He watched me for a few seconds before I watched a dimple pop out on his cheek.
“You’re lying.”
I shook my head at him. “I am not.”
“Yes. You are.” He leaned back in his chair and lifted his arms behind his head. I watched as his biceps bunched and strained under his t-shirt. “You do this thing with your nose when you lie.”
“What thing?” I ran my finger down the bridge of my nose.
“I can’t tell you. I’m too busy.”
“Busy with what?” He was out of his mind.
“Waiting for you to kiss me.” He smirked again, and I decided that it wasn’t just dangerous, it was lethal.
And if I wasn’t careful, I would fall right into his trap.
I stared at him, thinking about how I should handle him, about how he had somehow managed to make me want to do just that. My legs tightened with just the thought of jumping off my chair and wrapping my arms around him.
But reality came to knock some sense back into me when a petite brunette walked up to his side and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. Shoulders that I was stupidly just thinking about. Shoulders I had no business thinking about, but jealousy still struck me regardless if I had a right to feel it or not.
“Hey, Mason. I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.”
He looked up at her with a kind smile, and I told myself that I didn’t care. Because I didn’t. Not really. But there was something about him smiling at her like that that I absolutely hated.
“Yeah. I’m just hanging out with my girl Staci.” He nodded toward me, and I rolled my eyes even though some of the jealousy seemed to slip away.
“Oh.” She pulled her tan arm off his shoulders and assessed me. Her eyes flicked over me, and I could feel the judgment in her eyes as if she was touching me. She took in my face, she glanced over my hair, and then her eyes dropped down my body to my ratty jeans. The look on her face told me that she had seen everything she needed to, and I wasn’t up to par. I couldn’t blame her though. I was silently assessing her too. Assessing the kind of girl Mason typically dated. The kind of girl that was the complete opposite of me.
“Yeah. Oh.” He laid his hand over his heart dramatically, and I pulled my attention away from her to see him staring at me. “Right before you came over here, we were about to have our first kiss.”
“Oh.” She took a step back from him and her eyes flitted around the bar. I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
“It’s going to be the most epic first kiss ever.”
He winked at me, and I bit the inside of my lip to keep from laughing. His eyes were glued to that lip.
“I’m just going to…” Her voice trailed off as she started walking away from us and the awkward situation he just put her in.
“Why don’t we get out of here?” Mason didn’t spare her a glance as he spoke to me.
“And go where?” My stomach tensed at the thought, but I wasn’t sure if it was from hesitation or excitement.
“Let’s grab a bottle of Jack and head down to the lake.”
“And our kiss?” I didn’t even know why I brought it up.
“No worries, darlin’. You’ll get your fucking kiss.”
Mason
I watched her as she sat down on the dock and dipped her toes in the water. The lake was only about a five-minute drive from the bar, but we didn’t talk the whole ride. Instead, she put her feet on my dash and moved them to the music as the wind whipped around her.
I didn’t know what I was expecting with Staci, but all I knew was that I wanted to know more.
She kicked her foot causing the dark water to ripple in the moonlight as I sat down beside her. She had rolled her pant legs up her calf, but she didn’t seem to care that the water was splashing against the fabric.
“Whose turn is it?” She looked over at me, and for a second, I just stared at how beautiful she was.
“It’s mine. I think.”
She nodded her head before she turned toward me and crossed her legs Indian style.
“When did you decide you wanted to be a tattoo artist?”
She blinked up at me and furrowed her brow. “A serious question?”
“All my questions are serious.” I chuckled.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Forever. I at least knew I wanted to be an artist forever. The tattooing didn’t really come along until I figured out…” she hesitated. “Well, until I figured out that your first love isn’t always true love.”
She said it so matter of factly, like she had put so much thought into what true love was, and I desperately wanted to ask her why. Why wasn’t it true love? What happened? But those weren’t questions I asked. Those weren’t questions I cared about.
“My turn.” She grinned, and it was a fake ass grin that didn’t do shit to hide the ghosts that were still clouding her eyes. “Where’s the craziest place you’ve ever had sex?”
“Damn. That’s a hard question.” I rubbed my hand over the back of my neck. “Probably in a movie theater.”
“Really?” Staci’s laugh rang through the night.
“Yes, really. It wasn’t easy, but it can be done. You are looking at a bit of a rebel.”
She shook her head and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
“Do you want to dance?”
“What?” She laughed again. “No.”
“Why not?” I stood from the dock and reached my hand out for her.
“One, we’re on a dock in the middle of nowhere. Two, we’re probably about to be murdered on said dock in the middle of nowhere.” She looked behind her into the pitch-black night. “And three, there is no music.”
“I told you I was a rebel.” I reached my hand closer for her to take. “Plus, I have this thing called a cell phone that plays music.”
She slid her hand into mine as I started the music on my phone.
I pulled her into me as the music broke the calm silence that surrounded us, and her body fit against mine like a glove. She put a hand on my chest, and I was sure it was to keep distance between us.
“Is this how you woo the ladies, Mason Connor? Are you trying to woo me?”
“If I was?” I smiled down at her, and I loved that she barely reached my shoulders.
“Then you would be barking up the wrong tree. I am not so easily won over.”
“Oh yeah?” I cocked an eyebrow. “What would it take to win over the elusive Staci Johnson?”
“What was it that you said earlier? I can’t reveal all my secrets.” She smirked, and my gaze stayed glued to those lips as I fought off the urge to lean down and kiss her.
Instead, I twirled her around in a circle, and she laughed before I pulled her back against my body. We slowly swayed to the beat of the music, and she looked anywhere but at me.
“I have a feeling you don’t reveal any of your secrets.” I pushed a piece of hair off her face, and she quickly ducked her head away from my touch.
“Have you ever been skinny dipping?”
I wasn’t sure if it was the moonlight or my question that lit up her eyes, but either way, I couldn’t stop staring at them.