What’s Under the Hood?

(Violet)

He made breakfast, waking me to the smell of coffee and bacon. I shuffled my way through the hall in the morning, looking at all the pictures my parents had hung up on the wall. Most of them were totally embarrassing, but it was their way of showing love. I reached up and touched some of the pictures, like the memories would suddenly come alive.

Downstairs, Mason had two plates on the island in the kitchen.

We wished each other good morning but we did not kiss.

I didn’t like that part of the morning.

Before I could muster up the nerve to say something, my phone rang.

It was Mom.

Dad had a good night at the hospital and would be released sometime that morning. I told her I was going to make something to eat. She made a cheap joke about me cooking, said something to Dad, and he yelled an even cheaper joke at the phone.

“How’s everyone?” Mason asked when I ended the call.

“Good,” I said. “He’s coming home. Which is good. He would drive everyone insane being in the hospital.”

Mason crunched on a piece of bacon. After swallowing it, he asked, “They’ve been together a long time?”

“As long as I can remember.”

“That’s really special to see.”

“Yeah, I guess it is. I sort of took that for granted, you know? To me, they’re just Mom and Dad. Always together. It’s just the way it is.”

“That’s good,” Mason said.

“Hey, want to know something?”

“Of course.”

“Dad never really liked Davis,” I said. “But I think he likes you.”

Mason grinned. “I don’t think that really matters, do you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t come here to impress anyone,” Mason said. “You know that, right?”

“Yeah. I know that.”

I stood up and grabbed my plate. I waited for Mason to take it out of my hand and clean up, but he didn’t. He just stood there. I walked all the way around the island and opened the cabinet where the trash was. I cleaned my plate. Then I rinsed it in the sink. Then I opened the dishwasher and loaded it.

I bumped into Mason a few times. He didn’t stir. Not even a hint at movement.

I finally slammed the dishwasher shut and looked out the window above the sink.

“You’re pissed at me,” Mason said.

“I’m confused at you.”

“I’m trying to make sure nothing is confused here,” he said. “I’m being as straight as an arrow. You keep fucking up that path.”

I turned and looked at his back. Damn, his back was wide and strong, even with a t-shirt on, you could see the muscles trying to push through.

“I’m fucking up your path? What does that mean?”

“Nothing,” he said.

He started to move and I grabbed a handful of that t-shirt. I pulled and he stopped.

“Violet…”

“Mason…”

He slowly turned. Towering over me like a monster. Staring down at me like my commander. Which he was in so many ways. His hands gently touched my hips. He slid up to my sides and then lifted me like I weighed nothing. Balanced on the edge of the sink, he pushed himself between my legs.

“You’re fucking mad at me that I wouldn’t take your plate?” he whispered. His nose touched mine. “You’re going to have to do better than that at finding reasons to hate me. Unless, of course, you don’t hate me anymore.”

I stared at him, wanting to flirt back.

I didn’t hate him. Not in the way I used to. I hated the way he wanted to push me away. But I didn’t hate hate him.

“I still… I hate you,” I managed to say like a fumbling fool. “Get away from me.”

“That was convincing.”

“I can swing my foot and kick you in your balls.”

“The only thing you want with my balls is to feel them draining inside you.”

My face turned red. “Wow…”

Mason looked up at the clock above the sink. “How long do we have?”

“Hours.”

“We need showers. We’re filthy from last night. Your innocent bedroom smells like rotten dirty sex. All your dolls are probably still blushing.”

I playfully slapped his face. “There were no dolls in my room.”

Mason winked. “So you were the most innocent thing in there?”

“I’m not innocent anymore,” I said.

Mason ran the back of his fingers down my cheek. “Oh, trust me, Violet, you are still plenty innocent. You haven’t been fucked in the shower, have you?”

I swallowed hard. “Uh…”

Mason ran his lips against mine. “I take that as a no.”

* * *

I was bent over in the shower, my hands on the hot and cold faucet, as Mason’s beautiful cock pounded in and out of me. Hot shower water crashed against my lower back and ran down at my neck, my hair, my face. I reached up with my right hand, putting it flat against the wall. Mason had a firm grip on my waist, pulling and pushing, grunting each time he slammed forward, tearing inside my body with perfect precision.

Each time his body crashed against mine, I moved to my toes. I felt like my head was going to hit the wall, but it never did.

I slowly climbed up the wall with my hands. Mason slid his hands around to my stomach. His right hand then came around to my back.

“Right there, babe,” he growled. “I’m fucking close.”

“Shit,” I whispered.

The angle we were at was pretty intense. But that’s where Mason wanted me. And it felt so fucking good. His hand spread across my back. The biggest hands I ever saw and felt on a man. He sped up, his body slapping against mine. The water rushing between us only made the sound wetter and wilder. His hand that touched my belly crept down, sliding against my soft mound and not stopping until the tip of his middle finger rested against my clit. The second he touched me, I gasped.

“Fuck,” I whispered. I bit my lip.

Mason pressed, twisted, sending a fresh surge of tingling pressure through my body. He grunted with each hard thrust of his cock, bringing himself to climax. He was impossibly deep when his cock did let go, filling me, making me cry out in the shower were I used to close my eyes and have my first real fantasies about guys. The shower where I touched myself the first time.

Now I had a real man with me. Thrusting at me, fucking me.

Mason moved his hand from around my back and cupped my left breast. He pulled, making me stand. I could feel his cock throbbing as he was still releasing inside me. I put my head back, resting it against his hard chest. His hand then kept going until he was gently touching my neck. He turned my head so I was looking at him.

“I need you to keep hating me,” he whispered.

“Why?”

“It’s the only way this works. You can’t go too far, Violet.”

“Maybe I want to,” I said. “Even if I get hurt, at least I can say I tried.”

“You’re going to get hurt no matter what,” Mason warned. “It’s easier to hurt when you hate than when you love.”

It was maybe the deepest thing Mason ever said to me… and the words came with him deep inside me.

I wanted to respond, but he kissed me instead.

And we didn’t stop kissing.

The one good thing about my old house? It never ran out of hot water. Ever. I used to get in trouble for taking long showers. But now I was a grown woman. And I was alone in the house with Mason. With nothing but time to kill.

The only time his cock slipped out of me was so I could turn around and face him.

That’s when he pinned me against the wall and opened my legs, showing me how he wanted me again. And he had me.

My hands clung to his shoulders. Feeling him. Tasting his wet skin.

But my heart… I couldn’t force myself to hate someone I loved.

* * *

Dad wanted to be outside.

There was no arguing with him. Mom warned him to stay away from ladders. He made a pouty face and stormed away.

I was alone with Mom in the kitchen. I found it almost impossible to look at my parents, considering what had been happening while they were at the hospital. For a little bit I felt guilty. But only for a little bit, though. What Mason did to me just felt too good to be guilty about.

Mom made fresh coffee and yawned as she poured a cup for her and me. “I can’t stand sleeping at a hospital.”

“Good thing you don’t do it that often,” I said.

“As long as your father takes care of himself.”

“Why don’t you just throw out his old boots?”

“I’ve thought about that,” Mom said. “But you know him. He’ll talk about it for years. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“How do you two do it?” I blurted out.

“Do what?”

“Together,” I said. “Just… everything.”

“You’re asking how we stay together?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I just… I think I took it all for granted, Mom. You and Dad together. There’s so many people that don’t have their parents. Or have crazy situations.”

“Are you talking about Mason?”

“Maybe.”

Mom nodded. She hugged her coffee mug. “If you find the right person, then nothing else in the world matters. We’re not rich, Violet. We never have been. We’ve never owned a new car. We don’t buy new things. But none of that matters because we love each other. It’s really that simple. A lot of people don’t realize that.”

“I just…”

“You keep saying I just and that’s your guilty talk.”

“My what?”

“When you were a teenager and you’d get into trouble, you’d always talk about I just. Trying to justify what you did. So what did you do this time?”

“Nothing.”

Mom leaned forward. “Your face has been red since I walked in the door. You had sex with him in this house.”

Mom said it so calmly yet it was still so weird for me.

I gasped.

“Mom…”

She grinned. “With a guy like Mason?” She made some kind of mmm-mmm sound.

“Stop,” I said.

“You did, though,” she said. “That’s good. Just be smart.”

“I’m not having this conversation with you.”

I turned and walked toward the door. Mom chased after me, but she didn’t bring up the sex thing again. Yeah, we were both grown women. My relationship with my mother had always been good, open, honest. I loved being able to grow up and watch our relationship grow along with it. She and Dad didn’t quite understand what I did for a living, but they still supported me to do it.

Outside, Dad and Mason stood in the driveway. They were in front of Mason’s big black truck. Mason towered over my father. Strange to see the sight because they were both the strongest men I knew. One my father… the other my… what?

Mom folded her arms, her coffee mug sticking out in her hand. “What’s he doing?”

“I don’t know,” I said.

“This is a beaut,” Dad said. He touched the hood of the truck. “A real beaut, Mason.”

“Thanks.”

“All custom?”

“Of course. Bought the truck from a friend and spent some time working on it in the shop.”

“The shop,” Dad said. “I’d like to see that sometime.”

“Sure. Anytime.”

“Is he making plans with my… um… Mason?” I asked.

“Looks like we have a winner,” Mom said with a grin.

“What’s under the hood?” Dad asked.

“Oh, Hank,” Mom said. “An engine. That’s what’s under the hood. You know nothing about vehicles.”

Dad looked at Mom, frowning.

“Ah, I don’t know about that, ma’am,” Mason said. “Hank’s more than welcome to come tinker at my shop anytime. Just no ladder, right?”

Mom giggled. “No ladder.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Dad said. “A quick family meeting.” He looked at everyone, including Mason. “Anyone asks, I was on the ladder. There was a problem and it was a freak accident. That’s why I fell. Almost lost my hand, too. But my quick thinking and manly strength saved my ass.”

“Sounds about right to me,” Mason said.

“Dad, that’s ridiculous,” I said.

“Hank, nobody would believe a word you say. They all know you can fall off a chair changing a lightbulb.”

Dad looked at Mason. “This is why I need another guy around here.”

Mason looked right at me. He didn’t make any facial expression, though. I felt a little tingling in my belly and hurried to direct traffic back inside.

My idea of making something to eat quickly became ordering from my favorite pizza place. They had the best square pizza in the world and their round pizza was to die for. They’d top off the pizza with fresh sauce in circles around the cheese. Sometimes they’d put a smiley face right on the pizza too.

Dad was damn near attached to Mason, quizzing him on trucks, motorcycles, tools, and life. He put Mason to work even, having him help with a few chores. I fought against it, but Mom said it was better Mason than Dad trying to mess with anything while he was healing.

“He’s going to be a pain in my ass as it is,” she whispered. “Come on, let the men talk.”

“Mom, this is…”

“You like him,” she said. “I know you do. But you’re holding back.”

“It’s deeper than that,” I said. “Hard to explain. Mason is tough to deal with.”

“So are you. Nothing wrong with trying to work something out. Especially if you’re neighbors.”

“Can we just forget about all that for a second. Just be you and me?”

“Of course. How’s your job?”

“The app is almost ready.”

“I still don’t get it, but I’m ready to tell everyone I know.”

“Thanks. It’s pretty cool to go through, you know? The investors want more from us too. So I’ve been trying to come up with some ideas. Victoria has been working really hard.”

“I like her,” Mom said. “I never liked your friends from school. What do they call it… fake bitches?”

I almost coughed iced tea out of my nose. I ran to the sink to laugh.

“What?” Mom said. “They were. I’m so happy you left and found something. I mean, you know, I wish you were still here. But…”

Mom blinked. She touched the corners of her eyes.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just… I know he only broke his wrist. But getting that call. The hospital. Surgery. It was such a whirlwind. Makes you realize that life is so fragile. I don’t know what I’d do without your father around. He’s such a pain in the ass, Violet. Not wearing the new boots I got him. But I wouldn’t expect anything less. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

“Aw, Mom,” I said. “Don’t talk like that. He’s not going anywhere for a long time.”

“I know,” she said. “But it’s a wake-up call, you know? Makes all the little petty things just slip away.”

I looked beyond Mom and saw Mason walking into the dining room with my father right behind him. When Mason lost everything he loved, he took it to heart and wanted the world to hate him. To keep from getting hurt again. He lost his parents. Then he lost the woman he loved.

I wasn’t sure if I could ever fix that or fix him.

He looked at me and nodded.

I nodded back.

It was worth trying, though.

We ate some pizza, laughed some more, and then Victoria called. The investors wanted one more meeting before launch time. She was back in town and I completely forgot to tell her about my emergency road trip.

“We have to go,” I said when I got off the call. “Victoria needs me.”

“Right now?” Mom asked.

“Soon. It’s for work.”

“Let her go, Barb,” Dad said. “Let her sell her alp thing and make money. So we can all die rich.”

“Hank,” Mom growled. “Nobody is dying.”

“Dad,” I said. “My alp?”

“That’s what you said it was, right?”

“Not an alp,” I said. “It’s called an app, as in application.”

“Oh,” Dad said. “Nice.”

Mason laughed. Hard. It was a laugh I’d never heard before. “Sorry to laugh.”

“It’s good for the soul,” Dad said.

“Well, how long until you leave?” Mom asked.

“Another hour or so.”

When it was time to go, I stood there and watched as Mom hugged Mason. Dad shook hands and tried the cool guy half hug thing, which was really awkward to see.

We got into Mason’s truck and started to drive.

My heart ached every time I had to leave.

Without saying a word, Mason reached across and grabbed my hand.

It was just what I needed.