in his voice. Her lips went flat, sealed into a stiff line as she leaned back to focus on him. This time her mouth stayed shut.
He matched her stare down one hundred percent, giving everything she gave in return.
“Harley, seriously. I just can’t explain the way I feel when I’m with you. It’s like a roller coaster that I want to ride over and over, but the first time getting on is always the hardest.
“This’s exactly why I can’t handle you, Mason. You’re like a schizoid, without the crazy.
Just like yesterday. I thought we were having fun at the park, but you turned on me, like I was a disease you didn’t want to be infected with.” Her voice was at top level, and Mason glanced behind him, surprised nobody had come to check on them. He had two options: let her continue on with her rampage or kiss her senseless, making her forget her own name.
“Not to mention you wouldn’t speak to me or even look at me during the car ride back to
school! You’re so … so … stupid!”
Rampage it is because she’d kick him in the balls if he tried to kiss her right now.
“You’re an egocentric ass wipe, Mason Daniel, and I hate you.”
“You done yet, little beast, because the bells about to ring…” She glanced over at the
clock on the wall as a growl left her mouth.
“Yes, I’ve said my peace, now if you’ll excuse me—”
Mason grabbed her elbow, pulling her to a stop as he watched her throat constrict. It was
so sexy the way her neck moved. Then he said words that he wasn’t even sure he knew how to
say. “You’re unlike any girl I’ve ever met, Harley, and to tell you the truth, it sort of scares the crap out of me. That’s why I ran yesterday.” Just as Mason opened his mouth to say more, their stupid ass teacher came back into the room. Mason removed his hand quickly, but he never lost sight of Harley’s face.
A little blip of sadness appeared in her eyes, but it was gone so quickly that anyone else
would have thought it was all imagined. Not Mason though. He knew what he saw, but why was
it there? Was she sad at the teacher’s interruption or at his confession?
“Alright you two, I think it’s time you pack up your things and get ready for third period.
I expect your baby’s schedule and parenting plan to be double spaced typed and turned into me by eight a.m. Monday morning, no later. Understood?” Mason and Harley nodded their heads in unison, but Mason was the first to break his gaze, just long enough to grab his bag. When he turned to look back at Harley, she had turned and was babbling animatedly with the teacher. She was a spastic, chatty bunny.
And God dammit, he liked her that way.
The classroom began to fill-up before Mason had a chance to speak with her again, but
something told him that it was an intentional avoidance on her part. “Shit!” Mason cursed, as he watched Harley’s backside sway out of the classroom door. Obviously she was done with the
conversation. Too bad for her, Mason was just getting started.
Chapter Eleven
It was Saturday, exactly one week from the dreaded homecoming dance. Normally
Harley wouldn’t care about anything dance related, seeing as though she’d never actually been to a school dance before. Now that she had a date, Mason, she was completely freaking out.
Just the thought of spending an entire night with him was enough of an incentive to send
her heart into an all-out girly tizzy.
Her mom and Abigail had been pushing her since day one to go dress shopping. Of
course it was the last possible thing Harley wanted to do on a Saturday, but here they were, driving forty-five minutes in the pouring down rain to go to Kearney’s bridal shop. According to Abigail, they were on the hunt for “the perfect Harley dress.” Harley had no clue what that entailed, nor did she even want to know. Abigail had a wild imagination when it came to clothing, and her motto was ‘the less clothing, the better.’
When it came down to it, Harley had zero choice in the matter. They would’ve hog-tied
Harley to the roof of the car to get her there. It was unavoidable, unless of course she wanted to go naked to that ridiculous dance.
“Okay, ladies, we’re here! I’ll drop you both off at the front door that way you don’t get
wet. I’ll be right behind you though.” Harley’s mother’s voice was laced with excitement; so much that one would think they were shopping for a wedding dress rather than a homecoming
gown.
Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Harley hadn’t worn a dress since she was
a flower girl in a family wedding over twelve years ago. Jeans and t-shirt was the way to go.
“Thanks, Mrs. A! We’ll start looking around. Once we find some stuff, we’ll get a
dressing room and go from there.”
Traitor.
Harley narrowed her gaze at her best friend’s waving profile. Her lips curled in spite as
she envisioned all the different ways she could beat her best friend upside the head. For real though, you just didn’t encourage Harley’s mom in anyway shape or form when it came to stuff like this. Truthfully though, Abigail should have been born an Anderson.
Harley glared at Abigail’s backside as she pranced away, but the moment she turned to
peruse through a rack of hideous lavender contraptions, Harley noticed the longing in her eyes as she brusher her fingers over all the material. Harley sighed, immediately struck with a feeling of sadness and guilt for her best friend. The whole experience was probably breaking Abigail’s heart seeing as though Harley’s plan had backfired and her brother flat out refused to go with her to the dance.
Okay, so maybe encouraging Abs to ask David to go herself wasn’t one of her more
thought out plans, especially since one legged guys couldn’t exactly dance and all…
Anyways, Harley would never forget the silent tears that streamed down Abigail’s cheeks
after David had literally laughed in her face about the whole idea.
Stupid idiot twin brothers. Didn’t they have any sort of heart?
“ O, to the M, to the freaking’ G, Har. You’ve got to try this one on!” Abigail’s squeal broke Harley from her guilt ridden thoughts, just as her mom eagerly traipsed in behind them.
She had water dripping from her nose and jacket, and it spilled into puddles on the floor under her feet. The woman was too entranced with the material hanging from Abigail’s arms to even focus on the mess she was making. Harley rolled her eyes as she moved towards the pair, head shaking in disbelief as they pawed at the fabric like it was made of diamonds or babies.
Their pathetic ways did leave her curious, and she knew what they said about curiosity
killing the cat…
“Give me that ridiculous thing!” Harley ripped it from Abigail’s arms, hastily throwing
the bubble gum pink monstrosity over her forearm. That earned her a few nasty glares, but she shrugged them off, heading back quickly towards the dressing room. Secretly though, Harley
couldn’t help but sneak a few glances at the thing herself.
She entered the tiny locked area and shut the door tightly behind her. She didn’t need an
audience while she got to know the material. She hung it up on a hook and took a step back to study it, biting her lip as she did. The first thing she noticed was the tulle skirt, intermingled with satin pieces and then a satin belt that sat in the middle. She shrugged, running her fingertip carefully over the sash. Okay, so yeah, it was sure to hug a waistline in just the right way, and she needed all the help she could get in that department seeing as though she had no curves at all.
Her eyes took in the top next, noting the bright iridescent beads and sparkles that intermingled on top of another soft piece of pink satin. The one shoulder strap was fairytale like, something straight out of Sleeping Beauty’s closet.
But the color was the shade of Pepto-freaking-Bismo!
Who in the hell wore a color like that anyways?
She slipped it over her head after a few more minutes, not able to keep the smile from her
mouth as she admired its softness. She smiled harder, envisioning Mason’s roaming hands
exploring the material. She couldn’t help but wonder if his hands would rub along the satin sash in the middle, or instead would he focus on the beads running up in and around her barely there neck line. She shivered, goose bumps lined her arms.
Okay, yeah, it’s cold in here, that’s all.
For the hell of it though, Harley envisioned Mason’s arms pulling her closer, only so they
could dance to some cheesy love ballad over the speakers in the gym. The grin on her face was almost painful and unrelenting at that point, but the minute she opened the door to model the thing, loud ‘oh-my-gods’ pushed her fantasies to the back burner. Her frown came back with all its intensity.
“Guys, seriously! Shut up before I do something crazy, like run around naked in here!”
Her threat didn’t work. Instead, they both giggled like clown obsessed maniacs, drawing all sorts of unwanted attention her way. Harley wrapped her arms around her waist, suddenly feeling way too exposed and unsure of her body to let the other customers take in her appearance.
Abigail was the first to respond with real words, and it was loud, obnoxious, and all
Abigail. “OMG, Har! That dress looks amaze-balls! You’re killer hot, girl! I’d die to have a waist like that!” Harley shook her head, completely bewildered by her best friend’s verbal
diarrhea.
Harley had no clue what she was talking about, but her mom became the icing on the
cake when she broke down into her typical, all out tearful sob. She was a hot mess of a woman.
“Mom, can you please control yourself just once? It’s a dress, not a grandchild, Jeez!”
Harley growled through gritted teeth. She hastily whipped around, trying like hell not to roll her eyes again as she headed back towards the dressing room to grab tissues and to get the apparent
‘ amaze-ball’ dress off of her body.
First though, tissues were in order for her blubbering mother. Harley whipped out
her wristlet, digging for the scratchy packet only to come up short finding the cold metal of a silver key instead. Along with the keys, came panic, lots and lots of panic.
“Son of a bitch … it’s the key to turn off that stupid mechanical baby!” she spouted,
frantically searching for her cell phone next. She was so going to be screwed if he didn’t answer the phone.
Quickly, she threw the tissue out of the dressing room door, phone already plastered to
her ear before she headed back inside the fitting room. She waited for him to answer, her nerves tugged harshly at her stomach. One handed, she stripped the dress over her head, right before she heard his super crappy greeting.
“Hey, little beast, you missed me, didn’t you?” Stupid arrogant surfer boy. So much for any awkwardness on his end. Too bad Harley couldn’t say the same for herself.
His confession yesterday still lingered in her brain, confusing the ever loving
daylights out of her. “Um, no, Mason, I didn’t actually. But I do need a favor,”
“Oh, yeah? What kind of favor do you need? ‘Because I can totally make all your wildest
dreams come true, you know.” His voice went low, teasing, and Harley’s face blanched at his inappropriate insinuations. She could almost see his eyebrows waggling over the phone.
She cut him off when he started to spout off something to the effect of whipped cream,
lots of hot fudge, and an empty bathtub. “God, Mason, get your head out of the gutter, will you?
Our makeshift son is in my room in my gym bag, and I’m out of town right now. My dad and brother are somewhere therefore I can’t get to it. I need you to go to my house and get him, like, ASAP.”
Mason chuckled, harassing her more, still obviously not a bit concerned with the
possibility of failing. “I knew you were going to be the most wonderful mom ever, Harley. I’m so proud I parented a child with you!” He had pushed her buttons one too many times. She was ready to blow a gasket. Still, he had the audacity to keep going too! “Why do I need to do this for you, by the way?” She sighed in relief as the sound of rattling keys, and a shutting door caught her attention. Bless this jerk – he was actually going to help her out. Okay, so he’s reliable and arrogant, but definitely not up to Prince Charming status yet.
“I’m in Kearney, shopping for a dre … stuff.” She sealed her lips shut, stopping the
words from leaving her mouth. There was no way she’d admit what she was doing. He’d never
let the subject drop, especially since they hadn’t discussed the dance since everything had happened between them.
The sound of Mason’s car motor made her sigh in relief. The baby hadn’t been non-
active for too long, so he still had time to get there before the thing shut down completely and they automatically failed. “What kind of stuff are we talking about here, the bras and panties kind of stuff?” He knocked her out of her happy thoughts, showing his douche bag side yet again.
Oh, he was going to get it! His face had a date with her fist the next time she saw him.
“Listen, pal, if you must know, I was taken hostage and forced to go dress shopping for the stupid dance with my mother and Abigail. I’m actually in a dressing room as we speak,
getting ready to put my clothes back on.” She smacked her own head, in total weirdo mode,
cringing at her stupid words. Jesus, what the hell was she thinking telling him something like that? She had now completely opened herself up to get verbally molested by this perv, but as she waited for his snarky reply, she was somehow blessed with the revving of his engine and the clearing of his throat instead. She bit her lip, hiding her smile. Wow, did she just make the surfer boy speechless? If that’s all it took to get him to stop talking dirty then her embarrassment was well worth it.
* * *
Visions of a naked Harley in a dressing room somewhere plagued his mind the entire
drive to her house. He turned the radio on to the classical music channel, thought of kittens and puppies, and even hit his head against the side window! Still, she was there, haunting his
fantasies. Yeah, that was not the way to act when he was determined to stay on the friend’s only level with the girl. Why had she even admitted her nakedness to him in the first place? It made no sense.
He smiled as he pulled into her driveway. A thought hit him – maybe her fantasies were
more like his than he originally thought…
Her house was empty, and her front door was locked. Her window was cracked open for
his easy access. It felt all kinds of wrong to enter her bedroom like that especially since nobody was home, but hey, it wouldn’t have been his first time.
Stumbling over a laundry basket that lay right under her window, Mason finally found
the bag where she told him he could find the baby. He didn’t care about the project, nor did he care about the baby. For Harley, he’d do what was needed. What she wanted. He was at her beck and call, whether he wanted to be or not.
The plastic munchkin was hanging out, feet first, face smothered by her dirty gym
clothes. He shook his head and laughed as he reached down to pick it up. “Wow … you’re gonna be the best mother someday, little beast.” It was still in some sort of sleep mode, so they were safe. He chucked it on the bed. His nosiness was taking over the longer he stood in her room alone. He had to look around. He wanted too badly to know all of her hidden secrets. He
wouldn’t search in her underwear drawer; that’d be too perv-like, even for him.
He was searching for nothing in particular when he happened upon her shelf full of
pic
ture frames. He needed to see what made this girl tick. Pictures of childhood memories and her friends were a good place to start. Frames of all sizes and colors were scattered throughout the surface, and the vision made his heart hurt. She had so many people in her life that loved and cared about her. Mason had Maisy, and occasionally his mom, when she wasn’t hidden away in a depressive state in her room that is.
He glanced around a bit more readying himself to leave but stumbled upon a
hidden picture leaning against the wall behind most of the others. He reached for it, careful not to knock anything over. He brought it out in front of him, his eyes narrowing in confusion as it showed Harley sitting on the lap of some dude he didn’t recognize.
He ignored the burning in his throat. It had to have been heartburn plaguing him ... not
the big J. Mason didn’t get jealous. He wiped a small layer of dust off the cover glass. Most of the sparkles were missing off the sides, but the red hearts were a permanent fixture.
His jaw flexed as he studied their faces. They were lost in each other’s gaze. It
was way more intense than any moment he’d ever shared with her himself. The black haired guy was cupping her cheek, and she appeared to be leaning into it. Harley’s hair was shorter, but she didn’t look any older than she did now. He shook his head and dropped the photograph onto his thighs, sighing heavily. He thought about hiding it. Maybe tossing it into the back of her closet or into a trash can on his way home. He clenched it tighter, only minutes later putting it right back into the same spot it was before. He pulled at his hair and frowned. Jesus, this wasn’t him! He didn’t care about a stupid ass picture with his little beast and some mysterious guy! He definitely didn’t care that Harley looked so content in the guy’s arms either.
His cell rang, and the noise knocked him out of his stupor. Slowly, he lifted it to his ear.
Harley’s voice sounded on the other end. He cleared his throat before answering making sure no trace of irritation was left in his voice. “Hey, honey, our offspring just woke up,” Mason
managed to sound casual, but his blood was burning inside of her veins. That picture had messed him up. Completely.
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