Mason (FALLEN CREST SERIES) (8 page)

THE SURPRISING CONNECTION

The next week, Mr. Rooney sent half the class to the library. We were assigned a project to work on, but the same instructions that he enforced in his classroom were applied there. No talking. Period. The only person you could talk to was your table mate. Glancing to where mine had gone, she scooted around the group and walked to the very back of the library.

As I followed her through the book cases, she went to a table set in its own section. It was away from the main lobby and isolated with bookshelves all around it.

I put my notebook on the table and took a seat. “I’m not a typical dumb jock, but I had no idea this was back here.”

She paused, her fingers stopped flipping through her pages, and she studied me for a moment.

I narrowed my eyes. She still hadn’t talked to me. When Mr. Rooney announced the project, he pulled me aside at the door and said that I would have to talk to Marissa. Then he added, “Be nice. Be respectful and then back away from her. I mean it, Mason.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t care about deflowering virgins, Mr. Rooney. I have enough headaches in my life because of women. Your warnings are insulting now.”

“You heard what I said.”

I did. I didn’t care. I’d talk to her, but I had no intention of anything else. Focusing on her again now, I frowned. “You have to talk. I’m not doing a presentation all on my own to prove that I did the work.”

She frowned. She had stopped becoming flustered after the first few days. Now she was hostile instead. I was starting to get sick of it. If I had done something to her, then yeah, I deserved it. Unlike most of my run-ins, I’d been nice to her.

Then she said, “I don’t want to be held back by you. This is important to me.”

I laughed.

She looked ready to piss her pants, but that made me laugh even more. “So you do think I’m a dumb jock?”

“No…” She did. I could see it in her eyes.

“I’m number one in our grade. If anyone holds anyone back, it won’t be me.”

Her mouth fell open an inch. She became flustered again. “You’re in the number one spot?”

I nodded. “Yep.” I flashed her a grin. “See. I’m not the typical dumb jock.”

“Oh.”

Then I reached for the worksheet with the instructions. “Hand it over. Let’s get this bitch done with.”

We worked the entire week together. Every day Marissa relaxed and by the end of the week, she was a chatterbox. I didn’t talk, but that was fine with me. I didn’t want to talk. Everyone else wanted me to talk. They wanted to know what I was thinking. They wanted to know an ‘in’ to get with me. Not her. Marissa did most of the talking for our presentation. She surprised everyone. I could tell no one expected her to be as enthusiastic or as confident as she was. A few of the guys were looking at her with interest.

She wasn’t bad to look at. A heart-shaped face, cute lips, a decent body underneath her baggy clothes. A few of them were giving her lewd looks and I knew they were imagining her naked. For some reason, that ticked me off. I blocked the view of one of the guys and he glanced up. He moved back, seeing the warning in my gaze, then he lifted his hands in the air. He didn’t lift them high, just off the table, but enough to show me he would back off. The others caught the motion. Marissa kept rambling on about the effects of desertification, but a new spark of interest went around the room. The others saw that I was protective of her. I glanced towards Kate. She was staring straight at me. She was dissecting me. Her eyes were clear and filled with interest. I frowned. I shouldn’t have done anything. There was a target on this girl now. Kate wasn’t going to forget the look I gave that guy.

Shifting back into place, Marissa paused, but I leaned against the wall and let her finish the speech. When she was done, Mr. Rooney asked, “Marissa, please tell me that you didn’t work alone on this project.”

“No.” She frowned, her hands grasping tighter onto her paper. “Why?”

He indicated me. “Because your partner didn’t say a word through the entire presentation.”

“That’s because he hates speeches.” She didn’t blink an eye. “He’s shy.”

The room burst out laughing. Marissa fell back a step, taken aback by their response, and then turned to me. She was confused.

“Why do you think I’m shy?”

Mr. Rooney came to the front of the class, shaking his head, chuckling. “Uh, Miss Hooper, I can think of a lot of words to call Mason Kade, but shy is not one of them. It’s not even close to any of them.”

“Tread lightly.”

He kept laughing, but held his hands up. “No offense intended.” The class continued to laugh except Kate. She was staring Marissa down like she wanted to tackle her. I tensed. That would be a battle.

When we took our seat, Marissa leaned close and whispered, “Why are they all laughing at me?”

“Because I’m not shy at all. If I was, that’d probably help me in life, but I’m not. Why do you think I’m shy?”

“Because you never talk.” She said it louder than she had intended and another roar went through the class. Her cheeks grew red and she ducked her head down. “Oh god.”

I glanced at Kate and saw her chewing the corner of her lip. If I didn’t talk, that meant I didn’t care for them. She knew that about me. The problem was that wasn’t true for Marissa. I enjoyed her presence, but for her own safety, I didn’t want Kate to catch onto that.

I sent Marissa an apologetic look before I cleared my throat. I made sure people could overhear me, “Why would I talk? You don’t need encouragement to talk more.” It wasn’t that hurtful, but I knew people would take it as that. I was throwing her under the bus. As hurt flared in the depths of her eyes, I wanted to explain it to her. But I couldn’t. Then I snuck a look back again. Kate had gone back to flirting with a guy.

Damage was done.

Marissa went back to not talking to me. After class, she fled to the hallway and the next month was strained between us. It wasn’t until one day when I stayed for extra training and had showered. It was late, around six in the evening. I was heading for the parking lot when she turned the corner. When she saw me, she squeaked. Her hands clenched around her book, but she lost her footing and fell to the floor. I could’ve caught her. My hand had started to reach out, but I kept it held back. She didn’t need my help. I’d only be damning her.

“Oh ugh.” She moaned, standing up, brushing off the back of her pants. “That was embarrassing. Ouch.” She looked up, and then hung her head again. “You’re still there.”

I glanced around. There was no one else around so I grinned. “Were you expecting me to leave?”

“That’s your reputation. You’re an asshole, right?”

I winced, but she had a point. “When was I an ass to you?”

She scowled at me. “You know.”

“That was for your own good.”

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Please.”

“It was.”

“Right. Because I’m in danger, right? You have a reputation for being an ass, but not for screwing with someone’s mind and feelings. You’re known for saying it how it is.”

“I am.”

She shook her head and began to turn away. “You’re just screwing with me. You’re like those other guys.”

She started to walk away, but I caught up with her and grabbed her arm. “What other guys?”

Jerking her arm away, anger flashed across her face. “Back off, buddy. All those other girls may fall all over you, but that doesn’t mean you can touch just anybody.” Rubbing where I had grasped her arm, she scowled at me. “I’m not one of those girls. I don’t care about you. Not at all.”

A firm look came over her. I tried to hold back a grin. She looked like a pissed off Chihuahua.

“You think this is funny?”

“Sorry.” My grin vanished. “Look, I had to be mean. Kate was noticing you.”

“Noticing me? She used to pick on me, but that stopped.”

“She did?”

“Yeah, from the first time we worked together on a project…” Her voice trailed off when she saw my reaction. “What?”

“It was because of me?”

She nodded. A stark note appeared in her gaze. “Yeah. It’s been on and off all year. Tate too—”

“What?”

“Yeah.” She was becoming scared again. “Don’t tell them I said anything. Don’t say anything to them at all. It’ll get worse. I know it. I—” She cursed.

My eyebrows shot up when I heard words from my daily vocabulary.

When she saw the surprise, she rolled her eyes. “Right. Like you’re the only one with a potty-mouth. I don’t think so.”

A chuckle slipped out. At the sound of it, she froze again and her head jerked back down. Then she was muttering, “I should get going. I shouldn’t be here. You’re right. I’m sorry.”

She was about to slip away, when I blocked her. “Hey.” I frowned.

“Stop, Mason.” Agony was in her voice now. The sound of it had me wincing. Dropping to a whisper, she added, “You’re right. You were right to be mean. I didn’t think about that. I thought they had stopped, but if you say that she noticed,” she stopped. “I can’t handle that again.”

How bad had it been?

“I have to go.” Then she rushed off. I was left in the hallway, wondering what had really happened just now.

PSYCHO AND THE BROUDOUS

The girl beneath me groaned as I continued thrusting in her. Her hands fell to my hip and her eyes were closed. Her head was tipped back, exposing her neck to me and she moaned again. I thrust deeper, closing my own eyes, as I felt it coming. The build-up was the best. I was almost there and I went deeper, harder, then it was there. It was so close. Fuck. I thrust one last time, going as deep as I could, her legs lifted up from the force. They wound around my waist. Her hips rose from the bed, but then I felt her own climax shooting through her. Her walls were trembling and she collapsed. I collapsed with her, feeling my own climax ripping through me.

Her legs were still wound around me. They slipped from my waist and rested against the backs of my legs. Her hands were still clamped onto me, but as I pulled out, she let go. She opened her eyes and raked a hand through her hair. She gave me a smile and murmured, “Fuck. That was good.”

I nodded. “Sex is usually good.”

She chuckled and sat up when I went into the bathroom. As she watched me wash myself off, she said, “Sex isn’t always good with everyone.” A seductive glimmer appeared in her eyes and she smiled at me, trying to draw me in. “But it is with you.”

I snorted, coming back into the room. “Jenny, you’re good at sex. You know it. Own it.”

A genuine laugh came from her and she scooted to the edge of the bed. I sat on the corner, but she wrapped her legs around me and wound her arms around my waist, propping her head on my shoulder. Then she nipped my skin, brushing her tongue there in a swirl, one meant to be a caress. She murmured, “I’m not a whore, Mason, but I’m not inexperienced and trust me,” her legs wound tighter and she rubbed against me. Her eyes closed and a small whimper left her lips. “You’re very, very, very good in bed. I can see why Kate’s so nuts about you.”

I had been tempted to turn her around and slide back into her, but that feeling stopped cold at those words. She felt me stiffen and lifted her head from my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I tapped her foot. “Release.”

She did and when I started to dress, she frowned at me. She lifted her hands, trying to smooth down her red hair, but wariness filtered in her dark eyes. She stuck her lip out, trying to figure me out. But I kept my face blank. Pulling my jeans on, I left them unzipped and grabbed my shirt. Slipping my feet into my shoes, I headed for the door still holding my shirt. I lifted it in a salute to her. “Thanks for the fun time.”

“Wait.” She scooted forward, making no move to cover herself. Her breasts were still perked up but she didn’t care.

I grinned. Jenny wasn’t a new kid around the block. She was the head of the drill team and she had a sexual appetite like me. It was there, it liked to be satisfied, but she didn’t pick just any guy. We had hooked up before, but when she brought up Kate’s name, all the shit from the past few months came back. I enjoyed forgetting it, forgetting Kate, forgetting Tate, Logan’s pain, and my family drama. At her one statement about Kate, it opened a door and the real world filtered back in. Getting away for a nice lay had been fun, but the old emptiness took root in me. It knocked inside, reminding me it was there.

I asked, “What?”

“That’s it? You’ve stuck around in the past for another round.”

“Not this time.” I flashed her a half-grin. “Thanks.”

She sighed. “Okay. Just wait. I’ll dress and leave with you.” She stood and reached for her bra, giving me a good view of her tight ass. After she pulled her skirt on, she wiggled her underwear up and grinned. Her bra wasn’t hooked, just pulled over her arms so I knew she left her tits out for one last little dance for me. “Like it?”

“I do.” I grinned. “Don’t people pull their panties on first?”

She laughed. “I don’t know why, but it’s hilarious when someone says panties to me. It’s a thong. It’s what women should be wearing.” She became speculative. “What does Kate wear? Somehow I see her not wearing anything.”

I shook my head. “I’m not stepping into that one.”

She pretended to groan, shaking her head, as she continued to hold my gaze. She reached around, hooked her bra and slipped her shirt over her head, still watching me. Then she licked her lips and drew close to me. Her hands went to my waist and she moved so she was lightly rubbing against me. Her hand went to the front of my pants and cupped me. “I like this guy. He’s welcome any time he wants in my home.”

I smirked down at her, but pulled her shirt down and rubbed my thumb over one of her tips. A slight tremor went through her. I said, “As long as your home remains drama free, my guy will keep that in mind.”

She laughed, and I opened the door. Jenny went out first, running her hands through her hair again, but stopped abruptly. I had lifted to slip my arms through my shirt and bumped into her. Pulling my shirt over my head, I saw the problem.

Kate was there. She was leaning against the other side of the hallway with her arms crossed and a snarl on her mouth. “Really?” There was so much condescension in her tone.

Jenny cried out, “Really? He’s not yours, Kathryn. Get it through your fucking crazy head.”

Kate reacted. Her eyes turned feral and she reached up, grabbed Jenny’s hair, and started to pull her head down.

I didn’t think. I reacted and caught Kate’s arm, stopping her. It happened in the blink of an eye, no warning, nothing. Jenny’s head was two inches from the wall. She hadn’t prepared to fight, but when I held Kate’s arm suspended and she saw what had been about to happen, her eyes got big and she wrestled out of Kate’s hold.

“You’re a fucking psycho!” She leapt at Kate, but I caught her around the waist and held her back.

When Kate looked ready to hit her, I shot a hand out to stop her and warned, “Don’t you fucking dare.”

She moved back with a huff. “You’re going to regret this.”

I wasn’t sure who she was talking to, but Jenny responded first. She laughed, still trying to claw at her. “Are you sure about that? You and your friends are bullies in school, but I’ve got the numbers.”

Kate had moved down the hallway, but stopped. She listened.

Jenny kept going, flicking her off. “I’m the captain of the drill team. Guess how many girls want to be on my squad? Guess how many girls want to be me?”

“Whatever.”

“Take your fight elsewhere, Kate. You’ll lose against me.”

“Stop.”

She struggled against my hold, but Kate had turned the corner. Lowering her to the floor, as soon as her feet were touching, she shoved my arm off her and raked her hands through her hair. Her eyes were wild. “Holy shit, she’s psychotic.”

I frowned. I was realizing just how psychotic she was now.

Jenny shook her head and a hollow laugh came from her. “You have a major problem on your hands. Keep messing around with her and she’s going to get worse and worse. She’s going to do major damage to someone.” She swept a palm over her face, wiping at her eyes. “My god. I can’t believe that just happened.” Then she slashed a hand across her throat. “You and me, no more. I’m not ready to battle that crazy, not for a guy I screw every now and then. If you were my boyfriend, yeah, I might battle her, but not for what you’re offering.” She started down the hallway, but glanced back before turning the corner. “You know that little friend from your class? Heads up, Kate’s got her eyes on her. You know what Kate would do to a sweet girl like that? It wouldn’t be pretty. That’s all I can say.”

Kate was a fucking headache and I had no idea how to defuse her. When I went downstairs, she was outside with her friends. When she saw me coming, she looked ready to bolt, but thought better of it and held her ground.

My patience was up. I wasn’t going to deal with her anymore. Grabbing her arm, I dragged her around the side of the house. There were people there, but I didn’t care. I was fed up. Pushing her against the house, she shoved me back. “Watch it. You wouldn’t want to hurt a girl.”

“Shut up.” I barely touched her and she knew it. “I don’t need to use force to hurt someone. If you push me far enough, I will fight back and it won’t be physically. I’m
not
that type of guy so
do not
insult me again.” I stressed my words and let her see the warning in my gaze. It was real. She needed to heed it. I meant what I was about to say.

The conversations around us quieted when they heard us, and they moved closer.

Kate was watching them. Her unease was clear, but she kept quiet. For once. I rolled my eyes. “You listen to me because this was the last straw.”

She snorted, folding her arms over her chest. She was trying to be brave, but I saw the fear in her eyes.

I kept going, this wasn’t her time to smart off to me. “I don’t care about you. I might have at one point, but the farther you push things, the less I give a shit about you. You did this. You trampled our friendship into the ground. You and I are done. Do you hear me?”

“Good luck trying to get with someone—”

I shook my head in a forceful clip. She stopped talking and I finished for her, “There will always be someone else. Always. You don’t have the power to keep girls away from me so don’t use that card. Don’t even try to use it. It won’t work. You’re scary, but not nearly as scary as I can be. Trust me.”

The fight was in her gaze. She wanted to fight back, threaten me, use her fists, but she didn’t. She kept it reined in. As I stepped back from her, she hissed at me, “We’re through.”

“Good.”

“I mean it, Mason.” I almost rolled my eyes, but I refrained. I’d let her have her say. She added, “You can screw whoever you want. I’m done. I won’t give a shit anymore because I don’t give a shit about you.”

Then she swept a cold look at the crowd that had formed. “Do you hear that? He’s fair game. I’m out. Go ahead and deal with him, but I feel sorry for whoever does.” She ended with a last hateful look at me. “You’re broken inside. I don’t know what broke you, but they did a goddamn good job. You’ll never love anyone. Only Logan. That’s all you’ll let in. I feel sorry for whoever falls in love with you. It’s not a mistake I’ll be making.”

She left, stalking around the house. I heard her snap out, “Let’s go, you guys!”

“Why? What just happened?”

“LET’S GO!”

There was a little bit of silence after they took off and then someone started laughing. “Finally. She’s been on that high horse for too long.” Others joined in laughing and I glanced over. Her friend was there, the one that hooked up with Nate. He had his arm around her waist, but he dropped it when he saw me looking. He jerked his head in an abrupt nod and moved back a step. Parker? I think. She twisted around, fixing him with an accusing look. He never met her eyes. Then she cursed. “Are you serious?”

She stormed away, but bypassed me on her way. As she went past me, she muttered, “You turned Kate into a laughing stock just now. Don’t think for one second that I won’t tell her.”

I didn’t care. Maybe I should’ve, but it was becoming hard for me to care about anything at that moment. Kate. Other girls. Maybe I should’ve cared, but I didn’t. Then Nate came up to me. He said, “Logan called. He needs a ride. He’s at Quickie’s.”

“What?”

He shrugged. “I have no idea. You want me to go?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I’ll go. Stay here and have fun.”

“You sure?”

“Didn’t your hook-up just leave?”

Nate shrugged. “My dick’s not dipped in gold like yours, but I don’t have a problem getting girls either.” He flashed me a grin. “But if you want to go and pick him up, I wouldn’t mind sticking around and finding a new hook-up.”

“Yeah. Have fun. I’ll get him.”

“All right.” He paused. “You okay?”

Was I? I shrugged. The Kate thing was a problem that I didn’t know how to reign in.

I didn’t answer him. I didn’t know how and I didn’t want to lie. When I pulled into Quickie’s, I didn’t see Logan. Sending him a quick text, I waited, but there was no answer so I got out. When I went inside, there was still no Logan, but I saw Marissa behind the counter.

She was biting her lip as she waited for my reaction.

“What are you doing here?”

Her hand shot up in an awkward wave before her cheeks grew red. She looked down and her hand slammed to the counter, spilling her water. “Oh shit.” She lunged for the napkins, knocking over another glass of liquid and then groaned. “Oh my god.” The second glass tipped onto the register and she began repeating, “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” over and over again as she looked around. “There’s no towel. Nothing. My uncle will kill me. I swear.”

I grabbed a bunch of napkins and began piling them on top of each other, absorbing the first pile of liquid. When I had enough, I slid it over. She was still jumping in a circle, frantic, so I started wiping up the second spill. Leaning over the counter, I was finishing off the register when she squealed, grabbed her coat from under the counter, and pivoted back to me. She was ready to use her coat to absorb it, but she froze when she saw the spills were already cleaned up.

Her hands dropped. “Oh.”

I grinned. “It’s done. No damage.”

“That’s so embarrassing.”

I checked my phone. Still no reply from Logan, but I asked again, “What are you doing here?” After sending another text to him, I added, “Working a gas station at night is dangerous. You shouldn’t be here.”