Metamorphosis (19 page)

“So what’s the story now? Where
are your parents?”

“My parents live in San Antonio, I
moved here in August with my best friend to go to school. My relationship with
my parents has been pretty much non-existent since then.” I answered.

“And you haven’t slept with anyone
since you’ve been here? Not Ash or Dylan or anyone else?”

“Nope,” I shook my head. “It’s not
that I don’t want to… believe me, I do. I mean, I don’t just want to sleep with
anyone and everyone, I’m not aspiring to be a whore or anything, but I don’t
think I need to wait to fall madly in love either. I don’t live in fairytale
land and think Prince Charming is going to roll up in a magical carriage
anytime soon.

“Dylan won’t do much more than
kiss me, even if I try to do more, he keeps telling me that I need to be sure
that I’m ready… And Ash, well, I already told you about how we are just
friends.” I rolled my eyes at the words. “Other than that, before tonight I really
hadn’t met anyone else, I’ve just been pretty busy with school and stuff,
ya
know?”

“And tonight? Me?” he asked.

“And you what? Are you asking if I
want to have sex with you?” I raised my eyebrows at him.

“Yes… no… well, yes and no. I
guess I’m just confused on what made you come back here with me. Surely that’s
what you thought was going to happen?” He continued to play with his lip ring
and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his full lips. I wanted to kiss him again
so bad, and I could feel the butterflies coming alive again in my lower
abdomen. Feeling another surge of lust-driven courage, I crawled across the
small area of bed that separated Mason and I and straddled his lap, hooking my
legs around his back. I ran my hands over his head and down to the back of his
neck. He stared deep into my eyes and I felt so safe.

“Honestly, I didn’t know what was
going to happen. I’m just going with what feels right,” I explained. “And
coming here with you tonight felt right. I hope I did okay?” I was a little
nervous that I had sucked, no pun intended, at my initial attempt at giving
head.

“That was the first time you had
ever done that?” His eyes grew wide in surprise. I nodded and looked down,
embarrassed. He lifted my chin up so that I was staring in his eyes once again.
“Scarlett, that was way better than okay. It was… I don’t know the right words
to do it justice… incredible, mind-blowing, stupefying. I just can’t believe
that you did that for me when you had never…” He shook his head.

“Look, that’s what I don’t want,”
I interrupted. “I don’t want my first time to be some production, some planned
event… If it so happens that I go out with a guy a few times and it slowly
builds to that, great; or if it so happens that one night at a bar I meet some
hot piece of ass that charms me out of my wet panties and screws me against a
wall in a back hall, well then great for that too. I just want it to be a
natural procession of events, like it is for everyone else. The fact that we
are even talking about it right now sucks.”

He closed the small gap between
our faces and pressed his forehead against mine. The look in his eyes was
intense and I thought he was about to say something heartfelt or meaningful,
but instead he
asked
“So you think I’m a hot piece of
ass, huh?” I pulled away from him laughing and swatted his arm.

“Who said I was talking about you?
My hypothetical ‘hot piece of ass’ charmed me out of my panties, and I’m pretty
sure my panties have been intact the entire time I’ve been in your presence.”

Mason rocked his body weight
forward so that I was flat on my back on the bed and he was hovering over me.
Mischief glimmered in his eyes. “Is that a challenge, angel?” I groaned and
rolled my eyes at him. “What?” he asked, confused at my sudden mood change.

“Angel? Really? What is it with
all of the nicknames and people? Everyone I know has some stupid ass nickname
and it drives me insane. Yours, by the way, has got to be in the top three of
all-time worst ever.” I complained. He threw his head back in laughter.

“You’re mad because I called you
‘angel?’” He shook his head. “You are one intriguing little girl, Scarlett.
I’ve definitely never met one like you.” He leaned down and brushed my lips
with his ever so lightly. Hungry for more of his touch, I moaned and arched my body
into his. He pulled away slightly and
tsked
at me.
“Calm down, angel. I have got to start getting ready here in just a bit, and
the next time we’re together, I don’t want to rush. I want to spend hours
showing you how I can make your body feel.” He gave me a quick peck and rolled
off of
me and the bed
in one sweeping motion. My folds
had slickened at his tempting words and I growled quietly in frustration when
his body left mine. I hoped there was a next time.

“So have you always hated
nicknames or is that something recent?” he picked up our previous unfinished
conversation as he pulled his t-shirt over his head.

“Always. I have some strange
aversion to them.” I climbed off the bed and began a search for my shoes while
I talked. “I’ve never met anyone else that feels the same way, so I guess it’s
my unique quality.” I snickered.

“I knew there was something
different about you, I never would have guessed it was moniker-a-phobia.
”
he teased.

“Dare I ask where the name ‘Rat’
comes from?” I couldn’t help but make a face every time I said it.

“My last name is Templeton,” Mason
said like that explained everything. I looked at him blankly, clearly not
making the connection.

“You know, Charlotte’s Web…” he
began. Instantly the image of Templeton, the rat that had gotten so fat after
eating all of that food at the fair crossed my mind and I erupted in giggles.
“You think that’s funny, huh?” He picked me up over his shoulder and lightly
spanked my ass as he strode across the room to the door. “Consider yourself lucky
that I need to go now, otherwise I would make you pay for making fun of me,
angel.” I wiggled and squirmed and kicked trying to escape his grasp, but I had
no chance. Instead I laughed and started pinching his butt while he walked. It
seemed that my request to not be called pet names fell on deaf ears when I
talked to both him and Ash. And surprisingly, not only
did it
not bother me
,
I kind of liked it
.

When we made it to the door of the
apartment, Mason slid me down his hard chest until I was standing in front of
him, facing him. He gently pushed me against the door with his
body,
I could feel his cock pressing against my belly. His
warm breath on my neck sent shivers down my back. He planted several soft
kisses up my neck until he reached my ear. “We will finish this conversation
when I’m done, Angel. Tell your friends that I will take you home later and
meet me next to the stage when the show’s over. I’ve got a surprise for you, I
hope you like it.” He continued his trail of kisses across my jaw line to my
mouth. I loved the feel of the warm lips accompanied by the cool metal ring as
it drug across my skin. When his mouth met mine, he kissed me with craving and
desire, a promise of what was yet to come.

When we exited the hallway to the
main warehouse, Mason went to gather up the other members of
Jobu’s
Rum, and I walked directly over to the table where
Evie
and Mina still sat with the guys from 32 Leaves.
Evie
jumped up and ran towards me as soon as she saw me.

“Are you okay? Where in the hell
have you been? What happened to you? Did you fuck him? You look like you fucked
him. ” Her eyes ran over my appearance, doing an inventory of each hair that
was out of place and looking for smudged lipstick.

“I’m fine,
Evie
.
As a matter of fact, I’m more than fine.” I smiled as I saw Mason disappear
into the back with his band. “And no, I didn’t have sex with him, at least not
yet.”

Evie
jumped up and down in excitement.
It was like she was own personal sex cheerleader. Up until tonight, I wasn’t
sure who wanted me to get laid more, her or me. However, after feeling what I
had earlier with Mason, my desperate want to lose the V-card definitely
outweighed her hopes.

I gave her a quick rundown of what
had happened as we walked back over to Mina. She told me that she was most
likely going home with Max and I let her know it was no problem since Mason
would take me home later. We were both anxious to watch him perform since we
had only seen the end of his first set. I knew that I would look at him
completely different now, after what had happened in the apartment. I tried not
to let myself get too excited. I knew that Mason, much like Ash, probably
hooked up with several different girls a week. As a matter of fact, with his
front man rocker image, he probably put Ash to shame. Why was it that I was
insanely attracted to male whore musicians? So I knew that whatever happened or
was going to happen between us, wasn’t anything special to him, but I was
elated nonetheless.

As I waited for Mason and
Jobu’s
Rum to take the stage, I found myself scanning the
pool table area to see if Mason was right, that Ash had stayed. It didn’t take
me long to find his messy, long sun-kissed hair in the crowd. He was standing
against the wall while his date mauled him from the front. Even though they
were locked in a kiss and she was pawing him frantically, his eyes were open
and staring across the room, directly at me. I rolled my eyes at
him,
still irritated he was even here. He closed his eyes
and I saw his hands weave in
blondie’s
hair, as if he
was suddenly interested in the skank in front of him. Whatever.

Nearly thirty minutes later, I
finally heard Mason’s deep voice echo throughout the warehouse. I immediately
turned to look at him and loved that he was staring directly at me, smiling. I
shot him my biggest smile back and he began his performance. I didn’t recognize
the majority of their songs, and based on the raw emotion I heard in his voice
while he sang each lyric, I assumed he had written most of them. When it seemed
like they were wrapping up the set, the music stopped and Mason grabbed the
microphone off the stand and addressed the crowd.

“’I hope everyone’s having the
fucking time of their life tonight, I know that I am,” He yelled and then
paused as everyone started screaming and shouting. He rewarded them with his
flirtatious grin. “That’s what I like to hear.
Alright
,
well before we call it a night we are going to play a few extra songs for you.
This is a little different from what we usually do; it’s a little old school,
but I think you’ll recognize most of them.

“You know,” he continued, his
voice growing softer and more serious. “Every so often in life, you randomly
cross paths with someone that touches you in a way that you really can’t
explain, but somehow you know that you will never be the same again. A person
that is unknowingly, so incredibly beautiful, both inside and out, that they
truly take your breath away. Recently, I met someone exactly like that. As a
matter of fact, I’m still not convinced that she isn’t an angel here to protect
me from myself and the rest of you crazies.” He chuckled and the crowd cheered
again. I heard one girl scream, “I’ll protect you, Rat!”
Another
panty-dropping smile.
“No, seriously though, these next few songs are
for my angel. I hope the rest of you find your angel someday. Just remember,
don’t let go when you do, even if they try to fly away.”

Up until this point, he had not
even glanced in my direction while he was speaking. However, right before the
drummer began the first song, he looked directly at me, winked, and turned my
body to
jello
with one smile. “Enjoy, Angel.”
Evie
and Mina were both staring at me with their mouths
opened. I looked at both of them and shrugged my shoulders in disbelief myself.
Evie
whispered in my ear, “Are you a witch? I think
you put spells on boys.” I snorted and shook my head.

Mason opened with The Doors’
“Hello I Love You.” I sat in awe, not moving my eyes from the gorgeous singer
serenading me in front of a room full of people. I didn’t dare look in Ash’s
direction,
I would not allow him to ruin this for me. I had
never felt so wanted in my life.

I fell a little more for Mason
with each verse that he sang during a
grunged
-up
version of “Brown Eyed Girl.” He would occasionally look around the room at the
other guests, but for the most part his gaze stayed locked on me. I was
euphoric.

The music paused once again and
Mason lifted the
mic
to his lips. “Okay, last two for
the night everyone. Let’s liven it up a little, everyone on your feet… feel free
to join me.”

He belted out the opening lines to
“Pour Some Sugar On Me” and those who weren’t standing prior, jumped to their
feet. Mason and the band were having a
blast
as was
everyone else in the warehouse, singing at the top of their lungs and dancing.
He was no longer singing directly to me, but when the lyrics said, “little miss
innocent, sugar me,” he pointed at me and I nearly came in my panties.

The band went directly into
“Cherry Pie,” which got a similar positive response from the audience.
Evie
, Mina, and I were having so much
fun,
I could not wipe the smile off my face. We were jumping around, grinding
against each other, and then the next thing I knew, there was a large masculine
hand wrapped around my arm, dragging me away from the table and towards the
door that headed outside.