True Colors (The Masks #1)
Melissa Pearl
For Sharyn
The lady who's always looking out for everyone else.
You are a good soul, my friend.
xxx
A single moment in time can change everything. The night a stranger's hand touched mine, I was thrown into a new reality I never could have imagined.
And to think that only a few hours earlier, I had no idea it was coming...
Chapter 1
Okay, Chase just took my shirt off. Whipped it over my head and I let him. Did I want to let him?
Yes, yes, I definitely did. His naked chest pressing against my stomach felt divine. I ran my hand over his sinewy shoulders as his lips skimmed my collarbone, his tongue trailing a path down to the edge of my bra.
Was he going to take it off?
My insides clenched at the idea. No guy had ever touched me that way before. And I did want Chase to, at least I think I did.
I wondered how long it would take him to figure out how non-existent my breasts were. My brother, Toby, always teased me, saying if you took me into the ocean, you could surf me to shore because I was so flat and skinny.
What if Chase thought the same thing? Would he still want me?
I ran my fingers through Chase’s fine brown hair as his mouth worked back up my neck and his arm slid beneath my back.
Surely he’d worked it out by now. If he didn’t like skinny girls, he wouldn’t have even gone for me, right? And with his body melded to mine, I could definitely tell he was into me...if you know what I mean.
When I’d invited Chase into my empty house and closed my bedroom door with a definitive click, I’d made my intentions very clear. A playful smile had danced across his lips as he’d pulled me against him and firmly kissed me. Next thing I knew we were on my bed and his shirt was on the floor.
Chase’s fingers fidgeted with the clasp of my bra. I leaned into him, eager for his touch, but also wrestling with the small part of me that wanted to squish my back onto the bed so he couldn’t. I don’t know why I suddenly felt so vulnerable. We’d been dating for a couple of months. Chase was more than ready. He’d been hinting at doing this for weeks. I should go for it. I should let him.
I was an eighteen-year-old virgin. It was about time I experienced this. I was ready. Wasn’t I?
“Caitlyn, are you home?” My insides went ice cold as I heard my mom’s voice. And then to make matters worse, she only knocked once before pushing the door open. “Oh!”
Chase leapt off me, adjusting his pants and trying to swivel away so she couldn’t see just how excited he was. He ran a hand through his mussed up locks and sort of grinned. “Hey, Mrs. Davis.”
She didn’t say a word, just folded her arms across her pristine white blouse and glared at him.
I scrambled for my shirt, crumpled on the floor beside Chase’s. I flung his cotton T-shirt at him. He caught it with a mumbled thank you and pulled it on.
My face was on fire. My heart was thrumming erratically as I slid my shirt on and tugged it over my exposed naval. Mom was eyeballing me big time, but I couldn’t look at her.
Chase snatched up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. “Well, I should go, because...um, well I...I have um...homework.”
Yeah, right! Chase never had homework. Or if he did, I never saw him doing it, like ever.
Mom must have known this too, because her doubtful glare was almost comical. Almost.
“Of course you do.” Cynicism dripped off every syllable as she kept eyeing my boyfriend up with those hard, brown eyes. They were usually soft and warm like chocolate, but not today. Today they looked like burnt umber - irate and seething. She never really liked Chase and this was so not helping.
Chase’s confident facade buckled beneath her gaze. Slightly flustered, he turned to me, his eyes rounding with a what the hell is her problem kind of look.
I shrugged and forced a smile, trying not to let the full humiliation of this moment sink in.
“I’ll see ya, Caitlyn.” Chase gave me a short wave before awkwardly squeezing past my mother. Her glare followed him out the door before slowly tracing back to me.
My cheeks were raging with a hot blush as my gaze hit the floor. I never knew the carpet could be quite so interesting. After what felt like a century of stony silence, I finally gave in and glanced up. Mom’s dark eyes chastised me. I wasn’t quite sure how to react. I’d never been caught doing anything too naughty before. The odd misdemeanour, but nothing to get in a flap about. This however...well, in Mom’s book, I was pretty sure this would be classed as unacceptable. I folded my arms to mirror her and went for a nonchalant shrug, my usual defence to any form of conflict.
She opened her mouth to respond, her hot words ready to scald me, but she thought better of it. Pressing her lips together, she narrowed her eyes. She was obviously too pissed to talk it out. I knew it would come later - so not cool - but I had no problem with her procrastination. Mom was the silent type. She liked to let things simmer until she could articulate her irritation without hurting anyone’s feelings. In spite of being busted, I felt lucky on that count.
She grabbed the doorknob, her terse words only just audible, “I’m guessing you have homework too. You might want to get that done before dinner.”
Again with the raised eyebrows.