Louder Than Words (Fall For Me) (8 page)

CHAPTER 23

“Don’t freak out, but I’m going to
kiss you,” I whispered to Mason as we slow danced close and comfy at Becca’s
party.

It was because of Ian (really!). He
kept smirking at me, and when I first got to the party, he was all “This is
your
‘date’
?” He breathed out a
cackle. “Isn’t he your
brother?
”

“Actually, no,” I told Ian, completely
honest.

But yeah, things weren’t going as
smoothly—or convincingly—as they had at Kirstin’s party for Clark …
almost a year ago.
Of course, that had a lot to do with the
fact Kirstin and Clark hadn’t gone to our school, and everyone at Becca’s party
did.

Still, I refused to let that little
fact get in the way of my hopeless, stupid pride. I was on a (fake) date, dang
it!! And everyone was going to believe it!! (Well, believe the date part.)

So, by the hand, I led Mason away
from cackling Ian and over to where everyone was dancing. And
then
I proceeded to act like I was
totally in love (playing with Mason’s soft, gorgeous hair and snuggling up to
him close, close, close—totally breathing him in). Only, Ian didn’t seem
to be buying it. He just kept watching me, with that stupid smirk on his face.

Well, I wanted to shock that smirk
right off him—show him Mason wasn’t my brother doing me a favor. That he
was my date. And we were totally hot for each other, and I was
glad
I didn’t get to go over Justin’s
and hang out in his fancy
indoor
hot
tub and play pool while we rocked to his awesome surround sound.

I whispered to Mason, “I mean,
really
kiss you—on the
mouth.”

I hadn’t explained to Mason about Ian—none
of it—but I was pretty sure Mason got the gist of what was going on from Ian’s
cackling at the door. Plus, Mason just knows things. He picks up on details
that others miss—like reality and stuff.

Mason gave a soft laugh when I
whispered to him my kiss warning. His lips quirked an amused grin and he
whispered back, “I think I can handle it.”

Yeah, I was pretty sure he could.
After all, he had random hockey groupies sticking their tongues down his throat
on a nightly basis. He didn’t actually take mackin’ too seriously.
Or seriously at all.
Making out was like breathing to
him—just something he did without giving it a second thought.

So, though in the very, very back
of my mind I remembered what happened the last time I kissed Mason—that
it totally screwed up our relationship—I knew that wouldn’t really be a problem
this time. First of all, Mason and I no longer had much of a relationship
anymore to screw up, and second of all, my high-school-girl hearts-and-candy
kiss would in no way make a blip on Mason’s radar or compare to his usual
nightly make-outs.

So, it seemed the kiss wouldn’t
really mean anything to
Mason
. It would just be a
whimsical, random event—his usual—but this time, just with a side
of favor.

I took a deep breath,
then
put my hands on either side of his whiskery (gorgeous)
face. His eyes twinkled at that, like it was hilarious that I was so nervous,
and it seemed he didn’t really think I would go through with it—kissing
him in front of the whole school, practically … just to prove a point to a
stupid boy that I didn’t even care about. In all honesty, Mason didn’t seem to
really, truly think I’d really go through with it.

I swallowed,
then
whispered, “Here goes.”

He breathed out another soft laugh.
“Okay.”

His little puff of laugh warmed my
lips and made me giddy. Was I really going to do this? Kiss Mason again? The last
time had caused such turmoil to my heart … and he hadn’t even kissed me back!

Still, the thought of him actually
doing it—of putting his big, strong, Mason arms around me and actually
kissing
me back this time—made my
insides ignite … even if the kiss was just for show. Because really and
truly—I needed it to just be for show.
Something casual
and light and breezy.
I couldn’t handle a real kiss from Mason. I knew
that. But this would be fun. Exciting.
A fake kiss.
It
would actually be perfect—it wouldn’t change things between us. It would
just be … awesome.

With an excited shiver, I realized
this was what I’d been craving—a moment exactly like this. One where I
could kiss Mason but it wouldn’t have to mean anything.

Trembling, I closed my eyes and
gently, tentatively pressed my lips against Mason’s. Heard him groan softly
against my lips.
Mmm
.

Heaven
.

I felt his intake of breath. Then
his large hands tangled in my hair as his hot, tantalizing mouth responded to
mine—first cautiously, then like a tidal wave.

Purrr!!!

Oh, man! Our warm, timid,
oh-so-succulent kiss ignited in a flash of sparks—so fast and hot!!!
Growing from delightfully pleasant to all-consuming passion in a matter of
seconds. Growing steamy and fast and powerful, making my pulse skyrocket and my
body melt into a puddle.

Whoa!!

This
is
MASON
kissing me!!!

The world spun and my heart
yearned.

I couldn’t get over it—
This is Mason’s kiss. Holy smokes!!

It was blowing my mind.

Just having him so close, his mouth
on mine, was
making
my body shiver with excitement. But his kiss—holy smokes!!!
My skin was on fire.

Yet it went on.
Mason’s
fervent kiss—giving me a dizzy, passionate, heart-stopping thrill.
I could feel it all the way down my body—even in my knees. Yes, I could feel
his masterful, succulent kiss in my knees! That’s how awesome it was. It made
my
knees
weak and wobbly. Like if he
wasn’t holding me (so tight!!!) I’d topple to the ground.

But he
was
holding me so tight!!!

That realization had me on fire,
and I still couldn’t fully believe it was really happening—Mason was
kissing me—
really
kissing me—so hungry and possessive. It was like my dreams—exactly
like them. Just as steamy and seductive and … perfect.

But, sigh … it was all for show.

As I breathlessly
(reluctantly) started to pull away from him, Mason seemed to think we should
give stupid, smirking Ian a bigger, better
production
.
Apparently. ‘Cause—shock!
!
—
instead
of letting me go as I’d expected,
he leaned deeper into
the kiss with tiny growl, continuing to explore my mouth with his hot velvet
tongue, little moans escaping from him that were driving me wild.

To my thrilled
surprise, Mason’s
breathing was as fast as the pounding of my thundering
heart, yet he gently held my head and deepened the kiss even further. Every
part of me came alive. His hands swept into my hair, and suddenly we were
kissing as though there was no tomorrow.

This was
Mason
.
Big, tough Mason—with has hands in my hair and his tongue in my mouth and
his lips devouring mine.

It rocked my entire planet.

H
is hot, ravenous kisses were
seducing me. Coaxing me into a twirling, spinning, tilting world that only
consisted of him. There was no longer a party or an Ian, or a Justin with a
fancy hot tub.

There was only Mason and his hot,
yummy mouth and his heart-exploding kiss. That was all there was. All I wanted.

When we finally pulled away, Mason
had to hold me up. We stood frozen and breathless, staring into each other’s
eyes as the world came back—the party and Ian and the silly reason we had
kissed. Mason wasn’t smiling or teasing anymore. Not like I expected. He was
flushed. And looked breathless—and as amazed as I felt.

“
Whoa
, that was—” I didn’t get to finish whatever I was sputtering—not
that I knew how I was going to finish the sentence anyway. I was just saying
words to say something because there was this thick impassioned silence hovering
between us. My heart was pounding way too hard and fast, leaving me feeling the
need to fill the charged moment with meaningless words.

But Becca came bouncing up to us
all fluttering and chirping. “Wow! You guys made us all need to go home and
take ice-cold showers. Ha!” She laughed giving me little pats on the back like
I was her idol for putting on such a salivating show. (Normally I don’t even
kiss guys in front of people—not even little pecks.) She laughed again,
this time self-consciously. “I thought you two were like brother and
sister—well,
did
. Not
anymore, of course. Whoa! Talk about a heated kiss.” She leaned toward me
confidential like. “There’s more of a make-out-type thing happening in the back
den. You guys come join!”

Once she scampered off, I peeked
back at Mason, half-hoping he was interested in the make-out idea.
I mean, I still had tingles.
(Magical,
sparkling
tingles!!) And I was still all flushed and panting and
completely dizzy. It sort of seemed like a night with the word “Free Pass”
attached to it. Like we could do whatever we wanted tonight—kiss to our
happy, excited hearts’ content. Then tomorrow we’d do like we did
before—pretend the kiss never happened.

“What do you think?” I asked Mason
shyly, feeling these excited tickles and summersaults stir around in the pit of
my stomach.

Just thinking of us kissing some
more had me seeing stars and confetti and teeny, tiny little hearts and flowers.
I raised my eyebrows, “Want to check out the make-out room for a little bit?”

Okay, I do have to admit—I
do
like a good kiss. It puts me in a
good mood.
And willing to try daring things—like even
asking
Mason
if he wants to
make-out.
(Eeek!)

Mason didn’t seem in the same kind
of mood though.

He ran a hand over his face. Then
shook his head slowly, seeming kind of tortured. (Tortured!!!) “I don’t think
we should.” His jaw muscles ticked, and he leaned the back of his head against
the wall. “I thought I could do this … but I can’t.”

My heart fell.

I’d done it again, right
?—
crossed the line. And put him in an awkward
position.

It’s just … I’d thought maybe
(well, no, really and truly
believed
)
we could enjoy the kiss for what it was—just some juicy, yummy, exciting
fun. But of course, Mason was different than me. He really saw me as a kid
sister—someone to protect, not kiss. And really, well, that was sweet. It
bit
… but it was sweet.

“I’m sorry, Mason,” I murmured. “I
shouldn’t have done that.” I brought my fingers to my sensitive kiss-swollen
lips, wanting to do it again, even as I said the words. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s just … ” He
rubbed the back of his neck. “Summer, I liked it. A lot.”

My insides lit up like a
firecracker.

“Me too!” I couldn’t help adding,
“I was sort of hoping you’d want to go in the back-den and do it some more.”

He shook his head slightly. “No.
You don’t get it,
Summer
. I liked it more than you.”

I breathed out an incredulous
laugh. “No way. I liked it a lot—
obviously
.”
I mean
,
he’d had to hold me up after his kiss to keep
me from toppling over.

Just to prove my point, I admitted,
“I wanted to keep going.”

“Yeah, so did I.” Mason leaned his
head back against the wall. “But that’s a problem.”

I drew out a frustrated breath. Why
did he have to over-think everything when it came to me? Ugh!!! “So is this
going to make you stop being my friend again?”

Mason’s eyes dragged away from me.
He stared up at the ceiling. “Look, I never stopped being your friend.” His
eyes closed, then lingered back on mine. “I got interested in girls. Summer,
I’m a guy. Give me a break.”

“I’m a girl!”

He breathed out a bitter laugh.
“Yeah, I see that. Believe me, I know you’re a girl.”

Okay, I guess I got the
problem—sort of. I huffed in frustration. “Well, you didn’t have to run
off and start avoiding me.”

“Yeah Summer, actually, I sort of
did.” He ran a hand over his face, looking tired. “Look,
Summer
,
we don’t see each other the same. You see me as …
well,
I don’t know what you see me as. But I see you as someone who
can
either be my sister—which means you’re off limits.
Or you’re
not
my sister … in which
case, you need to lock your bedroom door.” His eyes narrowed. “But you can’t be
both,
Summer
.” His gaze washed over me. “’Cause I
can’t handle that.”

He pushed a hand through his sandy hair
looking uncomfortable. “Come on, let’s go.”

So, we left the party way early. Ian
watched us leave. But he sure wasn’t smirking anymore.

CHAPTER 24

“I’m going to bed,” Mason stretched
and said as soon as we got home from Becca’s party.

My shoulders drooped as I trailed
beside him in the dim hallway.

What a strange, drama-filled night
this ended up to be. For a tiny while it had almost seemed like Mason and I
were friends again.
Almost close—like we used to be.
But of course my stupid kiss had gone and ruined everything—again.

Cautiously my gaze cut to
Mason
. “Are you mad at me?”

His eyes were on me. He shook his
head slightly seeming wary rather than mad. “No, I’m not mad. I told you you
could kiss me—I thought you could. I didn’t think it would matter
anymore. I didn’t think it would be so …” He didn’t finish his statement.
Instead, he curled his fingers through his hair. “Look, I’m not mad. I’m not.
I’m just tired. I’m going to bed.” His brow rose. “You’re welcome to come if
you want.”

I dropped my jaw, heat running
through me. He’d never said anything like that to me before. Ever. “You’re
acting mad.”

 
He gave me a sardonic look. Then said dryly, “Look Summer,
I’m not your brother. I’m not even technically related to you—and we just
made-out hot and heavy at a party. Don’t be offended that I’m acting like a
guy.”

“I’m offended that you’re acting
like a jerk.”

“Good night,
Summer
,”
was all he said.

Then he went into his room and shut
the door and I stood in the hallway just watching him go, my heart aching, wondering
what happened to us. Why we were falling apart. But really I knew … it was
all my
fault.
Me and my stupid kiss.