Where We Left Off (11 page)

Read Where We Left Off Online

Authors: J. Alex Blane

Tags: #Romance

BOOK: Where We Left Off
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Chapter 18

 

 

They drove the rest of the way much less nervous than they had started.  Mason pulled into his garage and let Sydney into the house while he took her bag from the trunk.  It was pretty late.  They didn’t have much time to sleep before catching the plane in the morning, so instead of cooking the elaborate meal he had led her to believe he would make, he scrammed up a few turkey sandwiches with potato chips. They weren’t great, but he did pair the meal with a lovely Pinot Noir, a light red wine that accented it pretty well.

They sat in front of the television, as they had done many times before, and watched the time pass intertwined with conversation and TV shows.
 
Sydney had changed into sweatpants and a tight fitting tank top. Mason still had on his jeans, but with a sleeveless shirt instead of the starch pressed button down he’d worn earlier.  The night grew late, and they hadn’t moved except to adjust the throw blanket that was now draped over them.

“We should probably get some sleep,” he uttered, noticing her drifting beside him.

If they intended on making the flight on time, they certainly needed to.  They stood up from the makeshift picnic they had made on the living room floor and made their way upstairs.  Nervously, the conversation both of them had been avoiding all night was now right in their faces - where she would be sleeping, and, of course, where he would be as well.  Mason opened the door to his bedroom for Sydney to walk inside.  Apparently more nervous than she thought, she went in, one foot in front of the other.  Thoughts rushed to the forefront of her mind like a braking freight train.  She’d never been this far into his house in the months they’d been together; every visit, every conversation, had been limited to the boundaries of his living room.  It was the same for her too. For the first time, she stood in his bedroom and stared at his bed, the dimmed lamps beside it, and Mason standing right behind her. She was unclear, unclear of his actual motives, of his offering his bedroom, and unsure of the position she now felt she was in.  The position of having sex with the first man she had ever loved. 

Her thoughts were a bit extreme, but to her they weren’t.  Sydney was a virgin.  Mason didn’t know that, and she’d never mentioned it in any way so the idea of it finally happening scared her, but only a little.   What scared her the most was the realization that through all of her waiting for so long: waiting for the right one, waiting years for a man to prove himself in a relationship, waiting for marriage, within four months and every single day with Mason who she’d fallen head over heels in love with
she was ready to give him everything

She walked into the room and slid onto the bed, facing Mason.  His smile was warm and, in a way, comforting, as he stood and gazed upon her.
This is it,
she thought. Before she could say a word, he hit the light switch to turn off the main lights in the vaulted ceiling, leaving only the light on the night stand lit.

“Get some rest,” he said, turning to walk out of the room.

Get some rest,
she thought to herself.  She was confused, relieved, and disappointed at the same time.  She was sure he was going to follow her, kiss her… something.

“You’re not…”

“Sleeping in here?” he cut in.  “I’ll be in the guest room just down the hall.  Not as close as I’d like, but close enough if you need me.”

Sydney got up from the bed, a little embarrassed, hoping he didn’t notice her subtle advances.  “I think I might take a shower before I go to sleep.”

Mason smiled and walked downstairs to the laundry room to get a towel and washcloth.  He had washed and dried them earlier but, like most towels, they needed to be cycled twice to get them fully dry.  As he reached in, he noticed some were mildly damp, and others that were dried were cold.  He removed the damp ones from the dryer and restarted it with only a few towels and washcloths, just to get them warm for her.  He thought she’d like that. 

Waiting for it to finish, the old Mason started to come out a little, but not without the sense of irony that he actually had feelings for Sydney.  There was no question from the racing of his heartbeat that he was trying his best to control his desire for her.  It would have been very easy for him to walk back upstairs, close the door behind him and do what he wanted to do to her.  In fact, he thought about doing just that.  From the looks of it, he didn’t see her opposing the idea.  He removed the towels and washcloths from the dryer and folded them neatly before taking them back upstairs to give to her.  As he reached the top step, he noticed his bedroom doors had been slightly closed.  It was still open enough to peek through, but as he did, he couldn’t see where she was.  Knowing she was about to get into the shower, he didn’t want to just walk into the room.  He eased closer to see if he could see any farther, but couldn’t.  Sydney had turned the light off on the nightstand beside the bed.   He assumed from hearing the water running that she was already in.  The dresser wasn’t too far from the doorway so he figured he’d sneak the towel in before she got out of the shower but just as he began to nudge the door open he quickly realized he was wrong. 

She hadn’t gotten into the shower yet, but she was just about to.  She had already taken off the sweat pants she was wearing and the tank top.  She had nothing on except a tiny pair of panties that wrapped around her waist like a thin bracelet and a bra the framed her breasts like a beautiful masterpiece.  The light from the bathroom rolled off of her body as she walked across the room like the sun setting on a summer beach.  He’d never seen her in this light and she was breathtaking.  He stood there frozen, still, captivated, and completely consumed in her.  He didn’t know whether to knock, walk in, or turn away pretend he was never there.  It didn’t matter, though, because he couldn’t move.  He watched her reach around her back to undo her bra and knew then he couldn’t just stand there.  Finally, he cleared his throat loudly enough for her to see him at the door. 

She turned around, slightly startled, but oddly enough comfortable and secure.  She wondered how long he’d been there without saying a word; how long he’d been watching her, fighting the desire to walk in.  She walked towards him, becoming more desirable with each step as his eyes followed her every move.  He was holding the towels and washcloths in his hand, but even as she approached him, he still hadn’t given them to her.

“Thank you,” she said, softly sliding her hand across his and taking them from him.

Standing in front of him with next to nothing on, she stood waiting for a response less of words. Mason answered respectfully, fighting everything in him that told him not to. “Let me know if you need anything else,” he forced out. 

The way he spoke was flirtatious, but he was very sincere in his attempts not to make her feel she was obligated to do anything more than she wanted to, or anything at all.  He leaned in the doorway with his eyes glued to the rhythm of her walk.  He needed to turn away, he should have turned away, but it was a “look but don’t touch” moment and he was embracing every second he could. 

He laughed to himself, shaking off his captivation.  “Good night, Sydney.”

“Wait,” she said. 

She stood in the middle of the floor with her back turned towards him.  She knew telling him to wait at that very moment meant only one thing.  Who was she kidding; every day had been leading up to this; every word, every kiss, and every touch that never went farther than a light caress.  She was in his house, standing in his bedroom with only her bra and panties on, and she didn’t want him to leave.  She turned around with a nervous innocence as her skin tingled with adrenaline.  Despite all of the flirting and all of her thinking she was ready, she was still very much scared, but she didn’t want him to leave.  She grabbed his hands and placed them on her waist, pulling herself closer towards him. 

He could feel how nervous she was in her light quivering as she pressed into him.  In the four months they’d been together, their lips never touched for longer than a few seconds, always light, in passing or in the occasional reminder of
I’m thinking of you
.  It was proving to be a night of firsts for their relationship.  His hands moved from her waist to the arch of her back and their lips touched.  Held together in the fading stare of their eyes and the embrace of their arms, they were in tune with each other more than they’d ever been.  Suddenly his cell phone began vibrating at his hip, pulling him out of the moment so, that he noticed how much more nervous Sydney had become.  A part of him figured it was due to the huge step they were about to take, but he honestly found himself, in that moment, liking the way things were.  In that moment, he liked the idea that there was actually something to look forward to.

Still kissing her, he pulled back, “Wait, Sydney…  Maybe we should...um––”

“Yeah, maybe we should… um,” she looked skittishly around the room before looking back at him.  “I’m going to get in the shower!”

Mason threw himself onto the bed in his guestroom, listening to the water from the shower echo down the hall.  The room was dark, the house was dark, and the only light he could see was from the dim glow mildly lighting the hallway that came from Sydney in his bedroom.  Soon, he heard nothing.  The water in the shower had been turned off.  He lay back on the pillow with his hand behind his head, trying his best to get comfortable and unable to escape the thoughts of how the night could have actually played out.  He could remember the last time he’d been the one to say no and not go thought with it.  Thinking about Sydney, though, who knew the reason was because he really didn’t want to change anything about the two of them that could damage what they had.  He laughed, seeing how different he was compared to a few months ago or a few years ago.  As he thought about it, he realized it was the difference that was actually allowing him to appreciate what he had with Sydney and not make it into what he was used to. 

Chapter 19

 

 

As the hour grew late so did Mason’s discomfort, regardless of which way he turned.  The bed was stiff and more firmer than he was used to, nothing like his own.  No one had slept in the guest room or on that bed since he moved in the house, so it hadn’t been broken in yet. 

Sydney, although comfortable, struggled to get to sleep as well.  She stared out of the window, unable to see much of anything, with her mind and her body more at ease than it was when the night began.  Thinking about it, she couldn’t believe what she had allowed herself to get into with Mason and what she had been about to give up.  Looking away from the window, she was so embarrassed.  For so long she had been careful to never put herself in a position this close to a man she cared about where she could come close to letting it happen. Even in that embarrassment, she appreciated him.  She appreciated the man he allowed her to see by not doing what she knew came so easy for him. She smiled at the sudden warmth she felt when thinking of him. 
I wonder if he’s still awake,
she thought.  If he was, what about her was he thinking about. 
Oh my God,
she shook her head.  The more she thought about it, she really didn’t want to know how he was thinking about her after the way she came on to him.  At the very least she wished she could just go and apologize and tell him the truth.    

Distracted by a noise in the hallway, her attention was pulled to the door that was still ajar.  She eased her way out of bed and slowly crept over to see what it was.  As she leaned and looked down the hall, there was nothing: no light, no open door, and no Mason, as she had hoped.  Climbing back into bed, she reached for her cell phone.  She knew it was late and that they had to fly out in only a few hours, but she decided to do something that she knew would catch him off guard and, at worst wake him if he was asleep.  Only a room apart, she called him.  She dialed his number and listened to it ring, waiting for him to answer. 

Mason still hadn’t fallen asleep, and his ringing phone actually gave him a break in the frustration of his discomfort.  He reached over and flopped his hand on his phone, exhaustedly tilting it just enough to read the caller ID.  

He laughed. 

“You do realize I’m right down the hall,” he answered, jokingly.

The sound of his voice was strained from being partially asleep and awake, but not so much that he sounded unaware of the conversation.

“I have to tell you something, and promise me you won’t laugh” she said turning over on her back with the phone resting beside her ear.

“Okay,” he responded.

“I’ve never…done that before.”

“Done what?” he asked curiously.


That
” she insinuated, “tonight, anything …every.”

“Wait, I’m confused.”

“I’m a virgin,” she timidly let out.

He definitely hadn’t expected to hear that, especially after seeing the way she’d acted earlier.

“So, tonight was what, exactly?”

“I don’t know.  A part of me wanted to,” she exclaimed.  “A big part of me, and I kind of figured you did too.  In fact, a big part of me thought you would,” she laughed, making the situation seem far less serious than it actually was. 

He laughed.  “And you’re saying I’m the one full of surprises.  How long have you –wait that’s a stupid question…”

Her laughter resonated down the hall.  “How long have I been a virgin, hmmm let’s see…”

Laughing with her, he said, “I can’t believe I just asked you that.”

“It’s okay, I know you probably didn’t expect that.”

“I really didn’t,” he agreed. 

She finally opened up and told him why she had never had sex before, and her reasons behind it.  She was raised in church, and it was drilled into her as far back as she could remember as a young lady to keep herself until marriage.  Up until tonight she had never had a reason to consider otherwise.  Flattered, she could hear his smile through the phone, but the more she went through her explanation the less she could tell whether he was silent because he was listening or because she’d said something wrong.  She talked about how she and her family practically lived in church from being there so often.  She laughed, but he was still silent.

“Did you go to sleep on me?” she asked.

He chuckled.  “No, I’m still here.”

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

He paused, reflecting on everything she had told him.  “I understand not losing your virginity until you get married.  I get that.  I just don’t get the whole thing about how church and the bible influence your making a decision about you.  That’s all.”

“Did you not go to church when you were younger?”

“I went,” he quickly denounced.  

Mason was only open about his life to a certain point, and anything after his father he never spoke about.  She asked him about his childhood, his family, what growing up with a brother was like, but he always found a way to avoid answering those questions.  This wasn’t new.  He would always change the subject. 

She didn’t want to pry too hard; she could tell it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about.  She changed the subject and, as she expected, the conversation got much lighter, and right back on track.

They talked a little while longer until both of them found themselves saying things that made no sense at all.  They laughed into their goodbyes and just as they began to hang up, he wished her sweet dreams. 

It would be so much sweeter if he were here,
she said to herself.   She picked up her phone and not even five minutes after they had hung up she sent him a text message.

“Come lay with me.”

Something else unexpected, he laughed.  He didn’t know how to respond, or if it was even a good idea.  She sent him another text, answering the silence and what she thought was running through his mind.

“I trust you,” it read.

He threw his head back, sitting upright in the bed with his back against the headboard.  He stared at the doorway leading into the hall, pushing himself to just get up and go. Finally, he did.  She could hear his footsteps leaving the room and coming down the hall, and when he reached the door he couldn’t help but smile seeing her smiling back at him.

“I think that’s your phone,” she said.

My phone,
his expression shifted.  He didn’t know what she was talking about until he stood still and heard the phone vibrating against the nightstand still in the guest room.  It was almost 3 o’clock in the morning, who would be calling so late?  He was hesitant at first, but feared something could be wrong or it was Jackson. 

“I’ll be right back,” he softly said before turning back down the hall. 

The phone was turned face down and he didn’t even bother looking at the caller ID before he answered.

“Hello…”

There was a brief pause, but not one nearly as brief as wishing he hadn’t answered the phone.

“I hope I didn’t wake you.”

He was no stranger to her voice, or her late night calls, but this one was not only inconvenient but also far later than usual. 

“Erika, it’s 3 o’clock in the morning,” he stressed

“I know, I know.  I just needed to talk to you.”

“At 3 o’clock in the morning!”

“Mason –”

He cut her off, “What’s wrong…is everything okay with you and Chris?”

“Yeah…well,” she stopped.

He was a little irritated, but at the end of the day she was still at least a friend.  He sensed something in her voice that made him a little uneasy, and realized he should maybe take the rest of the call downstairs.  He walked back to his bedroom.  Sydney was still in bed waiting for him when he came to the door.

“I’m sorry, I have to take this, I should only be a minute.”

He pulled the door closed and headed downstairs to the kitchen where he pulled out a stool from his bar and sat down. 

“Erika, what’s going on? Talk to me.”

She paused, and he could hear the phone moving closer to her mouth as if she were trying to make sure no one else heard what she was about to say.

“I’m so sorry,” she stressed.

He didn’t understand.  “Sorry…sorry for what?” he asked.

He could hear her taking a deep breath, almost as close as his own. Without warning, she told him.

“I’m pregnant.”

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