Boy #1: The Wannabe Rockstar (Oh, Those Boys)

by Penny Sixsmith

  But still, can't shake this horrible feeling ...

  She whirled away abruptly, causing Tyler to shout when she knocked the guitar from his hand. He bent to grab it, and she took that moment to stride across the room. He shouted once more, but it wasn't enough to stop her. She barreled right through the crowd and grabbed the knob to Micah's bedroom, then all but kicked the door open.

  Several things hit her at once.

  A grown man shouldn't own a lava lamp, let alone use it as a sole source of lighting in his bedroom.

  Though I must say, I'd forgotten how cool lava lamps can look.

  His room is so narrow. Like a child's room. He's like a child.

  His bed really is up against the wall he shares with me. Why doesn't he just move it so I don't have to listen?

  God, his bed is so small.

  Not too small, though; it fits him and that girl on top of him rather nicely.

  “What the fuck!? This room is occupied,” Micah shouted, sitting up abruptly. The girl straddling him shrieked, grabbing a t-shirt and holding it to her chest.

  “I can see that,” Cassie stated frankly.

  There were several audible gasps.

  “Oh shit, Cass,” Micah spoke fast.

  “Cassie? What are you doing!?”

  And that would be Natalie, sliding backwards off Micah's lap, her t-shirt forgotten in her hand. No need to cover up, Cassie had seen her best friend in just a bra before, so it wasn't shocking.

  And yet somehow, I'm still shocked.

  “Cassie, hold on,” Micah's mouth was moving double time as he leapt to his feet. He was also topless, but she was glad to see that his pants were at least still done up. Natalie's skirt was also still in place, so too much couldn't have gone down before they were interrupted.

  “You know him?” Cass asked, turning to her friend. Natalie looked stunned.

  Stunned ... and confused.

  “I mean, I just met him. We had a couple drinks while I was waiting for you,” she stammered.

  “It's not what -” Micah started to interject, but Cassie shot him a death glare before turning back to her friend.

  She didn't give a shit about Micah or what he had, or hadn't, done.

  But Natalie was practically family.

  “Do you know who he is!?” she demanded.

  Nat glanced between the two of them.

  “I don't know, some dude from that band out there. What's the big deal? You know I like musicians. He said maybe I could sing with them some time,” Natalie said.

  Cassie shut her eyes. Took a deep breath. Then opened them again.

  “Natalie, I'd like to introduce you to someone,” she said, then she finally looked at the other occupant of the room. “This is my neighbor – Micah Gannis.”

  All hell broke loose. Natalie shrieked and turned on Micah. Micah held up a hand and started making excuses. Natalie started punching him in the arm. Micah started pushing her away.

  And Cassie turned her back on it all and walked out of the room.

  This is karma. Karma in action. I used Josh to make his friend jealous, so Micah uses my friend to make me jealous. It would be poetic, if I wasn't so goddamn upset with myself.

  “Cassie!” Micah called from behind her, and before she could make it to the hallway, he was grabbing her arm. “Cass, stop. Stop.”

  She ripped herself away from him.

  “You stop!” she shouted. Everyone in the apartment went quiet and all eyes turned towards them, but she didn't care. “I didn't ask for this, you know! Any of this! You made it weird, you made it complicated, you took me to your special place, and then you tried to make me feel like I was screwing up somehow! Fuck you, Micah!”

  “It's not like that,” he spoke through clenched teeth. “And I told you I would fuck things up, I'm just -”

  “Oh my god!” she shrieked. “I am so tired of your excuses! How does anyone stay friends with you? You act like you're some tortured soul, when really, you're just some spoiled brat who thinks he deserves special treatment, just because he's a half rate guitar player in a worse rated band.”

  There was a collective ooohhh from the crowd, and Micah actually blushed.

  “Hey, you don't have to-” he tried to argue, but Cassie wasn't done yet.

  “You throw a temper tantrum every single time you don't get your way. No, worse than that – every time you perceive you're not getting your way. Every time you don't understand something! Someone tries to be a friend to you – jesus, not even that, just tries to be decent to you. Just exist in your presence, and you find a way to have a fucking problem with it. A way to blame them for every shitty thing you feel about yourself. Well, fuck you, Micah Gannis, I am not the problem! You are! And you know what else? You won't find the answers to your problems in every random piece of pussy you come across! You need to actually look in the mirror and start figuring out why you hate yourself, because then maybe you can actually have some kind of normal relationship with anyone!”

  Micah looked absolutely stunned. Behind him, Natalie looked shocked. Hell, everyone around them had their jaws on the floor. But Cassie didn't care. Not one little fucking bit. Because somewhere across town, a good man was hurting because of what she'd done to him, all over an immature piece of garbage like Micah Gannis.

  As she whirled around and started to stomp away, though, she was a little surprised when the entire apartment erupted in applause. She ignored it all, tossing her hair back and moving into her own apartment. Before she could get through her doorway, though, a hand grabbed her shoulder.

  But it wasn't Micah's.

  “I'm so sorry, Cass, I didn't know,” Nat was speaking quickly. She was now wearing her shirt, but she was still missing her shoes. Cassie took a deep breath and rubbed her hands down her face.

  “I know.”

  “I swear! You had said he was boring. Boring looking, couldn't play for shit. I came over to complain about the noise,” Nat explained. “And there was this guy on the couch trying to play the guitar, and he was so bad. I figured he had to be Micah. Then this other guy offered me a drink, and I was like hey, free booze, why not. I got to talking to him and this chick. And then this other guy showed up, and he had these amazing blue eyes, and he was so tall, and his body was awesome, and I ...”

  Cassie squeezed her eyes shut tight. Yeah, he did have amazing eyes, and he was super tall, and his body was beyond awesome.

  Such a beautiful package for such a rotten human being. Yeah, I know exactly who you're talking about, Nat.

  “I believe you.”

  “He never said his name. He got me more drinks, I told him I was waiting for his next door neighbor, we shot the shit, he started hitting on me. I'm just so, so sorry. So embarrassed. So sorry,” Natalie started tearing up. Cassie shook her head violently, then opened her eyes.

  “I know,” she stressed. “And I believe you, I do. I'm not mad at you. I just ... I need to be alone, okay?”

  “No,” Nat moaned. “Please! I'm such an awful person, I know I should've just waited for you. I should've known better. Please, can we just -”

  Cassie leaned through her doorway, stretching over the breakfast bar and grabbing Natalie's purse. She shoved it into the other girl's hands, then quickly stepped backwards.

  “You didn't do anything wrong, I know that,” Cassie said through clenched teeth. “I do. I just want to be alone, okay? I need to be alone. I'm sorry. I'm just ... I'm really sorry.”

  And then she slammed her door shut, quickly putting on the chain lock before stepping away.

  Natalie knocked for a while, but Cassie didn't care. She switched to auto-pilot, shedding her clothing as she walked across her apartment. Someone else knocked on her door – and rang the doorbell – while she was in the shower, but she ignored that, too.

  It wasn't until she was in an oversized shirt – Josh's stolen sweater, actually – and clean underwear, a towel wrapped around her hair, that Cassie started to feel more like herself. The m
usic next door had stopped, and everything was quiet. It was closing in on midnight, the building was asleep for the night, and she felt like she was completely on her own.

  Micah never cared about me, not really. And Josh doesn't want me, deservedly. I know Natalie didn't do anything wrong, but I just can't be around her right now, obviously. I need ... something. I need to get back to myself. Or to become someone else. Someone else, doing something else, somewhere else ...

  Cassie took a deep breath, then pulled her laptop out from her nightstand. Opened it on her lap and quickly went to her email. She ignored the client inquiries and requests and spam, going straight to a new document. Then she thought for a while before starting to type.

  Joanna -

  I would like to thank you again for the amazing job offers. I fully realize that you have presented me with an incredible opportunity. Opportunities. And I hope you know that I would never accept any responsibilities lightly. I take my job very seriously and hope to go far in this industry.

  And so, I would like to inform you that I have accepted your offer of a six-week long trial period as your assistant at the new offices in Miami. I am more than ready to leave immediately, and would be glad to go ahead of you in order to set things up for your arrival.

  I know I have been instructed to take the week off as a vacation, but I would love to come in at your earliest convenience to talk about the transfer and my new duties.

  Thank you so much for this chance, and I look forward to working with you.

  Sincerely,

  Cassandra St. John

  14

  Two weeks later ...

  Cassie leaned over the deep tub, shoving her wrist under the running tap. Just on the verge of too hot – perfect. She poured bubble bath into the running water, then stood up and walked out of her bathroom.

  Well, not her bathroom. Technically, it was Joanna Pressly's bathroom, in her gorgeous condo in Miami. It was in a high-rise, with a stunning view of the ocean. Cass paused to look out the floor to ceiling windows, taking in the twinkling lights and the gorgeous moon. She could never have afforded the rent on a place like that, not even with her new salary. Thankfully, lodgings were free, included as a part of her new job.

  Joanna Pressly's executive assistant at the Pressly Events Miami location.

  The day after sending her email accepting Joanna's offer, Cass had met up with her to discuss the details. Make plans. Then she'd gone home and spent the week making arrangements. Natalie's lease was up on her place, and though the two women were still awkward around each other, not entirely fully speaking yet, she'd agreed to come stay at Cassie's apartment.

  Clothing was packed, boxes were shipped. Six weeks wasn't terribly long, but the events Cass would be attending would be some of the swankiest of her life. She was going to meet celebrities, heads of state. That meant she had to be ready to dress for literally any occasion. She wound up sending most of her wardrobe, and took enough money out of her savings to buy several more.

  Jesus, the stress is gonna kill me before I can even get through the six weeks.

  Which might not necessarily be a bad thing, what with the way she'd started feeling about life.

  She'd managed to ignore Micah, which hadn't been easy. He'd waited for her one day, lurking in their hallway. While he'd begged and pleaded and demanded, she'd kept her earbuds in, refusing to acknowledge him as she'd gone into her apartment.

  He'd been an interesting three month experiment. Deep down, she'd known they'd never be anything more to each other than a fling. Than a one night stand. But still, that didn't make what he'd done hurt any less. A fling was still painful if the other person treated you like trash.

  Sure, he'd taught her a lot about herself, and maybe some day, she'd even be able to thank him for it. Get back to that place where she was just the girl who lived next door to him. Maybe even be his friend. That would be nice.

  But that day certainly wasn't going to happen any time soon.

  So Cassie had left D.C. without even telling him she was going. Without so much as a goodbye. Micah Gannis was just a moment in time, one that had passed, and now she was moving on. When she got on the plane to leave, it was without a backward glance for him.

  The same couldn't be said, however, for Joshua Cavitt.

  She'd texted him once more, a couple days after their blow up in the bar. He'd never responded. She heard through the event grapevine that he'd had some important party happening at his hall, a big time politician had rented it out. Cassie had desperately wanted to see him one last time, but she'd refused to interrupt him while he was working. If Josh had wanted to talk to her, well, then he would've made time for her.

  And that was his right. She'd done him dirty, so she couldn't hold anything against him. She'd never really given him a fair shot, because she'd been so caught up in her stupid drama with Micah. She certainly didn't deserve a fair shot in return.

  So she'd gone to Miami, and she'd met with Joanna's team down there. Helped them open up Joanna's big house in Coral Gables – a literal mansion – and then got down to setting up the offices. Cassie had started at Pressly Events as an intern, she'd been with them for a long time, so she knew what to do. Making people happy, it's what she did best.

  Well, not all people, I guess.

  Cass grabbed a beer from the fridge and carried it into the bathroom, setting it on the edge of the tub. Then she realized she'd forgotten her phone charger, and she went back to grab it. She was “on call” pretty much twenty-four hours a day, anymore. Joanna was set to fly in the day after tomorrow, so everything had to be as perfect as possible. The next six weeks would be intense.

  Intense and scary and stressful and amazing and life changing, and she honestly couldn't wait.

  She grabbed her charger and was halfway across the living room when someone knocked at the front door. She frowned and glanced down at her watch. It was almost ten o'clock at night. Of course, that wasn't too unusual – her new job had come with a new assistant for herself; an over eager guy who was some distant nephew of Joanna's, and was desperate to impress her. He'd been turning up at all hours of the day and night, delivering random packages or pitching ideas for events or making suggestions for office decorations.

  “Not now, Eddie,” Cass groaned as she strode towards the door. “I just want to be left alone, okay?”

  “This isn't Eddie, but if you give me ten minutes, I promise I'll leave you alone for good.”

  Cassie gasped, freezing with her hand on the door knob. She couldn't believe it. Didn't believe it. Couldn't wrap her brain around it.

  Don't want to because then it might not be true.

  Then she shook her head and ripped open the door.

  “Oh my god,” she breathed, staring up at the person on the other side.

  “I know this is crazy, but I just ... I had to see you. I couldn't let things end the way they did. I wanted to talk to you, but then that friend of yours told me you'd moved down here. I tried to talk myself out of coming, but in the end ... I don't know. I had to talk to you, at least one last time. I just couldn't let it end like that.”

  Cassie swallowed thickly and tried to find her voice. Failed. Let her eyes wander over his familiar frame. His broad shoulders and his sexy smile. Then she shook her head again and managed to croak out some words.

  “What ...” she started, then had to clear her throat. He smiled at her.

  “Surprised?”

  Talk about an understatement.

  “Josh,” she finally managed to say his name, and his smile got even bigger.

  “If I didn't know any better, I'd guess you missed me, Cassie.”

  And finally, for what felt like the first time in weeks, she laughed. Really laughed. Laughed and smiled up at him and felt more than a little terrified about what this could possibly mean.

  “What on earth are you doing here!?”

  BOY #2: MR. NICE GUY

  An Excerpt

  Cassie sat huddled
up in one end of the bath rub, her arms wrapped around her knees. The water had long since turned lukewarm, but still she sat. The world was a scary place for her right now – the tub was safe.

  “I'm not peeking. Just thought you might need some towels, there's a million out here.”

  Cass lifted her head as Josh walked into the room. He had several huge, fluffy towels in his arms and he carried them over to the counter, keeping his eyes very much averted from her.

  Such a gentleman. What is he doing with a girl like me?

  “Thanks,” she said. “And don't worry, I'm pretty much covered, you can look.”

  “Need anything else? I didn't mean to interrupt a spa night,” Josh said, looking down at his phone as he came to sit on the edge of the tub, still not looking at her.

  “Nah, it's just a bath.”

  “This isn't 'just a bath', Cass; this a jacuzzi. You should crank the jets and relax,” he stated, finally glancing at her before quickly looking away. She frowned. She was naked, only covered in water and soap suds. What man wouldn't want to peek?

  “It has jets?” she sighed, glancing around. She hadn't exactly explored all the options on the tub. She'd been so stunned to find Josh on her door step, and then in her living room, that she hadn't bothered to take in the finer details of the bathroom. She hadn't even realized it was an actual jacuzzi.

  “Yeah. Here, just let me – whoa!” he exclaimed. He'd dipped his hand in the water near the faucet, then quickly pulled it out. “Cass, this water's turned cold, why are you still sitting in it?”

  “Meh, took too much effort to refill it,” she told him, resting her chin on her knee cap.

  Josh frowned at her for a second, then much to her surprise, he stood up and kicked off his shoes. His pants hit the floor next, but then he started climbing into the tub, startling her. He was still wearing his briefs, as well as his dress shirt and undershirt. She finally laughed when he settled in around her feet, his legs on either side of her.