Page 6 of Mason Wilder
She wished she could, but it took all her strength just to find her voice. “Just don’t take her to your room. Please, Mason,” she begged.
He tried to read her face and her eyes, confusion causing his brows to pinch together and his forehead to crease. He still didn’t get it. Why couldn’t he just figure it out? He was smart and sharp and he knew her so well.
Her vision blurred as the tears welled on her lower lids and threatened to fall. Emotion clogged her throat reducing her voice to a shaky whisper. “She’s not the one for you.”
Mason’s mouth pulled back into a smile and his expression grew lighthearted. “Don’t worry about it, Tess. We’re not getting married. I’ll probably never see her again after tonight.” He ran his hands down her arms. “Just give me an hour or so and we’ll talk. I promise.”
Her heart deflated as she saw her lifelong dream crushed, along with her heart. She hung her head with despair, too distraught to look at him. “Forget it.”
“No. I’ll give you a call in a little while and we’ll talk.”
Her inner voice kept urging her to tell him how she felt, but she couldn’t do it. Not in a hallway surrounded by fifty people. She’d tell him afterwards. Afterwards. The idea that he was about to sleep with someone else made her queasy, and she felt the blood rush to her feet.
She’d seen him with girls before. He’d had girlfriends for short periods in the past. Not in a long time, though, and another flashback from when she was seven or eight years old suddenly passed through her head. Mason had been about 14 and on his way to the movies with a girl he had been on a few dates with. Tessa had pouted and stuck out her bottom lip because she wanted to see the movie too, but, really, she was just jealous. He hadn’t even made it to the door before he turned around and took her by the hand and brought her to the movies with them. He let her tag along on his date without the slightest hesitation. He’d bought her popcorn and a soda and let her sit in between himself and his date. She had pretended that the girl wasn’t with them and she was the one on the date with Mason that day. It left her head inflated for a week, and that feeling infiltrated her heart and eased some of her pain right now. “Go,” she told him after a long pause.
His furrowed brow questioned her dismissal. “Are you sure?”
No. She wasn’t sure about anything right now. This was supposed to be their night – a night she had planned for since they booked this tour over a year ago and one she’d been waiting for her entire life. She closed her eyes for a long moment, hating the situation and berating herself for not getting to the party sooner, before he met this girl.
“Tessa, what’s wrong?”
“I can’t talk about it now.”
He looked back at the girl for a moment, apprehensive about what to do, but made no move to join her.It didn’t matter. The moment had been ruined. She missed her opportunity. Exasperated, she waved him away. “Go. I’ll talk to you another time.
“Are you sure.”
Tessa nodded, unable to speak around the ball of emotion in her throat.
He let out a deep breath and his shoulders slumped. “OK.” The elevator dinged and he walked toward it. He looked back over his shoulder at her for a brief second before turning away again.
Tessa watched Big Boobs take his arm and nuzzle his neck the moment they were on the elevator, but Mason wasn’t paying attention to her. He was looking at Tessa. Their eyes were glued on one another.I love you Mason!her inner voice screamed.Can’t you see that?She tried to burn it into his brain with mental telepathy. There was a shift in his eyes as if he understood, and she sucked in a breath. Then the doors closed, crushing her heart. She ran to the elevator. “Mason!” But it was too late. He was gone. A sob left her throat and she sunk to her knees, devoid of strength. Embarrassed, she buried her face in her hands while she sobbed and hoped no one noticed her. This was so fucked up. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She had a plan. She should have stuck to it. Now how was she supposed to tell him?
After a few minutes, she steadied her emotions with a few deep breaths, and she got to her feet, wiping her face. She was still too shaky on her legs to go anywhere so she sat on the bench across from the bank of elevators and stared at the floor. She pushed her fingers through her hair and groaned as fresh tears filled her eyes, and she buried her face in her hands again.
A chime signaled that the elevator had returned to the ground floor, and she lifted her eyes just as the doors opened. “Mason.” Big Boobs was still with him, but no longer hanging on his arm and wearing an annoyed scowl on her face. Then the girl took off.
A small gasp escaped Tessa as she locked eyes with Mason and every muscle in her body tensed. Mason stepped off the elevator, never averting his gaze, and approached her. He squatted in front of her, his usual cheerful face clouded with worry and concern. He wiped his thumb across her cheek and looked at the droplet he lifted.
“What are you doing here, Mason?” she whispered with disbelief.
“I couldn’t leave you like this. Something is wrong.” He took her arm and led her onto the elevator. “C’mon. Let’s go upstairs and talk about it.”
This is it, she told herself on the elevator ride. Finally. Her heart had been on hold for so long while she waited for the right time, gearing up for the day she could confess her feelings to Mason. It would all be over, out in the open, in a few minutes. It was a relief and terrifying at the same time. Her gaze moved from the floor of the elevator to Mason, who was staring at her intently while she was lost inside her head. She swallowed loudly, nerves tickling the back of her neck.
The elevator doors slid open, and she followed him down the hall. She bit her lip while he flashed his card key across the scanner, and they both entered the room.
“Tell me what happened,” Mason insisted.
As he waited for her to speak, she listened to her heart pounding in her ears. It was as if she was listening to a time bomb, knowing that one of those ticks would ultimately result in an explosion that would change their lives. She counted down to the blast off. Three. Two. One. Silence. Instead of blurting out how she felt, she threw her arms around him and kissed him.
She felt his surprise. His body jerked, and it took a moment before his hands landed apprehensively on her upper arms, but his mouth puckered in return. Until her lips parted and she tried to deepen the kiss.
He jumped back and abruptly pulled away, his eyes wide with shock. His mouth hung open, and he blinked rapidly while his brows skyrocketed. “Tessa! What the fuck are you doing?”
She exhaled all the stress and tension inside of her and proclaimed her stake in his life. “I’m the one, Mason. It’s me. I’m the one you should be with.”
“What are you talking about?” A puzzled expression creased his brow, and he cocked his head to the side. “Is this some kind of joke?”
