When Its Least Expected (29 page)

Words of reassurance were on his lips ... that is until his mother’s agitated voice
echoed

in the hall outside his bedroom door. He rolled his eyes at her dramatics. “Hey, Har,
my mom’s yelling for me, so I’ve got to get going. Are you, um, gonna be okay with
what I just told you?”

“Yep, fine. See you tomorrow,” she snapped with a hurried reply. It was more than

obvious that she was
not
okay.

“Harley?”

“Uh-huh?”

“Please don’t worry about my sister’s friend. I only have eyes for you, little beast.”
He

held his breath.

“I know, Mason.” He sensed a
but
coming on, and just as he began to intercede with

more reassuring words on his lips ready to go, the freaking phone died. The only sound
left was his mother, now pounding at his door.

Frustration brewed heavily in his chest, and he threw the four-hundred dollar phone

against the head of his bed.

Damn, this was not going to be good.

Harley was officially sleep deprived. Her upper eye lids were practically glued to
her

lower ones. She hadn’t slept a wink after she’d gotten off the phone with Mason the
night before.

Anxiety had become her mortal enemy at two o’clock in the morning, and no matter how
many

times she flipped her pillow to the cold side, all she could think about were Mason’s
revelations.

Seven girls...

Okay, so she had figured he wasn’t a virgin by any means, and she was okay with that

fact because, seriously, it was the year twenty thirteen. But seven girls, was he
being serious? In all honesty, he could have said three, and it would have stung just
as bad. He’d also slept with them all before he even turned eighteen! Talk about feeling
a wee bit inadequate, jeez. Oh, and then there was the simple little fact that his
last conquest was apparently going to be staying at his house for two days.

Yeah, that idea was unsettling.

She trusted Mason explicably, but she had no idea what the other girl was capable
of. She

hated being jealous and hated feeling as if she had no control over a situation, but
those emotions weren’t going to go away anytime soon.

Her stomach boiled with insecurity as she sat ramrod at her desk. She bit her lip,
tapping

her pencil to the ticking noise of the clock. Thank God last period was almost over
because there was no way in hell she could handle another hour of school.

“What’s the matter, sunshine? Did the pretty boy keep you up too late?” Toby. Crap.

Harley readied her elbow. If he wanted to go round two with her, then she’d be well
equipped and more than ready.

She gripped the edge of her desk top, dropping her pencil onto her desk, swallowing

down any remaining fear he’d stirred up inside of her. “Leave me alone, Toby. Unless
of course you’re up for another round of ball-kicking, that is?” She growled. Her
lips curled into a hatred snarl as his hand gripped the nape of her neck. She stiffened
hating that he could make the bile rise in her throat with one, creepy touch of his
fingers.

“Whatever. You could have just asked if you wanted to touch my shit, you know. You’ll

be on your knees begging for it soon anyways.” Her rage was near the surface, but
she pushed it down, determined not to let the egotistical asshole get the best of
her.

“No, numb nuts, I’d rather burn in the fire pits of hell for eternity than go anywhere
near your old man sack of potatoes.”

She shuddered. Yuck.

She pulled out of his grip right as the final bell for the day rang, but he still
sidled up next to her as she exited the class. Holy hell, he was worse than a needy
dog with rabies, fleas,
and
worms. “We’d be good together; you know that. Our chemistry goes beyond your wildest

dreams,” he lingered on the S, and spit from his lips hit her ear. She wiped it away
with the palm of her hand and curled her lip higher in disgust and hatred.

Still, her temper boiled just enough under the surface of her skin that she was able
to keep cool. She’d be the better person. She’d walk away, not out of fear but out
of hatred this time towards him.

With her messenger bag slung over her shoulder, her fingers digging into the strap,
she

finally managed to minimalize her rapid breathing as she strode away with a relieved
and super proud smile on her mouth. She’d done it. She’d pushed past her fear and
the panic. It was about freaking time.

She made her way through the stacks of papers in her locker until she found everything

she’d need to take home over the Thanksgiving holiday, and just as she moved her hand
to the front to shut the door, an arm slipped around her waist, and a nose nuzzled
into hair. She jumped, her finally calm heart tripping over a few beats at the surprise
until she inhaled the familiar, comforting scent of coconuts. She smiled, relaxing
instantly.

Mason.

“God, I’ve missed you,” his midnight voice sent her pulse racing, and she melted under

his touch, sinking deeper into his warm arms. He was her warmth in the cold halls
and her

sunshine in the darkest of nights.

Her eyes shut in contentment for a brief second until she slowly turned around to
face

him. He stared down at her, His mouth opened just slightly, his hair, like always,
was

ridiculously astray. They were toe to toe, heart to heart. She fisted her hand into
the bottom of his shirt. Her eyes had to have been glowing as she studied him.

“Ditto,” she whispered, needing to be closer.

He brushed a stray curl from her eye, his fingertips leaving tiny electric sparks
in their

wake against her cheek. Then seconds later their hands interlocked at the top of their
brushing thighs. She was lost in the moment with Mason, and as if they weren’t in
the crowded hallway, surrounded by a gazillion eyes, she went up on her tip toes and
pressed her lips to his. His quick intake of breath said it all, and he pulled her
closer, taking the breath from her lungs as their mouths danced to the unheard rhythm
of their hearts.

It was unhurried. There was nothing more than a simple hello wrapped in that one single

kiss, but it was more than just that too. They were seemingly declaring something
to each other right in that moment, right in the halls of the school, and Harley was
going to eat it up without a single bit of regret.

“Get a room, you two. You’re grossing out the entire school with your PDA crap,”

Abigail snarled at them from the behind, ending their perfect moment too quickly.
Harley

glanced over Mason’s shoulder as he pecked her head, and she felt his lips curl into
a grin on her temple.

“Sorry, Abs.”

“Hell, you don’t need to apologize, just tone it the freak down,” Harley glanced at

Abigail’s little boy toy standing next to her and shook her head as he messed around
with his phone. “God, you’re worse than a girl,” Abigail swiped the black fancy thing
away and tucked it into his hoodie pocket. He glared at her and dug it back out. Harley’s
eyes traveled between the two of them. The pairing was so wrong.

Mason grabbed her hand, pulling her out of her sudden stupor. He gave her a reassuring

smile as if he knew what she was thinking before leading her towards the exit. She
was more than ready for the long holiday weekend that waited beyond those doors.

“Are you still going to Lincoln for Thanksgiving tomorrow?” Abigail questioned her,

pirouetting on her toes as she danced around a few straggling guys. They whistled
cat calls at her, but she ignored them. Harley glanced towards her
friend
noticing he’d hung back with the whistlers. Abigail didn’t even seem to even notice
his absence.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry I didn’t mention it sooner.”

“Will you be home Saturday in time for Ava Duncan’s Party then, or will you get back
on

Sunday?”

“Sunday most likely. My parents like to stay and go to that festival of light tour
on

Saturday night.” Harley gripped Mason’s elbow, tucking herself closer to his side
as she laid her head on his shoulder.

“Fine … whatev… It won’t be a party without you there,” Abigail pouted for a second

before she proceeded to skip away with a little wave. “I’ll see you love birds later.
Oh! And Har?”

Harley blinked as she stared back at the sad smile etched across Abigail’s face, “Tell

David I said hey, alright?” She nodded sadly at her best friend as she watched her
gallop towards her man flavor of the week. Dammit, it totally should have been David
standing there waiting for her.

“Hey, you okay?” Mason leaned in close, kissing the top of her head. She smiled at
his

attentiveness. He knew her so well already.

“Yeah, I’m good, just tired. You ready?” Mason nodded as they pulled up to his pretty

black car, opening the door in chivalrous form. She slipped in, buckling her seat
as a million thoughts crowded her head.

Mason reached for her hand, kissed it, and held it tightly as he got situated into
his seat.

She smiled over at him, her beautiful boyfriend, realizing just how lucky she was
to have him in her life. He was flawed just like she was. They were a good fit for
one another.

Out of all the girls he’d been with, Harley was the only one that he’d chosen to have
for

keeps. She would probably never understand why that was, but it was an amazing feeling
to be that important to someone.

Fridays after Thanksgivings used to be pretty cool. Football days … early morning

waves… God, life used to be so simple, but as Mason hung up the phone with Harley,
he

couldn’t get the smile off his face. His life was
beyond
cool now. It was freaking fabulous. And Harley was the addition that finally made
it that way. He didn’t need her to complete him. He just needed her there as his equal.

They hadn’t gone more than three hours at a time without at least texting one another

since she left Thursday morning. Mason didn’t know he’d miss her as much as he did,
but it’d only be few more days until she was home.

The sound of giggling girls on the other side of his bedroom door ruined his mood.
He

groaned in frustration. If they didn’t shut the hell up they’d wake his grandpa or,
worse yet, his mother. A knock sounded at the door, and with a heavy sigh, he regretfully
stood to answer it.

The girl who mostly likely stood on the other side was a leach who couldn’t take
no
for an answer.

He flipped the lock on his door, took a deep breath, and swung it towards him. Spite

formed in his eyes as she studied him head to toe. Clad in un-appealing tiny boxer
shorts and a tank top with absolutely nothing on underneath stood Kylee. Predatory
eyes painted with black eye liner looked at him as she smiled up at him. She sucked
on her lower lip, her new found nose piercing glistened like a devil’s radar off the
light. He shuddered. She was nasty.

How had he ever found her hot?

“Ooops, sorry, Mase, I was just looking for the bathroom.” She’s bit her finger and

shrugged as she waltzed into his room, hips strutting in a way that made Mason’s stomach
hurt.

He had the strangest urge to hurl.

He curled his lip in loathing as she jumped onto his bed.

What. The. Hell?

“Nice room, Mase. Nice bed too,” she winked at him and curled her finger, in that
come

hither sort of way. If he had sharp enough scissors, he’d clip the thing off.

“What do you want, Kylee?” He leaned against his door frame, not wanting to go near

her. Ever.

She pouted her extra red pasted lips at him, leaning back so her legs opened up just

enough for him to see shit he so didn’t care to see again. “What, Mase, you want me
on top now?

That can be arranged.” She stood and closed the distance between them.

He closed his eyes reining in his temper just as she pressed her barely clothed body

against his. She gripped his wrists, went on her toes, and kissed him open mouthed.

He yelped as she bit down, and he pushed her away with his fists. The bitch was going

down. “Shit, Kylee, get the hell out of here!” She obviously hadn’t let his angry
move deter her because she came back for more. Her hand went immediately to the edge
of his jeans.

“What are you doing? Get the hell away from me!” He pushed her hands away and turned

to grab his coat on the chair. He had to get the hell out there, otherwise he’d do
bodily harm to a girl, and even the nastiest of girls didn’t deserve to get punched
by a guy.

“Aw, my little Mase has gone virginal on me. Who would have thought? It’s actually

pretty smokin’ hot…”

“Not virginal, Kylee,” he grunted, throwing on his coat as he grabbed his keys from
his

dresser. “Just committed.”

Her mouth dropped open, and he smiled smugly back at her. That’s right. He was deeply

committed; long run committed as a matter of fact, but two seconds later, her grin
was back as she moved in for the kill once more. She clutched at the collar of his
coat and pulled him in just inches from her mouth. He cringed, but stupidly he didn’t
stop her. Visions of a broken-hearted Harley distracted him as Kylee whispered in
his ear.

“Baby, I can
guarantee
you that by the time this weekend is over you are going to be begging
me
to fill your bed at night.” She winked and turned to walk from his room, leaving
him standing there, fuming in rage at her declaration.

She was no longer needy. She was a damn skank.

He zipped up his coat, tucked his phone in his pocket, and was out the front door
only

seconds later. His entire body shook as he stepped towards the car. She had everyone
fooled, everyone except for him of course. Now, all he had to do was keep her claws
retracted until she left.