MACE: An Overthinking Mace is a Worried Mace

In the morning of the day we were scheduled to meet, Luke called again and much to my dismay, it was my grandma who answered the phone. I was at the dining table, eating a sandwich with my two sisters, while Lola was sitting at the sofa, a mere arm’s away from the phone.

I braced myself for Lola’s reaction once he’ll ask for me but instead, Luke must have recognized her voice because he made an apology to her before asking to talk to me.

“It’s alright,” I heard Lola say. “Just make sure to always check the time before making a call. Ten in the evening is already considered a late hour.”

Luke must have agreed with her because my grandma had a satisfied look on her face.

“Looks like he’s forgiven,” Shane mumbled her mouth full of bread. I turned to look at her and she was also watching Lola’s expression closely.

Cass, behind her, gave a thumbs-up sign. “It’s good that he apologized,” she remarked. “That way, Lola’s initial bad impression would be replaced by something positive.”

I had filled my sisters with Lola’s disapproval of Luke’s late-night calls and both agreed that it was a bad move because she’s quite particular with a guy’s good manners as it tends to give her a lasting impression.

Before I could reply, I heard my grandma call my name. I glanced at Cass and Shane who grinned at me encouragingly. I took a deep breath and got up to talk to the guy who’s been causing me all this anxiety.

“It’s good that this Luke knows how to say he’s sorry,” Lola whispered just before giving me the phone.

I smiled weakly. “Yeah, I gave him an earful for what he did,” I whispered back.

I got a smile from my grandma in response. I could not help but sigh in relief as I accepted the phone.

“Hey Luke,” I greeted trying to keep my voice light and casual.

“Hi Mace,” he answered in a happy voice. “I apologized to your grandma for calling so late last time and she said I’m forgiven!”

“I know,” I answered smiling in spite of myself. If anything, Luke’s cheerful disposition can be contagious. “I heard her response to you as our dining table is not so far from the sofa. And she also told me before handing the phone to me.”

“Oh, so you were eavesdropping huh?” he said with a laugh.

“I did not,” I protested. “I couldn’t help but hear it even if I didn’t want to!”

“Okay, okay,” he said, obviously not wanting me to get irritated. “I’m so relieved she’s not mad anymore. I was really debating on how to apologize so that she won’t be so hard on me.”

“Were you really that worried?” I asked my voice softening.

“Of course!” came his immediate reply.

“Why?” Somehow, I didn’t expect he’d get anxious over this matter.

“It’s like I said Mace,” he answered. “I don’t want the grandma of the girl I like to hate me.”

Thump, thump, thump. There goes my heart again. “Oh,” I mumbled. “Uh, thanks for apologizing to her then. I think you made her happy.”

“That’s good to know,” Luke said the smile in his voice apparent. “Another reason that I’m calling is because I want to make sure you haven’t forgotten about our meeting later at 2:00 PM?”

As if I could forget it even for one second!

“I haven’t,” I muttered. “I wouldn’t be able to forget it even if I want to.”

“Oh?” Luke asked obviously delighted. “Can I take that as a good sign?”

My eyes widened when I realized what I just said. “I-I mean with your reminder, there’s no way I’d forget,” I stammered. Ugh, why do my thoughts always become my words without me realizing it?

Luke laughed. “Just trying my luck Mace,” he said good naturedly. “So, we’re good to meet later?”

“Y-yes,” I mumbled. “We’re good.”

“I can’t wait,” he said softly. “See you in four hours Mace.”

So, fast forward to the four hours that Luke can’t wait for and there I was looking calm yet feeling anything but that as I made my way to the church. My footsteps felt heavy and I had to admit that I was a nervous wreck, wondering and worrying about what he would say to me.

I recalled the time when my sisters asked if I liked him back and I bit my lip. Okay, to be honest, something sparked on that day of the elections when he asked me to play along with his prank. We were having a break from volunteering to help with the Presidential elections of our area. He and I were seated at the front seat of the parked pick-up truck owned by one of our fellow volunteers. I had my eyes closed and was enjoying some precious minutes of rest when our friends who were seated at the back started teasing us.

As to why, I didn’t know. Maybe they liked pairing random people who happen to be staying at the driver and passenger seat of some random vehicle. Much to my annoyance though, they were really noisy and I was debating whether I should scream at them to shut up when I felt Luke grab my hand and slowly interlace his fingers with mine.

I was surprised with his move and I looked at him questioningly. He said, “Just play along,” while pointing at our friends at the back. I debated for only three seconds then against my better judgement, I laced my fingers with his more securely. Giving him a grin to show that I was game, I rested our intertwined hands by the shifting lever, in full view of everyone sitting at the back.

Of course, there were hoots of laughter but after seeing that we did not mind their teasing anymore, they eventually stopped. Luke and I were seated at our respective seats, eyes closed with our entwined fingers connecting us, all thirty minutes of our break time.

And I didn’t let go. My mind was telling me I should take my hand away now as the teasing had stopped but I didn’t want to.

I could not explain why but the moment Luke’s fingers locked with mine, it just felt like the most natural thing in the world. And oddly enough, even though I had no romantic feelings toward him, I felt like his hand was home. Like it was always meant to hold mine, our fingers snugly interlaced like that.

He didn’t let go either and I was alarmed at the thrill this gave me. Why am I suddenly feeling so elated over Luke James? I asked myself. Not wanting to disturb his nap, I turned towards him and looked at him intently. Hey, he is really cute, I thought with mounting interest. When did his face clean up? His nose is actually sculpted, and what I’d do to have such long lashes.

A lock of his hair fell on his forehead and I wanted to brush it from his eyes. But he suddenly stirred and turned towards me. Our eyes met and we held gaze for about three seconds before I broke the contact and slowly took my hand away. Why am I suddenly unable to breathe in this pick-up truck? I thought as my heart started pounding in my ears.

Giving some dumb remark about being able to fool our friends successfully, I gave him a big smile, jumped down from my seat and walked back to the area I was assigned in. I didn’t look back as I was afraid he would actually hear my heart pounding. But as I trudged back to my precinct, I replayed the scene on my mind and I could not stop myself from smiling. I didn’t know what happened back there but I wouldn’t mind having it happen again.

Little did I know that more things would indeed happen again. I conjured an image of us eating dinner together when he saved me a seat and ordered my food, so that I need not go through the long queue. And another image of myself being held by Luke in the waist in an attempt to save me from falling off the chair. I felt my cheeks burn at the thought of the latter. Having Luke so close was definitely not good for my heart.

I groaned and pulled my hair at the ends, something I often do when I am troubled, confused or doing anything that involves math and numbers. With the direction my feelings are going now, it looks like I actually like Luke more than I thought. I shook my head berating myself for having such feelings that grew so quickly. I mean really, am I that easily swayed?

And what about him? Why did he just suddenly like me out of the blue when he clearly didn’t show any signs of affection before the elections? Is he even serious when he said that he liked me? What if everything is all a practical joke or a bet among his friends? That could be possible, considering his popularity. And another thing, Luke is two years younger than me. Is it even okay to get together when we have that age gap? Wouldn’t that make me a cradle snatcher?

Ugh, seriously…I didn’t set out for this to happen when I volunteered to help during elections. Why is everything happening so fast?