Letting go of Mason’s hand, I take a step away and wrap my arms around my waist. As soon as I do, it’s like my body instantly feels cold, and I do my best to look anywhere but at the beautiful blonde pressed against him.
I hear him mutter out a small ‘hey’ as he takes a step away moving closer to me. I can feel his eyes boring into the side of my face, but I can’t bring myself to look at them. The familiar way she approached him leaves me with a sense of uneasiness, and I know without a doubt they have a history together.
A history involving him, her, and no clothes.
The thought of sharing Mason with someone else now, after I know what it’s like to have his hands on my body, has my heart beating wildly in my chest. I can feel the emotions racing through me, bubbling up along the surface.
I blink past the tears that are forming as Mason slides his arm around me. In the mix of my racing thoughts, I’ve closed out their conversation. My body fights off the tension as he presses me against his side, and his touch alone has all my fears melting away.
“I’m actually on a date with my girl here,” Mason says, running his arm along my forearm up to my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. I must’ve missed the question, but if I had to guess she was probably asking what he’s doing tonight. More like, she wants to know if there’s a chance it will be her.
I let my eyes rake over her as red-hot jealousy courses through me. Her eyes meet mine, and it’s as if for the first time she’s noticing I’m even standing next to her.
She forces a fake smile as she holds out her hand to me in greeting. “Hey there, I’m Veronica. I’m a friend of Mason’s.”
The way she says “friend” has me smothering a laugh. As petty and childish as it may be, I want to correct her. She may know Mason, as in familiar with what he looks like beneath his clothes, but that doesn’t mean they’re friends.
I want to tell her while she may think they are friends, I know who he really is on the inside. That’s the part of him that truly matters. I remind myself it’s me he cares about and, as hard as it may be to admit it right now because I’m upset, I know he would never want me to be hurt by their interaction tonight.
That thought has me tamping down my anger and wrapping my arm around him. His eyes seek mine, as if trying to gauge my reaction, although feeling the tension still rising in my shoulders. I flash him a small smile, just needing him to know that above all else, I trust him.
“I’ve got big plans for this one tonight, so we’ll see you later,” Mason voices, raising his hand and waving as he moves us to turn. As soon as we’re a few steps away, he turns his head, bringing his mouth to the side of my face.
He takes a deep breath with his lips pressed against my ear and whispers, “I’m sorry.”
Hearing the worry and concern in his voice, I don’t even second guess it as I mutter out a quiet, “I know.”
Once we approach his car, he grabs my hand to stop me before opening the door, turning me until I’m facing him. Pulling me closer, he leaves no space between us.
The worry and concern I heard a moment ago is written all over his face.
“Do you know?” he asks, searching my eyes for any clues for how I’m truly feeling.
“I know you understand how important trust is to me and would never do anything to hurt me.”
He leans in closer, pushing me against the side of the SUV. With his palm pressed against the side of my face, he brushes away my hair as he tilts his head in closer to my mouth.
“Tell me you know how much you mean to me,” he breathes. His words feather along my lips. “I need to hear you say you feel this between us.”
“I know,” I choke out. “I know because I feel it, too.”
As soon as the words are spoken, his mouth crashes down on mine. He presses his body into me, and I feel his heartbeat through the palm of my hand. The steady rhythm is matching the heavy beat of my mine, so in tune with one another.
He traces his tongue along the edge of my mouth and I open for him. As soon as our tongues connect, I feel the strangled groan vibrate through his chest. All I can do is fold my arms around his neck, pulling him in closer and hanging on for the ride. When our lips separate, I squeeze my eyes shut as he kisses a line along my jaw, toward my ear, as I struggle to inhale a breath and calm my racing heart.
“When you’re gone, I want you to think about this moment. I want you to remember how it feels to have your lips on mine,” he mutters, pressing himself closer to me. His hard length is pressed against my stomach, causing my body to quiver. “I want you to remember how just having the taste of your lips on mine makes my body ache to be inside you again,” he says, leaning in, pressing a soft kiss to my lips, and I can hear myself sigh as he does.
“God-damn, all the little sounds you make as you come alive for me. They are forever burned in my memory. When you’re gone and I’m alone at night, longing to have you near me, those will be the noises I think about when I’m missing you.”
Before I have a chance to say anything, he takes a step away, pulling me with him. He turns me so I’m facing the car.
With his body pressed close to mine, I can feel his cock against my ass. I can’t stop myself from leaning against him as his hands grab my hips, helping guide my movements.
“Fuck, I’m going to miss this when you’re gone,” he groans in my ear as his tongue darts out and flicks my earlobe.
Tilting my head back against his shoulder, his hand skates up the front of my shirt, cupping my breast in his palm.
“Mason,” I whimper as I turn my head seeking his lips.
Trailing kisses along my cheek toward my ear, he whispers, “Get in,” before grabbing the handle of the door. It takes a second before I realize he’s opening the back passenger door. I do as he says, climbing inside.
“If this is my last night with you, I need to get my fill of you before you go. We’ll start here because I can’t wait, but this won’t be the last time.”
His mouth curves up on one side. The smirk on his face makes my stomach do a flip.
He climbs in with me, sliding his hand along the back of the seat. His hand runs along the side of my face, kissing me deeply.
“I always knew it would be like this between us,” he says, running my hand along his chest, letting me feel the rapid beat of his heart. “You make me feel things I’ve never felt before. Crazy things, Brea.” He searches my eyes before grabbing my face, pressing a soul-shattering kiss against my lips.
When we break apart, I see the change in his eyes. The sweet, romantic side of Mason is gone and has been replaced with a look of fiery, passionate side.
Sitting back, he runs his tongue along his lower lip.
“Unzip your pants and come here. I need to feel you.”
Pulling out of the restaurant parking lot, I run my fingers along my mouth. They tingle from Mason’s rough kisses. The heady mix is leaving me light headed.
Peering over at him, I watch as he adjusts himself in the seat. I bite my lip watching him, knowing what we did merely took the edge off but wasn’t enough to sate the need growing between us.
He doesn’t tell me where we are going, and I don’t even bother asking as he grasps ahold of my hand, driving us across town. As soon as we get closer, I know where we are. The sun has begun to set, painting the sky a beautiful hue of orange, purple, and blue.
One of my favorite parts about living in Chicago is taking a walk along the Navy Pier. I love how beautiful and peaceful it is right before sunset.
It takes a few minutes for us to find a spot to park. After we pay for the meter, he grabs my hand and we walk along the water. Neither of us says anything nor do we move to let go of each other’s hand.
“There are times when I miss being home in Arbor Creek,” he says after a while, breaking the silence. “It’s very different from living in Chicago and the fast-pace life. Arbor Creek is small, hell, it would probably take you ten minutes to walk the span of downtown. It’s quiet and peaceful. I’d love to take you there some day, show you what it’s like.”
Turning my head, I look up at him and I feel warmth in my chest as I think about visiting where Mason grew up and meeting the people who made him who he is today.
“I would love that.” I smile.
He raises our joined hands up to his mouth, pressing a small kiss along the back of mine. He traces his lips along the skin, and I feel myself let out a deep breath at how my body reacts to his touch.
We approach a spot along the water. It’s truly beautiful with the sunset as the backdrop. I stop to look at the view, leaning in close to the railing.
“It’s so beautiful,” I whisper as Mason leans in close behind me.
With his arms surrounding me, we stand here in the quiet stillness watching as the sun sets and the water laps against the rocks. The downtown lights cast a soft glow on the distant edge of the water.
“Yes, you are,” he sighs, leaning his head close to my shoulder.
Running my hands along his arms, I wrap our fingers together. Up until this point, I haven’t allowed myself to think about how much I’m going to miss Mason when I’m gone.
So much has changed between us in the past two months. We haven’t discussed what is happening between the two of us. Tonight when he called me his girl, something in me changed. I can’t help but wonder if he only said that because his past was standing in front of us.
Either way, it made me realize regardless of what is going on between us, I don’t want him to feel obligated to continue with this while I’m gone. He’s never been one to commit to anything serious, and I can’t expect him to wait for me until I get back. More importantly, I don’t want to risk losing who he is to me. Distance can weigh heavily on a relationship. It isn’t fair to put that kind of strain on us before we really have a chance to see what this could be.
I make myself a promise to tell Mason before I go that I don’t expect him to wait for me. I want him to be happy, and if someone comes along while I’m away that does, I want him to know it will never change who he is to me.
As much as it would hurt to never again feel the way I do when we’re together, or have his lips on mine, I would much rather have him in my life as a friend than not at all. The truth is, I don’t know what I would do if I lost him. So, I’ll hold onto whatever I can have, even if it means loving him all alone.