by Rye Hart
“I have an idea then,” Mrs. Roberts said. “Cason, why don't you join us for dinner?”
“I don't think –,” Hailey said, just as I started to speak.
“I'd love to, Mrs. Roberts,” I said. “Are you sure you don't mind?”
“Not at all,” she said. “I always make way too much food anyway.”
“Well, thank you for having me then.”
Mrs. Roberts opened the door wide enough for me to step inside and as I passed Hailey, I gave her a smile, but she wasn't having it. She simply rolled her eyes and sighed loud enough to be heard.
She was definitely going to be a tough nut to crack.
CHAPTER ELEVEN - HAILEY
Not having time to change – and frankly, not having the inclination to – I sat at the table in my comfy clothes, not really caring what he, or my family, thought about it. Still, even though my parents were wearing casual clothes as well, I felt incredibly underdressed with Cason sitting there in a nice suit.
In front of us at the table was my mother's pot roast, potatoes, and cornbread. All homemade and honestly, one of my favorite family meals. But my stomach wasn't having any of it tonight and I picked at my food as my parents made small talk with Cason.
He kept trying to engage me in conversation, by asking questions that I really didn't want to answer just yet. I just wanted the meal to end so I could go hermit away in my room.
“So Hailey,” he asked, turning his light brown eyes to me. “What do you miss most about California?”
Choking down a bite of cornbread, I gave the most obvious answer I could think of, “The weather.”
“Oh yeah?” he asked, cocking his head to the side with a curious grin on his face. “The weather here isn't all that bad. What's so great about the weather out there?”
He had a point. It's not like it got terribly cold in South Carolina, not compared to other parts of the country. But it was still an easy question to answer – one that didn't require a lot of mental taxation – so I went with it.
“The lack of humidity, for one thing,” I said. “I didn't have to worry about sweating all the time. Especially not in October, like we do here.”
“True,” he laughed. “But aside from the weather, what drew you out there in the first place?”
I took another bite of my cornbread and chewed slowly, giving myself a little time to think about my answer. I didn't want to open any doors I wasn't willing to walk through, but I knew if I didn't give him something, I'd be stuck there all night. And I was getting tired of the cat and mouse game we were playing.
“I wanted to act,” I said.
My mom butted in. “She was in a couple commercials,” she said, beaming with pride. “And weren't you an extra on some TV show, dear?”
“Yes,” I said. “A non-speaking role. I was literally in the background for all of about ten seconds.”
Cason looked impressed nonetheless. He leaned forward, not even touching his food. He seemed far more interested in me than in what was on his plate. It made me uncomfortable and yet thrilled me at the same time.
“Wow, that's great,” he said. “Why didn't you stick with it? It sounds like things were starting to pick up for you.”
I froze and looked over at my mom, hoping she might save me from that question. Even she didn't know the full story, but she knew it was something I didn't want to talk about. Knowing my mom, the way I did – and her knowing me – she knew that whatever it was, had to be bad. She wasn't forcing me to speak about it, trusting me to come to her when I got my head wrapped around it all.
However, she just sat there looking at me, looking like she had no idea what to say to derail that line of questioning. It was my dad, who jumped in and saved the day.
“It was time for her to come home,” he said sternly.
“Yes, it was,” I said.
“Ahh, well, I'm certainly glad you did,” he said. “It's been so long since we hung out, I –”
“We never hung out, Cason,” I laughed, pushing my roast around my plate with my fork. “You were my lab partner. We studied after school a few times, but we never hung out like we were friends or something. It was always about our lab work.”
That shut him right up. I watched his jaw clench and his smile was gone. He just sat there and stared at me, an inscrutable expression on his face. I felt bad for being so blunt with him since I could tell my words had hurt him.
He looked like I'd slapped him across the face, but it was the truth – whether he cared to admit it or not. Suddenly, and completely out of the blue, the McCormick brothers were interested in me, and all three of them were lavishing me with attention. While it was flattering at first, it quickly became overwhelming and I was incredibly nervous about their intentions.
I was so nervous that my stomach roiled, and a wave of nausea hit me hard.
“Excuse me,” I said quickly.
I jumped out of my chair and rushed toward the bathroom, afraid I might not make it in time. Thankfully, I managed to get to the hall bathroom and slammed the door behind me, falling to my knees in front of the toilet before I lost everything.
I let it all out, and knew they could probably hear me throwing up. I emptied what felt like everything I'd eaten in the past year into the toilet, praying that I'd feel better once I stopped vomiting.
I retched again and heard a soft knock on the door.
“Yes?” I croaked.
“Are you alright, honey?” It was my mom.
“Yeah, I think I just have a stomach bug,” I croaked. “I'll be right out.”
I pushed myself up off the floor and flushed the toilet. Leaning heavily upon the sink, I stared at myself in the mirror, not liking what I saw. I somehow managed to look pale as a ghost and a little green around the edges all at the same time. I pulled the mouthwash from the cabinet and swished it around my mouth for a few minutes before stepping back out into the dining room.
“Sorry about that,” I said, sliding back into my chair and avoiding eye contact with Cason. “Told you I wasn't feel up to going out.”
My mom piped up. “You've been throwing up a lot lately,” she said, a note of concern in her voice. “You sure you're okay, Hailey?”
“I'm fine, mom,” I said. “Just stress, I promise.”
I looked up and caught Cason watching me closely. He wasn't smiling, nor was he frowning. He had a neutral expression, but slowly, what looked like concern crossed his face as he looked at me.
I couldn't manage to take my eyes off of him, no matter how hard I tried. Sitting there looking at Cason like an idiot, I felt a tug at my lips as remembered Quinn kissing me earlier that day. They looked so much alike, even though Cason had the super short hair and Quinn's was grown out. You could tell they were brothers though, and that they were close in age. His golden eyes were soft, set apart from his rugged face with his chiseled cheekbones and strong jaw.
His lips were plumper than Quinn's, and as if he somehow knew I was looking, he licked them. His tongue slipping over those sexy lips caused something to stir deep inside of me. But just like before, when Quinn had kissed me, I pushed that feeling back and stuffed it down into that dark box inside my soul. I couldn't do that. Not now, and especially not with brothers.
Picking up my plate, I excused myself as I walked into the kitchen. At the same time, Cason offered to do the dishes. My mother objected, but it was a losing battle, as he insisted. Cason followed me into the kitchen, dishes in hand.
***
My parents had retired to the den to watch TV, leaving me alone with the youngest McCormick boy. I was apparently stuck with him, so I tried to make the best of a shitty situation. I did everything in my power to avoid talking about myself. Instead, I asked him a billion and one inane questions.
“Do you like your career? Are you and your brothers still close? Do you still play football?”
Every time he tried to turn it around on me, I had another question ready and waiting for him. And finally, when
it felt like I might run out of questions, I started to panic. I racked my brain for something, some bit of trivial information. In my panic, what came out of my mouth was not what I wanted.
“Are you seeing anyone?”
The moment those words crossed my lips, I mentally kicked myself. I did not want to open up that line of conversation with him. It was a horrible mistake and one I hoped we could gloss over or otherwise just pass through quickly.
“I'm seeing you right now,” he said, giving me a sideways glance and a crooked smile.
“I mean –”
“I know what you mean,” he said with a sigh, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “And no, I'm not. I'm as single as they come. How about you?”
“Why's that?” I asked, putting the last of the dishes away in the cupboard beside the fridge.
He shrugged. “I haven't found anyone I like just yet,” he said. “I pretty much know every girl in Black Oak, and honestly, none of them caught my eye. Not until you showed up again, anyway.”
I felt my cheeks flushing with color, and for a moment, I forgot how to speak. This gave him time to pounce on what he perceived to be an opening to push the issue.
“Are you seeing anyone?” he asked.
“Me?” I laughed. “I just got back in town, how could I have a boyfriend already?”
“I mean back in California,” he said. “Or wherever.”
I stopped what I was doing and froze. It was a question I didn't want to answer and one that filled me with a powerful and overwhelming sense of dread. The memories of Leo and that whole situation bubbled up and I just looked at him, unable to say anything at all.
“I take that as a yes, then,” he said, his voice deflating a bit.
“Actually, I'm not. Not anymore,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “That's over.”
I expected some witty come-on, or smooth line, but instead, Cason surprised me.
“Would you like to talk about it?”
His tone was warm and sincere. And the expression on his face was nothing but pure compassion.
“Not really,” I answered honestly. “But, thank you for asking.”
He stared at me long and hard, and then his gaze fell to my arm. Before I could stop him, he reached out and pushed the sleeve of my sweater up.
“What are you –”
He stared down at my wrist; the same one that Quinn had seen earlier. A look of dark anger crossed his face as he looked at the bruise that circled my wrist. I was pissed at Quinn for telling him about it, and pissed at Cason for having the presumption to think he could corner me and force me to talk.
I pulled my arm back from him and pushed the sleeve down. “Don't do that again.”
“Who did that to you?” he asked.
“As I told your brother, no one.”
“Someone had to have done it,” he said. “I may not have been as good in Biology as you, but I'm pretty sure that bruises like that don't just spontaneously appear.”
I turned to leave the kitchen, and just like Quinn had done to me earlier, Cason wouldn't let me go. He followed me through the house until I reached the stairs. I just wanted to escape to my room, to be left alone, to avoid talking to anyone about what happened. Cason was making it difficult though. I turned to him, rage burning in my veins as I looked into his eyes.
“Hailey,” he said softly, reaching out for me.
His hand stroked my cheek and made me to close my eyes, to involuntarily lean into the touch. The tenderness of his caress and the gentleness of his voice worked together to help burn away some of the rage that was flaring inside of me. It had been so long since anyone had touched me in a gentle, caring way, and it felt nice. Too nice.
I expected him to keep at it, to keep questioning me, but instead, he surprised me yet again.
“If you don't want to talk about it, fine,” he said softly. “But, if someone is hurting you, we have your back. I want you to know that you're not alone.”
His words, spoken so gently, soothed me. It brought me comfort and made me feel safe, which was something I hadn't felt with a man in a very long time.
“Thank you,” I whispered, opening my eyes to meet his gaze.
His face was so close to mine and I felt his breath on my cheek. He leaned in closer, and before I knew it, his lips were pressed against mine. Like I had before with Quinn, I wanted to fight back. To push him away. My fists were on his chest, but instead of pushing him, I found myself pulling at his shirt. Pulling him toward me.
I clumsily stepped up on the stair behind me and he followed. His tongue danced in my mouth, literally stealing my breath away. In the other room, my mom said something to my dad that made him laugh, and their voices made the both of us jump, startled that someone might catch us. But my parents were still in the den, shut away from us.
Still that didn't make the feeling that we were horny teenagers sneaking into my bedroom under my parent's noses all over again, diminish in the least.
“Cason, I can't get involved with you,” I said. “I can't be involved with anybody.”
“That's alright,” he said, kissing the tip of my nose. “There's no rush.”
My body, on the other hand, was working against my brain. Looking into his eyes, I felt my resolve melting away, falling down like rain all around us. My hands were still on his chest and our faces were still close.
“Would you like to step outside and talk for a bit?” he asked.
“Want me to be honest with you?” I giggled, sounding like a schoolgirl
“Always be honest with me, Hailey,” he said, his deep voice sounding more serious than usual. “Tell me whatever it is you want from me.”
I leaned in, and while the urge to kiss him again was strong, I moved toward his ear instead. I whispered into his ear the words I'd always wanted to say to one of the McCormick men.
“I'd much rather take you upstairs and fuck you,” I said, feeling a little squeamish for admitting the truth.
My stomach tossed and turned, and for a second, I thought I might be sick again. Thankfully, the feeling passed quickly and the fires of passion between my thighs ignited, burning bright and out of control. Cason's eyes were wide, a salacious grin on his handsome face.
“Let's go,” he said, taking my hand in his.
As I took his hand and we headed upstairs, but a wave of fear washed over me. I stopped and when he looked at me, I shook my head. What was I doing?
“I'm sorry. I can't, Cason,” I said, glancing down toward the den. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“Is it because your parents are home?” he asked.
I nodded. It wasn't the only reason, but it was as good a scapegoat as any at the moment. Biting my bottom lip, I stared into his deep, brown eyes and kicked myself for stopping. I wanted Cason with my whole body. But in my heart, I knew stopping was the right thing to do.
He came down the steps toward me and took my face in his big, strong hands. He stared down at me with eyes that were full of desire and yet kind and compassionate at the same time.
“You just say the word, Hailey Roberts,” he said. “Whenever you're ready, I'm more than happy to carry you upstairs and fuck your brains out.”
My knees grew weak. I stared back down at the den, then back at Cason. My sixteen-year-old self would kill me if I let Cason get away this easily, and it had been so long since someone - anyone - had looked at me the way he did.
I leaned into him and whispered into his ear, “Let's do it.”
Cason pushed me up the stairs, and although my mind screamed, asking me what in the hell I was doing, I didn't protest this time. I could feel him pressing himself into me, his erection hard and ready.
I wanted him bad.
I'd wanted him since the first time we got paired up in biology class. When the teacher announced that we'd be working together, and our eyes met over the lab table, I thought my heart was going to explode right then and there. I wasn't sure I'd survive the semester. I'd fantasiz
ed about him countless times, wishing I could say something. Wishing he'd ask me out.
Now, there we were, walking upstairs to my bedroom. My childhood bedroom with my parents were downstairs and everything. It felt like I was back in high school all over again, living out one of my fantasies. There was no way I could resist.
We reached the upstairs landing and then my bedroom door. Cason pressed me up against the door, kissing down the length of my neck as he ran his hands over my body. As he touched a sore spot on my abdomen, I jumped. He pulled back and stared at me with wide, golden eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. “I'm more than okay.”
I opened the door and took his hand, pulling him inside and shutting it behind us. There was no lock, never had been, so I put a chair in front of the door to give us some warning in case my parents decided to barge in.
My bedroom looked much the same as it had all those years ago. Lilac colored walls with white trim, a large window overlooking the yard. My twin bed had been replaced with a queen recently, thanks to my mom turning it into a guest room. It took up most of the room now, and Cason and I fell down onto it together.
His tongue pushed past my lips as his hands moved over my body, taking one of my breasts in his palm.
“God, I've always wanted to know what these felt like,” he said with a salacious little grin.
“You're joking, right?” I laughed.
“Not at all,” he said. “When you'd come into class with those V-neck shirts you liked wearing, I was in heaven.”
Color rose to my cheeks. “You mean, you thought of me like that back then?”
“I was a sixteen-year-old boy, Hailey – hell yeah, I did,” he said. “You were always hot, you just didn't know it.”
All those years of thinking I wasn't good enough for him, and he'd been thinking about me sexually too. Just knowing that sent a thrill throughout my body, and I kissed him harder, the fire inside of me burning out of control as my hands fumbled with his belt.
