Distance Read online

  Elena: Wait, you did what? I would have gone with you to get it when you got back. Is it cute? I bet it looks sexy.

  Me: Sorry, it was really a spur of the moment decision. It’s really cute, I love it!

  Elena: Enough about you, Lexi May, I have to tell you what happened today!

  Me: Alright, dish, I’m paying attention.

  Elena: Tate and I did it!

  Me: Already? Oh-em-gee! Was it hot?

  Elena: Umm…the guy is Amazeballs!

  Me: Gross, that’s T.M.I Elena.

  Elena: Oh, ha, not that way, it was just really perfect.

  Me: I’m happy for you.

  I was happy for her, but I didn’t understand this jealous feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  Elena: Well, there’s more. It’s about Mason.

  Me: I talked to him last night! He’s helping out with his sick grandma. How cute is that?

  Elena: Yeah, that just confirms it. You and Mason need to hook up!

  Me: Why?

  Elena: Tate said that Mason is into you. He’s afraid to scare you off, though. I think you should go for it. Screw your swearing off all guys idea! I told Tate that I would talk to you.

  Me: Don’t worry, I’m starting to crack. We’ll see.

  Elena: I’m sure Mason can work with that.

  Me: Speaking of Mason, I have to text him next, so TTYL

  Elena: K <3

  I sat my phone down on the bed, thinking over the conversation with Elena. Mason liked me. Could I give a relationship a try? My resolve was crumbling the more I talked to him. I would give him the chance to win me over when I got home. Mom was right, I did deserve better than Jameson.

  Maybe we would go to college nearby. I never asked him, so I couldn’t judge the situation fully. It was something I needed to know.

  Me: Hey, Mason, how R U doing?

  After ten minutes without a response, I decided to just wait until later. I roused my mom up for dinner and we ate at a cute local restaurant. She asked about my messages. I told her that I talked to Elena and relayed what she said, minus the sex with Tate part.

  “I told you Mason probably liked you. You’re beautiful, sweetie. He’d be crazy not to. Are you going to give him a real chance?”

  “Yes, I’m going to give him an opportunity to show me he’s worth it.”

  “I’m proud of you. Now let’s watch the sunset from the balcony.”

  For the rest of the trip, I looked forward to the evenings when I would get to talk to Mason. We settled into a routine. During the day we would Snapchat, sending each other goofy pictures. The latest picture I sent him was of me in a giant straw hat and lei around my neck. I was sporting a cheesy grin to go with my ensemble. He sent me back a pic of him and Tate making tough guy faces.

  The more we spoke, the more comfortable I became with him. At night, we talked about nothing and everything. I learned about his favorite color, olive green, his favorite food, fajitas, and anything else that new couples talked about.

  As much as I loved spending my vacation in Key West, I wanted to get back home. It was torture waiting for my first date with Mason. Tiny butterflies danced in my stomach every time I thought about what we could possibly be doing. I tried to ask him what he wanted to do when I got back and he told me it was a surprise. Not knowing was eating away at me.

  He commented on my new piercing right away, telling me how sexy it looked. I could tell by the way he said it that he meant it. It was a good idea and even Mom would decide to love my piercing once she got over the shock of it. I was sure of it, but if not, oh well. It was my choice, my body.

  I spent the last few days with Mom, lounging at the beach and we even went snorkeling! We also took a canoe out in the ocean, but didn’t get far. It was harder than it looked. Mom and I only lasted about thirty minutes before we caved and brought it back to shore.

  Mom and I took a day boat out to the Dry Tortuga Islands and spent the day exploring the old prison and snorkeling in the coral reefs. It was amazing. We didn’t live close to any reefs, so I never experienced them before. The reef was beautiful and absolutely stunning.

  By the time I was ready to come home, I was tanned to a golden perfection and my new look gave me more confidence than I’d ever had before. Even Mom commented on how much I’d changed.

  The truth was, no matter what happened with Mason, I would change. Jameson took over too much of my life and I needed to reclaim it. I swore to myself right then that I would never let a guy take advantage of me the way he did.

  We packed up and checked out before getting on the road. Driving through the Keys was always slow going, and I prepared myself for the longest part of our trip. The Seven-Mile Bridge was really cool to go over, though.

  “Hey, Mom, did you have fun on this trip?”

  “Oh, you know I did, honey. I really needed the break from work. It was nice to sleep in and spend the days relaxing. My favorite part of the trip, though, was the time I spent with you. Gosh, I’m going to miss you so much when you pack up and move across the country. I wish you and Elena had chosen to stay closer to home.”

  “This was an amazing vacation. It was just what I needed. You don’t have to worry about Elena and me. We know how to take care of ourselves. Besides, this is just part of growing up. Don’t worry; I’ll still love you, Mom.”

  Silence settled over us like a blanket after that. I took to looking out the window and watched as the ocean disappeared and gave way to land. Once the scenery turned dull, I drifted into sleep.

  I WAS UNBELIEVABLY nervous. It was noon on a Thursday and I didn’t have any clue where Mason could be taking me. It was supposed to be a surprise.

  He was stunned when he asked me out and I said yes. The fact that I flat out told him I wanted to be friends had deterred him from asking me sooner. It didn’t matter now since he was on his way here to pick me up for our first date.

  Filtering through the clothes in my closet, I was contemplating my choices. The phone rang and I jumped to get it. I didn’t recognize the number on my caller ID, but I answered anyways, curiosity winning out.

  “Hello?”

  No reply.

  “Hello?” I repeated again.

  Again with the no reply. I hung up; refusing to play along with the lame game someone was playing with me. It had to be Christy. I hadn’t made anyone else angry. There wasn’t really a good way to handle the situation. Pushing it to the back of my mind, I refocused on getting ready. I didn’t have time to deal with prank calls.

  It was impossible to figure out what to wear. If only I knew where the heck he was taking me, this would have been much easier.

  Finally, I settled on a navy sundress. I wanted to look good, but not too dressed down. I had just finished pulling it over my head when the doorbell rang. Taking one last look in the mirror, satisfied, I went to answer the door.

  This was the first time I had seen Mason in person since the day we went bowling. If it was possible, he looked even better. It was cliché, but he had on the simplest shirt and faded jeans, and rocked the look. His messy chocolate-colored hair was sexy as ever.

  When he saw me, he turned then flashed me a grin that had me weak in the knees. Mason held me at arms’ length and looked me over. I tried not to be self-conscious, but it was hard under the hooded gaze that was traveling over every inch of my body.

  “Wow, Lexi, you look good. I like the sexy dress, but I love the new piercing. It looks better on you in person than it did on Snapchat.”

  Blushing now, I thanked him. He took my hand and we exited my house, heading toward his Mustang. He opened my door and waited until I was inside before shutting it.

  I was all nerves. This date had a lot of expectations on my side and I wanted it to be perfect. He still hadn’t disclosed where we were going, so I fidgeted the whole ride, barely making conversation.

  “You don’t have to be so nervous, Lexi. I promise this is a good surprise. Besides, we’re almost there,” he said, not ev
en looking over at me.

  How did he know what I was thinking? Gah, guys were so hard to figure out. I placed my hands in my lap and patiently waited until we reached our destination.

  When we finally turned a corner and I saw where he was taking me, my eyes lit up. “You’re taking me to the aquarium?”

  “Yes, I hope that’s okay,” he replied.

  “It’s more than okay. I love coming here! This is one of my favorite places in town.”

  There was that sexy grin again, showing off his perfectly straight, white teeth. “Yeah, a little birdie let me know.”

  The aquarium was awesome. I was obsessed with all the colorful tropical fish. The starfish were always amazing to see in all their gorgeous colors. Don’t even get me started on the jellyfish. They lit up in iridescent colors when light shone on them. It was really cool. They weren’t so cool when there was an invasion on the eastern beaches, but in this setting, they were amazing.

  Touch pools were all over. I took great pleasure in touching the stingrays as well as the starfish and other ocean critters. It’s always such a unique experience.

  Mason held my hand the whole way through and it made me giddy with excitement. I loved the feel of his hands enveloping mine. The boy made me crazy with want and I was anticipating our first kiss throughout the whole date.

  When it was finally time to leave, it was pouring down rain; in other words, a typical Florida afternoon. He grabbed my hand and I squealed as we ran toward his car. By the time we reached the passenger side door, we were both soaked and laughing.

  Taken by surprise, I gasped when Mason pulled me to him. Suddenly I didn’t care that we were drenched. His eyes met mine for a fraction of a second before his lips melded with mine.

  All thought left me and my limbs and I felt like he just plugged me into an electrical outlet. Feelings I didn’t even know I had surged through me and tingled all over. When his tongue searched for entry, I complied.

  The kiss was slow and soft, something I had craved since the moment I met him. My stomach swam with excitement and, when his hands gently brushed down my bare arms, I let out a soft moan of pleasure.

  Ensconced in the perfect kiss, I let my hands wind in his messy, wet hair. He let out a low growl and pulled me closer. The rain poured down and it was as if we didn’t have a care in the world.

  I felt his desire and it caused my own excitement. Even knowing this, he didn’t speed up the pace of the kiss or become rough. Mason was taking his time, savoring every moment of our first kiss.

  When we finally parted, breathless, he had to hold me up. I was bursting with pleasure and was a little slow coming back down from my high. It was then I knew how much trouble I was in. This guy was going to break my heart and soul, but every minute like this one would be worth it.

  “I’ve wanted to do that since the first night I met you. You looked like an angel sitting there, tears streaming down your face. That was everything I imagined it to be and more.”

  Watching the water drip from his hair, eyelids, and bottom lip only made me want to kiss him again. I couldn’t believe how little self-control I was feeling.

  “It was perfect, Mason.”

  He smiled and stepped away from me. “Let’s get you out of the rain. I’m not going to be able to keep to myself if I have to watch that dress mold to your body much longer. You looked absolutely stunning today.”

  My blushing was suddenly in full effect again. I looked down and realized that he was right, my dress had become like a second skin, showing off each curve from my hips to the swell of my breasts.

  As soon as we were on the road, Mason took my hand and didn’t let go of it the whole way home. I was in bliss for that short time, taken with him in a way that I had never experienced.

  The gentleman he was, he walked me to my door and gave me a soft brush of his lips against mine before pulling away and saying goodbye.

  By the time I made it inside, I was grinning like a lovesick fool. It had been the perfect date. I had only read about them before now and could finally relate. It was like a puzzle piece clicking into place and the picture suddenly became clearer.

  “You’re awful happy, daughter of mine,” Mom teased.

  She was sitting on the couch, legs tucked under her, watching some Lifetime movie. Mom could be sappy like that.

  “I just had the most amazing date with Mason!”

  “Apparently it was a very wet one as well. You’re soaked.”

  “We had our first kiss in the rain; it was so romantic and absolutely amazing.”

  “It’s good to see you happy.”

  “Thanks, Mom, I’m going to go change.”

  “Alright, come back out and watch a movie with me when you’re done. I miss your company.”

  “Sure,” I said. Then I bounded down the hallway and shut the door to my room behind myself.

  Even though I promised Elena I would tell her all about my date, I was still on cloud nine and wasn’t ready to share with her just yet. Instead, I tossed on my pajamas, which consisted of gray yoga pants and a gray scoop-neck tee. My hair was still wet, so I tossed it up into a bun to keep it out of my face.

  Heading out to the living room, I saw Mom was sitting in the exact same spot I left her in. She smiled brightly as I joined her, sitting on the other end of the couch.

  “So, Mom, what are we going to watch?”

  “I thought we could watch the newest romantic comedy that came out on Pay-Per-View this week. It looks pretty cute and I’m in that kind of mood today. Seeing you lovesick just warms my insides,” she said, winking at me.

  I smiled back at her. “That sounds like a go to me. Let me just make us some popcorn and I’ll be right back.

  After placing the bag in the microwave, I sighed. It was going to take three minutes to finish popping. Trying to keep my mind off Mason, I pulled out the giant popcorn bowl. There was still two minutes to go.

  I had to stop obsessing about him. It wasn’t good. I was falling for him and I thought it might be too late to do anything about it.

  I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn’t even hear the microwave chirp, signaling it was finished. Not sure how long I stood there, but by the time my thoughts came back to the here and now, the popcorn had begun to burn.

  Pulling the bag out of the microwave, I didn’t bother to open it. The burning stench would just become stronger and stink up the house. It got tossed into the garbage and I sighed before going about making another bag.

  This time I focused on the task at hand. When the three minutes were up, I promptly opened the bag and dumped it in the bowl.

  When I finally returned with the big bowl of popcorn, Mom had the movie paused, waiting patiently for me. I settled in, grabbing the blanket off the top of the couch.

  At some point, content and tired, I fell asleep watching two characters fight their attraction to each other and failing miserably. It sounded an awful like my situation. Ironic.

  THE NEXT DAY I had to work. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but we were slow. I think a total of five customers had come in all morning. No one would buy anything I was selling in addition to their movies. All of my daily tasks had been checked off of our to-do list and there I was, sitting there at noon, bored as hell.

  I pulled out my Kindle and tried to focus on the story, but my mind kept drifting. Gah, the kiss with Mason was like Fourth of July spectacular. There were definitely fireworks. I was in so much trouble.

  Elena was working last night so I wasn’t able to talk to her about the amazing date I had. Tonight was her night off and we planned to spend it together. I got off at three and couldn’t wait to get out of this place.

  Just then, a girl about my age with long blonde hair and blue doe eyes came strutting in. Yes, I said strutting. She obviously thought she was God’s gift to men. I instantly hated her. She reminded me of Christy.

  She startled me and I ended up knocking into an entire DVD rack. The wire rack fell over and the DVDs d
ropped in disarray at my feet. I had to be careful to step over the mess so that I could escape the mound of movies. Trying to ignore my idiocy¸ I focused on the girl.

  “Hi, can I help you find anything?”

  The girl turned her nose up at me as if I smelled badly. “Yes, as a matter of fact you can. I’m looking for Lexi.”

  Shocked, I responded, “That would be me. What can I do for you?”

  Her eyes narrowed and I thought smoke was going to come out her ears at the angry look she was giving me. “You can stay away from Mason. He’s my boyfriend and you’re just some toy he finds intriguing right now. If you touch him or see him again, I will make you wish you never learned his name.”

  The room started to spin. Mason had a girlfriend? How could I be so naïve? My cheeks flamed in anger and embarrassment. “Don’t worry, he’s all yours. I’m sorry; I didn’t catch your name.”

  “I didn’t give it. My name is Gina. Now, I’ve came to say what I needed to and I’m leaving. I’ll be watching you, Lexi.”

  Then she made the motion implying she had her eyes on me before swaying her hips all the way out of the store. I didn’t let out a breath of relief until her stupid fancy car pulled out of the parking lot.

  What on earth just happened? I was just put in my place by some random chick who claimed to belong to Mason. I knew he would break my heart, I just didn’t expect that to be the reason. The sadness at the loss of something so perfect filled me.

  I needed to ask him to be sure, but it was an embarrassing thing. What was I going to say without sounding accusing? ‘I saw your girlfriend today?’

  To occupy my time, I rearranged the horror movie section, making it look much better than before. I guess dropping most of them on the floor gave me some motivation to improve the section. Satisfied, when I looked at my watch, I realized almost my entire afternoon had passed. The door chimed and my boss stepped through it.

  Thankful my shift was over; I waited until he returned from the back before saying goodbye and making my hasty exit.