He pushes back the hood and his curls fall onto his forehead, above his electric green eyes.
How is he making the most casual outfit possible look so hot?
“That was fast,” I say faintly.
“I live two streets over.” He half-smiles as I open the door wider for him to come inside.
“Sooo…” I draw out as we sit next to each other at the counter, the pepperoni pizza between us.
“You feeling any better?” he asks, grabbing a slice.
“Yeah,” I answer honestly. Crying and sleep seemed to help.
“I’m more angry than sad now,” I add, taking a bite of my slice.
“You seemed pretty mad before.” He smiles down at me.
He has a nice smile, but it doesn’t reach his beautiful eyes.
“You seemed…sad,” I say.
“Is there something you want to talk about?”
“I’d rather just be distracted.” He sighs. He looks tired, and not just because it’s after midnight.
“Do you want to go swimming?” I ask, standing up as I finish my slice of pizza.
“I have a pool.”
“I didn’t bring swim trunks. Though you already know that’s not a problem for me,” he says with a grin.
“No, I guess it’s not…” I say, biting my lip nervously.
“So how about it, Princess?”
“Um… I’ve never been skinny-dipping,” I blurt, biting my lip nervously.
“You haven’t?” He gapes at me.
“All my friends have, but Olly always said it would make me seem like a slut,” I mumble, feeling myself blush.
“He’s an idiot.” Mason snorts, rolling his eyes.
“Come on then, princess.” He smiles, standing up.
“A-are you serious?” I ask, looking at him with wide eyes.
“I promise I won’t look.” He chuckles.
“Let’s live a little.”
Once we’re outside standing at the edge of the pool, my nerves nearly get the better of me.
“You really won’t look?”
“I made a promise, didn’t I?”
“You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” I add, turning my head to look at him.
“What, say I went skinny-dipping with someone from Ridgewood? That’d be social suicide, and I actually want to enjoy my senior year.”
I take a deep breath, closing my eyes as I reach for the zipper on the back of my dress.
I struggle to reach it and huff. I’m about to just pull it over my head, but instead I feel Mason’s fingers brush my bare skin softly, then he slowly unzips my dress.
I let it drop to the ground and pool at my feet. Mason’s hands touch the middle of my back, giving me goosebumps, then I realize he’s undoing my barely-there strapless bra.
Once my bra has joined my dress, I take another deep breath and slide my panties off.
I look to my left to be greeted by Mason’s bare, chiseled chest. And those abs… What kind of killer workout routine does he have?
He must feel my eyes on him, because he chuckles.
“You’re looking.”
My eyes shoot back up to his face as my own turns red as a tomato.
“I never promised not to.”
“Touch?.” True to his word, his eyes are focused on the pool in front of us, but his smile finally looks real.
“Ready, princess?” he asks.
“Ready,” I say and grab his hand.
“Three, two, one,” he counts down quietly before we jump into the cool water.
LILY
The moonlight reflects on the pool’s surface and the water is warm against my skin.
“So, how does it feel doing something that Kingsley never let you do?” Mason asks. He’s floating a few feet away, his curly hair clinging to his forehead.
“Good,” I say. Though that’s actually an understatement.
Being naked in a pool with a hot boy who I one hundred percent should not be talking to in the first place is the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in months.
“What else wouldn’t Kingsley let you do?” he asks.
“It’s stupid, but I always wanted to climb the water tower,” I say with a small laugh.
“You’ve never climbed the water tower?” he asks, drifting closer to me.
“What was his excuse for that?”
“That it’s immature and pointless,” I say as I lean against the side of the pool.
“The more you talk about him, the dumber I think he is,” Mason says.
“And I already thought he was pretty dumb.”
He’s only a couple feet away from me now.
Did he just try to sneak a peek? I’m surprised to find I don’t mind.
“Guess he’s not holding me back anymore,” I say, feeling both happy and sad about that.
“I finally have my freedom, but the summer’s almost over.”
“We still have a month left of summer.”
“Think I can pack everything he wouldn’t let me do into one month?” I ask.
“Just how long is this list?” he says with a laugh.
He leans against the wall next to me.
His shoulder brushes mine, sending an electric shock through my body.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.