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  He looked over at her through his half swollen eye. Exhaustion began to overpower his

  insides; the adrenaline finally ceased. This brave little thing sitting next to him was truly more amazing than he had ever imagined.

  The sad part was that he knew now, more than ever, that he didn’t deserve her.

  * * *

  Harley had no idea where she was headed as they pulled out of the parking lot. What she

  did know was that she needed to get Mason as far away from school as possible. This was

  Harley’s first official time skipping, something she surprisingly didn’t feel the least bit guilty about. That would change, most likely, when her mom and dad found out.

  When she saw Mason beating the ever-loving crap out of Toby in the hallway, her first

  thought was fear filled. God, she didn’t want to see him get into trouble, or worse yet, hurt. He never once came across to her as the violent kind, but the moment Mason hands connected with Toby’s face, she realized just how little she actually knew about this guy.

  Never in her whole life had she seen someone as angry as Mason was. It was as if a

  monster had been unleashed inside of him, and he had no power to stop it. Harley would be lying if she said she wasn’t scared of him. At one point, he had looked borderline insane, but she was able to calm him down. That was almost worth the price of her fear.

  “Harley, where are we going?” he questioned her after an extended period of silence.

  Without even realizing it, she’d driven them to North Park. It bordered Hillsdale’s local

  lake not surprisingly called North Lake and was probably one of her most favorite places to go in the area. Some of Harley’s greatest memories had come from that place.

  “Welcome to my personal paradise, Mason,” she grinned, pulling into the gravel lot.

  Harley didn’t bother with the small talk as she climbed out. In fact, she didn’t bother saying anything else to Mason. There was no need; he’d get the idea sooner or later.

  She wound up at the swings, feeling like a little girl again as she pumped her legs in

  stride. Swinging like that was freeing, and Harley couldn’t help but close her eyes the higher she went. After waiting a while for Mason to join her, Harley snuck a peek over her shoulder

  towards her car, only to realize that Mason was sitting on top of the hood. He had his arms wrapped around his knee, his chin firmly planted on top of them. The creepy but mesmerizing part about it all was that his eyes were solely focused on Harley.

  She sighed out of sadness for him, feeling a sudden and overwhelming need to join him,

  to comfort him. She could almost envision it in her mind – the moment she’d wrap her arms

  around his neck, lifting his face with her hands to kiss away his pain. She looked away again.

  Those thoughts had to stop, especially since she’d already experienced the awesomeness of his lips on hers. She wondered if it would it always be like that with him. She shook her head. Who was she kidding? Her life was too complicated to have any more moments like that.

  Harley wanted nothing more than to clear her head after the incident with Mason and

  Toby altogether, but she wasn’t quite distracted enough to do so just yet. She threw her head back and stared up at the sky, unable to get the image out of her mind of Mason pounding Toby’s head against the floor. Coming to North Park to look out at the calmness of the lake was the only place she could think of to ease her tension as well as Mason’s.

  After a few more minutes of isolation, she finally got enough courage to glance over at

  him again just as the crunch of gravel sounded her ears. There he was looking broody as ever, and her traitorous heart went into kick start mode at the site. With his black skin tight t-shirt stretched across his lean, yet utterly strong surfer chest and stomach, she swallowed the drool that was most likely pooling under her chin.

  Damn, he was hot…

  She held her breath as he finally approached only to suffocate some more as his strong

  arms wrapped around her grabbing the chains of the swing, stopping it all together. She closed her eyes tightly as his nose nuzzled against the base of her neck. He inhaled deeply, and Harley shivered in awareness. He had a major thing with smells apparently.

  He threaded his fingers through her hair until he was massaging her neck and upper back.

  The firm touch did un-Godly things to her all too aware body, and her continued to tremble with eager anticipation. What would he do next, and would she let him do it?

  “Thank-you, Harley, for bringing me here,” he sighed. “This place … is perfect.” He

  kissed the top of her head and backed away, proceeding to push her swing. She blew out a

  breath. There were no words left in her vocabulary. She was truly fried, and the sensitive version of Mason was her match.

  Looking back over her shoulder at him, a genuine smile crossed her face. A second later,

  he smiled back at her, dimples, white teeth, and all. Then something in his eyes changed as their stares held. Something was definitely stewing in that sinister brain of his, and Harley wasn’t sure she wanted to find out what that was.

  It started with a poke to the ribs, a move that completely caught her off guard. She

  squealed and almost fell backwards out of the swing as his assaulting tickles went rounds with her stomach. Luckily though, Mason was there to catch her before she actually fell.

  A tickler, huh? Oh boy, he was in for it now…

  She jumped away from his hold off the swings and onto the hardened ground, somehow

  landing feet first. Vengeance was the only thing on her mind as she turned to face him, her hands stretched out in front of her. A playful growl soon erupted from her throat, “You better run, surfer boy. I’m deadly with these hands!” She wiggled her fingers at him for show, but he just grinned back at her, a teasing smile still played out on his mouth.

  He crossed his arms over that spectacular looking chest of his and tapped his toe in a

  show of obvious impatience. Harley kept at her game though determined not to let him win and moved closer to him, like a cat on the verge of pouncing. The boy obviously didn’t realize who he was dealing with.

  “You don’t scare me, little beast.” He licked his lips, the move completely catching her

  off guard. She paused and cocked her head to the side, studying him and the way the wind

  moved his shaggy hair in the light breeze. Then the game changed as Mason took a small step forward towards her, deadly, yet playful intent in his mesmerizing, tanzanite colored eyes. Damn

  … she was in trouble in more ways than one.

  Without a second thought, she took off in the opposite direction. The sound of his

  crunching feet was the only inclination that he was behind her, stalking her, chasing her. Her heart beat fluttered furiously inside her chest as she rounded the trees, fleeing just out of his reach. She giggled when as he attempted to catch up to her.

  It should have scared her that this game felt so right, so natural, like best friends, or

  lovers even. If anything, she was just having fun. It’d been too long since she’d had fun.

  The familiar trails of North Park were second nature to Harley, and she maneuvered

  through the tree limbs and bushes with ease. Harley found her favorite hiding spot, and she made it inside the old, misshapen stump without his knowledge. She crouched low, held her breath, and waited for him to find her.

  She saw him approach her out of the corner of her eye. She bit her lip so as not to let her giggles out, but it was a wasted effort as the sound of his whistling echoed in her ears. Slowly, sneakily even, he strolled by her, his hands were tucked into his jean pockets as if he had no cares in the world. Her giggles grew louder, and suddenly, her secret hideout wasn’t so secret anymore.

  She ended his surprise before he actually followed through with i
t.

  “I’ve got you!”

  She laughed loudly as she jumped astride his back, piggy back style. He grunted and

  pulled her legs tightly around his torso. She tortured him with piggy back tickles against his ribs, and two seconds later, Mason was hard core belly laughing, yelling something along the line of

  “uncle.” Harley pretended not to hear him though; she was too far gone in their game to ease up on the onslaught of her attack.

  She tortured him pulling up his shirt only to gasp when her hands found the smooth lines

  of his stomach. Unfortunately, that was the wrong move to make. She was flung backwards and onto the ground. A small pile of brush softened her fall minimizing the pain which was the last thing on her mind as his body pressed down over hers. She gulped, long and hard as she stared into the most intense blues eyes.

  “Hi…” she whispered shyly, giving him a coy smile as her fingers bunched at the top of

  his shirt.

  “Hi, yourself,” he smirked down at her. His words were whispered, his legs still

  straddling her waist as he gripped both of her hands above her head.

  She didn’t try to wiggle out of his hold; she didn’t attempt an escape. In that moment,

  everything that had happened at school was forgotten. Nothing mattered but Mason. Not the cool breeze threatening fall rain approaching from the west, not the fact that they had both just skipped school ... nothing. Electricity tugged at her stomach, need pulled at her chest, and something shifted inside of Harley as she lay there, helpless under him, something she hadn’t felt for two years.

  “Give up while you can, Harley. Otherwise I could sit here all night tickling you like

  this.” His voice grew hoarse; the sound fell over her like melted chocolate. Harley swallowed and turned her head away, careful not to quiver at the promising threat.

  Mason was strong, Hercules strong. Even if she wanted to escape from his hold, she

  couldn’t, she wouldn’t. Hot, molten lava poured over her skin as he grazed her belly button with his one free hand. Her mind blurred, and she was ready to succumb to anything he asked of her.

  Then he gifted her with that one sided smile she couldn’t resist and she melted, swooned for the fiftieth time since they’d met.

  Until his promised tickles came at her again. Then she screamed, curling her toes,

  squealing like a helpless banshee.

  Damn him and his promises.

  “Okay, okay, I’m sorry … stop … please, Mason, stop!” She pleaded and begged until

  finally his tickling subsided. Her breath was heavy, heaving even, and she couldn’t catch it. It was a wasted effort to even try, especially when his eyes went from playful to wicked-hot in less than a second.

  She was enchanted by his intensity but unnerved at the same time.

  He finally let go of her hands, but he didn’t move. Then slowly, mindlessly, she reached

  up to run her fingers from the roots of his hair to the tips. She marveled at its softness, completely in awe of him as she studied the various shades. Blond, brown, sandy – like the

  beach. Mason sucked in a breath, but he also went tense. She pulled her hand down. That ticking time bomb she had glimpsed earlier was back.

  “Harley…” It was a plea, not a question, and he lowered his face to hers, leveling their

  foreheads together. “Harley, I want you, but after everything…” he squeezed his eyes shut,

  seemingly pained with his own words. Harley continued to hold her breath as she waited for his personal demons to either explode or disappear. He was fighting with something. She knew what that was like. She dealt with her own battles daily, but damn if this newest battle wasn’t the worst of them all…

  Harley wanted Mason. All of him…

  “It’s okay, Mase. I get it now,” she lifted her hands back up and laced them behind his

  head, pulling him closer, needing to escape from her day to day life of guilt and self-pity once again, even if it was only temporary. To Harley’s surprise, Mason resisted, panic seemingly sparked behind his eyes.

  Apparently Mason Daniel had skeletons too.

  “No, Har, you really don’t –”

  “Stop, please. I don’t want to hear your excuses, Mason,” she paused and closed her eyes.

  Her stomach turned in circles. God, rejection was killer, and he was ready to do just that. She’d save him the trouble though. “I was stupid to think something like this would work between us anyways, so just forget it. Please get off of me. I want to go home.” She turned her head to the side, swallowing her embarrassing tears.

  Not surprisingly, he obliged and jumped off, brushing leaves from his jeans in the

  process. Harley joined him, mirroring his actions as she wiped brush from her legs, but when she turned to face him, to apologize for snapping like she’d done, she gaped at the empty space next to her instead. He wasn’t there.

  Like a needy, pitiful girl, a few unwanted tears escaped her eyes. She was the one who

  planned on telling Mason that what happened between them was a mistake, but now, here she

  was, upset because he was walking away? She snorted. What a joke! She shook her head,

  walking back towards her car, stomping on everything worth stomping that would rid her of this anger.

  She made her way back through the long path of woods, swallowing her tears as the car

  appeared. She held her head high and vowed to herself, yet again, that she would go back to a simple life. No more boys to bring her down with their own melodramatic attitudes. She had

  enough of that crap with her brother, but as she stepped near the passenger side door, she froze, pressing a hand over her heart. The picture of Mason with his head plastered against the glass was almost too much to take in. Wow, was she that repulsive?

  Slowly, so as not to disturb him, Harley tiptoed to the driver’s side door, biting her

  tongue as she heard the sound of gravel being kicked. Mason didn’t bother to look over at her as he too entered the car himself. Harley stared straight ahead towards the road as she started the car, her arms stiff, and her hands at the ten and two position. She clenched her teeth together. She wouldn’t look at him. Seriously though, why was he so pissed at her anyways? She didn’t do

  anything that he didn’t help insinuate!

  They’d played together, laughed together, and forgot the drama of Toby, school, and life

  in general together. They were just two teenagers hanging out being normal for once, and then boom. It all just had to change, didn’t it? There should have never been any doubt in her mind.

  Being acquaintances was one thing; anything beyond that wasn’t right. They wouldn’t have to deal with any of that boy-girl drama if they’d stayed in friend territory!

  She nodded her head briskly. Yes, she’d be okay; no more tears. She was done with tears.

  It was time to keep moving forward and to forget about Mason – about his kisses, his snarkiness, his ability to make her tummy flip on command. Ugh. Dammit. This wasn’t going to be easy

  though, was it?

  Chapter Ten

  Do not let Mason get to you … Do not let Mason get to you.

  Harley had been repeating that ridiculous mantra for over ten minutes before finally

  taking her seat in first hour. She was waiting on bated breath for him to show. She had definitely made it her goal to avoid him at all costs today, and if she did have to speak to him, it’d be two words – tops. After his weird, multi-personality behavior in the park yesterday afternoon, Harley didn’t exactly know what to expect from Mason anymore.

  “Good morning, class. I hope everyone is enjoying their Friday! I have a special surprise

  for you all, for today is the day to … Oh, well, if it isn’t Mr. Daniel? So nice of you to join us today. If you would be so kind as to visit me after class for your detention slip for the tardiness you so rudely display
ed here today, I would greatly appreciate it.”

  Harley whipped her head up at the teacher’s words. He had come after all. She rubbed the back of her neck, watching curiously at Mason strolled into the classroom door, shoulders

  slumped. Her eyes widened at the site. He looked awful with his beautiful hair more astray than usual and his eyes dark, hooded, and completely blank, both decorated precariously with black circles underneath. Tag that with the bruises perfectly proportioned along his jawline, and he looked downright dangerous. It was safe to assume that his little brawl in the hallway with Toby yesterday created those skin imperfections. The dark circles though? She had no idea…

  Harley stiffened, going on high alert as she tried like hell to keep her eyes

  downturned as when he walked by. Unfortunately, as always, she was drawn to him and sucked

  into his gaze like she had no other options.

  He nodded at her, nothing more, as he took the seat behind her. Harley couldn’t help but

  squirm as she nibbled on her pencil eraser. She was like a live wire, ready to burst from the overabundance of electricity in the air, but after two simple minutes, she felt too twitchy. She had to get the hell out of the room or else...

  “Miss Anderson … Tsk, tsk … I suggest you do your bathroom business before my class

  from now on, understood?” With a quick nod of agreement, she stood, grabbed the pass from the jerk of a teacher with his dorky tortoise shelled bifocals, and made her escape.

  “Yes, sir. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” she lied, exiting the class with her eye

  rolling kept to a minimum. She looked back over her shoulder before leaving; knowing somehow that Mason was still eyeing her, but what she didn’t expect to see was that smart ass grin on his face.

  Oh the damn nerve of this guy! Ugh!

  When she finally rounded the corner and headed into her new solace, she finally