Chapter 16 (Mason's POV)
Guess what? I am back to hiding.
What Rachel said before was a bit too much for me to handle.
I know those were the rumors back in high school and later college.
But it was a far cry from the truth.
But one rumor was enough to make me the biggest playboy around.
I didn't even have to talk to a girl and rumors started that I slept with her.
And since back then I was a skinny boy I just tried to ignore everything as best as I could.
I had no idea those rumors would haunt me up to this day.
But I thought Rachel knew better than to rely on rumors.
I also thought we started to at least tolerate each other, but looks like I was wrong once again.
When will I learn?
Suddenly there was a knock on my door.
There was no question who it was, but I did wonder what she wanted, so I told her to come in.
I didn't move from my position on the bed though.
She opened the door and stepped inside.
I could see she was nervous from the way she wriggled her hands and avoided eye contact.
"Uhm. Hi. I… damn this is weird. I am sorry for what I said ok? I didn't think before I spoke and I didn't even mean those words. You were nothing but kind to me since we moved in together and here I was a total bitch to you. But you must admit. You really over reacted ok? It wasn't such a big deal."
I thought about her words for a second.
And maybe, just maybe, she was right.
I overreacted.
But like I said it before. That's just how my brain works.
I wasn't going to let her off the hook that easily though.
So I was quiet for a few more moments.
"Oh come on Mason. Give me a break. It's not like you mince your words. You say what comes first to mind so you could be a gentleman and forgive me."
I couldn't help it anymore.
I burst out laughing.
She stood there watching me with eyes wide open.
I guess she probably thought ai was crazy. I patted the bed beside me signaling for her to come closer.
"Come here and stop being nervous. Of course I forgive you and yes you are right as well. I overreacted."
Her shoulders slumped and she practically bounced to bed.
I was still laughing when she suddenly hugged me.
All the dirty thoughts I tried to bottle in for the past week came crushing forward.
Are you kidding me?
Of course I returned the hug!
"I really am sorry Mason."
I turned my head and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.
With my action I shocked us both.
But it passed fast and we both settled into my bed next to each other.
We were enjoying the silence for a bit.
"Now tell me how in the hell did you manage to stay locked inside your room for a whole week but managed to keep your room tidy?"
I chuckled. It was so her.
"Well since I was here a whole week you could say I had nothing else to do except clean, eat, work and well…workout. So yeah. I am in good shape, have a tidy room, and all the projects for work finished. It was pretty good I would say."
"Why did you even have to avoid me? It's not like I was finger fucked for the first time you know."
I was taken aback by her straightforwardness.
You see we men are used to being crass with each other, but hearing those words coming from a woman was something you didn't hear every day. And to be honest, it was hot as fuck.
"Well since I thought you slept through everything I was sure you would kill me as soon as I told you the truth. Because I can't lie, even if mx life depended on it."
I guess it was time I told someone the whole story. Well I suspected Becky connected the dots but I've never told her everything.
"You remember Coleene from high school?"
She was looking at me with confusion but she didn't interrupt me, just nodded her head.
"Well we were each other's firsts. Or at least that's what I thought at the time. The fact that there was no blood involved should blare all the alarms in my head. But I was stupid and in love. After a few weeks she told me she was pregnant and that baby was mine. Dates somehow didn't make sense to me but I still turned a blind eye to everything. I wasn't ready to be a father but I would make sure they were both taken care of. After a few months suddenly things started leaking out and rumors came to me that she was sleeping with at least 10man up until that day. So I confronted her. I told her I wanted a DNA test as soon as the baby was born. First she was insulting me, screaming, throwing things my way. But after a few hours she admitted that the baby was not mine. She was already pregnant when we started dating. But the baby's father didn't want to have anything to do with her so she decided to put the responsibility on me. After I got the whole story from her I broke up with her. I could forgive everything. But she lied to me. I couldn't forgive her for that. After our break up she tried going to the police telling them I raped her. After weeks they finally realized she was lying and because she didn't succeed with rape accusations she started spreading rumors about me being a man whore and a cheating bastard."
If she was looking at me with wide eyes before now it was even worse.
"You are joking right? You got your reputation from someone that actually was whoring around?"
I nodded my head at her. What else was there to say or do, she had a point.
"Well I'll be damned. I knew she was a bitch. I don't hate people for nothing. She just had this weird face that reminds me of horses you know. So me and Becky named her horseface. Now that I know what she did to you I think we insulted horses with that nickname."
Once more I burst out laughing. First the nickname was funny and second, you should see her face. She was deadly serious while speaking about horse faces. Everything together was hilarious.
"I must admit. Even though I know you hoth for all my life, you still manage to surprise me. I will give you points for creativity."
"Oh come on Mason. We were like 15 at that time. So for our hormonal induced brain cells I would say we did good."
I laughed at her explanation and when she started to move away from me I pulled her closer so now she was leaning on my shoulder.
After a moment she snuggled closer to me and hugged me.
"Thank you Mason for telling me your story. And I really am sorry you know."
I could hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes that she truly was sorry for her words.
"It's ok. And I know it was an impulse that was fueled by anger. But I wouldn't mind if we manage to go around such obstacles in the future."
"I promise. No shouting any obscentries before checking the facts."
She stood from the bed and I must admit, I missed her warmth next to me.
When she was at the door she turned back around and gave me her famous death stare.
"This truce between us doesn't mean I hate you any less. Because I still do. Hate you that is."
I chuckled and told the biggest lie of my life.
"Wouldn't dare dream about it. I hate you too."
An emotion that looked close to disappointment crossed her face briefly but she cowered it with a huge grin fast.
"Good. Sweet dreams Mas."
With those words she left me alone in my room.
And I was finally forced to admit that my roomie with a bitchy attitude was starting to grow on me.