When Its Least Expected (43 page)

“Fine. One more, but that’s it, you hear me? I don’t see why it’s such a big deal
anyways.

I’m still trying to save up a little money to get a better place eventually, so staying
on campus temporarily isn’t such a bad idea, ya know?” He grabbed her hand, obviously
already knowing that he’d won the battle. His lopsided grin said it all. Resigned,
Harley let him take charge.

“You and your whining, little beast. What am I going to do with you?”

“You’re not going to do a damn thing with me, Mason,” she grinned at him, her eyes
lit

with naughtiness. “Except for maybe a massage tonight…”

He grinned back at her, yanking her closer into his side. His voice, raspy and low,

whispered into her ear, “How about a full on body massage … sans clothes … with that
extra

special lotion that you—”

“Mason, seriously shut up! We’re in public!”

Her face enflamed, the heat poured through her like liquid fire. She slapped him on
the

arm. But then he stopped her, throwing his own arm out, only to push her back against
a brick wall that sat off to their right. He grabbed her hands, pinning them above
her head. His mouth hovered over hers. His lips brushed the corners of her mouth.
Harley’s stomach erupted with those all too familiar butterflies, and she licked her
lips in anticipation … and preparation.

“I don’t care where we are, or who we’re with, little beast. You. Are. Always. Mine,
and

if I wanna talk dirty to you, then I will…”

His mouth descended onto hers, and she succumbed to his pressure, feeling protected,

worshiped and sexy, all at the same time. One hand moved to her waist, slipping under
the edges of her tank top, his other gripped both her hands in a tight hold. She could
have moved away, easily, but she didn’t want to. Harley swore to all that was holy,
she’d never grow tired of the way this boy made her feel.

“Are you done complaining, Har? ‘Because I can still try to convince you…” he smirked,

pulling away.

She blinked and bit her lip, “God, Mase, if you keep trying to convince me, then we’ll

never make it to the next apartment.” She studied his darkening eyes, practically
losing herself inside their depths.

She was so lucky.
They
were so lucky.

“Well, I suppose that will have to do for now then.” He winked and pulled her away
from

the wall. Their passionate gazes never ceased, even as the sound of Harley’s cell
phone chirped from her pocket.

She dug the annoying old thing out, struggling to keep her hands from shaking too
hard.

It was Abigail, and just thinking about talking to her had Harley’s pulse racing,
but for an all-together different reason.

“Hey, hot mama, what’s happening?” Harley’s voice shook as she moved away from the

wall. Mason grabbed her hand, stealing her away with him, obviously done with the
lesson for the day. Too bad she was already ready for another one.

“Hey, Har! How’s the apartment shopping going?”

“Crappy! I’d rather live on the beach with the bums than deal with this. Anyways,
what’s

up?”

“I visited your brother today!” David gossip, just like she’d figured. Harley couldn’t

blame her best friend. She was still so desperately in love with David. Harley could
totally relate to that feeling. “He said the physical therapist seems to think that
he’ll be able to try getting up on his prosthetic tomorrow without crutches if he
wanted too. Isn’t that awesome?” Harley

smiled at the enthusiasm in Abigail’s voice. The girl was David’s second number one

cheerleader, with Harley being the first. Now that Harley was here in Santa Cruz though,
she was more than happy to hand her duties down to the one other person who could
most likely succeed at getting her brother out of his funk.

“Yeah, that is great! I talked to him earlier this morning. He sounded as excited
as his

broody butt could get about it.”

“I told him he had to take me dancing soon. Of course he laughed in my face. Still

though, it was a start, right?” Harley blew out a silent breath. If only her brother
could get his shit straight. They needed each other. They were the salt to each other’s
pepper. As stupid as that sounded, it was true.

Harley decided a subject change was in order. David talk always brought Abigail down.

“Are you still coming here for the fourth then? Mason’s buddies are having that big
shindig, and I want you to be here, badly.”

“Hell yes, I’ll be there. Maybe I’ll find my own surfer boy! Either that, or I’ll
just find a couple of flingers instead.” Harley snorted out a laugh in response.
Flingers. Yeah, they were Abigail’s specialty nowadays.

Her best friend’s obsession with boys was getting to be a little much. Mason stared
over

at her in question with a single raised eye brow, but she waved him away. It was
a
do not even
bother asking
kind of conversation.

“Alright
player
, I’ve gotta jet. We just got to apartment number seven. Hopefully I can get Mason
to free me soon.” He waggled his eye brows as he stared back at her. Yeah, he was
a double innuendo kind of guy,
her
double innuendo guy.

“Alright girl, I’ll call you later.”

“Sounds perfect, Abs. Love ya!”

“Love you too, Har.”

She hung up, right as Mason pulled her inside the lobby of an apartment complex so

beautiful that it almost made her want to wear a regal gown before entering. She’d
never be able to afford this place! Why was he teasing her? And it had an elevator?
A freaking elevator
? What the hell?

“What are we doing here, Mase? This place is amazingly awesome, but the price? Not
so

awesome, I’m sure.” He only grinned at her, nodding her along as they stepped into
the brightly lit hall.

The large floor to ceiling windows in the stairwell alone were enough of a reason
to take

Harley’s breath away. Seeing the Pacific Ocean from that angle every day was definitely
an

incentive to keep looking deeper into the apartment itself. Maybe, just maybe if Harley
gave up food and basic life necessities for a while, she could afford a mansion of
an apartment like this one.

“Mason Daniel, you are the biggest tease in the history of mankind, you do know that,

right?” She frowned up at him as they stood side by side before a large ornate wooden
door. She read the words to herself,
apartment two nineteen.
Oh what glory awaited them behind
that
door?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, little beast!” She groaned. He had the
audacity

to grin at her …
grin
at her. Oh, he was in for it.

“Seriously, I could never afford a place like this. You
know
my budget, and this,” she waved her hands ahead. “Obviously isn’t in it.”

Harley folded her arms across her chest. She knew she was being dramatic, but so was

Mason in a way.

“It doesn’t hurt to get ideas though, right? Come on, I think the door might even
be open.

Let’s just take a look around and see what you think.” Yeah, so she
was
a little curious.

Harley’s eyes widened and she gasped as they stepped over the threshold. Immediately,

her attention was drawn towards the back wall. It was made up of nothing but glass
– one giant sized window. The sheer valence hanging over the top did little to hinder
the view either. The color might have been yellow or something in that scheme, but
she was too enthralled with the ocean view to care otherwise. Wait. No, absolutely
not. She could
not
get attached to a freaking apartment. It wasn’t hers. It never would be either.

Off to their left sat a kitchen that was small, but equally as beautiful. Granite
counter tops covered dark, cherry cabinets, and a large sky light lit the room with
the warmth of the sunshine.

She could almost see herself studying the stars from underneath it at night. Her mouth
fell open, her hands twitched with excitement at her side. Oh the fun she could have
in this place.

It was an absolute work of art.

“What are you laughing at, surfer boy? I’ve never been in a place where there was
an

actual window in the roof of the kitchen before. I’m just … a little impressed, so
don’t hate.” He walked up behind her chuckling as he wrapped both of his arms around
her waist. He laid his chin on top of her head and gave her sides a gentle squeeze.
Harley leaned back into him,

interlocking her fingers on top of his as she pulled them to her stomach.

A second later she stiffened, looking back over her shoulder at him. What was he up
to?

“What’s wrong, Har?” he questioned. His mouth spread into a tight line as if he was

struggling to hide a smile.

“Um, why are we in this place without the realtor? You do know that this is considered

breaking and entering, right, Mase?” His grin turned on, and he let that smile shine.
“Oh no, what the hell did you do?”

“Calm down, little beast. There won’t be a realtor here today.”

“Sure there will be. There’s always at least a landlord present when you go to look
at an

apartment.” He grinned down at her; his eyes were teasing and knowing. She blinked
several

times, just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

“Shit, Mase. I don’t want a criminal record. I’ll never get a good job with jail time
under my belt.”

“God, Har. You can be so dense sometimes, woman. The reason there is nobody here

today is because the place has already been rented out.”

“Oh sweet Jesus, Mason. You didn’t have to commit a felony just to find me a good
view

of the ocean!” Grabbing her wristlet tight within her fingers, Harley darted for the
door. Mason’s laughter filled the room. Harley fumed. She saw nothing funny about
the situation.

“Harley, take a look around okay? I promise ... you won’t get into trouble.”

“Well if I do, then
you
are going to take the blame for this one, got it?” She poked a finger in his face,
jaw clenched as she moved from room to room.

Exploring wasn’t a crime, right?

The first room was small with wood floors and a lot of fresh white paint, the perfect

palette. The second bedroom was much bigger, but that’s not what surprised her. On
the wall, directly catty corner from the floor to ceiling window was a large ten by
fourteen picture frame with a picture in it.

A picture of Harley and Mason as a matter of fact.

What. The. Hell?

“Do you like it, little beast?”

“Yes, Mason, it’s beautiful,” she smiled, moving closer to run her finger along the
glass.

“But who in their right mind would want
our
picture hanging on the wall of their bedroom?”

“Come on, Harley. When in the hell did you turn so blonde?”

“Watch it, pal,” she warned with a teasing snarl. She shrieked as he grabbed hold
of her

shirt, pulling her close to his front. His hands were on her hips, and his smile was,
as always, wide.

He gestured towards the picture with his finger. “
I
put that picture up there, seeing as though this is going to be
our
apartment.”

What? What did he just say? No. No way. That would mean to tease such a thing.

“
Our
apartment? Like … you want to move in together? Here?” she squeaked.

“I’m
saying
that I put the deposit and the first and last month’s rent down on this place just
last night. For us, Harley.”

She stuttered, but nothing actually came out of her opened mouth. She pressed her
fingers

to her lips as her eyes drifted between the picture and Mason’s face.

“Talk to me, Har. I thought you’d like this!” Mason’s voice cracked. It was the only
thing

that broke through her walls of disbelief.

“Why in the
hell
did you make me go to all those awful places then, you …you …

absolutely wonderful man, you!”

Harley shook her head. No longer was she able to contain herself. It was time for
the

biggest thank you in the history of all thank-yous. With a quick leap, she was in
his welcoming arms, wrapping both of her legs around his waist, sealing the perfect
moment with a long, hard, and utterly sappy kiss. It was the kind of kiss that would
surely melt her entire body if she wasn’t careful.

“So, you’ll do it then?” He stammered as she pulled back, their breathing was beyond

labored.

She leaned back even more to look down at him fully, not a bit of physical strain

appeared in his eyes as he continued to hold her up against his body. She cupped his
face

between the palms of her trembling hands.

“Do
what
exactly because I can think of all sorts of
things
that I want to do with you right now. You’re going to have to be a bit more specific
with me here...” She tapped him on his nose with her fingertip.

He licked his upper lip, his eyes refocused down on her mouth again. She shivered,

gripping the nape of his neck to pull him closer.

And then he kissed her again.

Her entire being was opened in that moment. Her mind was set free, all the pain and

regret and guilt she had once been filled with, settled into a tiny part of her heart;
the part that would serve as a reminder of what her life had been like once before.
The part that she would never forget, but would finally be able to store tightly away.
The rest of her was filled with love

… the love she had for this boy. The boy who kissed her like she was truly meant to
be kissed.

Their kiss spoke of completion. It spoke of togetherness. It spoke of fire and lust.
But

most of all, it spoke of pure and simple love. The kind of love that nobody expected
to find, but gripped the hell out of if they were lucky enough to experience it.