His lips brush softly against mine. The kiss is tentative at first, a question more than an answer. But suddenly Holland isn’t shy anymore. Maybe he’s feeling relief or confusion?
To my surprise, he deepens the kiss. He pulls me closer to him, but I didn’t need to move much. The bathroom is cramped, but the tightness feels comforting rather than suffocating.
My lips seem to part involuntarily, and Holland wastes no time as his tongue brushes against mine. The taste of him is intoxicating, a mix of mint and something uniquely him. He’s a really good freaking kisser.
He groans softly, his hands moving to my hips, holding me steady. Thank God for that because I’m feeling a bit off kilter right now.
The kiss is frantic, desperate, a lifeline in the chaos that must be his mind.
But as quickly as it started, it comes to an abrupt end at the sound of a knock on the door.
Holland pulls back quickly, his breath ragged. He tries to back up, but he can’t get far.
“Shit,” he hisses, running a hand through his messed hair. I just stand there, looking between him and the door as another knock comes from the other side, and then a familiar voice calls out.
“Hey, I’ve really gotta go, can you hurry up in there?”
Holland blows out a breath and looks visibly more relaxed as I reach for the handle to slide open the door. I’m greeted by Mason’s annoyed expression. Something tells me he’s been waiting out here for a bit.
My cheeks heat as he looks from Holland to me, putting the pieces together. He needs to keep his mouth shut because I don’t want Ellie finding out about this. Not yet.
“What… you guys…” Mason gestures between the two of us, his expression almost horrified. “You…” he points to Holland. “And you…” he says as he points at me. “Did you guys-”
I cut him off before he can even finish that sentence. “No! No, of course not. He just-”
Holland cuts me off before I can say anything more.
“We were planning a, uh… surprise. Yeah, a surprise for Ryker and Gwen. We wanted to keep it quiet until we were sure of our plan,” Holland spouts out. What a ridiculous lie! Mason isn’t that stupid; he’ll never fall for…
“Oh sweet! So, what is it?” Mason asks, his face lit up with excitement. He looks between the two of us again and my pulse picks up speed. I am not good at lying, and here I am, trying to come up with a ‘surprise’ that wasn’t even a thing until five seconds ago.
“What is what?” Holland asks. If I had enough room to maneuver myself enough to face palm, I would. He’s kidding right?
“The surprise. What is it?”
“Oh, right. Well, I can’t tell you because… well, because you’re not really great with secrets, Mase,” Holland says, his face crinkling. Mason’s hand flies to his chest and his mouth falls open.
“What? I’m great with secrets. I could keep a secret forever if I had to,” he defends. He looks genuinely offended, and I have to keep myself from laughing because he has to know how awful he is when it comes to keeping a secret.
Last year, we tried to throw a surprise party for Holland’s birthday and Mason ruined it. He was in charge of getting Holland where he neededto be, and he let it slip that they had to be there right on time or it would ruin the surprise.
We were all so pissed we locked him out of the party, causing him to pout outside the entire time. It even started to downpour, and he still stood out there, pouting. He’s never let us live it down, but we’ve never let the fact that he spoiled a surprise be forgotten either.
Hence Holland’s comment about Mason not being good with surprises.
Mason is always acting like everyone is against him, but that’s only because he’s usually the one we have to worry about.He’s the one that hits on anything with a pair of tits and a vagina.
He’s the one that’ll get us kicked out of a party because he hit on someone’s girlfriend. That’s just the way he is, and we love him for it.
“Oh, Mason,” I placate, placing both my hands on either side of his face. He looks down at me with a bewildered expression. “You’rehorrible with secrets. But at least you’re cute.”
I pat his cheek and lightly push him so he moves out of the doorway.
When I get back to my seat, Ellie gives me a quizzical look, but she doesn’t say anything. I give her a small smile before she turns back to reading her book.
Chapter 22
Lainey
