middle finger in the air at them through the sun roof and then waved a goodbye, pulling away without a second glance back.
“Shall we then?” His lips curled into that one sided smile as he held out an elbow for her
to grip onto. She hesitated but only for a moment before she nodded and slipped her fingers through.
If this one last time together was all they would ever have, then she’d sure as hell take
advantage of it. She’d deal with the consequences of her broken heart later.
* * *
Mason decided to make it simple: chili dogs and ice cream. That’s how he rolled.
Besides, Harley had always boasted about the place, so taking her somewhere she enjoyed was a good move. He’d do anything to make her smile, and at the mention of this place, her grin had practically exploded.
The car ride there was silent, comfortable, just like it always had been with them. But
then she went and did the unthinkable … she changed his radio station. Now when they were
together, she’d never even attempted that. She knew better, but obviously his little beast had grown naughtier over the last few months.
He smiled. He was just fine with naughty.
An all-out war pursued as their hands battled for control over the knobs. Her giggles
rattled the air in turn, rattling his heart. Man how he’d missed that sound. “Fine, little beast, you win.” She grinned. Those brown eyes of hers were bright, his idea of awesome perfection.
He swallowed a groan in his throat just as some raspy sounding, soul singing lady came
over the speakers. She was droning on about rumors, and he couldn’t resist an eye roll. God help him; no girl had ever taken over control of his radio.
Guess that’s what happened when love was involved.
“So tell me, Har. How have you really been?” Mason bit down on his tongue, hating the fact that her smile had instantly vanished. Christ. He was an idiot, but he had to get the ball rolling if he wanted to win her back. He’d bet his left ball that’s what he was going to do now.
She picked at something invisible on her dress, and Mason knew from that move alone,
that the subject was raw. Still, he had to know. “Come on now. You know I don’t bite!” He gave her his best full on hearty smile. She grinned, but it didn’t reach her eyes. He sighed to himself.
It was a start.
“I kept busy with school and stuff, and I’ve been actually checking into a few colleges
nearby.” She shrugged, still not looking at him. His eyebrows rose. College, huh? The last he’d heard, Harley was adamant about not going anywhere unless David went too. He’d get her to talk soon.
Ten minutes later, they were both seated outside an old white building at a small group of
picnic tables eating in comfortable silence. The rain had stopped completely, and the clouds had made way for a few tiny peeks of sunshine. Mason watched in awe as the light reflected off her wavy hair. It sparkled an almost midnight black color under the sun. He swallowed. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from her. He’d never grow tired of looking at her, any part of her. Little drops of ice cream had made their home on her lower lip and chin. He stared mesmerized as she
practically seduced her spoon. Licking, biting, eyes closing with every single bite. He shuddered.
Damn, she was sexier than ever.
Without even thinking, Mason reached over, running the pad of his thumb over her lips
then bringing the remainder of the cold residue to his own mouth. Her eyes met his. Heat and questions seemed to be battling for control in their depths. His instincts were screaming at him to reach over and grab her, to pull her close, to kiss the holy hell out of her, but Harley cleared her throat, breaking the hypnotized moment when she looked back down into her cup.
He blew out a slow breath, shaking his head. Jesus, he wanted her so badly … all of her.
He cleared his own throat. He needed to focus. His desire wasn’t going to be the thing to
win her back. “So, um, the college thing then… When did that happen? I thought you weren’t
going to go?”
She bit her lip, shrugging her shoulders. “Times change, Mason. People change too.”
That answer was good enough for him. He was the epitome of change anymore.
“Well, then, tell me this,” he swallowed hard. Nervousness took hold of his hands, and
they trembled as he ran them both through his hair. He was about to take a risk here, but he was done with the small talk. It was time to get down to the base of the problem, “Why did you have those pills last November, and why did you never tell me you took them in the first place?”
Her eyes widened. Her jaw clamped shut. She dropped her spoon into her cup as she
practically growled out her next words. “Take me home, Mason. You have no right to ask me that question. It’s none of your business anymore.”
“No, not now it isn’t, but it should have been back when we were together,” he growled, leaning his elbows on the table. Shit, nothing was coming out right. “I just … I would have tried to help! I would have tried to make things better for you!”
She grumbled. “You can’t fix people, Mason! I can’t fix people either. I only just figured this out myself! Maybe it’s time you did too.” She stood, pushed away from the table, and turned to leave.
Oh no. She wasn’t running. Nobody was running anymore. His chair screeched across the sidewalk as he stood to follow her. He grabbed her arm, pulling her back to him. She stiffened under his touch, but slowly, she turned around, lifting her sad, thankfully dry eyes to meet his.
“Just talk to me, okay? I’m not asking for anything else here, little beast…” Yet.
Her chest heaved as she blew out a breath. “I suffered from severe anxiety after Aiden’s
death, and it just … never went away, alright? Everything set it off. I couldn’t control it. I still can’t fully control it … but I’ve tried. I’ve tried damn hard, and I’m still trying today,
everyday…” She shook her head. Her words tumbled out so fast, that he almost missed them.
But her stare never wavered as she glared up at him. Pride radiated throughout his chest. She was amazing. “Why the hell do you care anyway? You left me! ” His eyes widened, the blow hit him full force, but it was deserved. He expected it actually because yes, he was a douche bag.
“I just…” he sighed. “You know the answer to that, Har.”
“Um no, really, I don’t. Care to enlighten me a little?”
“That night,” he pulled at his scalp. He’d be balding before twenty at this rate, “I just …
I…” He closed his eyes. When in the hell had he become such a stuttering monkey ass? “You …
the pill thing … I –I didn’t know what to do.” Her eyes fumed with rage. It was almost
impossible for him not to flinch, but he managed to keep a straight face.
“So I freaked you out then?” Her jaw was rigid. She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Grrrr … Harley, come on. Don’t be like that. It’s not always about you!”
“So tell me something then if you’re going to play that game. Why in the hell did you let Kylee crawl all over you?” she whispered, “And kiss you…”
Crap. He didn’t want to go there again. “That’s the thing, Harley. I didn’t let her do anything. Every single time that girl tried come on to me, I always pushed her away. I told her that I was with you, over and over again. She was just trying to hurt you because she had this freaking obsession with me, and she wanted you out of the picture.”
He pulled her tighter. His hands gripped her elbows, and her hands went to his chest. Her
body wasn’t quite as stiff anymore. He smiled internally at the progress. “I tried so hard to find you that night, Harley. I swear to God. You needed to know the truth about what happened, but I failed you. I didn’t get to you on time.”
She sighed. Defeat was obvious on her face as she nodded her head. Her palms were hot
against his chest. He sucked in her warmth and used it to his advantage. “I had absolutely no idea that you would go back to that party. If only I would have thought to do that…” Harley’s eyes softened, and so did his.
Maybe she felt the same way.
“What’s done is done, Mase. There’s no point in hashing out something that you can’t
change.” She looked away. It was as if she was at war with something.
Determined to help fight her battle, he reached up and placed both his hands on the back
of her neck, drawing her face nearer as she did. He brushed his thumbs over her chin and cheek.
“Harley, talk to me here. Help me understand what’s happening because right now, I don’t know think I could go back to not talking to you anymore. Do you understand?”
She batted her lashes at him, and a single tear zigzagged down her cheek. “Mason …”
she sighed, resolve washing over her features. He grinned. She was wavering. “I just got over the pain of losing you once and I can’t go back to that place in my life again. I’ve lost too much already.” He nodded. He was prepared for that answer.
Good thing he was ready to convince her otherwise. He wasn’t going to let her get away.
“I know I screwed up, Har, but you need to know that my leaving was something that I
had to do for both of us.”
“How in the hell do you know what’s good for me, Mason? I asked you that before, and
you never answered me. I’m a big girl. I know what makes me happy and what doesn’t.”
“I’m sorry, Harley. I honestly am, but you’ve got to believe me when I say that I didn’t
know what else to do. You took those pills, and I blamed myself. I blamed myself because I
drove you to that point, just like I blame myself for not being there to save my dad.” Her eyes, they were all-knowing, but there were questions lingering in them too. He could practically hear them. He swallowed. The lump building in his throat wasn’t getting any smaller.
“Mason, listen to me here. I’ve been dealing with the guilt of my brother’s accident and
Aiden’s suicide now for years, and it’s taken me all this time to finally realize that what happened was nothing I could control. Nothing was my fault. Just like it was not your fault that your dad died, and it most definitely wasn’t your fault that I took those pills and drank all that crap that night.”
She reached up, and grabbed his wrists, tugging them closer to her chest. Mason closed
his eyes at the burn. Warmth and need took over so severely inside of him that he thought he’d die from the fire currently building inside his chest. His brave little beast continued on. Her words were final, like she’d practiced them many times before. “I’ve suffered from depression and extreme anxiety for almost three years now, and I’ve finally began to get it under control. If I let you back in, can I trust you not to set me back?”
“I can never guarantee perfection Har, but I can do my best … for you.” This time he
knew he was making a promise he’d never break. “And so what if we’re both a little messed up!
Together … we could be so damn right.”
She smiled softly up at him, and with that one small curl of her lips he knew things were
right and maybe even about to get better. “Come on, little beast. I’m taking you home with me!”
He wiggled his eyes teasingly at her.
She giggled. “Oh you are now, huh? You think I’ll just fall at your big old feet then?”
She was all sass.
He reached for her hand, interlocking it together with his as they headed towards the car.
“Hell yeah I do!” She shook her head. She obviously knew he was right. It was about time she believed him.
In a record five minutes flat they were at his house. Somehow or another, he found his
hand at the small of her back, ushering her inside to the one place he never thought he’d bring her. He was excited to show her this little piece of him, to open up this part of his life that he had kept away for seven months. Granted, it was just a house, but still…
She removed her sweater as they stepped inside, handing it to Mason. He was drawn to
the bareness of her smooth back and neck, and he fought for control against his own damn body.
God, who knew a simple black dress, could be so amazingly … hot?
Harley’s eyes grew wide as she looked around his house. That mega-wattage smile was
bright, perfectly Harley. “Wow, Mason! Your house is gorgeous! I can’t believe how big it is!”
She stepped out of her flip-flops and moved with ease into their living room. Not wanting to be apart from her, he lowered his hand to her back again as he guided her towards his room.
She smiled as she glanced at the few pictures at the wall. It was not as homey as her
house, but her being there created a heat that it never had before. “Is that you?” she grinned, nodding towards a picture of him as a toddler, gracing his dad’s lap as they sat on a floating board. His dad had said he was born to ride the waves, even at the age of two.
“Yep, that’s me. I looked like a girl with all that white long hair. My mom said that
people used to tell her that I should be in beauty pageants because my hair was so silky and long.” The sarcasm oozed off of him as Harley ran a finger over the face of the little boy in the picture.
That little boy was lucky. His dad was still alive, but big Mason had the memories at
least. And that would have to be enough. “Yeah, Mom used to tell people that I was her pretty princess boy since I apparently liked dolls and, um, dresses too.” His cheeks flamed with heat.
God, why was he telling her this? Guess it was sort of payback for the naked pictures he’d seen of her on the walls of her own house. “But that finally changed when I got my first board.”
“You were actually pretty adorable back then, Mase. What happ … Oh my god, are those
braids in your hair?” Harley nudged his shoulder. He rolled his eyes.
“You are so done for, little beast!” Mason darted off after her as she sprinted away.
Somehow or another, she managed to find his room, and he chased her in, catching her the
moment they’d slipped through the doors. He wrapped his arms around her waist, throwing her across his bed like she weighed nothing more than a rag doll. He crawled over her, straddled her legs, and pinned both of her hands above her head. Their breathing went rapid in that moment.
Their stares held tight. Her whispered words were strangled.
That’s when it all changed…
“Mercy…” she whispered back.
His heart clawed at his chest. Harley’s eyes went black as if she knew what he was
thinking. He lowered his head. His long hair spilled over her face, and she gasped as their noses brushed. He brushed his cheek over her face, taking in the feeling of her breath and soft skin against his cheek. Their chests rose and fell in unison. The intensity built a flame between them.
He’d fought for control for too long with her. It was finally time to break free. He used his free hand to grab her waist, instantly whipping her back up into his lap. Her legs were positioned on both sides of his body. Their fronts were pressed flush together, and nothing but her dress and his shirt separated them. Their stares never once wavered until Harley closed her eyes.
“Mason…” she whispered again. His name on her lips was as wanting as his own. There
was no denying that fact anymore.
“Harley, I need you. Please.” Harley opened her eyes slowly again, and her mouth
formed a sexy little O that he couldn’t help but stare at. Like always, those eyes of hers sucked him back in.
He waited. His breathing went ragged as she bit her lip, and then she nodded slowly.
In
that moment, he knew, without a doubt, that this was it for him … this was the forever kind of it.
They were young, but he knew there would never again be another girl that touched his soul like Harley had. With no regrets and no fear, he sealed his lips to hers in a personal and secret promise of eternity.
Electric. That was the only word he could think of to describe their kisses. He pushed,
she pulled, and then he was there on top of her again yanking at her dress, his hands creeping up the side of her leg. She arched her back, pushing against him, raising her hands above her head, obviously just as eager to get the material off of her body as he was.
Even after her dress was torn away, it still wasn’t enough.
Her fingers ran through the back of his hair, and he was so damn glad that he’d let it grow so long because her hands felt incredible in there. He pulled back to stare down at her perfectly curved body. It was toned, smooth, the epitome of gorgeousness. His lips curled into a crooked grin as he ran a single finger along the strap of her bra. She squirmed as her cheeks reddened, suddenly appearing shy as he moved his hands over every inch of her exposed skin.
“So perfect…” he whispered, bringing their mouths back together.
Then it was apparent that she wanted more because her paced increased, and she slipped
her cool hands under the sides of his shirt. He hissed at the sensation, loving the gentleness, but hating it at the same time. He wouldn’t be perfectly happy until neither of them had a single inch of clothing on.
Finally, he did as she silently commanded and lifted his shirt off with a quick, sweep of
his hand. She giggled, and he grinned just as she ran one of her free hands over the top of his head. His hair was most likely wild, but that was okay. She made him feel wild, so if the shoe fit, he’d sure as hell wear the hell out of it. Shivering to the point of almost being out of control, Mason took his turn, slowly reaching down to unbuckle his black dress pants. She didn’t hesitate to help him, pulling them down with her feet. He grinned widely, and she shyly shrugged in
return.
Yeah, he liked this eager version of his little beast.
But behind her needy eyes, he could almost see her fear, and he paused, suddenly worried
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