It Had to be Mason: A Sweet YA Romance (Beachbreak High Book 1)

by Emily Lowry

  I took a seat. “This is incredible.”

  Mason nodded and sat opposite me. “Only the best. I trust the Treehouse Café is to your satisfaction?”

  “So formal.” I laughed. The Treehouse Café was amazing, and I didn’t have the words to express it. “So what are we eating? Did you sneak some food in here, too?”

  Mason reached under the table, pulled out a menu, and handed it to me.

  “You’re joking,” I said, taking the laminated — yes, laminated — menu from his hands. Apparently, the Treehouse Café had several menu options available. Burgers and fries, four cheese lasagna, and a fancy surf and turf were all listed. For drinks, we had a variety of sodas. I tapped the menu. “I’ve noticed that there are no prices listed?”

  “Already paid.”

  “And should I expect that when I’m on a date with a gentleman?”

  “Depends on the gentleman,” Mason said. “I’ve always thought that whoever asks, pays. But you can offer to split it. Sometimes people prefer that. When I ask a girl on a date, I always offer to pay. If she offers to split it, then we do that. Whatever makes everyone comfortable.”

  “Well, if you’re paying, I’m going to have three surf and turfs, two burgers and fries, and—”

  “We’re definitely splitting it,” Mason said, grinning.

  I laughed. “Okay, okay. This might be really simple… but I want the burger and fries. And a cream soda. And… maybe a churro sundae for dessert?”

  “Absolutely.”

  I stared at Mason, waiting for him to magically produce the entire meal. He was basically magic, after all. But the only thing he produced was his phone. He sent a text, then slid his phone back in his pocket.

  “Normally, it’s frowned upon to use your phone on a date,” Mason said. “Avoid it if you can. This was an exception. Our food should be here in twenty minutes. Which is perfect — that’ll give us enough time to practice the basics of going on a first date. Now, when you’re on your first date, you’ll probably feel nervous.”

  “I don’t feel nervous right now,” I said. It was true — I never felt nervous around Mason like I did with other guys. Instead, I felt comfortable. Being with Mason was like being curled up next to a roaring bonfire on a hot summer night, the kind of night you wanted to last forever.

  “Because it’s not a real date,” Mason said. “But with Kevin, you’ll probably be nervous while you’re waiting for your food to arrive.”

  “Okay, let’s assume I’m an awkward, nervous mess.” I leaned forward. “What should I do to impress my date?”

  Mason adjusted the candle in the center of the table so it was out of our eyeline. “First, you need to rethink your idea of what a date is. You don’t want to go on a date thinking you need to impress some guy. And you don’t want a guy going on a date thinking he needs to impress you.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because if you’re impressing somebody, or he’s impressing you, you’re both just playing pretend. Worse, you’re just pretending to be someone that you think the other person will like. The best-case scenario is that they do like you while you’re playing pretend, which means they like who you’re pretending to be, not who you really are.”

  This was the first time I had doubted Mason. I crossed my arms. “You’re not going to give me some cheesy ‘be yourself’ message, are you?”

  “I one hundred percent am,” Mason said.

  “So I should show up in a spaghetti stained sweatshirt and pajama pants, with an inch of grime in my hair because I haven’t washed it in three days?”

  “Why not? At least then they know what they’re getting.” Mason laughed. “But seriously, you want to be the best version of yourself, but you still want to be you. You want to be the effortlessly confident Zoo that jives at the Night Market or waltzes in Secret Cove. The thing is, the first date is just the first page of a book. You still got a whole story to tell after that. And in any story, you can only pretend something for so long. At some point it comes down to you, to him, and to chemistry.”

  I felt like I should take notes. “Okay, how do you get chemistry, Mr. Expert?”

  Mason shrugged. “I wish I could tell you. Chemistry is the one thing you can’t force. Sometimes it’s there, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes, a guy can check every box on your list, and there’ll be no chemistry. Just nothing. And sometimes, you find chemistry with the people you know you shouldn’t have chemistry with. The people you’re not allowed to have chemistry with.”

  People like your brother’s best friend, who was taking another girl to Homecoming. People like that.

  “Knock knock!” Nina’s shout came from the backyard. A moment later, her face appeared in the door of the treehouse. She was wearing another band shirt. She was also wearing a clip-on bowtie. She climbed into the treehouse and set a big bag of food on the table. “Madam. Monsieur. Your order is served.”

  I clapped my hands delightedly and rocked back in my chair. I almost rocked back too far and tipped over, but thankfully, I caught myself on the edge of the table. “You’ve been avoiding me all day, and now you’re here?”

  “Mason’s orders.” Nina grinned and unpacked the food. “The front door was open, so I left the churro sundaes in the freezer. If there’s anything else you need… well I can’t help you, I have a concert to go to, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Enjoy!”

  Nina left.

  I was nearly at a loss for words. “How did you…”

  “Pull this off?” Mason asked. He pulled two china plates out of the bag, set them on the table, then unpacked the rest of our food. “Sometimes, the play breaks down and you have to scramble to make something out of nothing. Sometimes, you have a practice date planned, and people get grounded. So you improvise. But, why don’t we put the dating lessons on hold and focus on what’s important? The food.”

  I dug into my burger and fries. Mason got the same. When I asked him what he would’ve done if I ordered the lasagna or the surf and turf, he told me that he had already scoped out the full menus at each of the restaurants and had a plan prepared for each one. He told me that a good quarterback always has a plan — even when things looked like they wouldn’t work out. Between bursts of laughter, we finished our food.

  “Since you aced the dinner portion of your date — meaning you didn’t spill on yourself — ”

  “Wait, I was being judged for that?”

  He winked. “Only a little. Don’t worry, you’ll never top this one date I went on. The girl straight up shot hummus out of her nose.”

  I grimaced.

  “That’s the face I made too,” Mason said. He quickly cleaned the plates with a napkin, then exited the treehouse. “Come on.”

  My curiosity was killing me. What could he possibly have planned next? I followed him down the ladder and out to the driveway.

  Mason handed me a plate. “You’re going to Snack N’ Smash, which means that at the end of your date, you’ll each get to smash your plate. I figured that since you’re not an all-star quarterback — like some people I know — you’d want a practice throw.”

  I held the plate tentatively. “You want me to break it?”

  “Don’t worry — it’s only a practice plate.”

  “What about the shards?”

  “I brought a broom with me.”

  “If you say so.” I raised the plate, but hesitated. It was weird to think that I was deliberately going to break something. It went against every instinct I had. I looked at Mason one more time for reassurance, and when he nodded, I threw the plate against the concrete.

  It shattered into six pieces.

  A thrill ran through me. “How’d I do?”

  “Almost perfect. But I think I should show you how it’s done. Properly.”

  I laughed and crossed my arms. “All right, Space Face. Let’s see how an all-star quarterback throws a plate.”

  Mason held the plate like a football, his expression serious. He pump faked once. T
wice. Then he nodded to me, drew his arm back to throw the plate—

  And it slipped out of his hand and fell behind him.

  CRACK. It split in half.

  And so did my sides. I was laughing so hard that I almost collapsed to my knees before remembering that there were broken pieces of glass on the driveway. Gasping for air, I wandered to the side yard and fell in the cool grass.

  Mason glared at the plate like it had betrayed him, then scratched his head, looking remarkably like a confused monkey from the zoo. “Maybe you should be the one giving me tips.”

  I recovered enough breath to reply. “Definitely. Do you want any help cleaning?”

  “After I drop you off,” Mason said.

  I hooked my arm through his, and he walked me to the front door.

  “If you’re dating the right sort of gentleman, he’ll walk you to your door,” Mason said. “Or at least he’ll make sure you got inside okay. But that’s just being polite.”

  I put my hands in his and looked at him. He was handsome enough to break hearts. “What now?” I asked. “We tell each other how lovely the night was?”

  “Exactly,” he said. “And sometimes this is where the first kiss happens.”

  Heat rose to my cheeks. “Right. That.”

  Our eyes met, and a spark of electricity shot through me, making my skin tingle. Mason held my gaze for a long moment, before looking away. “Are you ready for your first date? And your first kiss?”

  “Thanks to you,” I said. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a hug and resting my head on his chest. “Thank you. For everything. I just hope Kevin can live up to the example you set.”

  “I’m sure he can,” Mason replied, squeezing me tight. “He’s much smarter than me.”

  I kept my arms around him, my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. I never wanted the hug to end. Next Friday, I’d have my date with Kevin. Then on Saturday, Mason would have his Homecoming date with Meredith. It was all happening too soon. It felt like as soon as I let him go, it would be Homecoming.

  And I wasn’t ready for that.

  40

  Mason

  There was only one word I could use to describe Homecoming Week at Beachbreak: insane. There were so many pep rallies and parades that they became one big blur of fight songs, cheerleaders, and roaring students. Everywhere I went, people were asking me about our Homecoming game against the Santa Mara Tide. Students, teachers, alumni. They all wanted me to personally guarantee a victory against our biggest rival.

  Coach even pulled me out of Life Skills class for the week so I could spend the period reviewing game tape. This meant that I didn’t get to see Zoe for most of the week.

  As the week went on, the forecast got worse and worse, and by the time Friday Night Lights rolled around, the rain fell in sheets and drowned out the roar of the crowd.

  The clock was counting down to zero all too quickly.

  I scrambled out of the pocket, my cleats struggling to grip the mud.

  A giant with black lines painted under his eyes chased me.

  I checked the clock — only three seconds left, and we were down by four points. I dug my feet into the ground and lofted the ball.

  CRUNCH.

  The giant leveled me, wrapping his arms around me, tackling me and driving his shoulder into my chest as we fell.

  Air left my body.

  Our side of the crowd groaned.

  I swore. The pass must’ve been incomplete. There would be no time left on the clock, and we’d lose to our biggest rival. Not how I wanted Homecoming to go.

  “You lose, sucker,” the giant said. Still on top of me, he grabbed a handful of mud and discretely flicked it in my helmet.

  The grime clung to my mouth guard, and I tasted mud and dirt.

  I also saw red.

  I shoved the guy off of me and leaped to my feet. I was about to go after him when Tyler grabbed my shoulder pads. He pushed me away and pointed to a flag lying in the mud. “Roughing the passer,” he said. “We get another play.”

  Another play.

  One more shot.

  The giant swore at the ref, then he looked at me and wiggled his fingers. “I’m coming for you, Seven.”

  I wiped the mud from my eyes and walked back to the huddle. “All right, boys. We got one more shot at this. So let’s send these hopped up idiots home crying,” I said. “Deuce Left Mesh. Bryan, on the cross, break deep and pull the safety. He doesn’t go with you, I’ll hit you. He does, I’ll hit Tyler on the backside go. Ready? Break.”

  We set up at the line of scrimmage.

  The giant stood up and pointed out our formation. “Watch the crossing routes, Seven’s going to hit them on the crossing routes. Just like we saw on tape.”

  I chuckled and met his eyes. “You’ve been watching our tape, man?”

  He glared at me. “Yeah.”

  I winked. “Then watch this.”

  I snapped the ball.

  The defense crashed the line of scrimmage and the giant broke through. He tore after me, his teeth gritted together, murder in his eyes. He opened his arms to swallow me whole—

  And I ducked beneath him.

  Aimed for my receiver.

  Threw.

  The ball stayed in the air forever. I swore I could see rain drops spinning off of it as it spiraled to the end zone.

  Bryan blew past his defender, leaped in the air, and caught the ball.

  Touchdown.

  Game over.

  The crowd erupted in deafening cheers and screams.

  I pumped my fist and shouted until my voice was hoarse.

  I wasn’t proud — I definitely looked over my shoulder at the giant in the mud and watched his anger turn to sadness. Then, I was off down the field, running beside Tyler, trying to find Bryan in the midst of the crowd storming the field.

  Tyler smacked my helmet and held out a fake mic. “Mason McClellan, you’ve just won the Homecoming game, you’re going to the dance with the hottest girl in school, and you even got my sister a date with the nerd of her dreams, how do you feel?”

  All the excitement I’d been feeling drained from my body, replaced by a pang of jealousy. Other than winning the Homecoming game, I wasn’t sure how I felt about any of that. But I had to remember — Zoe wasn’t here. It was her date tonight. She wanted the nerd. Kevin was her type.

  “I feel great,” I lied. “And I bet if we hurry, we can see the two nerds off on their date.”

  I still had something I wanted to give her.

  41

  Zoe

  I turned off the radio and sat in the silence of my bedroom. I wished I could have been at the football game. I wanted to be in the stands, clapping, screaming, cheering on Mason, Tyler, and the rest of the team. But I was at home, getting ready for my first date.

  Nina poked my side. “You’re zoning out again.”

  “Sorry,” I said.

  Nina gestured to the outfits lying on my bed. “Do we have a winner?”

  My choices were limited. My black dress was the fanciest, but I’d worn that on my practice date with Mason. I wanted to keep that memory special. Between Mason and I. My eyes moved disinterestedly between my other options — a red fit and flare dress with a scalloped hem and a boring beige shirtdress with distinct secretary vibes.

  Honestly, I wanted to stay at home in my pajamas and watch Netflix. But Nina wouldn’t let that happen, so I grabbed the shirtdress.

  She raised her eyebrows. “Okay, so I laid that out as a joke… are you feeling okay?”

  “Fine,” I said quickly. I set down the shirtdress and grabbed the red one instead.

  “Really?”

  My stomach turned. I hadn’t eaten much today. I told myself I was just saving room for Snack N’ Smash, but there was only so long you could lie to yourself. Secretly, I was dreading my date. It felt all wrong. Why was I going through with this, again?

  Nina hugged me. “You’ll be great. You have
nothing to be nervous about. It’s only a date with Kevin. It’s not like you’re going out with Mason or something.”

  “Weird thing to say,” I muttered, stepping into the red dress. “Zip me?”

  Nina gave it a nod of approval, and I spun around so she could zip me up. “Is it really a weird thing to say? You two have been spending a lot of time together. Like a lot. And you’re seriously trying to tell me that there’s nothing there?”

  “I already told you — he’s just being nice,” I said. I wanted — desperately — for there to be something between me and Mason. The last few weeks I’d spent teaching him to dance and learning how to date had been some of the most fun in my life. But just because I desperately wanted there to be chemistry, didn’t mean there was actually chemistry. Plus, there was the whole Meredith thing to contend with. “He’s going to Homecoming with Meredith. If he wanted to go with me, he would’ve asked. He’s that type of guy.”

  Nina looked doubtful, but she said nothing.

  I examined myself in the mirror. I looked… average. And average would never cut it with a guy like Mason. He wanted the best — he deserved the best. And that was Meredith. Not me.

  42

  Mason

  There wasn’t a thing in the world that made me more nervous than giving someone a present. Especially someone I cared about.

  I sat on a couch in the living room of Zoe’s house, the bag on my lap. It felt strangely heavy, as though it carried a weight I couldn’t see. Maybe that was the problem. After all this time, I wasn’t sure whether the gift was appropriate. Was this a “just friends” gift, or was it trying to be something more?

  Maybe I shouldn’t give it to her. If anyone asked, I could just pretend that I brought a spare change of clothes for after the football game.

  “Zoe, you ready yet?” Tyler called, sitting on the couch beside me. He was antsy to get to the team’s afterparty.

  A door creaked open, and a moment later, Nina appeared at the top of the stairs. “She’s coming,” Nina said. She jogged down the stairs, kneeled, and pulled out her phone to take a picture. She paused. “Are we the embarrassing parents in this situation?”