Masquerade (Masquerade #1) Page 2

Jason said she told him when he got here that she wouldn’t be here much longer. She knew that she would be joining her husband again. This time it would be for eternity.

  Thinking about the love they shared would make any fairytale look like a horror story. They had the true love a person could only wish to find.

  As far as Jason’s dad’s claims of his misbehaving, he never would go into detail of what happened while he was living in Atlanta with his parents. I never pressured him any to tell me although I was curious.

  We talked about our families, our future, our love for music, and my love for art. He was so drawn to the fact that I loved art as much as I did. He asked me to show him some of my own work sometime.

  After that day we became attached at the hip. Everyone thought we were dating, so I had girls giving me go-to-Hell eyes all the time. I would try to explain we were not seeing each other, but no one believed us.

  It wasn’t until the summer after our senior year that I actually started to really like him. I mean, really, really like him. He kept eyeing me more and more too.

  One day we decided to go the beach for the day. We packed up the car in the morning and left for Tybee Island Beach. It is only about a forty minute drive from where we live.

  We had been at the beach all day and into the night. The locals were having a fire on the beach and invited us to stay. As it started getting cool with the breeze coming off the ocean, I stood there holding myself, trying to stay warm.

  I am staring off into the fire when I feel somebody’s arms come around my waist. I start to turn my head when he whispers in my ear, “It’s just me. I’m trying to keep you warm.”

  Beaming with his arms around me, I feel my body melting into his. He starts to snuggle into my neck, sighing.

  I look over at him, so I can see his face. “You okay?”

  “No. Not really. I need to tell you something.”

  My heart just drops into my stomach. I’m so scared about what he is about to say. He has met a girl, and she doesn’t like me. Maybe he thinks I am getting too close?

  He reaches up to hold my face. “Get that panicked look off your face. It’s nothing bad. At lease, I hope not.”

  Shaking my head, I allow him to continue. “Okay. Please tell me. You are worrying me.”

  He is still holding my face when he leans down, barely touching my lips with his. I lean forward, giving him permission to continue. He acknowledges that as a sign to deepen the kiss. He licks my upper lip, and I open my mouth to let him in. Our tongues swirl around together, exploring each other’s mouths.

  He pulls back, ending the kiss and looks me in the eye. “That was better than I ever imagined it to be. I hope that was okay? I really want more from you than just our friendship. You mean so much to me. I never want to lose you.”

  He keeps rambling, so I lean up to give him a quick kiss on the lips. He smirks. “So I take it that you are okay with that, and you feel the same way?”

  I nod my head. “Yes.”

  “So this means you’re mine and nobody else’s?”

  “I will be as long as you promise to be mine and nobody else’s.”

  He picks me up, swinging me around, still kissing me. Then he looks at me lovingly, and I think of how lucky I am to have my best friend as my boyfriend.

  That night at the beach has always been one of the most magical nights we had together. I say one because he has made so many more for me. He has never once not treated me like a princess.

  Our relationship was a love-whirlwind: two best friends in love with each other sharing everything. He was always there when I needed him.

  One time I had gotten the flu the week before Christmas. I was out of school before school even left for the holidays. Jason was so sweet to me. Every day before and after school he was there with me. He would bring me chicken noodle soup with saltine crackers and made me eat even though I didn’t want to.

  After school was out, he stayed with me twenty-four seven. He would come in the morning and cuddle with me or get me something when I needed it. He would go home in the evening only to sneak back over to stay with me all night.

  I was still feeling shitty on Christmas Day, so he brought over a little, two foot, Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Its only decorations were a string of lights and a big ball ornament.

  “Merry Christmas.”

  I sit up in my bed smiling. “You brought me a tree.”

  “I did.”

  He sets it down on my nightstand and sits down with me on the bed. “Why is there only one ornament? Could you not put any more on it without it sagging?” I say, giggling.

  “Okay, smart ass. It only has one because it is special. Look at it.”

  I take the ornament off, looking at it to see that it has a charm inside. I open it up and pull it out to get a better look. It is a masquerade ball charm attached to a necklace.

  Tears saturate my eyes. “Oh my goodness. This is gorgeous. Thank you so much. I love it.”

  “Turn around, so I can put it on you.”

  I do as I’m told in awe of how he remembered all our talks about Venice, art, masks, and all my other nerd-loving stuff.

  It’s nearing the end of summer with only a few weeks until we will be off to college, so we’ve been spending as much time together as possible.

  It was a weekend late in July when my parents went out of town for a conference for my father’s job. I decided that it was time to finally give everything to Jason. We have fooled around but never have gone all the way, so tonight is that night.

  Jason had been out of town, going back to Atlanta to see his family and taking care of some business his dad needed help with, so he promised Saturday night was just going to be me and him. I prepared all day for his arrival back home.

  He texts me at 5:30 telling me he is only 30 minutes away. I finish up with my makeup and get dressed. By the time I am done, I hear a car pulling up in the driveway.

  I run outside and jump into his arms as soon as he rounds his car. I am kissing him all over his face, and he is laughing. “Did you miss me?”

  I jump out of his arms. “Yes, I did.”

  He kisses me one more time and slaps my ass. “Come on. Let’s go eat, so we can come back, and I can hold you.”

  I lock up the house, and we are off to eat. He takes me to this little Italian restaurant in the middle of town I truly adore. We eat and talk about his trip, or really, what I had been up to, which was much of nothing.

  The waitress brings the check and sits it down for whenever we are ready to go. Jason seems off tonight, like something is bothering him. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, baby. I guess I am just more tired than what I thought I was. You ready to go?” He throws some cash into the billfold and lays it back down on the table.

  I shake my head yes, and he walks around the table, grabbing my hand and walking me to the door. We get in the car and start back to my house. For some reason I have become really nervous. I haven’t told him that I was ready. I am hoping to surprise him.

  Once we are back at the house, I pop a movie in the DVD player and sit down on the couch. He reaches over, grabs me, and holds me tightly.

  “You sure everything is okay?”

  “Yeah, baby, I’m sure,” he says with a smile.

  I look up at him, rub my hand on the side of his face, turn my head, and start kissing him causally. He in turn puts his hands in my hair, pulling me in deeper to the kiss. I moan in his mouth while our tongues are examining every part of each other’s mouths.

  He stands up, never breaking the kiss, and lays me down on the couch, so he can lie on top of me. He pulls back from the kiss and strokes my face. “You are gorgeous, you know that?”

  I nod my head. “Yes, you tell me that often. I am going to get a big head one day.”

  He starts trailing kisses down my jaw to my neck. He slips his hand up under my shirt, rubbing my stomach with light strokes. He makes his way up to my breast, caressing it until he finds my
nipple through my bra and teases it until it comes to a firm peek.

  Making his way back up to my mouth, he tells me, “I love you so much.”

  “I love you too, Jason.”

  When I don’t try to stop him, he continues on rubbing and moving his hands all over my body.

  He stands up and picks me up off the couch, carrying me down the hall to my bedroom. He walks in and closes the door with his foot. He stands me up to take his shirt off.

  I can’t stop looking at his chest and stomach. Holy hell. I mean, this isn’t the first time I have seen him with his shirt off, but right in this moment, he is even more attractive than usual. I look back up at his face to see him smirking at me.

  He walks towards me, putting his hand around the back of my neck and kissing me deeply. His other hand starts to pull up my shirt. He gets it up over one arm before he pulls back to take it off completely. He takes my bra off and stands back, staring at my breasts. I have a big chest for my age. I have always had big boobs, but right now, my full C-cups feel like they are on display for him, and I couldn’t be prouder.

  He leans me down onto the bed, kissing down to my chest. He finds my nipple and sucks it in his mouth, hard and fast. It feels so intense, and if he keeps it up, I am going to explode.

  His other hand makes its way down to the top of my jeans. He works with the button till it pops open, and he grasps the zipper, pulling it down. He makes his way over to my other nipple while I lift my hips, so he can pull my jeans off.

  Once they are off, he stands up and groans as he looks down at me with no bra and a black lacy thong. He takes his jeans and boxers off deliberately while I look, licking my lips.

  Like I said before, we have done stuff, but it has always stopped before things got too far. I have seen his penis before in the dark, so seeing it now in all its glory has got my pussy aching.

  He starts kissing my thighs, making his way back up to my mouth. “Are you positive you want to do this?”

  I grab his head, bringing it to my face. “I have never been more positive. I love you.”

  He kisses my lips then kisses down my chin to my neck until he is on my belly, giving me delicate kisses right above my panties. He then slides them off slowly.

  He comes back up my body, opening my thighs, so he can get settled in between them. He looks at me, and all I can see is his love for me all over his face.

  “Baby, I am going to go slow because I don’t want to hurt you, okay.”

  I can’t say anything, so I just nod my head.

  He gradually guides his cock into my pussy. He pushes farther until he sees the look on my face and stops.

  “Tell me when to keep going.”

  I lie there and get used to the head of his dick in my pussy. “Okay, go ahead.”

  He moves slowly, stopping every few inches as he puts it in me. Once he is fully in me, he lets my pussy accommodate to his cock.

  “I need you to move, baby. It doesn’t hurt.”

  He starts gently pulling in and out of me. It starts feeling so good. I wrap my legs around him, and he starts pumping faster.

  “Baby, I’m not going to last long. You feel so damn good. Can you come for me?”

  As soon as he asks, I throw my head back, screaming his name. I hear him groan, and then he falls on top of me with his breathing heavy.

  We lie there catching our breaths, and I rub his back. “That was . . . great.”

  He looks up at me and kisses me quickly on my lips. “Baby, that was more than great. You felt so damn good.”

  “Is that a good thing?” I ask, blushing.

  “More than you will ever know.” He kisses the top of my head. “I have something for you.”

  “Really? What is it?”

  He hands be a ring box. I open it up to see a charm. It’s a mask, but a masculine one. “It is my mask,” he tells me.

  “I love it.” I reach over, grabbing his face, kissing him deeply.

  “Damn. I will buy you more stuff for that reaction.”

  We both get up, get dressed, and go back to the movie we started watching. From that day forth, we can’t keep our hands off of each other. Although the first time was fast, he made up for it many times after.

  Chapter Three

  Our summer has come to a close, and we have both planned on going to Georgia State in Atlanta. I can’t wait. We have spent some great days and nights together. It couldn’t have been any better. Something has felt off the last couple of weeks though.

  I would ask if he was okay, and all I would get was that his dad was on his ass, but he would never go into detail. I hated seeing him like this. I hated more that he wouldn’t let me in on what was going on. We had actually gotten into a big fight the night before I was to go to my friend’s house.

  “Please tell me what is going on with you.”

  “Nothing, Julia. Leave it alone.”

  “Dammit. I can’t. Why won’t you let me in?”

  “Because it’s none of your fucking business.”

  “Really? It’s none of my business when it involves you being an asshole towards me. Please just tell me what the fuck your problem is.”

  He sighs loudly. “I am not an asshole. I am not telling you shit because it doesn’t fucking matter. Leave. Me. Alone.”

  “Fine. I will. Now fucking leave.”

  He storms out of the house, and I don’t talk to him the rest of the night. I text him several times while I am at Shelly’s, but I never receive anything back.

  I have just gotten home from swimming. I pull in the driveway and walk over to see if Jason is at home. I walk up to the house and knock on the door several times.

  I hear the doorknob rattle, and it swings open. “Hey, Julia.”

  I look behind her to see a few boxes lined up and down the hallway. “Hi, Mrs. Colton. Is Jason here?”

  “Sweetie, he has left. He went with his dad out of the country for a while. I am sending the rest of his things to him soon,” she says as she points at the boxes.

  “What?”

  “He didn’t tell you? I figured he would. You two seemed like such good friends.”

  I start walking backwards away from the door. “Mrs. Colton, are you sure he is gone?”

  “Yes, sweetie, his plane left last night about 11:00. I don’t know why they insisted on leaving so late,” she says, shrugging her shoulders.

  Tears well up in my eyes. “Thanks.”

  I take off running and jump back into my car. I start it, throw it in reverse, and haul ass out of the driveway. I don’t know where I am going, but I can’t stay here. I have been in the car for four hours now, and that is when I notice I’m coming into Atlanta.

  I Google his address, so I can find out where he went for real. He wouldn’t just leave me. I turn my navigation on and start following the directions it tells me. Before I know it, I’m turning into a driveway, making my way down the path of it. I see a huge house come into view.

  I park my car and jump out to run to the door. I ring the doorbell and wait. Finally, I hear someone come towards the door. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes. I am looking for Jason.”

  “He’s not here. He left the country with his dad for a while.”

  I feel tears about to fall. “Do you know why?”

  “He has been planning this trip for a year. Did he not tell you? And by the way, who are you?”

  “I am Julia, and no, he never told me this.” I can’t seem to control my shaking.

  She shrugs her shoulders. “Well then, I guess there was a reason. Now, if you will excuse me, but I need to be going.”

  She slams the door, and tears rush down my face. Why the hell didn’t he tell me he was leaving? He is gone.

  A Year and A Half Later

  “Sweetie, come in here. She is awake.”

  My eyes flutter open as I hear a woman speaking to someone else. I open them again then close them repeatedly because the intensity of the lights on my eyes are causing
spots. I deliberately open and close them again several times before it gets easier to see.

  I look around to see my mother and my dad holding a child. I know they are my parents, but whose child is that? I look around to see machines hooked up to me, and that is when I realize I am in a hospital.

  “What happened? Why am I here? Who is that little girl?” My voice is horse.

  My dad looks up to my mother. “I will go and get the doctor.” He walks out of the door with the little girl.

  I look up at my mother, and she says, “We will discuss that after the doctor sees you.” Leaning down, she hugs me, crying. “I am so happy to see those beautiful green eyes again.”

  The doctor comes in the door with my dad in tow and the girl cradled in his arms.

  The doctor looks at the machines then turns to me, pulling out a flashlight from his pocket. He looks me in each eye with it blinding me again.

  “You are looking good. It’s nice to see you awake. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m okay. I think. Can someone tell me what happened?”

  The doctor steps back and looks down at me. “You were in a gruesome car wreck. When you first came in, we had our doubts that you would live. Thank goodness you pulled through. I am going to go and let the nurses know you are up and maybe bring you some water?”

  “Please, my mouth is really dry, and I am starved. Can I eat?”

  Chuckling, the doctor says, “Let’s see how you handle the water first, but I think we may be able to get you something light to eat. Do you remember who you are or your age? Tell me the last few things you remember.”

  I try to think back. “I remember being a child of course. I don’t remember how I wound up here. I’m not sure on how old I am either. I’m thinking I’m sixteen, right?” I look up at my parents. “I’m feeling overwhelmed. I know you are my parents and have apparently had a baby.”

  He nods his head. “Well, you are actually eighteen, and it looks like you only will have so many memories of the time before. Your parents can show you pictures to jog your memory, but it may never come completely back. Other than that, you look really good, and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome of all of this. You still need rest though.”