Free Charly's Epic Fiascos by Kelli London

parked in the lot.
    Charly just sat there. For once in her life, she was speechless. She was almost afraid to speak, fearing what Mason would say. She’d never seen him this way before, and it concerned her. “What is it, Mason? Why are you so mad?”
    Mason’s temples throbbed and he chewed on his bottom lip. He looked at her, half angry and half something else she couldn’t pinpoint. “You know why I always track you down? Why I always talk to you? Or the reason that I borrowed this car—without permission—to take you to the bus so you can leave?”
    Charly’s eyes widened this time. She shook her head, then nodded. “Because we’re friends who have so much in common?”
    Mason chuckled. “No. Because I like you . . . as more than a friend.”
    Charly, still sitting, managed to put her hands on her hips. “Yeah, right. You like your friend who helped you with the paper,” she accused.
    Mason mushed her forehead.
    â€œOw!” Charly said. “Why’d you—”
    Mason laughed coolly, but very calm. “Never that! My friend is my homeboy. We cool, but we’re not that cool. Know what I mean?”
    So Mason wasn’t secretly seeing someone else. Relief moved through Charly, then quickly gave way to tension. With her moving almost a thousand miles away, it didn’t matter if Mason was single or not. She’d be too far to have a serious relationship. “Well, I . . .”
    Mason’s lips were on hers before she could finish her sentence, and she didn’t know whether to kiss him back or flee. As popular as she was, she’d never locked lips with someone before, and had found no one worthy of more than a casual cheek smooch. But Mason was different and more than worthy, she decided, then kissed him back.
    â€œHere,” he said, cutting short the kiss and putting a piece of paper in her hand. “That’s my cousin’s number in Brooklyn. When you get to the city, give her a call if you need anything.” He pecked her on her lips again. “And call me if you need anything else, before you get there or after. I don’t know why you just don’t have your pops fly you out instead of taking the stupid bus.”
    Charly just stared into his eyes. Now would’ve been the perfect time to admit to lying about her father, but she couldn’t come clean. Not after Mason had admitted to liking her too. She couldn’t risk losing him so soon.
    â€œIt’s just something I have to do on my own,” she said, a mixture of excited and hurt. She was happy to leave, but she’d miss Stormy and Lola and Mason and her friends at Smax’s. “And I don’t want anyone stopping me.”
    Mason nodded, then arched his back, lifting his body from the seat. He stuck a hand in his pocket, and pulled out a thin stack of money. “I was gonna use this to buy some new kicks, but I figure you could use it more than me right now. I can’t have my girl on the road without enough cash. And promise me you’ll be careful.”
    Charly could see Lola and Stormy in the side mirror, approaching in the distance. Lola was smiling and talking a mile a minute and Stormy looked like someone had just died. A tear escaped Charly’s eye. She’d miss her sister and worry about her constantly, but she had to leave. Her leaving was Stormy’s only chance for happiness. Charly would go to New York, become a huge television star, then send for her sister. That was the plan, and it was also the promise she’d written to Stormy in the letter in her pocket. Hesitantly, she took the money from Mason. With only the one hundred dollars that she’d picked up from Bathsheba, she wasn’t in the position to turn any cash down. “Thanks, Mason. You don’t know how much this is going to help me.”
    Mason wiped away her tear, then got out of the SUV. He unloaded the trunk while Charly got