far as punishments go. And if anything, this is only setting an inhumane and dangerous precedent for—"

I glared him down, stepping close enough to whisper my threat away from prying ears. I made a point of glaring him down, narrowing my eyes as our eyes locked. "Last time, you spent the entire time playing mind games with Bennett, didn't you?"

Eric opened his mouth to deny the accusations, but I just talked over him. "—I wasn't asking, Eric. I love you, man. But no."

He had the nerve to look offended, even after exposing his own conniving actions the moment we'd exited the gym last time. "I—I resent that accusation," he muttered indignantly, pouting to himself. "Whatever. I didn't even want to hang out with you guys anyways."

I rolled my eyes at that. "Also, please don't hit on that lady that's going to check us in?"

Eric scoffed. "Why not?"

I shrugged, glaring over at her past the dwindling line. From the few interactions that we'd had, it was abundantly clear that she wasn't the kindest of individuals. "She's not nice to Bennett, so we don't like her."

"We don't?"

I nodded my head.

He made a comment about me being too uptight, but he ultimately nodded in agreement, going back to grumbling about being abandoned and cock-blocked. I mostly tuned him out after that, glancing around the crowded lobby in search of those cute running shorts.

I smiled softly as I caught sight of him across the lobby, though immediately frowned when I realized there was a girl hanging all over him while they chatted with another girl, this one wearing a similar outfit to his. I recognized the co-worker, since I'd once approached her to ask for a favor, but the other one... not so much.

I frowned at the way she had her arm wrapped around his waist, standing awfully close.

A friend, likely.

... hopefully.

---

True to my word, I parted ways with Eric the moment we crossed past the main reception. I made a point of signaling towards the opposite direction of where I was heading, watching as he began to argue before defeatedly wandering off on his own.

And then I finally approached Bennett, watching as he continued chatting to, uhm, his friends?

"Bennett," I called out, a bit intimidated by the prospect of meeting them.

I watched as he jolted and turned towards me, hastily coaxing them into the room where he usually taught his classes. The handsy one that I didn't recognize did turn to stare right back at me, smirking in what I could only describe as a surprisingly mischievous way before waving me off. It felt like... she knew something I didn't. Bennett simply groaned while pushing her inside and closing the doors for good measure. Then, he sighed before walking over to me, waving with the nervous energy of a spooked rabbit.

Or a chihuahua, perhaps.

"Mason," he breathed out, before pointing back at the door he'd just been standing by. "Sorry, I was talking to—well, that was—uhm, they're covering for me!"

I suppressed a grin, watching as Bennett talked over himself. It was probably foolish of me to find him as endearing as I did, but all logic seemed to fly out the window whenever it came to him and his shy little rambles.

"You should've let me introduce myself," I replied before signaling for him to follow, heading towards the locker room. I was already in workout clothes—had literally gone to my morning class wearing them out of sheer impatience—but I still needed to put my duffel bag away.

Then, I noticed he wasn't following.

I turned back to frown down at him, snorting when I caught sight of the way he darted his eyes between the locker room and I, his jaw slacking a bit. One would've thought I'd asked him to go skydiving the way his eyes lit up in panic. "I—I can wait out here instead?" he asked, though it felt somewhat rhetorical. "Yeah?"

I rolled my eyes, wondering what was going through that skittish mind of his. "I'm already changed. Just need to put my stuff away," I assured him, in case he was feeling uncomfortable about me changing in front of him. With Eric, he was shameless enough to trail after me regardless of what I was doing; though, perhaps it was a bit odd for me to expect that of Bennett as well.

"Oh."

"Besides, you won't tackle me this time, right?" I jested as we stepped into the locker room, snickering when he cringed in turn.

Bennett groaned at the mere reminder of that incident, shutting his eyes long enough that I had to coax him out of the way of a row of lockers before he could smash into it.

"Hey, don't die on me," I scolded lightly, smirking when he sheepishly ducked his head in response. "You're lucky I have practice in steering people clear of accidents."

"Thanks," he whispered while nervously trailing after me, but I just waved it off.

I settled for the closest locker in the third row, shoving my stuff inside before unzipping the duffel bag. I put my wallet and keys away in the inner side pocket before double-checking I had actually brought a change of clothes. Because, well, sometimes I forgot to check and just brought the sweaty clothes from the day prior.

"Did you get any sleep?" I suddenly asked while rummaging through the bag for my water bottle, furrowing my eyebrows at the realization that he didn't have the advantage of living on campus. I'd been able to book it back to the dorms after dropping him off and napped for a bit before class, but he'd likely gone straight to campus since he went by bus. "Shit. Maybe I should've driven you to campus myself."

He sighed, hastily waving his hands. "N-no, it's fine! I'm wide awake!"

"You sure? I don't want you to be pushing yourself if you're tired."

Bennett nodded his head eagerly. "I'm all good. Even my ankle's all better now!"

And sure, I didn't fully believe that considering that I could still see the slightest of limps whenever he turned a corner, but I just nodded my head in agreement for his sake, gently patting his head. "How were your classes today?"

He peered up at me as I ruffled his hair, grumbling but not moving out of my reach. "It was fine. A-and hey, I'm not a dog, y'know?"

Nope, he was much cuter.

"Let's go," I mentioned, while walking past him, smirking as he fixed his hair before jogging to catch up to me.

---

A/N: Thank you for reading. Also, please consider leaving a comment and vote if you enjoyed! Honestly, your comments and feedback are what always inspire and encourage me, so I deeply appreciate it!