Chapter 25

MASON

“Just kiss me already,” Lily demands. Her hands move over my stomach, making goosebumps spread all over my skin.

I pause for a moment, considering if it’s a good idea. Of course, I want to have sex with Lily, but I don’t want her to feel pressured.

I’ve been letting her take the lead with how slow or fast we move. Right now, if she wants to just make out or have sex on my bedroom floor, I’ll do whatever she wants.

I don’t waste any more time and press my lips onto hers, slipping my tongue straight into her mouth. Her moan sends all my blood rushing straight to my cock.

I fucking love the way she moans. I just wish my shoulder wasn’t still messed up so I could lift her up and carry her upstairs.

I wrap my good arm around her waist, pulling her body tight against mine. My other hand goes to her cheek.

She barely pulls her lips away for a second before she demands, “Take me to your room.”

I hum a reply before pulling my lips away completely. I thread our fingers together and lead us up the stairs.

Once we’re in my room, she takes off her sweater and top all in one go. She’s left in the sexiest black lace bra I’ve ever seen.

“You are so fucking beautiful,” I tell Lily as I place some soft kisses on her collarbones.

She moans my name, moving her head back and giving me full access to her neck.

I let my hands wander up her sides and back until I reach the hooks of her bra. I unfasten it before sliding the straps down her arms to her elbows.

When she takes her hands off my head, I hear the bra hit the ground. Before I see her perfect tits, I instantly latch my mouth on one of her nipples.

I flick my tongue out, and she gently tugs on my hair.

“I need you, Mason,” she moans.

I release her nipple with a slight pop. “Are you sure you want to do this now?” I ask, really fucking hoping she says yes. But if she’s not ready, I’ll stop right now.

“Yes,” she states, with no hesitation in her voice at all.

I grab her head and deepen the kiss, pulling her body against mine. I groan into her mouth when I feel her tits brush against my chest.

“Lie down,” I whisper, nodding to the stupid fucking air mattress. Once she lies down, I hover over her, putting most of my weight on my left arm.

I rest my forehead against hers and take in her perfect scent.

“You’re so beautiful,” I whisper, looking into her bright blue eyes.

“Make love to me,” she says softly against my lips.

I capture her lips with mine and position myself at her entrance. But I stop before I enter her, giving her one last chance to say no.

“Mason Cooper, if you don’t stop teasing me right now…” she begins to warn me. So, I slowly slide into her as I moan into her hair.

God, she’s perfect.

“Oh fuck, Mason,” Lily moans, arching her back as I start to move slowly. I rest my forehead against hers as she wraps her legs around my waist, deepening how far I’ll go.

“Princess, I don’t think I’m going to last long,” I manage to whisper as she digs her nails into my shoulders. I really don’t know how long I’m going to last.

“Make me come,” she breathes in my ear. I have to stop thrusting, so I don’t come.

I push myself up onto my knees and hook one of her legs over my good arm. I use my other hand to start rubbing her bud.

Lily sits up slightly and grabs my face with both of her hands. She slams our mouths together roughly and moans into my mouth as her body begins shaking underneath mine.

Once I’m sure she’s come, I finally release my load. Total euphoria overcomes my whole body.

My head drops down, and our sweaty foreheads rest against each other as we catch our breath. Then, I gently roll off of her.

Lily snuggles into my side, resting her head on my chest. Her breathing calms down.

“Is this your sore shoulder?” she asks, lifting her head slightly.

“No,” I answer, pushing her head back down, making the cutest giggle escape her lips.

“You haven’t talked about your shoulder much,” she says quietly as she draws pictures on my chest with her finger. “How is it feeling?” Her voice carries a hint of newfound confidence.

“It’s okay. A bit better. I’ve started rehab on it,” I tell her, giving a small shrug. A twinge of pain shoots through me, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it was when I was first injured.

“The cold seems to make it hurt more,” I add, causing her head to shoot up again.

“I knew it,” she exclaims, making me chuckle.

“You did?”

She nods and sits up straight. “I could see you getting sore, and you never said anything,” she states, not in an accusatory tone, but in an “I knew it” kind of way.

“You need to start telling me these things, Mason. I want to hear it,” she says, locking our eyes together.

“You’re my person, Mason. I want to be able to tell you everything and anything, and I want you to tell me everything—like we did before.”

I take in her words and process what she’s saying. She’s right. Before, I could tell her anything; I wanted to tell her everything, just like she would to me. But now, I’m holding things back from her. I guess it’s because I feel guilty that I wasn’t there for her when she needed me, and I don’t want to stress her out more.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her. I really did fuck things up.

“I know you are, and I forgive you,” she answers, leaning forward and gently kissing me.

“But you have to start being normal with me. Because if you don’t, I’m seriously going to lose my mind,” she adds, the most serious look I’ve ever seen on her face.

“I promise,” I say, unable to suppress a smile.

“I’m serious. Stop smiling at me like that.”

My smile grows wider at her, especially when she scrunches her nose up.

“Mason!” she exclaims, gently tapping my chest, trying to act like she’s annoyed but can’t help but laugh.

I grab ahold of her wrist and pull her back down to my chest, which she snuggles right back into.

“Did Brittany tell you about the party tomorrow night?” I ask her, referring to the football team’s New Year’s party, wrapping my finger around the loose ends of her hair.

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to go?” Even though the thought of going to a football party makes me want to die inside, if my princess wants to go, I will go. Although seeing the team makes me want to vomit, I’ll go for her.

“It could be fun. Remember that party when you saved me from the police?” she asks, rolling over to her stomach and resting her chin on my chest.

“Of course I do,” I say. That’s when we decided to start a proper relationship, even if it was a secret.

“Good.” She kisses me again, but when she tries to pull back, I don’t let her. I’ve missed kissing her so much and want to make up for missed time.

***

Pulling up to my apartment ignites a sense of guilt in my stomach. I turn the engine off and take a deep breath. All I can think about are the shitty things I have done here for the past month and a bit.

“Get out of your head, Mason,” Lily states, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“We’re leaving what happened behind, remember?” Her voice is soft and calm. “Tonight, we are going to drink, dance, and bring in the new year with nothing but happiness and good vibes,” she says, her smile wide and infectious.

“And a bit of peace, love, and rock and roll,” I joke, making a peace sign with my fingers.

She sticks her tongue out at me.

“Come on, Liam and Brittany are here already,” I say, nodding toward the apartment where the lights are on.

“Oh, look who finally showed up,” Liam exclaims as we walk through the door, giving me a bro shake. I was worried our relationship would have changed after what I did, but he’s what Brittany would call my “ride or die.” He told me so many times to get my head out of my ass, and when I finally did, he treated me just the same.

Brittany, on the other hand, I swear she’s been meaner to me than ever, and we’ve been friends since the second grade. She has always said exactly what she’s thinking. I’m guessing it’s because she has grown so close to Lily and feels protective over her.

I don’t blame her, though.

“Hurry up and get changed. The Uber will be here in fifteen.” Brittany snaps her fingers at us.

“Yes, ma’am.” Lily laughs, heading straight for my bedroom.

I follow her, trying to remember if I cleaned up before I left home.

I let out a breath of relief when she opens the door, and it’s tidy. The bed is even made. And are those clean sheets? I narrow my eyes, wondering who changed my bed. I know for a fact I didn’t do it because I hate changing the sheets.

“Okay, which dress?” Lily asks, breaking me out of my thoughts by holding up two dresses that look pretty much the exact same to me.

“Ahh, that one,” I say, pointing to the one on the left.

She nods to herself and throws both down on the bed before stripping off to her underwear.

“Actually, I like this one best.” I smile, sitting on the edge of the bed so I can look up at her.

“Yeah? I could always just go like this.” She smiles as she swings her leg over mine so she’s straddling my lap, my hands automatically grabbing her ass.

“No. This,” I say, “is for my eyes only.” I place soft kisses across her collarbone. Moving my hands up her back to her shoulders, I use one finger to trace the outline of her bra and then down her stomach to the top of her panties. My eyes are glued to her face as her eyes close, and she throws her head back.

“Mason,” she says as I move my lips up her neck. “We have to wait.” She moans as I continue kissing her.

I really don’t want to stop.

“Why?” I whisper against her skin.

“Because Brittany is going to be walking through that door in less than five minutes.” She sighs, making me pull back too.

I know she’s right.

Lily climbs off my lap and throws her body backward onto the mattress dramatically, but I don’t blame her. It’s exactly how I feel too, and if Brittany does walk in, who knows how she’d react. I just know she’d never let either of us forget it.

“Zip me up, please?” Lily asks, getting up off my bed and stepping into her dress. As she shows me her back, I’m reminded of the time I unzipped her dress when we went skinny dipping in her pool. I promised her I wouldn’t peek, but of course my eyes were glued to her perfect body.

Once I’ve slowly zipped her up, I place my lips on the spot where her shoulder meets her neck, sending shivers down her body.

“Okay, that is disgustingly cute.” Brittany’s voice announces her presence in my room.

“Come on, lovebirds. We’ve got to go,” she says before looking me up and down.

“Mason, change your clothes, and Lily, run a brush through your hair. We’re leaving in two minutes. I am NOT going to be seen in public with two people looking so horned up,” she states before leaving my room.

“Has she always been this bossy?” Lily asks.

“Since second grade,” I confirm.