Where Would I Be Without You - By CJ Hawk Page 0,36

good at time management and could see it working, although doing course work seemed so boring compared to being with Mason. Then I wondered how busy his job as an executive would be. Carl's had him working long hours and some weekends. Marion was accepting of it as I was her tagalong pal, but would I?

He looked up from his last bite with a satisfied smile on his face. "I can hear you thinking hard over there. Your dinner was delish by the way. Not as tasty as you." Then he leaned in and pulled my head in close for a kiss. That kiss eased away all the worrisome thinking I was doing just a minute ago.

"Don't mind me. I had a busy day as well. I was a little worried when you didn't text me back. You know since we got ahead of ourselves last night."

"We did. Didn't we." His dimple smile crept wide as his eyes enlarged. I was sure his thoughts were thinking about how well we got ahead of ourselves last night. I know my mind quickly went back to the memories of our naked skin and the way we interacted so well together. It wasn't sex. It was lovemaking, and it was a bit scary how surreal it felt.

My voice held a bit of trepidation as I said his name in question. "Mason?"

"Yeah love." He grabbed both our plates, stood up and began walking towards the sink.

"Leave those. I will get to them later. You're tired. Let's move to the couch." I offered.

"You sure? I don't mind. I can even take my shirt off." He teased.

"As pleasant as that sounds. I want to hear about your day." I grabbed his hand and walked him towards my couch. As soon as he sat down, I handed him the remote, then I offered up. "While we are in the early stages of dating, I might offer you things like, let's say, the remote but when we get more serious, I like to have control of my own remote." I laughed.

He looked at me straight in the face and laid a sweet gentle kiss on my lips. The next thing I knew, the remote was back in my hand and what he said next had my heart pounding like crazy. "We are more serious. Don't you think? Especially after last night."

I replied with a kiss that led to other things. Later that night, I fell asleep in his arms listening to him talk about cooking me dinner tomorrow. I guess I did not have to question what last night meant to him after all.

Chapter Nine

When Saturday arrived, I was hoping we could do something fun, but the universe was against us, at least the building universe that is. Every single resident had some funky emergency or another. Mr. Cartwright had a plugged up toilet; Ms. Hinckley had a pet hamster that had gotten loose and ate her TV wire. Not a building maintenance issue, but Mason promised to fix it for her, so she could watch her three o'clock show she watched every Saturday. I personally think the eighty-year-old woman has a thing for him, as it was the fourth call this week, that, or she was lonely. I went with the later and realized I was the one that had the lovesick thing going with the super. However, tenants were talking. Every place that Mason went to fix this or that 'emergency' they asked about him and me, as in, together as a couple. Every chance between calls he would stop by and talk to me about it.

Unfortunately, the last time he came in, we had not closed the door, and right now, half the neighbors on my floor were out of their apartments, and peeking towards my door wondering what on earth just happened. Then from behind Mason, while he was holding me up by my ass with my arms and legs still wrapped around him, we both heard the distinct crackly voice of Ms. Hinckley. "Well, I guess he's off the market, and I was hoping to catch me a young one this time."

Mason and I both started to laugh as he walked into my apartment just far enough, me in his arms, to close my door, and he whispered against my lips. "Cats out of the bag. I can't wait for you to meet my parents tomorrow."

While Mason held me in his arms, I felt victorious. That all changed Sunday morning as I was