Metamorphosis (31 page)

I pulled into the parking lot of a
strip center that was only about ten minutes from campus. I was
nervous
as hell and making the decision to get a tattoo the
day after the most important person in my life died, probably wasn’t the best
idea. But I was there and I refused to back out, I needed to do it for so many
reasons. The tattoo would not only be to memorialize
Evie
,
but also to remind myself of my hope and faith that fairy tale endings did
indeed exist and my own transformation from a sheltered, inexperienced girl to
a young woman forced to deal with love, lust, and loss ~ my own metamorphosis.

A couple of hours later, I was a
couple of hundred dollars poorer and my left calf was on fire, but I couldn’t
have been happier at the image that stared back at me when I looked at it. I
couldn’t wait to get to Ash’s place to show him, I knew he would be shocked to
see what I had done. I hoped that he wouldn’t mind that I had used his sketch
as the basis of my body art without asking him first. I quickly pushed the
thought away, I was sure he’d be flattered that I had loved it so much. The
tattoo artist had done a wonderful job of translating the photo on my phone to
the image permanently inked into my skin. I pulled into the driveway, ran up
the walkway, and knocked firmly on the door. Meg greeted me with a strange look
on her face.

“Scarlett, hi! Are you okay? Did
you try to call? Is everything alright?” She looked back over her shoulder down
the hall.

“Yeah, I just reconsidered
y’all’s
offer for company, so I thought I’d come stay here,
if that’s okay? My dorm is a little cramped compared to this house and I really
just don’t want to be there.” I walked into the house and noticed that neither
Jess nor Ash was in the living room or kitchen.

“Where is everyone?” I asked.

Meg chewed nervously on her lip.
“Jess is at Jacob’s and Ash is in his room.”

“Okay, I’ll let him know that I’m
here and put my bag up,” I said as I walked to his closed door. I contemplated
whether I should tell him immediately about my new addition or wait and see how
long it took him to notice.

“Scarlett, wait…” she started to
follow me, but it was too late. I opened Ash’s door to find a topless blonde
straddling his naked body on his bed.

“Oh my God.” I said as I dropped
my bag on the floor. I wasn’t sure if it was my voice or the sound of the small
suitcase hitting the hardwood that alerted them to my presence, but as soon as
they saw me standing in the door, the blonde dove for an article of clothing
and Ash’s horrified eyes locked onto mine. It was a damn good thing for
everyone involved that my near comatose state of feeling was still in place and
I hadn’t morphed into the anger phase of my grieving yet, otherwise, I may have
literally killed someone.

“Scarlett, please, this isn’t what
it looks like,” Ash tried to explain as he covered up his body with his
comforter. Blondie had rolled off the other side of the bed and was hiding from
me on the floor while trying to redress.

“Show me a little fucking respect
and don’t feed me that God-forsaken line!” I sputtered. “I’m not one of your stupid
whores nor am I your fucking girlfriend, so you don’t owe me an explanation. I
just thought that you
may
give your dick one fucking
night off, to mourn the loss of someone who I thought you considered your
friend, or at least be there for your other friends while they pay their
respects! But obviously I was wrong. At least I know where I rank. It’s
probably best that I figure this all out now anyways because I didn’t have very
far to fall to feel the rocky bottom under my feet!”

“She just showed up without
calling,” he pleaded. “Butterfly, don’t…”

“DON’T fucking ‘butterfly’ me! I
am NOT falling for that shit again. Because of you I will cringe every time I
see a
Goddamned
butterfly again for the rest of my
life. You owe an entire species an apology!” I guess I’ll be wearing long pants
every day for the rest of my life or until I could afford to get this damn
thing removed. I was such a dumb ass. I turned around and grabbed my bag off of
the floor. I didn’t even turn around to utter the last words I would ever say
to the guy that I loved, “I would have gone to hell and back for you, Ash.
Anything. I would have done anything, but instead you broke my psyche.”

I marched past Meg, out of the
house and directly into the car. I drove around the block just to get out of
sight of the house and I pulled my phone out of my purse. Before I could even
think, my fingers had made my decision for me.

Me (9:10 PM): Still want to hang out?

Mason (9:11PM) Yeah, I’ll come pick you up

Me (9:11PM)
Not
necessary, I’m on my way to
your house.

Me (9:11PM) I need you.

Mason (9:12PM) I’m waiting

Me (9:12PM) Wait naked.

Mason wasn’t naked when I arrived
at his apartment, not that I really expected him to be, but he did look
incredibly sexy in his pajama pants and wife beater when he opened the door. I,
on the other hand, was wearing pathetic like it was a designer label. Of course
it had started raining on my drive over, so by the time I dashed from the car
to his front door, I was a soaked mess. My stringy hair stuck to the sides of
my face; my clothes doubled in weight and clung to my shivering body; and I was
sure that any remnants of mascara I had on was streaked down my face. As soon
as he saw me, he quickly ushered me inside.

“Scarlett, are you okay?” he asked
with true concern. “Come in here, let’s get you out of those wet clothes and
warmed up.”

He did not wait for me to answer
before pulling me by the hand directly to bathroom and making me strip. I
quickly ridded myself of my shirt and pants and my bra was soon to follow. I
heard him suck in a breath as I stepped out of my panties, leaving me stark
naked in front of him. I stared vehemently into his gray eyes; I wanted him to
touch me and to hold me and to kiss me until I was numb. I felt so vulnerable,
both physically and emotionally, standing there as Mason’s hungry gaze took in
my body like it was the first time he had seen me without clothes. Sensing my
need for physical contact, he enveloped me in his arms tight against his body
and I exhaled a breath I didn’t even know that I was holding.

“I missed you too, angel,” Mason
joked. “Did
Evie
not keep you warm at night while Max
and I were gone?” I flinched when he said
Evie’s
name; I had forgotten that he didn’t know. The thought of her made me squeeze
his neck even tighter.

“I guess that’s a no? Don’t worry,
I’ll take good care of you and make sure you sleep soundly,” he was still
teasing but his voice had dropped an octave into a seductive rumble. “I also
see that you have a surprise for me.” His eyes focused on the angry red skin on
my outer calf.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“I’m a little shocked to be
honest. You’ve never told me that you wanted a tattoo. I would’ve gone with
you.” He seemed a little disappointed that I didn’t include him.

“I didn’t really know I was
getting it until the last minute. It was a rash decision that I’m afraid I’m
already regretting,” I said truthfully.

“It looks really fresh. When did
you get it done?”

“Today.”

“Well, I like it,” Mason gave me a
goofy grin that I couldn’t help but smile back at. “Now you only need twenty or
thirty more and you can look like me.”

“I think this is going to be it
for me.” It was already one too many.

“I’m assuming there’s a
sentimental meaning behind it since it has those names in it? Something you
brought in for them to do?”

I just nodded my head. I knew that
he wanted me to tell him the story behind it, why I had chosen that particular
design, but I decided not to tell him about
Evie’s
death quite yet. I wasn’t ready to relive the entire event and my brain needed
an escape from analyzing the what-ifs and the what-
nows
that had begun while I sat alone in my dorm room earlier. Also, I didn’t want
his pity. I wanted him to be with me because he wanted to be, not because he
felt like he needed to make my hurting feel better, like it was some duty. Not
like Ash.

I kissed his neck and deflected
the conversation off of any mention of
Evie
. “I did
miss you, smart ass.” I pulled back slightly and smirked. I traced my finger
down his jaw line, “Are you ready to show me just how much you missed me?”

He didn’t answer with words.
Instead he captured my mouth with his and kissed me with intense passion and
fervor. There was no gentle brushing of the lips or timid touching of tongues;
it was open mouths, clashing teeth, dueling tongues, and roaming hands. He
lifted me up so that I could wrap my legs around his waist and he walked us out
of the bathroom and into his bedroom. Our mouths never left one another’s.

Mason lowered me onto the bed with
my head nestled into the pillows. He hovered over me still completely dressed
and I reached for the hem of his shirt to pull it over his head. He obliged and
I was rewarded with the sight of his impressive upper body. I could never get
tired of studying the tattoos that covered
him,
I
loved tracing each one, first with my finger and then with my tongue.
I looked down at his pants
,
they needed to
go too
. I unknowingly said the last phrase aloud and he shook his head
and smiled, “Not yet. First, I’m going to show you just how much I missed you,
angel. Now, put your hands above your head here and grab hold of the headboard.
Don’t move your hands, just enjoy me enjoying you.” I didn’t think twice. I
lifted my arms above my head and held the wooden slats tightly. I needed this so
fucking bad. I needed to forget everything else.

He lowered himself on top of me to
where our bodies were pressed against each other, but not to the point where
his weight was heavy on me. He started at the place right behind my ear that I
knew he loved, and then made his way down my body exploring every square inch
of my body
with either
his hands, his lips, or his
tongue. He left behind a wake of
fire,
his touch
searing my skin and leaving a warmth entrenched deep inside me.

Mason traveled all the way down my
leg to my foot and then
back
up again. He was
extremely careful around the raised and irritated skin on my leg. When he
reached my already slick folds, he didn’t hesitate to extend the treatment to
my most private of areas. He utilized all of his weapons of mass pleasure at
once - his tongue flicking my clit, his mouth sucking on my lips, and his
fingers deep inside my core. It didn’t take him long to bring me to my first
orgasm. He knew my body probably as well as he knew his own, and he loved knowing
that he could bring me to the edge and then push me over so fast. I sure as
hell didn’t mind either. I had heard that many girls didn’t experience regular
orgasms either because the guy they were with didn’t care whether or not she
came or didn’t know how to bring her there. I guess I lucked out that my sex
coach without sex was so experienced, and I often got to experience multiple
orgasms in a night, all by the magic he worked with his hands and mouth.

It took me several minutes to come
down from my trip into sensual outer space. Mason continued working his way up
my body, rubbing and kissing me, until he reached my face. He hesitated to kiss
me, I had never kissed him on the mouth after he went down on me, but for some
reason, at that moment, tasting myself on Mason’s mouth seemed like the most
natural thing to do. I released the headboard and grabbed the back of his head
while rising up to meet his mouth halfway. That was the sexiest kiss I had ever
experienced and by the sounds that came from Mason, I think he felt the same. I
felt his cock jerk on my stomach and my body instinctively pushed against him.
We groaned into each other’s mouth, we were both struggling against the carnal
need that was fighting to be fulfilled.

“Scarlett, you have no idea… I’m
trying…” he whispered. I cut him off by putting my index finger over his lips
to
shh
him. I used my other hand to reach between our
bodies and push down on the elastic band of his pants. He lifted his body so
that I could rid him of his last piece of clothing.

When he lowered himself back on
top of me, his erection was pressed against my clit and pubic bone. The
pressure on my nub alone was enough to drive me crazy with lust. He kissed me
softer and slower than he had earlier. I appreciated that he was trying to be
gentle and tender, but my body was hungry and desperate.

“More. I need more,” I panted,
wiggling my body against his.

Mason’s body stilled and he lifted
up so that we were no longer touching. I whimpered at the loss of contact. He
locked his eyes on mine. “Scarlett, you said you didn’t want to. Please don’t…
I can’t say no to you.” He closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. “I want
it to mean something for you. You need to love the person you’re with the first
time, make it special. Look, I am hopelessly in love with you, but I know that
you love Ash… and sometimes that’s just the way things work out. But I don’t
just want to just fuck
you,
I want to make love to
you. Like I’ve never done with anyone else.” He lowered his eyes at his confession.