Chapter Six
Slade wasted an hour in the jewelry story making her try on piece after piece after piece. Cassie wasn’t and never would be a jewelry girl. At least, never again. There were a few rings she had liked, and they had felt amazing on her finger. Andrew had used jewels and told her every woman loves them. She refused to be drawn by such lies again.
She wasn’t in love with Andrew. Yes, he’d broken her heart, but he had also taught her some valuable lessons in life, and they were lessons she intended to stick to.
Taking a fry, she popped it into her mouth, and refused to look at the man opposite her.
“Are you still pissed at me?”
Cassie ignored him.
“Look, it was just a little fun.”
Again, she ignored him.
“We made that woman’s day.”
Finally, she glared at him. “Telling her that you’d invite her to our wedding was not funny, Slade. I don’t like lying, and what you did was just plain old stupid.”
“I didn’t pick the ring, now did I? You liked the large diamond with little stars in the band.”
She stuffed another fry into her mouth, and glared. “Is everything such a game to you?”
“It’s not a game. Not really. I don’t see anything wrong with having a bit of fun.”
“I didn’t think it was funny.”
He pointed his own fry at her. “I’m getting that. You’re very uptight. Have you ever just let loose?”
“Yes, I have. I got a broken heart, and mocked every time I walked down the school hall. Believe me, I know what it’s like, and I don’t intend to relive the experience.” She dipped her fry into some ketchup, and took a bite, releasing a sigh.
“Not every single guy is like Andrew.”
“I know that.”
He reached out and took her hand. “I want you to believe it. I know I have fun with these women, and you think I’m an asshole, but I never promise them more.”
“I don’t have a problem with that. I mean, yeah, I thought it was cruel, but I can see you’re not a complete ass.” She stared down at her plate. “I just … I guess I still let what Andrew did to me rule some of my decisions.”
“Have you ever been with a man other than him?”
Her cheeks heated even though she didn’t want them to. She shook her head. “No.”
“I don’t know what it must have been like to be a girl in high school like that.”
She shrugged. “The school hallways were the worst. I hated it more than anything else. They would pin panties to my locker, and words like slut, and whore. Trailer trash pussy. I don’t even know why I’m telling you all this. If it wasn’t for Jessica and William, I wouldn’t have gotten through that last year. In the beginning when I saw Andrew, he’d always have a new girl on his arm. He’d make sure that I knew he was having a much better time with her than he ever would with me.”
“This guy sounds like a total fucking jerk.”
“He was, and he is. His parents own half the town.”
“Do you still love him?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t even think it was love back then. I think I was infatuated with him. He made me feel special, and with a father like Bill, well, it was hard to ignore that.” He stroked her hand, and she smiled over at him. “Thank you, for listening to me.”
“I think if I ever see this Andrew, I’m going to beat the shit out of him.”
“He’s not worth it. By the end of the school year, I had no feelings for him. I’d look at him, and instead of feeling hurt or heartbroken, the mere sight of him pissed me off. It was like I had finally woken up to the loser that he was. It was just too late.”
“Is that when you promised yourself that you’d never fall for another guy again?”
“Yep. I think I’m doing okay. I’ve been on a couple of dates. Not many. Chuck was my first one in a long time.”
“Daniel’s very protective of you as well.”
“I know. He was like a father to me when my own was a waste of space.” She tucked some hair behind her ears. “I think I put him through hell for a little while. With my parents gone, I started my … monthly cycle while I was in the sheriff’s office toilet. I was waiting for my father to be cleared, and I must have screamed or something. Daniel came, and he did everything he could to explain to me what happened.” Her cheeks were on fire now. She didn’t know why she was telling Slade this stuff. She covered her face. “You’re so horrible.”
“Why am I horrible?” he asked, laughing.
“You make me comfortable, and then I start telling you all these embarrassing things about myself.” She looked at him through her fingers. “Is this some kind of deputy spell? You get me to spill my innermost secrets?”
“This is no way a secret. You’ve got someone alive who knows what happened.”
“I know. For the longest time, I couldn’t look at him I was so embarrassed.”
“Daniel’s been a good friend to you.”
“He has, and I appreciate everything he’s ever done for me.” She grabbed her burger, and took a large bite. “What about you? Any interesting tales to tell?”
“Not a chance. I’m a cool as they come.” He winked at her.
“I don’t believe it.”
He rolled his eyes. “Okay, there was one time … I screamed when I first woke up. Many years ago.”
“Why?”
“Well … I was hard.” He pointed down at his dick, and she started to smile. “I didn’t know why, and I kind of panicked.”
“Wow, I never, that is just … so funny. You didn’t even realize you had a hard-on?”
“I didn’t, and you know at times when you talk it makes me forget that you’re this little innocent virgin.”
“I have never said I was an innocent virgin. You can think what you like.” Some of the books she read were downright dirty. Just because she kept everyone at arms’ length to protect herself, didn’t for a second mean that she didn’t want to connect to others. Andrew had hurt her in a really bad way, and she didn’t want it to keep affecting her, but she knew she was going to have to change something in her life to be able to find some kind of happiness.
****
In the end, Slade settled on a cruise for his parents’ anniversary present. He and Cassie had picked up a few trinkets, a picture frame, a photograph album, and a vase for them to take to dinner.
He had a month to go until the dinner, but everything was booked, ready, and he was all set.
Sitting in his backyard, soaking up the sun on a Saturday morning, he tried not to listen to Jessica, Cassie, and William as they spoke about online dating. The kids were playing around, and he didn’t like not being there, being part of it.
Finally, after twenty minutes of only hearing little snippets of conversation, he lifted up their fence, and entered her yard.
“Isn’t that trespassing?” Jessica asked. William and Jessica were sitting on either side of Cassie as she had a laptop perched on her knees.
“No, he calls it friendship access,” Cassie said, smiling up at him.
Damn it. He was really loving her smile, and he found himself giving her reason to. “What are you all doing?” he asked, moving behind Cassie, to see a dating website was pulled up.
“Jessica said I needed to meet new people, so I started a page for a dating website.” Cassie pointed at it.
The picture was a cute one taken when she’d been gardening in her little vegetable patch.
Slade didn’t like the stab of jealousy that washed over him at seeing her picture on a dating site.
“Anyone pinged you yet?” he asked.
“Three guys. One is an accountant—”
“Boring. Those guys do nothing but talk about numbers, taxes, and rules. Next one,” he said.
“A teacher of science—”
“You do not need to get lost in chemicals and shit. Move on.”
“You’re being a pain, Slade. This is serious, and if you’re not going to take it seriously, you can make your way through the fence.” Cassie looked up at him and glared.
“Fine, fine, fine. The next one.”
She did some clicking, and then pulled him up. “A firefighter.”
He couldn’t say anything about the firefighter.
“I think we have a winner,” Jessica said. “Organize a date, and make it close so you’re safe. William will watch the kids, and I can drop you off for your date.”
“I’ll drop her off,” Slade said. “I’ll even stick around so if the guy turns out to be a total loser, and dangerous, he doesn’t know where she lives. Can I get some iced tea?” he asked.
“Sure, it’s in the fridge. You know where I keep it.” He nodded, and left, going toward the fridge to fill a glass. Jessica followed him into the kitchen, and he gave her a smile.
“You know, Slade, you’re acting all jealous of Cassie.”
“I’m not jealous, just being cautious. Do you know how dangerous those online sites are?”
“We all know how dangerous they are.”
He took a sip of the lemon tea, and stared at Jessica. She had her arms crossed, and was staring at him. “What is it?” he asked.
“You know, if you like Cassie, you could just ask her out on a date.”
“I don’t date, and Cassie and I are friends. Nothing more.” He didn’t like the bad taste he had in his mouth from saying those words.
“How long has it been since you had a woman, or went on a date?”
“I’m taking a break,” he said.
“You know, this house and your house, have seen many single couples find—”
“Romance, I know. I’ve heard the rumors, but it’s all bullshit. Cassie and I are friends. I care about her, and I don’t want to see her get hurt.” He took another long drink of his tea, and glanced out of the kitchen window.
Cassie was chasing after one of the children. She wore her bathing costume with a pair of shorts. His cock thickened at watching her tits bounce, and his gut twisted at seeing her pick one of the girls, and swing her up in her arms. In that moment, Slade could see her doing that with their children.
Yearning unlike anything he’d ever known woke up inside him, and he no longer wanted to watch other couples with their kids be happy families. He wanted it himself. He wanted it so much that he had to hold onto the counter as the reality began to set in.
He’d not been with another woman, and he’d found himself drawn to Cassie, more and more.
Shaking his head, he refused to believe that he was falling for her.
“No,” he said, turning to find the space where Jessica had stood was now empty.
There was no way he had any feelings for Cassie. They were friends, and other people needed to stop thinking they could interfere with them.
Leaving the kitchen, he took a seat on Cassie’s chair. William sat beside him, and for several seconds neither of them spoke.
“You’ve got a wonderful family,” Slade said.
“Thank you. When Jessica and I realized we were pregnant at such a young age, we were scared as well.”
“You’re only twenty-five?”
“Yes, and we’ve got three kids. My parents own one of the businesses in town, and I’ve been working my way up since I was eighteen,” William said. “I would do anything for my family.”
Jessica and Cassie were running around laughing.
“You know Cassie tried to give me and Jessica this place,” William said.
Slade turned toward him. “She did?”
“Yes, put the down payment on it, and came to our house, about to hand over the keys. We both knew what this place meant to Cassie. As much as we wanted a bigger place, we’ve finally found a place of our own. We’re in the process of getting all the documents in order. We told Cassie to keep this for herself.”
Everything he was finding out about Cassie was just proving to him how damn good of a woman she really was.