[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Chapter 25

Nick walked Cass home that night after spending yet another hour talking and trying to make her feel safe. She had cried in his arms, but he didn’t mind holding her and stroking her hair. Lying in bed later that night, Cass felt so relieved. It was hard telling Nick everything she had been keeping from him, but once she had done it, she didn’t regret it at all. His reaction had been better than she could have ever hoped for, and she truly felt like she could trust him when he said that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

The next day, they had gone for a short trip to Tampa, because Nick wanted to show her where he grew up. He also told her that he wanted to buy a house in the area, preferably on the beach as close to the shore as he could possibly get. They had lunch at a local pizza place that Nick referred to as “one of Florida’s hidden secrets.” Cass couldn’t remember the last time she had had so much fun, and certainly not with a guy. She was almost sad that the day would have to end so soon because she had to work.

The next afternoon, Cass and Holly were sitting in Holly’s living room, talking. Holly lived in an apartment just outside the city. It was brand new, with designer furniture and bright colours. Cass had loved it from the moment she stepped inside.
The girls were in the middle of a deep conversation involving Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom, when Holly’s phone rang. She looked at the display and giggled.
“AJ! Hi!”
Cass rolled her eyes, making kissing sounds. Holly laughed.
“Oh, nothing. Just Cass being a child.” Holly giggled to Aj’s response, and shot Cass a funny look.
There were a few moments of silence, as Holly listen to Aj, with a few “Oh’s” and “mmm’s” here and there.
“Sure, I’d love to.” She said smiling. “Yea, one sec.”
Holly handed Cass her phone. “Nick wants to talk to you.”
Cass blushed a little. “Ok,” she said.
“Hello?”
“Hey you!”
“Hi Nick.”
Now, it was Holly’s turn to roll her eyes. Cass giggled as Nick continued.
“Listen, you know that we start recording the day after tomorrow, right?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “So we’re having a BBQ tomorrow afternoon. Aj just invited Holly. You have to come too Cass. You know, you never got to meet the rest of the guys, and they really wanna meet you. Pretty please!”
“Sure.”
“Cass, come on. Do it for me. I really want you to come.” Nick continued to persuade her.
Cass laughed. “Nick, I said yes.”
“Huh?”
“Yes, I’ll come.”
“Oh,” Cass could hear him smacking his forehead at the other end of the line, “great!”
“What time?”
“Umm, 3 o’ clock I think.”
“Ok, see you tomorrow then.”
“Great.”
“Bye Nick.”
“Bye Cass.”

The next day, the girls were on their way to Aj’s place in Holly’s car, following directions that Nick had given them earlier that day.
“So, what’s going on between you and Aj?” Cass asked curiously.
“Nothing!”
“Holly, come on. I know you like him. You talk about him all the time.”
Holly giggled.
“Are you blushing?” Cass joked.
Holly just shrugged, trying to hide her smile.
“Holly!”
“Ok, ok! I like him. Is that so bad?”
“Gosh, no. I never said it was bad. Did something happen between you?”
“NO!”
Cass shot Holly a look.
“Ok… we kissed. That’s all.” Holly said, blushing even more.
“Aww… he kissed you? That is so sweet. Is he good?”
“Cass!”
“Hol?”
Holly smiled. “He’s really good. I mean, the way his lips felt against mine, his warm tongue, his gentle touch, his spit blending with mine…”
“Ok, ok… enough.” Cass laughed, well aware of Holly’s sarcastic voice.
“I think we’re here.” Holly said.
Cass looked out the window. “Holy shit, this place is huge!”
The house looked like a mansion to her with the large gates and the tall fences surrounding it.
“How do we get in?” Cass asked concerned.
“Hang on. I’ll call Aj to let him know we’re here.”
She called him, and seconds later, they walked through the gates and up to the front door where they were met by Nick and Aj.
Nick waked up to Cass and gave her a big hug. “Hey, you look great.”
“Thanks.” Cass blushed and looked down at her outfit. She was wearing a bright green mini skirt and a pink tank top with matching pink sandals.
Cass couldn’t help to notice how good Nick looked too, but she was too shy to comment on it.
He took her hand and they followed Aj and Holly inside. They walked down the hallway and through the living room and outside, where the others were already seated. Cass started to feel pretty nervous as they walked up to them. Nick sensed this. He looked down at her, and squeezed her hand.
“You’ll be fine.” He whispered, giving her a smile.
They approached the table where everybody was sitting, and Nick introduced Cass.
“Everybody, I want you to meet Cassidy, Cass this is Howie, Kevin and his wife Kristen, Brian, his wife Leighann, and their son Baylee. Oh, and you should be really careful around him, cause he likes to punch a lot.” He said.
“Hi.” Cass said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too Cass, can we call you Cass?” Brian said, smiling.
“Yea, sure.”
“Oh, and don’t worry about Baylee. He only punches Thor.”
Cass looked confused, as the other laughed. “Who’s Thor?” She asked.
“Oh, Thor is just Ni…” Nick walked around the table, covering Brian’s mouth with his hand before he could finish his sentence.
“Let’s not talk about this right now, Rok.” He said, smirking. “I’ll tell you later, Cass. Now, let’s eat.”
Cass, Nick, Aj and Holly found their seats around the table, and they all spent the next couple of hours, talking and having fun.

Later that day, they were all hanging out by the pool. Aj and Brian had decided to go for a swim together with Baylee, and the rest of the gang were having a lot of fun watching them. Baylee had come up with a game that no one quite understood, other than the fact that it involved a lot of splashing. After almost an hour in the pool, Aj was standing talking to Kevin, and Brian decided it was time for Baylee’s nap. He helped Baylee out of the pool, and just as he was about to get up himself, Baylee ran over to Aj and pulled down his shorts.
“Holy shit!” Aj yelled out in surprise.
They all burst out laughing while Aj just stood there in shock. It took a few seconds for him to react and pull up his shorts, and by then, everyone had seen Zeus in all his pride.
Baylee just giggled and ran inside, followed by Leighann.
“Did you see that Rok?”
Brian was laughing so hard that he couldn’t even answer. He just nodded.
“Well, aren’t you gonna do something?”
Brian shook his head. Everybody was practically lying on the ground in fits of laughter by then, and Aj had a really hard time staying serious.
“Guys, come on. It’s not funny.”
Nick nodded. “So funny…” He said as he wiped away a few tears rolling down his cheek.
It took almost half an hour for everybody to calm down, and by the time they did, they were all exhausted. Aj had joined in on the laughter eventually, and seemed to have forgotten the embarrassing situation.

Later that night, Nick and Cass were sitting by the pool, talking. The others had gone inside to watch a movie, and Nick had taken the opportunity to be alone with Cass.
“I’m glad you came today.” He said without looking at her.
Cass smiled. “I’m glad I came too. I had so much fun.”
“Yea, me too.”
They fell silent, both lost in their own thoughts.
“What are you thinking about?” Nick asked after a while.
Cass shrugged. “Nothing in particular. You?”
“You. I’m thinking about you.” He said, turning his head to look at her.
Cass looked down and blushed. She didn’t know what to say.
“See, you always do that when I look at you.”
“Do what?”
“Blush, and look down.”
“I’m sorry, I just…” She whispered, not wanting to say the wrong thing.
Nick shook his head. “No, it’s ok.”
“I’m just not used to compliments and stuff.”
“Well, you should start to get used to it. I really like you Cass.”
Cass forced herself to look at him. “I like you too Nick.”
He smiled at her, and Cass sighed. This was the reason that she avoided his gaze. She was afraid that if she looked into his eyes too long, she would never be able to break away.
“Can I kiss you?” He whispered, lowering his face a little.
All Cass could do was nod. Nick brought his hand up to her chin and pulled her face closer to his. She closed her eyes and felt his warm lips on hers. The kiss was tender and passionate. Everything she had ever wanted a kiss to be. ‘I never want this to end’ she thought to herself.