The Keaton Series Boxed Set

by B. A. Wolfe

  “This is the song you were humming in the street isn’t it?” I asked him, even though I already knew the answer.

  A big smile swept over his face, his eyes softened even more. He didn’t respond with a verbal answer, giving me all the confirmation that I needed. He pulled our bodies closer together without hesitation and placed his mouth next to my ear.

  “It’s called Wanted by Hunter Hayes,” he gently whispered, making every nerve in my body pulsate.

  My chest dropped into my stomach, not because of bad nerves or being upset either, this was the first time it had been because of a guy… because of a guy that made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world just knowing him. He made me feel more than wanted. He was helping me in more ways than I could even count on one hand.

  We kept our bodies close as I moved my face from the side of his to the front. I couldn’t tell if we were still swaying to the music anymore or if we were floating in the air like I felt we were. I took my hand out of his and placed them both behind his neck latching them together. He must have got the hint because he moved his hands around my back, hooking them together; we were now completely linked together. Our gazes were engrossed on each other. I couldn’t take my eyes off of his, and I didn’t want to. The heat between our bodies was more than just radiating and I could feel my lips start to venture their way toward his, slowly closing the gap between our mouths. His breath felt warm against my lips and I wanted nothing more than to feel them on mine. I could feel his body hugging me tighter each second that went by. The music was getting softer and quieter, but my heartbeat was getting louder. I was nervous and scared. All the reasons why I shouldn’t kiss Jason were screaming through my head yelling at me to stop, but my heart was ready to jump in full force. It felt the connection with Jason, getting stronger as each minute I knew him passed by. Every beat that drummed in my chest was my heart telling me to go for it, to let it happen, that maybe just maybe, our two lost souls could help fix each other.

  The music stopped as our lips were barely touching, almost grazing each other. I heard a loud country song come on next followed by hoots and hollers from the crowd and a very excited Moose running toward us. We both shook out of the trance we were in, our eyes still locked on each other. I wasn’t ready for our dance to end. I wanted to see where it would take us, but there was something inside telling me that I was playing with fire. Both times, we danced. Both times, we were close to kissing, and both times, we stopped before it happened. I couldn’t help but think of the coincidence. The look in Jase’s eyes told me he was thinking the same things. The wheels were turning in both our minds, going over all the reasons a good guy like him needed to stay away from a mess like me.

  “My turn next,” Moose exclaimed as he grabbed my hand. The one that was just around Jase’s neck, I could still feel his warm skin underneath it.

  Jason shot me a smile as Kasey took a hold of his hands leading him further away from me. Moose took my hand in the air and started to spin me around. He caught me off guard because my thoughts were still on Jason, and I almost tripped over my own feet.

  “Whoa there, Cassie. You okay?” he asked while he stopped me up from falling.

  “Sorry, Moose, I just wasn’t ready for that,” I admitted. His eyes were wide as if I just scared him. “I’m ready to go now,” I said, trying to ease the tension in his eyes. They started to relax more as he took my hand again more firmly this time.

  “Do you want to go sit at the bar?” he asked with a concerned look on his face. He was a lot like Jase; they both were very cautious people.

  I curled my lips up and shook my head no. “No, let’s dance. I’m okay, you just caught me off guard,” I shouted to him over the music.

  It was a loud, fast, guitar-filled song, and I just hoped I could keep up. It wasn’t a dance with Jase, but Moose seemed like a good guy and I was eager to get to know him better. It also probably wasn’t a bad idea to take a little break from the moment Jason and I had just shared.

  “Atta girl,” he shouted, this time motioning with his head that he was going to spin me.

  I was ready for it this time and landed right around, meeting his hand in mine as he started moving his feet quickly to the beat of the music, practically giving us a tour of the dance floor. My eyes must have been wide and my feet clumsy because I could hear Moose starting to giggle.

  “Just let me lead,” he yelled over the music.

  “Easier said than done Moose. Have you ever let someone lead you on the dance floor?” I asked him with a smirk.

  He threw his head back and slowed down, continuing to shuffle us across the dance floor. After numerous turns, pivots and glides, I was out of breath. When the dance was over and we were both covered in sweat, he took my hand and guided us outside of the bar to a bench by the front door. The cool air felt nice as I aired out, regaining my breath. Moose did the same.

  “What in the world was that dance?” I questioned him.

  He let out a breathy chuckle as he took a seat on the bench patting the empty space next to him. I quickly took a seat and leaned back into the bench.

  “It’s called the country two-step,” he answered.

  “More like the country twenty step,” I suggested.

  He let out another breath before going silent as though there was a reason he brought me out here alone. I sat silent, waiting for him to tell me to stay away from his friend. It was possible Jason talked to him about me, and he probably thought I was wrong to be interested in him when he knew I would be leaving in my car soon, probably never to return. But that was just it, I didn’t know if I would be able to stay away now, even though I knew deep down I should. Jase didn’t need me ruining his life. I could feel the damn tears starting to pool up in my eyes, as they were slowly tumbling down my cheek one by one. I turned my head to the side so Moose didn’t see, while I tried to pull myself back together, but I wasn’t quick enough.

  “Hey, what’s the matter?” he asked in a soft voice.

  I tried to hold the tears back and get my voice ready to speak. “I’ll back off, I’m sorry.” I told him.

  He moved his head back and arched his brow. “What?” he asked.

  I turned to face him, wiping the rest of the tears off my face. “I know you brought me out here to tell me to stay away from Jase… Jason. And I get it, I do. I’ll back off. I don’t honestly know what even happened in there on the dance floor,” I mumbled, trying to remain calm and remember that it’s for the best.

  “Cassie,” he said. “I didn’t bring you out here to say any of that.”

  “You didn’t?” I questioned him. He shook his head and wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

  “No, not at all. Actually, I came out here to get some fresh air.”

  I felt incredibly absurd. I put my head in my hands and moved my head back and forth, feeling his hand on my back. “Oh my God, I’m so embarrassed,” I muttered out through my hands. I lifted my head up to see him smiling. “I’ve been really emotional lately,” I tried to apologize to him.

  “Aren’t all women?” He shrugged.

  “Touché,” I answered him. What he didn’t know was that it was most women, especially the pregnant ones like me who couldn’t control their emotions.

  “So I take it you’re pretty fond of him?” he asked curiously. I pressed my lips together. I didn’t want to be honest, but with the emotional outburst I just had, he needed to hear the truth.

  “Jason is a great guy, Cassie,” he said, leaning back into the bench.

  “Too great,” I replied.

  “I haven’t seen him smile this much in a long time. He really needs someone like you right now and from what I see in your eyes when you look at him, you need him too. If there is one thing I learned from him, it’s to enjoy the moment you’re in, because you’ll never get it back. If you worry too much about the future, you’ll miss out on building a past you’ll want to look back at,” he said as he gazed into the dark street across from us.<
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  I sat there, pondering what Moose just told me. He was right, neither of us knew what the other was going through, but for whatever reason we both clung to each other trying to help the other out. It was like a force we, especially I, couldn’t control. Then there were all of the moments, the ones Moose just explained that Jason kept creating for me, but why was he so caught up in them? It’s as if he’s afraid of his future for some reason, yet so laid back that he didn’t care about it. Either way, from what Kasey and Moose just said, he’s happy right now and I couldn’t help but smile because I was too.

  “You know, he’s lucky to have a friend like you.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I’m lucky to have him.”

  “Should we go back inside?” I asked, overly anxious to see Jason again.

  “Yeah, I could use a drink after the ‘twenty step’,” he said.

  I playfully smacked his arm as we walked back inside to find Jason at the bar.

  “There you two are, I was beginning to think I was going to be alone tonight,” Jason said as I took a seat on the stool to his right.

  “Not a chance,” I whispered. “We just needed some fresh air after Moose tried to make me tour the whole God damn dance floor.”

  “You really need to teach this girl how to two-step man,” Moose said.

  “In good time,” Jason replied.

  “You know who’s back in town right? I guess just for the weekend. It’s her dad’s fiftieth birthday.” Moose said to Jason who dropped his gaze down.

  “Damn it,” Jase muffled under his breath.

  “Sorry Man. Kasey just told me this afternoon,” Moose said.

  “Who is it?” I asked, trying to search either of their faces for answers.

  “No one,” Jase said, trying to smile but it looked painful for him.

  “Just some bitch that broke his heart,” Moose piped up.

  Whoa. I wasn’t expecting that. I was shocked by the harshness of his tone and the words that came out of his mouth. I looked over to Jase for an explanation.

  “Let’s not worry about her okay? Like Moose said, she’s just some bitch,” he mumbled to me. I cringed as he called her a bitch. She must have really broken his heart if he was using that word. From the time I met Jason, he had never used that kind of language.

  “Damn, I guess that’s what I get for opening my mouth. I didn’t think she would be coming here tonight. You might want to leave now,” Moose whispered to us as the bar suddenly grew quiet, watching a girl and the guy hooked around her waist walking through the door. I could only assume it was...the bitch.

  “Shit,” Jason muttered under his breath. “I’m sorry, Cassie.”

  “For what? I’m not even quite sure what the whole deal is,” I said honestly, as I thought back to the conversation I had with Kasey about some girl that messed him up, but I wasn’t sure if this was the same girl.

  “That’s a story for another day, Sweetheart,” he said, giving me a nervous look.

  The bar seemed on high alert, as the tension grew stronger. The eyes of almost everyone were shifting between the bitch, who quite frankly just looked like some average girl, not a bitch by any means, and to Jason who was keeping his focus on his hands placed on the bar. Whatever the ‘story’ was, it seemed everyone knew it but me.

  “Seriously, what’s going on? Why is everyone staring?” I asked quietly, getting a quick headshake from Moose letting me know to stop prying.

  “Hey there. It’s Cassandra, right?” a voice asked from behind us. I turned my chair at the same time Jase did only to see Jeff, the guy from the motel, behind me with a beer in his hand.

  “Hey man,” Jase muttered, his mind obviously still lingering on the dark cloud in the room.

  “Yeah, it’s Cassandra. How are you?” I said to him.

  “Can I take you for a spin on the dance floor?” he asked, doing a weird shimmy with his body. I must have given him a strange look as he did because both Moose and Jase let out a quiet chuckle.

  “If you promise not to do that again,” I giggled. I looked over to Jason who now looked more in tune to what was going on.

  “Not too long, Jeff,” Jason told him. Was that Jason getting protective? I had a spark of excitement as I realized that is exactly what it felt like. It was as if I finally got some sort of verbal confirmation from him that he was in fact interested in me. Yet the timing was wrong because I was going back to the dance floor with Jeff, not Jase.

  He set his beer down in front of my seat as he helped me off the stool, dragging me to the dance floor. My eyes couldn’t help but look back at Jase who had sorrow written all over his face. I wanted nothing more than to know the story so I could help him, and the other part of me, perhaps because of the pregnancy hormones, wanted to knock her ass so hard she fell to the floor. I was most certain it had to be the hormones because I was neither aggressive or a fighter.

  Jason turned his stool around, his soft eyes catching mine before Jeff had twirled me around and started up with his weird shimmy dance move. I wanted to look back at Jason again, but I stopped myself. It was clear to me now that I had to talk to him; I had to know what was going on between us, if it was even anything.

  I locked my eyes back on Jeff who had some seriously bad dance moves. Not that mine was much better, but these were awful. I took my hands, put them on his arms, and told him to stop. He looked up at me bewildered.

  “A little less shimmy and a little more steady,” I told him.

  “Can you show me?” he asked in a sultry voice I wasn’t prepared for. I assumed it was the beer talking. I shrugged it off.

  I looked over to Jason before I showed Jeff the correct way to dance with a girl and noticed her. She was in front of him and they were talking. She had on a short skirt and a cute top with a pair of cowboy boots. She looked perfect. She was heavily flirting, but the guy who came in with her stood next to her until she shooed him away.

  “Cassandra?” Jeff said, getting my attention.

  I looked back at him and remembered I was out here to dance with him. “Sorry. So about that dance.”

  I put my hand to the side of me getting ready to show him a better way to shimmy when another slow song came over the speakers. Damn.

  “Oh.” I felt Jeff’s hands immediately on my waist and his hot-liquored breath warmed my face. My stomach started to feel homesick as I realized this was not even close to what it felt like slow dancing with Jason.

  “Like this, right?” he asked in another voice that almost made me want to run for the hills.

  “Yeah, just not so tight, okay,” I said, trying to be firm but nice.

  I glanced over in Jason’s direction only to see the girl sitting down on my barstool. My pulse started racing, a fire started building inside. I tilted my head. Was I getting jealous and protective over my seat? I shook my head a little to try and get myself out of this feeling. He must have been looking at me because I saw him grin when my eyes found his. I gave him one back and then watched the girl continue to talk to Jase. Her seat was facing him, but he kept facing forward. My thoughts were overtaken and brought back to dancing when I felt Jeff gripping my waist a little tighter.

  “Wow, you are a great dancer,” he said in a hushed voice, making me shiver in disgust. I was not feeling comfortable with this anymore. I was trying to be less uptight and enjoy myself but he was making it difficult.

  I felt his hand move further down my waist and start to grab my ass cheek. I was getting ready to leave before I smacked him across the face and perhaps another place when he was suddenly jerked away. Looking up, I saw Jason pulling him off of me. I gasped, “Oh My God.” It was like watching it in slow motion. I saw Jase throw him to the floor, punch him in the face, and as he went to punch him again Moose pulled Jason off, hauling him to the bathroom. The crowd around us that halted to watch the commotion had now gone back to dancing before a few guys came to get Jeff off the floor.

  Kasey came running toward me. “Are you okay
?”

  “Holy shit. What just happened?” I searched her face for answers.

  “You are about to get an answer to a question you might not want to know the answer to,” she said. “I told you; he likes you, Cassandra. That was Jason being protective of you.”

  I wanted to believe her. I wanted to confirm what I felt earlier, but without hearing it out of Jase’s mouth, I couldn’t.

  “You still don’t believe me?” she asked, shaking her head. “Come on, let’s go wait at the bar for the guys.”

  I looked back over to the guys who were helping Jeff walk over to the other side of the bar. “He thought what Jase did to him was bad?” I looked over to Kasey who had her eyes on me. “He’s lucky Jason got to him first. I was about to smack him in both heads,” I told her. She started laughing and then grabbed me by my arm.

  “He’s harmless but tonight he’s clearly had way too much to drink,” she replied.

  We walked over to the bar and asked the bartender for a fresh glass of water, when really what I wanted yet again was a shot of vodka. I could feel the tension in my shoulders as I rolled them back. Kasey sat down to my right as we quietly sipped on our drinks while waiting for Jason and Moose.

  “Hey there… Yeah you. I need a tall vodka and cranberry. Thanks.” I heard a high-pitched voice saying next to me. I gave Kasey a look as the voice continued, only to see her eyes widening.

  I turned my head to see what was going on. Sitting right next to me was the so-called bitch. It was like watching a show about an animal and finally getting the close up shot of it.

  “Hi. I’m Anna,” she said as she sipped her tall drink.

  I froze, not knowing what to do in front of said animal. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Kasey quickly get up from her seat and walk away. My eyes frantically went back and forth from Kasey to Anna, unsure of what to do. It was like taking a test you didn’t study for. I took a deep breath and decided to start the exam.

  “Hi. Cassandra,” I told her.

  “Well, Cassandra,” she said, making me cringe the way she said my name. She looked normal on the outside, but I fully understood the bitch part after hearing her speak. It was like a baby voice stuck in a grown ass woman’s body. Nails on a chalkboard. “Listen, I don’t know who you are, and seeing how he won’t give me the time of day here, I’m assuming it’s because of you, especially since you’re the one he keeps staring at. He’ll never choose you. You’ll never come first. I know you probably know everything, but you’ll just end up doing what I did and leave him. Take it from me and leave him now,” she said. I watched as her little body sat down on the stool next to me.