Behind the Bad Boy

14.

If Mason doesn't stop with these sexual comments, I will rip my hair out.

"Would you be quiet?" I hiss at him.

"I'm going to tell you that one day in bed when we're fucking in a room we shouldn't be."

We had a softball game today, which we won 0-10. It wasn't even a home game and we creamed them on their own field. It's Friday and my curfew is midnight. It's only me and Mason at the beach. We don't even have the dogs.

Mason has himself one hundred percent sure that we're going to get married.

"You're annoying as hell." I mutter.

"No I'm not. You love me." he smiles cheekily and winks.

"Not in your wettest dream."

"You're in all of my wet dreams." He admits. I look at him in disgust and he doesn't look like he's kidding.

"You're fucking nasty."

"No I'm not. You-"

"Hate you? Yes."

I don't hate the perverted bad boy.

We are not getting married.

"Will you leave me alone?" I snap.

"No. I bet if I slipped my hand into your bikini bottoms, you'd never want me to leave you alone. I can make you feel so good."

"I seriously hate you so much." I mutter.

"You secretly want me to slap your sweet ass." He says.

"Stop!" I yell at him, kicking sand at him.

"You're only pissed because I'm right." Mason says proudly, shutting his eyes as he shakes sand from his black hair.

Fuck, he's hot.

What if he was doing that in the shower with the water running down his sexy ass body?

Fuck. I need help.

"Why are you such an ass to people at school but you're so nice outside of school?" I demand.

He stares at me. "Because my stepdad left with my Mom and my real dad takes care of me and my eleven year old sister. I act out so my Mom will come back. I think I'm done with that though. I don't need her. I just want her to come back for Annabella." He sighs. "She's hitting puberty and she's probably going to start her period soon and she doesn't have a girl in her life to help her." he frowns.

"So you act out to get your Mom's attention for your sister? Doesn't that just make it harder on your Dad?"

He shrugs. "I never thought of that." He says quietly.

"Why do you fight people when they say or do something that involves me."

"I've been doing that since sixth grade." He says.

"Why?" I demand.

"Because I've been in love with you since fourth grade when you shared your cookie with me."

My eyebrows furrow. "Then why the fuck did you bully me with Cole?"

"You broke my ten year old heart." He frowns. "I didn't know what to do. The only guy in the house was my step-dad. I couldn't ask him shit because he is shit."

"But why did you stop then?" I ask.

"Because I realized that day you puked on Cole and I broke your ankle that we were hurting you. That was the day I decided that no matter how bad you hurt me, I was always going to protect you. I wasn't going to let anyone hurt you."

It all clicks.

All the fighting...almost every fight he would say something along the lines of you bastard or she's such a nice person or fuck you or how dare you or take that back or touch her and you die.

He always looked at me from forth till now. I never understood why. He always seemed to be there when trouble aroused. He was never friends with Cole again because he realized Cole was hurting me too.

"But...when you ran into me and Megan on your skateboard, you flipped us off..."

"I didn't know that was you. I felt terrible when I realized it was you that screamed excuse you."

I remember once, Cole punched Mason in the stomach but he didn't fight back. Five minutes later, Cole said some while he was looking at me and Mason beat the shit out of him.

It was me. It was always me.

"How come you never told me?" I ask.

"I did-"

"At a reasonable age." I add.

He shrugs, hesitating. "I told you in fourth grade. When you told me that you liked me as a friend...well, you shattered my confidence. You saving me that day was what got me to talk to you."

"But you were a bitch to me when I stopped the fight between you and Cole."

"When I get mad, I kind of black out in a way. I act and then think."

There's a reason for everything.

I look out at the setting sun. "I can't believe that after all this time..." I trail off.

"It was kind of easy to figure out." He says. "Cole likes you too. A lot of guys at our school like you. For instance, Grant stares at you all the time in ISS. I can think of ten people off of the top of my head that look at you like you're god every day. Everyone is so nice to you at school because you're such a likable person. You're beautiful. You're easy to talk to." He shrugs. "I don't deserve you, that's for sure. That's another reason that I wouldn't speak to you. There were so many times when I almost did, but I wouldn't." he frowns. "I'll never ask you to be mine because I want better for you."

So what he's saying is that there's no chance for us to be together?

"I don't want to even take your virginity. I mean...I do, but I don't as well because you deserve someone better than me." he sighs, looking really upset. "I know we won't get married. I just say that to piss you off. I want to marry you, but I don't think that's the best idea." He stands up. "I'm going home though. Bye."

He walks away.

What happens if I don't agree? What if I don't want better?

What if don't think anyone is better?

Do you agree with Mason? Do you think he's being an idiot?