“Congratulations, Becky.” She’d always loved him. “I am really happy for you. Really.” I held her even tighter.
She hugged me back.
I couldn’t remember the exact reason we weren’t friends anymore. The pain and betrayal were like a faint fog over my memories. They were there, and I knew things had happened, but in this moment, one she’d remember for the rest of her life, I let myself feel that old friendship once again.
SAMANTHA
“You were quiet on the ride home.”
We had just entered our room. I sank down on the bed and curled in a ball, holding a pillow to my chest as I looked up at him. I had been quiet, content to just watch the scenery go by as Mason drove us. Matteo chose to stay behind. He wanted to party it up with Mark, and Mason and I couldn’t blame him. There was a melancholy feel to us, or maybe it was just me.
I sighed. “It’s hitting me that someone I used to love is engaged now.”
“Adam?”
I frowned, then saw he was joking. “Becky.” I laughed. “Asshole.”
His eyes darkened, and for a moment I thought he was going to lay with me, but he turned for the closet. He pulled his shirt off and disappeared inside.
“That bugs you?” he called. “That she’s engaged?”
I sat up, scooting my back against the headboard. I still held that pillow in front of me. “Maybe. I don’t know why.”
“Sam.” He came back out, still with no shirt. I wasn’t complaining. Mason was leaner than he’d been in high school, but more ripped. Almost every muscle in his chest and stomach stood out, and my eyes traced the V of his obliques, the way they disappeared under his light grey sweatpants.
“You’re forgetting why Becky and you aren’t friends anymore. Quinn was trying to break us up, and she chose his side. Now, it looks like she chose the right side for her since they’re getting married, but that’s not how it was back then. If you’re beating yourself up over letting go of that friendship, stop. You can’t be friends with someone who’s not friends back.”
He was right. I knew it, but I still felt a little hole inside where she used to be. “I don’t know if it’s Becky or my mom… I don’t know what it is, but I feel off. I have since we came home for the summer.”
He didn’t say anything, but watched me with a knowing look mixed with concern. I wasn’t saying anything new or surprising. Going somewhere Mason had enemies, then getting a job at the local carnival with Mark, and now being at Becky Sullivan’s engagement—none of those were normal. The last was sprung on me, but I stayed even after I heard Becky and Adam were going to be there. I mean, it was Cass’ house for fuck’s sakes. Cass and I hated each other, but I still went.
I looked up and held Mason’s gaze. “What’s going on with me?”
His eyes clouded over, and he said almost as softly as I’d asked, “I don’t know.”
Dropping the shirt he’d been holding, he sat on the bed and he leaned down. His lips found mine, then he pulled back. His face was a few inches from mine and his eyes stared at my lips. “Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it.”
“Yeah?”
I was becoming breathless.
My body was starting to burn up.
Whatever I felt was beginning to fade, and a whole different pressing need was taking its place. Heat began to pool between my legs, spreading through me.
I closed my eyes, arching up against him, and groaned at the feel of him right there.
No matter what was going on with me, this would never cease. Ever.
His arm slid underneath my back and he moved me until I was in the middle of the bed. He lay on top of me, still holding most of his weight so he didn’t crush me. He gazed down, his eyes molten with desire. His other hand lifted to my cheek and rested there, framing the side of my face.
He said, “Yeah. We’ll figure it out.”
That was enough. I turned my mind off.
We stared at each other for a moment, and then I lifted a hand and touched his lips. They were so perfectly formed. They only accentuated the strength in him somehow, but goddamn. I could feel all of his muscles as he rested on me. Mason was known as the fighter, the protector, the strong one. Sometimes I forgot how beautiful he was on the inside, too.
He smiled before he drew my finger into his mouth. His tongue swirled and rubbed against it gently.
I gasped and clamped my legs tight. The need for him was almost overwhelming now. My legs entwined around him, bringing him in full contact against me. Both of us gasped. I arched my back again, closing my eyes, just feeling him. His entire body rested more fully on me now, pinning me down.