Metamorphosis (21 page)

I quickly nodded my head yes. “I
didn’t think you would want to… I just assumed this was,
ya
know, a one-time thing. I’m really not sure how these things work.” Suddenly I
felt extremely immature and naïve and it embarrassed me. I looked away from
Mason’s face so that he couldn’t see me blush, but he wouldn’t allow me to
escape my mortification that easy.

“Scarlett, look at me. Don’t be
ridiculous,” he scolded me and pulled my face back to his. His eyes were warm
and sincere. “You told me that you didn’t want to constantly think about or be
reminded of the things you have or haven’t done, so don’t dwell on it or beat
yourself up over it. Like you said earlier tonight, just go with what feels
right. You’re going to make mistakes and bad decisions, just make sure you
learn from them or otherwise the pain, stress, and heartache you endure from
them was all for nothing. Okay?” His thumb was stroking my cheek and I closed
my eyes and nodded. Understanding exactly what I wanted and not disappointing,
Mason covered my mouth with his in a long, sensual kiss.

After several more kisses, an
exchange of phone numbers, and plans for him to pick me up the following Friday
for dinner before going to the warehouse, Mason left. Tired couldn’t even begin
to explain how my brain and body felt. I took the quickest shower of my life,
threw on a camisole and panties, and collapsed on my bed in a pleasure-induced
coma.

The alarm clock read twelve
o’clock sharp when my phone vibrating on my desk woke me up. For several minutes
I just
laid
in my bed and stared at the ceiling,
remembering the previous night and early morning hours. At just the thought of
Mason, a wide smile spread across my face. His gorgeous face, his ripped body,
the beautiful tattoos and piercings, his full lips… I brought my hand to my
swollen mouth thinking about how it had explored not only his mouth, but all
over his body. My upper thighs clenched as the visual ran through my mind.

The phone vibrated again jolting
me from my daydream. Begrudgingly, I crawled out of bed and crossed the short
distance to my desk. I grabbed the phone and read my missed messages.

Rat (5:44 A.M.) Had a great time tonight, Angel. Sweet Dreams

Ash (8:35 A.M.) Just making sure u made it home safe

Ash (10:07 A.M.) Let me know u r ok

Ash (10:52 A.M.) Scarlett, I’m getting worried. I knew I shouldn’t
have left you there

Evie
(10:55 A.M.)
Scarlett, where are you? Ash is freaking out. I’m headed home now

Dylan (11:10 A.M.) Morning, don’t forget I’m picking you up early
today-5:00. Can’t wait to see you all dressed up. See
ya
soon

Ash (11:17 A.M.) I’m coming looking for you

Okay, first thing first. I needed
to change Mason’s name in my phone. I wasn’t having a conversation when I had
to look at the name Rat on my screen. I also noted his disregard to follow the
proverbial
three day
rule, or whatever the hell it was
where you had to wait a set period of time to contact someone so you didn’t
look too interested or some stupid shit. I never quite understood the idea
behind this, I mean if two people really liked each other and had a good time
on a date, why would they torture themselves in not seeing or talking to each
other for several days just so they didn’t appear to be what they actually were
- interested in each other. SMH.

A sound out in the main living
area startled me, so before I had time to mentally address the other messages
and let Ash know that I was fine and that he could call off the
search-and-rescue mission, I went to investigate. I opened the door and marched
out still just in my tank top and panties only to see
Evie
and Ash sitting at the small table, drinking coffee. I froze.

“What are you doing here?” I asked
Ash once the shock wore off.

“I was worried sick, Scarlett,” he
explained as he stood up and walked over to me. “When you didn’t answer my
texts all morning, I just got really concerned that something had happened. So
I called
Evie
, but she wasn’t here so she didn’t know
where you were. So we agreed to meet here to see if you were just passed out,
like you were, or if we needed to try and find you.” When Ash reached me, he
pulled me into a tight hug. “I was so worried, butterfly,” he mumbled into my
neck. His arms that held me snug around the waist, relaxed when he finally
accepted that I was okay, and they brushed across my bare ass cheek. A jolt of
energy surged through my body the second his skin touched
mine
and his body tightened in response as well
. My head snapped back and our
eyes locked. We had already determined the attraction between us was
undeniable, but to save my sanity I had to be strong enough to resist it.
To resist him.

As he moved towards me, I took a
step back, moving away from him. Ash stopped and cocked his head, obviously
surprised by my action. He took another step in my direction, but I put my arm
out to stop his chest and shook my head. “I can’t,” I whispered. “I’m sorry.”
My eyes pleaded with his to not push the issue. I was surprised that I had
mustered up the strength to tell him “no” one time, I wasn’t sure I would be
able to do it again.

Ash seemed to understand what I
was asking and he nodded his head. He reached his hand out to my face and
brushed his thumb lightly over my cheek. “I’m glad you’re home safe, butterfly.
I’ll see you tonight.” And with that he said goodbye to
Evie
,
grabbed his coffee, and left.

As soon as the door closed,
Evie
jumped out of her chair and grabbed a pint of ice
cream from the freezer with two spoons. “My bed. 5 minutes. Brush your teeth,
pee, and whatever else you need to do because this is going to be a long one.”

Ten minutes later, I had responded
to
Mason
and Dylan’s texts, freshened up, and sat
fully clothed on
Evie’s
bed with a spoon of frozen
vanilla heaven dancing on my tongue. She decided that she would go first on
rehashing her night with Max since it was far less drama-filled and would take
much less time discussing. Her story was pretty cut and dry. They went back to
his place, did the nasty (which she claimed was “the best ever”), and he
cuddled her and whispered sweet nothings in her ear until she fell asleep. They
were awoken by Ash’s multiple calls and texts so their time together was cut
short, but they had plans to see each other again later that day. She was
completely smitten with him, and I was so happy that she had found someone she
seemed to really like. I felt bad that I was the reason she was forced to leave
Max, but she assured me that it wasn’t any big deal. She said she wouldn’t have
wanted to miss the scene that had just occurred between
me
and Ash
for anything.

“Which leads us to what’s going on
in your head and heart, Sammy girl,”
Evie
said. I
raised my eyebrow at her, “Sammy girl?” I asked, moaning in delight while I
took another bite of ice cream. I had never eaten ice cream as breakfast before
and I needed to do it more often. What an incredible way to start your day!

Evie’s
voice brought me back to reality
out of my sweet, creamy daydream. “Yeah, since you are letting other people
call you nicknames these days, I thought that you were going soft on the
issue.” I threw one of her numerous bed pillows at her head. “But don’t try to
change the subject, I know what you are doing.”

“What do you want to know?” I
asked her.

“Everything!” she squealed. “Ash,
Rat, Dylan… tell me what’s going on with all of them!”

“Oh-
kay
,”
I agreed, eager to talk to her about all of the craziness swarming around in my
head. “Let’s start with the easy one. Dylan. On paper, he’s my perfect guy.
He’s drop dead gorgeous; not only is he smart, but he’s goal-driven and
ambitious. He comes from what seems to be a normal family; he texts or calls me
every day; and we never struggle for conversation - we get along great.” I
stopped for another bite of ice cream. The freshman fifteen was starting to
make a lot more sense.

“Why do I feel a ‘but’ coming up?”
Evie
asked.

“There’s a ‘but’ with all of them.
If there wasn’t, we wouldn’t need to have this conversation, I’d still be
laying in his bed,” I explained. “Whichever bed his is.”

“Good point.”

I continued on about Dylan, “So
here’s the big ‘but’… we have been seeing each other for over two months and
all he will do is kiss me. I mean
,
he did more with me
physically, like feeling me up and stuff, the first night we met before he knew
about me being a big V. Since then, it’s like we have a PG relationship and
it’s just weird. Not to mention, he can’t really think that I believe he’s gone
this long without getting some from someone.”

“You don’t know that!”
Evie
argued.

“I only see him one day a week,
Evie
! He has never even once asked me to do something on a
day other than Saturday. Either he’s gay or he’s fucking someone else! But the
topper of all of these ‘buts’ is that I really don’t care that much. It’s not
that when he touches or kisses me that it doesn’t feel good, because it does
and my body responds accordingly. I mean… look at him. You’d have to be dead to
not find the guy hot as hell. But it is not even close to the way I feel when
Mason or Ash touches me, it’s not even in the same universe.” I sighed in
frustration. “All that being said, it is Saturday and I’m going on a date with
him tonight. I at least want to give something with him a real chance. I’m
going to try really hard to focus on Dylan tonight and not think about the
other two, and we’ll see how it goes. Unfortunately, he’s the one that I’m the
least into, he is the one that’s probably the best for me and will be the one
least likely to break my heart.”

“That’s usually how it is,
Scarlett. Welcome to the world of dating.”
Evie
gave
me an understanding smile. “So where are y’all going tonight?” She asked
changing the subject, and thankfully so because I needed to get going.

“I’m not sure, he wouldn’t tell
me. But it’s somewhere fancy so I need to leave here in a bit to go buy a dress
and shoes, if you want to come with. I’m actually pretty excited. It is my
first dress-up date!” I squealed. “We can talk about the other two and last
night while we shop.”

“Yay! I’m so excited for you!”
Evie
screeched with me. “I’ll help you get ready before I
go meet Max. I won’t be going to Jacob’s tonight. Are you cool with that?” She
asked me.

“Of course I am.
Evie
, you have to live your life. You can’t always be
worried about me, I’m figuring this out… kind of.” We both burst out laughing
at the uncertainty of my last two words. “Plus, we aren’t going either. Dylan
is going to bring me back here since he said it will be pretty late.” Damn,
that reminded me that I had told Ash earlier that I would see him later that
night, but I wouldn’t. Then I realized that it would be the first Saturday
night in over two months that I wouldn’t be sleeping in Ash’s bed, and a wave
of disappointment washed over me. Not only would I miss the few hours that we
normally hang out together, but also the night of the week that I slept the
best.

As we headed out the door to her
car,
Evie
said, “Scarlett, we haven’t even been here
three months and you are already juggling three incredibly hot guys! I’m not
sure if I should bow at your feet or stock up on tissues for future breakdowns
or both?” She chuckled. “Better yet, I’m going to try to bottle up your scent
and sell it.”

“What did you just say?” I thought
I had misheard her.

“I said, ‘I’m going to try and
bottle up your scent and sell it,’” she confirmed what I thought I heard the
first time. “I think that you must have some distinct scent that drives guys
wild… like eau de purity or virtuous body splash.” I laughed so hard I snorted.
Where in the world did she get this shit? She continued, “I mean seriously, Ash
acts like a jealous, possessive Neanderthal around you and Mason dedicated a
fucking mini-concert to you in front of a bar full of people not two hours
after y’all met. There’s got to be some virginity
scent
that you have and we need to figure out how to bottle it up and market it.
We’re going to make a fortune on Essence de Scarlett.” By this point, she
couldn’t keep a straight face any longer. We both died in a heap of giggles.
When I finally stopped long enough to catch my breath, I told her, “Mason sang
me those songs after I gave him a blow job. Maybe it’s not my smell, but my
magical mouth.”

She shook her head at me, holding
her side while still cracking up. “Come on, lover lips, let’s go find you a
dress. And you bet you are going to tell me all of the juicy details about last
night, I’m not letting it go.” I rolled my eyes and opened the passenger door.

While we shopped, I recounted all
of the previous evening’s events for her. I told her about how I had purposely
tried to make Ash jealous and how Mason had known. I went into vivid detail
about how completely freaking amazing Mason made me feel when his hands and
lips were on me, that she was right in that it would be so much more intense
than what I had experienced before solo. I had already told her the night
before what exactly we had done, but she wanted play-by-play and I did my best
to describe what happened.