Taking a Gamble

by P. J. Trebelhorn

  “Then you don’t need something?” She sounded skeptical.

  “Well, I do, but you already know that, don’t you? Danny said he mentioned I might need Kyle’s help tomorrow.”

  “He did. I sort of expected a call about it last night though.”

  Now she sounded a little pissy. Cass scrambled to think of something—anything—to say that wouldn’t sound like she was making excuses, because, of course, she was.

  “I figured there was no point in asking until I knew for sure I was going to need him.” Silence came from the other end of the line, and Cass wasn’t comfortable with it. She tapped her thumb nervously against the steering wheel, but she’d never been good with awkward quietness. “So, would it be all right with you if he helped me tomorrow?”

  “It’s okay with me, but I’d have to ask him if he’s free. It is Saturday after all, and he might have other plans I don’t know about.”

  Cass wondered if this was Erica’s way of brushing her off. She didn’t believe for a second Erica wouldn’t be aware of what plans Kyle may have made for the weekend. She took in a deep breath and glanced out the side window. The line of people paying for the units they’d purchased was dwindling faster than she’d expected.

  “All right. Should I call him later, after you’ve had a chance to ask him about it, or do you want to have him call me?” Cass asked as she raked a hand through her hair. She had to get inside and pay before the auctioneer packed up his things and left.

  “I’ll have him call you later tonight,” Erica answered. She sounded like she wanted to say more, and Cass wanted to hear it, but not now.

  “Cool,” she said as she hopped out of the truck and began walking toward the building. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I need to pay for the units I bought.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  Cass experienced what felt strangely like a knife piercing her heart at the disappointment she heard in Erica’s voice. Her step faltered as she managed to stop herself from asking Erica to have dinner with her. She couldn’t do that. When she was with Erica, she forgot all about why it was a bad idea to want more than she’d ever wanted from anyone before. It would only lead to mixed signals, and Erica thinking there could actually be more than friendship between them. At this point though, Cass was beginning to understand being friends might not even be possible.

  “I’ll talk to you later, all right?” Cass asked, her voice softening.

  “Sure.” Erica ended the call then, not even bothering to say good-bye.

  Cass stopped walking and stared at the phone, wondering when everything had begun to go so horribly wrong between them.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  “You have no idea how much I appreciate you helping me out today,” Cass said as she pulled the padlock of the first unit and raised the door.

  “You’ve said that already,” Kyle told her. She looked at him and saw he was smiling.

  “I did?”

  “Yeah. More than once, actually.” He took a step back when he saw how packed the unit was. “Damn. You sure we’ll be able to clean out all of this today?”

  “That’s the goal,” she said with a shrug. “Although I do have until the end of business Monday to get it done.”

  “In other words you’re going to work me like a dog today.”

  “Pretty much, yeah.” Cass laughed at the look on his face. She clapped him on the shoulder. “Relax, Kyle. I’ll buy you lunch and dinner in exchange for your help.”

  “McDonald’s or Burger King?” His tone was indicative of his distaste for fast food, which Cass found rather strange in a teenager. She thought they all lived for their next burger fix.

  “How about Arby’s for lunch, and maybe I’ll take you somewhere nicer for dinner, if you work all day without complaining, deal?”

  “You might regret that,” he said with a grin. “I’m still growing. You have no idea how much I can actually eat.”

  “Sounds like we might be going to an all you can eat buffet then.”

  They worked until one in the afternoon and almost had the first unit completely cleaned out. Unfortunately, no matter how they moved things around, it didn’t look like there’d be enough room to fit much else in the truck. By the time they had lunch and took the truck home to unload it all, there wouldn’t be a whole lot of daylight left.

  “You up for doing this again tomorrow?” she asked him when they sat down in Arby’s with their lunch. She unwrapped her sandwich and took a big bite, not realizing just how hungry she’d been until then.

  “As long as it’s all right with my sister,” he answered with a shrug.

  At his words, it occurred to Cass she would have to see Erica when she dropped him off at home. Erica was already at work when she’d picked him up that morning, so she hadn’t been forced into an uncomfortable situation. She had a feeling her luck in avoiding Erica was about to run out. Maybe if she took Kyle out for dinner, Erica might be in bed by the time she dropped him off because she was at work now. Which meant she’d gotten up at four in the morning.

  “After we eat we’ll take this load back and empty the truck. Any ideas where you might like to eat dinner?”

  “You don’t have to feed me tonight,” he told her.

  “I said I would. It’s not a problem. You’ve been a huge help today, and hopefully tomorrow too. It’s the least I can do.”

  “Well, when you put it that way…” He put his burger down and looked at her as he wiped his hands on a napkin. “Would you mind if Erica joined us for dinner? I know she doesn’t have plans, and I’m pretty sure she’d like to see you.”

  Cass looked down at her curly fries and refused to meet his eyes. What had Erica told him about why they hadn’t seen each other in over three weeks? They’d managed to not talk about her and Erica all morning, and she’d begun to hope the trend would last all day. Would it be rude to deny his request? She knew it would be. He cleared his throat and she looked at him, her appetite gone when she saw his hopeful expression.

  “Of course. Go ahead and call her later.” Cass took a drink of her soda and knew she wouldn’t be finishing her lunch. Her stomach was in knots in anticipation of seeing Erica again. “We can pick her up if she’s interested in joining us.”

  “She will be.”

  Cass nodded and smiled, wondering at the butterflies in her midsection. It was a totally new feeling, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. The last time she’d experienced anything even remotely similar was the first time she’d kissed another girl.

  *

  “You two looked like you could use a break.”

  Cass turned at the sound of her mother’s voice and smiled at her. She could definitely use a break, and she knew Kyle could too, but she had the feeling he wouldn’t admit it under normal circumstances. They were almost done unloading, just a couch and a couple of dressers to go. But it could wait for a few minutes. She took the bottles of water her mother held out to her and tossed one of them to Kyle.

  “Mom, this is Kyle Jacobs,” she said before taking a long drink. “Kyle, my mother.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Cass’s mother.” Kyle grinned as he offered his hand to her.

  Cass shook her head and smiled when her mother winked at her and grasped his hand. He was a charmer, of that there was no doubt.

  “Please call me Sara,” she told him before turning her attention to Cass. “Erica’s brother, right?”

  “You know Erica?” Kyle asked.

  “No, I haven’t yet had the pleasure, but I’ve heard an awful lot about her.”

  Cass felt like she should just finish unloading the truck herself. Apparently, these two were getting along just fine pretending she wasn’t standing right there with them.

  “Well, Cass is taking me out to dinner tonight as a way of thanking me for helping with all of this, and Erica is going to be joining us. Perhaps you’d like to come along too?”

  Cass nearly choked on the water she was drinking, but instead she j
ust snorted and it came out through her nose. Once she was done coughing and felt as though she could breathe normally again, she gave Kyle a look she hoped would make him shut up. The last thing she needed was for her mother to join them as well as Erica.

  “Thank you so much for inviting me, Kyle, but I’ve already promised to make dinner for Danny and Barb this evening.” She looked at Cass and smiled sweetly. “Maybe next time.”

  “She seems really nice,” Kyle said when her mother was safely back in the house. He turned and went back into the truck.

  This is just fan-freaking-tastic, Cass thought to herself. Now in addition to Barb and her mother, it appeared she had Kyle trying to be a matchmaker too.

  *

  Erica was filling Willie’s bowl with food when the front door opened and she heard Kyle and Cass laughing about something. She smiled as she stood up and walked into the living room. She stopped short when her eyes met Cass’s and she couldn’t look away.

  “I’m going to take a quick shower,” Kyle said, casting a glance at Cass and then Erica. He turned and left the room when it became apparent neither of them was going to answer.

  “Hi,” Cass said before looking away from her.

  “Hi,” Erica replied. Her heart sank as a realization hit her. She’d suspected it when Kyle called earlier and invited her to dinner. If Cass had wanted her to go with them, she would have called herself. “This wasn’t your idea, was it?”

  “No.”

  “I can stay here.” Erica tried to hide her disappointment by sounding more cheerful than she thought she could. Cass looked at her, and Erica shrugged as if the whole situation wasn’t tearing her apart. “I don’t need to go.”

  “It’s not that I don’t want you to,” Cass said, but then she looked away again and cleared her throat.

  “But?”

  “Damn it, Erica,” Cass said.

  They both glanced down the hall when they heard the water in the shower come on. Cass took a step or two closer to her, and she could see the hunger in Cass’s eyes. Or was it anger? Erica couldn’t really tell for sure, but she waited silently for Cass to continue, her heart beating a little faster than normal.

  “I don’t know how to act around you.”

  “Just be yourself.”

  “Really? Because I don’t think I can be alone with you in a room and not think about ripping your clothes off. About moving my hands over your hips and under your ass. About you coming in my mouth, screaming out my name.”

  Erica sucked in a breath and gripped the counter next to her so she wouldn’t fall over. Cass looked as though she wanted to come to her aid, but Erica shook her head and held a hand out to stop her. If Cass came anywhere near her now, she knew she’d drag her to the other end of the trailer and they’d both be naked in a matter of seconds. While the visual evoked from her words was hot as hell, Erica knew it wasn’t the time or the place. And it probably never would be.

  Cass looked surprised by her own words, and Erica watched, helpless, as Cass turned and reached for the door. She pulled it open and glanced back over her shoulder.

  “I’m going to wait in the car,” she said before walking out. “I’m sorry.”

  Erica managed to walk to the bath off the master bedroom and proceeded to splash cold water on her face. She stared at her reflection and wondered how she was going to manage to get through the evening. But she’d do it for Kyle. He didn’t know it, but while he was busy helping Cass again the next day, Erica was going to drive to Syracuse to make one last attempt at changing their parents’ minds about him, although she didn’t hold out much hope for it. And if reconciliation wasn’t possible, she had the papers from the lawyer for them to sign, giving up all parental rights to Kyle.

  She figured he didn’t really need to know about it, and with any luck, she’d be back before they were. Lila had agreed to meet her there, for moral support. She knew from experience how difficult it could be to get through to Erica’s father.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Cass wasn’t feeling it. Dinner the night before had been strained, to say the least. Even Kyle threw his hands up in defeat and stopped trying to get them to talk to each other. And after being at the storage unit for over an hour, it appeared Kyle was fed up with the silence. They hadn’t said anything since she picked him up.

  “I’ve had enough,” he said after depositing a heavy box in the truck and jumping down to meet her at eye level. She tried to go around him to get into the truck, but he moved to block her way up the ramp. “What the fuck is going on with you and Erica?”

  “Are you supposed to talk like that?”

  “Are you serious?” he asked, looking and sounding incredulous. He put his fists on his hips and stared her down. “You aren’t my mother, or my sister, so you don’t get to tell me how I can and can’t talk. I couldn’t get either of you to say a damn word to each other last night, but I thought I was going to combust from the heated looks between you. So tell me what’s going on with you two.”

  “You wouldn’t understand,” Cass said. She tried once more to go around him, but he moved again. “You should ask her, because it isn’t my place to talk to you about it.”

  “I wouldn’t understand? Because I’m only sixteen?”

  “You’re fifteen,” Cass reminded him.

  “I’ll be sixteen next week.”

  Kyle stood a little taller and she took a step back before putting down the box she was holding. It was obvious he wasn’t going to let her continue working until they hashed this out.

  “You’d best back down, Kyle,” she said, trying to keep her anger in check. “You should remember we’re in Buffalo. You want to start a fight? Because I could leave you here, and you’d have no way of getting home.”

  He sighed loudly and rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest and relaxed his stance. He stared at the ground and shook his head.

  “Yeah, that’s exactly what I want to do,” he said after a moment. “Because fighting with a girl is something I’ve always dreamed of. You’ll have to throw the first punch though, because I can only hit you if it’s in self-defense.”

  “Fuck you,” she said with a laugh. He joined her after a moment, and she felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. She sat on the end of the truck and motioned for him to join her. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t treat you like a kid, even though you technically are. I just think this is something you should talk to your sister about, all right?”

  “I did. She said you don’t want a relationship.”

  “I don’t.”

  “I get that, sort of, but I can tell you guys like each other,” he said, swinging his legs off the back of the truck. “Why can’t you try?”

  Cass thought for a moment, but couldn’t come up with anything even remotely believable. It all sounded like pure crap, even in her own mind. She sighed when she realized it didn’t really matter anyway, because Erica was seeing someone else now.

  “Because failure scares the hell out of me,” she finally said without looking at him. She knew she really shouldn’t be talking to him about this, because he was a kid for God’s sake.

  “Failure scares me too, but do you think it stops me from playing football?”

  “You play football.” It was a statement rather than a question, and she knew she sounded more surprised than she should have. He was a decent sized guy, probably bigger than a lot of the kids playing high school sports, so why shouldn’t he play? “I’m sorry, but I just don’t picture you playing football. Baseball, yes. Maybe even basketball. But football? Really?”

  “What? You think because I’m gay I can’t like sports?”

  Cass started to protest, but he laughed and punched her lightly on the arm.

  “You’re an ass, you know that?”

  “So I’ve been told,” he said, grinning. “All right, I don’t play football, but my point is, if I did play, I wouldn’t let the fear of failure hold me back.”

  “Things are d
ifferent when you get older, Kyle. It isn’t all black and white. You’ll understand when you get to be my age.”

  “Jesus, you’re ancient.” He hopped down and headed back inside the unit, leaving Cass where she was. “It’s gonna be forever until I reach your age.”

  “Enjoy your youth while you can,” she called after him. She tilted her head back and gazed up at the sky. Spring made an appearance a couple of weeks earlier, pretty much melting all the snow on the ground. Mother Nature was evil sometimes though, and winter was trying to barrel its way back into western New York. The sky was gray, and it was starting to snow. Lightly, but it was still snow.

  Cass was pulled out of her thoughts by a crash coming from inside the unit, and she heard Kyle cry out in what she assumed was pain. She ran inside quickly to find him pinned to the floor by a set of heavy metal shelves. She dropped to her knees and looked for any sign of blood around his head.

  “Kyle, what happened?” she asked as she pulled her phone out to call for an ambulance. “Are you hurt? Did you hit your head?”

  “Stop asking so many questions,” he said before he winced. “Ow, shit, my leg is killing me.”

  Cass glanced down and saw a piece of metal protruding from his thigh. There was a lot of blood there, and she did her best to not let on what was wrong with the leg. She was no doctor, but it looked like it was probably broken too.

  “Get these shelves off me,” he cried when she was done on the phone.

  “We’ve got to wait for the paramedics, all right? I don’t want to risk hurting you more than you already are.” Cass was doing a good job of remaining outwardly calm, but inside, her nerves were jangled. She thought she should keep him talking so he didn’t go into shock. At least it was what they always did on those television shows. She decided it couldn’t hurt. “Kyle, tell me what happened.”

  “The shelves fell on me,” he said. “What the fuck do you think happened?”

  “How did they fall?”