by Seven Steps
“Goodnight, Alex.”
I have no idea what came over me. Heck, I had no idea I could move that fast.
Somehow, I’d reached Cassia’s side before she could climb into the limo and pulled her into my arms.
Her shocked, red rimmed eyes studied my face with such vulnerability and innocence that my heart melted into putty at her feet.
“I only want you,” I whispered. I closed my eyes and leaned in close. My heart was pounding. I could feel her heart pounding too. “Only you.”
My lips found hers and I kissed her with such overpowering hunger that she shivered in my arms. I'd wanted to kiss Cassia Johnstone since I met her. And now the moment was here, and it was more than I ever could dream.
Her lips were soft. Her body fit into mine like were shaped from the same mold. And when her dainty fingers threaded through my hair, I squeezed her so close that there wasn’t an atom between us.
I supped on her lower lip, like I’d wanted to do all night, and she let out a little sigh. I liked to think it was a happy sigh. I like to think I made Cassia happy.
My mind was spinning, and my entire body was overheated, but I managed to pull away before I completely lost my senses. Not too far. Just enough for both of us to catch our breaths.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I should have asked before I kissed you.”
Her breath came in pants. “So. Ask.”
I felt a smile pull at my lips. “Cassia Johnstone, may I kiss you?”
She beamed at me. A smile full of happy promises. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask me that all night.” And then, her hands went to my neck, and she yanked me to her. I closed the rest of the distance between us, relishing in the way her fingers massaged the back of my neck. I laid my hands on her hips because I didn’t trust them anywhere else.
Her words floated through my skull as I set to devouring the lips I’d been dreaming about kissing for the last three years.
She’d been waiting for me to kiss her all night? Could Cassia like me as more than a friend? Could she want me the way I wanted her?
The feel of her tongue sliding across my top lip pulled my distracted brain back to her. She smelled like paradise. She felt like heaven. She kissed like pure sin. Were my lips driving her as crazy as her lips were driving me?
Her tongue touched my lower lip this time and she lightly bit me. My whole body turned to pure flames, but before I could return the nip, the limo horn blared in our ears. She jumped back from me, holding her heart. I stood still, catching my breath.
I could only stand and stare at her as my skin buzzed and hummed, screaming for her warmth to return.
I cleared my throat, trying to remember how to breathe again.
“I liked that,” I said.
Her face flamed to a cute shade of beet red. Somehow, I liked that I could make her blush so wildly. It was hot. Like I was doing my duty as a man by making her feel wanted. Desired.
Her fingers raised to her lips, a small smile settling onto her face. “I liked it too.”
Her gaze dropped to the floor, and she took a step back.
The fact that she’d so boldly kissed me a minute ago, and now she was acting coy, was even hotter than the blush.
“Ms. Johnstone, it’s almost your curfew,” the limo driver called from behind me.
She eyed him in the window, then her gaze came back to me.
“I have to go,” she said quietly.
I didn’t know what to do with myself. Hug her? Kiss her again? Shake her hand? We’d just devoured each other’s mouths. Where did we go from here?
“Okay. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah. Tomorrow.”
She looked up at me. I was almost six inches taller than her and the fact that she had to look up at me made me feel strong.
“I guess we already had our goodnight kiss,” I said with a chuckle.
She nodded. “I guess we did.”
She leaned back on her heels. I did the same.
The limo driver honked the horn again. “Ms. Johnstone!”
She looked up at me expectantly, but I wasn’t sure what to do.
I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Would she let me kiss her again?
I decided to meet somewhere in the middle.
I gently took her hand and pressed a kiss into her palm. She sucked in a tight hissing breath, and held it until I released her, so I assumed that she’d liked it.
I made a mental note to do all of the things I knew she liked as often as possible.
“Good night, Cassia.”
She smiled big and wide. A smile that lit up the night. “Good night, Alex.”
And then she climbed into the limo and was sped away. Back to her castle in the sky.
I wanted to text her and tell her that I missed her already. I wanted to say that I couldn’t wait to see her tomorrow.
But I wasn’t sure what the protocol was. I’d never had a girlfriend, or much experience with girls. Whatever Cassia and I had, I didn’t want to ruin it.
I started the long walk back to the train, still tasting her fruity gum on my lips. Still smelling her floral perfume all around me. Still feeling the warmth of her touch on the back of my neck.
Sleep was going to be impossible tonight, but I didn’t care.
I’d spent the most amazing night with the girl of my dreams.
If I never slept again, then so be it.
13
I arrived back home floating on cloud nine.
No. Not nine. Maybe cloud ten.
Or eleven.
Or twelve.
I’d had the best night of my life with Cassia. A night I’d never forget. It was pure magic.
I opened my apartment door and slipped inside the dark kitchen.
And then, the lights sandblasted my eyeballs.
“Where have you been?” Lindsey demanded.
I squinted in the suddenly bright light. “I went out.”
“Out where? Did anything happen to you?”
I shook my head. “No. Why?”
She crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her blue hair nervously. “I’ve just been getting the weirdest vibe,” she said. “Like someone’s watching me.”
“Someone like who?”
“I don’t know! Just, someone.”
“Someone connected to the money?”
She shushed me. “Will you be quiet about it?” Her hand went to her forehead. “This was a bad idea. A really bad idea.”
A door creaked, and we both looked down the hallway at Ms. Tuck’s concerned back. She wore an old blue housecoat cinched tight at the waist, and her hair was tied in a colorful silk scarf.
“Is everything all right out here?” She asked.
I sent Lindsey a look, then went to Ms. Tuck’s side.
“Everything is fine. Lindsey was just… concerned that I was out so late.”
She gave Lindsey a pointed look. “Lindsey, leave your brother alone. He’s back before his curfew after all.”
Lindsey rolled her eyes.
“Why don’t you two head off to bed,” Ms. Tuck said. “It’s late.”
“We will,” I said.
She looked both of us over before shuffling back to bed. Once her door closed, I turned back to Lindsey, grabbed her forearm, and pulled her into the living room.
“Will you let go,” she demanded, shaking me off.
“You told me that everything was cool with the money,” I said, planting my hands on my hips and narrowing my eyes at her.
“Everything was cool.”
“So, what’s with all this talk about someone following you?”
Lindsey dropped onto the couch and threw her head back.
“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling, you know. Like I feel it in my gut that someone is watching me.”
I sighed and dropped my head.
“Lindsey, you’re being paranoid. No one is watching anyone. The money is fine. Everything is fine.”
She let out a huff of air. “Yeah. Okay.”
“Don’t just say okay. I’m serious. Everything is fine. No one saw you take the money. That’s what you said, right?”
“Right.”
“Good. So just chill, and try not to upset Ms. Tuck, okay.”
She frowned at me.
“Why are you suddenly okay with this?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean why are you suddenly so okay with me not giving back the money. Yesterday you were screaming about giving it back, then we did the thing with the mortgage, and now you’re like completely chill about it. What gives?”
I let out a breath. “I don’t know. We have it, and there’s nothing we can do about it. So, it is what it is. Let’s just be normal.”
“Normal?”
“Yes. Normal.”
She didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t fight me on it. “Yeah. Whatever.”
I ran a hand across my forehead. Lindsey was starting to freak me out, but I wouldn’t let her ruin my good night. Not after Cassia had kissed me and changed my entire life.
I gave her one last look and headed for the door.
Lindsey shifted on the couch behind me. “Hey.”
“What?”
“Where’d you get that suit?”
I froze in the doorway.
I couldn’t tell her where the suit had come from, or where I’d gotten the money from. She’d make me take everything back and hide the money somewhere I’d never find it again. And I needed that money to win Cassia’s heart.
Among other things.
“It’s been in the back of the closet since last Christmas. I just found it.”
She was silent for a minute, then I heard her head hit the back of the couch again.
“It’s nice.”
I released the breath I’d been holding.
“Night, Lindsey.”
“Night, Alex.”
Cool.
Everything was cool.
Lindsey didn’t know I’d been borrowing money, and I’d eased her mind about being followed.
All and all, it’d been a good night.
A great night.
I walked into my room and fell face first onto the bed.
I wanted to text Cassia. I wanted to tell her how much I enjoyed our time tonight and how much I missed her.
But I couldn’t say that. Not yet. It would be too lame.
Instead, I flipped over onto my back, pulled out my phone, and sent a simple text.
Me: Goodnight Cassia.
A few seconds later, I received a text back.
Cassia: Goodnight Alex.
Just seeing her name pop up on my screen reminded me of our kiss. Her lips had started a fire in me I wasn’t sure I could put out. I wanted to kiss her again. I wanted to hold her in my arms and feel her warmth.
Instead, I pulled off my suit jacket and stood in front of the closet to hang it up.
A white envelope fell out of it. The envelope that guy Max had given me for Lindsey.
Of course, being a little brother, I couldn’t resist looking through Lindsey’s things. Plus, she’d been keeping a lot of secrets from me lately. It was well within my rights to be a little pro-active.
I slid my finger along the glue, dislodging it, then pulled out the white sheet of paper inside.
Two numbers were written in big black type in the center of the page.
48.
48? What did that mean? Was it some sort of inside diner joke? An order number maybe? I put the paper back into the envelope and dropped it on my desk. Then, I neatly hung up my suit and crawled into bed, visions of my dream girl dancing in my head.
I arrived at school early the next day.
Partially because I couldn’t sleep, and partially because I wanted to see Cassia before class. I wanted to talk to her and see how her ride home was. Maybe even setup our next date.
I leaned against the lockers near the classroom, watching my classmates flowing up and down the hallways. I waved at Bella French and Cole Winstead as they walked by, hand in hand. Bella’s GPA was a few points above mine and Cole had the highest grades in the school. I vaguely wondered how smart their children would be.
Then, I spotted her.
Cassia.
She opened her locker, put her book bag inside, and then grabbed a few books. I raced over to her, ready to continue the relationship we’d been building since last night.
“Hey, Cassia,” I said, standing on the other side of her locker.
She wore a green, knee length dress and heels that made her legs look amazing. Her hair was down, and she wore more makeup than I’d seen her with in the past. The makeup definitely enhanced her face, but I kind of missed the carefree, natural look she’d been rocking these last three years.
“Hey, Alex.”
I’d had an entire conversation planned for this very moment, but the moment I saw her all of my words flew out of the window. There was this electricity buzzing between our bodies that I couldn’t ignore. I ached to reach out and touch her face, to press my lips to hers, to hold her hand, but I held myself back.
It was up to Cassia to decide which speed she wanted us to be at. I was just happy being in the car.
“So, it’s Friday,” I said. That was a dumb thing to say but I couldn’t think of anything else.
She nodded slowly. “Yeah. It’s Friday.”
“Do you have any plans for the weekend?”
She shrugged. “Not really. Maybe catch a movie on Saturday or something. I wouldn’t mind some company.”
“Which theater? I can meet you there.”
“Times Square, maybe?”
“Okay. I’ll buy the popcorn.”
“Okay.” Her smile was infectious. I smiled and held my hands out for her books. She regarded me for a minute, then loaded them into my arms.
“You know, whenever you want me to hold your books, I can do that for you. Between classes or during lunch or anywhere really. I love to hold books.”
“Are you sure? They’re kind of heavy.”
“No. It’s totally cool. I can be your book holder guy, you know.”
“And am I paying you for this service?”
“No. No, this is strictly voluntary.”
She bit her bottom lip, and her eyelids dropped seductively. “I’m sure I can find some way to return to favor.”
I unabashedly grinned. She was flirting with me. My dream girl was flirting with me.
I could die a happy man.
“Hey, Alex. My man.”
Andrew clapped me on my back, then moved to stand next to me.
To say I was irritated would be an understatement. I was enjoying flirting with Cassia.
“Hey, Andrew.”
“Looking forward to the conference on Saturday.”
Saturday. That’s right. I agreed to a conference with them on Saturday.
Crap.
My eyes slid to Cassia. She looked as disappointed as I felt.
But I couldn’t back out on the F.E.W now. What if word got back to Cassia’s father? I was trying to impress the man, not make myself out to be a person who goes back on their word.
I was trapped in my own trick.
“Yeah. Saturday.”
“We’ll meet you at the Brooklyn Civic Center at seven am sharp. Don’t be late.”
He clapped me on my back again, then walked off with Grant following close behind. Grant glared at me as if I’d just run over his dog. Oh well, Grant.
You snooze. You lose, brother.
I sighed and turned back to Cassia just as the bell rang.
“Sorry about that,” I said. “I totally forgot I’d made arrangements with them.”
She shrugged. “It’s fine.”
“I feel terrible. I was really looking forward to spending time with you.”
“Alex,” she touched my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. There’s always next week.”
Next week? I didn’t want to
wait until next week to have alone time with her.
“Next week seems so far away,” I said.
Without realizing it, I’d leaned closer to her.
She leaned in too, and our lips touched in the briefest of clinging kisses. I felt heat all the way down to my toes.
Could it be that it felt better kissing her today than yesterday?
Was it possible that kisses got better every time you did them? Like practicing? If so, I was going to need a lot of practice.
“I’d better walk you to class,” I said.
“Yea. You better.” Her smile made me want to drop her books and kiss her again.
But the second bell was about to ring.
Why’d it feel like there was never enough time for us?
14
My house was in chaos.
Several police cars were stationed outside of my apartment building, lights twirling, radios blaring. It seemed like half a precinct had shown up. I watched the cops walk in and out of my building, and my gut clenched. What happened? Had someone gotten robbed, or worse?
I ran past the cops and up the stairs, hoping against hope that it wasn’t our apartment that was the center of this investigation.
When I saw Lindsey standing outside of our door, arms crossed, eyes wide with fear, I knew that my hope had gone unheeded. My heart beat hard as I approached my sister.
“Lindsey?”
A police officer held me back.
“Son, you’ll need to step back. This is an active crime scene.”
“No, he’s fine. He’s my brother,” Lindsey cried, her voice near hysterical. “He lives here. Please, let him through.”
The officer scanned me, then released my arm, reminding me of when I was a kid and the cops would nab me. I thought those days were over, but it suddenly felt like it was yesterday.
I gave the cop my dirtiest look and pulled Lindsey into a hug.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Someone robbed the apartment.”
“What? When?”
“When I was out at the store with Tuck. It was like they were watching us. They knew exactly when the house would be empty.”
She gave me a pointed, I told you so, look.
I swallowed.
“Did they get anything?” I asked.