Page 244 of Tell Me I'm Enough

I tug her shirt off over her head, and she quickly moves to unbutton my pants.

I lean back, watching her, taking in every frantic movement—enjoying seeing her as desperate as I feel inside.

She takes me in her hand, and before I let her guide me inside her, I take her face in my hands, making her look at me.

“Stay with me tonight, okay?”

Her eyes almost roll to the back of her head as she pants in anticipation.

“Okay,” she whispers.

It’s just us here—no problems, no addiction, no self-loathing, no expectations—just two people who can be stripped bare in front of each other and not be scared of the repercussions.

There’s trust here, something that I’m not used to—something that scares me to be wrong about.

51

Mason

I wake up choking on air, heart beating so fast I feel like it might explode. The sheets are twisted around my legs, and for a second, I don’t know where I am.

Then I feel her hand on my chest.

“Mason?” Simone’s voice is soft, a little groggy, but mostly just concerned.

She pushes herself up on one elbow. Her hair is a beautiful mess that tells me she slept well; her eyes are still heavy with sleep, and she’s scanning my face like she’s worried something’s actually wrong.

“You okay?” she asks quietly.

I drag a hand down my face. “Yeah. It was…just a dream.”

She studies me like she wants to ask more, but isn’t sure if it’s a good idea to probe.

I can feel my pulse still throbbing in my neck, and my hands are shaking under the blanket, so I curl them into fists so shewon’t see. She keeps her hand laid flat on my chest, right over my heart. It’s still racing, but her touch slows it. Her thumb moves in small circles, absent-minded.

It feels so intimate.

I stare at the wall for a while, breathing with her hand on me, trying to calm my mind down. Eventually, the silence turns into something more comforting instead of feeling so tense.

“How did you sleep?” I ask.

She moves to lay her head on my chest and then looks up at me, smiling. “I had a dream too. But…a good one.”

“Yeah? What about?”

“I was having this amazing day with thisreallycute guy.”

“Cute guy?” I ask. “Do I need to be jealous?”

Her smirk is small, like she’s trying to hide it from me. “Maybe. I mean, he wassohot. I’m talking tall, super ripped, like he probably plays sports or something, and he had the moststunningface I’ve ever seen.”

“Was he blonde?”

She shrugs, playing all innocent. “Um…I don’t really remember.”

I move her off me and then prop myself up to hover over her. “I’m gonna ask that again. Was the sexy man in your dreams blonde?”

“You know, now that I think about it…” She pauses for a long moment, like she’s thinking. “I think he was…a brunette.”