Break All Your Rules

Just a second date turned into three dates, and we spent the entire weekend together. We had good chemistry, and very similar tastes. We listened to a lot of the same music, liked the same movies, and enjoyed the same humor, surprisingly. He was intelligent and sweet and an all-around great guy.

On Monday, I took my spot beneath the tree at lunch, glancing quickly over to the place where the guys usually resided. It was empty and I sighed; I would be spending another lunch period alone.

“Hey, Fiona,” Shaun said, appearing next to me. He sat down, put his bag between his legs, and pulled out a brown paper bag. “What’s up?”

“Not much,” I told him, thoroughly confused. “You?”

“Same here. Hey, Mason! Kev! Scotty!” He waved violently at the guys leaving the cafeteria, even though they were already heading over.

I smiled as the little group settled in around me, lunch trays in hand. Mason claimed the spot directly beside me, scooting close. “Hey.”

“Hey, Mase.” I looked at his packed tray, picking up a shiny red apple. “Wow, hungry much?” I took a bite, savoring the sweet juices.

“Sure, you can have that.” He rolled his eyes. “Actually, part of this is for you.”

“Um, why?”

“I’ve never seen you eat at lunch before.” He handed me a bag of chips and some fries. “C’mon, eat.”

“Thanks.” I continued to munch on the apple while the guys talked.

“So, what are you guys? I mean, are you dating or what?” Scotty reached over and poked me. “I’m assuming you wear the pants here. Wanna clear this thing up for us?”

I looked at Mason, panicking. We hadn’t addressed the issue of what to call this – was it a relationship or simply a casual exploration? He just looked back at me. Well, what are we? he mouthed, just as expectant as the others.

“Well, we’ve been on three dates now, and I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a fourth and a fifth. So, I’d say we’re boyfriend and girlfriend,” I announced. “Sound okay?”

The glow on Mason’s face was perfect. “Sounds more than okay.” He did a little fist pump. “Finally. I get a girl who’s actually gonna treat me well.”

“And you haven’t before?”

Kevin and Scotty started laughing, while Shaun shook his head and covered his eyes with his hand.

“Mason has shit luck with women,” Kevin clarified. “He gets used, cheated on, lied to… You name it, it’s happened to him.”

“Of course, he’s only dated stupid chicks, so that could be a part of the problem.” Scotty stroked an imaginary beard. “Girls with IQs higher than four may react to him differently. You’ll be our first example of that.”

“What they’re trying to say,” Shaun cut in, “is that Mason usually has really bad taste. He chooses the wrong person. With you, we finally thought, ‘hey, someone that could be good for him’ and we encouraged it. I mean, you don’t seem like the lying, cheating, using type.” He smiled. “I’m a pretty good judge of character when it comes to these things.”

I smiled. It seemed as though I had been accepted into the group. “Thanks, guys.” My hand worked its way through the grass, searching for Mason’s. Once my hand found his, I placed it on top of his and closed it, grabbing his hand. He noticed, looking down at the contact. He was smiling again.

“Ooh, Mason’s falling hard!” Scotty taunted. “See that smile? Yeah! Haha, that’s his special ‘I really like you’ smile!” He continued, talking to no one in particular.

“Hey, Scotty?” Mason asked as he looked at me.

“Yeah, dude?”

“Shut up.”