500 Days

by Jessica Miller

  “I didn’t,” he confessed. “I had to pick up a few things and I spotted this really beautiful girl.”

  “Oh yeah?” I raised my brows at him. He smiled, leaning down to give me another kiss when Declan cleared her throat.

  “Are you two going to be nauseating like this at dinner? Because if so, I might have to stop by the pharmacy and pick up something to calm my stomach.”

  I tore myself away and spun around to direct my attention at Declan. “You’re one to talk.” She crossed her arms. “I can’t tell you how many times I lost my lunch watching you and Colton make googily eyes at each other.” Declan dropped her arms and rolled her eyes.

  “So Casper, are you ready for this dinner tonight?” Declan asked with a smartass smile.

  “I’ve already met the other three and they like me. I’m sure I won’t have a problem with Jay.”

  “Jack, his name is Jack,” I said a little worried. Declan shook her head laughing and walked away. Casper frowned. “Don’t worry baby. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

  “Maybe I should meet him another time. You know when I haven’t just confessed my love to his baby sister through a door.”

  I hooked my fingers into his belt loops and yanked him closer to me. “Technically it was Jack who you said I love you to. He was standing behind the door.” I smiled, tilting my head back.

  “You’re not helping.”

  “You have nothing to worry about. My other brothers already like you so I’m sure Jack will too. Besides, you somehow got Jasper to like you so you’re already halfway there.”

  Casper sighed, resting his head on my shoulder. Turning his head slightly, he pressed his lips against my neck. My skin burned where his lips touched. “You start that and I might be forced to shove you in one of the dressing rooms and have my way with you.”

  He lifted his head and raised a brow at me. “No, not today.”

  “I should get going.” He reluctantly pulled away. “What time am I picking you up?”

  I looked back at Declan. She shrugged her shoulders. “How about I just call you?”

  “Sounds good,” he smiled, giving me a kiss before he left.

  I ended up finding a real cute, red, sweater dress, along with a pair of tan boots. I pulled my hair half up, giving it a little poof in the front. Then I finger combed my curls to give them some separation. I still had about twenty minutes before Casper and Colton arrived to take us to dinner. I slipped on my boots and decided to walk around the apartment to break them in until the boys showed up. Declan darted past me in her bra and underwear to the bathroom. I laughed when she ran back out and to her room. “What is up with you?” I asked her.

  “Running late!” she said.

  I looked at my phone. “Declan, you still have like twenty minutes. What are you freaking out about?”

  “I’m nervous,” she confessed.

  “Nervous about what?”

  “The dinner tonight.”

  I leaned against the door frame. “Why are you nervous? I should be the one who’s a wreck.”

  She stopped running around long enough to give me pensive look. “Why aren’t you?”

  “Why aren’t I what?”

  “Nervous.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m just not. I already talked to Jack and he knows where I stand with Casper.”

  “And where exactly is that?” she questioned, curious.

  “Just taking it one day at a time and see where it goes. I like Casper, a lot. But this whole relationship thing scares me, especially with someone like Casper.”

  “I’m just happy you got your head out of your ass long enough to give it a shot.”

  I picked up the closest thing, which happened to be a dirty sock, and threw it at her. She swatted it away, laughing. “Just finish getting ready.” I closed the door and walked out to the kitchen to grab a beer.

  Declan was still getting ready when the boys arrived. I pointed Colton in the direction of Declan and told him to light a fire up under her ass. Casper stood by the door. He leaned against the wooden frame, arms, legs crossed, and a seductive smile on his lips. “What?” I asked self-consciously.

  His eyes roamed up and down my body, lingering longer on my legs. I held my arms out and did a little spin. “You like what you see?”

  “Oh, I definitely like.” He stood up straight and closed the door. He was in front of me in two quick steps. “I think that might be the problem though.” I wrinkled my forehead at him. “Because all night all I’m going to be thinking about is bending you over my couch,” his fingers played with the hem of my dress. “And lifting that pretty red dress over your sweet ass.”

  I grabbed his hips and pulled him into me, hard. He let out a grunt. “You are trouble.”

  I smiled, lifting up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss. Casper slipped his arm behind my lower back, keeping me close to him as his other hand moved slowly up the back of my thigh. I opened my mouth to let out a small gasp, allowing Casper access to explore further. His tongue teased its way in, twirling lightly, taunting me. I could feel my knees start to shake.

  Colton cleared his throat. I pulled away, blushing. I tried to take a step away but Casper held me close to him, refusing to let go. Declan rolled her eyes when she saw us and grabbed her purse and coat on the way out. “Let’s go,” she grumbled. I didn’t know what Declan’s problem was but she had been in a mood ever since we got back from shopping. I wanted to ask her what her deal was but I never had the chance. I decided I would pull her aside later and find out what had her panties in a bunch.

  Colton drove us to the restaurant where we had to meet my brothers. I knew Casper was nervous. I could feel how bad his palm was sweating and had to keep wiping my hand off. “Would you relax?”

  “Your brother is trained in combat, knows how to assemble an assault rifle, and who knows what else. That’s a very intimidating.”

  “I promise you it won’t be that bad. And besides, Jack doesn’t carry his gun on him so you should be safe.”

  He frowned at me letting me know I wasn’t making him feel any better. I latched my arm through his and pulled him into the restaurant. The boys were already seated at a table when we joined them. Before I had a seat I introduced Casper to Jack. Jack shook his hand firmly and gave him the once over. I knew he was holding back. I gave him a warning look to behave. Casper pulled my chair out and sat on my right, next to Colton while Jaxson sat on my left. Jack sat across from us with Jasper and Jacob. I took my napkin and placed it in my lap, smoothing out the wrinkles. Jack had yet to say anything which was making me nervous.

  Jacob and Jaxson talked to Casper while Jack and Jasper sat there quietly and observed. I looked over at Declan to see if I was missing something and she just shrugged her shoulders, clueless. I half expected Jack to start his inquisition, but he kept quiet the entire dinner while everyone else chatted about. Casper eventually relaxed and by the time we were done he was his normal self. He even offered to pay the bill but Jack refused.

  “See, that wasn’t so bad,” I said to Casper once we were in the car.

  “The night’s not over yet.”

  I scooted closer to him and placed my hand on his thigh. He shifted uncomfortably, adjusting his jeans. I looked at him funny. “What’s wrong with you?”

  He threw his head back, letting out a sigh and closing his eyes. Worried, I leaned in closer, my hand gliding to his inner thigh. He flinched and took my hand off his leg. I pouted at him. “You have to stop that,” he growled.

  “Why?” He took the hand that was on his thigh and placed it over the bulge in his pants. “Oh,” I giggled. “You want me to ask Colton to drop us off so I can take care of that?”

  He narrowed his eyes at me. “And explain to your brothers why we’re late. Yeah, no thank you.”

  I nibbled lightly on the tip of his ear and I could feel him tense. “Oh, come on Casper.”

  He pushed me back against the seat and on the other side of the car. “Sto
p,” he warned. I crossed my arms in a huff. “Knock it off.”

  “I’m not doing anything,” I snapped.

  “You’re pouting,” he said, shifting again.

  “You’re kidding, right? That turns you on?”

  “Have you seen your lips?” I rolled my eyes. He tugged me closer to him. “Alex, everything about you turns me on. Do you know how hard it was to be alone with you in a room and not tear your clothes off? Every minute of every day all I thought about was you,” I smiled at the sweet sentiment, that was, until he continued. “And your underwear.” I shoved him back to his side of the car and kept to my side the rest of the ride. We both subconsciously reached our hands out, meeting in the center. He smiled at me sweetly and rubbed his thumb over the pad of my hand. I crossed my legs, clenching. He had no idea what he did to me. This time he was the one to raise a brow at me. I leaned on my elbow and winked at him. Happy, he relaxed back in his seat.

  Finally we arrived at the bar. The drive there felt almost torturous having Casper that close to me and not able to do anything about it. He kissed my hand and when I went to let myself out, he shook his head no. Casper jumped out of the car and jogged over to my side to open the door for me. He held out his hand and assisted in helping me get out. “You know, you already got me. You don’t have to try and impress me.”

  “I’m not. It’s called being a gentleman.”

  “Didn’t even know you knew what that word meant,” I teased.

  “It’s reserved for only a select few and only applies in public,” he winked. I just shook my head and took his arm as he escorted me inside. We found the rest of the group by one of the tables up top. I offered to get Declan a drink but she declined; something about not feeling well. I shrugged it off and made my way to the bar. I ordered a round for everyone and grabbed a tray from the back so I could carry everything. When I returned to the table Casper frowned at me. “Alex,” he said, taking the tray from me. “You’re off the clock. Let someone else do that.”

  “I don’t mind,” I replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

  We joined Jaxson and Jasper in a game of pool. We played partners and kicked Jaxson and Jasper’s butt. “I never asked how you learned to play so well,” Casper said, wrapping an arm around my waist.

  “I taught her,” Jack said. Casper’s arm instantly dropped and I stifled an eye roll.

  “No, you taught her how to suck. I taught her how to be good,” Jasper said.

  “Both of you are wrong. Dad taught me.” I quickly closed my mouth. I hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud.

  The room grew quiet for a moment, but thankfully Jack jumped in. “How about you and me versus Jasper and Jaxson and then we can shut him up once and for all.”

  “With pleasure. I already beat you it shouldn’t be too hard to do it again.”

  We beat him again, pissing him off, so Jasper insisted a one on one game just him and me. I rolled my eyes and told him I would after I had another beer. I cozied up next to Casper to see how he was doing. “Havin’ fun?”

  “Yeah, your brothers are great, although Jack keeps looking at me like he’s planning which way he wants to kill me.” He nodded in Jack’s direction.

  I looked over my shoulder and to no surprise Jack was watching Casper. “I’ll talk to him. He tends to be a little over protective when it comes to me. I promise I won’t let him kill ya, at least until I’m done with ya,” I smiled.

  “Feelin’ the love.”

  I leaned in for a kiss but he hesitated. “Casper, really?” He relented, but was still stiff. I let out an aggravated sigh and went to go talk to Jack.

  “So are you going to spend all night giving Casper dirty looks or are you actually going to go talk to him and learn that he’s a good guy and not a psycho.” I stood with my arms crossed not appreciating the silent treatment he was giving the whole night.

  “You really want me to talk to him?”

  “Jack, stop it. I like Casper. A lot. We already talked about this. I would really like it if you got the chance to know him, for me.”

  He sighed, dropping his guard. “Fine. I’ll talk to him.”

  “And be nice. And don’t be so…you.” He put his hands up in the air and gave me a WTF look. “Jack,” I warned.

  “Alright, alright. I promise to be on my best behavior.”

  Jasper started yelling at me to quit farting around and get my ass over to the pool table. I grabbed my beer on the way and gave Casper a wink as I walked by. Jack went over to talk to Casper as promised and from the serious looks on both of their faces I admit I was starting to get nervous.

  I had a hard time concentrating on the game while Jack and Casper were talking. I was playing horribly, proving to Jasper that he was the better player. Poor Casper looked ready to bolt any second. Jasper sunk the eight ball and did a celebratory fist pump in the air. “Told you, you sucked. Next round is on you.” I stifled an eye roll and grabbed my purse. I knew I couldn’t use the excuse I was distracted. Jasper would call bullshit. So I kept my mouth shut as I wandered to the bar.

  “Hey Shauna.” I leaned my elbows up on the bar, pressing myself closer so she could hear me over the loud music.

  “Hey girl, what can I get ya?” she replied. I spit out my order and she got to work right away, ignoring the other impatient customers. Shauna was one of the few girls here I really liked. She was almost as tough as me and didn’t take anyone’s shit.

  “So what’s up with you and the hottie rocker?” she asked, flashing me a wicked smile. I looked down at the bar, blushing. Her mouth dropped. “Don’t tell me you finally managed to cage him?”

  “I only keep him locked up when I’m not around,” I winked.

  She threw her head back and laughed. “You are one lucky girl.”

  I looked over my shoulder at the table where the boys were sitting. Casper looked up at me and smiled. I threw him one back and I knew from the way his eyes darted down he was checking out my ass. Jack’s head shot up and followed Casper’s line of sight, instantly scowling. I watched Jack clear his throat. Casper’s smile fell and he turned quickly back to Jack. I chuckled and turned back to Shauna. “Yeah, I am.”

  “If I were you I would keep my eye out and hold that one real close, because the second girls find out he’s off the market it’s going to be a real shit show.”

  I hadn’t really thought about that. Casper had a lot of groupies and was usually surrounded by women. When we weren’t even together I could barely tolerate it when another girl was trying to get her hooks into him. I couldn’t even imagine how I would react now that we were dating. I gnawed at my bottom lip, feeling slightly anxious. “Oh hey girl, don’t look like that. I was just teasing. Alex, I can tell you, you have nothing to worry about with that boy. It’s so obvious he’s in love with you.”

  “You knew that?”

  “Honey, we all knew that. We were just waiting until you finally came to your senses.”

  This time I did roll my eyes. “Gee, thanks Shauna,” I laughed.

  “Alex, that boy only has eyes for you. One of the Victoria Secret models could walk through here naked and he wouldn’t even blink an eye in their direction.” I gave her a look that said, “doubtful.” Hell, even I would look. “Go back to the table and show those cougars he’s yours.” I pulled back and looked at her funny. She inclined her head to the back, smile dancing on her lips. I turned around. Sure enough the table where the boys were was now swarmed by women, old women. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Jaxson and Jasper loved the attention while Casper and Jack just looked uncomfortable. Casper gave me a pleading look to help. I shrugged my shoulders and turned back around.

  “Now that’s just mean,” Shauna laughed. I grabbed the beers and made my way back to the table. I squeezed my way in between Casper and some over bleached blonde who had on way too much perfume and more makeup than I owned. I wanted to tell her there wasn’t enough makeup in the world to hide those crow’s feet and dark spots
, but I decided to bite my tongue, sit back and enjoy the show.

  I slipped an arm behind Casper and pressed my body closer to his. Not because I was trying to make a point but because I just felt better when I was near him. “Wanna introduce me to your friend?” I teased.

  He turned just enough that his lips were close enough to kiss. “I think she’s more interested in Jack, besides, I’m not into antiques,” he said, casting me a sexy smile. I closed the distance. He didn’t pull away this time. I parted my lips slightly, engaging in the kiss. I could feel Casper’s body tense before he pulled away. His eyes narrowed slightly and I couldn’t hide my smile. He pressed a tender kiss to my temple while I rested my head on his shoulder. I watched as Jack tried to respectfully decline the woman’s advances, but was clearly having a hard time convincing her to take a hint. His eyes pleaded with me for help. I just sat back and relaxed against Casper, enjoying every minute of Jack’s anguish.

  Jasper was egging Jack on to go for it, but Jack wasn’t having it. Jasper could have cared less. If it had tits, it was a go. I let Jack suffer for about another five minutes before I interrupted. “Alright ladies, I think it’s time you moved on to your next victim.” The brunette who had her hands all over Jaxson gave me a nasty look. “I hear they’ve got some banging prune juice at the diner down the street and an all-night marathon of Matlock on,” I pointed to the door.

  “How old do you think we are?” the blonde ask with a threatening look.

  “Judging by the bad dye job to cover those grays and the fifty pounds of concealer to hide those worry lines I’d say…” I pretended to think it over. “Mid to early fifties?” The women scoffed at me, clearly offended. I even got Jasper to laugh which just made it worse.

  “Now Alex, didn’t anyone teach you to respect your elders,” Jasper chimed in, almost causing me to lose it. The woman who had her claws in him balked. Jasper just shrugged.

  “I never,” shrieked the blonde.

  “And you never will by trying to squeeze your fat ass into your granddaughter’s clothes,” I said. All three of them stomped off. Casper gave me a light squeeze while Jacob and Jaxson cracked up.