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“Do you feel pressure with Liam?” Sarah asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

“No,” I answered quickly. “But I was friends with Liam before—before we started doing whatever it is we’re doing now.” Damn. I was feeling all kinds of confused about Liam and Mason. What was I doing with each of them?

Bree let out a big sigh. “All I’m saying is to keep in mind, while talking to Mason might be fun, it sounds like he has a life on the other side of the country. You have a life here. The two of you have never actually met. It’s more like a pen pal situation. I mean, what are the chances of something actually coming from it?”

I felt an irrational surge of anger flood through me at Bree’s words. “We’re not elementary school pen pals! Why would you say something like that?” I snapped at her.

“Why are you getting upset about it?” she shot back defensively.

“Don’t turn your question around on me, Bree!” I stood up quickly and snatched up my bag of popcorn.

“I’m just trying to help you see the reality of the situation!”

I spun around to face Bree as she remained seated on the sofa. “Again, why would you say that? You’re being really rude right now.” My voice clearly gave away my anger. I clutched the folded-down top of my bag of popcorn so tightly the knuckles on my hand started to turn white.

Why was I getting so upset and defensive about Mason? Weren’t we really just two people writing to each other? Or was it something more? Did I want it to be something more? It felt like the day had been full of nothing but questions…questions I didn’t have any answers to.

Bree remained seated on the sofa as I stood over her. We’d locked eyes, neither one of us willing to look away first. “Both of you need to stop before you say something you don’t mean,” Sarah said firmly from the other side of the sofa.

I tore my eyes away from Bree and looked over at Sarah. “You’re right. I’m going to bed. Good night to both of you.” Without another word, I walked around the sofa, down the hall, and into my room. After I shut the door behind me, I quickly changed into my pajamas, brushed my teeth, and climbed into bed. My mind continued to swim with questions about Liam and Mason as I finally drifted to sleep.

That night I dreamed of walking on a beach. It was a different beach from the one Liam and I had been to earlier that day. In my dream, the warm sun shone down on me while I watched the waves of the clear blue water gently washing up against the white sand of the shore.

A man came up behind me and silently wrapped his arms around me as he kissed my bare shoulder. I was incredibly happy to see him and his embrace felt warm and familiar. I turned to kiss him and when our lips collided it was the kind of kiss you felt all the way down to your toes.

When we finally pulled apart for the first time, I noticed the man’s face was completely blurry and I couldn’t make out a single feature. I reached out to touch his face, only my hand was met with nothing. I looked at him, confused for a moment as to who he could be and why I felt the way I did with him. The feelings of confusion quickly melted away and were replaced by feelings of happiness and longing for his lips to be on mine again.

Even in my dream, deep down, I knew exactly who the man was and why I couldn’t see his face or touch him.

Chapter 8

Hot and Bothered

“IF YOU COULD VACATION anywhere, where would it be?”

I smiled as I looked at my phone. It had been a few days since Mason and I’d started texting again and we’d picked up right where we’d left off, including with our silly random question game. “Somewhere warm with sandy beaches and clear water you could swim in,” I wrote back. I smiled as the idea of a warm sandy beach made me think of my dream from a few nights before.

“That sounds amazing. What would you do there?” Mason asked.

I smirked as I thought of the kiss on the beach from my dream. “Spend lots of time sitting on the beach doing nothing other than enjoying the sun. What about you? Where would you go?” I wrote back.

I was waiting in line at the coffee shop between my morning classes. Things had been a little tense at our apartment since the night Bree and I’d snapped at each other about Mason. My next class was with Sarah and I wanted to bring her a peace offering in the form of a mocha with extra whipped cream. By the time I was done placing my order, I’d noticed Mason still hadn’t responded. “Hey…where did you go?” I typed as I stepped to the side and waited for my coffee drinks.

“Sorry. Just got really distracted by images of you on the beach with the sun glistening off your skin after swimming.”

I raised an eyebrow. Not what I’d expected at all. “How can you have visions of me when you have no idea what I look like?” I may have been setting myself up with the question, but it seemed like the next obvious part of the conversation.

“I’m very creative.” Mason’s response made me feel a little anxious. I chewed on my bottom lip as I tried to figure out exactly how to respond. “You still there? Did I say something wrong?”

I chewed my lip a little more and decided to just put what I was thinking into words. “What if the real me doesn’t measure up to your fantasy version?” I quickly pushed send.

“What do you mean?”

I sighed. “What if I don’t look anything like the fantasy version you have of me on the beach?”

I was surprised with how quickly Mason responded. “Well, that’s a total nonissue. It doesn’t matter what the fantasy version of you looks like, she’ll never be as amazing as real-life you.”

“Why is that?” I could feel my heart race and my palms sweat as I fired off my question. I mean, the only version of me he knew was from exchanging text messages. While it was a great way to get to know each other, I also realized there was a whole lot more to a person than what could be conveyed in a text.

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