by Paula Mabbel
“Sure, my mom isn’t used to me being away, so it’s pretty hard on her.”
Her mom, was that who the text was from? “Did you have many friends or anything?” Liam pushed for answers. “I mean, like at school or whatever?”
Cassie shrugged. “I was more of a stay home and study kind of girl,” she smiled thoughtfully. “It’s how I managed to get into here so quickly,” she took a drink from her beer and put it back down. “I have really good grades.”
“So, you’re like really smart?” Liam asked. He was pretty sure that he had his answer. He’d given Cassie every opportunity that she’d needed to tell him about any boyfriends she had.
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Chapter 7
Cassie
Cassie stumbled out into the parking lot. The orange light from the streetlight above her head was casting weird shadows against the ground. Her sky blue car was the only one left in the lot. She turned to Liam. “Where’s your ride?” she asked, trying not slur.
“I didn’t bring one. I figured I’d call a cab.”
“Oh,” Cassie nodded. That was probably a good idea. She was too drunk to drive. “Can we share one back?”
“Sure,” Liam pulled out his cell. “Your car should be okay here by the way; this isn’t the kind of place that gets much trouble.”
The taxi didn’t take long to get there. Cassie wasn’t too bothered anyway. The air still held the heat from the day that had passed, so it wasn’t like she was cold. The cab ride wasn’t a long one. Cassie found herself stumbling out onto the sidewalk next to the campus gates. “Crap,” she said out loud, when her sleeping issue came back to the forefront of her mind.
“What’s up?” Liam asked her, hooking his arm around hers. The drink had hit him too, but he could see Cassie struggling to keep a straight line.
“Where am I going to sleep?” she asked him with wide eyes.
“You could always go back to your room?” Liam suggested, although he knew that wasn’t really what he wanted.
She frowned at him. Didn’t he know what Lucy would do if she turned up? Didn’t he know how miserable her life would get, if she continued to cross her? “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Cassie shook her head softly.
“No, you’re right,” Liam said stopping. He turned to her with his eyes burning hungrily. “Neither do I,” he lowered his head towards her and gently dropped a kiss onto her lips. He stepped back. He waited for her reaction. She didn’t react though. She was just standing still, looking at him. “Sorry,” he broke the silence. “I probably shouldn’t have done that.”
Cassie didn’t say anything. She could still feel Liam’s lips on hers. It was like his kiss was echoing all around her. She glanced up at him. He looked uncomfortable. Did he regret what he’d just done? Was that why he looked so anxious or was it something else? The liquor in her system was blocking her thoughts from properly functioning. She pushed herself up onto the tips of her toes and kissed him back. Slowly.
“You should come and stay with me for the night,” Liam said in a hushed and hurried way against her lips. He kissed her again, so she couldn’t answer straight away.
“Oh,” Cassie pulled away from him. She wasn’t sure that staying with Liam was a good idea. She knew what he meant by staying. He didn’t mean just sleeping. Cassie pressed her lips harder onto his, so she wouldn’t have to answer him. What was she going to do?
She liked Liam, but did she like him enough? It wasn’t like he would be just another guy. He’d be her first. “What do you think?” Liam pulled away from her with his eyes focused on hers. “Do you want to come to my room?”
“I, I, I don’t know,” she stuttered. She could feel her cheeks burning. She wasn’t the kind of person who really shared intimate details of her life. That was part of the reason that she’d never gone all the way. She’d dated a few times over the years, but none of the guys had been worth losing it to. Was Liam?
Liam smiled softly. “It’s a no-pressure deal,” he assured her. “I know you don’t have anywhere to go; come and stay with me. We don’t have to do anything. I’m just offering you a room.”
Liam’s room was exactly how Cassie had pictured it. It had sports posters on the walls, dirty clothes on the floor and a desk buried in a jumble of papers and half opened books. “I guess you weren’t expecting company,” she joked, as she picked her way carefully through the mess. It wasn’t an easy feat. Her vision was blurry because of the booze. Her head felt light. She managed it though, and fell down onto his bed with victorious satisfaction.
She felt the bed sag down deeper, when Liam joined her on it. There was a moment of awkward silence. Cassie could practically see the giant elephant in the room. She knew what he wanted. She couldn’t deny that she wanted it too. She felt different to all of the other times. She felt ready. It wasn’t about Liam, although he was a great guy. It was about her. She was ready to take the leap for no other reason than she wanted to.
Her eyes met his. They said more than she could have done with words. He knew what she was thinking. He knew that she had accepted was going to happen that night, what had to happen. The chemistry between them was two strong for either of them to deny.
Liam leaned in first. His kisses marking the corner of her lips, before leaving a trail of tingling pleasure up her cheekbone and down to the collar of her neck. Cassie had never been further than over the clothes stuff before. She’d never felt the touch of a guy on the bare skin of stomach before. It was intense. It was almost too much and nothing had even started. Liam lowered his lips from her collarbone. Cassie could feel her breathing getting stiff, as her brain tried to anticipate his next move with trembling delight.
He gently pulled up her top exposing her bare breasts to him. He was looking at a part of her that no one had ever seen before. He was seeing in her a way that was completely new. He didn’t know that. He didn’t know that he was Cassie’s first, but he looked at her as though he did. Cassie could see the pure and devoted attention that he had for her. She could see how it was only thoughts of her that were burning beyond his warm eyes. She was the only thing in the world that mattered to him. At that moment, she was the only language that he spoke.
His lips sank lower. Brushing up against the rise of her breasts and settling around her hardening nipples, as her heart beat out of sync with the rest of her body. She could hear muffled sounds coming from the rooms that surrounded them, but above them was the pounding in her ears that was coming from her racing pulse.
Liam’s hands sank to her waistline. He gently brought his fingers across her stomach. He was letting her jeans mark where he stopped. She could feel herself getting frustrated with him. She wanted him to bring his hands lower. She wanted him to defeat the jeans, which were keeping her body from his.
The sound of her zipper being pulled steadied her frustration. She arched her back, her eyes holding onto Liam’s, as he slowly slid them down her legs. They fell to the ground with a dull thud. A thud that neither of them heard, over Cassie’s gentle moans, which had started to work with the rhythm of Liam’s hand, which was slowly working its way up her inner thigh.
Cassie’s whole body trembled. She could almost feel the wind, whipping around her face from the peak that she was standing on. She waited. She waited for Liam to push her over. She waited for her body to fall into the pleasure that she’d never had, but had heard a great deal about. Liam’s lips left her nipple and the air reminded her of how cold it could be without him. He brought his mouth crashing back down into hers.
His hand moved away from the growing wetness that was between her legs. There was the sound of another zipper being pulled and Cassie watched with wide eyes, as Liam dropped his pants, revealing everything that he had. She could feel her cheeks starting to blush and attempted to hide it from Liam by pulling him back down, so that his body was firmly against hers.
“This is your first time isn’t it?” Liam whispered softly into her ear. His lips brushed gently aga
inst her lobe, sending shivers down her spine.
“So, what if it is?” Cassie asked into his shoulder.
“It doesn’t make a difference to me,” Liam told her quickly, sensing that she was sensitive about the subject. “I just wanted to be sure, don’t worry, I’ll show you what you’ve been missing,” he joked, as he thrusted himself forward slowly.
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Chapter 8
Liam
Liam could feel Cassie shifting in her sleep. The smell of her strawberry shampoo was in his sheets. The sun had risen a few hours ago. He kept waking up and falling back to sleep. He knew though, that he’d have to get up soon. He knew that he’d have to wake Cassie up, so that she could leave, before Lucy caught wind of what was going on.
The sound of his phone ringing forced his eyes open. Cassie was sleeping on the outer side of the bed, so he leant over her to reach for it. Crap, he thought to himself. It was Lucy. Cassie was starting to shift from his movements. He pulled the covers away and managed to climb over her without fully waking her up and quickly walked over to the door.
“What’s up?” he answered his phone, when he was sure that his door was closed behind him. The dorm hallway was quiet. Everyone was either still in bed or out enjoying the nice day.
“Hey baby,” Lucy purred. “I missed you at my party last night.”
“Oh, yeah,” Liam’s thoughts took him back to Cassie and what they had done the night before. “I’m sorry about that, I got busy.”
“Oh, it’s okay,” Lucy sounded far too bright and cheerful. “I thought since you went out with the guys that you might be feeling rough this morning, so I’m coming around with some feel-better supplies.”
“What?” Liam asked trying to keep up with her. “You’re coming over?”
“Yeah, I’m about to leave my room now,” Lucy said, oblivious to the clear panic in Liam’s voice. “I’ll see you soon baby,” she added cheerfully, before the phone line went dead.
Liam looked at his phone and then back to the door. If Lucy was walking over, then he had maybe five minutes, before she’d be at his door. He walked back into his room. Cassie was still sleeping. Her peach hair spread over the pillow behind her head. “Cassie,” he gently shook her shoulder. “I’m really sorry about this,” he said, when she opened her eyes slowly. “But, you have to go.”
“I have to go?” Cassie asked in sleepy surprise. “Why, what’s happened?” she asked, when she saw the panic on Liam’s face.
Liam shifted uncomfortably. He had to tell her the truth. He couldn’t risk her telling Lucy by accident. “My girlfriend is coming over,” he told her, avoiding her eyes.
“Oh,” Cassie said not knowing what else to say. She shifted from the sheets and started to grab her clothes, which were scattered around the bed. “Who is she?” she asked out of interest.
Liam sighed. “It’s Lucy.”
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Chapter 9
Cassie
Cassie didn’t know how Liam had got her number, but she wasn’t going to answer his calls. She didn’t care how many times he killed her battery. What was he even calling to say? What could he possibly say to make anything that he’d done better? There was nothing. What he’d done was unforgiveable. He’d cheated on his girlfriend. He’d taken Cassie’s virginity. Cassie had to live with Lucy for god’s sake. What had he been thinking?
She slid her phone under her pillow, when it started ringing for what must have been the tenth time in a row. It had been three days since he’d got her number. It had been three weeks since they’d slept together. Three uncomfortable weeks, cooped up with Lucy. What made it worse was that Cassie had to listen to Lucy talking about him. She had to listen to her brag about how perfect their relationship was, all the while knowing what she’d done behind her back.
The door to her room opened with force and slammed against the back wall. Cassie looked up from her pillow. She was starting to get used to Lucy’s dramatic entrances, so she wasn’t expecting to see the level of upset on Lucy’s face as there was to find. “Are you okay?” Cassie asked against her better instincts.
Lucy looked as though she was holding back tears. “It’s, it’s Liam,” she said weakly. “He dumped me.”
“Oh,” Cassie wasn’t sure what else to say. “Why did he do that?”
Lucy’s cheeks burned bright red. “He cheated on me. He spent the night with some girl from the bar down the road. He won’t tell me who it was, but apparently she’s better than me,” she said bitterly. She looked pissed. She looked like she wasn’t going to settle until someone had been held accountable.
“Is that what he said?” Cassie asked her with surprise.
“Is what, what he said?” Lucy frowned at her.
“He left you for that girl?”
Lucy’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you even care?” she asked quickly. “It’s not like this has anything to do with you.”
Cassie couldn’t be sure whether her last words were a statement or a question. She could feel Lucy starting to grow suspicious over Cassie’s sudden interest. “You’re right,” Cassie said quickly in an effort to downplay her interest in the subject. “It’s got nothing to do with me.” She glanced at her pillow, which had started to vibrate. A muffled buzzing filled the air. It was Cassie’s cell phone.
“Are you going to get that?” Lucy asked her.
“It isn’t important,” Cassie shook her head.
“How do you know?” Lucy asked her with her eyebrows arching. “You haven’t even looked at the screen.”
Cassie could feel the room getting smaller around her. The air quality seemed to drop too, so she was taking deep, exaggerated breaths. “Because, it’s my cell,” she pushed back at Lucy’s sudden inquisition. “Look, I’m sorry to hear about you and Liam, but I have stuff to do,” she walked forward to the door, but Lucy stood in her way.
“You know,” Lucy said thoughtfully. “I’m friends with a lot of people and I asked around the bar to see whether there were any new faces that had been in.” She stopped. Cassie was standing too close to her. Lucy could see every flicker of guilt on her face that her words were bringing to the surface. “It’s funny, because the only new face they’ve seen belonged to a girl with peach colored hair.”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Cassie tried to brush of the accusation. “I went in for a few beers the night you kicked me out of my room. What are you going to do, sue me?”
Lucy shook her head. “Don’t lie to me,” she said curtly.
“Okay, well what do you want me to say?” Cassie matched Lucy’s curtness. If Lucy was going to do something to her, then she might as well just do it. They both knew that it was Cassie that Liam had slept with, even if she hadn’t admitted it.
It came with a deafening crack. Cassie felt her head swing to the side, as the force of Lucy’s blow shocked the hell out of her. Lucy’s hand pulled away, but the pain didn’t stop. The whole left side of Cassie’s face felt like it was burning. She looked at Lucy. She had fire in her eyes. “Look, I’m sorry,” Cassie started, but Lucy cut her off.
“You’re sorry?” Lucy spat at her. “You’re a dirty little whore. You walk into the school, you take my room, and my boyfriend. I’m going to make your life a living hell. I’m going to make you wish that you never came here,” she threatened with her voice trembling under the weight of her anger.
“I don’t’ know what to say,” Cassie managed to steady herself. “I’m sorry,” she pushed past Lucy and got out of the room. She didn’t stop walking until she was out of the building and half way across the campus.
“Cassie,” she could hear Liam calling her. “Cassie, wait,” he called again, when she showed no sign of hearing him. She could hear him running up behind her. She glanced back, scanning the garden for Lucy.
“What do you want?” she snapped when Liam got close to her.
“Didn’t you hear?” he looked curiously at her.
“What, that you and Lucy b
roke up?” Cassie snapped at him. “Yeah I heard,” she nodded. “It’s how I got this,” she turned her face, so he could see the hand mark that was still burning red across her cheek.
“Did Lucy do that to you?” Liam asked with concern. “You know; you could get her kicked out of school for that.”
“Oh, sure,” Cassie shook her head. “I fuck her boyfriend, I take over her room and then ruin her future too? Sure sounds like I’m the good guy in all of that.”
“Cassie,” Liam said hesitantly. “You didn’t know that I was with her. That was my fault. I should have told you. I should have waited. I shouldn’t have put you into the position where you got hurt.”
“That’s great,” Cassie said sarcastically. “Here’s the thing though- you did put me in that position and, you put Lucy into it too.” She held his eyes firmly. She wanted him to face up to what he’d done. She wanted him to feel bad about it, because it was only right that he did.
He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. “I’m sorry,” he told her honestly. “I don’t know what happened. I just lost control with you. You’re…you’re just so different from the girls around here. I didn’t want to lose my chance to get to know you, before you turned into one of Lucy’s clones.”
Cassie shook her head softly. “That was never going to happen.”
“Maybe not,” Liam said hesitantly. “Look, I know I fucked up. I know I hurt Lucy and more importantly I know I hurt you. I’m sorry. I never meant for that to happen. You’re just like this shooting star that’s suddenly brought light to the darkness. I don’t want to lose that.”
“What are you saying?”
“I know that I didn’t go about this the right way, but do you want to maybe, spend some time together? You know, get to know each other?”
Cassie didn’t know what to say. Liam had fucked up. He’d hurt her. He’d betrayed her and made her look like heartless bitch, but he knew that and was sorry. She could tell that his apology was genuine. Her eyes caught his and he refused to let them go. “Fine,” she sighed. “I’ll go on one date with you.”