“Christ, woman,” I whispered. “You can call me to meet you like this twice a day from now on.” She smiled, but it wasn’t all happy. I ran my fingertips over her jaw and down her neck, brushing her hair aside and exposing that perfect skin to me. “What happened?”

She groaned. “Donnie and his father had dinner at my house last night.”

I stilled. “What?”

“I had the same reaction. I got home and they were there.”

A low, agitated rumble built from my gut. “I wish the guy would back off.”

“Me too. But I don’t think he will. Not too soon at least. My mother gives him hope, I guess, and he told me he wasn’t giving up on me yet.”

I gritted my teeth, wishing the guy were here so I could punch that mama’s boy’s face. “I’ll kidnap you. You’ll come live with me and you’ll never have to see that guy again. Deal?”

She stretched her neck and grazed her lips on my chin, sending a shiver down my spine. “Deal,” she said.

I tilted my head toward her and captured her lips with mine.

“We seriously need to start meeting in places I can get you naked. This is torture.”

She chuckled. “I thought this”—she pointed a finger at her and me—“was more than sex.”

“It is.” The way I was falling for her, it definitely was. I just didn’t want to tell her how much yet. I was afraid she would be scared and break things off before it was time. “It is, but come on. Remember yesterday? That was too great, too damn good not to happen every day.”

“I agree.”

I nibbled on her ear. “Want to come back to my place?”

“I don’t have that much time. I have to be back home for dinner. Hopefully, there won’t be any surprises this time.”

“I hope so.” I took a step back. “Okay, hmm, if we keep touching and kissing, I’ll lose it, and I don’t think the other people will appreciate that.”

“But I love it when you lose it,” she repeated my words from the other day.

“Baby, you’re not making it any easier.”

She laughed. “Come on. I brought something.”

She skated to a bench a few yards behind us and I followed her. She grabbed a basketball from the ground and threw it at me.

I held it. “You brought this?”

“Yup.” She nodded to a court to the side. “We could play a little.”

“Do you know how to play?”

She sat down and took her skates off. “Not really, but how hard can it be? Besides, if I suck, you can always teach me.”

This girl brought a basketball to play with me, because I told her it was one of my hobbies. A weird feeling, like a mixture of care and admiration, swelled in my chest.

I smiled. “I like that plan.”

Charlotte

The next three weeks fell into a routine. I lied to my mother about having a project to work on, and went to the coffee place to meet Mason. I lied to my mother about going out with Tracy, and I went to Mason’s apartment. I lied to my mother about meeting some other friend she approved of, and met with Mason at the park, where I roller-skated and he played basketball.

It was paradise, except for the part where I lied to my mother all the time—more than I ever did before.

However, it was worth it. Mason and I—we had something special, I knew this. He knew this. And he was special. And kind. And attentive. And handsome. And hot.

Even though we were in hiding, Mason and I could do almost anything together—except for going out to dinner or going to the movies.

One Saturday, we decided to try the movie thing.

I lied to my mother and said I was going shopping with Tracy, but instead I went to a small shopping center in Woodbridge—wearing huge sunglasses, a hat, and a scarf. I felt silly with them, but it would help. I wasn’t trying to be unrecognizable; I just didn’t want people to see who I was with half a glance.

Alone, I bought my ticket, my popcorn, and soda, and then headed to theater seven, where the movie Mason had chosen was playing. According to him, he had chosen it because it had been playing for several weeks and the theater wouldn’t be too full.

Being thirty minutes early, I was the only one in the big room. Except for Mason. With a baseball cap, and not looking suspicious at all, he was seated at the top, in the left-most corner.

I smiled and headed to the opposite side—to the top row, but on the right-most corner.

My phone chimed as I sat down.

Mason: Hi.

Me: Hi.

Mason: How are you?

I laughed.

Me: I’m good. Just anxious. I want this movie to start NOW.

Mason: Me too. Just a few more minutes.

I glanced at the clock at the top of my screen. Few more minutes? We had another twenty-five minutes to go.

Soon, more people entered the theater, but as we predicted, there were only a few couples and friends. Nothing to worry about.

The lights went off, and for a moment, everything was dark. This was our cue.

I stood and tiptoed to the center of the top row. A movie trailer started, illuminating a little of the room, and the man right in front of me.

“Hi,” Mason said with a naughty grin.

My heart raced. “Hi,” I whispered.

Mason grabbed my hands and pulled me to sit beside him—I almost dropped my popcorn and soda—then he leaned over the armrest and closed his mouth over mine.

I broke the kiss—Mason looked at me as if I had taken the lollipop from a kid—put my popcorn and my soda in the cup holders on the armrests, dropped my purse on the floor, and then returned to him and kissed him.

A low chuckle rumbled from Mason’s throat, until I teased him with my tongue, deepening the kiss. The chuckle was replaced by a growl. I fisted his shirt and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling each other closer.

The lights of the trailers were gone, putting us in total darkness for a few more seconds.

I pulled away from him as the movie started playing.

“Hey,” he protested in a low voice.

“Hey, you. We came to watch the movie, remember?”

“But I missed you.”

I kissed his cheek. “I missed you too. And now we’re together.”

He stared at me for a while as if trying to figure out if I was joking or not. He must have decided I wasn’t, because he sighed and leaned back in his chair. I leaned back too and found his arm there, waiting to wrap over my shoulders. I snuggled against him and rested my head on his shoulder.

He turned his face to me. I thought he was going to kiss me again, and hell, I kind of wanted him too, but instead, he kissed my forehead before resting his head on top of mine.

With a smile, I shifted my attention to the movie.

Charlotte

“There’s that face again,” Liana said, throwing a pillow at me.

I sat straighter on the couch and flicked the pillow at Becca. “What face?”

“That gooey face you get every time you think about Mason,” MaryAnn said.

“You were with him, what? Two days ago?” Becca asked.

Three actually. I could be with him right now, but I also missed my girls. Well, I could always leave a few minutes early and stop by his apartment for a quick kiss. I was already lying to my mother about being in a study group. If I lied that my group and I lost track of time and I missed dinner because of it, would she find out?

“I don’t get a face!” I protested.

In truth, I knew I probably made a face each time I thought about Mason. I could do nothing about that. Our time together was perfect. Even our movie outing two days ago had been great. We were careful to sit in our corners again when the movie ended, and exit the theater separately. It hurt me, to see him walking away alone, when I wished to be able to link my arm through his and show him to the world.

This situation had to be hard on him. He was my boyfriend, but he wasn’t my boyfriend. I didn’t know how to proceed. He wouldn’t want to go through this for too long, would he? Then what? I would have to let him go. Well, I couldn’t force him to be in the closet forever. In fact, I should let him go soon. Now, actually.