Two minutes later when her mom reappeared in the doorway, eyes wide and questioning,
Harley about lost her dinner at the sight now standing at the entrance to their dining room. Her brother, on the other hand, growled menacingly under his breath.
“Look who’s going to be joining us for dinner today, Harley!”
“Mason! Um, what are you doing here?” Her question came out short and ruder than
she’d meant for it to sound. Seriously, what was he doing there?
“Stop being rude, Harley Ann. I’m glad to have Mason over for dinner.” Harley’s mom
wrapped an arm around his shoulder and led him into the room. All the while long, Harley stayed glued to the chair.” Come dear ... sit next to Harley.” Her mother pulled a chair out for him, and Harley had to roll her eyes at the picture. God, the woman would most likely be planning their honeymoon soon. “I’ll grab you a plate and some silverware.”
Mason cracked a shy smile at Harley. Her insides melted at the vision of his dimples. She
gripped the edge of her seat to stay upright. He grabbed her leg under the table and squeezed. Oh sweet Jesus, he was cruel and sexy. She wanted to kiss him badly.
“Okay, here we go, son. Hope you like fried chicken. Oh! And we have cranberry sauce
and fresh rolls to go along with it as well. The best part is desert, Craig’s favorite, fresh cherry cobbler.” Martha Freaking Stewart was in the house today winking at Harley’s boyfriend!
Just wonderful.
Mason seemed to be enjoying the doting attention though, so Harley kept her remarks
locked away. Dinner was going well, and after David eased up a bit, Harley felt a little more comfortable with the banter at the table.
“So, Mason, what are your plans for after graduation? You going to college, to work?
Any of those things sound appealing?” Mason smiled politely, chewing his food like a good little boy before he answered. Maybe that was just his way of stalling.
“Well, Mr. Anderson, I mean Craig, I, um, am planning on heading back to Santa Cruz to
enroll in an ASP local surfing tournament that features guys from all over the world. After that, I plan on giving lessons and possibly taking some classes in business to open my own surf shop one day. I’d get paid doing what I love to do, so that’d be a definite plus.”
“That sounds very ambitious, son. I’m glad somebody around here has a plan.” Her dad glanced at both Harley and David before he went back to eating.
The rest of their dinner was comfortable and easy except for the fact that Mason wouldn’t
stop with the whole playing footsy and leg grabbing thing under the table. Each time his shoeless foot grazed her calf, or his warm hand grazed up her thigh, she jumped, and it was getting harder to keep her body from responding.
By the time desert was cleaned up, Harley was so aware of his body sitting next to hers,
that she was amazed she hadn’t mauled him right then and there. The moment they entered her room, she was on him, borderline attacking him with her mouth and hands.
She pushed him against the wall near her door, her hands feeling brazen as she rubbed
them over his chest, his arms, and the flat planes of his ribbed abdomen. He groaned into her ear with his breath hot against her face. She smiled mischievously, pressing her face into his neck.
Yum-my.
“Harley, we need to talk, okay?” Mason was just as breathless as she was, but somehow,
unlike her, he was able to pull away. Harley though, was having a harder time steadying her pulse.
His cryptic sounding message should have been like a bucket of ice water on her body,
but for some reason, it made her want to jump into his arms even more. The needing to talk line probably was not a good way to end a make out session.
“What could you possibly want to say at a time like this, Mason?” Harley attempted the
seductive-like routine, pressing her body against his in an attempt to make him forget what he wanted to say, but of course she failed miserably. She was not seductive. She was kind of a dork.
“You little vixen, I can’t think straight when you … do that,” he licked his lips and
fought against a smile as she rubbed her hands up and down his chest. Okay, so maybe she
wasn’t a dork after all.
“You don’t like it? I can stop!”
“God no, d–don’t stop. I’m just going to have to try harder to focus on my words now.”
Harley smiled. She was succeeding. Her devilish routine might not have been so bad after
all, but maybe she’d better stop. She didn’t want to screw up what they had going on by her suddenly needy hormones.
She led him to the bed to sit, and he followed silently. “Okay, surfer boy, spill it,” she
demanded tucking her knees up under her chin as she chewed her lip. His face turned shy.
He swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bobbed like up and down at a nervous pace as he
cleared his throat. “Well first off, I’m glad you’re feeling better. I was worried about you.”
Mason leaned over and kissed her head sweetly, tucking a lose strand of her pony tail behind her ear. He dropped his hand upon his lap and looked away. “Secondly though, I need to know why you didn’t tell me about what happened with Toby at school on Monday.”
Shoot, he’d found out about that?
“Nothing I couldn’t handle, Mase. Honest.” She scooted closer to grab his hand and
cringing at the look on his face. It was a look of disappointment. He became quiet. It was
unnerving, and Harley squeezed their hands together as she spoke. “Say something, Mase. Please don’t shut down. It doesn’t matter what happened.”
“It does matter, and I’m pissed, Harley.” Well, nothing like a little blunt honesty to bring something right out into the open.
“Why, Mason? It’s my life. You can’t always be around to protect me.” Her teasing
didn’t help, and he frowned harder at her. She shrugged. It was the truth.
“Tell me what exactly happened that day.” She sighed and shook her head. She didn’t
want to talk about it, but she knew he wouldn’t let it drop either. Every detail slipped out except for when her mom took her to the pharmacy afterwards. That was her business, not his.
“Next time, Harley, please tell me stuff like that. I can’t have that dude hurting you, do
you understand?” His heated eyes were sexy even as the sheer look of anger and determination passed over them. All Harley wanted to do was forget the nasty memory and ravish him right
there on her bed.
Harley moved forward slowly like a tigress only to kiss his cheek instead. It was also an
effort to soften his hardened mood. It seemed to work for a second. “I will, Mason, but you’ve got to stop with this whole protect me like I’m a weakling attitude, okay?”
A guilty expression passed over his face, and he nodded, albeit slowly and unsurely. Still, it was a nod nonetheless. “Fine, okay. Now then …where were we?”
His grin was back and sexier than ever. He encircled her waist with his hands. Harley
responded back eagerly, pressing her own fingers against the back of his neck. She grabbed a fistful of his hair, letting the softness slip through her fingers with ease. The pace they were taking was torturously slow.
Mason growled into Harley’s ear and threw them back onto the bed. It was a playful
movement that had Harley squealing banshee style. “What am I going to do with you, little
beast?” he sighed into her ear, before nibbling on it with his teeth.
“Whatever you want to do with me…”
Where’d that come from?
“Umm…” Mason pulled back looking down at her inquisitively, his eyes widened with
bewilderment. Yes! She’d rendered him speechless. She had to play it cool. She w
as crossing a dangerous line. It was one that she wasn’t sure their relationship could handle yet.
“Relax, Mason. I was only kidding,” she murmured, only half way lying. She patted his
cheek. He closed his eyes and captured her hand and a small stream of air left his mouth with a whoosh.
“Harley, I care about you. You know that right?” She nodded, and he pulled her down to
lie next to him, not under him. “Good because I don’t want to mess things up between us by
taking things too fast. I know that in the past I’ve, um…” He tightened his hold on her waist.
“I’ve always moved too quickly, but with you, I want to savor every second. I want to make
sure…”
“That we won’t screw up?” Harley grinned at her personal promise, tilting her head back
to look up at him. His eyes were so beautiful, and to have them focused on hers was all she could ask for to solidify those words. Unspoken promises were better than spoken words. That meant they were being spoken from the heart.
“Well, that’s one way to put it,” he smiled softly at her, brushing lock after lock of her
hair off her forehead as he winked.
“You are evil, Mason Daniel. You do know that, right?”
“You wouldn’t want me any other way, would you?”
She shook her head, gnawing almost violently on her lower lip as the answer easily
slipped from her mouth.
“No, I wouldn’t.”
Chapter Twenty
The next two weeks flew by quickly. Mason and Harley had fallen into a picture-perfect
routine as a couple. They drove to and from school together, hung out almost every night of the week, and grew closer every moment of every hour. Mason had never wanted to be tied down to a girl before. The thought used to be terrifying, but now? Hell, he couldn’t imagine not having what they had together, and he knew why too. It was because he’d been unknowingly waiting for Harley all that time.
It was a Thursday, the only night of the week that they hadn’t been able to hang out.
Harley had to take David to therapy and had a midterm to study for. Taking his sister’s advice in stride, Mason had decided it was a good night to hang out as a fam. Roonza’s was a restaurant his sister had been dying to try since they’d moved to town, so there was no better night to do just that.
The drive there was torture, and the idea of family time was definitely turning into his
crappiest idea yet. He cringed, rolling his eyes as he gripped the steering wheel as his mother’s nagging voice growled in his ear.
“Mason! Slow down, son. The speed limit is only thirty, and you’re pushing forty!”
“Are you being serious right now, ma? Everyone else is going at least forty-five around
us!”
“Well, Mase, I just dealt with a trauma patient last week in the ER who got into an
accident right along this very road due to speeding. He suffered a concussion and a broken collar bone.” She sat back with her huffy puffy attitude and crossed her arms over her chest. She was pouting like a seven year old.
He let out a breath of relief when they finally pulled into the parking lot, and still as they headed inside, the woman wouldn’t let up on him. “I’m telling you, Mason. You need to start wearing a warmer coat! This is not November in Santa Cruz, son.” He bit his tongue, too distracted by his pleading sister for one of his smart mouth retorts.
For Maisy, he’d keep his shit in check.
Maisy saw a couple of friend’s from school and headed over to talk to them while
Mason’s mom made small talk with the hostess. Annoyed, Mason glanced around the place
spotting a few people he knew but nobody he cared to talk to. The restaurant was narrow.
Pictures of past customers adorned the wall while the booths and tables sat off to either side. The buzz of his cell phone from his pocket eased his jitters. He knew exactly who it was.
I miss you. Call me before you go to sleep.
His fingers flew rapidly over the keyboard before he slipped it back into his jeans. A
small cheesy smile played out on his lips as he slipped into the booth next to Maisy. “Can’t you for once just put that stupid phone away, Mason? Every time I look at you you’re either texting or searching the web. It drives me nuts. You know they say all electronic devices are hazardous to your eyes,” Mason stiffened. The woman was killing him. He inhaled and exhaled trying, but failing miserably, to keep his temper at bay.
“Sorry, Mom,” he growled, gritting his teeth together. His mother stared back, her own
eyes narrowed briefly before her attention turned back onto the menu.
Good. She could stew on that apology for a while. She wouldn’t be hearing it from him
again anytime soon.
The conversation was minimal at dinner. The atmosphere was tense. Mason knew things
had gotten bad between them, but dammit, this was beyond miserable. He’d never actually
figured out the actual breaking point in their mother-son relationship, but if he had to take a stab at it, he’d guess it was right after his father died. Hell, most likely she blamed him for his death anyways.
“So, Maisy, how’s school going, sweetheart?”
“Fine, Mom. I love my classes this year, especially pottery and sculpture! We’re working
on an awesome project. I can’t wait to show you guys!” He smiled at his sister’s energetic spirit.
He hadn’t seen her so excited about something in a while.
“That’s great, sweetie! So good to hear. How about you, Mason?” She stiffly glanced his
way, as if it pained her to ask. Still, he was shocked she’d even had the guts to try.
“Good, Ma,” he replied shortly twirling his straw around in his pop, itching to end the
conversation, eat his food, and then leave.
The silence continued until his mother cleared her throat, “So have either one of you
spoken to any friends from back home since we left?”
Mason shook his head as he took a drink. Most of his friends were too wrapped up in
surfing to give a shit about him anyway. He was jealous of the thought but only for a second. He had something they didn’t have, a Harley Anderson. He smiled at the thought as his sister’s excited attitude took over the conversation. He’d let her. She was what mattered in the family, not him.
“OMG, Mom! I completely forgot to tell you. Kylee called a couple of days ago and told
me that her parents were going to fly her out for Thanksgiving weekend! Please tell me that it’s okay!”
Shit, shit, shit, shit. Not Kylee. He stiffened, praying a no would fall from his mother’s lips. That bimbo of a girl had been his one final hurrah before they’d left Cali, and Maisy had no idea. Honestly though, Mason never thought he’d see her again, so scratching that itch before leaving town was doable. Now though, it was quickly becoming his most moronic moment ever.
“That’s wonderful, Maisy! It will be good to see her again. She was always so sweet to
you.” Mason covered his laughter with a cough. Nobody knew about the girl’s ulterior motives.
The one where she’d only been friends with Maisy to get to him. He shuddered and cringed as both his mom and sister narrowed their eyes at him. Luckily neither made a comment, and they turned back to their conversation like he wasn’t even there.
“Are you sure it’s okay, Mom? I know it’s our first Thanksgiving without Dad and
all…”
“That's fine, sweetie. Your dad would want us to be happy, so if having Kylee here
makes you happy, then that’s what we’ll do.” Mason’s insides cringed as he shuddered, sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. Having Kylee under their roof for three days was the worst idea ever.
“Mase, isn’t this awesome?” Her giddiness was infectious, and he
smiled back at her,
even though his stomach churned with unease. “Maybe you could get a friend to come visit too!”
“Nah, I’ll just hang with Harley that weekend,” he looked down as the waitress set his
plate before him. Suddenly, food was the furthest thing on his mind.
“You and this Marley girl are getting awfully serious, aren’t you? Does she know you plan on leaving in another month or so?” His mom clicked her tongue; her all-knowing attitude had him gripping the table, so he didn’t slug it instead.
“Actually, Mom, I told Harley that I wasn’t sure what my plans were yet.”
“Really?” Her entire demeanor changed – her face softened, her eyes were wide with
what appeared to be hope, and for the first time ever, it seemed he’d apparently caught her off guard. “You mean to tell me that an actual girl is going to keep you from fulfilling those lovely surfing dreams of yours?”
There went his hope for a good finish to their meal. God, she was riding his last nerve.
“Mom, I told you. I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. Harley means a lot to me, but
surfing for the ASP has been my dream, Dad’s dream too.” Her fork hovered over her lasagna, and she didn’t respond. He’d hit her buttons.
His mother hated surfing and blamed it on his father’s death even though he wasn’t
actually doing it when he died.
She nodded as her fingers shook ever so slightly. Mason was on the edge of the seat.
Would she make a scene? Would she let it go? He bit his lip, staring over at his sister. Her face had paled, but her eyes were downturned. Nobody said a word. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought his dad up, but if it got her off his back, then that would be enough for him.
The rest of the dinner was strained, yet another failed attempt at family bonding time.
Hell, nothing was the same anymore.
An hour later, Mason found himself in his room dialing Harley’s number faster than he’d
ever thought his fingers could move. He needed to hear her voice. It was his cure all today, most days actually.
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