by Nicole Dykes
We pull up to a house that looks fairly similar to Hunter and Cam’s house. Not surprising since it’s only a block away from theirs. Brent turns his car off, “We could have walked, I didn’t even realize it was this close. You have it made.”
“I haven’t been to many parties.”
He chuckles at that, like I’m joking. I guess that’s fair. I did love a good party before I came here, but I’m trying like hell to change. We both get out and walk up to the house. There are people hanging out on the porch that greet us as we walk inside.
Brent wraps an arm around my waist and guides me through the massive amount of people in the living room. A guy I’ve never seen before walks over to us almost instantly and shakes hands with Brent, “Hell, you finally made it man!”
Brent smirks, “Yeah, I told you I would.”
Brent’s friend is extremely tall and I look up at him as he looks down at me. His eyes rake my body a little too slowly. I suddenly wish I would have just stayed in my t-shirt. “And who is this?”
Brent shrugs, “This is Cassie. I’ve told you about her before.”
He says it casually like I’m a pain in his ass that he has to deal with. I’m not the one that called him. This time.
The guy holds his hand out for me and I reluctantly take it, “I’m Tommy.”
“Nice to meet you.” It’s not. He’s kinda creepy and hasn’t stopped staring at my boobs. Brent either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care as they talk about the amount of people at the party.
His friend Tommy says, “Yeah, well most of them are part of the team.”
I feel my palms grow wet and my heart pounds in my chest making it hard to breath. Team? No. I look around like crazy, trying to spot anyone I recognize. I look back to Tommy and ask, “The football team?”
Brent scoffs at that, “Hell no, not those fucking pussies. Tommy plays for the K-state basketball team. It’s how we know each other we played together in high school.”
I sigh in relief. I can’t see Hunter right now and I also don’t want to think about what he would feel if he saw me with Brent. Probably ashamed of me. I wonder if he would feel any jealousy. I know if I saw him with another girl I would want to rip her to shreds, but I’m the one that wants to be with him.
They talk for a bit and then Tommy says, “Alright, well you two have fun. I’m gonna go mingle.”
They fist bump before Tommy makes his way back through the crowd. Brent’s arms are still around my waist, “Let’s go get something to drink.”
I nod and he leads me to the kitchen. He grabs a beer and I get a cranberry vodka. I mix it fairly weak, even though I probably shouldn’t drink at all. I need all of my brain cells to resist Brent tonight.
He looks at me as I take a small drink, “You look good, Cass.”
I move my eyes to him. He looks cute, but not as hot as I had thought before. His body is lean, with wiry muscles, but not very large. He’s tall, but not as tall as Hunter. His face is nice looking, but it’s not even close to Hunter’s handsome face. Good lord, maybe I do need to get drunk. It could help me forget Hunter Thompson for the night. He’s the only thing on my mind. I think back to what Dani said about me in relationships, I’m obsessed with that one guy.
There was a time I was obsessed with Brent. I take another drink, “You too.”
He smirks over at me, a look that used to drive me wild. “I’m serious. College has done wonders for you and it’s only been a little over a month.”
I smile at the rare compliment from Brent. “Really?”
He nods and drinks his beer, “Yeah, you’ve gained a little weight which I always thought you could use, but most of it went to your tits.”
Now that’s the Brent I know. I have no idea what to say to that so I just leave it with a simple, “Thanks.”
He looks satisfied with that and then gestures toward the living room. “Let’s go find somewhere to sit.”
I nod, following him. The room is packed, but there is one spot open. It’s a large, K-state purple bean bag chair. Brent sits down almost instantly and looks up at me, “You gonna join me?”
I’m hesitant, if I sit down there is no way our bodies won’t be touching. He doesn’t wait for my answer though and reaches up, pulling me down with him. My drink sloshes in the cup, but doesn’t spill.
Sure enough, our sides are instantly pressed against each other and I try to move over, but it’s useless. Brent laughs and wraps his left arm around me, “Cassie, we’ve been closer than this before. Loosen up.”
Maybe he’s right. My head is swirling with memories of the other night with Hunter. I just want to forget. I want to feel better.
I take another drink and then I feel him turn my head to face him with his hand. His eyes aren’t looking into mine, instead he’s staring right at my lips. He wants to kiss me.
I shouldn’t. I don’t want him to, but maybe it will help.
He leans in and kisses me. It’s not full of passion or intensity, but I can definitely feel the want coming from him. He pulls me even closer to him and I kiss him back trying to feel something, anything close to what I felt with Hunter.
The only thing I feel is numb.
Chapter 25
Hunter
I don’t know why I agreed to this. I follow Hannah, Vanessa, and Cam into the crowded house party that I don’t want to be at. Vanessa and Cam are trying to be friends again after that bullshit with Dani a couple of weeks ago at our house. I’ve been to a lot of parties with these three since we all met our freshman year. Even though I’m usually the first one to leave, they can usually talk me into going for a little while.
It’s harder to convince me during football season though. Tonight, they were all shocked when I agreed to go without much of an argument. I feel like shit about how I left things with Cassie. We have a game tomorrow evening, but I need to find a way to blow off some steam and hopefully regain some focus.
I guess Hannah knows the girl who is dating one of the hosts of this party. They are all from Overland Park originally and she reconnected with the girl when they had the same class last year. I look around and recognize a lot of guys from the school’s basketball team. We all grab beers from the keg and make our way back to the living room.
We all stand in a circle and bullshit about the week and how midterms are coming up. Cam looks over my shoulder, “Oh shit. Cassie’s here.”
My body stiffens and I swear goes cold. Why the hell would Cassie be here? I want more than anything to fix things between us, but something tells me she won’t be too happy to see me. Hannah and I both turn to look where Cam’s gaze is.
My heart stops and I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach. Cassie is here, but she’s not alone. She’s sitting on a beanbag chair with some guy I don’t know. His hands are all over her and they are going at it. It takes me back to her first week here. It’s the exact same situation as that night, except for one thing. Now I’ve held her like that, I’ve kissed those lips. Seeing someone else do it in front of me makes me full of blind rage.
My fist clenches at my side and I try like hell to gain some composure. I take another drink of my beer and Hannah says, “Oh no way. I have to stop this.”
I look over at her. Hannah is usually laid back, but she looks as pissed off as I feel. “You can’t. She’s a grownup, Hannah. You have to let her make her own decisions.”
Even though I don’t like it, I have no say in anything Cassie does. Hannah just shakes her head vehemently, “Not with that asshole.”
I furrow my eyebrows and turn to look away, realizing that I’ve been staring way too long. “You know him?
“Yes, that’s her dipshit ex.”
My head snaps back to where Cassie is and then to Hannah. My mouth goes dry, “Brent?”
Hannah nods her head, “Yes.”
Cam takes drink of his beer, “Didn’t Luke beat the shit out of that douchebag a couple of times? He must have some brass fucking balls going near her agai
n.”
Vanessa looks concerned also, “What the hell would make her go back to that loser?”
I flinch knowing that I am more than likely that reason. Hannah pulls out her cellphone, “Maybe I should call Luke.”
I shake my head, “He’s in California with Jax. No good can come from that. There is nothing they can do from there.” They are there thinking about opening another shop. I guess one of Shriller’s friends is interested in partnering with them and running things out there.
Hannah puts her phone away, “You’re right, but I have to do something.”
She starts to walk in their direction, but I block her by quickly moving in front of her, “Wait. I’ll handle it, okay? You guys stay here. I don’t want it to seem like we are ganging up on her.”
They all nod and I take a deep breath and walk over to where this asshole is groping Cassie right out in the open. I have to fix the damage I’ve caused. When I reach them I clear my throat loudly.
Cassie immediately breaks their kiss and looks up, but Brent just moves his lips to her neck. Still pawing at her until Cassie put her hands up, pushing him back a little and she looks up at me. “Hunter?”
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Brent finally turns his head to look up at me, “She’s a little busy, man. There are plenty of easy chicks here. Go find one.”
I ignore him and look at Cassie, pleading. “Please?”
She looks horrified and frozen. Brent however sits up a little straighter and asks her, “Cassie, do you know this fucking guy or something?”
She looks up at me, her eyes looking sad. “Yeah, he’s Luke’s friend.”
That stings. Brent stands up and laughs. “Oh, that fucking pussy.”
I glare at him, “If I recall I think that pussy beat the shit out of you a couple of times. Am I right?”
Cassie stands next to him and he tries to shrug it off even though I can tell it bothers him by the way his right eye ticks. “He took a couple of cheap shots. Last time I was naked and still weak from fucking his sister.”
I try to keep my cool. Don’t hit him. Cassie cringes from his words and I look at her. “Can we please just talk?”
She looks at me coldly, “We’ve talked plenty, Hunter. You made yourself perfectly clear last time we talked.”
Yep, this definitely has something to do with me. “Cassie, don’t do this to get back at me.”
She folds her arms over her chest, “This has nothing to do with you and you have no right to tell me what to do.”
I reach for her arm and pull her closer to me, “Cassie, I’m sorry about the other night, but you can do a hell of a lot better than him.”
I motion toward Brent and he seethes, “What the fuck is going on, Cass?”
Cassie looks over at him and pulls out of my grasp, “Nothing. You want to get out of here?”
He smirks over at me, “Hell yeah. Where are we going?”
Cassie looks over at me briefly and then confidently at Brent. “My dorm. Dani’s gone all night.”
She takes his hand and starts to lead him outside. I can’t let them leave. I move my body to block them, “Cassie, don’t do this.”
Brent looks pissed off, “This is ridiculous. Get out of our way.”
I stand my ground, “No. Cassie, don’t leave with him. You don’t have to do this.”
She looks like she’s thinking about it and then Brent shoves my shoulder with his hand. Hard. My body falls back, but I catch myself quickly and glare at him, “Don’t fucking touch me, again. That’s your only warning.”
I see Cassie’s face and she looks worried. About me or him, I can’t tell. Brent just laughs and shoves me again. I feel Cam right next to me in an instant. Brent looks at him and then turns to Cassie, “Let’s get out of here. I can’t wait to hear you moaning my name, again. That’s a sound I’ve missed.”
That’s it. It’s all I can take. I draw my fist back and before Brent can move I make contact with his cheek with a loud crack. He falls backward and lands on the ground.
Cassie screams and kneels down next to him. She scowls at me as he holds his cheek in his hand, “You are just like them!”
“Like who?”
She helps Brent up and then answers me, “My brothers. Jax. Everyone. They all think they can and should tell me what to do. Who I can date!” She’s fuming, “I’m not an idiot. I’m smart enough to know what I want and at least I’m not scared to go after it.”
Point taken. “Cassie, I’m sorry.”
She brushes past me, taking Brent’s hand in here. “Don’t be. Just leave me alone.”
With that she leads Brent out the front door and I stand there watching them helplessly.
Cam nudges me, “Damn man, that’s a hell of a right hook.”
Hannah and Vanessa join us. Hannah gestures toward the door, “Now what the hell do we do?”
I shake my head, still stunned by everything that just happened. “Nothing.”
Vanessa looks over at me, “Well we can’t just let them leave.”
I look down at my hand that’s already bruising from the hard hit I delivered to Brent’s face. “They are already gone, if we go after her we will just make it worse.”
Hannah pulls out her cellphone again. “Well I’m at least going to try to call her. That way I can at least say I tried to do something.”
She tries to call and then puts her phone up, frustrated when Cassie doesn’t answer.
I hate everything that just happened, but she’s right. I’m contradicting myself. I told her that she needs to figure out who she is and what she really wants. I said that she can’t live her life for anyone else. I can’t try to tell her what to do now.
If what she wants is Brent, then that’s something I have to deal with, right?
Chapter 26
Cassie
I flip the light on and toss my keys on the dresser in my dorm room with Brent right behind me. He looks around quickly, “This is a fucking tiny. Our dorms were so much better at KU.”
I roll my eyes and sit on my bed, trying to slow down my heart rate. I can’t believe what just happened.
He picks up a picture of me and Dani that’s sitting on the desk and scoffs before placing it back in it’s spot, “I can’t believe you live with that fucking bitch.”
I look over at him angrily, “Don’t call her a bitch. She’s my best friend.”
He just grins casually and sits next to me. “She’s been nothing but a bitch to me.”
That’s because she hates you for the way you treat me. Why the hell am I here with him? I don’t get a chance to really debate that because Brent’s lips are suddenly on mine. It’s aggressive and needy the way his tongue starts prodding my mouth.
I should tell him to stop. I should make him leave, but I’m so pissed off and confused about the last week I don’t. I can’t believe Hunter hit him. I know he said he has hit someone before, but actually seeing it was surprising. He’s always so controlled.
If I’m being totally honest with myself, I think it made me more attracted to him. Messed up, right? I don’t want to want him. I want to just accept that he sees me as nothing more than Luke’s immature little sister and move the hell on.
Brent’s body pushes mine backward urging me to lie down on my bed as his body follows. He continues to kiss me, but I’m on autopilot. My mind and my heart with Hunter. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still totally pissed at him. I hate that he’s telling me what to do, thinking like everyone else that I’m just a total fuckup. That I’m not capable of making my own decisions.
I feel Brent’s right hand cup my breast roughly. Although, maybe they are all right. “Shit, Cassie I’ve missed this.”
Missed this. Sex. He hasn’t missed me, just using my body. I pull my head back and disengage from the kiss. “Brent, maybe we should slow down a little bit.”
He uses both arms to support himself, while still lying on top of me. His eyes are full of frustration and con
fusion, “What are you talking about?”
“I thought maybe we could talk.”
“Talk? Are you fucking serious? We did remember?”
We barely spoke the entire night. “Not enough. I thought this was about two friends catching up.”
He groans, “Cassie, we did catch up and then we made out. Then you invited me back to your empty dorm room and I assumed you meant to fuck, not to talk.”
“You’re the only person that hasn’t asked me how school is going.”
He didn’t really ask me anything. I didn’t plan on bringing him to my dorm at all, but when Hunter hit him my first reaction was anger. It reminded me of my brother’s when they caught me with Brent.
They are my brothers. I’m not stupid, I know they are never going to stop trying to protect me. Same goes for Jax who is my surrogate big brother. I don’t want Hunter to see me that way. As someone he has to protect as a favor to Luke. I want him to see me as an adult who can make her own decisions.
Brent groans again, like a child that isn’t instantly getting what they want. “Cassie, I can ask you about school and let you tell me what I already know. You wake up, go to class and then come home and fuck around. That’s college. I know because I’m enrolled in college right now. I have to leave in the morning, let’s not waste time talking.”
With that he leans down and kisses me again. It’s sloppy and lazy like he’s just doing it to shut me up. This isn’t what I want. I’m not the slightest bit turned on, I feel nothing. I move my arms up from my sides and push him back. “I think you should go.”
Now he looks pissed. “Are you fucking joking? I should go?”
I nod, “Yes. As in get off of me and leave.”
He sighs loudly, “Alright, fine. Tell me about college.”
I roll my eyes at him, shaking my head. How the hell was I ever attracted to this guy? I really am a mess. “Go.”
“Is this about that fucker from the party?”
“No. This is about you. I’m just not into you anymore.”
He scoffs at that, “Please Cassie. You’ve been drooling over me since the day I asked you out. You were just an innocent little freshman, dying to fit in.”
