Black Butterfly

Chapter 9

I blinked. He pulled back and a smirk settled on his face, I debated smacking him. Unfortunately Olivia opened the door and said, "Ace! How nice you made it. And early for once." She winked. Me and Mason continued to stare at each other and Olivia must have noticed a bit of the tension because she spoke,

"Calsy, do you want to put your stuff in your room?" 

I broke off my staring contest and turned to her. "I would love too." I glared at Mason as I walked away. 

I know it was childish, but I squeaked. The tile floors were a sand colored marble and doors led to a balcony overlooking the pool, and the ocean not even thirty yards away. The sea breeze lifted the curtains but did nothing to disturb the cream colored comforter on the very, very, large bed. 

I had my own bathroom with everything stocked to the teeth. The shower was big enough for at least four people and the bathtub was like it's own hot tub. A huge mirror covered the wall behind a double sink vanity that stretched almost the entire length of the bathroom. I can't stay here, I'll ruin it. 

I turned to Olivia to say as much, but Mason stood in the doorway instead. He had changed in the time it had taken me to admire my room. Tan shorts and a blue button up shirt with, in typical Mason fashion, had a few buttons undone at the top. He leaned against the doorway, hands in his pockets. 

I crossed my arms and watched him as he looked about the room. Mason let out a low whistle, "Can we trade rooms? Yours has a better view." 

I smiled a bit, "Nope. I like this one." 

"Clearly, I'm surprised your eyes didn't pop out of your head they were so big." 

"Shut up." 

Mason smiled and I looked away. Night had fallen outside and a gust of wind had me stepping out and putting my hands on the balcony railing. Near silent footsteps followed me and then Mason was standing next to me. We stood there for a while, not talking, just listening. The waves hitting the shore, the wind rustling the trees. 

"Calsy I'm sorry." Mason said.

I looked at him, "Why didn't you answer me?" 

He looked down. "I guess I was a little embarrassed. Drinking is not something I do regularly." 

"Don't lie to me." 

"Okay well I don't drink in the mornings." 

I huffed out a laugh. "What happened?" 

"My father. He wants me to take over-" Mason paused and swallowed. "He wants me to take over the family business." 

I frowned, "That's it?"

Mason shook his head. "It's hard to explain. The family business isn't exactly..." 

"Normal?" I suggested.

"Yeah. Definitely not a normal family business." 

We stood there for a few more minutes watching the light from the moon hit the water. 

"I want to take you out tonight." Mason suddenly said.

I knitted my eyes brows together. "What? Where?" 

"There's a small city close by. I want to show you." 

 I nodded a bit, surprised at the request. "Okay." 

-

"You want me to get on that?" I said, pointing at the sleek black motorcycle Mason was currently resting on.

"Oh come on Cals, we'll have helmets." 

"First of all, only Jasie gets to call me that," Mason smiled, "and two a helmet is not going to stop you from getting us killed." 

"I won't kill us. Too much paperwork if I survive. Then there the witness statements, trials to determine whether I did it on purpose..." he trailed off. I didn't smile. "I won't drink tonight if that makes you feel better." 

"You've already drinken tonight if I remember correctly."

"It's already out of my system." He grinned, "Now come on." 

I looked at the machine again and sighed. "I will haunt your ass if you kill me." 

"Sounds like fun." 

Mason handed me a helmet and motioned for me to get behind him on the seat. I slipped the helmet on with little difficulty but securing it was a bit harder, meanwhile Mason had his hands on the throttle, reving up the engine. 

I suddenly had a question, "Should we tell Olivia?"

"She was already asleep." Mason replied. "Hold on." 

He turned the bike out of the driveway and I threw my hands around his middle. I didn't even have time to feel uncomfortable because Mason kicked off without warning and we went speeding off into the city. 

-

The city lights were bright and flashy, and dozens of people walked the streets. The bike slowed as we came to a stop light and I relaxed my grip on Mason's middle. People were dressed in all different colors, reds, blues, greens. I wanted to lift the visor on my helmet but quickly held tight to Mason again as we sped forward on a green light.

-

We stopped at a small burger place on a corner. Mason parked and swung off as if it was nothing but my thighs refused to move from their cramped position. I grunted and tried to pull myself off but in the end Mason had to pull me from the bike. 

When I was finally back on my feet I pulled the helmet off and shook my hair free. I noticed Mason staring and shot him a look. He smirked. 

When we were finally seated at a booth close the one of the big windows I noticed Mason was staring at me again. 

"Why do you keep looking at me?" I asked.

"Am I supposed to deny that I find you attractive?" He responded.

"You've never outright said it."

"I believe I did." 

I chuckled. "You've only ever complimented my ass."

"Because, as I've said before, you have a pretty ass." He smiled. "Look, if you want me to stop staring I will. Just say the word." 

It was weird but, I didn't want him too. So all I said was, "Okay." 

Apparently dinner was all Mason wanted to do in the city because when we got back on the motorcycle we headed back to the beach house. 

Mason followed me back upstairs to my room and I leaned against the closed door. 

"Thank you for dinner." I said.

Mason leaned over and put his forearm on the frame right next to my head. I never realized how tall he was until now. I looked up as he said, "No problem." 

His head was so close to mine that some of our breath mixed. The deep browns of his eyes had lines of black and full eyelashes framed them. My eyes trailed farther down his face, small lips and a freshly shaven jaw led to a strong tanned neck and the start of his chest. I didn't dare look any farther. 

My heart was racing, adrenaline was rushing through me. I looked back at Mason's eyes and my breath caught as I saw them getting closer. Mason's breath tickled my ear as he whispered, "Goodnight Calsy." Then he pulled away down the hall and the heat that had flooded me left in a cold rush. 

God, what am I doing?  I slipped into my room and got ready for bed, but found that I couldn't sleep. My heart still pounded. Calsy, you need to stop. I bet he does this with other girls, and they float right to him. You're better than that. I repeated it to myself until I drifted into a deep sleep.