Waiting To Exhale

Sixteen

Mason finally stops tickling me. I plug my phone up on the charger next to my side of the bed. I get back under the comforter. Mason keeps the air conditioning on in the house so it's always cold. Even more so now that I barely have any clothes on. I snuggle up next to him.

"You smell good." He blurts out the blue. I slap his chest playfully.

"Duh."

"You got a slick mouth."

I roll my eyes playfully. "Whatever."

He opens his mouth to say something else but my phone starts ringing. He asks who it is. I immediately guess it's Jen. She has a habit of calling me all hours of the night. That's why I leave my phone on vibrate. I pick up my phone and answer it without looking at the caller I.D.

"What?" I speak on the phone.

"Dang girl. You ain't have to answer the phone like that." It's not Jen. Its Anthony. Of course, he would call me this late. He just does not care. He and Jen would be perfect for each other.

"My bad. I thought you were Jen. Wassup?"

"Who is it?" Mason asks. He seems jealous almost. Of what, I don't know. I'm sure Anthony only sees me as a little sister. Guys don't like me like Mason likes me. Plus I would never do anything like that to Mason.

"Chill out. He's just a friend."

"He?"

I can hear Anthony laughing on the other line. I bet he's drunk. That's another reason why I wouldn't be with him like that. I've seen what alcohol can do to a man and I don't want to be with anyone like that. "That must be yo' nigga. Call me back when he not trippin." He hangs up the phone before I can tell him not to. He didn't have to hang up. He called me so he must have had something to say.

Mason snatch my phone out my hand. His face is blank but I can tell by his body language that he's upset. He can be so dramatic. I hate it sometimes. He hops out of bed and stands there just staring at me, arms crossed in front of him. "Why is some other dude calling your phone? You cheating on me?"

"No. That's preposterous. I would never. Calm down, babe. We're only friends. I'm like a sister to him. Besides, we were having such a good time before he called. Can we just get back to that?" I get out of bed and wrap my arms around his waist, ignoring the cold air biting at my bare legs.

He pushes me off of him. He then grabs my neck, slamming me against the wall. I'm so shocked I can't even move. Mason has never put his hands on me Like this before. The only one that ever has is Gabriel. Mason is not Gabriel. Or at least I thought he wasn't.

"Stop it. You're hurting me." My voice is hoarse. My throat burns. I'm sure I'm going to have a bruise the size of his large hands.

"This how you treat me? I buy you all this shit and this how you repay me? Are you fucking other niggas now Olivia? Huh?"

Hot tears stain my cheeks. I try to pry his hands off of me but I'm too small compared to him. I don't stand a chance. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to deal with him while he's like this.

"No."

"Don't fucking lie to me."

"I'm...n-not. I swear." He doesn't believe me but it's true. I couldn't hurt Mason like that. "Please." He holds me in place by my neck for a couple more seconds before letting go. I fall to the ground with a thud. Hot tears cloud my vision. My throat hurts too much to talk. I just want to leave. I came to sit here and look at him knowing what he did. I don't think he thinks he even thinks he did anything wrong. He doesn't look fazed at all.

"Don't be talking to guys behind my back. And you better not run off and tell my sister any of this." Right because she won't spot the bruise on my neck. It's not like I can cover it up. I haven't worn makeup since I let Jen's friend so my hair. I don't know how to apply that stuff myself. I would just make it look worse. It's not like I've had any practice. "This is your fault. Not mine."

And with that, he gets in bed and turns the lights out.

He's right. It's all my fault. Mason has been so good to me and I go off and mess it up by talking to Anthony. I know there wasn't anything going on between the two of us but I should have known how Mason would feel about it. I should have thought about his feelings. He's the only adult here and I'm sure he's had a ton of relationships. He knows what he's talking about. He's probably going to leave me for another girl. An older one. A pretty one. I really don't want that to happen. Mason is the only guy that likes me and has so even before this stupid makeover.

He cares for me a lot. I don't know if he loves me but it would be nice to hear it.

If I want that to happen any time soon I need to be a better girlfriend. He needs to know that he's the only one I want. I shouldn't have upset him. I'm already too young. I need to act more mature. I need to know better. I should know better.

I wipe my face and crawl into bed next to him. I reach for his hand but he recoils. He's really mad at me. I have to make this right. I sit up and pull Mason's shirt off my body, followed by my underwear. I straddle him between my legs. I can feel him.

"I want you to forgive me."

"I can't stay mad at you." His breathing comes in shallow rasps. He wants me.

This is the first time I don't have to spend my birthday alone. Happy birthday to me.