Chapter Seventy Two
I stop breathing when he wraps his arms around her. It looks familiar, like they’ve done it hundreds of times before. My adrenaline kicks in and I want to shout at him to get off of her. That’s the second time she has lied to me today. She lied about going to lunch with Lori and she lied about staying home tonight.
Buzz claps me on the shoulder. “Dude, who the fuck is that?”
“I’m about to find out.”
“Want me to come with?”
“Nah, I’ve got this. Go and get us a drink.”
He laughs. “You sure? Don’t do anything stupid.”
I ignore him and head in their direction. Sophia’s eyes go wide when she spots me. “I know I said we could take things slow but this isn’t what I had in mind.”
She laughs nervously. “Are you stalking me?” One thing I’ve noticed is that she’s always making jokes when she’s uncomfortable.
“Who’s your friend?” I ask, keeping my eyes on hers.
“I’m Scott,” he says, holding his hand out. “Parker,” he adds just as I’m about to shake his hand. I stop and instead fold my arms across my chest.
You have got to be kidding me. What the hell is she doing with her ex? Maybe that’s why her walls have been up. Maybe she’s still seeing him. I raise my eyebrow at her. “So when you said you were having a Gilmore Girls marathon, what you actually meant was Netflix and chill?”
“No,” she replies, looking hurt and offended.
“Well I just came over to say hello. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” I turn around and walk straight out of the bar. I can’t be in there with them.
A few seconds later the door opens and I sense her before I see her. “Mason?”
“You got dressed up for him.”
“No. I don’t dress for men. I only dress for myself.”
“You look way too beautiful to be in this crappy bar. You don’t belong here.” I become hypnotised by the heavy rise and fall of her chest.
“Then where do I belong?”
“We both know the answer to that. You belong with me.”
She shakes her head. “You’ve been drinking.”
“I’ve had three measly glasses of Jack Daniels. Besides, what was it that you said to me last week? I’m only saying what I think when I’m sober.”
“Maybe we should talk in the morning.”
“Are you getting back together with him?”
“What? No!”
“So then what are you doing here with him?”
“He’s getting married. I think he…”
“Realized that he was making the biggest mistake of his life by not marrying you?”
“No. I think he needed closure.”
“Well you shouldn’t have given it to him. He doesn’t deserve even one minute of your time.”
“I think maybe I needed closure too.”
“You mean you didn’t get it when you walked in on him fucking another woman?”
She raises her eyebrow. “No, obviously I didn’t. Just like you didn’t get it when you found out that your wife was fucking somebody else. It doesn’t always work like that and you know it.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t want to see you with anybody else. I just want to make you happy.”
“You already do,” she whispers. “But I don’t think I can return the favor.”
“That’s bullshit. I haven’t been this happy in years, Sophia. Please don’t shut me out. Why did you lie about staying home tonight?”
“I didn’t lie. I got a call about an hour ago. It was a last minute thing.”
“And what about lunch time?”
“What about it?” she asks nervously.
“Why did you lie about going for lunch with Lori?”
She sighs. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to say no and hurt your feelings. I needed some space to sort my head out and think about what I really wanted.”
“And what is it that you want, Sophia?”
“I think you already know.”
“I know what I want. Tell me what you want.”
She shrugs. “Does it really matter?”
“Of course it matters.”
“Why? We can’t always have what we want.”
I close the gap between us. “You can have me, if that’s what you want.”
“Mason…”
“In fact, you already have me.”
She looks over my shoulder. “There are people watching us.”
“I don’t care anymore.”
“You won’t be saying that when we’re front page news tomorrow.”
“Yes, I will be. I‘m done with the lies. I just want to be honest from here on out.”
Her shoulders slump. “We can’t do this here.”
I point to Charlie who is parked up across the street. “Let’s talk in the car. Or Charlie could drive us somewhere if you’d prefer.”
“I really don’t have that much to say, Mason.”
“Then we won’t do much talking.”
She raises her eyebrow just as her douchebag ex appears behind her. “Is everything okay here?”
“Everything is fine,” I reply bluntly, keeping my eyes on Sophia.
“Soph, are you okay?”
Soph? I roll my eyes. The thought of her being in love with this guy makes me sick to my stomach. “Yes, we’re fine. You should go back inside.”
“I know you,” he says to me. “You’re the hotel guy.”
“I know you too. You’re the cheater guy.”
His eyes widen while Sophia looks half shocked, half amused. “I…we…that was a long time ago.”
“Yeah well it still happened.”
“Aren’t you married?” he asks, looking from me to Sophia. “Where’s your wife?”
“Aren’t you engaged?” I shoot back. “Where’s your fiancée?”
He ignores me. “Are you two friends or something?”
I hold my breath as I wait for her to answer. “Yes.” I immediately want to know if she answered yes to us being friends or yes to us being something else. “Just go back inside, Scott. Or better yet, go home to your fiancée.”
He pulls her into his arms while keeping his eyes locked with mine. “It was good to see you again, Soph.” He strokes her back, intentionally goading me, which has the desired effect as my blood starts to boil.
Buzz appears next to me and narrows his eyes at them. “You okay, brother?”
“Perfect.”
“Look after yourself,” Scott says, looking at me one last time before walking away.
“Well he seemed like a massive dickhead,” Buzz says. “Who is he?”
“My ex.”
“Well that explains it.”
“I hate that he calls you Soph,” I tell her.
“Why?”
“It sounds too familiar. He never deserved you.”
She shrugs. “Emily never deserved you.”
“Please come for a drive with me.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Well how about I just give you a ride home instead?”
“What about Buzz?”
“I can come too, if that’s what you’re worried about, Soph.” I glare at him. “Jesus. I’m joking. I’ll be fine, my buddy Jack is in there. I have more than one friend, unlike Mason.” He winks at me. “I’ll text you if we move on to a different bar.”
I nod then lead Sophia over to the car. I gesture for Charlie to stay in the driver’s seat as I open the door for her. She climbs inside, and a true gentleman would look away but I don’t feel like being a gentleman tonight. Her body always looks amazing but her skin-tight red dress and matching stilettos are destroying me. “Take us to Sophia’s house, please Charlie,” I tell him as I climb in after her. I slide closer to her then watch as she nervously smoothes her dress down. “Why did you think it would be a bad idea to go for a drive with me?”
“I didn’t say it was a bad idea. I said I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
She sighs. “I turn into somebody else when I’m around you.”
“How do you mean?”
“I’m usually rational and sensible.”
I laugh. “Are you trying to say that I’m a bad influence?”
“Yes. I don’t trust myself when I’m around you.”
“What about your feelings for me? Do you trust them?”
“Yes, that’s why it’s a lethal combination.”
I lean over and press the button to activate the privacy screen. “No offense, Charlie.” A few seconds later, the screen is up and we’re completely blocked off from the rest of the world.
She swallows hard. “Is that really necessary?”
I chuckle. “Charlie and Buzz have been known to gossip.” I take hold of her hand. “It’s pretty obvious that you’ve got a lot on your mind at the moment. I just want you to know that I’m here for you. I’m not going to push you but I’m also not going to back off unless you tell me to. I really like you, Sophia. I can be patient but all I ask in return is that you don’t shut me out. I know this will be worth the wait.”
“I’m pretty sure that I’m going to fuck this up before it’s even started.”
“It’s already started.”
“I’m scared, Mason.”
“Don’t be. Don’t let the fear win. Just take a deep breath and know that everything you want is on the other side of it.” A single tear rolls down her cheek and it breaks my heart. Before I even have time to think about what I’m doing, I lean in and kiss it away.
“Everything I want is right in front of me,” she whispers.
My heart feels like it’s going to hammer its way out of my chest as I lean in and gently kiss the corners of her mouth. “You know, the Buddhists say that if you meet someone and your heart pounds, your hands shake and your knees go weak then they're not the one for you. They say that when you meet your true love, you'll feel calm and at peace." I take her hand and place it against my chest. "I call bullshit. How can we ever be sure that we’ve met the one for us unless our hearts show us?”
She kisses me but this time there’s nothing gentle about it. It’s hard and fast. It’s desperate and clumsy. It’s rushed, as though our time is running out. I pull her on top of me and she yanks her dress up so she can straddle me properly. She gasps at my rock hard erection then manoeuvres herself until it’s right where she needs it to be. She kisses me again and starts to rock her hips back and forth. I push the straps of her dress down then pull her closer to me, taking a nipple into my mouth. The harder I suck, the more she moans. The more she moans, the harder I become. She’s full on riding me now and it’s causing enough friction to make me moan along with her. I switch to her other nipple as she reaches down and starts to unbutton my jeans. I take her face in my hands. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” She drops to her knees in front of me and frees me from my jeans and boxer shorts. I almost come right there and then when I see the look of pure hunger in her eyes. I watch her every movement as she takes me into her mouth and slowly begins to move up and down. I fist her hair and keep my eyes locked on hers as she teases me with her tongue.
“Sophia. I want to be inside you.” She laughs and takes me out of her mouth.
“You already are.” She swirls her tongue around the tip of my cock and I’m not sure how much longer I can last.
“You know…what I…mean,” I somehow manage to reply. She kisses me right on the tip then looks at me with those hungry eyes again as she climbs back on top of me. “I don’t have a condom,” I tell her.
“I’m clean. I have an IUD.”
I nod. “We don’t need any more children just yet, baby mama.” She moves her panties to the side and takes hold of me. The anticipation is almost enough to make me explode as she leans up then slowly lowers herself on to me. I moan and grip her hips when she takes my full length. “You are so beautiful,” I tell her. She leans forward and kisses me as she increases the pace. I move my body in time with hers and before long, I start to feel a familiar build up. I pull her even closer to me and kiss every inch of her exposed skin. She closes her eyes and throws her head back as she rides me even faster. “Come for me, Sophia.” As if waiting for my order, she moans then calls out my name. Her body goes limp and I find my own release as she rides the waves of hers. I wrap my arms around her as she places her head against my shoulder. “I wish we could do this every day,” I say as I trace patterns against her arms and back.
“Yeah but maybe not in the car.”
“I’m not fussy.” She laughs and slowly climbs off of me. I button up my jeans and watch as she pulls her dress down and rearranges the straps. When she’s finished, I pull her towards me and wrap my arms around her. She holds on tight, as though she never wants to let go, and if it was up to me, she wouldn’t have to. I hadn’t even noticed that the car had stopped. I stroke her hair and kiss her on the forehead. “It’s all going to be okay.”
She looks up at me. “I hope so.”
“Take the risk or lose the chance.”
She smiles but I can tell that she’s still trapped in her own thoughts. “I guess this is the hard part.”
“What is?”
“Saying goodbye.” She kisses me one last time before reaching for the door handle. “Goodbye, Mason.”
“Until next time, game changer.”
She smiles but the last thing I see is the sadness in her eyes.