“I’m just…,” Stephanie continued. “Just mad at myself I guess.”
“It happens,” I said. “I had a breakup too that was rough.”
“Did you get puke drunk and end up in some man’s apartment? Only to wake up in a woman’s bed?”
I smiled. “No. I basically ran through bags of chocolate, boxes of tissues, and cursed at every chick flick I could find to watch.”
“Your way sounds better,” Stephanie said. “Probably comes with less of a headache.”
She rubbed her forehead.
I got her a couple ibuprofen that she downed them with the last of her coffee. With a few taps on the screen of her phone she ordered herself a ride. Then came some nice awkward silence. I didn’t want to hear anymore reasons why I should avoid and hate Mason.
Speaking of which, my phone vibrated over and over on the table.
I finally grabbed it, with my back to Stephanie.
It was Mason texting me.
Answer me, babe. She still there?
I swallowed hard.
Waiting for a ride
The three dots popped up.
Then a text.
I’ll come over and give her a ride
I shook my head. My thumbs typed fast.
You had your chance. She preferred the toilet. And she woke up in my bed
I sent it and felt good. Take that, Mason.
He replied back.
I can’t stop thinking about you and her in bed together. Should have let me come over. I could have guided you both along. There would have been such a mess you’d be doing more laundry. Speaking of which… missing anything?
My heart started to pound. My jaw dropped.
What did you take?
The reply wasn’t a text. It was a picture.
A pair of my panties dangling from his finger. He was shirtless in the picture, making it completely unfair to really be mad at him. It was like a lust filled anger. That’s what I felt for him.
How could someone be so bold? So invasive. And I was the one foolish enough to help him. To help Stephanie.
I want to see you in these… nothing but these…
I gritted my teeth. The anger splashed around inside me. I was desperate for the anger to overtake the slight enjoyment I was having. The only fun thing about a fantasy was that I controlled it. Mason was real. Too real. Scary real.
I wrote back, ending the little game.
You’ll never see me in that, Mason. Ever
“I think I should get going.”
I spun around and tucked my phone into my back pocket.
“Okay,” I said. “Uh… if there’s anything else…”
“You don’t have to do that,” Stephanie said. “I owe you a million apologies. I probably owe you a Friday you lost out on.”
“I wasn’t doing a thing. Trust me. My social life is non-existent.”
“You should get out more then. Enjoy life a little. And I’m really sorry that Mason is your neighbor. If that were me, I’d move. I’d rather live out of a box than live next to him.”
Stephanie opened the door and I lunged at her. “You talk about him like you knew him before last night.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” she said. “Before my maybe-ex boyfriend. He says the right things at the right time and only after he gets what he wants does he show his true colors. Be careful, Violet. Unless you don’t mind being destroyed.”
Stephanie slipped away and walked down the hallway.
I stood and watched her, letting her words sink in.
There was so much to process, yet all of it seemed unnecessary to do.
My thoughts were broken by a familiar voice.
“Damn, she does have a nice ass. Not as nice as yours though.”
9
Walk of Shame
(Mason)
“I’m being serious,” I said, looking down at Violet. I was shocked she hadn’t elbowed me in the ribs and went back into her place. “Your ass is just…”
“When have you checked out my ass?” she snapped at me.
She likes this…
“The night we met,” I said. “You in those black pants at the restaurant. Then seeing you in those jeans the night I was chilling in the hallway. Plus, once I got those panties…”
“Fuck you,” Violet said.
Those dirty words coming from her mouth were so sexy.
“Time and place,” I said.
Her cheeks turned red.
“I hate you,” she said.
“They all do. And they all take the walk of shame. See, but you’re lucky. You don’t really have a walk of shame, do you? More like… two steps of shame.”
“Never,” Violet said.
She turned and I followed. I got one foot in the door before she realized I was tailing that perfect tight ass of hers.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.
“How was the night?”
“What the hell do you care? I got you out of a mess.”
“And I’m here to thank you.”
“How’s that?”
“You tell me. I could start with my fingers. Or just go straight with my tongue.”
Her cheeks burned even brighter. “No. Not after what you did to her.”
“What?”
“What you did was… grabbing her? Knowing she was drunk? Touching her like that? She told me what happened, Mason. That you were all over her. Dragging her out of wherever you were. You could get in serious…”
“She’s full of shit, Violet,” I growled.
“Don’t even play that game,” Violet said.
I laughed, nodding. “Right. That game. Where you scam on…”
“Be careful with what you’re thinking and saying, babe,” I said.
“Why? Don’t like the truth?”
She was trying to be vicious and damn her for getting to me. She could hate me. Shit, I wanted her to hate me. But to think I was some guy that did stuff to a drunk woman without her knowing…
I stepped into her apartment and had my body an inch from hers. I looked down at her. Fuck, why did she have to be the perfect height for me?
Everything about Violet was pissing me off.
“I was at the bar having a beer,” I said. “I heard a scream and looked. I saw her in the middle of the goddamn dance floor with five guys around her. They were fucking touching her, groping her, thrusting at her. A pack of fucking wolves, okay? I went over and broke the group up and slid an arm around her, pulling her close. Made it known she was with me and asked who wanted to take things outside. One guy ran his mouth so I gave him a shot to the damn jaw. The rest took off. She was hammered drunk, Violet. Mumbling about some guy. So I got her ass out of there. In my truck she started to come at me. I’m only human, babe. We started up, but didn’t finish. Well… she finished.” I winked at Violet. She averted her eyes for a second. “I got her back to my place. My intentions? Who the fuck cares at this point?”
“You got her out of trouble?” I asked.
“Yeah. And normally I wouldn’t have done that.”
“Then why did you?”
“Because of you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You’ve got the angel side about you, Violet,” I said. “I can sense it all over you. But you have your own story to tell. I know it. And I’m going to hear it someday. I’m also going to hear you scream my name while my tongue tastes that honey between your legs.”
I started to back away.
“Wait,” Violet said.
“What now? What do you want to accuse me of?”
“My clothes,” she said.
“Your clothes?”
“What you took.”
“That nice little black lace thing?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Give them back to me. Right now.”
“No,” I said.
“What?”
“No. What are you going to do about it?”
I saw the anger spread across
her face. Her nostrils flared. Her eyes widened. She was thinking about punching me.
“Maybe I’ll steal yours,” she shot at me.
“Sorry, babe, I don’t wear panties. Not my style. Can’t hold what I’m packing.”
She swallowed hard. “That’s not what I meant. I meant your boxers. Or whatever you wear. I’ll steal some of yours.”
I grinned. “Tell you what. I get you in my room again and have my way, you can take anything you want.”
“Go away, Mason.”
“And for the record, I don’t wear any of that shit,” I said. “At least not all the time. Like right now… nothing.”
Her eyes looked down then quickly back up.
“I don’t believe you,” she said.
The words barely left her mouth before I had my hand on my jeans. I opened my jeans and made a hard fist, making sure my knuckles were popping and my veins were throbbing.
“Seriously?” I asked. “You think I have an ounce of shame or doubt?”
“Mason…”
I didn’t give her a chance to say another word.
I pushed down with my hand, giving her proof that I wasn’t wearing any boxers or briefs. It was all me. Rock hard Mason. My well-kept thatch of pubic hair that gave way to the thick root of my dick. I kept going a few more inches, just to make Violet understand what she was looking at. I could have kept going for plenty more inches… and I wasn’t even fucking hard yet.
The look on her face was beautiful and priceless. I saw that look many times in my life. The contemplation and questioning of what to do with a dick like that. How would it fit in me? How would I get my lips around it?
And all those questions came with answers guided by me.
“Need to see more, babe?” I asked.
Violet shook her head. She looked me in the eyes. “You’re crazy.”
“Not even close,” I said. “Don’t be afraid. You know I’m exactly what you want and need right now. And you know where to find me when you’re ready.”
I pulled my jeans up and zipped and buttoned them. I stepped forward and Violet was frozen. I had plenty of time to lean in and plant a little kiss on her cheek.
Then I said… “It’s okay to hate me… but you don’t have to resist me…”
I stood at the counter with a cup of coffee and watched all the emails pile up on my phone. Most of it was just junk shit, but there were a few important things I needed to tend to. My two guys - Andy and Thorn - had a little too much fun up north. They got into a little bar fight and ended up busting up a neon sign worth three hundred bucks. I emailed my finance guy to send the bar five hundred for their trouble.
All so I could get the right parts to make my next project look fucking stellar.
“Good morning.”
I looked up.
Speaking of stellar…
She was wearing nothing but my t-shirt. Her bed head was all pulled to the left side. Her eyes were drunk with sex, her lips natural without the lipstick. Most of the lipstick ended up on my dick.
The second I saw her shuffling across the living room toward the kitchen, I looked beyond her. To the bedroom. The wall. The other side of the wall.
Violet.
It was her loss.
Not mine.
“You’re up early,” Tanya said.
She was a wild vixen. It wasn’t our first encounter, but I made a mental note to make it the last. Considering she woke up and helped herself to my closet. Then she walked to the kitchen and helped herself to a coffee mug and my damn coffee.
She jumped right up on the counter and wanted me closer to her.
I got close enough and she put her arms around my neck.
“This is what I’m thinking,” she said. “You play hooky. We spend the day in bed.”
I ran my hand over the t-shirt, feeling her breast. I took my hand away.
“Nah,” I said.
“What?”
“Time to go.”
“I just woke up.”
“I’m leaving.”
“To do what?”
“Work.”
“I said to play hooky.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” I said. “Get out.”
Tanya lifted her foot and kicked at me. She slammed her heel into my stomach, but my muscles were stronger than her heel. She almost fell off the counter. I saved her and then swung her around on her feet.
“Get your clothes and go,” I said.
“Fine,” she said.
Without hesitation, she took the t-shirt off. She stood there for a few seconds, letting me stare at her bare breasts. They were the best feature about her. A little silver bar through her left nipple. It wasn’t all that long ago my teeth were clamped to that bar, pulling until she screamed my name. Loud enough so that if Violet was in her bed, she’d hear it…
Tanya turned and strutted again back to the bedroom.
I stood at the counter and looked down. I shook my head. Normally, I’d chase Tanya down and I wouldn’t see my work until later that afternoon. But today, there was… nothing.
I was done with her. Completely done with her.
A minute or so later, Tanya appeared in the doorway, naked. “What are you doing, Mason?”
“Waiting for you to leave,” I said.
“What?”
“I wasn’t kidding. Time’s up. Let’s go.”
“You’re seriously kicking me out? I’m naked.”
“Congrats,” I said.
We had a quick stare down before she took the hint. The next time she emerged from the bedroom, she was dressed in her clothes from last night. She got to the door and then looked back at me.
“You know, you really wanted me to scream your name last night,” she said.
“I always do.”
“Not like that. I’ve been involved in enough hate jealousy sex to know when it’s happening.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“It was like you wanted someone to hear me screaming your name. To make someone jealous.”
I curled my lip. “It was just you and me here last night.”
She nodded. “Right.”
“Don’t be ashamed if you embarrassed yourself by how loud you were,” I said.
“Fuck yourself, Mason. I really can’t stand you.”
“Yet you were on your knees twelve hours ago, listening to my every command.”
“I hate you,” she said and left.
Finally.
I let the air clear for a few minutes and then dumped my coffee. I had to get the fuck out of the building.
I ripped open my door and glanced up and down the hallway. There was a slight imbalance of power going on and I needed to fix that. Whatever the fuck I thought about Violet meant shit. I’d parade as many women as needed through my front door to chase away anything that resembled a thought of Violet. And worst case, I’d fucking chase her out of the building. Or maybe it was time to consider getting my own place for real.
That was the first time I really gave that any sort of thought.
I took two steps and stopped when something caught my eye.
It looked like I wasn’t going to be able to get rid of Violet and her sweet innocence so easily.
There was a key on the floor.
I grabbed and hurried to jam it into the lock on her door. One quick twist and the door unlocked.
“Shit,” I whispered.
I locked her door and slipped the key into my back pocket.
As I walked, I smiled.
It was time to have a little more fun with Violet.
10
The Missing Key
(Violet)
It was the day that wouldn’t end. And it started sometime in the middle of the night with the muffled sound of a woman calling out Mason’s name. I ended up putting on music and burying my head under my pillow. When I got up in the morning I got out of my apartment fast, taking my stuff to meet Victoria for a little business
meeting at a coffeehouse.
She had some new designs she wanted me to see. All of them were great.
“So what have you been working on?” she asked me, blowing into her fancy coffee.
“The usual,” I said. “Launch is right on time.”
“This is exciting,” Victoria said. “I can just keep drawing.”
“And I can just keep coding.”
“How’d we end up together?”
“Random college shit,” I said. “We sort of didn’t like each other in the beginning, did we?”
“I had bags of clothes and you had computers,” Victoria said.
“And somehow it all worked out.”
“How’s the new place?” she asked. “Give me the dirt.”
“There is no dirt to give.”
“What happened with your neighbor? You were complaining about him.”
I forgot that I had brought up Mason to Victoria. Several times. And I saw the look in her eyes. I waited for her to bust on me for having a crush, but there was no chance at that happening. There was no crush. Mason was a horrible human. A disgusting man. I hated him and it was better left to be that way.
I figured if I ignored him long enough he would go away. Eventually he’d stop asking women to scream his name to bother me, right? Unless he was just that good in bed…
“You should go out with him,” Victoria said.
“Who? Why?”
“You don’t need to keep saving yourself,” she said. “I mean, I’m not saying you should just bang some random guy. But even dating? It’s like you’re preserving yourself for someone…” Victoria bit her lip for a second. “Someone that’s not coming back.”
“Can we talk about the app? Your drawings? Something besides this?”
“Of course,” she said. “Sorry.”
There weren’t a lot of people who really knew me. Or my circumstances. But Victoria was one of them. I trusted her with all my heart and she knew that by me asking to change the subject it meant I was telling her she was right.
“Okay, back on track,” I said. I grabbed for my laptop. “I was playing with some ideas on getting the app in front of people. And then what comes next after they figure out what kinds of clothes they want. I have…” I opened my laptop and hit the power button. The battery light flashed at me. Dead.
I reached into my bag and realized I forgot my charger.
HATE ME: a bad boy romance novel Page 6
