His smile, broader than mine, illuminated his handsome face, and his hand came to rest in my styled hair. “You are worth this and more,” he said before pulling back. “Of course, I can’t take all the credit. The boys helped too.”
I chuckled, thinking about how grumpy they must have been.
“What’s funny?” Mason asked with a smile and a glint of curiosity in his eyes.
“I was thinking about how hilarious you three must have looked trying to catch a bunch of fireflies.”
I covered my mouth as another fit of giggles threatened to escape, the image of three boys running around the woods and swearing loudly at their failure swirling in my head.
Mason’s laugh enveloped me. “Hilarious indeed, and they have made it very clear that I owe them,” he said.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, I was overwhelmed by guilt, and it must have shown on my face because he took my hand quickly and asked what was wrong. “I’m sorry… about Aaron and me, it truly meant nothing,” I said, my eyes lowered. We hadn’t spoken much since I landed in the hospital and got discharged, and I knew I owed him an apology.
“Shh,” Mason began as he shook his head. “I know that now,” he said and pushed his dirty blond hair back in frustration. “God, I was stupid to get so angry. If I hadn’t left the way I did that day, you wouldn’t have ended up struggling for your life in that lake for so long.” His face twisted into a pained expression, and I knew he blamed himself for what happened.
Uncaring of the things that stood between us, I crawled to his side and wrapped my arms around him in a hug, inhaling his scent, which never failed to calm me. “You did nothing wrong, Mason Welsh, you hear me? You did nothing wrong,” I stubbornly declared until he nodded. I then pulled back and took his soft yet demanding lips in mine.
I had shared at least one kiss with all three boys, and each of those moments had felt different, but none felt as powerful as when I kissed Mason. With Jake, it had been an intense, raw passion that drove us. With Aaron, I had been accompanied by a sense of calm and safety. However, everything felt whole when I was with Mason, and things were how they should be. It was how I knew we were meant to be.
Our lips molded together perfectly, my heart beating faster, and I had never felt more alive than when he touched my bare skin.
At first, the kiss started slow, like we had all the time in the world to taste each other. But then it grew into something demanding and passionate. Mason’s fingers found their way into my hair, pulling off the pins my mother had so carefully attached to style it into a side braid. My long blonde hair flowed freely over my shoulders.
Our foreheads met, and he cupped my face in his hands, whispering the word ‘beautiful’ over and over again. I knew what I wanted then. I began to unbutton his shirt, eager to feel his warm, hard body against mine, eager to make love to him under the twinkling stars and audacious moon shimmering from above.
Clothes gone, our hands roamed each other’s body, seeking to be even closer than we were if that was possible.
He lowered me on the blankets, food forgotten as we surrendered to the magic our love created. “You own my soul, Katrina Dawson,” he whispered and wasted no time in joining us together so that we became one.
CHAPTER FOUR
Being back in school was both strange and incredible. Strange because, coupled with missing a lot of schoolwork, once again, the whole school had heard what happened to me, and I was receiving a lot of stares, some more pitiful than the others. However, things were incredible because it wasn’t just Aaron and I seated at our usual table in the cafeteria anymore; I had my boys back.
Things were easier since Mason takes me to school instead of my mom to “protect” me, but we had only garnered more attention. Of course, being the girlfriend of the school’s quarterback would do just that.
With a shy smile and a blush that attracted a lot of teasing from the boys, I opened my mouth and let Mason feed me his fries.
“Good girl,” he whispered with a wink that sent my insides into an override of tingles.
However, my attention was soon yanked away by the sight of the sulking female that passed by our table, her eyes filled with longing. I turned to watch Jake’s gaze follow her before it returned to his half-empty plate.
“You should talk to her, Jake,” I said, remembering how he had broken up with Noelle to defend my honor.
Scowling, he replied, “I’m fine.”
My hand found his while Aaron and Mason simply watched on like it was none of their business.Boys,I rolled my eyes.
“You are not, Jake. Anybody from a mile away can sense your despair. As much as I don’t appreciate the things Noelle said to me, you both love each other, and seeing you unhappy saddens me. Please, Jake…”
I widened my eyes and pushed my lips out in a pout that had Mason snickering but quickly silencing when I glared at him.
“Okay, I’ll talk to her. Just never do that again, please,” Jake groaned like he had seen the most horrible thing in the world, and he threw a fry at me.
“Shut up,” I mumbled.
“Hi Aaron,” someone said, and I turned around to see a red-headed girl with porcelain skin wave with a deep blush before walking away toward a table of giggling girls.
I turned to my friend with raised eyebrows, who had now conveniently found interest in the food before him. “Who is she?” I asked no one in particular, trying to get Aaron to meet my eyes. Still, if the red tinge at the tip of his ears meant anything, it was that I wouldn’t be getting what I wanted anytime soon.
