“You know I love you, right?” Leaning forward, I hug her hard.
“Uh, Cass, your obsession with love is so gross.” She laughs as she hugs me back.
I know she loves me. She’s my safety net, and I’m hers. The Luke family is responsible for the best parts of my life.
Past
Cass: Age 15
Paxton: Age 17
It’s dark, and Laney left me out here all alone. It’s easier for her to sneak back into her house through the front door because her parents’ room is on the opposite side of the house, not to mention next to her bedroom.
I, on the other hand, could never sneak through the front door. Instead, I have to open my bedroom window and climb through it quietly.
As I tiptoe up to my room, it hits me that I’m not wearing the best clothes for climbing through a window. Looking down at my attire, I groan at the short, tight jean skirt, crop top, and flip flops—cute, but not conducive to my reentry into my sanctuary.
Slowly pushing the window up, I reach in and push the sheer curtain to the side.
I look around me quickly when I think I hear something, but it’s so dark out I can’t see anything. I just want to get into the house and in bed. Slipping off my flip flops, I bend down and pick them up, dropping them through the open window.
Okay, so now the hard part. My window isn’t exactly what I would call low to the ground. Shit. I glance around me one more time. It’s not as if anyone would be able to see me in this pitch black anyway, but I wanted to be sure regardless. I don’t see anyone so I do the only thing I can think of: I lift my skirt up around my waist. Good thing it’s dark because I’m now standing in between mine and Laney’s house in my barely there top and a pair of lacy white panties.
Placing my hands on the ledge beneath my window, I put one leg up, and that’s when I hear it—or rather, that’s when I hear him. I’d recognize that laugh anywhere; I memorized it years ago. Once upon a time, I did everything in my power to be able to listen to that sound, to be the one who made him laugh.
Paxton.
“You know Cass, this might be a good time to put your leg down and cover up,” he tells me with laughter in his voice.
Quickly putting both feet back on the ground, lowering my skirt, I swing around and scowl at him. He probably can’t even see me, and that irritates me even more.
“What are you doing out here?” I ask him in annoyance. “And why were you looking at me?”
“First, I saw you sneak around here and thought you might need a boost through the window, and second, I’m an almost eighteen-year-old guy—lacy panties tend to stun me into stupidity. I did say something pretty much immediately…well, close enough to immediately.”
My heart rate begins to speed up. He’s so annoying, but I try to sound as calm and in control as possible. I fail. “P-Pretty much?” I stammer out.
I feel him take a step closer to me more than I actually see him move. Instinctually, I take a step back, not from fear of him, but rather fear of myself. He takes another step until I’m pressing my back against the wall of the house. My heart is pounding in my chest. It isn’t supposed to be doing that when it comes to Paxton Luke. My heart and I made a pact on the beach that day five years ago, and it has made good on that promise until tonight.
Heart, you’re a treacherous asshole.
“I hesitated a minute or two,” Paxton murmurs, our faces inches apart.
I hate him.
“A minute or…two,” I say, my voice barely audible.
“Cass, why do you keep repeating everything I say?” he asks, his voice sounding strange to my ears. He leans in a little more and I raise my hand, touching his chest lightly. He swallows noticeably.
Am I repeating after him? Ugh. Speak, Cassandra. Speak. Deep breath. Don’t let him do this to you. You’re smart. You’re confident. You don’t need his attention. You don’t want it.
Straightening my shoulders, I push his chest a little harder this time. “Move, Paxton,” I demand, still quietly, so I don’t wake my parents. He takes hold of my wrist, firm but gentle at the same time.
“Cass…” he says breathily.
“Let go, Paxton, and move. Why do you always have to act like such a jackass?” I pull my hand away and he lets me.
Running a hand through his hair, he turns away from me.
“I don’t know, Cass,” he answers, sounding a bit defeated. It confuses me, and I feel my heart wanting to do that thing again.
“No!” I say a little too loudly. I slap my hand over my mouth.
“No what?” Paxton asks me through the darkness.
“Not you, my…never mind,” I reply, lowering my voice once again. “I’ve got to get back inside before we wake my parents. They’ll ground me for life…or at least until I’m eighteen.” I turn for the window and look down at my skirt again. “Shit,” I huff out.
Before I know what’s happening, two large hands wrap around my waist and lift me until I’m sitting on the windowsill.
“There,” he says, not even a little bit out of breath.
I stare down at him, in shock and a little awe. He is always such an annoyance and causing me so much frustration; I rarely see the moments he actually helps me, the moments he possibly sees me and not through me. I crawl the rest of the way through the window and turn, hanging out partway.
“Tha—” I begin to tell him, but Paxton interrupts me.
“You best get to bed before your parents wake up,” he murmurs before leaning forward and pressing a brief kiss to my forehead…my forehead, like he’s eighty and I’m his four-year-old granddaughter. Dammit, my heart. “Good night Cass,” he says as he turns back to his house and climbs through his bedroom window. So that’s how he snuck up on me.
“Good night Paxton,” I finally say back, but I don’t think he heard me.
I slide the window shut, crawl into bed, and pray my heart will get its act together and remember we hate Paxton Luke.
Present
Lightly kicking the door open after I unlock it, I drop my biggest bag in the entryway of Laney’s apartment before turning back and grabbing my two smaller ones. It’s a long drive between my parents and Laney’s apartment in the city, and I’m exhausted. Yawning, I close the door behind me, deciding to put my bags in my room later. I want to grab a drink first.
I grab a glass from the cabinet then pull the filtered water pitcher from the fridge. Drinking the entire glass in one gulp, I turn around, taking in the room now that it’s light outside and not filled with forty of her closest friends. When she said I could stay and she’d be out of town on a work trip for six weeks, I breathed a sigh of relief. It would be hell driving into the city every day for work if I stayed at my parents. Admiring the space, I know I’m going to be comfortable here.
I set the glass in the sink and decide to go ahead and grab my bags to start unpacking no matter how tired I feel. I have an early meeting and although I’m fortunate enough to roll out of bed and land in my office, I want to be able to relax tonight. Stepping around the bar of the open kitchen and into the foyer, I bend to grab my bags then hear the sound of running water.
Without picking my bag up, I turn and follow the sound into Laney’s bedroom. It’s now apparent to me that I heard water running because the shower is on. Confused, I walk quietly to the bathroom door and push it slowly open. The room is steaming up, but I can still make out a long, lean figure standing under the spray of the shower—Cassandra.
A slow smile creeps across my face. I should leave. She doesn’t even know I’m here. It’s not right, but damn I think I’m getting hard just watching the way she moves under the water even if I can’t see a single part of her body clearly.
What in the hell is she doing here? Isn’t her apartment just upstairs?
Also, is she singing Britney Spears?
Holding back my laughter, I take a step back because I know it isn’t right for me to be standing here when Cassandra doesn’t even know I’m in the apartment, let
alone the room. Leaving the door slightly cracked, I sit in the overstuffed chair Laney has in the corner of her bedroom and wait for her to come out. After a couple more minutes, I hear the water shut off. Then, more quickly than I anticipated, Cassandra walks through the door into the bedroom, completely naked.
She screams bloody murder and drops to the floor on the other side of the bed. I stand up, stunned at first. Then, as if on autopilot, I rush toward her like she’s just been attacked and needs to be rescued.
“Don’t you dare, Paxton Luke!” she screeches, her finger pointing at me as her eyes peek over the side of the bed.
“I…I…” I’m not even sure what I’m trying to say because all I can think about is Cass’s naked body—her toned, coppery, perfectly bare body. All the blood rushed to the deck below, and now I can’t form any words.
“What in the hell is wrong with you? I’m naked! You saw me naked! Oh my god, you saw me without clothes on!” She squeals some more, sounding hysterical, still hiding behind the bed.
“Without clothes on does usually mean naked.” Humor in uncomfortable situations tends to be a bad idea, but I can’t seem to help myself.
She glares in my direction, and I honestly believe if she had a knife, she’d stab me, possibly repeatedly. I try to smooth things over.
“Shit, Cass! I didn’t expect you to walk out here butt ass naked! Do you always just walk around without your clothes on?” Now I’m hollering at her, and I have no idea why. I don’t think I can hear. Can that happen so quickly after the brain loses blood flow?
She pulls the towel from her head and wraps it around her tight little body.
“Are you kidding me?” She looks pissed. “You can’t just sneak up on me like that! What are you doing here, anyway? Laney isn’t here. She won’t be home for over a month,” she continues, the tone of her voice scolding.
“Whoa, whoa, now hold on a minute. I know Laney isn’t here,” I say, beginning to get irritated at her tone. I rest my hands on my hips and we both give one another a hard stare. She’s always been so beautiful when she’s angry, and now I’m thinking about the fact that I now know what she looks like under that towel. Dear God, my balls hurt. I need to go.
Simultaneously, we shout, “Why are you here?” Then, “Laney said I could stay here.”
What the fuck? I’m going to kill Laney.
“What?” Cassandra asks incredulously.
“You heard me—I’m staying here for a while until I find a place,” I tell Cass, still annoyed by her nasty tone.
“But I’m staying here while my apartment is being renovated.” Her voice has taken on an almost fearful tone. “Dammit, Delaney, if you were here right now, I’d kill you.”
I smile at her. She’s always talked to herself when she gets nervous or mad. It’s good to see that hasn't changed.
“You know she can’t hear you, right?” My antagonizing comment is rewarded with a Cassandra Porter scowl, a look I’ve seen more times than I can count over the years.
She doesn’t even dignify the remark with a response. She moves right over it and says, “What are we going to do?”
Shrugging, I walk to the hallway. “There are two rooms, Cass. I’ll stay in the guest room, which is what I was planning on doing anyway. You stay in here. I think we’re both adult enough to live under the same roof while I look for a place to live and Cass’s apartment is renovated. Hell, we practically lived together most of our lives.”
I stop in the doorway and make the mistake of turning back and looking at her—really looking at her. After the nakedness, I didn’t quite focus my attention in her direction, and now I can confirm it was a good call. Cass’s hair is hanging in wet waves over her shoulders. Her skin is still damp, and the curves of her round breasts are visible over the top of the towel she has wrapped around her fit frame. The fact that the towel isn’t very big and hits mid-thigh on her long, toned legs only creates more of a strain in my pants. I quickly turn and step around the wall a bit so I’m partially hidden.
“Are you serious?” she asks, apparently reluctant.
“Am I what?” I ask, once again losing my train of thought.
She speaks slowly, saying one word at a time. “Are. You. Serious?”
Well, there’s another thing that hasn’t changed about Cass—the way she talks to me is still on point.
“Yes, I’m serious. It’s no big deal.” Cassandra releases a big sigh, causing her breasts to heave, exposing a little more of them above the towel. I swallow hard. “See ya, roomie.” I smirk, turning before I reveal my true feelings about our little predicament.
Uncomfortable doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling right now. I’m so hard, it’s nearly impossible to walk. I need to remove myself from such close proximity to Cass. What the hell was Laney thinking when she suggested each of us stay at her apartment?
Picking my bags up, I make my way to the room I’ll be staying in.
As I pass through the living room, I can hear Cass moving around, slamming drawers and talking to herself. It brings a smile to my face, and I actually chuckle out loud. This is going to be fun, even if everything in me says it is a bad idea.
Tossing my belongings on the bed, I reach for the smallest one and retrieve my phone, tapping the troublemaker’s number. As it begins ringing, I start pacing.
“Hey big brother!” Laney’s voice echoes cheerfully through the phone. “What’s up?”
Shaking my head, I can’t decide if she knows the mess she’s created or if she is still so self-absorbed and clueless.
“So, Laney, is there something you maybe forgot to mention? Information I may have thought relevant when accepting your invitation to stay at your place for a while?” I keep my voice even yet insinuating.
“Not that I…oh, Cass is calling me…oh, fuck!” It’s like I can hear the light bulb flipping on in her mind.
“Yeah, oh fuck is right,” I say with a sarcastic edge. “I’m pretty sure you should let that go to voicemail and then delete it because whatever she has to say won’t be pleasant to the ears. Protect your ears and life, Laney, and definitely ignore Cass’s call.”
“Holy shit, I promise I didn’t do it on purpose.” I can hear the truth in her words. Being mad at her for very long never works; she can be so oblivious sometimes, and she just can’t help herself. “But damn if I don’t wish I could be a fly on the wall of my apartment for the next month or so,” she states, and my level of annoyance reaches its max.
“Dammit, Laney, not cool. Not cool at all. You know how things are between Cass and me on a good day—what do you think they’re going to be like on a daily basis?” I scold, running a hand through my hair.
I stand up and look at my reflection in the mirror hanging over the dresser, starting to really worry about how this is going to work. We both work from home. I have a hard time resisting the urge to aggravate her, and Cass has a hard time resisting the desire for me to get taken out by a bus.
In typical Delaney fashion, she accepts no responsibility for her self-absorbed choices. “Come on, Pax. It will be okay. You were like family once. I know you’ve been gone a while, but it’s not like you two haven’t practically lived under the same roof a huge part of your life.” Although she’s using the same so-called logic I used with Cass only ten minutes ago, I don’t like it, mainly because we aren’t like family…at all. I don’t get hard-ons when I look at my family, and I definitely don’t want to push them up against the wall and fuck them until they’re screaming my name. I groan just thinking about it.
“Don’t you dare huff at me!” Laney shouts through the phone. If she knew I wasn’t even thinking about my frustration with her any longer, she wouldn’t sound so indignant—she’d probably kick my ass, or at least try. “Seriously, Pax, I’ve been under a lot of pressure at work. It’s been months since I offered you a place to stay. I didn’t even remember when I made the same offer to Cass. It was an easy mistake. Is it really that big of a deal? I mean
, it’s Cass. You both know one another better than most people, and as much as you drive her insane, you guys can play nice…right?”
I want to yell at her and say no, it won’t be okay, but then I would have to explain why. I’m not willing to do that, especially at this point, so instead, I say, “No, we don’t really know one another that well anymore.” Although that’s true, I’m only feeling this way because the image of Cass naked is so fresh in my mind. I can handle this situation. No problem. It’ll be fine. It’s just Cassandra. “Fine, you’re right. I just don’t think it will be as easy to persuade Cass to reach that same conclusion,” I concede reluctantly.
“Just don’t be…you. Be someone who doesn’t annoy her. Be…nice.” She giggles.
“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.” Her laughter is louder now. “Bye Delaney. Be safe, and don’t take any shit from the competition on this trip.”
She stops laughing abruptly. “Not a chance, big brother. He has no idea what he’s in for with this account. Anyway, I think I’ll wait at least twenty-four hours for Cass to get used to the thought of living under the same roof as you before I take her call. Love you.” She hangs up, and I laugh because she is smart to avoid her best friend, at least for the near future.
Now I need to figure out how I’m going to make this new living arrangement work.
Present
“Laney, I’m calling to inform you that I’m putting a hex on you. I just removed hair from your brush and stuck it in this voodoo doll that is the spitting image of you and will commence sticking pins in it as soon as I hang up this phone. I plan on making this slow and painful. Remember you deserve it, and don’t even pretend not to know why. You know!” I end the call and fall back onto the bed.
I wish I were serious about the hex thing. Laney does deserve it, but we both know I won’t. For one thing, I’ve threatened this before when she pulls her self-absorbed bullshit. She just gets so involved in her own life, she doesn’t think. Two, I love her despite this flaw. I mean, we all have flaws, it’s just a shame Laney’s impacts me more than it should.
Love Wasted Page 6
