by Mia Carson
“So,” I started, “you gonna tell me about this girl at the office? You seemed pretty, like, weird about her when I asked yesterday. Do you like her?”
“She's no one, really,” Mason replied. “Like I said, she's just a friend.”
“Okay, but being all secretive about her totally isn't making me think you like her any less.”
“I don't,” Mason said. “I mean, I do, but not like that.”
“Reeeaaalllllly?”
“Really.”
“Are you going to tell me her name?”
“Why are you so interested?” Mason asked. He tossed another item into the basket.
“You're the one who said you wanted to catch up on everything that's happened since we talked last. I'm catching up.”
“I was talking about your life,” Mason said. “Not mine. Nothing interesting has happened in my life.”
“Okay, I'm pretty sure that's a lie. Seriously, Mase, what's her name? Maybe I wanna meet her, especially if she's gonna be your future girlfriend.”
Mason directed a soft glare at me, his mouth thinning into a line. “Gina.”
“That's a nice name,” I replied. “Why are you being so weird about her?”
“I don't know,” Mason said. “I don't have a crush on her, okay?”
“Okay. Sorry.”
Mason shrugged my apology off. He stepped to the side of the aisle and double-checked the list on his phone with the items in the basket. “I think that's everything. I'll just run out on my own if there's something I forgot. Let's go.” I followed him towards the self-checkout. “How's school?”
“You sound like every family member at holidays,” I told him. “It's fine. It's school. Still better than high school, but I'm glad it's summer.”
“Are you seeing someone?” Mason asked.
I started handing him items to scan and bag. “Oh, so it's okay for you to ask me about my love life, but I can't ask you about yours.”
“Sorry,” Mason said, and it sounded earnest enough.
“I was for a while,” I replied. “Just casually. But it didn't work out.”
“Did you two ever, uh...You know, get it on?”
I hit his arm. “One, who the hell says that anymore? Two, not that it's any of your business, but no. Why?”
“No reason,” Mason said. “Just making conversation.”
“You're weird,” I said. “You know that, right?”
“So I've been told,” Mason murmured. He carried the bags out to the car and loaded them into the trunk. “Lunch?”
“Can we just grab something to take home?” I asked. “It's way too hot out. I'm pretty sure I'm melting.”
“Whatever you want,” Mason said.
We left the market, grabbed some McDonald's down the road, and headed home. When we got there, we carried everything in. Mason left the food on the counter while he put his stuff away. I grabbed my laptop from my room before I got my chicken nuggets and proceeded to veg out on the sofa like I had wanted to do all day, with the added bonus of stuffing my face with fries. Dad was down in the basement, and I assumed Mom had gone to run her own errands since the car hadn't been in the driveway when we got back. I had to shift my laptop continuously so my legs didn’t get too hot, but otherwise, I was content. Mason was upstairs doing whatever, and I had the entire first floor to myself.
The first thing I did was fall asleep watching Netflix. Classic Ali. And I dreamed. Oh, boy, did I dream. I had never dreamed of sex before, but I was very aware of what being touched felt like thanks to the fact that I had two functioning hands. Everything was dark and fuzzy around the edges. My body felt heavy, and not just because there was someone on top of me, kissing my neck and pinning me to the bed beneath me. And fuck, did it feel good. Really good.
I'd been kissed—by the guy I told Mason about—and while he wasn't bad, it hadn't been quite like what I experienced now. My breath came in short little gasps, and I was achingly aware of both how hard my heart was pounding in my chest and of the heat growing between my thighs. The pressure was driving me crazy. I felt my hands wind into thick hair as whoever kissed me moved down towards my chest. His lips brushed over a nipple, but as much as I wanted them to linger, they didn't. I pulled, my mouth demanding a kiss. My lover acquiesced, dragging his body against mine until our lips met. I felt a familiar scar as I kissed him, and even though I couldn't open my eyes, I knew who it was.
Mason's muscled body pressed into mine. I remembered how chiselled his chest and stomach were and what I had inadvertently seen that morning. For whatever reason, the fact that Mason was on top of me, pinning me down and kissing me like he would die if he didn't, didn’t bother me all that much. He was attractive, nice, and...Well, he was more than attractive. He was sexy as fuck. And, God, did that scar on his mouth do a lot to add to that. It was addicting to kiss it, too, to feel that dent at the top ridge of his lip. I wanted to suck on it, to run my tongue along the line, but my body wasn't listening to my brain, or maybe I couldn't control anything to begin with. Mason moved down again, and this time, I didn't stop him. His mouth was on my stomach, moving lower, kissing my hip, my thighs—
My laptop falling off my lap as I jerked woke me up. My headphones were ripped out violently. My heart pounded and my breath came in quick pants. I was sweating, and it had nothing to do with the heat outside. The memories of my dream were already fading and becoming hazy in places, but I was definitely turned on and definitely uncomfortable. My first thought was that I really needed a cold shower. The second was wondering if two showers in one day would draw awkward questions I didn't want to answer. It probably wasn't too unreasonable because of the unusually warm weather. But if I got into the shower, chances were I would end up dealing with the ache between my legs. It wouldn’t be the first time I touched myself when other people were home. It was one of the things being alone in a bed at night was good for. I had a few times in the shower as well, but never in the middle of the day, and never when the reason I was so turned on in the first place was just down the hall from the bathroom.
I rubbed my eyes, which felt a bit blurry from the accidental nap and waking up so abruptly. I leaned down to pick up my laptop. The drop hadn't damaged it, thankfully. I shut down everything I had open, closed the lid, and put it on the coffee table with my headphones coiled on top of it. I felt gross and sticky and, fuck it, I was going to have a shower. Mom still wasn't home, and I hadn't been asleep for more than half an hour. Dad probably wasn't going to come back upstairs until dinnertime if the noise level in the basement was any indication. All I really had to worry about was Mason.
I passed his door with careful steps, not wanting to alert him. It was shut, and I couldn't hear anything coming from inside. Either he was sleeping or he was chilling on his computer like I had been. Either way, I didn't have to see him until I dealt with my inconvenient arousal. He would probably hear the shower, but the door locked. Besides, I totally had an excuse. It was hot, and I felt dirty. Perfectly reasonable reasons to have a shower. Totally.
I locked myself in the bathroom and twisted the taps on. As much as I had wanted a cold shower, it ended up being more lukewarm. It wasn't as hot as I usually liked, but I really didn't want to freeze while I got myself off, either. I stripped myself in record time and jumped under the spray. My skin, warm from sweat and arousal, was super sensitive to the warmer water, and goose bumps popped up on my arms. I leaned against the shower wall and immediately slipped my hand between my legs. I was so sensitive that I had to jerk my fingers away almost instantly and try again with a more gentle touch. Desperate as I was for release, I needed to work myself up to it a little.
I had no idea how long I played with myself, but I finished embarrassingly quickly with what little I could still remember of my dream running through my mind like a movie. I felt ashamed when I finished, leaning against the wall until my knees were steady enough to hold my weight. Had I really just gotten off thinking about
my brother's best friend? More to the point, had I really had a dream about him screwing me? I mean, yeah, he was hot, but he was like a second brother to me.
I remembered reading somewhere that we only have dreams about people whose faces we've seen in real life, so technically, my brain could have just pulled Mason's out of a pool of millions, but to have that kind of dream about him…?
I got out of the shower and dried myself off, jogging the distance between the bathroom and my room. I felt marginally better once I was in fresh clothes, but I couldn't ignore the soft, post-orgasm ache that lingered between my thighs or how my hands shook lightly. As long as Mason never found out, it really wouldn't matter. It was just a dream. I wasn’t going to go into his room and jump his bones. Still, I had to sit on my bed until my heart stopped pounding and I stopped trying to remember what it had felt like to kiss Mason's scar.
Mom was home when I finally went downstairs to reclaim my place on the sofa and pick up where I had left off. I could smell the beginnings of dinner drifting in from the kitchen. I settled down with my computer and tried to focus on the show I watched, but my attention kept wandering. I felt really exposed, as if everyone who looked at me would know what I had done, and why. I wanted to go upstairs and grab a hoodie, but that would just raise more questions, especially because it wasn't cold enough for me to need one. So I simply curled into myself as much as I could and ignored everything except what played on my computer screen.
Tyler came home eventually, and dinner was ready a little later. Mom sent up the call and made Tyler go down to grab Dad, who was still making a large amount of noise and probably wasn't aware of anything going on in the house. I paused my show and walked into the kitchen, almost bumping into Mason, who yawned and stretched as he walked. I stopped short, sucking in a quick breath through my nose. Mason cursed softly and rubbed at his eyes.
“Sorry, Ali,” he said. “Wasn't looking where I was going.”
“It's fine,” I said in a tiny voice and let him go in first.
Dinner was chicken and green beans, nothing fancy since Mom had been out most of the day, but it smelled really good and was almost enough to make me stop staring at Mason. I was trying not to be obvious, and when I noticed I was doing it, I scolded myself and forced my eyes to return to my food. But my gaze kept floating back to him. I wondered if the lazy summer heat had made him fall asleep, too. I wondered if he dreamed about me. What would I do if he had? I didn’t really matter. I totally didn't like him like that. It was just a weird, one-off dream. People probably had them all the time. Dreams didn't mean anything.
“Are you feeling okay, Ali?” Mom asked. “You've hardly touched your chicken.”
I realized I had spent more time pushing my food around on my plate than actually eating it. I shrugged. “Yeah, sorry, just feeling kind of bleh. It's really hot outside.”
“Did you take a cold shower?”
I blushed and hoped no one would notice. “Yeah, it helped for a bit. I guess it's just hitting me hard today.”
“Well, the temperatures are above average. I'll get the fan out of my closet for you to keep in your room tonight.”
“Thanks,” I said, barely glancing up. Mason was looking at me, his brows gently furrowed in concern. I didn't look at him and I didn't say anything. I just let everyone's attention turn to Tyler as he mentioned something that had happened at work. I listened with half an ear and tried to make more of an effort to eat. I wasn't that hungry. I was distracted by too many other things to think about the food in front of me. I ate, bite by bite, and managed to eat enough that Mom would stop asking me if I was sick. After the meal was over, I offered to clean the table, but Mason stopped me.
“You look kind of flushed,” he said. “I'll do it; don't worry. Just go chill.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, unable to argue with him and secretly thankful I had an excuse to hide in my room.
It was just a dream, I reminded myself, a silent mantra I steadily repeated on the short trek up to my room. It meant nothing. Of course I would be embarrassed. Who wouldn't be? I'd probably be embarrassed even if I had a dream like that about someone I was dating. It was best if I just pretended it never happened and moved on. I'd forget about it after a while, and everything would go back to normal, no big deal. Besides, Mason was only staying for the summer. Before I knew it, all of this would be in the past. It was time to start the forgetting process by finishing my show on Netflix. I settled down on my bed, door closed and headphones in, and picked up where I had left off before my unfortunate dream.
MASON
Monday was my first day at work, and it was the last thing on my mind. I wasn't an expert in Ali's mood, or in women in general, but there had been something distinctively off about her Sunday night. My mind was too busy trying to figure out if I had done something to make her act so oddly—which was a distraction from the mundane nature of my work, if nothing else. Data entry wasn't the most thrilling job in the world, but it would pay my bills. And it gave me plenty of time to think. Had I been too touchy-feely during bowling? I was usually pretty physical with her, but maybe not having seen her for so long had made it awkward. Or had I said something? Or done something? I was honestly at a loss.
I had no idea why I hadn't been willing to open up to her about Gina. I liked Gina, but as a friend, and only as a friend, so why had I been so reluctant to tell Ali about her? Was I afraid she would think Gina and I were an item? Because if that was the case, I had stuck my foot in my mouth. Now Ali was convinced I liked my friend. I had just arrived and already things were messy. Maybe the answer was simply pretending that nothing had happened and everything was fine. It was what I usually did. Besides, Tyler was my best friend, and Ali was right there next to him. I didn't want to risk losing one or both of them because of some misunderstanding.
The thoughts circled around in my head for the rest of the day. I was both grateful and reluctant to head back to the house. On one hand, the day felt really long, and I wanted to lounge around in my sweatpants for the rest of the afternoon. On the other hand, I had no idea how Ali would react to seeing me. After she had disappeared into her room last night I hadn't seen her or heard anything from her. No one else seemed that concerned, but I couldn't help but feel like she was acting funny because of me. Hell, she had hardly been able to look at me during dinner and had barely spoken a word to anyone. It was definitely more than just the heat that had bothered her.
Had she been jealous? The thought seemed immediately stupid, but it kind of made sense. I, being the idiot I am, had likely made her think I had a crush on another girl. Did that mean she liked me? Was she just protective because we were like family? Was she afraid of someone else taking my time away from her? Every theory I had only raised more questions. Part of me wanted to ask her, but the majority of my brain ruled that as a stupid-ass decision and told me I needed to act normal. She probably had just been feeling off, like she said. It was stupidly hot outside, and Ali had never been good with outrageously high temperatures.
Still, I couldn't help but be wary as I walked inside. My day ended early by work standards, and I was the first one home, which meant that unless Ali had decided to go out, the two of us would be alone together for the next hour. I shut the door softly behind me. I couldn't hear any noise coming from the living room, which meant that if Ali was home, she was probably upstairs in her room. That was fine with me. If she didn't want to see me or wasn't feeling well, I didn't want to make her do anything. I kicked my shoes off and headed into the kitchen to grab a drink before making my way quietly upstairs to change.
Ali's door was shut, but as I passed it, I heard her laugh. It sounded like she was talking to someone, but her voice was low and I wouldn't be able to tell what she was saying unless I pressed my ear against the door. I stood outside it for a few seconds, listening to the soft mumble of her voice, my stomach tightening. Whoever she was talking to made her sound happy. I wondered who it was. Probably just a
friend from school. I shook my head at myself and went into my own room to change and have a bit of alone time before everyone else got home. It was harder to hear Ali in my room. I had to really strain to make out the sound of her voice, even standing by our shared wall. It was probably for the best. I wasn't going to get any relaxation if I continued eavesdropping.
When I did go downstairs after an hour of half-dozing and catching up on my YouTube subs, Ali was in the kitchen, rummaging in the fridge. She looked up when she heard me come in and smiled. I stared at her, looking for any sign of her weird mood, but she looked normal.
“Hey, I didn't know you were home,” she said. She had a water bottle in one hand and a fruit cup in the other and looked like she was dressed more for a run than for lounging around the house.
“Yeah,” I said. “For about an hour. I didn't wanna bother you, that's all.”
“I appreciate it,” Ali replied. “I wouldn't have minded you popping your head in to say hi, though. Just knock.” She was still smiling, and it looked easy enough. “Sooo, Tyler texted me. He and one of his work buddies are gonna head to the park to kick a soccer ball around for a bit before the big storm hits tomorrow. Asked me if I wanted to come, and I said sure. You wanna come with? I think they're going out for drinks after.”
“Sure,” I answered without thinking it through. That explained the workout gear she wore. “I guess…Just let me get changed, and we can head out.”
Ali tore the top off of her fruit cup and drank the juice out of it. “Sounds good to me,” she said. “We're taking my car, though. I really don't wanna end up getting dragged out to a bar when I can't even have a beer.”
