by Ryan Michele
11
Mason
Everyone Is Fighting But Us … Wtf –
The movie had ended, and the pizza was gone. Everly hadn’t spoken five words to me, and I didn’t know what was eating at her. All I knew was I hated the distance spreading between us. I told myself she needed sleep. It had been a long day, but I felt recharged after the nap and shower.
“You okay?” I asked for probably the third time, hoping for a different answer other than I’m fine.
“I’m good.”
I sighed. It wasn’t fine, but it might as well have been. “Talk to me, Ev. What’s eating at you?”
“It’s nothing. I’m just tired.”
“Bullshit. Tell me the truth.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
I cupped her face between my hands. “Look at me.” Her gaze met mine, and I hated the sadness behind her ocean eyes. “You can tell me anything.”
“Mason…” She tried to pull away, but I held firm.
“Am I that terrible of a kisser?”
“What?” She blinked, startled. “Why would you ask me that? It’s not like it was real. It doesn’t matter.”
“Ahh. I see.” My thumb traced her bottom lip, and she sucked in a deep breath.
“See what?” Her eyes melted just a touch for me. It was small, but I accepted it.
“That kiss. You think it wasn’t real for me?”
Pain lurked behind her eyes, and I hated that. “You don’t owe me any explanations. We both knew the score when we started this. Let’s not complicate it and make it awkward.” Everly tugged on my hands, and I dropped my hold on her as she rolled from the bed. We’d moved there after finishing the pizza. “I’m going to go brush my teeth.”
I let her go, though it was the last thing I wanted. I wanted to pull her into my arms and kiss her again. Make her see what she did to me.
She escaped to the bathroom, and I cleaned up from dinner, leaving the cart outside our door and turning down the lights.
A heavy breath escaped me. How the hell was I going to sleep next to her all night and not kiss her or make a move? She obviously felt something for me.
Racking my brain, it hit me. An idiot. I felt like such a jackass. When we kissed, I’d told her I’d make it real for everyone, but I didn’t even mention her. That was the last thing I wanted. Making it real for her was crucial. No wonder she seemed distant. I’d hurt her and didn’t even realize it. I’d make it right. Somehow.
Everly came out of the bathroom and didn’t even look my way. I shoved up off the couch and took my turn in the bathroom, brushing my teeth. When I walked out of the bathroom, she took up my side of the bed again, but I didn’t care. It was damn near perfect, and she appeared so damn beautiful.
Moonlight filtered through the curtain, shining on her tan legs and making them glow. She hadn’t gotten under the covers yet which was perfectly fine with me. It gave me more opportunities to stare at her.
Ev’s blonde hair fanned on the pillow, hands under her cheek. She was so peaceful.
I crawled up the bed, going to the middle and lying next to her. We were going to talk and clear the air once and for all. I needed her to know the kiss we shared meant something to me and that she did too.
“Ever heard of personal space?” Her minty breath washed over me as a puzzled look came over her.
I smiled, loving being in her space. “Yup.” I kept where I was.
“Okay, you ever heard of respecting it?” she clipped, inching away from me without anywhere to go except the floor. We could do this there too if she wanted. I was down for either.
“Maybe I like sleeping next to you.” She was right where I wanted, and it was time to go in for the kill.
“Mason, I think lines are getting crossed or blurred; I don’t—” I grabbed hold of her neck and claimed her lips, her words dying on my tongue as it plunged deep. Taking control and kissing her hard, I poured the way I felt about her into the kiss. Tongue dancing with hers, I dominated the movements hearing the small groan.
She jerked back like the groan woke her up from a dream, her fingers touching her soft lips.
“What was that?” The question came out in a breathy whisper, eyes big in shock.
It was cute how puzzled she came across. “That was me showing you that this thing between us, Ev, it’s real. Not for show for your mom and family. It's real. Me and you. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and I’ve always wanted to kiss you.”
“And now?” she asked, her breath catching.
“Now, I’m going to kiss you again.” I grinned and claimed her mouth once more.
Everly didn’t hold back this time. Actively participating, her tongue dueled with mine for control, but in the end there was no winner or loser; we found our rhythm, working completely in sync. Deep and wet, the kiss intensified.
I slid my hand along the slope of her neck, craving her in every way possible. My cock stretched in my pajama pants, tenting in the crotch. Fuck, she made me hard just thinking about her. With her kiss, it was almost painful.
I knew sex with Ev would be out of this world, but it wasn’t something to be rushed. She deserved better than a quick fuck and would get it. I needed her desperately, but kissing would need to do for now.
We stayed like that, kissing and nothing more like handsy teenagers alone for the first time. Her lips melted into mine, sugary and sweet. The taste of her mouth would be etched into my mind forever, a craving that could never be sated. Kissing Everly made me feel alive and as though I’d been kissing the wrong women all my life.
Needing to touch her, my palm covered her breast. Her nipple hardened under my touch, and we were no longer playing any kind of pretend.
“Mason,” she panted my name out, and I broke away, both of us catching our breath. That one word snapped me from going further than intended. She had such a strong pull to me. Two strings tightening with each second we spent together.
“You were saying…” I prompted, eyes blazing and heart thumping.
“I uh...” She paused, shaking her head a bit. “I forgot what I wanted to say.”
I’d give her this one out because it really seemed like she did forget.
It had been a long, intense day, and we both needed to rest. “Get some sleep, Ev. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
I gathered Everly into my arms and rested her head on my chest. She didn’t protest.
My balls were aching, and I knew the moment she fell asleep I’d be going to the bathroom to jerk off to thoughts of sliding between her thighs and fucking her stupid. Part of me wanted that more than anything, but there was still this voice in my head that warned me to go slow with her. I’d always listened to that voice, and I wasn’t about to stop now.
Holding her in my arms all night would be enough. For now.
“Would you just drop it already?” Jess snapped at Casey. His head dropped, and I hurried to look away, not wanting any part of this tiff.
Taking a sip of my coffee, I thought, or more like hoped, that would be the end of the conversation, but it was simply the beginning. While we weren’t part of it, Jess and Casey were trying to make it so. Me? No thank you.
“Why don’t you want to get married?” he pushed, staring at her with puppy dog eyes. It was as if she'd kicked him in the gut.
Shit. Things were growing more awkward by the moment, and it was only like seven-thirty in the morning. Way too early for this. I needed about a gallon more of coffee, and it still wouldn’t be enough.
“You want to get married, Casey?” Jane Lynn joined the conversation, and Everly came very close to slamming her head down on the table. Fire meet gas. This was going to blow. Jane Lynn was a spitfire. I reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.
She rolled her eyes, causing me to smile. Yeah, she was damn cute.
“Honey, stay out of it,” Herbert warned, throwing his hat into the ring. Which, let’s be honest, was stupid, but I had to give it to him; h
e held his own.
Jane Lynn’s eyes narrowed, and I waited for her to magically turn into a cartoon character with steam coming out of her ears; it was so going to happen. That or the Tasmanian devil. Who knew which would show first. “Don’t tell me what to do. I’m just curious. Yesterday Casey and Jess didn’t want to talk about getting married, and now Casey is considering it. You know this is important to me.”
“It’s none of your business, Mom. This is between Casey and me, and I don’t want to talk about it over breakfast in front of everyone.”
“No. We’re all family here, right?” Casey glanced around the table, stopping at me. “Excluding Mason. No offense, dude.”
I gave him a chin lift and kept eating my food like he didn’t even talk to me. It wasn’t any of my business, and I had no desire to get involved.
Everly seemed content with her hand in mine, probably because the focus was off us for the time being. Which was fine with me, but I didn't have to pretend when it came to Ev. It was all happening.
After the blow up of her mom getting all heated about us yesterday, I had to share the sentiment. It was nice not to be under everyone’s scrutiny. Drake and Kelsey were probably still sleeping since it was now officially their honeymoon. Lucky. Being in bed with Ev right now sounded much better than being here.
Casey wasn’t letting go of the fight. To me it showed how much he loved Jess. “What about when we have kids, Jess? Will they take your name or mine? This is important. I don’t know how you feel about any of these things. I don’t know why you can’t marry me.”
“Why are you being like this?” Jess fiddled with her napkin.
Casey turned fully to her. “I don’t know; after the conversation yesterday and the wedding. Kelsey announcing the baby. It got me thinking, you know. Why aren’t we married? We should be able to exchange rings and make it legal. What’s holding you back, babe? Don’t you love me?”
“Casey, now isn’t the time for this.” She huffed, cheeks glowing crimson, eyes darting around the table. “I don’t want to do this right now. Stop pressuring me.”
“You love each other, so what’s the problem,” Jane Lynn interjected. “Jess, you love Casey?”
“Yes, Mother. I do, but that has nothing to do with the ritual of making all these stupid promises and spending all this money for a piece of paper. That paper doesn’t change anything.” She shoved her chair back and stomped off with Casey running after her.
“Really, Jane. You couldn’t let it go. It’s vacation, and this trip is about Kelsey and Drake; not Jess and Casey. You really don’t know when to let things go sometimes,” Herbert said as we watched their departing backs.
Jane Lynn turned to him. “Why are you on my case? It’s true. If she loves Casey, she should suck it up and make it official. What’s holding her back? And he’s right; when they have kids, what will she do? I know she considers herself a feminist power woman hear her roar or whatever, but that doesn’t mean she can just ignore the sanctity of marriage.”
“Environmentalist.” Herbert chuckled and unfolded the napkin in his lap, bringing it to his mouth. “She cares about the environment.”
“Well, it’s true—they live in sin, and she needs to think these crazy notions of hers through. If they have kids, I don’t want people thinking of my grandkids as bastards.”
Everly gasped as Herbert stood. “I think I’ve lost my appetite. If the two of you will excuse me.” He gave Everly and me a nod, leaving the table.
“Way to clear the table, Mom,” Everly noted and sipped her orange juice.
“Oh, don’t you start with me too. I still haven't forgotten that you two thought you could play me.” Jane Lynn’s fork clattered against her plate as her chair scooted back. “You’re both lying. I need some fresh air.” Jane Lynn then took off, leaving just the two of us, which I much preferred.
Everly sat there quiet for a few minutes, chewing her food slowly before swallowing. “Well, that was fun. Aren’t you so glad you came?” Her gaze met mine.
I squeezed her hand. “Actually yeah, I am.” I leaned in and kissed her bare shoulder. Goose bumps pebbled over her skin. I wondered where else I could affect her.
“Mason… You do know my mom is gone; you don’t have to keep up pretending,” she said, but didn’t move from me.
“Did you not listen last night, Ev? Was there some other woman in bed with me? Some other woman who kissed me for nearly an hour, if not longer?” Her cheeks bloomed a pale shade of pink.
“No,” she whispered.
“Just go with it. Cut loose, and let’s have fun. We can enjoy this time we have left without any expectations. You want me to back off, just say the word, but you should know I plan on kissing you a lot. Any damn time I want to.”
“Oh really?” Her lip tipped.
“Watch and see.” I tapped the tip of her nose.
Her head shook as she laughed. “I think you might be crazy.”
“Have fun with me. Forget your mom and whatever she thinks is happening between us. This isn’t about anyone else but us. We’re here on this ship and have two full days left. Why not see what happens?”
“Mason… I … we work together.”
“Don’t make lame excuses. This isn’t Idaho. Unless you lied, and you truly think I’m a terrible kisser.”
She chuckled. “No. it isn’t that. But I don’t know. I don’t want things to be awkward between us after.”
“Let’s worry about the after later. That’s a problem for future us, right?”
She smiled huge, and I knew she was giving in. Even if it was only for a moment she belonged to me for the duration of the trip, and I wasn’t going to blow that opportunity.
“Besides, I did promise you a boyfriend.”
She didn’t miss a beat. “You did, didn’t you?”
“Mhmm…” I leaned over and pecked her lightly on the lips. “What are we going to do today, baby?”
She shivered.
There was no way I could trust myself to go back to the room with her. As badly as I wanted her, wanted to taste and tease every single inch of Everly’s body. Holding back was getting painfully hard. Literally.
“There’s a couple of shows I want to see.”
“Sounds perfect.” While that wasn’t my idea of a perfect afternoon, I’d be with her, and that was all that mattered.
Everly dragged me to a magic show. We took our seats amongst the other patrons of the ship. I took her hand, lacing my fingers through hers and hoping she wouldn’t pull away. She didn’t, to my delight. Her attention zoned in on the performers on the stage. A man dressed in the full magician garb—black tuxedo, top hat, and black cape. He even had a funny mustache that curled upward toward his nostrils on the ends. His assistant had on a sparkly silver dressed that shimmered under the stage lights.
Everly watched in wonderment as they moved through their act. The first trick of pulling a rabbit out of his hat had the audience oohing and awing, but to be fair, there were a lot of children in attendance. Her eyes were on the show, but my gaze caught on her, loving the shock and happiness she wore. All I wanted as her eyes widened while the magician dropped his cape and put on a straitjacket was to kiss her stupid. The woman had no idea how adorable I found her to be and how crazy she drove me.
“As you can see, my assistant has made sure the jacket is buckled, and I cannot move no matter how hard I try.” He grunted, turning red in the face as he shifted from side to side wiggling. “Gidget, if you’ll open the trunk.”
The redheaded woman lifted the lid on the large black trunk in the center of the stage. She held her arms out as if to say Ta-da. The magician, assisted by his helper, climbed inside. The lid closed, and everyone waited for him to make his grand escape.
The woman played it up, making surprised expressions at the audience, dropping her jaw, and gaping at the trunk with doe eyes. Personally, I hated the whole thing, but I’d endure anything if it meant I got to spend the day with Everly.
Suddenly a hand full of fake flowers appeared between our shoulders. Everly and I both glanced back to find the magician smiling at us.
She grinned and blushed.
“Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman,” he said.
“Alright, pal. She’s taken,” I told him, half kidding.
12
Everly
That Awkward Moment When You Realize You’re Falling In Love And All You Can Think Is … ‘Oh Crap.’
It was our last full day and night of the cruise. After Saturday we’d return to port in Miami and then board a plane back to Idaho. We were at port for a perfect day at CocoCay. We were just given the all clear to leave the ship, and I was still floating from the past few nights.
Things with Mason had taken an interesting turn. He asked me to see where things could land for the rest of the trip. The idea excited and terrified me, but I wanted to know if the spark I felt was real, or if I saw what I wanted to.
I’d never been the type of girl to go falling head over heels, and I wasn’t dumb enough to think Mason and I could have anything when we got back home, but playing pretend with him had been the best time of my life.
He made me feel wanted, desired. Something I’d never experienced in my twenty-nine years. There was no two ways about it—I wanted him. I craved his touch. His sweet kisses. I could feel myself falling for him, and it scared me. I felt absolutely giddy when he smiled at me. I wanted to giggle like a freaking schoolgirl, and I wasn’t a big giggler. But when a man like Mason Jones kissed you stupid, well you went a little dumb in the head and started thinking with your lady bits because he made them tingle.
I had to push those thoughts aside, though. It was family fun day, and my mother expected us all to be on our best behavior. Great. The fun was already beginning. Me? I was going to ignore all the drama and focus on my time with Mason.
