14. Mason
FOURTEEN
MASON
It’s been two weeks of watching Chase. Of spending time with Lily when she gets home from her shift, letting her decompress and tell me about her day. It feels oddly domesticated, and while I’ve been running from that feeling for years, in this setting, for some reason, it doesn’t bother me. And as the days wear on, I find myself looking forward to the little moments.
I’ve only had one serious relationship. It was with a girl named Olivia, and it was a lifetime ago. Part of my past that I like to keep hidden away, buried deep where not even my subconscious can access it. But lately, it’s been creeping back into the light, showing me all of the things I was missing back then. When I thought Olivia was where I’d spend my forever. Because even though I was with her for years, she never made fireworks explode inside my chest with a single look. My stomach never flipped and turned with anticipation, just at the thought of seeing her face, even for a second.
And I almost married her.
Meanwhile, Lily won’t even let me past the friendship stage, and she barely lets me get to that. She constantly reminds me that I’m only helping her out with Chase. That’s true, I am. And like everything else that I’ve been doing since I’ve been here in Raindale, I’ve made a giant mistake.
Because now I fucking love this kid.
He’s smart. And polite as hell. And just…he’s everything that I thought I would have once upon a time.
My heart cinches in my chest.
“What’s that face for?” Lily asks, dropping down on the couch. She sighs, her fingers reaching down to grab the soles of her feet, most likely tired from her day at work.
“Nothing.” I grab her legs and pull them onto my lap, taking over from where she was rubbing. A thrill races through me when she doesn’t put up a fight and instead leans back against the cushions, groaning as I work the stress from her body.
“Thanks for watching him.” She yawns.
I smile, my thumb pressing into her arch. “You’ve gotta stop thanking me. I told you I’ll do it for as long as you need.”
Her head tilts. “Oh, yeah? You gonna move here and babysit forever?”
I smirk. “I don’t think I can commit to moving here permanently. Not when I can’t even get you to watch a movie with me after Chase goes to sleep.”
She rolls her eyes. “I don’t even have any movies other than a few Disney ones.”
“So you’re saying if you did have one, then you would?”
She frowns. “I guess.”
My chest warms. I’ve been trying to get her to relax around me for the past two weeks—ever since she pushed me away when I was two seconds from fucking her against the kitchen counter. “Lucky for you, I brought my laptop, fully equipped with the streaming service of your choice.”
She huffs out a laugh. “Of course you did.”
“I wasn’t sure what type of movie buff you were, but there are plenty of options.” I wiggle my brows. “Horror. Rom-com. Action. You pick it, we’ll watch it.”
She bites her lip. “You don’t seem like a rom-com kind of guy, no offense.”
Her leg jerks when my thumb presses against a tender spot. “I mean, I’m definitely offended, but it’s fine.”
She giggles. “Well, I’m not a rom-com kinda girl, so let’s do action.”
I nod and smile, knowing this is when I should go get the movie. But I don’t move from my spot, afraid that once I do, she won’t let me touch her again.
She watches as my hands work from her feet up to her calves. My heart speeds up, banging against my ribs.
“How come you don’t like rom-coms?” I ask.
“How come you do ?”
I shrug. “Sometimes you need something light. Something ridiculous and fluffy, so you can forget the world is so damn heavy.”
She nods. “It’s just a little unrealistic, don’t you think?”
“Isn’t that the point of movies? To escape reality for a little while?”
“Maybe.” She takes her hair out of her ponytail, running her fingers through the strands. “But I don’t need more reminders of all the love stories I’ll never experience.”
Her legs shift in my lap, and even though we’re having a serious conversation, my body takes notice. It always notices her.
“Bad relationship?” I ask, my heartbeat climbing so high, I hear it in my ears. This is my moment—my in. A chance for her to tell me all the things I already know and hopefully the pieces I don’t, so I can ease my guilty conscience and leave before things get too complicated.
Before I become too attached.
I’m already walking a dangerous path, teetering on the edge.
“Yeah.” She laughs. “I guess you could call it that.” She rests her head on the couch cushion, her eyes softening as she stares at me, the silence stretching. I let it linger. Let it fill up all the cracks in the space between us, leaving the moment pregnant with expectation.
“I’ve only been in one…” she finally says. “If you can even call it that. Darryl. I met him in the airport of all places, coming back from Florida with my family.”
I already know about Darryl of course, but I was born into a family where a poker face was a birthright, so even though my chest is burning from the knowledge, I master the neutral stare with ease.
She cringes. “He was twenty. I was fourteen. It wasn’t—” She shakes her head. “I was young and stupid and groomed for bad situations. My mind was twisted and warped into thinking it was normal. That it was something I wanted.”
Nausea swirls through my insides. I’ve been wanting her to open up, but the way her body coils tighter with each word has tension painting itself across my skin, pulling it tight.
“How the hell did your parents let you get away with that?”
Her eyes gloss over at the mention of her parents, and the look has guilt dropping like a boulder in my gut. I knew this question would make her uncomfortable, but I’m not supposed to know that, so I pressed it.
“They never knew. No one ever knew except a couple of m—” She hesitates, clearing her throat. “My friends. My parents were…” She sighs. “I was adopted, and they were so happy to even have kids that they never wanted to do anything to push us away. I took advantage of that.”
She pauses, her fingers jumping to her opposite wrist, scratching against the skin.
“They were… everything I ever wanted,” she continues. “And I was a fucked-up kid, hiding behind a big smile and a fake personality.” She shrugs. “I was the good kid. It was m—” She hesitates again, swallowing around her words. “It was my brother who they thought would cause all the trouble.”
My heart pounds, my fingers stuttering from where I’m massaging her leg. “You have a brother?”
“Yep.” Her jaw tightens. “What about you?” she asks.
I grow dizzy from how fast my stomach flips, nausea racing up my esophagus and burning the back of my throat. I grind my teeth. “No. No siblings.”
She frowns. “How about relationships? I mean, I know about Annabelle, but before that. Anything serious?”
My grip tightens on her legs. “How many times do I have to tell you Annabelle and I aren’t in a relationship?”
She lifts a shoulder. “You’re still with her even if you don’t put a title on it.”
I shake my head, something heavy settling in my gut. “No, I’m not. I haven’t even seen her since before I started watching Chase.”
“Hmm,” she hums. Her eyes are critical, like she’s debating whether or not to believe me. And for some reason, I need her to believe me. I move quick, jerking her legs so her body slides closer, my hand gripping her hips tightly as I settle her across my lap. My palm wraps around the nape of her neck and drags her face toward mine, our noses brushing from the movement.
“If I were in a relationship, I wouldn’t do this,” I whisper.
My lips meet hers hard, my tongue licking the breath from her mouth until I’m drowning in her taste.
She melts into me immediately, her fingers tangling in the strands of my hair. I groan, my palm tightening on her neck. And then…she fucking bites me. Her teeth sink into my bottom lip and pull, the sting sharp and sudden, my cock jerking underneath her. Copper floods my taste buds, and I rip her head away, my hand leaving her hip to swipe at the blood that’s dripping down my chin.
“That wasn’t very nice.”
She grins. “Maybe I don’t like nice.”
Arousal spreads through me like smoke, suffocating my logic. I lean back in, pressing my mouth to hers again, the taste of blood mixing with the sweetness of her breath. She breaks her lips away and moans, the sound a straight shot to my dick.
“Fucking Christ , Lily.”
Her body freezes, and the icy tendrils shoot from her and spear me in the chest. She jumps up and I let her, even though every inch of me is begging to pull her back in.
Her fingers press against her mouth. “You can’t just… You don’t get to… Ugh!” She grips her hair, the strands mashing against her fingers. “Why would you do that?”
I smirk, amusement dancing through my chest. “You were a pretty willing participant, little bird.”
“But you’re not mine . Now I’m gonna feel like a home-wrecker when I see Annabelle. You may not think she likes you, but she does , Alex.”
Alex . Reality crashes back through me at the name.
“She doesn’t even know me,” I snap.
“Oh, and I do?”
Irritation floods my veins.
From her questions.
From the fact that I lost myself in her.
From the fact that I want to keep losing myself in her.
I spring from the couch and walk straight into her, pushing until she’s flat against the wall.
My hands come up and grip her face tight, forcing her to meet my eyes. My body is flush against hers, and I swear I can hear her heart racing. I wonder if she can tell that mine’s beating just as fast.
“I. Am. Not. With. Annabelle.” Moving one hand from her jaw, I grab her fingers, pressing them against my chest. “You feel that?”
Her eyes blink rapidly, her breaths coming in short pants as she nods.
“No one has ever done this to me. Like my body is revolting against me just from being next to you. Just from the fucking thought of touching you.” My thumb rubs against her cheek. “So, no, Lily. Maybe you don’t know me, but you know this .” I press her hand harder against me. “And you know you feel it too.”
I dip back down, brushing my lips across hers one last time, before releasing her and turning away to walk out the door.