Page 131 of Game Plan

I looped my arms around his neck to erase the remaining distance between our bodies and lifted one leg and wrapped it around his hip.

“Fuck, I’ve been dreaming about this since we left Crestwood. It was torture being at your place earlier and not being able to do that.” He closed one hand around my thigh and the other around my breast over my shirt, kneading the flesh and igniting fireworks inside me. “I had no idea being back home would be so hard. There’s always someone around. It’s like we can’t be alone for more than five seconds. I swear our parents are totally in on it. They don’t want us hooking up under their roofs, so they’re keeping us from getting too close.”

“Mm-hmm.” I deepened our kiss. “That’s the best thing about college life. Independence and privacy. We should go back downstairs,” I said, breathless, when we broke apart. “They will all wonder where we’ve gone.”

Mason smirked. “Don’t worry, they all know where we’ve gone, Shepard.”

I pressed both palms against his hard chest, preventing him from kissing me. “Ugh, Mase. I don’t want them to picture me…us…naked or doing it. Gross.”

He tucked my hair behind my ear with so much tenderness that I relaxed into him. “Baby, I’m sorry to tell you this, but they’ve probably been picturing you naked for a long time. Sorry, that’s how boys are wired.”

“Double ugh.”

“Double M, love.”

“Please, never repeat that.”

He cupped my face with one palm, kissing my lips once more, and I forgot what we were talking about just now or the fact there was a bunch of people partying downstairs.

“Okay, maybe you’re right. We should get back down there for real.” He was the one who broke the kiss this time. “In a few minutes, okay? I need to have my way with you first.”

I slid my hands under his hoodie and peeled it over his head, desperate to feel his warm skin against mine. “I need you too. Always.” Next, I attacked the zipper of his jeans.

Soon, we both stood there naked, trembling and aching, my jeans and black lace top now forgotten on the floor.

Mason lowered his head to tease my flesh, and I was a goner. Nothing could stop us now. I was yearning to feel all of him inside me. To hell with our friends waiting for us.

A little while later, I was about to get up and get dressed when Mason stopped me. “Wait. I have something for you.” He slid out from beneath me and moved toward the wardrobe, presenting me with a black garment bag.

“What’s that?” I unzipped it and found a black suit, a white shirt, and an emerald dress I recognized as the one piece of fancy clothing I brought to Crestwood University with me at the beginning of the semester, in case I ever needed it. I ran my fingers over the silky fabric, smoothing it. “I don’t understand.”

“Put it on. You’ll see.”

“But I don’t have shoes to wear with it.”

Mason lifted a finger. “Wait.” He made a bag appear from the back of the wardrobe and handed me black heels that belonged to my roommate.

“What is all this?”

He changed into the trousers and shirt, leaving the first three buttons undone, and adjusted the cuffs before slipping into the matching jacket.

With a gentle touch, he turned me around and zipped me up before kissing the nape of my neck and positioning us in front of the full-length mirror. “Look at us.” He circled my waist with his arms, and I could feel the strong beating of his heart against my back.

I angled my face to watch him. “Why are we all dressed up? Are we having a casino night for your birthday?”

His eyes shone in the low light of the bedroom. “You’ll see.”

When we exited the room, Rusty was waiting on the landing with a corsage box in his hand. I stared at both guys, my mind spinning with confusion.

Mason opened the box, secured the purple flower arrangement around my left wrist, and offered his arm to me. “Mel.”

I looped my hand through his bent arm and followed him down the staircase. We halted on the last step. Instead of the usual ruckus and surfaces filled with liquor bottles and packs of beer, typical of any of Jackson’s ragers, there was a big punch bowl surrounded by a dozen boxes of pizza set on a table by the kitchen, the decadent scent of melted cheese and tomato sauce swirling around us. More faces I hadn’t seen in months were scattered around the place, dressed to impress. Everybody had changed since we went upstairs, but why?

Chase waved at us as he parted the crowd in our direction, wearing a black suit with a soft-pink shirt. “Mel, you look hot enough to fuck.”

Mason nudged him hard in the chest. “Watch it, man.”

Chase lifted his hands in surrender. “Relax, man. It’s a compliment. Your girl is hot. It had to be said.”