by Carly White
“It won’t be for long Cassie. Do you really think I want to be here babysitting you instead of getting my freak on with half of the city? I don’t want to be up on campus any more than you do, so let’s just get through this so we can go our separate ways when it is all over.”
Cassie pushed the straw-colored hair back from her face and nodded her head. She knew that what he said was right. If it wasn’t Chris, then James would have sent someone else and there was no telling who she would have had to deal with. But she didn’t want to let it happen. Cassie felt like she should say more about it.
“Well I don’t know where you are going to sleep. I have roommates you know.”
“I can sleep on the couch. It won’t be for long.” He hated the idea of it, but in all honesty, it would be much softer than the small concrete bench that he had been laying on for the last couple of years. “It will be fine, you’ll see.”
She didn’t believe him, but as it had been made clear to her, it wasn’t like she had another choice anyways. Chris had almost put her in the car bodily and she knew that whatever her brother said, he would listen to. It didn’t matter what she said or did. James would get his way.
“Fine, it’s not like I have a damn choice anyways. I just hope that you two are happy with yourselves. I can’t wait till I graduate and I can move so far away from all of you Hell’s Riders.”
Chris smiled back at her, happy that she was finally getting the hint that it was happening. He felt a little bad for her, but it had to be done and she had to know that deep down. It wasn’t like James would have asked him to come with her, if he didn’t honestly think that she was in danger.
Chapter 4
Chris was expecting something small and college-like. He was not expecting the large old house and the several half-naked women that greeted him when he first walked in. He looked behind him to Cassie and she acted like she didn’t know what he was so worried about. “Guys this is Chris. He is going to be staying here for a few days.” He nudged her, “Okay, maybe weeks.”
There was more squealing and then they rushed towards him, introducing themselves and giving him the eye. Cassie let it go on for a few minutes before she pulled him away. “He’s my boyfriend ladies, so keep your mitts off.”
Tracy and Jackie moved away, but Karen kept looking up at him with soft brown eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to share him?”
Chris smiled back at her and then followed Cassie up the stairs. “I like your friends. They are way nicer than you.”
“Yeah, well they think you are a bad boy and those tats do something to them. Just keep your hands to yourself while you are here. I don’t want you hurting one of my friends because you can’t keep it in your pants.”
“Is that why you told them that I was your boyfriend?”
“Yes, to save them.”
He just kind of chuckled at her and followed her to the back bedroom that she stayed in. There was a small couch in the corner and she motioned him towards it. “Wait Cassie. There is no way that I am going to sleep on that. It is like 3 foot long.”
“So, it will be fine. Isn’t that what you said?”
He shook his head. “I will just stay downstairs. Maybe find a girl that will let me share her bed while I am here. That brunette seemed to get all melty when I looked at her.”
“Ugh, no you are not getting with Karen. Besides, she is a slut and she will probably give you something.”
“Man, you are catty as hell. I thought it was all us gangsters that put you in a bad mood?”
“You do, but the way women act around you is just as annoying.”
“Good to know. So seriously, where am I sleeping Cassie?”
She looked back at the couch and then up at him. “Well I usually don’t have people staying the night, so I don’t know. I guess I can sleep on the couch and you can have the bed.”
Chris was surprised by the concession. It was what he had in mind to begin with, but he didn’t think that she would go for it. “No, I don’t want to push you out of your bed. Isn’t there any open room around here?”
“No, so you will just have to sleep in here. I will take the couch and you can take the bed whine ass. There, problem solved, but I don’t know what you are going to do while you are here.”
“I have some business to attend to for some of the time, but I guess the rest of it, I will be with you. Class, parties, wherever you go, I go.”
Cassie shook her head. There was no way that she was going to let him follow her around while he was there. Cassie had a boyfriend that’s he wasn’t supposed to have and there were other things that she didn’t want Chris to know about, or her brother. “You can’t go to class with me Chris. It’s not how it works.”
“I will and I will bet you that not one person will say anything about it. If you act like you are supposed to be somewhere, people just assume you are.”
“You can’t do this.”
“I did or your brother did actually. So we will both have to make the best of it. Where is your shower? I still have some of that blonde on me from last night.”
She made a face at him and pointed him in the right direction. “Just keep it in your pants while you are here. I don’t want to have to hear about you sleeping with my friends.”
“Is the brunette your friend?”
“Yes, so hands off.”
Chris sighed. It wasn’t how he had wanted to spend his first week out, surrounded by a bunch of college girls that he couldn’t touch, but it was, what it was. He gave Cassie a devilish grin and left the room. Cassie slumped down into her bed and put her head in her hands. What was she supposed to do with Chris there? He had been out one day, ruining his plans.
***
Chris didn’t get back into the room until later that evening. While Cassie wondered where he was, she tried to ignore the very fact that he was there. He was sent to spy on her, she was sure of it and she was already irritated with James, but that it had to be Chris was too much. So, instead of arguing with Chris, Cassie found herself asleep before it was dark outside. The party the night before had worn her out as it was. She was not used to drinking and even the few beers that she had the night before. She could still feel it in her body.
He looked over at the young blonde that he had never looked at in that way. It was hard to deny how pretty she was though. She had always had good looks, but now that she had filled out and grown up, she was a sight to be seen. Chris watched her sleep on the couch for a few moments and she rolled over loudly. It couldn’t be comfortable for her, but he didn’t want to wake her up and give himself the same fate. She was smaller and shorter, so it did make sense that she was the one that used the couch.
Lying down on her bed, all Chris could smell was the same lilac perfume that she had been wearing in the car that day. After a few minutes of staring up at the ceiling, Chris got up and left the room quietly to talk on the phone. He had to call James and find out what was happening and how much longer he was going to be forced to endure such torture.
“So what’s going on James?”
“Not much. We took out a few of their guys tonight and we have plans to move in with Arodons.”
Chris couldn’t believe what he was hearing. They had been fighting with Arodon for years before he was sent away. “But they are our enemies!”
“They are, but enemy of my enemy and all of that. I was hoping you would see the poetry of it being them. They want the outskirts of the city back because it appears that the DW’s are encroaching on their territory as well. So we all get what we want. We get the city and the Arodons get the outskirts. It is how it shall be once we get those Demon guys out of here.”
Chris understood the plan, but it sounded like it was going to take longer than a week to do it. All he wanted to do was to go home and sleep in his own bed. “So you aren’t ready for me to come back yet then?”
“No, not yet. You have only been up there a couple of hours.”
“Well I so
ld what I brought, got the connections. I should come back into the city tomorrow and pick up some more product. These college kids need some good and the only dealer I have found was some twenty year old stoner kid.”
“Good, good. Even if we don’t lose the city, it will be nice to have Brenner as well.”
“It’s good potential. Lots of rich little college kids that have all of their parent’s money burning a hole in their pocket.”
“Sounds perfect. How is Cassie?”
“Pissed at me and you. I think she has been cursing me since I got here.”
“It won’t be that bad. You know how she is, she forgets things quickly or she probably wouldn’t talk to me anymore at all. You don’t know how much I appreciate this Chris.”
“No problem. Just let me know when it is time to go home and I will be there. This place is creepy.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, just not really my style. To go from prison to a college campus is just madness. I am ready to get back.”
“I know Chris. Just hang on a little while longer and keep my sister safe.”
“Will do.” Chris looked up to see the brunette from earlier coming down the hallway. She had on shorts and a tank top. She smiled at him and he smiled back. “Talk to you later James. Something just came up.
Chapter 5
“Where the hell have you been?!?”
Chris was startled by the sound of her voice. It was still dark outside, but it appeared that Cassie was wide awake. “What do you mean? I was in the bathroom.”
“No you weren’t. I checked. Who were you with?”
He tried to laugh it off, smiling at her and telling her she was crazy. “I was just walking round is all.”
“Really? Because you smell like her.”
Her? Chris looked over at Cassie, really looked at her and he saw how upset she was. She was acting like they were together and she was the jealous girlfriend. Cassie was breathing hard and her chest was hypnotic as it rose and fell. She was wearing the shortest shorts, baring her long legs and he was lost for a moment, forgetting why it was that she was looking at him in such a way for.
“Cassie. I just went for a walk.”
“Don’t lie to me like I don’t know. It was Karen, wasn’t it?”
Chris didn’t want to lie to her, he felt like he shouldn’t have to, but she was looking at him in a way that made him feel bad about it nonetheless. Even though he shouldn’t feel bad about anything, he did when she looked up at him with those large blue eyes. “I am sorry okay. She jumped me in the hallway when I was on the phone.”
“I’m sure. Big strong guy like you should be able to tell a woman no. Is it really that hard?”
“I’ve been away for a long time Cassie and yes, I have needs.”
Cassie was going to say something, but she stopped herself. What was she supposed to say? He was a grown man and not hers. “Can you just please stay away from my roommates? Now she thinks she got over on me with you and she is going to have a shit-eating grin from now on. Karen is like a freindemy and now she is going to gloat.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that you two had something going on. If you would have told me….”
“I asked you not to, so thanks for making it awkward for me. You are only going to be here a week or so, I have to be here another year, so please don’t embarrass me anymore.” Cassie no longer looked mad, but just disappointed.
Chris was properly chastened. He hadn’t thought about it like that and since she had introduced him as her boyfriend, he could see her point. Chris told himself that he would make it up to her before he left. Chris wasn’t sure how he was going to do that, but he knew that he had to try. It was never his intention to hurt her.
When she moved back to the bed and lay down, he looked at her confused. “What? After you go running off the first night banging Karen, you can sleep on the couch. Better yet, you can always go stay in there with her and embarrass me further. I am starting to think that was why James had you come up here. To make sure that I will not have a life here anymore.”
“Look, I am sorry okay. Five years is a long time to go without a woman and she was walking around with barely anything on. I promise I didn’t go out looking for her. It just happened.”
It felt like he had been busted by his own girlfriend for doing wrong. It was the look of betrayal in her eyes that made him look away and feel worse. “I’m sorry okay. I will make it up to you.”
She didn’t answer him, turning over and putting her back to him as she faced the wall. The silence was worse than her sharp tongue. That was what he was used to. He wasn’t used to her saying nothing. With Cassie, it was just so out of character that he knew he must have really hurt her.
He lay down on the couch and it was even more uncomfortable than he had imagined. Chris thought for a moment about going back to Karen’s bed, though it was to save Cassie’s feelings that he didn’t. What it didn’t do was save his back and it took an hour of tossing and turning to finally find a semi-comfortable position to lie in where he could go to sleep.
Chris didn’t hear the soft sounds coming from the other side of the room over his own irritation. He didn’t see the tears rolling down her cheek. Cassie didn’t figure he would care. Bad boys were that way because they had no heart, she was sure of it.
***
The alarm clock went off at seven and while Cassie was already up, used to early mornings and her routine, Chris was not. Squinting to the light overhead that she turned on, he glared at her as she blow-dried her hair. It was loud and she just smiled back sweetly at him.
“Good morning. How did you sleep?”
“Like shit. You know that though.”
“Well maybe you need to stay out of girl’s beds and you would still have your own to sleep in. And if it was Karen, you might want to get it checked out.”
His face changed, his smile faltered and his eyes narrowed further. “What are you talking about?”
She smiled back even bigger. “I knew it was her. She is a slut and you may want to, though the look on your face would be enough for me. I don’t think you actually catching anything would be better revenge than that.”
“I never go bareback.”
“More information than I wanted to know. Are you coming with me to class?”
“What class is it?”
“Sociology.”
She heard him sigh loudly and sit up. “Yeah, that is what I am here for, to keep you safe.”
“Could have fooled me, but you are more than welcome to come. We leave in ten minutes.”
“That’s not much time.”
Cassie just looked at him and as he took in her blonde hair, he wondered what happened to the red. When he asked her, she just shrugged. “You know, blondes have more fun and all that.”
Chapter 6
Chris didn’t go to college and he dropped out of high school before finishing. He started to remember why when the class was twenty minutes in and there was still another hour or so to go. He was slumping in his chair and Cassie knocked him. “Sit up. It is not that bad. Maybe you will learn why you are such a Neanderthal.”
He grimaced and felt the phone in his pocket vibrating. “I will be right back.”
“You can’t just leave in the middle of a class Chris.”
“Why not? You pay these people thousands of dollars to sit up there and talk. What are they going to do, kick me out?”
He was already up before she could say anything else. It was clear that he was going to do whatever he wanted and she was left watching him walk out like everyone else was. No one wanted to be there and even the professor looked like he was ready to leave as well. Cassie sat lower in her seat and waited for the end of class like all the rest of them.
Walking out, she didn’t expect to see Chris but he was waiting for her. When a boy from class walked up to him and they did some weird handshake, she grabbed Chris by the arm and pulled him away from the door. “Please do
n’t tell me you are slinging outside of my classroom.”
“Okay, I won’t.”
“What is wrong with you and James? He sends me up here to ‘get out’ and then you bring all your crap up here. It is not even noon and you have left class, sold drugs and slept with one of my roommates. You are seriously the worst boyfriend ever!”
Chris moved in and tilted her face upwards for a kiss. She didn’t see it coming and it was only the shock that allowed him into her mouth. He pushed her body up against hers, pinning her to the wall behind her and he didn’t stop until he heard the soft moan that he was waiting for.
He pulled away and it took her a minute for her eyes to reopen. She was no longer angry. All Chris could see in her depths was confusion and something else that he couldn’t quite put a name on. She touched her lips softly. “What was that?”
“The way I shut my girlfriend up. Now are you ready for lunch?”
She nodded, but wasn’t thinking about food. Cassie had fantasized about kissing Chris when she was younger. The real thing was better than she’d imagined. What she hadn’t factored in was how she would feel with him so close to her, his smell and touch overwhelming her senses.
Chris turned away and started walking towards the parking lot unfazed, like he kissed girls like that all the time. Cassie suddenly felt jealous of Karen, something she thought she would never feel, but it wasn’t fair that she was the one that got to be with him and not her.
***
They went to a small bistro near the college in walking distance. Chris wanted to scope out the surrounding area and see if there were other dealers than the one he had seen yesterday. Cassie just thought they were on a walk and she was still reeling from the kiss. She couldn’t be bothered to care about what else was going on. All she could think about was the way his hard body had felt against her. She had seen him shirtless many times, with the rippled chest and tattooed biceps, but to have it pressed against her was something else all-together.
Cassie passed the place and was almost completely red by the time she realized it. If there would have been another place to go that was decent, she would have just kept on walking, but there wasn’t and she had to back-track. “I thought you knew where you were going.”