I took my phone out of my pocket and looked up the local news. There was in fact a storm warning for the area and they expected a few feet of snow. I caught up to Cassie and nudged her. “Did you know there was supposed to be a storm?” I asked.
She frowned and shook her head. “No, where did you see that?” she asked.
I handed her my phone and she broke out into a beautiful smile. I swear I think my heart skipped a beat at the sight, she doesn’t bless me with those often. “This is great, I can’t wait!” she squealed. “We need to get snow gear though.” And she was off on a mission. I chuckled under my breath and followed her around the store. She ended up picking out some stuff for her and mine as well down to my boots.
When we got to the checkout she loaded her stuff up first. The clothes were expensive; I knew they would be. Out here they don’t get snow like we do in the City so with the impending storm they would’ve jacked up the prices. I would imagine not a lot of places sells this stuff and with it being needed they know people would buy. General business sense.
I watched her as her eyes remained glued to the screen showing how much each thing cost and the total. She was gnawing on her lip worriedly. I guess after a few pieces it reached her limit because she extended her hand as if to stop the cashier from ringing up anything else. I grabbed her hand and she spun to face me and I subtly shook my head. She frowned confused but I didn’t care. She should have a fucking coat and boots and shit for the weather. It’s not like she suggested shopping or anything, it was my idea. When her stuff was done the cashier looked at her expectantly and her eyes were practically bulging out of her head. I pushed my stuff forward and glared at him. He got the hint and started ringing my stuff up too. I paid and we left.
“You didn’t have to do that. I was going to stop him when I needed to.” She told me as we walked through the mall to the exit.
I shrugged. “I asked you to take me to get us some stuff. I was going to get it; besides you need it for this weather. It’s not like you went on a shopping spree for no reason but to do it.”
She sighed. “I’ll pay you back I promise. I can write you a check for some of it when we get back.”
I rolled my eyes. “If you do I’ll fire you, now drop it.”
She huffed and stomped her foot. “You can’t do that, that’s not fair.”
I laughed despite myself. “So you’re going to stand in the middle of the walkway in the mall and throw a tantrum knowing that I’m not going to give a shit either way?”
She glared at me. “I am not throwing a tantrum; I’m simply stating facts that you’re too thickheaded to understand apparently.”
She started walking off again and I laughed. I caught up to her in two strides and grabbed her hand stopping her. “Look, I wanted to do that ok? There’s no other reason, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it. You of all people should know I don’t often do things that I don’t want to. There’s no strings, no underlying intentions, I just want you to accept it. It’s not an IOU and if you pay me back that’s what it becomes. It will be something I didn’t want to do.”
I can see her soften a little but she’s too fucking stubborn to cave. She crosses her arms and lets out an exaggerated huff, but there’s no heat to her movements anymore. I smile at her and she rolls her eyes before sticking her tongue out at me.
I took a step closer to her and we were almost touching. I bent down and whispered into her ear, “you should really stop doing that. I might take it as an invitation or a prelude to more.” I heard her sharp intake of breath and I moved my head back to see her face. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was a little irregular. Good, she wanted it too.
I threw my arm around her shoulder and went to continue walking. “Cass? Is that you?”
I turned my head at the voice and scowled. Who the fuck is this guy? She stuck her head out to see around me. “Hey Simon, how are you?” she asked smiling.
He took a step closer and I noticed four other people come this way behind him. He walked up to Cassie and grabbed her hand. “I’m good, you look great. How is everything?”
She blushed. She fucking blushed at him. I know I have no right to feel any type of way about that but I’d be damned if I didn’t. One of the girls bounced up to them and gave Cassie a cheeky smile. I watched the way her eyes skimmed over here and how she watched this Simon douche’s hand resting on Cassie’s arm. Her smile wasn’t genuine and I instantly didn’t like her.
“I haven’t seen you in forever. Did things turn bad in New York City and you came back?” she asked.
I fucking knew it. The bitch is probably jealous and she had every right to be, she had nothing on Cassie. Nothing.
Cassie shook her head. “No, I’m here on business.” She looked up at me as if she forgot my presence. Yep I’m getting angrier by the second. “This is – “
I knew what she was about to do, call me her boss. For some strange reason, that didn’t sit well with me. I noticed the questioning glances, probably trying to figure out who I was but I saw the interest in the guy’s eyes. “I’m Drayden.” I said pulling Cassie into my side. She looked up at me and I saw the question in her eyes but I ignored it...
The chick who came over looked over at me and did a double take. She looked me over slowly and I felt violated, the girl eye fucked the crap out of me. “Nice to meet you Drayden, I’m Holly. What brings you to our town?” she asks batting her lashes.
You have no chance in hell. “I’m here with Cassie, we’re staying at her parents while we’re in town.” I didn’t lie, but I chose my words in a way that any normal person would automatically assume that we were together. It had the desired effect.
Simon’s eyes bounced between the two of us before his shoulders slumped with a dejected look on his face. Holly shot daggers at the side of Cassie’s face. “It was nice meeting you all, but we need to get going.”
Cassie turned back to them and offered a smile. “It was good seeing you again Simon. Holly, keep glaring at me like that and I might take your eyes out.” She offered her a sweet smile and a wave and we walked off. My girl had claws for sure. Hold on, not my girl… Cassie. Cassie had claws.
Cassie drove us back to her house and we settled in. We had leftovers from yesterday and we cleaned up the kitchen together. Not long after we got in the snow started and it was heavy. It was a little after 11:00 when Cassie burst into my room not bothering to knock.
“Look outside!” she said excitedly.
I smiled and shook my head at her she looked like a kid on Christmas morning. I got up and looked out the window and was surprised about the amount of snow on the ground.
I turned back around to look at her. “That’s insane.” I admitted.
She stood there watching me but didn’t say anything. I stared back and noticed her wringing her hands, she was nervous. “Do you um…” she looked around the room as if searching for the courage. “Well, do you want to go outside and uh…” she sighed and dropped her hands down in frustration. She looked me in the eyes and I could see the apprehension in her eyes. “Do you want to go play with me in the snow?” she asked.
I smiled. “Sure.”
She clapped her hands and ran out of my room. I heard things shuffling around across the hall and laughed. I got dressed in the stuff we bought earlier. I was pulling on my last boot when Cassie came back into the room ready. When I looked over her outfit I realized how similar the items were. Hers was just lined with pink and mine in green. She waited impatiently for me to finish and led me outside.
As soon as we got outside she began giggling and collapsed in the snow. I watched her amused as she grabbed handfuls and tossed them up into the air. I walked to where she was and stood next to her. “Do you want to build a snowman?” I asked her.
“Are you quoting Frozen?” she asked with wide eyes.
I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“The movie… Frozen. You just quoted it.”
I shook my
head. “I’ve never seen it.” I informed her.
She sighed. “Well, we’re going to have to do something about that then. I’ll put it on when we go back inside. But yes, I’ve never built one before and I always wanted to try.”
My eyebrows went up. “Have you ever played in the snow before?” I asked.
Her cheeks flush in embarrassment. I crouched down to start piling snow together for the snowman. She gets on her knees and follows my lead. “the truth? No. I’ve always wanted to… but I grew up here. It snows sure but never to stick, never this much. After I moved to the City I thought I’d get the chance but no catch. You see where I live at, there’s nowhere to do that kind of thing. Besides I cringe at the thought of touching the snow on that floor. You think you’re picking up snow but you’re probably picking up dog shit that someone refused to pooper scoop.”
I laughed at that. “Right. I’m happy you learned that on your own. As a New Yorker everyone knows if you’re going to make a snow ball you have to use the snow from the top of a car or something, never off the floor.”
“So yea, this is my first time and I don’t know when I’d get the chance again. I might seem weird about how excited I am but that’s what it is.” She confesses.
“Then I guess this has to be epic. The best snowman in Texas, you think we can do it?” I asked.
She gave me an incredulous look. “Are you kidding me? Of course we can, and we will.”
Normally I’m not into this type of thing, but I put all my effort into this. Cassie was on cloud nine and the grin that was taking over her face nonstop was infectious. She was having a good time. Some people might say that we’re too old for this but this is something everyone should experience in their lives at least once. I took out my phone and we snapped pictures and videos of us playing out here.
When we finally got all three layers together she ran in the house and came out with raisins and a carrot for the face. When we were done she looked at me with a frown. “Something is missing…” she said staring at it.
I nodded. “He needs arms, let’s go back there and find some branches to use.” I said pointing to the trees behind her house.
She followed me towards the wooded area and we began searching around. I was leading the way with Cassie behind me when I stopped abruptly. In front of me there were four deer, two full grown and two babies covered in spots. Cassie walked right into my back and I reached a hand out to steady her. I turned slowly and put my finger to my lips and pointed to the deer. Her eyes got wide and she smiled a huge genuine smile I couldn’t help but admire.
“Beautiful…” she whispered. We’ve both seen deer before, but it was something to see them in this setting. With the fresh snow gracing the trees and falling around them, it truly looked like a winter wonderland. I took out my phone and handed it to her so that she could snap a picture.
The noise from the phone must’ve caught their attention because their heads snapped up finding us. They stood still as statues for a beat before running off in the other direction. Cassie took a few steps forward as if to follow them and froze.
“Drayden…” she whispered and I could hear fear in her voice.
My body tensed and went on alert. I went to her side and looked down at her. “What is it?” I asked. She didn’t look at me but pointed forward. I followed where she was pointing to and saw it, a skunk. A skunk that had us dead in his sight and he did not look happy.
I gripped her arm and whispered, “Start walking back slowly and when I tell you to, run.”
She gave me a short nod and did as I instructed. When we took a couple of steps back, the skunk took one forward. The bastard changed position and I could see he was ready to turn. It was preparing to spray us and that was just not happening. My grip on her arm tightened and I whispered again. “Cassie, we run now or get sprayed.” Once again she nodded and I waited for her to turn around keeping my eyes on the skunk. He was almost fully turned now; he was moving slowly like us like he was trying to keep an eye on us. She took off and I was right on her heels. I had no idea the girl could run but she was gone.
We ran for a couple of minutes before we stopped against a tree breathing heavily. She dropped her back against it and I put my forearm on it to catch my breath. When her breathing was somewhat normal she looked at me and chuckled. “Holy shit, I’ve never been that close to a skunk before and I never want to.”
I laughed. “Me either.”
“That was insane…” she said shaking her head and I nodded in agreement.
I looked down at her and smiled. “Well besides that little incident, it’s been fun so far right?”
She nodded. “Better than I hoped actually…” she gave me a heart melting smile and put a hand on my chest. “Thank you.”
I returned her smile. “The night isn’t over yet. You still need to make at least one snow angel.”
She nodded. “Duh.” She said with an eye roll. “I think our snowman can survive without arms, it’s not worth getting sprayed or mauled by a raccoon or something.”
I chuckled. “I agree.”
Her eyes locked on mine and I was frozen. There was gratitude in them but something else as she searched my eyes. I noticed our position at that point. She was against the tree with her head tilted up to mine and I was leaning against it in front of her leaning forward. It would be nothing to just close the distance and…
“Let’s head back.” She said righting herself and the spell was broken.
I followed her back through the woods to the house where she collapsed on the floor and began flapping her arms and legs around. I watched her make her snow angel and gave her the phone to snap pictures when she was done. We shed our gear on the porch and headed inside. She asked if I still wanted to watch her movie and I nodded so she told me to find it in the den while she made hot chocolate.
I did as told and when I saw the case I cringed. I thought it was going to be a chick flick and I could live with that… but this? It’s a fucking cartoon for little girls probably about fairy princesses and I don’t know if I’ll survive it. I sighed and put the DVD in while I waited for her on the couch.
She came down a few minutes later with two steaming mugs and cut the lights. She handed me one and put the movie on to start. She was enjoying it and I think it’s because it had to do with ice and snow and shit. when we were done with the hot chocolate, she scooped up the blanket and cuddled into my side. I was shocked as shit and sat frozen for a minute before my body relaxed. She was in rare form tonight; she must still be on her snow high.
I dozed off at some point, but I’d be honest I wasn’t really watching this shit so much as staring at the screen. “Drayden?” I heard Cassie whisper.
I opened my eyes and looked down at her tucked into my side. “Yea?”
“Did you have fun today?” she asked.
I nodded. “I did. I haven’t had fun like that in a very long time. Thank you for inviting me.” I told her genuinely.
She searched my eyes looking for hints of deception, but there wasn’t any. I knew because I truly meant what I said. She sat up straight never moving her eyes from mine. I watched her confused and intrigued as I tried to figure out what she was up to. She pressed her hands against my chest and hesitated, only for a second but it was there. She leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to mine. She seemed a bit spooked and as much as I wanted to grab her and deepen the kiss I refrained. She leaned back and looked at my face, the question in her eyes. Was that ok? I nodded and she leaned back in, this time with confidence. Her kiss was harder, and she immediately sought entrance to my mouth. As soon as our tongues connected, all bets were off.
I gripped her hips pulling her to straddle me. She kissed me like she’s been starving and this was the last meal. I was fully erect and it was increasingly painful. She ran her hands down my chest and stomach and slipped them beneath my shirt. She raked her nails on me and my body shuddered. She pulled back breaking the kiss and tugged on my shirt brin
ging it up and over my head. Her eyes ran over my exposed chest and she leaned in and placed soft kisses across it. I couldn’t contain the moan that escaped my mouth. She took that as encouragement and sucked on my nipple. I was going to blow and she hasn’t even touched me where I needed her to.
I gripped her ass and rubbed her against me seeking some sort of relief. She moaned and dropped her forehead against mine. I went to work on her shirt and soon that joined mine on the floor. I unclasped her bra and my mouth watered at the sight of her perky full breast. I sucked one into my mouth as I toyed with the other with my hand. When I tweaked her nipple her back arched pushing her breast further into my mouth.
I wrapped my hand around her and stood depositing her on the couch. I tugged on my jeans button and kicked them off in seconds. I stared at her, beautiful and naked from her waist up. It wasn’t enough, I needed to see all of her. I got down on my knees and unbuttoned her jeans pulling them down with her underwear slowly. My eyes trailed the path of her pants taking in her nice hips and thighs. When I had her completely bare I spread her legs open revealing her sex to me. It was sopping wet and I could see it glistening from here.
“Baby…” I murmured. I gripped my cock to release some of my pain.
She sat up and looked at me. She saw me admiring her and tried to close her legs. I shook my head and kissed her knee. “Don’t hide from me baby, I want to see you.” I murmured trying to coax her legs back open but not wanting to pressure her.
She looked at me shyly and her cheeks pinked. “I’m sorry… I’m just nervous is all.” She admitted.
I gave her a small smirk. “There’s nothing to be sorry about or nervous. Why are you nervous?” I asked her honestly curious.
At this point, we were too far gone. She knew it and so did I. “I just…” she hung her head and I could sense her embarrassment. I released her legs and put my finger under her chin lifting up her head. She met my eyes searching for something. She must’ve found it because she let out a shuddering breath and continued. “I never did this before.”
The Laws of Love Page 13