Chapter 29 #2
A cocktail of emotions filled me as I admired the entire setup and blinked to prevent tears from building up in my eyes.
“Melinda Shepard, will you save me this dance?” Mason asked, holding out a hand.
“The last time we danced together was at Homecoming, and you didn’t kiss me. Will you kiss me tonight?”
“You bet. If only you knew how much restraint I had to use that night not to claim you as mine in front of everyone. I think I had a hard-on for three days afterward. You looked so perfect.” With a step forward, he closed the gap separating our bodies.
I watched him watching me and grinned. “I heard from a reputable source we’re having do-overs for everything we didn’t do right the first time. It might be your chance to set things right.”
Pressed together and swaying to the music, we kissed until our lips stung and we had to lean back to catch some fresh air.
Tilting my chin up with a finger, Mason looked into the depths of my soul. “From now on, Shepard, I want all your firsts.”
“I’ll give them all to you, but don’t stop kissing me.”
His lips claimed mine again, and I was a goner.
My hands found their way under his shirt, and for the very first time, I mapped his bare chest with my fingers, enjoying each plane and ridge as I discovered them.
Mason shivered under my touch, and I caressed his flesh with purpose, wanting to carve every detail of him into my mind forever.
He devoured my mouth as if I was the only thing he needed to stay alive.
His palms traveled all along my spine, my neck, the back of my head, and yet, it felt like it still wasn’t enough.
“I want you,” I whispered between kisses.
“Fuck, Mel. I’ve been wanting you for a long-ass time. We won’t rush into this. What we’re doing feels more than enough right now. It exceeds all my expectations.”
I could feel his erection bobbing against my belly.
“What if I want more? If I’m ready for more?”
He molded both his hands to my face. “Then we’ll talk about it. I just got you. I won’t do anything to risk losing you. Never.”
“Mase, I’m the one asking.”
“Well, I’m the one telling you we should wait.”
“It makes no sense. I know you want it too. I feel you…huh…down there.”
“Believe me, there’s nothing I want more, but it makes sense to me.
I’ve never had this…a girlfriend…someone I cared so much about that I couldn’t live without.
Let’s not spoil what we have by rushing into this, okay?
I wanna enjoy all your firsts from now on, remember?
First dance, first date, first I-love-yous, first orgasm… ”
“You already got the first two. The dance at Homecoming and the date back when we were kids… And also that last one...” I felt my face flushing under his scrutinizing gaze. I wasn’t ready to talk about everything so openly.
“First time you came?”
I nodded once.
“That night in your bedroom?”
“You were the first boy to ever touch me like that. It has to count.”
“Believe me, love, it does. It fucking counts. Just so we’re clear, I’ll be the last one too.” Before I could suck a full breath in, his mouth was back on mine, stealing every particle of oxygen from my lungs.
Later, lying over the pile of cushions spread across the floor, we indulged in snacks, barely watching the movie, too busy making out, our hands still busy exploring every inch of each other’s bodies.
Mason kept his grip around my waist or buried in my hair at first, as if he was afraid to touch me elsewhere.
Inside, though, I was dying for him to caress all of me the way I’d pictured him in my head so many times before.
I wanted him to cherish my body with his tongue and for him to slide inside me until no one could tell us apart.
Never before had I ever had thoughts like these about anyone.
Mason was making me crazy in all the right ways, and I was craving him.
I leaned into him as he continued to kiss me, my body aching for more—so much more.
“Mase, it’s okay. If you want…you can, huh, touch me,” I murmured against his lips.
He froze, his lips a hair’s breadth from mine. “Not until we’re ready for more.”
“I want more. With you. Only with you. I’m burning up, but not from a fever this time around.”
“Don’t ever feel pressured to do anything because you think that’s what I want, okay? Were you honest when you said Clarke and you never…”
I nodded. “We never had sex sex. Huh…the full act. We did other things.” I looked away for a second, but Mason guided my face toward his until our eyes met. “Don’t ever be shy. Not with me. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry we grew distant back then. I’ve missed you so damn much.”
“Mase.” I kissed his lips. “We had to go through that episode of our lives. I truly believe everything happens for a reason. I’m sure, in the long run, we had to experience stuff before we could find our way back to each other.
If we had gotten together back in high school, maybe we wouldn’t have survived college life together. ”
“Impossible.”
“We’ll never know, but let’s not spoil tonight with what-ifs and ex-talks, okay?”
He nodded and exhaled. I was glad we had gotten it off our chests and put the past behind us where it belonged.
“Still want me to touch you?” Mason asked after a beat.
“I want much more than that with you, Mase. A whole lot more.”
We kissed for a beat longer.
“Mase, take me home with you.”
He pulled back. “You sure?”
“Not sure I’m ready to do everything tonight, but I want us to sleep in each other’s arms. For real this time. No clothes in the way. If it’s okay with you.”
“Okay with me?”
I nodded, worrying my bottom lip.
His face lit up. “If it were just up to me, Mel, I would never let you out of my sight for the rest of time.”
I buried my face in his chest, getting drunk on his scent, driftwood and pine, as we stayed still for a long minute.
“We should clean up,” I said.
“Nah, I have a team for that.”
“Who?”
He snorted. “My brother and Bailey. They said they’d be on call.”
“You thought of everything, didn’t you?”
“Who can blame me? I had six years to plan the perfect date.”