When Its Least Expected (16 page)

Their pathetic ways did leave her curious, and she knew what they said about curiosity

killing the cat…

“Give me that ridiculous thing!” Harley ripped it from Abigail’s arms, hastily throwing

the bubble gum pink monstrosity over her forearm. That earned her a few nasty glares,
but she shrugged them off, heading back quickly towards the dressing room. Secretly
though, Harley

couldn’t help but sneak a few glances at the thing herself.

She entered the tiny locked area and shut the door tightly behind her. She didn’t
need an

audience while she got to know the material. She hung it up on a hook and took a step
back to study it, biting her lip as she did. The first thing she noticed was the tulle
skirt, intermingled with satin pieces and then a satin belt that sat in the middle.
She shrugged, running her fingertip carefully over the sash. Okay, so yeah, it was
sure to hug a waistline in just the right way, and she needed all the help she could
get in that department seeing as though she had no curves at all.

Her eyes took in the top next, noting the bright iridescent beads and sparkles that
intermingled on top of another soft piece of pink satin. The one shoulder strap was
fairytale like, something straight out of Sleeping Beauty’s closet. But the color
was the shade of Pepto-freaking-Bismo!

Who in the hell wore a color like that anyways?

She slipped it over her head after a few more minutes, not able to keep the smile
from her

mouth as she admired its softness. She smiled harder, envisioning Mason’s roaming
hands

exploring the material. She couldn’t help but wonder if his hands would rub along
the satin sash in the middle, or instead would he focus on the beads running up in
and around her barely there neck line. She shivered, goose bumps lined her arms.

Okay, yeah, it’s cold in here, that’s all.

For the hell of it though, Harley envisioned Mason’s arms pulling her closer, only
so they

could dance to some cheesy love ballad over the speakers in the gym. The grin on her
face was almost painful and unrelenting at that point, but the minute she opened the
door to model the thing, loud ‘oh-my-gods’ pushed her fantasies to the back burner.
Her frown came back with all its intensity.

“Guys, seriously! Shut up before I do something crazy, like run around naked in here!”

Her threat didn’t work. Instead, they both giggled like clown obsessed maniacs, drawing
all sorts of unwanted attention her way. Harley wrapped her arms around her waist,
suddenly feeling way too exposed and unsure of her body to let the other customers
take in her appearance.

Abigail was the first to respond with real words, and it was loud, obnoxious, and
all

Abigail. “OMG, Har! That dress looks amaze-balls! You’re killer hot, girl! I’d die
to have a waist like that!” Harley shook her head, completely bewildered by her best
friend’s verbal

diarrhea.

Harley had no clue what she was talking about, but her mom became the icing on the

cake when she broke down into her typical, all out tearful sob. She was a hot mess
of a woman.

“Mom, can you please control yourself just once? It’s a dress, not a grandchild, Jeez!”

Harley growled through gritted teeth. She hastily whipped around, trying like hell
not to roll her eyes again as she headed back towards the dressing room to grab tissues
and to get the apparent

‘
amaze-ball’
dress off of her body.

First though, tissues were in order for her blubbering mother. Harley whipped out

her wristlet, digging for the scratchy packet only to come up short finding the cold
metal of a silver key instead. Along with the keys, came panic, lots and lots of panic.

“Son of a bitch … it’s the key to turn off that stupid mechanical baby!” she spouted,

frantically searching for her cell phone next. She was so going to be screwed if he
didn’t answer the phone.

Quickly, she threw the tissue out of the dressing room door, phone already plastered
to

her ear before she headed back inside the fitting room. She waited for him to answer,
her nerves tugged harshly at her stomach. One handed, she stripped the dress over
her head, right before she heard his super crappy greeting.

“Hey, little beast, you missed me, didn’t you?”
Stupid arrogant surfer boy.
So much for any awkwardness on his end. Too bad Harley couldn’t say the same for
herself.

His confession yesterday still lingered in her brain, confusing the ever loving

daylights out of her. “Um, no, Mason, I didn’t actually. But I do need a favor,”

“Oh, yeah? What kind of favor do you need? ‘Because I can totally make all your wildest

dreams come true, you know.” His voice went low, teasing, and Harley’s face blanched
at his inappropriate insinuations. She could almost see his eyebrows waggling over
the phone.

She cut him off when he started to spout off something to the effect of whipped cream,

lots of hot fudge, and an empty bathtub. “God, Mason, get your head out of the gutter,
will you?

Our makeshift
son
is in my room in my gym bag, and I’m out of town right now. My dad and brother are
somewhere therefore I can’t get to it. I need you to go to my house and get him, like,
ASAP.”

Mason chuckled, harassing her more, still obviously not a bit concerned with the

possibility of failing. “I knew you were going to be the most wonderful mom ever,
Harley. I’m so proud I parented a child with you!” He had pushed her buttons one too
many times. She was ready to blow a gasket. Still, he had the audacity to keep going
too! “Why do I need to do this for you, by the way?” She sighed in relief as the sound
of rattling keys, and a shutting door caught her attention. Bless this jerk – he was
actually going to help her out. Okay, so he’s reliable
and
arrogant, but definitely not up to Prince Charming status yet.

“I’m in Kearney, shopping for a dre … stuff.” She sealed her lips shut, stopping the

words from leaving her mouth. There was no way she’d admit what she was doing. He’d
never

let the subject drop, especially since they hadn’t discussed the dance since everything
had happened between them.

The sound of Mason’s car motor made her sigh in relief. The baby hadn’t been non-

active for too long, so he still had time to get there before the thing shut down
completely and they automatically failed. “What kind of
stuff
are we talking about here, the bras and panties kind of stuff?” He knocked her out
of her happy thoughts, showing his douche bag side yet again.

Oh, he was going to get it! His face had a date with her fist the next time she saw
him.

“Listen,
pal,
if you must know, I was taken hostage and forced to go dress shopping for the stupid
dance with my mother and Abigail. I’m actually in a dressing room as we speak,

getting ready to put my clothes back on.” She smacked her own head, in total weirdo
mode,

cringing at her stupid words. Jesus, what the hell was she thinking telling him something
like that? She had now completely opened herself up to get verbally molested by this
perv, but as she waited for his snarky reply, she was somehow blessed with the revving
of his engine and the clearing of his throat instead. She bit her lip, hiding her
smile. Wow, did she just make the surfer boy speechless? If that’s all it took to
get him to stop talking dirty then her embarrassment was well worth it.

* * *

drive to her house. He turned the radio on to the classical music channel, thought
of kittens and puppies, and even hit his head against the side window! Still, she
was there, haunting his

fantasies. Yeah, that was
not
the way to act when he was determined to stay on the friend’s only level with the
girl. Why had she even admitted her nakedness to him in the first place? It made no
sense.

He smiled as he pulled into her driveway. A thought hit him – maybe her fantasies
were

more like his than he originally thought…

Her house was empty, and her front door was locked. Her window was cracked open for

his easy access. It felt all kinds of wrong to enter her bedroom like that especially
since nobody was home, but hey, it wouldn’t have been his first time.

Stumbling over a laundry basket that lay right under her window, Mason finally found

the bag where she told him he could find the baby. He didn’t care about the project,
nor did he care about the baby. For Harley, he’d do what was needed. What she wanted.
He was at her beck and call, whether he wanted to be or not.

The plastic munchkin was hanging out, feet first, face smothered by her dirty gym

clothes. He shook his head and laughed as he reached down to pick it up. “Wow … you’re
gonna be the best mother someday, little beast.” It was still in some sort of sleep
mode, so they were safe. He chucked it on the bed. His nosiness was taking over the
longer he stood in her room alone. He had to look around. He wanted too badly to know
all of her hidden secrets. He

wouldn’t search in her underwear drawer; that’d be too perv-like, even for him.

He was searching for nothing in particular when he happened upon her shelf full of

picture frames. He needed to see what made this girl tick. Pictures of childhood memories
and her friends were a good place to start. Frames of all sizes and colors were scattered
throughout the surface, and the vision made his heart hurt. She had so many people
in her life that loved and cared about her. Mason had Maisy, and occasionally his
mom, when she wasn’t hidden away in a depressive state in her room that is.

He glanced around a bit more readying himself to leave but stumbled upon a

hidden picture leaning against the wall behind most of the others. He reached for
it, careful not to knock anything over. He brought it out in front of him, his eyes
narrowing in confusion as it showed Harley sitting on the lap of some dude he didn’t
recognize.

He ignored the burning in his throat. It had to have been heartburn plaguing him ...
not

the big J. Mason didn’t get jealous. He wiped a small layer of dust off the cover
glass. Most of the sparkles were missing off the sides, but the red hearts were a
permanent fixture.

His jaw flexed as he studied their faces. They were lost in each other’s gaze. It

was way more intense than any moment he’d ever shared with her himself. The black
haired guy was cupping her cheek, and she appeared to be leaning into it. Harley’s
hair was shorter, but she didn’t look any older than she did now. He shook his head
and dropped the photograph onto his thighs, sighing heavily. He thought about hiding
it. Maybe tossing it into the back of her closet or into a trash can on his way home.
He clenched it tighter, only minutes later putting it right back into the same spot
it was before. He pulled at his hair and frowned. Jesus, this wasn’t him! He didn’t
care about a stupid ass picture with his little beast and some mysterious guy! He
definitely didn’t care that Harley looked so content in the guy’s arms either.

His cell rang, and the noise knocked him out of his stupor. Slowly, he lifted it to
his ear.

Harley’s voice sounded on the other end. He cleared his throat before answering making
sure no trace of irritation was left in his voice. “Hey, honey, our offspring just
woke up,” Mason

managed to sound casual, but his blood was burning inside of her veins. That picture
had messed him up. Completely.

“Do me a favor, Mason, and shut the hell up! Your little snide remarks are getting
on my

nerves.” He laughed at her spicy attitude. Normally he’d add his own retort, but his
somber mood stole his words away.

“Okay, little beast. I’ve got it. I’ll shut up,” he paused, rubbing a hand down the
front of his face. “So did you pick out a dress then? I need know what color it is.
That way I can order those flower thingies you wear on your arm.” He picked up the
doll and made his way back to the window to leave. Harley’s response was barely audible,
but he heard it anyways, even though he insisted on teasing her about it.

“What was that? I couldn’t understand what you were saying...”

“It’s pink, okay? Sparkly and shiny, and all things that glitter …. ugly … pink.”
Visions

of roses popped into his head, and he smiled. Damn, the girl had him smiling over
freaking

flowers now? What the hell was next? “You got any smart ass comments to go with that
one,

Mase, because I’m sooo ready for them this time.”

“No,” he paused, surprising himself, looking around her room once more before lifting
a

leg to exit through her window. He could have used the door to leave, but the window
was less personal. He needed to stay as impersonal as possible now.

“Oh,” her voice lowered again. “Well, umm, that’s good, I um, guess. So, I, um. I’ll
talk

to you later then?” Mason wasn’t the only one being caught off guard today apparently.

“I’ll just see you Monday. I’ve got stuff to do tomorrow, so I won’t, um, be talking
to you until school,” the line went silent. He cringed, wondering if she was upset
that he’d gone distant on her, but this was the way it was meant to be. “And don’t
worry about the baby thing. I’ll, uh, just keep it for the rest of the weekend.”

After an awkward goodbye, Mason finally made it to his car door. His eyes were drawn

back to her house, her window in particular. Thoughts of that guy and Harley together
royally pissed him off. Was the guy sneaking into her room at night? What was he the
secret boyfriend or something? Did she let him touch her like he had touched her?

Scratch that, he didn’t care. Caring wasn’t his job with Harley. She had enough people
to

do that apparently. He slammed his hand into the steering wheel with each of his jealous