Cassie
“This is nice,” I said as we walked hand in hand along the shore, watching the waves lap.
Dennis paused and pulled me into his arms. “This,”—his mouth covered mine—“is nicer.”
My hands slid up his solid chest and danced around his broad shoulders as I let out a sigh of contentment. Because I was that girl.
A girl crazy about a guy.
When Dennis had called me up and asked me to stay in Chastity Falls for Thanksgiving, I’d been confused. We’d hardly seen each other in over two weeks, but there was something in his voice—a desperation that reached inside of my chest and took hold—and before I’d known it, I’d said yes.
He kissed me softly and then pulled back, searching my face. “Your family didn’t mind?”
“They think I caught the stomach flu. Mom wasn’t too happy. She wanted to fly out here, but I put her off.”
His fingers—the ones buried deep in my hair—glided across my neck. “I’m sorry I can’t be that guy; the guy that you can take home to meet your parents. But things are...” he trailed off, dropping his gaze to the sand.
“I know.”
Things with Jackson and Marcus were a mess. Dennis didn’t tell me much—he didn’t really tell me anything—but he didn’t need to. I heard the rumors around campus. Even if I hadn’t, I felt it in the way he held me and loved me. He was on edge. Tense. And I wasn’t naïve enough to think he didn’t use me as an escape.
But the more I told myself that Dennis Hayes was hazardous to my heart, the more I found myself pulled into his world.
“We didn’t have to get a room. We could’ve stayed in my dorm.”
Dennis spun me in his arms, pulling me back against him. “I wanted to do this. For us. I just want a little slice of normal with you.”
Sliding my hands over his arms, I smiled. It wasn’t much, but it was moments like these where he knew exactly the right thing to say. And I let myself get swept up in it and believe that Dennis was finally letting me in. Piece by piece.
Even if I knew, deep down, there were some parts of him I would never know.
We found a quiet little place for dinner. An old jukebox played out, serenading the lonely diners. Dennis chose a booth at the back of the place and we sat close while I shared stories from my childhood with him.
“Favorite Thanksgiving dish?”
“My Mom’s green bean casserole. Umm. My stomach growls just thinking about it.”
Dennis tensed beside me and I turned to him, flashing him a wide smile. “Don’t you dare feel guilty. I’m a big girl, Dennis, I chose to stay here. Besides, I’ve always been more of a dessert kind of girl.”
He leaned in close, brushing the tip of his nose across mine. “Oh yeah?” His husky voice was thick with desire, sending shivers rippling up my spine. “And what did you have in mind for dessert?”
My stomach flipped again, but this time it wasn’t yearning for my mom’s home cooking.
Dennis’ hungry gaze dropped to my mouth. I licked my lips, twisting my body toward him. “Cass, I—”
“Here we go, two chocolate milkshakes and a plate of cheese and bacon fries to share.”
We broke away and smiled at the waitress. But my heart was galloping in my chest. Had he been about to say it? The moment had passed though, and I couldn’t help but feel a stab of disappointment.
“Can I get you anything else?” she said.
“No, thank you,” I replied, feeling my cheeks burst with color.
When she disappeared, Dennis leaned over to me and whispered, “Later. You, me, and a tub of Ben & Jerry’s.”
Heat pooled in my stomach and I clamped my legs together to try to ease the need building inside me. It didn’t help that Dennis kept one hand on my knee, rubbing his finger back and forth in a soothing motion. I helped myself to a fry. Anything to distract myself. Even after all this time, I wanted Dennis in a way I’d wanted no other guy. I didn’t understand the pull between us, but I felt it every time he was near.
And it terrified me.
Because deep down I knew we were from two very different worlds. We could keep pretending, but one day there would be choices to be made.
Hard ones.
“What are you thinking?” Dennis’ question pulled me back into the room and I smiled up at him.
“That I’m ready for dessert.”
“This is the life,” I yawned, stretching out like a cat, and when Dennis trailed his lips across the sensitive skin at the base of my neck, I purred.
“I could get used to this,” he said, in a rare moment of honesty. It had been my favorite thing about our time at the motel. Although we were only a few miles away from Chastity Falls, it felt like we’d left everything behind. In the sanctuary of our sparsely decorated room, it couldn’t touch us. Dennis felt it too. He was lighter, calmer. It was a side of him I wanted more of. And I wasn’t the only one—Dennis was supposed to leave yesterday and return to Fallen House, but instead, he’d stayed. It felt like a small victory.
Rolling me into his arms, he tucked me into the curve of his body, tangling his legs with mine. Our clothes lay in a pile on the floor, and a giggle escaped my lips as he nudged his erection into my ass. “Dennis,” I warned.
“Don’t worry, I’m just getting comfy.” He rolled his hips again. Snuggling into my shoulder, his teeth grazed my skin, then he soothed the sting with his tongue. I would never tire of this—the feel of his strong body wrapped around mine. Dennis’ hand drifted down my waist and over my hip until his fingers found the apex of my thighs.
“Again?” I said, trying to hide my amusement. “We hardly slept.”
We’d fallen asleep sometime around one, still wrapped up in one another. But around four, I’d woken to Dennis trailing kisses along the column of my neck. He’d rolled me underneath him and we’d made love until the first signs of dawn cracked through the cheap motel blinds.
“I need to make the most of this,” he murmured, slipping his fingers lower until they danced over my center. I stifled a moan, but it quickly died when his phone started blaring.
“Ignore it.” I wiggled my ass into him, trying to tempt him, but he groaned and started to shift away from me, taking my good mood with him.
“Yeah,” he said, followed by a heavy silence. “Fuck, okay… No, I’ll go. Yeah, I’ve got it, okay. Yeah. Thanks.”
So much for being untouchable in the sanctuary we’d carved out for ourselves here. I rolled onto my back and pulled the sheets up around my body. “Did something happen?”
Dennis was already yanking on his jeans. “I need to go.”
“You’re leaving me here?” I asked, unable to contain my disbelief.
“I’ll take you back to campus.”
“Fuck you.”
“Cassie—”
“What. Happened?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face and met my heavy glare. “You know I can’t tell you that.”
“Get out.”
“Cassie, come on, be reasonable. We knew—”
“Be reasonable? You pursued me, Dennis. Or have you forgotten how you dragged me out of that party and practically assaulted me?”
The color drained from his face, but I wasn’t finished. I was nowhere near finished. Just when I thought we were getting somewhere; that he was finally coming around to the idea of us.
“I didn’t ask to be pulled into your world. That’s on you. But I’m here now and you can’t keep shutting me out. You keep saying give you time and I’m trying. I am trying, Dennis, but you have to meet me halfway.” My gaze dropped to the floor. “I thought…”
I couldn’t say the words. I’d let myself believe he felt the same. That he really did want this. But it always came back to Jackson and Marcus. And I would always be a second thought.
How could I compete with that?
He was right. I wanted to take him home to meet my parents, to show him off to my friends. I deserved that.
I needed that.
The bed dipped and then he was there, sliding his fingers underneath my jaw and tilting my face to meet his stormy eyes. “You thought what, Cass? Tell me. Tell me what you’re thinking?”
“I thought this meant something. I thought you were finally realizing that this thing between us is real.” Tears burned my throat, but I would not cry. Not for a guy who kept me at arm’s length, no matter how much I pushed.
He leaned in, touching his head to mine. “Cass, come on, don’t do this. Please.” His warm breath danced over my skin and I soaked it up.
How quickly things changed.
For three blissful days, I’d let myself believe we could weather the storm. But Dennis was the storm. This was how it would always be. He would always be untouchable, enigmatic.
He felt it; this thing between us. I didn’t doubt that.
But was it enough?