When Its Least Expected (37 page)

He was a runner. Why couldn’t she do the same?

Because you love him.

Ugh. The damn voices in her head. Why did they have to be so … so … responsible? She

groaned internally, digging her nails into her palm.

Maisy finally dismissed herself, taking Abigail’s elbow and guiding her away. Harley

narrowed her eyes at her traitorous best friend. The smile on her lips… Crap! The
little conniver had planned this all along!

Harley stood there alone feeling all sorts of awkward. Her hands clasped behind her
back

as she bounced up and down on her toes. Her lip had to have been drained of blood
by her

gnawing teeth.

God, would this torture never end?

Seconds later it did, just as her favorite familiar set of blue eyes drew near. Without

thinking about the consequences, Harley found her body moving forward until they had
met at a distance in the middle.

Her palms were sweaty, her knees practically buckled underneath her, and her rules
of

staying away flew out the window as they slammed into each other.

Holy hell, she could finally breathe again.

His soft kisses trailed over her head and down on to her cheeks. The movement tickling

her skin and intriguing her insides at the same time. His hands pulled tight against
her back. His entire body molded into hers and into their hug. She was home in his
arms, and it was as if they’d never been apart.

Then reality hit. She remembered that this wasn’t real. That
they
weren’t real anymore.

He’d left her. He’d gone and messed her up without a real goodbye either. She couldn’t
forget that, not ever.

Could she forgive him?

Maybe…

She stiffened and pulled out of his grasp, but that didn’t hinder his gentle touch.
He

cupped her cheeks. His thumbs brushed electric-like circles under her chin.

“Hi, little beast…” She melted at his words but didn’t physically show it. Now that
she

knew what his nickname for her meant, it made the words all-the-more sweeter.

His dimples were in full force, and she wanted to moan as they melted into his cheeks.

The bigger his smile, the more pronounced they became. Emotions flooded inside of
her, and she had no choice but to run away like the little chicken shit she’d never
stopped being. “I–I’m so sorry, Mason. I thought I could do this, but I can’t.” She
turned as if he was the gasoline to her out of control fire, running away just to
escape his igniting powers.

Tears spilled out of her lids, but she didn’t take the time to wipe them away. She
certainly didn’t bother looking back.

Abigail was easy to find. She stood near her car, giggling and smiling as she chatted
on

her phone. Her smile immediately downturned as Harley stopped at the door, struggling
with the door handle with tears were in full force. Harley’s teeth chattered, but
it wasn’t from the cool damp air.

“Harley, stop! What did he say? I’ll kill him, I swear to God. I will pull his teeth
out and torture him until begs for death.”

Harley slammed her palm against the window of Abigail’s car. Her temper had slowed

down, but then defeat had taken over. Her breath was sucked from her lungs as she
laid her head against the damp door jam. She marveled in the cool feeling against
her heated, angry skin.

Yeah, sure, she was being dramatic, but she was no longer in control of her insides.

“Jesus, woman. Be nice to my car, for freak’s sake!”

The sound of feet pounding the concrete behind her had Abigail growling even more.

Harley heard her spin on her toes, most likely to give their intruder a piece of her
mind and maybe her fist too. Harley didn’t move though. She was too afraid that it
might have been

Mason.

“Please Harley! I need to talk to you! Don’t leave me, Harley, please!” His voice
was a

pitiful plea. He sounded like she felt – broken and exhausted. Could it be he was
hurting like she was, even after all this time?

“Stay away, cheese-ball,” Abigail snarled at him while Harley wiped her tears away.
She

swallowed hard, and determination took hold. She somehow found the strength to turn
around as Abigail let her words fly. “What did you say to my bestie over there? You
made her make-up

run, you dumbass! That’s not the kind of impression you want to make when you see
your ex

after almost five months, especially since you’re still so desperately in love with
her and all.”

The air stilled. Her eyes locked tightly with Mason’s. The hold between them was so

powerful that not even vice grips could tear their gazes apart. Was it true? Did he
actually love her like she loved him?

Abigail took their moment in all her almighty glory and stole it away. “Seriously,
you

two, just cut the crap, get over your shit, and make the hell up! I can’t freaking
take your drama anymore! Ugh!” With her final command, she stomped towards the driver’s
side of her car, and slipped inside.

Mason must have taken her advice to heart because he was there, less than a foot before

Harley, tilting her chin up with his fingers. Harley gulped as she followed through
with his unspoken order. She blinked, once, twice. Jesus, those blue eyes, they were
going to shatter her already defective insides.

“Please, Harley. Talk to me...”

She fisted her hands into the collar of his shirt. She pulled him closer when she
should

have been pushing him away. “What do you want me to say, Mase? You left me, and I
needed

you.”

His eyes narrowed down at her as she spoke. His teeth gritted almost angrily, “I left

Harley because you deserve better than me. I told you a long time ago that I wasn’t
worth the trouble.”

She frowned up at him, and her voice rose, the anger in her own eyes intensified.
“You

should have let me be the judge of that, Mason. I’m a big girl!” Their
ever present chemistry shimmered through her, igniting that very same connection
she was trying to fight against. His hands gripped her waist, his thumbs pressed
against her hip bones, and her hands scratched against his chest. It was a
battle of control, a battle of passion and need, on her end and possibly even his
too.

“You hurt me so badly when I saw you with that girl, Mason! Yeah, okay,
I took too many stupid pills, and I drank too much. I wasn’t trying to off myself!
I just needed to forget for that
one night
.” He nodded, but his baby blues didn’t look convinced. Guess she’d just have to try
harder. “And then when I woke up in that hospital bed the next morning, all I wanted
to do was talk to you and tell you how I felt. I wanted to apologize
for being that stupid, insecure girlfriend. I knew you wouldn’t cheat on me! I
knew how you felt about me and about us, but then that nurse came in with those stupid
flowers…” she growled, her arms and hands hardened in rage at the memory. Pink
roses were no longer her favorite flower. She pushed on with her words.
She had no other choice, “And that letter too. I just ... knew. I knew that you were
gone even before I read the thing, and it hurt … so badly.” She inhaled and then exhaled,
trying to rein in her inner peace. She was fighting the rigidness of her body, needing
the softness to take over.

Surprisingly though, her eyes were still dry. “But I made myself go on. I picked up
my feet, and I took those baby steps every single day, for four and a half
long and agonizing months. Now you’re here, and I have to fight that urge even
harder. It’s killing me because I can’t have you!”

His face brightened. A hopeful glint appeared in his eyes. His hand brushed against
one

of hers, and he grabbed it, interlocking it tightly with heated fingers. She almost
liquefied under his touch, and she finally lost the ability to fight against him.

“God, Har,” he moaned and whispered at the same time while using his other hand to
cup

her cheek. “I’ve missed you so damn much that I couldn’t breathe anymore. I couldn’t
think.”

She watched as his Adams apple bobbed uncontrollably. “Please, I want to make this
right. Let me take you … somewhere.”

Her throat clogged with emotions that she couldn’t pinpoint as just one in particular–

need, want, desire, hope, and that forever kind of love was thrown in there too. Yeah,
she was seventeen, but if this was the only kind of love she ever experienced in her
life, then she’d definitely be okay with that. She nodded a quick agreement to his
question. Sure, she’d go with him, where ever he wanted to go for now, but that was
only a beginning step in their long road ahead.

“Bring her back safely, Mason, otherwise you’ll be answering to me
and
David this

time!” Harley jumped as Abigail’s voice emerged from the inside of her car. She stuck
her

middle finger in the air at them through the sun roof and then waved a goodbye, pulling
away without a second glance back.

“Shall we then?” His lips curled into that one sided smile as he held out an elbow
for her

to grip onto. She hesitated but only for a moment before she nodded and slipped her
fingers through.

If this one last time together was all they would ever have, then she’d sure as hell
take

advantage of it. She’d deal with the consequences of her broken heart later.

* * *

Besides, Harley had always boasted about the place, so taking her somewhere she enjoyed
was a good move. He’d do anything to make her smile, and at the mention of this place,
her grin had practically exploded.

The car ride there was silent, comfortable, just like it always had been with them.
But

then she went and did the unthinkable … she changed his radio station. Now when they
were

together, she’d never even attempted that. She knew better, but obviously his little
beast had grown naughtier over the last few months.

He smiled. He was just fine with naughty.

An all-out war pursued as their hands battled for control over the knobs. Her giggles

rattled the air in turn, rattling his heart. Man how he’d missed that sound. “Fine,
little beast, you win.” She grinned. Those brown eyes of hers were bright, his idea
of awesome perfection.

He swallowed a groan in his throat just as some raspy sounding, soul singing lady
came

over the speakers. She was droning on about rumors, and he couldn’t resist an eye
roll. God help him; no girl had ever taken over control of his radio.

Guess that’s what happened when love was involved.

“So tell me, Har. How have you
really
been?” Mason bit down on his tongue, hating the fact that her smile had instantly
vanished. Christ. He was an idiot, but he had to get the ball rolling if he wanted
to win her back. He’d bet his left ball that’s what he was going to do now.

She picked at something invisible on her dress, and Mason knew from that move alone,

that the subject was raw. Still, he had to know. “Come on now. You know I don’t bite!”
He gave her his best full on hearty smile. She grinned, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
He sighed to himself.

It was a start.

“I kept busy with school and stuff, and I’ve been actually checking into a few colleges

nearby.” She shrugged, still not looking at him. His eyebrows rose. College, huh?
The last he’d heard, Harley was adamant about not going anywhere unless David went
too. He’d get her to talk soon.

Ten minutes later, they were both seated outside an old white building at a small
group of

picnic tables eating in comfortable silence. The rain had stopped completely, and
the clouds had made way for a few tiny peeks of sunshine. Mason watched in awe as
the light reflected off her wavy hair. It sparkled an almost midnight black color
under the sun. He swallowed. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from her. He’d never grow
tired of looking at her, any part of her. Little drops of ice cream had made their
home on her lower lip and chin. He stared mesmerized as she

practically seduced her spoon. Licking, biting, eyes closing with every single bite.
He shuddered.

Damn, she was sexier than ever.

Without even thinking, Mason reached over, running the pad of his thumb over her lips

then bringing the remainder of the cold residue to his own mouth. Her eyes met his.
Heat and questions seemed to be battling for control in their depths. His instincts
were screaming at him to reach over and grab her, to pull her close, to kiss the holy
hell out of her, but Harley cleared her throat, breaking the hypnotized moment when
she looked back down into her cup.

He blew out a slow breath, shaking his head. Jesus, he wanted her so badly … all of
her.

He cleared his own throat. He needed to focus. His desire wasn’t going to be the thing
to

win her back. “So, um, the college thing then… When did that happen? I thought you
weren’t

going to go?”

She bit her lip, shrugging her shoulders. “Times change, Mason. People change too.”

That answer was good enough for him. He was the epitome of
change anymore.

“Well, then, tell me this,” he swallowed hard. Nervousness took hold of his hands,
and

they trembled as he ran them both through his hair. He was about to take a risk here,
but he was done with the small talk. It was time to get down to the base of the problem,
“Why did you have those pills last November, and why did you never tell me you took
them in the first place?”

Her eyes widened. Her jaw clamped shut. She dropped her spoon into her cup as she

practically growled out her next words. “Take me home, Mason. You have
no
right to ask me that question. It’s none of your business anymore.”