by Nicole Dykes
He scratches the scruff on his chin and then grabs his beer bottle taking a drink. “And what about that goal?”
“What about it?”
He eyes me, “Next year they are going to offer you a contract. Who knows what team, but you’re going to sign it and right after graduation your ass is gone. Cass is a freshman. She has at least two more years after you. What’s going to happen?”
I pick my beer up and take a drink. “I don’t know. It was one reason I pulled away from her, but I can say that no matter what we are staying together. We will get through it together.”
“I know my sister. She’ll give up every part of herself for someone she loves or even thinks she loves. She’ll follow you wherever you go and give up everything she wants.”
That’s my greatest fear. I can’t let her turn into my mom. “I won’t let her.”
“You won’t have a say. She’s stubborn as all fuck and you aren’t giving up your career.”
I sit up a little straighter, trying like hell to get my point across, “We will work it out. I’m in this. I love her and nothing will keep us apart and I will make sure that I put her first while she’s putting me first.”
He looks down at his right hand, already swelling a bit. “I can’t say I like this, but you’re the best guy I know. If someone has to be with my sister, I guess I can learn to be okay with this.” I don’t let a sigh of relief just yet. He has something else to add, “If you hurt her, I swear I will kill you and not even think twice.”
I nod my head, “I wouldn’t expect anything less, Luke.”
“Fuck. Just don’t rub in my face okay. Don’t grope her or anything around me.”
I almost laugh at that, but he’s being totally serious. “I wouldn’t do that.”
He goes to the freezer and pulls out two bags of frozen veggies, putting one on his hand. He hands the other one to me. “That’s gonna be one hell of a shiner. I’m not going to apologize for that.”
I grin, “I didn’t expect you to. I had it coming, but I’ll never hurt her. I’d rather die.”
He nods, “Yeah. I know. That’s why I stopped at one hit.”
He rejoins me on the couch and just like that there isn’t anything else in Cassie and I’s way.
No more sneaking around. We can just be a real couple.
I can’t fucking wait.
Chapter 36
Cassie
I slept horribly last night waiting to hear from Hunter some type of news about him telling Luke. He never texted me and now I’m dying to know what happened.
My crazy ass mind goes to the worst case scenario. I mostly dreamt about Luke killing and burying his gorgeous body.
Yes, I realize that’s insane, but why hasn’t he texted?
“Relax. I’m sure it’s fine.” Dani says, reading my mind as we head up the stairs with our bags slung over our shoulders. We are all going back to Manhattan this afternoon because Luke is going to California with Shriller today so there is no reason for Hannah to stay.
“I hope so, Dani.”
She pats my shoulders as we reach the top of the stairs and head into the living room. The main floor of the house has people spread out through it. Shriller is draped over the loveseat, sunglasses covering his face.
I turn to Alex who is filing her nails in the chair next to him. “Is he dead?”
She kicks his foot and he groans, “Alex, fuck!”
She laughs, “Nah, just hungover.”
We all laugh at Shriller’s expense and then head into the kitchen. Brooke is of course behind the stove. Jax, Dylan and Michael are all setting the tables.
Brooke doesn’t do leftovers. She’s crazy, but she donates it to the local shelters which is redeemable. Now she’s making some sort of pasta dish that smells amazing, “Well, finally you two got out of bed!” Jax grins over at us from the table.
“Yeah, yeah.” I mumble. “I’m not a morning person, we all know this.”
Dylan chuckles, “You know you can stay. I’ll take you back Sunday.”
I smile over at him, “Aw, do you miss me?”
Brooke grins, “I think he does.”
He rolls his eyes and Jax wraps me up in a big brotherly bear hug, somehow roughing up my hair, “Of course we miss you Cass. It’s too fucking quiet around here without you.”
I smooth my hair down the best I can, “I’m gonna take that as a compliment.”
My heart stops when I hear the doorbell. I hear Alex yell loudly, “Shriller will get it!”
Jax and Dylan chuckle knowing that she’s purposely screwing with him. Dani’s eyes lock with mine and we waste no time rushing into the living room, followed by Dylan and Jax who casually saunter in behind us.
Shriller did surprisingly open the door and Hannah and Vanessa walk inside followed by a super hungover Cam, Luke and then finally Hunter. I freeze when I see his beautiful face, his left eye is dark and swollen. “Holy shit! Did Luke hit you?” I screech before I can stop myself.
All eyes in the room move to me and then back to Hunter.
“Why would Luke do that?” Dylan asks confused.
Luke folds his arms and looks over at me, “Yeah, Cass. Why would you think that?”
I glare at him and then Hunter steps forward and announces, “Cass and I are dating.”
Normally I love his honesty, but I sneak a peek over at Dylan, praying he isn’t seething. He looks to Jax who has his massive arms folded over his chest in an intimidating fashion. Shriller just laughs, “Well shit, that explains the shiner.”
I cross the room and move to Hunter, my fingers gently grazing the damage my brother inflicted, “Are you okay?”
He nods taking my hand in his, “I’m fine, really. It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal?” I turn to Luke, “How could you do that?”
Luke rolls his eyes, Hannah tucked under his arm. I’m sure she and Vanessa have already heard about all of this. “Relax Cassie. I held back.”
“Definitely more than I would have.” I hear Dylan say and I focus on him.
“You better not hurt him, too!”
Jax and Dylan both chuckle, pissing me off and then Dylan says, “I’m not going to. I just meant if it were Jax or Shriller I wouldn’t have had so much restraint.”
I grimace, “Gross.”
Jax laughs and uncrosses his arms, “Thanks, Cass.”
“You know what I mean. You guys are like my brothers. Not to mention way too old.”
Shriller grins, “He means if it were his best friend he’d beat the living shit out of him. Luke definitely exercised some control.”
“Control? He pummeled him!” I growl.
I hear Hunter laugh behind me and I turn to look at him, “Cassie, I deserved it.”
I’m stunned. I don’t get men. “For caring about me and dating me? That’s crazy!”
Brooke walks into the living room, “What the hell is going on?”
“Luke hit Hunter!” I answer.
Brooke’s eyes move to Hunter’s face, “Ah, so something is going on between you two?”
I look at her surprised. “You knew?”
She shrugs and looks over at Alex, “We went over that possibility yesterday. Could tell you had a crush, but didn’t know it was a thing.”
Alex smiles over at me proudly, “Nice, Cass. I’m super proud.”
I roll my eyes smiling over at her and catch Hunter grinning. Brooke asks, “So how long has this been going on?”
“A couple of months.” I answer.
I move my eyes to look at my oldest brother, still worried. He must pick up on it, “Breathe Cassie. Hunter’s a good guy. If Luke’s okay with it, I have no problem with it.”
“Yeah and he knows we will break his legs if he fucks up.” Jax adds.
Hunter nods his head and again I roll my eyes at the bizarre way men handle things. I turn to Luke, “So you are okay with this then?”
“He’s not dead and he’s in our house. It’s
fine, just don’t play grabass around me and I don’t want to know any details. Ever.” Luke answers stiffly.
Brooke smiles and walks over to Hunter. She gives him a slight hug, “Well welcome to the crazy family. Hungry?”
“Starving.”
With that we all head into the dining room and eat. My head hurts from the craziness of it all, but I’m relieved. It’s going to be okay. Everyone knows now and there is nothing left in our way.
Later that night I’m in Hunter’s bedroom curled up to him on his bed, “You know you could have sent a text to me last night.”
“Shit. Sorry, Cassie. After I told Luke, we had a long talk and then told Hannah and Vanessa and had another talk. Cam came home piss drunk and I totally forgot. I’m sorry.”
I smile, tracing the ridges of his bare abs with my fingers, “It’s okay. I’m glad it’s all out there.”
He kisses my temple, “Me too.”
“I still can’t believe he hit you.”
He shrugs his shoulders, “Trust me, it’s not that big of a deal and I did have it coming.”
“I don’t get that at all.”
“I know.”
I turn my body, flattening my chest against his side and looking up at him, “What did Luke mean about you having a backup plan if football falls through?”
He chuckles at that, “Damn, that took you a while to ask.”
“Well I couldn’t exactly ask you in front of everyone at dinner.”
“True,” he answers, “Luke and I have talked about me taking over as business manager if my football career doesn’t work out.”
I sit up on the bed taking the sheets with me to cover my naked chest, “At the shop?”
He nods, “On his side of things yeah. Jax usually handles everything, but they have all talked about adding one just for the bikes since they are busier now.”
“You want to work customizing bikes?”
I’m surprised by this. His whole life is football. He shakes his head, “Nah, just the business part of things. I’m a business major you know?”
I laugh, slightly embarrassed that I didn’t know that. “Of course.” I lie.
He pulls me back down to his side, “Anyway, it’s there if I wanted to. It would be fun working with the guys.”
“I can’t believe you guys have talked about this.”
He laughs, “I know, just bullshitting while we were hanging out, but I know he’s serious.”
I smile, they really are good friends. I’m happy that I didn’t screw that up. He kisses my lips softly, “So, Brooke invited me to Christmas.”
I light up, “Oh yeah? Are you going to be able to make it?”
He nods, “Yeah I think so. I won’t be able to stay long we have a bowl game three days later, but I can stay a couple of days.”
“That’s awesome!”
He smiles, but looks nervous. “Since I’m not going to my parent’s house for Christmas I thought I would go down the weekend before. I was wondering if you would want to go with me. Meet my family.”
I try to hold back my excitement and kiss his lips, “I would love to!”
He laughs, his lips still touching mine, “My family is nothing like yours, Cassie. Nothing.”
I nod my head, still excited that he wants me to meet his parents, knowing this is a huge step in our relationship. “I can’t wait.”
I’m not sure why he looks so nervous, but I’m sure it’s because of the strained relationship with his family. Still I can’t hide my obvious excitement.
This is going to be a great trip. I will make sure.
Chapter 37
Hunter
A couple of weeks later Cassie and I are standing on the porch of my childhood home in Oklahoma. She fidgets with a loose string on the sweater she picked out for today. Brooke and Alex made a trip to Manhattan last weekend to help her shop.
To say she’s excited about this is an understatement, but I wish she wasn’t. I’ve tried like crazy to get her to understand that my family is nothing like the Monroes, but now she’s just going to have to see that for herself.
My sister Shannon opens the door with a smile on her face. “Hunter! You’re here!”
I smile as she gives me a big hug, “Hey, Shannon. I know it’s been a while.”
“No shit, it’s been forever since you were home.”
I can feel Cassie’s gaze on me when she says that, “It hasn’t been that long and you better watch that mouth.”
She laughs, “It’s been over six months and don’t worry, you know dad isn’t home yet.” Our father is always on time. Without fail he will be home at fourteen minutes after six. My sister turns to Cassie, with us still standing on the porch. “Who’s your friend?”
I wrap my arm around Cassie’s small waist, “This is my girlfriend, Cassie. Cassie this is my little sister, Shannon.”
Cassie smiles and holds her hand out for Shannon, “It’s nice to meet you.”
Shannon shakes her hand, “It’s nice to meet you too.” She looks over at me surprised, “You have a girlfriend?”
I nod, “Yep. Can we come in?”
She backs up and lets us enter the house, which looks the exact same as the last time I was home. Not a thing out of place.
I don’t dare put down mine and Cassie’s bags that I’m carrying and ask, “Where’s mom?”
Shannon sits down on the couch in the living room. I notice she doesn’t plop down like a normal teenager, instead she sits down “like a lady” as our father would say, “In the kitchen. Gotta get dinner on that table.”
I nod and turn to Cassie who is definitely studying this new environment. “Follow me.”
She nods and I take her hand and lead her up the stairs. When I get to the first bedroom on the left I open the door and walk in. “Your old room?”
I nod and place my bag on the bed. “Yep.”
She smiles and bounces down on the bed next to the bag, “It’s exactly what I pictured from you room in Manhattan.” She looks around the room, “No half naked girl posters, huh?”
I laugh. I have two posters and I know it’s a shocker, but they both involve football. “Nope.”
“Good. That’s all Luke had on his wall and it’s disgusting.”
I laugh and pull her up from the bed, giving her a quick kiss. “Alright, come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the guest room.”
She pouts, but follows me down the hall to the flowery decorated guest room that is rarely used unless my grandma comes to town. She walks inside and I place her bag on the queen-sized bed. “This is nice. No chance I can stay in your room though?”
I smile and kiss her lips softly taking her face in my hands, “I wish. There is no way that would fly with either of my parents. We could stay in a hotel or just leave tonight.”
She places a hand on her hip, “No way. You’ve been trying to get out of this since you offered to bring me. Your sister seems really great I don’t understand what your deal is.”
I kiss her again, “You’ll see.”
Hand in hand we walk back down the stairs and into the kitchen where my mom is buzzing around the kitchen. No doubt frantic to get dinner done before my dad gets home. “Mom.”
She glances behind her at us and then back to the stove, “Hi, Hunter. You made good time.”
I nod my head, “Yeah, the traffic wasn’t bad. I want you to meet someone.”
She waves her hand, “Hunter I have to fix dinner. Why don’t you go into the living room with your sister and I’ll meet your friend when your father gets home.”
I can see the shock on Cassie’s face and I wish this fazed me in the slightest. At first glance you would probably assume my father is abusive and my mother is frightened of him. Honestly, that’s not the case. He’s a cold bastard, but she never backs down from a fight with him.
She tries to follow his rules I think to avoid some of the easier fights, but believe me there are still plenty.
Their fights have never gotten physical. My mom screams and yells and my dad does what he does best: leaves.
I just lead Cassie back into the living room and sit down next to my sister on the couch, pulling Cassie down next to me.
“She didn’t even hug you.” Cassie whispers.
“She will later.” I answer. Not sure what else to say. I’m starting to rethink subjecting my sweet girlfriend to this bizaroworld I grew up in.
My sister just shakes her head as I stretch my legs out in front of me. I look over at her, “So how is senior year going?”
She lights up, “Great! I’m almost out of here!”
Cassie’s face remains polite, but I can tell she’s curious. I nod, “You decide where you are going to school?”
Her face drops, “Probably OU.”
“I hear that’s a great school.” Cassie offers.
“Yeah it’s fine.” My sister shrugs her shoulders. I can tell something is up.
“You get accepted somewhere else?”
She nods, “It doesn’t matter though. Dad forbid it and you know how that goes.”
He forbid me to go to K-State. I’ll never forget the look of disappointment on his face when I told him I got a full ride scholarship. “I do, but I still went.”
“Yeah, well you had a scholarship backing you. At least he’s going to pay for me to go to college. Gotta pick your battles, Hunt.”
I nod my head sadly. She sounds like my mom. Maybe in a couple of years I can pay for her to go to school wherever she wants.
My mother comes out of the kitchen, slipping her apron off and walks over to the couch. “I’m glad you are home Hunter.”
I stand up and give her a quick hug, “It’s good to see you mom. How are you?”
“Oh you know me.”
I nod and Cassie stands up next to me. I wrap my arm around her, “This is Cassie Monroe, my girlfriend.”
Her eyes show surprise as she holds out her hand for Cassie, “It’s nice to meet you, Cassie.”
Cassie smiles at her, “It’s so great to finally meet you too. I’ve heard a little bit about you and I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.”
