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Chapter Forty

"What movie do you want to see?"

I looked at the movie posters and sighed. Christmas break was almost over and Mason was flying back to Kentucky in just a few days. That thought was putting a damper on my holly-jolly spirit.

"I don't know," I said.

Mason looked at me thoughtfully.

"Do you not want to see a movie?"

I looked up at him. "What else would we do?"

Mason turned his full attention to a poster advertising a movie with Santa holding various assault rifles. Run, Run Rudolph was the tagline.

Lame.

"Well, the hotel is right next door. Mom flew down to Miami for the day to do something regarding production on something she's working on back home."

The tips of his ears were turning red. I glanced back at the movie posters. We could spend two hours of our life seeing something that neither of us probably wanted to see or...

-------------------------

"This was a better choice," I said with a smile.

We had walked down to McDonald's, got a bag of greasy food, and were lounging out in the hotel room with a little mini floor picnic. I dipped my fry into a little packet of honey and took a bite. I closed my eyes and smiled.

"Fries and honey?" Mason asked.

"Don't knock it 'til you tried it," I said.

"Is that what the baby says?"

I pressed a hand on my belly and smiled. "Big fan of honey right here."

Mason laughed. Our socks and shoes were tossed in a corner and the TV was tuned to some music special, but neither of us were paying much attention.

"Have you thought any more about moving to Kentucky?" Mason asked after a beat. He took a bite of his Big Mac and washed it down with some Coke.

I poked another fry into the honey. The sticky concotion held it into place.

"I don't know," I said honestly. "I mean mom and dad are down here and my brothers and sisters. But then you're up in Kentucky and...I just wish I could have everything at once, you know?"

Mason nodded. "I know. But, I don't want to be one of those teenage dads that only waltzes into their child's life like every couple months. I'm not that type of guy."

I knew he wasn't that type of guy. I studied his face. He was so freakin' handsome face. Strong jaw...great hair...those lips.

The room suddenly got warmer.

"I don't want that either," I said softly. "All I can say is that I'm still thinking about it."

Mason smiled. "I'll take that for now."

For now. For some strange reason I had this image of him forcefully tossing me over his shoulder and whisking me away. And covering me in kisses...and ripping off my shirt and...

"Is it hot in here?" I croaked.

"No. Are you hot?"

I didn't know what I was. All I knew was that my fries were not near as tempting right now as maybe stealing a couple really good kisses with no parents around. I scooted closer. He had polished off two Big Macs, a large fry, and he was trying to suck the last drop out of his drink cup. By the time he lowered his drink I was right beside him. He smiled.

"Hey."

"Hey."

I didn't need to issue him a formal invitation. He leaned down and kissed me softly. So not good enough. I pressed against him and kissed him harder. My arms wrapped around his neck.

This was what I had been missing. I had literally been dreaming of him lately. His hands snaked around my sides. I shivered with pleasure and his teeth drew in my bottom lip and then his tongue took over and...

"You're right. Honey tastes good," he whispered.

Somehow we ended up on the bed and pieces of clothing disappeared and there was left over honey and I was licking it off of places that had gotten us into trouble in the first place. Of course, I didn't care because it wasn't like we could get into any more trouble at this point and...

"Shel," Mason gasped. His hands tangled into my hair and I looked up and his green eyes were right there and I loved him so much and of course I was going to move to Kentucky because I would go ANYWHERE with him and...

"I need you," he whispered. Not just my lips or tongue. Me.

I shimmied up him and he drank me in with his eyes. I suddenly felt self-conscious. His hands splayed across my stomach, paused, and then locked around me.

"I love you Shel," he whispered.

I closed my eyes. I didn't feel so bad anymore. Mason made me feel pretty.

"I love you, too." I said.

There was a moment of pure quiet as I took him in and then soft little breaths, moans, and whispers rent the air. There was no sense of rush or any real terror of getting caught. It was just Mason and me making love for probably the last time for a long while and I just wanted to savor the moment.

When the moment had passed, there wasn't any mad dash for clothes. In fact, we snuggled under the covers, skin to skin. Mas ran a hand down my bare shoulder. My eyes fluttered closed.

"Shel?"

"Mmm?" I didn't open my eyes. I just wanted to bask in, well, this.

"Do you believe in soul mates?"

My eyes cracked open a little bit. He looked so serious. I smiled.

"I do."

He smiled.

"You're my soul mate," he said gently.

I couldn't help it; I threw my arms around him and wiggled up right against his body.

"And you're mine," I replied in a whisper. I kissed him softly. He leaned me back into the pillows and I reveled in the feel of the dampness on the back of his neck. I don't know how long we stayed like that, exchanging deep kisses, but it didn't seem long enough.

In a way, that was kind of the funny thing about love.

It made you greedy. It manipulated time.

But it was great.