“Will she eventually go away?” Jax asks quietly.
“Nope,” I chuckle as I turn to face him with a grin. “Come on, the boys will bust your ass if you’re late.”
He ignores me as he begins to nuzzle into my neck when the door flies open and a determined Brianna comes storming in, yanks the blankets off us and grabs my ankle. She gives a massive tug and before I know it, I’m sliding straight off the edge of the bed and falling to the ground.
“Oomph,” I grunt as my ass connects with the hard wooden floors.
“Oh great,” Bri exclaims, clapping her hands together in fake enthusiasm. “You’re up.”
“Damn it,” I mutter, getting up off the floor and starting to look for my workout clothes. Jax reluctantly does the same but Bri and I stop as Jax goes about my room finding his clothes, his muscles rolling as he bends to grab a shirt then flexes as his arm raise to pull the shirt up over his head to cover that glorious, sculptured body.
“Wow,” Bri mutters next to me.
“Yeah,” I whisper.
Jax stiffens and turns to see what’s caught our attention but only manages to give us both a view of the front as his shirt is pulled down into place. He smirks, immediately knowing that we’re both at a loss here. With a wink, he grabs his keys off the bedside table and with a kiss on my cheek, struts out of my room.
Bri and I eventually cool off and manage to make our way out the door for our morning run. I must admit, as much as I hate running, I’m starting to notice my fitness level rising and that feels damn good.
We return an hour later and get ourselves breakfast. The very moment breakfast is finished Brianna is playing with my recording stuff and begging me to show her how it works, so, with us both not needing to be in class until this afternoon, that’s exactly what I do.
It doesn’t take her long to convince me to record a cover. So, I get my laptop and search the music for Taylor Swifts’ Red. Bri gets the camera as I move in front of my microphone and get started. “Hi guys,” I say into the camera. “Sorry for disappearing on you all, I was taking a little break but as my asshole brothers and friends have given me no choice. I’m back. Hope you like it.”
I turn back to the microphone and hit play on the music.
Fifteen minutes later, I’m showing Bri all the ins and outs of how to post the video to my YouTube Page. Another ten minutes later, the notifications start rolling in.
“Holy shit. People really love you,” Brianna grins as she starts going through the comments. “Why don’t you post an original song?”
My stomach drops. “Um, nah,” I say with a shake of my head. “Too soon, besides all my latest stuff is kind of depressing.”
“Well, are you happy now?” she asks.
“Yes…” I grin, knowing where she is going with all this.
“Good, so we throw out your old stuff and get started on new stuff.”
“What? Throw it out?” I shriek. “What kind of monster are you? I couldn’t part with it, I mean, it’s still good stuff, just not the kind of stuff I want to sing about or record.”
“Righto,” she chuckles. “Then why don’t you go add that last notebook to the collection you probably have hiding under your bed, collecting dust.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s in my closet actually,” I admit.
A text message comes through to my phone and I recognize the old number like the back of my hand and decided it’s probably time to program him back into my contact list.
Jax – Nice song selection.
A chuckle rips through me and I roll my eyes as I hit reply.
Cass – Yeah, just something that came to me. Didn’t really put too much thought into it.
He and I both know I’m lying. Every song I have ever posted has had some sort of meaning to me, whether it’s the way the song makes me feel or that the lyrics say something about what’s happening in my life and well, Red by Taylor Swift is just that. The lyrics perfectly sum up how I feel about Jax.
Jax – Liar.
“How long would it take you to write a song?” Brianna asks, stealing my attention away from my phone.
“Honestly, with everything that’s been going on with Jax, I’m pretty sure I’ve already got one completed, I just got to get it down and work out a melody,” I explain. “Though, I’m probably a bit rusty.”
“Shit, well I know what we’re doing today,” she says, dragging me out the door.
We walk the few minutes down to the shop and load up on notebooks, music books, pencils, sharpeners, and erasers. I spend my day, excited about writing for the first time while Brianna searches articles on how to become a top earning manager.
During the afternoon we both sulk as we have to stop what we’re doing and get ready for classes but the moment we are both home, it’s right back to work.
By dinner time, I’ve already recorded the music and get started on the vocals. I nervously hit record as I turn towards the camera and introduce my new song. I let whoever may be watching know that it’s my first original song and that it’s pretty rough. I explain that this song is dedicated to the love of my life before my fingers curl around the base of the microphone and I hit play on the music, preparing to pour my heart out.
A tear slips out the corner of my eye but I focus on the lyrics, making sure the one person this song is for can truly understand the message I’m trying to convey.
Precisely, four and a half minutes later, Brianna is squealing in delight as she hits ‘post’.
I pour a glass of wine and sit back on the couch as a sense of accomplishment comes over me. I could really get used to this feeling and I have Jax to thank for it.
A text has my attention drawn and I grab my phone to check it only to find it is a group message from my brothers.
L, C, S - Mom and Dad would be proud of you, sis.
Chapter 19
Jaxon
I step off the ice after a late training session and am utterly exhausted. The boys and I head to the locker room with only a few quiet conversations between us. I whip off my training gear followed quickly by my skates and consider just grabbing my shit and leaving. I can shower when I get home.
“Fuck,” I groan, knowing myself too well. I’ll end up crashing and going to bed stinking of sweat. I grab a towel and rush through a quick shower before packing up my shit. I reach into my locker and grab my wallet, phone and keys.
I hit the home button on my phone to find a missed call from Dad, which is promptly ignored, a message from Cass and a YouTube notification, telling me Cass has posted another song today. Wow, two in one day, Cass is really getting back into it and I could not be prouder.
I open her text and realize it is from over two hours ago.
Cass – Night. Xx.
I don’t want to wake her so I don’t reply, instead I open up my YouTube app and find the notification of Cassie’s song. I hit play on the video and my eyes immediately land on her beautiful face which is framed by her long, wavy chestnut hair.
She turns towards the camera and starts introducing the song, the same way she’s been doing for years, only this time, it’s different. I turn up the volume on the side of my phone, just to make sure I’m hearing her correctly, I mean, it’s pretty damn late at night and I’m fucking exhausted.
She didn’t just say this was an original song, did she?
I hit pause on the video and grab my shit off the floor. I duck past Bobby without a second glance and fly through the door, desperate to be in the peaceful silence of my truck where I can concentrate on her song, one hundred percent, no distractions.
I slam the door behind me and turn on the ignition, only to have to wait the slow, agonising few moments for the bluetooth in my phone to connect to the media system of my truck. The moment I’m finally prepared and ready. I hit play on the video.
It starts with Cass playing the keys, only it doesn’t show that, I just know she would have composed the music herself and pre-recorded it so she could record he
r song with her own music. The melody takes me away before she has even sung a word.
The moment she opens her mouth, I’m completely blown away and I know without a doubt this song is for me.
The beautiful notes and melodies come from the heart as she sings about forgiveness and regrets, how she tore up a love and devastated her own heart. She looks deep into the camera with tears pooling in her eyes as she tells the world that she will fight for me until her dying breath and won’t stop until she’s finally earned forgiveness for her mistakes.
But what she mustn’t realize is that she has already been granted that forgiveness and I will never let her slip through my fingers again. She’s my world, always has been and always will be.
She absolutely belts out her song, giving it every ounce of passion and dedication she possesses. There’s no doubt in my mind, that had she wanted to, she would be selling out stadiums night after night, performing for her fans, she’s just that good, but I stand by her decision. Her voice is hers and hers alone to do with it as she pleases, and I swear, after seeing this video, her decision has never made me so damn proud. This is Cass, the real Cass, finally showing herself and her gifts to the world in her own way and on her own time.
I listen to her song twice more before peeling out of the arena parking lot and driving straight to her.
I find the spare key under a planter box and let myself in, making sure to lock the door behind me. I make my way to her room and watch her sleep peacefully for a moment before stripping down to my boxers.
I gently lift the covers, not wanting to wake her as I slide in behind her and wrap my arms around her, pulling her close, the way my body has craved for the past three years.
“Hmmm, what are you doing here?” she murmurs in her sleepy haze.
“I need to hold you,” I tell her as I nuzzle into the soft skin of her neck and close my eyes. “I saw your song, it was beautiful.”
“It was for you,” she explains on a yawn.
“I know,” I murmur. “I love you, Cass. You hold my heart in the palm of your hand and I promise you, I will never let you go.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she says as she turns in my arms and places a feather soft kiss to my lips. “You’re stuck with me forever.”
“There’s no one else I’d rather be stuck with,” I say with a smile against her lips.
“I love you,” she whispers, catching my lips in hers once again.
“I love you, too,” I murmur as I start playing with her hair, knowing it helps her to sleep. “Good night, Cass.”
“Night,” she says as she falls back into a peaceful sleep, staying there, all night, wrapped in my arms.
----------
It’s been a few weeks since Cass and I sorted our shit out and to say the time has flown by is a damn understatement. She’s slotted back into my life like she was never gone, like her being by my side every day is as natural as the sun rising in the morning.
I know the girl like the back of my hand yet every day we’re figuring out the kind of people we’ve become over the last three years, though, I consider myself one hell of a lucky bastard to be able to experience all these things with her for a second time. And at the risk of sounding like a fucking pussy, I’ve never been happier.
I push across the ice, my blades cutting in as I shoot myself forward with only ten seconds on the clock. Coach Harris screams, his face turning red as he makes us fight until the very last moment. We already know we’ve won with the score fourteen to twelve but I refuse to give in just yet, playing it safe is how you lose.
I hear the crowd around me chanting and cheering, already celebrating for their favorite team and I know without a doubt that Cass is one of those people, most likely already on her feet, probably jumping up and down with my number on her back. The thought pushes me harder.
I watch as Bobby gets cornered and open myself up for him to shoot the puck across, my stick scoops up the speeding puck with practiced ease and I sprint forward. Xander and Shorty cover my flanks and protect me from the oppositions defence.
With two seconds on the clock, I see my opening. I shoot the puck forward and the little bastard goes flying past the goalie's pads and straight into the back of the net right before the buzzer sounds.
The crowd roars as I get tackled by every member of my team. Fucking A, halfway through the season and we’re still undefeated. Not a single bastard can bring us down. The boys eventually climb off me and I get to my feet, only to be assaulted by the guys once again, except this time it’s excited high fives and slaps on the back.
I can hardly hear their excitement over the roar of the crowd, but I see it plain as day on their faces. I look up into the crowd to find my girl, only to see she isn’t there. Brianna stands in Cassie’s vacated spot, gives me a grin and points towards the aisle of the grandstand.
My eyes swivel in that direction to find Cass rushing down the stairs, elbowing past the spectators trying to exit the grandstand. She pushes past one last fat guy and makes her way to the ground level but she doesn’t stop. She pushes forward with her eyes locked on me.
I pull off my helmet as I skate to the edge with a grin. I jump the barrier and before I know it, the sexiest little minx I’ve ever met is flying through the sky and catapulting herself into my arms.
Her lips crash down on mine and I’m distantly aware of the camera crew to my left. I pray this moment doesn’t end up on ESPN, but even if it does, it’s not going to stop me from kissing my girl.
“You were awesome,” she says before diving back in with another kiss. “I’m so hot for you right now.”
I kiss her until Coach is yelling at me to ‘put the girl down and get your ass in the locker room’. I feel her grin against my lips. “Got to go, babe,” I murmur.
“K,” she says as I put her on her feet. “I’ll see you after.”
With that, I head back to the locker room but Bobby and I are thrown in front of camera’s and end up giving spontaneous interviews before we finally make it back to the locker room.
Coach gives us all a brief chat and congratulations before yelling at us to make sure we’re on time and pushing ourselves harder for the rest of the season. We’re finally dismissed to shower and get ready for our traditional night out at Micky’s.
Half an hour later, we pull up at Micky’s and the boys pile into the pub to find our usual table reserved. The waiters instantly come around and drop drinks into each of our hands before taking any food orders, which after the game we just played, each and every one of us order a main meal, I even make sure Cass and Bri get a side of fries as I know the boys will still be hungry after that.
Our night goes just as any other post game night goes. We drink, we eat, we party and we pick up. Well, at least the single guys at the table try their best to pick up, but with the label of being the undefeated Dragons, it’s really not too hard for these guys to find a willing chick around here.
Cassie and Brianna disappear onto the dance floor and I give her the ‘be careful’ speech, though, I know it’s not needed anymore, she hates drinking too much when we come here now.
A text draws my attention and I pull my phone from my pocket.
Miller – Fucking awesome game, man.
I hit reply.
Jaxon – Pretty sure I broke a few of your records during that one.
Miller – Don’t count on it, bro.
With a grin, I slip my phone back in my pocket and relax as I watch my girl dance. Xander getting up from the table has my eyes suspiciously following him. I watch as he weaves through the crowd, past the dancers and takes a seat at the bar, far away from any of the guys. Hmm, that’s strange, if he wanted another beer all he had to do was wave over a waitress and it would have been placed in his hand within seconds.
I watch with narrowed eyes as the new chick behind the bar approaches him and instantly places a glass down in front of him with a knowing, flirty smile. They talk for a while before I realize it’s too
comfortable, like they know each other somehow.
“Oi,” Bobby says as a french fry bounces off the side of my face.
I zone in on Bobby with a scowl. “What?” I grunt.
“What’s up with you? You’re looking at the bar like you’re fucking lost or something.”
“Nah, man,” I say with a shake of my head as my eyes return to Xander. I nod towards him with a lift of my chin and watch as Bobby’s eyes follow my gaze. “Something’s going on with him,” I tell Bobby. “He was covered in bruises the other week, but denied anything happened.”
“Seriously?” he asks. “Is he in some kind of trouble?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know man, but I know he sure as fuck doesn’t want to talk about it.”
I see scenarios ticking over in Bobby’s mind and I’m sure it’s probably all the same stuff I’ve already considered. His eyes flick back towards Xander, the same way mine have been doing for the past ten minutes when I decide I’ve had enough.
I grab my beer off the table, weave my way through the crowd and take a seat on the empty stool beside him. “Hey, man. What are you doing all the way over here? There’s a party going on and we’re the guests of honor.”
He gives a regretful smile as he continues to nurse the glass on the table. “Just chilling out with Charli here,” he says, motioning toward the chick behind the bar, who lifts her chin in acknowledgment before getting back to work.
Xander looks down at his watch before grabbing the glass on the bar and throwing back what’s left. “Let me guess,” I say. “You’ve got somewhere to be?”
“Yeah, sorry, man,” he cringes.
“Is there something you need to talk about?” I ask. “You’re not in any kind of trouble, are you? I can’t have shit coming down on the team, especially now we’re getting closer to the finals.”
“Nah,” he says with a shake of his head. “No trouble, just got stuff going on,” he adds before his eyes quickly flick to Charli’s.
“Alright, man,” I say getting up off my stool and giving him some space. “You know where to find me if you need anything.”
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