Fated

CHAPTER 9

ONE WEEK LATER

MASON'S POV

I hadn't seen Jasmine since my mom's birthday dinner. I had to fly to Chicago that next day to see some clients about an ad they wanted for their company. We texted like we normally did and with every buzz of my phone, I wanted her more and more. I kept thinking about her and what my mother said. Could we move past friendship? What if we didn't work out? I would hate to lose her. The other side is, what if we worked? Man, to kiss her whenever I wanted. To pick her up, carry her to the bedroom and touch every inch of her. WHEW! That would be something.

Since I'd just gotten back, I decided to surprise her with lunch. I knew she was home so I let myself in. I shouldn't get in too much trouble this time since it was the afternoon.  Jasmine isn't in the living room or kitchen, so I headed to her bedroom. I reached up to knock on the door and heard...moaning.  Hearing Jasmine moaning like that, my goodness!  All I could think about was my fingers sliding down her sexy body, finding her clit and working it. My mouth, sucking on her hard nipple.

Good thing I'm wearing sweatpants because this erection would be really uncomfortable otherwise.  I couldn’t bring myself to knock so I listened for a few minutes more. I wonder if she's touching herself or using a toy. The thought of her hands between her thighs, sliding her fingers in and out, mmm...I could feel my blood rushing through me. I knocked on the door and called her name.

“Dang it, Mason! Just a minute,” she called out.  I heard some shuffling around and Jasmine laughing. Why's she laughing? The door opened and Jasmine was standing there in a tank top (no bra) and some cheerleading shorts. Man, those thighs!  “Learned your lesson from last time?”

I laughed as I replied, “Yeah I did. I wanted -”  I was mid-sentence when I noticed movement behind her. I'd been so captivated by her that I didn't notice the man in the room with her.  “Oh, I didn't know you had company. I'll go.”

Before she could say anything, I turned and walked away. Who the hell is this guy? Why's he here? When did she meet him? Why haven't I heard about him? Oh my God!! He was in there...with her...making her moan. I'm PISSED!

“Mason, wait!”  I heard Jasmine but my brain wasn’t in control of my feet right now, my heart was and my heart couldn’t be here. I felt her hand on my arm as I was walking out the front door.  “Mason, slow down! What's wrong with you?” she asked, confused. 

I couldn’t look at her.  If I looked at her, she'd see every new feeling I had for her and I couldn’t make a fool of myself. She picked someone else.  “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll see you later.”  I said all this with my back to her, still walking. She caught me off guard and spun me to face her.

“I don't want you to go. Come back in.”

By this time, this...this...dude had come to the door. He looked at me for a second then focused on Jasmine. He walked up to her, put his arm around her waist, and kissed her cheek. I felt my blood boiling, heat rose in my chest, and I flexed my hands to keep from making a fist.

“Babe, I'm gonna go. Call me later?”

“Sure, but let me introduce you first. Lance, this is Mason.”  Lance (pansy ass name) reached his hand out to me. I grabbed it and shook.

“Hey. Nice to meet you,” I lied and placed a small grin on my face for Jasmine's benefit.

He chuckled lightly and said, “Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you.”

“It's all lies unless she said good stuff.”

Jasmine chimed in, “Why would I do that?”

“Trust me, you're good,” he replied.  He seemed okay and I'd probably like him if he wasn't putting his díck where it didn't belong. “Again, good to meet you, Mason.  I'll see you later, babe.”

He pulled Jasmine in and kissed her. I noticed that she pulled away when it looked like he wanted to keep going. We watched in silence as he walked off and I controlled my urge to claim Jasmine in whatever way possible to let him and her know that she should be with me.

***

JASMINE'S POV

“Come on Mason.” I grabbed his hand and walked him back into my house. We went to the kitchen and I grabbed the water from the refrigerator.  Mason sat in a chair at the island counter. He hadn't really looked at me since he saw Lance in my bedroom. CRAP!!! This is not how I wanted them to meet. Wait...did I want them to meet?

Lance and I had been hanging out since the night we met at the club. He was nice and we had fun together. We'd gone out three times since we met. We hadn't had sex but we definitely fooled around. A girl has needs and the real thing is always better than mechanical.

I'd told Lance about Mason because Mason was important to me. I hadn't told Mason about Lance because I wasn't sure about him. I didn't even want them to meet until I could figure out my feelings.  I knew Mason was hurt. I saw it when he noticed Lance in my room. I saw it again when Lance kissed my cheek. I saw it a third time when he kissed my lips. I halted that kiss because I didn't want to flaunt anything in Mason's face. I didn't want him thinking I didn't care.

I looked at him now, fiddling with his phone. I really looked at him and my heart skipped a beat. He was a beautiful man. His brow was prominent and he had high cheekbones, a wide nose, and a perfectly juicy bottom lip.  I also had to admit that since his mom’s birthday dinner I’d imagined that thick beard of his tickling the inside of my thighs.  When Lance first kissed me, Mason flashed across my mind. I denied it because he was my best friend and though the dynamics of our relationship had shifted, they hadn't changed so much that I was willing to risk it all. Did that mean I was using Lance? Maybe. But really, isn't everybody using everybody?

I slid him a glass of water and asked, “What are you thinking?”

“Who is he and why didn't I know about him?”

“Well, he's Lance. We met at the club a week ago. We've spent a little time together, taking things slow...ish. I didn't tell you about him because it's new and I'm not sure about him.”

“Not sure?”

I sighed and blew out a long breath.  “You know how important you are to me. You're my family and no one just meets the family.”  His eyes dulled slightly at the word family. Crap, now he thinks I think he's my brother.  “Mason, I mean -”

“Well, I'm happy for you if you're happy. I came by here to take you to lunch. You wanna go?”  He’d cut me off, meaning he wanted to be done with it.

“Uh...sure,” I answered.  I walked to my room and threw on a bra, skirt, and flip flops. My heart was sinking because he was hurting. The brave face Mason was giving me didn't fool me. However, if he wanted to pretend, then so could I.  “Ready!”