JASON TOOK HIS eyes off the empty dark road and glanced over to the attractive woman sitting in the passenger seat next to him. It took everything in him to not pull the car over and ravage her like he really wanted to. If he knew that she slept in pajama shorts that stopped right under her ass and showed off her silky smooth legs with a low cut v-neck shirt that showed off the top mound of her breast, he would’ve told her to change or at least put on longer pants that covered the rest of her.
But that didn’t mean that he didn’t enjoy the view. Matter of a fact, he was enjoying it too much. So much so that he was stuck in the car battling an erection that was getting the best of him. Miami’s hot summer days and nights was going to prove to be a double edged sword for Jason if he continued to see Machayla.
Sighing softly Jason threw his right hand into his hair when the urge to hold her hand that was resting on the middle compartment in between them stirred.
‘Damn it! I’m getting soft.’
To avoid anymore urges that might cause unnecessary awkwardness between him and Machayla, he switched hands on the steering wheel and tried to refocus on the road. His eyes would linger on her soft profile from time to time as she watched the passing scenes from the window but he didn’t dare utter a word to her. If he did, he knew that his vulgar thoughts about what he wanted to do to her would be first to spew out of his mouth and as a result he knew that she wouldn’t give it a second thought before thoroughly cursing him out.
That assumption caused his brows to furrow. Jason couldn’t help but wonder why such a feisty person like her was letting a man abuse her. What was her reason for sticking around? Was he threatening her? Knowing Mason that was probably it but why didn’t she go to somebody for help? Where were her parents, her siblings or family? Did they not care about her?
He had so many questions about who this girl was and he was intent on finding the answers to each and every one of them.
Five minutes later Jason pulled into the parking lot of the empty beach and turned off the engine to the Audi. Turning his head to face her he realized that her expression had become troubled. He assumed that she was thinking about something disturbing and decided that he didn’t like her in that state of mind. He wanted to snap her out of it.
“You okay?” He asked. His voice filled with concern.
Her head snapped over to him and she frowned before plastering a coy smile on her face. “Yeah. I’m good. Why?”
In hopes of being able to read her mind, he stared onto her face and body language. “You just looked like something was bothering you.”
She grinned at him and propped one naked leg up to her chest and set her head on it. “Aww aren’t you sweet?” She gushed.
He grimaced. “Sweet? Don’t call me sweet. I was just being… attentive.” He joked.
She cocked a brow. “Really? I take my compliment back then.”
“I’ll gladly give it back if you would be willing to change it for another word.”
“Like what? Attentive?”
“Yeah!” He answered as he leaned back on his seat with a smirk. He was glad that he got rid of that frown that he found on her face only seconds ago.
“Well buddy, you’re out of luck.”
“Naw, I wouldn’t say that.”
“And why not?” She asked.
She folded her arms under her breast and he had to force himself to keep his eyes on her face but with her constantly pushing her cleavage up and being oblivious about what she was doing to his body, it was going to be next to impossible for Jason to hold himself back from taking her right there in the car as they spoke.
“Cause, I’m at a beautiful beach with an even more beautiful girl. I would consider myself pretty lucky, don’t you think?” He watched her as she bit on her bottom lip and her brown eyes glazed over with lust as they lingered on his face before traveling down to the rest of him. He thanked god for the moon light that was coming through the windshield of the vehicle because he would have regretted missing that sultry look that she just gave him. It let him know that the lust that he had for her, wasn’t one sided. The erection that he fought the whole ride to the beach was getting more unbearable by the second and he wanted to get out of the car as soon as possible and run into the cold sea water because if he didn’t…
He sent a knowing smirk her way and she instantly snapped out of her saucy state. Rolling her eyes at him she unlocked her door and stepped out of the car. “We’re not going to stay stuffed in this car the whole time we’re here are we? Come on.”
Before Jason could get a word out she slammed the door shut and he watched as she scurried out of the parking area and headed towards the sand. She then stopped and turned towards the car when she realized that he wasn’t behind her. He kept his gaze on her as she pulled out her phone and pressed a button on it. Less than five seconds later, his phone began to ring in his pants pocket.
Reluctantly, he pulled his phone out and a smile touched his lips. “What the hell is she up to?” He muttered. Deciding to play along, he answered her call.
“Hello.”
“Why are you still sitting in that car?” She asked.
“Because…”
“Because what?”
‘Because I have to let the painful hard on that you caused go down first!’ He thought but he instead replied with “Because… um….” He had nothing. He sighed into the phone and swiped his hand over his face as he chuckled. “I’m coming.”
Jason took a few deep breaths before stepping out of the car and making his way over to the hell of a luscious girl that was waiting for him. When he was a couple of steps away from her, she turned on her heels with a simple smile and started to walk down to the shore. He followed.
*
Machayla stopped on the shore line where the foamy beach tide touched the tips of her flip flop sandals and took a deep breath of the salty air. It’s been a while since she’s been at the beach. In high school, it was one of her favorite pass times with the few friends that she actually hung out with. Summers in South Florida were filled with hot days, sometimes cool nights, cold drinks, summer love and wild beach parties that always ended with somebody either pregnant or heartbroken.
She remembered losing her virginity the summer of junior year in school and then getting her heart broken at the end of that summer by the same guy. Like always she ran into her daddy’s arms and cried her eyes out. The next day, he found that boy who broke his little girl’s heart and scared him shitless. It made her feel so much better knowing that he’d always be there to protect her any time she needed him. But little did she know that a few years later, he’d be taken away from her.
If only she’d stay home instead of leaving for college, he’d still be here for her. She would’ve been able to chase away that slut of a married bitch away from him. Machayla’s fingers balled up into tight fists. It was partly her fault that the only family that she’d ever known was buried six feet under. She would never forgive herself.
The feel of rough hands softly grasping both of her fists and prying them open quickly snapped her out of her flashback. She looked over her shoulder as she felt the heat from Jason’s body radiating off to hers. Placing her hands in his, he held them tight and closed in the spaced between his front and her back as he placed his chin on top of her left shoulders.
Heat paraded in her stomach. It felt… right. Warm and right. She never felt that feeling with Mason; even before he started to hit her.
Her breath caught in her throat as she felt the hard and ridged form of his body mold onto her soft and curvy one. His chest moved with each breath that he took and vibrated off of her creating a pool of need in the center of her core. She quickly stifled a surprising groan that was about to come from her throat. She wanted him. She wanted him bad.
“Wanna tell me what’s on your mind?” He whispered into her ears causing her to shiver a bit. His deep husky voice almost made her body melt against his. Almost; but she held back. She had too.
Looking onto the dark blue sea, she shook her head. “It’s nothing important.”
“Mhh,” He replied “I think it is.”
“Why are you always so pushy?” She asked a bit irritated from both her body’s reaction to being so close to him and his persistent nature.
“If you don’t push in life, then you won’t get what you want in life.” He answered in a silvery tone.
Huffing she tried to turn in his arms but he held on tight to her hands and stopped her. “What are you doing?”
“Can we stay like this for a while? I kind of… like it. A lot.” He chuckled softly.
Machayla bit her bottom lip to hold back a smile. She kind of liked it too. Instead of trying to move away from him again she leaned into him as he wrapped his strong arms around her waist and set his chin on the top of her head.
“So,” He started “are you going to tell me what was bothering you so much?”
“No.” She answered quickly. She groaned inwardly, it really wasn’t any of his business.
“Come on Kayla. Tell me what was going on in that pretty little head of yours.”
“Drop it Jason.”
“…Ok. I won’t push. I’ll drop it… for now.”
“Forever.” She shot back.
“For now.” He repeated.
“Whatever.” She muttered annoyed. He caught her irritation and laughed it off but she chose to ignore him. Looking down at her feet, she slipped one of her foot out of her sandal and dipped her toes into the chilly water. She let the tip of her foot wade in the water so it could get use to the temperature then she dipped her whole foot in and let the small waves crashed against it.
“You wanna go in?” Jason asked from behind her. But before she could answer he dropped one hand behind her knees and lifted her up bridal style before he started walking into the water.
“No! Put me down! You’re going to get your clothes and shoes wet!” He immediately stopped before they went any further. She tried to wiggle out of his grasp but her efforts were going nowhere.
“You’re right.” She felt him moving from left then right a few seconds later.
“What are you doing?” She asked suspiciously. She looked up and met his green eyes as he looked down and stared back into her brown orbs before wiggling both his brows and sending her a heart stopping grin. Machayla’s stomach did a little flip and she instantly tore her gaze away from his. She couldn’t afford to catch any sort of feelings for anybody, especially a person like him.
“Took my shoes off.” He simply answered with a shrug.
“What about your clothes?” She instantly regretted her question the second it slipped out her mouth. “I didn’t me-”
She tried to explain but Jason cut her off. “I mean if you wanted to see me in my birthday suit, all you had to do was ask Kayla. I wouldn’t mind stripping for you.” He sent her a smirk and winked.
She couldn’t help it and busted out laughing. “Perv!” Seconds later Jason joined her. She couldn’t remember the last time she honestly laughed with someone. She enjoyed this.
After their episode died down he proceeded to continue to inch closer to the ocean with her in his arms and she continued to scream and laugh until he was knee deep into the water and let go of her legs with her arms still wrapped around his neck. She landed in the water that was up to her thighs and let her arms slip off of him.
Shivering from the cool breeze blowing towards her, she started to rub at her naked arms. “You know, for such a hot night, the water is cold as hell.”
He smiled down at her. “It is but I can always warm you up if you let me.” He opened his arms and invited her in but she sent him a dry look and turned away from him. She didn’t want him to hold her again. He felt too good and her father taught her that not everything that felt good was good. She was sure that Jason was definitely one of those things.
“Did you just reject me again?” He asked feigning hurt behind her as she looked up at the bright crescent moon. “That hurts.”
“You’ll be alright.” She shot him a humorous look over her shoulders and then bent over to scoop water into her hands. She instantly heard him groan and mutter a curse under his breath. She turned to him. “You alright?”
“I’m good.” He answered quickly. He looked absolutely miserable at that moment and somehow Machayla knew that he was lying but dropped it anyways. She let the water run through the spaces between her fingers and wondered what it would be like to live so freely like water did. If the flow of her life was as smooth as the ponds, the lakes, the rivers and even oceans of this world, would she be happy?
“Hey um can we talk?” He asked her suddenly cutting into her thoughts.
“About what?” She asked as she tried to make out his features in the moonlight.
“You.”
“Me?” She asked with a worried frown.
“Yeah. You and Mason but mostly you.”
‘Oh god Mason.’ Reality of her situation hit her full throttle. He was going to kill her if he came home to an empty house. Panic crept up on her and she started to walk towards the shore. “Oh god Mason! I have to go back to the house!” She was about to walk out of the water when Jason grabbed her hand to stop her.
“Hey calm down. I told you that he’s nowhere near here. I’ll get you home before he even comes back this way.”
“And what if he does?” She roughly asked. “You don’t know him like I do. He won’t even think twice about hurting me! I don’t know what you’re up too by trying to get close to me but this isn’t a game. I’m not a game. This is my fucking life Jason! If you’re trying to use me just to get back at Mason-”
“Whoa! Where did that come from? Is that what you think I’m doing?” She didn’t need to be able to see his face to know that she struck a chord. His gruff voice said it all.
“What else am I suppose to think? You came out of nowhere and started talking all this crap about trying to help me out of my situation when you don’t even know what it is!” She shouted. She snatched her wrist out of his grip and walked out of the water. Bending over, she grabbed her sandals off the sand and started to march towards the car. She couldn’t trust him. Though he wasn’t very fond of Mason, he still ran with the same vindictive and manipulative crowd. Why did she let her attraction to him get this far anyways?
‘Because you’re lonely.’ A voice in her head reminded her but she pushed it to the back of her mind. She reached the car and was about to open the door to the passenger seat when a hand landed over hers and stopped her.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. But you have this big ass wall up and I understand why. I do, but you have to let me help you.” His voice was one of an agitated person but she didn’t care.
She immediately turned to him; her demeanor darkened by anger. “No!” She exclaimed. “You don’t understand shit!”
“Then help me understand.” He sounded desperate and she almost gave in but she straightened her spine, turned her back to him and opened the door to take a seat before slamming it in his face. She wasn’t going to budge. She watched him mutter a few cuss words and throw his fingers into his black main that she herself ached to put her own hands through as he walked around the car and slipped in behind the wheel.
Silence filled the air between them. Each in their own thoughts and trying their best to figure one another out. Jason couldn’t understand why she was fighting him when all he wanted to do was help… Ok maybe he wanted to get into her pants too, but that was beside the point. He was actually starting to care about Machayla and Jason Mills didn’t tend to give a damn about the girls that he dated or had sex with. At least not enough to worry about their personal lives.
“I’m scared.” Jason heard her whisper.
His head snapped in her direction and he gazed at her silhouette profile. He was surprised that she even spoke to him. He thought that he was going to have to drive her home in complete silence after her outburst.
Instead of answering to her confession, he reached over to grab one of her hand that was sitting on her lap and lightly squeezed it as he waited for her to continue. She tried to yank her hand away from him without making eye contact but he held on. Finally, she turned her head from the window to look at him. Her facial expression made her look cracked but not broken. She could be fixed and if she let him, he was going to be the one to help her do it.
Huffing she closed her eyes and reopened them. “He’s going to kill me one day. I-- I don’t want to die. Not like this. Not by the hands of somebody that’s suppose to love me.” Her voice trembled and all Jason wanted to do was wrap her in his arms but he had to get to the bottom of this so he could find a solution that would work out in his and her benefit.
He nodded for her to continue. “He threatens me; but I’m sure you’ve guessed that already. He tells me that he’ll kill me, that he’ll beat me so bad that the CSI won’t be able to identify who I am and even if they did, nobody would give a damn because nobody but him gives a shit about me. Nobody but him would ever want me. He said that I was nothing but a pretty face with a fuckable body and at some point; I started to believe those words. But because of the way I was raised, his brainwashing stopped working; I knew that I was more than what he said I was and after he… after he raped me, I found enough strength to leave him.”
‘RAPE?!’ Jason saw red. Mason was a dead man walking. He just didn’t know it yet.
“I thought that I had gotten rid of him for good but I was so damn stupid and naïve.” She leaned back into the seat and closed her eyes. Seconds later she gave a humorless laugh and continued. “Spent a month away from Mason. It was bliss; just pure and simple bliss.” Jason watched her as she spoke. She still had her eyes closed as a smile made its way onto her face. The moonlight shone through the windows and accentuated her beauty tenfold.
“Woke up in my own apartment, alone but it felt great to look into the mirror and not see a bruise forming on my body. I went to work with a smile and no matter how bad the day went, I would come back home with a smile because I knew… I just knew that I would be going home… to my home; not a hell hole where I was afraid for my own life every second that I spent under that roof. I didn’t have any friends but, I went out when I wanted to, ate where and when I wanted too, wore whatever I wanted to wear and just be free. Free of the physical and emotional pain that life and Mason liked to hand to me.”
Machayla opened her eyes and bit her bottom lip before turning back to Jason with a wry smile. “The night that we met, if I wasn’t in that club with those girls then Mason wouldn’t have found me… or at least not as quickly as he did anyways.”
“Who were they?” Jason asked for the first time since she started to speak.
“Old college friends who unfortunately bumped into Mason the day after and opened their big mouths about how they went clubbing with me. Of course they didn’t know about the abuse or anything but still…”
“Damn.” Jason couldn’t help but feel over protective of this woman sitting beside him. No human being deserved that type of torture.
“Yeah,” she chuckled lightly. Turning her body in his direction, she leaned her head back onto the window. “After we met at the park, I went home to an empty apartment like always and fell asleep in the tub. You can imagine my surprise when I woke up to find the son of a bitch waiting for me. Then to add insult to injury, I get called a whore in front of a group of people that I don’t even like by a guy that I just met.” Guilt crept onto Jason but before he could apologize, she continued. “Then later I was proposed to by the same person that I had nothing but pure hatred for. Trust me, if I had a chance to kill him, I would!”
“Where’s your family? Why don’t you tell them about Mason?” Jason wanted to take back those questions the second he saw the look of pain cross her face.
“Family? What family? The only family I had was killed by a stupid white man who decided to marry a cheating slut!” She was emitting red hot anger. “Her husband killed my dad.”
Jason eyes went wide but seconds later they returned to their normal sizes as what she said finally seeped in. He felt sympathetic for her but he wasn’t going to show it. He was sure that she didn’t want his pity. She couldn’t catch a break in life because life kept handing her a bad hand. Reaching over he grazed his thumb over her cheeks and felt it wet with… tears? She was crying.
‘Damn! Guess that explains her comments on dating white guys when we first met.’
Jason latched onto her arms and pulled her up out of her seat so he could drag her over to his side and placed her on his lap. She didn’t fight his actions and he was happy about that. Wrapping his arms around her waist and back he buried his head into the crook of her neck and held her as she wrapped her own arms around his neck and continued her silent cry. He was taken back when she started to chuckle a bit about a minute later.
“Why am I crying on you again? This is so freaking embarrassing.”
Jason chuckled lightly and tightened his hold on her. “No it ain’t. I don’t mind being your shoulder to cry on.”