My Bully's Love - Chapter 14: Chapter 14

The new ice cream place that Mason takes me to is surprisingly packed by the time we get there. With it being Fall, you would think that most would be over ice cream, and more into pumpkin spice or hot chocolate, but because this is a new establishment, it’s the ‘IT’ place to be. With that being said, all eyes turn to us as Mason holds the door open for me as we walk in. I want to turn right around and leave, but Mason places his hand on my lower back and urges me toward the counter.
“Don’t let them chase you away, Ella. You deserve to be here just as much as they do.” He smiles down at me, and I instantly feel a little less nervous. Giving him a little nod, I step up to the counter and glance up at the menu. “You can order a cone or a blizzard, or even a malt or shake, but my favorite is the ice cream bowls that you build yourself.” He grins and making him look like we just stepped into his favorite candy store.
“That actually sounds fun, I’ll do that.” I wait as Mason orders two of the Build Your Own Bowls and hands me a waffle bowl. He leads me to what looks like a buffet bar, and that’s exactly what it is, only it’s filled with every kind of ice cream you can imagine. Another buffet table has the same, only with different toppings, “Oh my! How does a person even decide?” I laugh as my eyes widen with such a huge selection.
Mason leans in a little, “I always scoop four different flavors into my bowl, and then just chooses the toppings that I like,” He winks at me, “If you do the same, then we can try each other’s to see which one is the best.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” I chuckle, “Only, I don’t like nuts in my ice cream.”
“Are you kidding me?” He fakes a gasp, “I’m the same way, no nuts for me!” We both laugh and precede in filling our bowls up.
Once we pay for our bowls, a corner table is just opening us, so we dash for it before anybody else takes it. It seems as though two other couples had the same idea, but we get here first. We give both couples an apologetic look as we sit down across from each other. Digging into my ice cream, I can’t help the moan that slips out as the chocolate ice cream melts in my mouth. It’s so creamy and sweet, and the chocolate syrup, whipped cream and Oreo cookie crumbs only adds to the deliciousness of the treat.
“That good, huh?” Mason chuckles.
“Mmhm!” I slide my bowl over to him and offer some. He takes a spoonful of mine as I do the same with his, “I never would have taken you for a plain vanilla kind of guy.” I tease before putting my spoon with vanilla ice cream and strawberry syrup, topped with gummy worms, into my mouth.
He shrugs, “I’m willing to ty anything, once.”
I notice the innuendo in his response, but it wasn’t flirtatious; more like friendly than anything else. We grin at each other and continue to share our ice cream with each other as we chat about nothing in particular, school and classes mostly. I offer to help tutor him in math because he isn’t doing so well, and he has to maintain a certain grade to in order to play sports. He hesitates at first, but then agrees to meet two times a week during last period in the library.
Everything is going well until a group gets up from a few of the middle tables, leaving an empty space and allowing us to see across the shop. A pair of green eyes glower at us from the other side. My hand halts halfway to my mouth and my heart begins to race. Mason notices my reaction and glances over to where I’m staring at. Cursing under his breath, he turns his attention back to me.
“It’s a little crowded in here, how about we take these to go?” He offers softly.
I blink my eyes, trying to refocus on the person across from me, “Uh, what did you say?”
“I asked if you wanted to take our bowls to go?”
“Oh, yeah. I think that’s a good idea, it’s getting a bit stuffy in here.” I don’t know what comes over me, but I say my last statement loud enough for others to hear.
As we collect our things, I quickly glance over to the table that Jace is sitting at with Toby and Brandon. His eyes are still on me, and they are looking angrier than they did the first time I looked over. Chills slide down my back when I feel Mason place his hand on my lower back again, as we leave. I feel a hole being burned into my back, but I don’t dare to look behind me, I don’t want to see the anger glowing in my bully’s eyes. I don’t know what his problem is, he hasn’t tried contacting me or even bullying me in well over a month, and now he’s pissed to see me out, enjoying myself?
“Are you okay?” Mason asks as we settle back into his vehicle, “I saw the way Jace was looking at you, Ella. You shouldn’t have to deal with that.”
I give him a small smile, “Thanks, but I’ve been dealing with that for two years now. At least he hasn’t bullied me in over a month.” I spoon some ice cream into my mouth, so I don’t say anything else, because my voice almost cracked.
“I’m sorry, Ella. I guess I never realized how bad it really was. What do your other friends say about it?”
“What friends,” I shrug, “Jace made sure that I had nobody but my own family to talk to. I thought everybody knew that.”
“I guess I never paid much attention to what was going on if it wasn’t about me.” Mason really looks remorseful, and I’m beginning to believe him.
“It’s okay. Soon, I’ll be leaving for college, and I can start a whole new life far away from Jace Palmer.”
We finish our ice cream bowls, and then Mason drives me home. He doesn’t try anything with me and has been the perfect gentleman. Seems as though Mason Baker grew up. I’m smiling as we pull up in front of my house, happy that I have a friend now. Hopefully, he’s here to stay.
“Thank you, Mason. I had fun tonight, regardless of other things, and I want you to know that I forgive you for the past.”
“Thank you, Ella. I will continue to make it up to you, but I want you to know that I am here as a friend if you need it.” For the first time, I notice that he has a dimple on each side of his face when he smiles.
“I’ll probably take you up on that quite often,” I laugh, “But for now, I will see you in the library last period tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there, Miss Baxter.” He muses as I open the door and exit the vehicle. When I get to the front door, I turn and wave back at Mason. Once he sees me open the door, he waves back and takes off. That was sweet of him to make sure I get inside okay, I smile and think to myself, when a black jeep comes barreling down our street, well over the speed limit. Shaking my head, I spin and go inside the house, not wanting to think about Jace Palmer anymore tonight.