Flawlessly Flawed

by Amelia Shea

  Ouch! Cassie fell back slightly by his harsh words. She was just dropping off favors, not stalking him. If he wasn’t so adamant about being an asshole, she could have explained it to him.

  This was not the same guy from her apartment, all tender and gentle, and certainly not the guy who brought her the latte. No, the man in front of her was a mean, self-absorbed prick. As if she would even want him. This was the real T. This guy was fucking crazy. She righted herself prepared to tell him exactly that when a gorgeous dark-haired girl in a pale green dress appeared. She smiled and waved which had T turning around.

  “Cassie?” She grinned as she approached. “God, girl, you are a lifesaver!”

  * * * *

  T watched his sister charge between him and Cassie and hug her. Cassie’s face still held shock from the cruel outburst he had just unleashed on her but she mustered an awkward smile. He had been so furious when Lana showed up. What the hell did she think? She grabbed his dick, five minutes after meeting, blew him in his truck, and he fucked her. And she heard wedding bells? Fucking crazy ass bitches, she knew the score, and it never involved being a part of family functions. How she even knew about the party, he had no clue.

  Roxanne leaned back from Cassie, holding her hands. She beamed at the pixie. “So great to finally meet you, Cassie, event planner extraordinaire.”

  Doubt crept into T’s mind as he started to piece together why Cassie was here. Roxanne had been freaking out earlier about some favor shit that was missing. She made a call and seemed to calm, saying, “My girl rocks, they’ll be here in five.”

  Oh fuck! Her girl was Cassie. T felt dread seep into his body. Cassie was not here for him, she was here for her job. He wanted nothing more than to kick his own ass right now. He didn’t even entertain the slight disappointment he felt that she hadn’t been here to see him.

  “Roxanne, I’m so sorry for the favor dilemma, it was a glitch on our end. I hope this hasn’t caused too much stress on your event. You have my deepest apologies,” Cassie said. Her face was composed, which T was sure took effort seeing as how he ripped her apart minutes ago.

  “Phew…no worries. Thanks so much for rushing them down here. You and Evie are the best, wait until you see the review I give you guys. It’s going to be stellar.”

  Cassie’s face lit up. All worry was gone and now that beautiful face was smiling. Roxanne turned to T.

  “Have you guys met?” she asked.

  T noticed Cassie tense back up, refusing to make eye contact. Roxanne looked between them, a bit confused.

  “No,” T said.

  “Oh, well, then T, meet Cassie Miller, event planner extraordinaire. Cassie, this is my brother, T.”

  Cassie nodded at T and gave a strained smile before holding out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  T took her small hand in his. “Yeah, you too.”

  Her hand was soft and sweaty in his hand.

  He stared at Cassie feeling like a dickhead for accusing her of following him. He was such a fucking asshole. She pulled her hand out of his and turned to Roxanne, who was smiling at her.

  “Well, gotta run but have a wonderful party.” Cassie turned but stopped when Roxanne spoke.

  “Wait, c’mon in for a sec, I want you to meet Sadie and Stone,” Roxanne said.

  Cassie shook her head edging closer to the door. “Oh, I’m sorry, I really have to go but please extend my congrats. Bye, Roxanne.” She looked at T. “It was uh…nice to meet you.” She gave him a tight smile and quickly walked out the door.

  T watched her leave. He felt a hand on his arm. “T, you okay? You look…weird.”

  “I’m good. Go ahead, I’ll be there in a minute.”

  He stalked out the door and doubled his strides to catch up to Cassie. She was just at her car door when he yelled out, “Hey.”

  She grabbed the handle and pulled open the door.

  “Stop,” he snapped loudly. She was mad and he got that but she was not running away from him.

  She stopped but didn’t turn until he was about two feet away.

  “Look.”

  Her body then whipped around. She was beyond mad, she was furious. Her eyes scowled at him and her face was tense, as though she was trying not to burst. His little pixie was livid and all her anger was directed at him.

  She raised her hand and stuck her finger in his face. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

  T just stared down at her. An apology was on the tip of his tongue but she gave him no chance.

  “I’m here doing my job, asshole, not chasing after you. If you hadn’t jumped down my throat, I could have explained why I was here. But noooooo.” She shook her head vigorously. “No, you had to go and be a big jerk and assume that I was here stalking you.” She let out a sarcastic laugh. “That’s a friggin’ joke. Ha!” She stepped closer and got on her toes. “Ya know what you are, T…you’re mean, plain and simple. Maybe you can treat girls the way you just treated me and they’ll fall at your feet but not me. No sireee, not this girl. I did nothing to deserve what you just said to me.” T understood her anger but man, she was damn cute, looking up, pointing her finger at him. This little fireball wasn’t taking his shit. “I’ve got nothing you want? Ha! You’ve got nothing I want, so get over yourself, dickhead. Take your head outta your ass and listen to me. You ever talk to me like you just did, you’ll need medical assistance removing my foot from your ass,” she screamed in his face. “You got me?”

  T was not expecting the ripping she had just dished out. Part of him was proud of her for sticking up for herself; another part was amused by her denial of being interested in him. He called bullshit on that comment. T smirked, which only incensed her more. She stalked back to her car and yanked at her door. He had to make this right somehow. She had every right to be pissed, he was a dick. Don’t let her leave like this.

  “Hold up.” He reached for her hand. As soon as he made contact she jerked her hand back.

  “No, I’m done.”

  T held up his hands in front of him in surrender. “I fucked up.” This whole scene was funny as shit but he’d hurt her feelings. He was a man who rarely apologized but for pixie, he’d make an exception.

  Her face lost a bit of the anger and she huffed a deep breath. “Yeah, sure, whatever. I know you don’t care what I think but you shouldn’t treat people that way, it’s just not right.” She tilted her head up at him. “You’re probably one of those people who never gets yelled at, but as someone who just got ripped apart, take it from me, it’s embarrassing and hurtful, and it takes a lot to recover from that.” She turned around and walked back to her car before looking over her shoulder. She shrugged and whispered, “Enjoy your night.”

  She slowly got in her car and reversed out of her spot, not even sparing a glance his way. She was upset and hurt and he was a fucking asshole.

  T stood there watching her car. She just reamed him a new asshole, spoke the truth, and totally called him out on the bullshit. Something only his family ever did. This tiny little pixie got in his face and stood her ground. Then she accepted his apology.

  Fuck!

  T wasn’t used to the feeling that pitted his stomach. Guilt wasn’t something that played a big part in his life. He did what he wanted, said what he thought. He didn’t give a shit about what anyone thought of him. Now, standing in the parking lot, he felt it.

  You’re probably one of those people who never gets yelled at. That was the farthest from the truth. The first twelve years of his life were spent being yelled at, cursed at, and dodging things being thrown at him. And those were the good days. On bad days, he was lucky to survive.

  T turned around, walked back into the restaurant and tried to block the memories.

  Chapter 7

  “AND don’t ask him about his divorce; it’s still a sore subject. Oh, and wear something pretty, Cass, like maybe that gray dress I got you for your birthday.” Her sister Becca took a breath a
nd continued on. “Which I know is in great condition considering I have yet to see you wear it.” Her tone, full of sarcasm, had Cassie rolling her eyes and pulling the phone from ear.

  She looked at the cell phone and stuck her tongue out before bringing it back to her ear.

  “Becca, I can figure out what to wear without your assistance, thank you very much. And in case you don’t know, this isn’t my first date. I think I can handle it.”

  “I know, I just…He’s a great guy and I really think you’ll hit it off. You just get, well, sometimes you just…”

  Cassie rolled her eyes again and blew out a breath that breezed through her bangs. She had heard this before, many times. Some found it endearing, others, like Becca, did not.

  “Just say it.”

  “You just, you know…”

  “Say it.”

  “Well, sometimes you get all quirky and some people don’t know how to take you.”

  There it was, the word that had followed her throughout her entire life…quirky. No denying it, it was true. She was quirky, a bit weird, although she liked to call it unique. She had been dubbed “quirky” by her kindergarten teacher when her parents were called in for an emergency conference due to her excessive talking. Her teacher explained it had become a distraction to the other students. When her mother asked why they couldn’t just move her seat away from the kids she was talking to, her teacher explained, “That’s the problem, Mrs. Miller, she’s talking to herself.”

  “Bec, either we hit it off or we don’t. Have you ever thought maybe I won’t like him?”

  “What? No way, this guy is amazing, you’ll love him.”

  “Then maybe you should date him.”

  “As you know, Adam frowns upon me dating.” She giggled. Cassie smiled at her sister’s comment. She was funny. Adam would frown upon it, as her husband.

  “Ya know what, just forget what I said. He’s going to love you, Cass, how could he not?”

  Cassie smiled into the phone. Her big sister truly was her biggest fan even if she didn’t fully understand her all the time.

  Cassie ended the call to finish getting ready. Who knew, maybe she was about to meet Mr. Right and she’d have Becca to thank for it. More excited than she had been earlier, Cassie grabbed the gray dress from her closet and primped her hair and makeup. For a girl who was forever termed “cute,” Cassie was surprisingly proud—she looked kind of hot. She might just have to send Becca a thank you at the end of the night.

  Three hours later, all thoughts of thank you notes were gone. Instead, she was now plotting her own sister’s death, a long and painful death, Cassie thought as she took another sip of her third Cosmo. The only thing getting her through this night and keeping her from falling asleep were those delicious and intoxicating drinks.

  “Cassie?”

  Cassie snapped out of her plotting and looked at her date. He looked back at her with a questioning stare. Shit, did he ask her something?

  “I’m sorry.”

  He laughed. “I just asked how you are enjoying your job. Becca says you are amazing at event planning.”

  Cassie composed herself and forced herself back into her date—no more zoning out—she hoped. He seemed like a nice guy. He was handsome in a suit and tie type of way, his short brown hair neatly combed to the side. He was…normal. Normal was good.

  “Well, I don’t know if I’d call myself amazing but I do like…”

  His phone interrupted Cassie with a loud blast of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”. He fumbled his phone from his pocket and without glancing at the screen he gave Cassie a pained look. “So sorry, I have to take this, it’s my wife.” He blinked and shook his head. “Uh, I mean ex, my ex-wife.” He stumbled away from the table as he answered.

  She was seriously going to kill Becca.

  Cassie downed her Cosmo and wiped her mouth with her hand. The thought of another minute with this guy was enough to have her running for the exit. But she couldn’t just leave, no matter how boring he was, or how “not over” his ex he was. She’d never hear the end of it from Becca if she bailed on him. Just stick it out, Cass.

  Cassie scanned the bar of the restaurant. A few couples were scattered throughout and a few men were seated at the bar. It was quiet. She pulled out her phone. Only nine-thirty? She took a deep breath and released it, her lips smacking together as she did. Quirky.

  She was putting her phone back in her purse when a new Cosmo was placed in front of her.

  “Best waiter ever,” she excitedly said, clapping her hands together.

  This waiter was getting a huge tip. Cassie turned with a huge smile and a thank you on her tongue but lost all her breath when she looked up at the towering man standing beside her table.

  He was dressed in blue jeans and a dark blue shirt. It was short sleeved and showed off arms that were covered in tattoos, a dragon poking out of his sleeve. Even beyond the tats she could see his rippling biceps as she raised her eyes to his face. Her heart dropped.

  No. No. No. T stared down at Cassie with his usual passive face. Her stomach clenched at the sight of him. Why did he have to look like that? The man was gorgeous in the most unconventional way. His almond-shaped dark eyes peered at her as they continued to stare. Cassie was the first to look away.

  She grabbed her drink and took a huge gulp, closing her eyes tight. Ridiculous maybe, but it was worth a shot. Maybe his presence was alcohol-induced and when she opened them he’d be gone. Please be gone. She opened one eye and scrunched her face. Nope, still there. Dammit!

  Opening both her eyes, she saw T take her date’s seat and rest back in the chair. Legs spread, elbows resting on the arms, his fingers clasped together. Cassie’s heart pumped faster and she stared back at him.

  Cassie blurted out in a snarky tone, “Now, who’s stalking who?”

  T’s lips quirked up and he looked around the bar. “Where’s your man?” She watched him intently. Just a small shift of his lips changed his face, softened him. She stared and cocked her head.

  He raised his eyebrows. “Pix, where’s your man?”

  Cassie took a gulp of her drink, feeling the full effects of her fourth drink. “He’s not my man, he’s just a date.” She stopped and focused on him again. “Wait, what did you call me?”

  “Having fun?” He asked with a bored tone, ignoring her question.

  She smirked and released her alcohol honesty. “Oh yeah, having a blast. This is exactly how I like to spend my Friday nights, T, dating men that my sister has to fix me up with because I work so much that meeting someone on my own is next to impossible, and when I do get to go out, it’s with a man still pining for his ex, who he talks non-stop about, how he doesn’t know where it all went wrong. Yeah, having the time of my life.”

  She took a large sip of her drink and settled back in her chair. “So…what are you doing here, besides stalking me?”

  His eyes crinkled and his lips formed a small smile. God, this man should smile more.

  He lifted his chin toward the bar behind her. Cassie turned to see two blondes seated at the bar. Beside them was a pretty brunette with Bogs. His eyes made contact and he nodded and winked at Cassie. She responded with a tight smile before turning back to T. He watched her as she grabbed her drink and took a large sip.

  “Looks like everyone is having date night.”

  “I don’t date.”

  “No? I just thought those girls, well, I thought you were with them.”

  “I am.”

  She turned to glance back at the girls. “Which one?”

  “Both.”

  Her head whipped back to him and her eyebrows quirked up. “Oh!”

  Cassie took another large gulp of her drink almost finishing it. She hiccupped and covered her mouth. It was official, she was tipsy.

  T looked over her shoulder and his face hardened. Before Cassie could turn around, the two blondes from the bar were standing at her table
.

  “We’re ready to go,” the tall one with the zebra top sweetly said as the shorter one with the boobs popping out of her top glared at Cassie. Classy chick.

  “Then go,” he said, completely emotionless.

  The girls looked at each other and the first one giggled. “We don’t want to leave without you, T. We have plans for you tonight, baby, that include us naked and you in my bed,” she purred. Cassie’s eyes widened and she tried to suppress her laugh. He turned to the girls. His eyes blazed, and not in a good way. Both girls collided when taking a step back.

  “Then go back to the bar, where I left you, and fucking wait.”

  To Cassie’s shock, they did. They backed up and she watched them walk to the bar, but not before the second girl turned back and mouthed, “Fucking whore.”

  Cassie turned back to face T and squirmed in her chair. Alcohol and this guy were not a good combo for her. She stared back at him, squinted her eyes, and smiled.

  “Both of them, huh?” she teased, raising her eyebrows. He continued to stare, not acknowledging or reacting to her ribbing.

  Cassie shook her head. Of course this guy had threesomes. God, where were all the normal guys? Oh right, the so-called normal guy was currently talking to his ex while on a date with her. Stamp it on her forehead—loser magnet. Becca better run and hide. Cassie took another huge sip of her drink. Forget tipsy, she was drunk.

  Cassie placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward.

  “So, what’s the appeal of a threesome?”

  His face remained emotionless. “Never had one?”

  Cassie snorted. “No way. I’m not big on sharing.” She took another sip feeling the liquor working its magic. “It really takes two girls to please you?”

  “Sometimes three.”

  Cassie raised her eyebrows. “Wow! Well, good for you. I’m sure you’re the hero of many men.” She raised her glass in the air. “Cheers, T, may you and your threesome have a fantastic fucking time tonight. Literally.” She wiggled her eyebrows, downed the remainder of her drink, and burst out laughing at her own joke.

  His eyes raked over her face and down to her breasts. He was totally checking her out. Her mind told her “no” but there was no stopping her.