Page 87 of Promise Me Not

She frowns at first, then a blinding fucking smile curves her lips.

She laughs, then reaches over, taking it from my outstretched hand as if this is exactly what she wanted in this exact second. Her camera, to capture whatever beauty she saw through her eyes out in that water.

Before Payton pulls away, her fingers wrap around mine, and she gives a little squeeze.

I feel it in my chest.

In my core.

In that place in the back of my mind that’s begging for this to turn into something so much more.

She is the only beauty I see.

The ending I want.

I swallow as she lifts from her seat, moving closer to the water, and I watch her from afar.

When she finally comes back, she takes the seat beside me rather than across, her big blue eyes lighter than before and locked on mine. “Thank you, Mason.” She peeks up at me, a glow in her crystal-blue eyes that keeps getting brighter. She lifts the camera, taking a photo of the two of us, then says, “This was exactly what I needed.”

Do you think you could ever needme?

Payton

It’sa little after midnight when I’m woken by a harsh thump.

I jolt upright, the movement so quick I have to close my eyes to fight off a wave of nausea, and I notice the light shining through the jack-and-jill bathroom and into my temporary room.

Mason had decided to take Cameron’s room, so when he insisted I take Ari’s, the room on the other side of that connecting bathroom, I had to agree.

I sit quietly, waiting to see if maybe he just dropped something and fell back asleep, but then the sound of running water hits me, and I climb from the bed, moving closer.

My stomach clenches unexpectedly, and it only seems to get worse with each step. Once outside the bathroom, something has my feet coming to a complete stop.

It must be after midnight by now, seeing as we didn’t turn off the movie until after ten.

Why is he up?

Jesus, Payton, he probably just had to pee.

Shaking my head, I spin on my heels, but then I hear something.

Is the shower on?

Did he fall?

I lean closer, straining to listen beyond the spray, and what I latch on to is the sound of labored breaths. They’re harsh, hurried exhales. I take another step, just one away from seeing inside, when a low groan sounds, and my feet freeze in the entryway.

Another groan.

My skin prickles, goose bumps washing across my flesh and making me nervous. There’s no way he’s?—

“Fuck,” Mason grunts, and I jolt when there’s another thud on the other side of the wall.

Like his head has fallen back against it, as if the feelings he’s feeling are suddenly too much for him to hold it up. As if he’s overcome…

Oh my god, he is, isn’t he?

Heat explodes in my core, and my eyes fly wide with shock, the sensation startling but…not unpleasantorunwelcome.

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