What about you? - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next morning was definitely better than the day before. Kate stretched in the bed before opening her eyes, and appreciated the fact that her body wasn’t aching, when she did open her eyes there was no throbbing pain. Smiling she sat up. She felt as weak as a kitten, and really washed out, but otherwise a million times better.

After a quick shower, she made for the lounge, still aware she was in Mason’s clothes. He was curled up awkwardly on the sofa, the duvet barely covering him. Grey shorts slung low on his hips the only clothing he wore. Kate bit her lip as she paused for a moment watching him sleep. She was really attracted to him, if she was in any doubt of that the response of her body, the increased heart rate, her almost breathlessness at the sight of him. Shaking her head, she made for the kitchen. She needed coffee.

She’d barely turned on the machine when she heard him wakening behind her. By the time she stepped back and looked towards the lounge, he was stood in the centre of the room, stretching, arms broad, bare shoulders and chest so enticing, those simple cotton shorts so low on his hips. It was such an intimate moment that she looked away, trying desperately to recover from the dry mouth, the tingles of anticipation.

                “Morning!” his voice was husky with the roughness of morning. “You look better, much better.”

She nodded, “I feel it thanks.” Their argument the previous day still sat there, between them creating a new level of awkwardness. “I should be getting home, my phone’s out of charge, people will wonder where the hell I am.”

He half sighed, “someone called Tilly phoned you last night, I told her you were ill, but safe.”

Kate groaned, yet more ammunition for Tilly to fire at her, “you had no right!”

                “You were asleep I checked, she told me not to wake you...I wasn’t trying to control things, I swear!” He looked a little coy, “come on Kate, surely we’ve gone past this point, scoring cheap points and sniping.”

Holding her hands up in exasperation she stared at him, “I want to go home, we had a fling, it shouldn’t have happened. And that’s it!”

Back to this again! Thought Mason, he was annoyed because he knew another day or so and he’d have been able to convince her, talk her around, or rather make her see sense, as it was he was due back in Dubai in the next twenty four hours, the spanner in the works.

He crossed the room to her and stood where he knew he was invading her personal space, too close. His eyes owned hers, he knew could tell by the way she bit her lip that it was all bravado. She wanted this as much as him. Nervously her tongue flicked over her bottom lip and he almost lost his composure...almost.

Leaning in to her, he brought his mouth to her ear, “I wish I had more time to prove that you’re lying. I remember that night SO vividly, and it was perfect! You don’t get perfect twice in your life.”

                “You’re going?” her voice was a whisper, a sudden sense of bereavement already taking hold of her, battling through the overwhelming yearning for those lips that brushed her hair, to touch her skin, just once.

                “Yes,” he lifted his head and met her eyes again. “I’ve got to get back to Dubai. I was thinking I could’ve stayed a bit longer...”

She bit her lip again, and he spotted a tear well at her eye. It was all the encouragement he needed. Lowering his head he met her lips with his. A possessive, demanding, controlling kiss, his lips, tongue and teeth assaulting hers, but she wasn’t intimidated, she responded with the same level of fervour. Soon his hands were under her sweater reacquainting themselves with her delectable curves. Naked curves...he groaned, this was not part of his plan, another step and he’d be out of control too. Pulling back he looked down at her flushed face, bruised lips, and tried to quell the fire that licked through his body.

                “That is not the response of someone in love with someone else!” He forced animosity into his words. “You’re lying to everyone, me, yourself and definitely Peter.”

Anger replaced the dazed contentment she’d been feeling and Kate came back to life with a bang, an instant reflex she lashed out with her hand and hit him square across the cheek.

Mason stepped back instantly his own hand flying to his cheek, “so she bites!” He broke into a broad seductive grin, “but then we already knew that didn’t we!”

Shaking her head she pushed free of him, “how dare you!”

His laughter curbed her words, “I think you’ll find that was a very mutual kiss. Like I say you can keep lying to everyone Kate, and you can hide behind Peter for the rest of your sad and lonely life. None of us is perfect; I have my own set of skeletons in my closet that I rarely share. I know how you feel. But I’m not a fool. I can’t throw myself at a brick wall anymore.” He threw a business card down on the work surface, “IF you wake up and smell that rather delicious coffee you’re brewing, I’ll be waiting.” He crossed the room to the bedroom before he turned back, “keep the clothes, yours are at the cleaners. The ticket is with your phone. You can let yourself out.”

Three hours later Kate was still restless. Her lips still seemed to tingle from the red hot kiss, her mind was foggy with all that he’d said, all that he’d done...and all that she wanted and more. Since she’d got back to her home in the taxi she’d ordered in haste, she’d been unable to function. Her boss had left a couple of messages hoping she was well, that he was worried about her. Then Tilly had left half a dozen messages. In a similar vein, but with the addition of the comment “he sounds, well...WONDERFUL!”

Kate threw her phone onto her bed in exasperation, he was infiltrating every inch of her life, and now he was leaving her in such limbo. Ransacking her bag, she tipped everything out until she spotted the three inch by two inch piece of card that he’d handed her earlier. Glancing at the gold embossed name Mason Fitzgerald followed by a rather executive title, she ran her thumb over it thoughtfully. She didn’t want to let him escape like this, to leave her in such turmoil, but on the other hand, she knew things could go no further even if he stayed.

It wasn’t until she flipped the card repeatedly between her fingers that she spotted the scrawl on the back.

                “Things are never as they seem

                and there’s so much more to this.

                Hope you do call, Mason.”

She stared at the message for an age, unable to fathom the cryptic nature of it. He’d talked about his own skeletons, now he was hinting that her life wasn’t as it appeared. Just who was Mason Fitzgerald? And what the hell did he mean?

The insistent ringing of the doorbell dragged her from her reverie, just as she was about to re experience that kiss...AGAIN!

Tilly stood lounging against the door frame, her umbrella dripping from the rain folded in her hand.

                “So Miss Michaels, I want to know all about being shacked up with the sexiest voiced man I’ve ever come across...and DON’T spare the details.”

Groaning, Kate stepped back to let her in and followed her into the kitchen. Filling the kettle she grabbed the instant coffee and was halfway to making two mugs before she spoke.

                “I’ve never felt so ill...I thought at one point I might be dying. It would have been scary if I hadn’t had Mason there.” It was the first time she’d actually admitted it to herself and to say the words out loud was strange. She didn’t know how she felt about her sudden dependence on this man who was still a virtual stranger.

Tilly digested that for a moment, “you could have come to me you know?”

It was only then that Kate realised her friend was a little hurt, so she went on to explain how he’d arrived after work, she’d fallen asleep, then when she woke was already feeling ill.  She also told her how well Mason had taken care of her.

                “So how did it all end? Are you seeing him again?”

Kate sighed for a moment, reaching into her pocket to finger the card protectively, “he told me I was hiding behind Peter, lying to myself, so I slapped him!”

Tilly shook her head, “you always were scared of the truth. He won’t be there forever you know, at some point he will give up and leave you. You do know that don’t you?”

Nodding Kate sipped at her coffee, “he’s made that perfectly clear, but I can’t just drop everything Tilly, you know that. This is my life. It’s not some drama I’m acting in and can just go home and get on with a different life. This is how it’s mapped out.”

Tilly knew once she was talking like this there was no reasoning, so she sighed, “no one says you have to torture yourself. I wish I knew why you are so obligated to do this.” Seeing Kate jump to her feet and turn away from her, she only confirmed what Tilly had always known. There was more to this than she’d ever let on, but in six years she’d not even hinted at what fired this ridiculous situation. Peter couldn’t, or maybe wouldn’t shed any light, Tilly’d tried that in the past. She could only hope that Mason would unlock something inside Kate, bring about a change, and maybe make her friend love herself again.

It was late afternoon, the day had been dark and gloomy all day. Mason had slowly packed his things, hoping and praying that his phone would ring, or the door would be knocked, that Kate would come back. He’d intended to tell her a lot, maybe not everything, but at least part of the truth, part of his past in the hope that she’d share back. Saying that there was a lot that she'd hate him for, even he thought things seemed contrived. He was annoyed that when she was finally well, when he had the chance to settle things with her at last, he'd blown it. Instead of explaining, sorting things out, he’d kissed her, mauled her. Then to top it all off insulted her. He was so angry with himself that he didn’t know what to do.

As he zipped his last bag closed, his mobile rang. Reaching for it he breathed a “hello?” into the mouthpiece before he’d registered who was calling.

                “Mason, it’s Clarissa...” he groaned at the irony. His mother’s cousin, and best friend.

                “Hey Aunty C, how are you?” he’d not seen the woman more than twice in the last ten years, but she’d been good to his mother over the years.

                “It’s your mother!”

Suddenly Mason froze. “Is she ok?”

There was a rather dramatic pause, “she’s in hospital, she collapsed, I don’t know why, but she’d love to see you...”

Of course he’d be there. As soon as he had the details, he dialled Brandon in Dubai with the bad news, he’d return asap, but he had to see his mother.

Within an hour he was sad beside his mother’s bed. She was weak, frail. The doctors’ were talking about a heart attack, she looked so deathly pale. As the doctors left and he squeezed her hand, he heard a slight noise behind him. He turned to see Clarissa hovering.

                “How long can you stay Mason?” she asked after giving him a desperate hug.

                “I was due back to Dubai today, but I’ve postponed it. I’ll stay as long as I have to.”

Clarissa sighed, “I’m relieved. She’ll be so pleased, it’s been so long since you were around, and I’m committed elsewhere I’m afraid.”  When he raised an eyebrow she sighed, “my son?” When he nodded she sighed, “I’m down on some help at the moment, so I’m more tied than normal.”

Mason groaned as he had to ask the question, already both knowing and dreading the answer, “do you get a lot of help?”

She nodded, “Kate, his girlfriend is brilliant with him. But she’s not well. So I have to visit him in her place.”

Mason smiled, “well you’ve no need to worry about my Mum, ok?”

As Clarissa retreated smiling, he slumped against the wall with a groan, his family history was so complicated. But since he’d put two and two together he had no idea how he was going to explain the fact that Peter, poor dependent Peter was actually a relative of his, albeit a fairly distant one. Sighing at the irony, he shook his head, Kate was a lot of things, but rational wasn't one of them, he'd blown his chance to explain this link over the last few days, and now he feared her finding out. But he couldn't hide it much longer.