by Emma Nichols
"I've slept in worse places."
"Still, I'd offer you the sofa if I had one." She gave the chair where his bag had been a pointed look. "But the bed is a king size, and there's plenty of room for both of us."
"Are you sure? For all you know, I could be a rapist or could murder you in your sleep."
"Normally, I wouldn't offer, but that right there tells me you're neither of those." She couldn't help the heat that washed through her.
Shane hesitated a moment, then set his bag back onto the chair. "If you're really sure, a bed would be a lot nicer. And access to the shower would be even better."
"It's right there. Give me just a second, and I'll clean my stuff off the bed." She stood. "Do you care which side you sleep on?"
"Nope."
"I sometimes get up in the middle of the night, so I'll take the side closest to the bathroom, if that's all right."
"You're really okay with sharing the room?"
"Wouldn't be the first hotel room I shared." She gave him a wry smile, "though, it is the first one I've shared with a man." She cleared off the things she'd scattered on the bed and put the pillows back to where they belonged while he dug some things out of his bag.
"I'm going to take a quick shower; I'll be out in a few, if you don't mind?"
"Make yourself at home." Cassie sat back down and scanned the list of sales she had found. There was one, maybe two she could make it to before the gathering the next afternoon. But that was only if she was at the one in the next town over when it opened. She could see what they had, then hit the one sale here before going to the country club. It would have to do. At least she'd get those.
The water kicked on in the bathroom, and she looked down at her pajamas, wondering for a moment if she should change. Then realized he'd already seen her in the tank top and loose cotton pants, and she hadn't brought anything else. With a shrug, she put her computer away and leaned back against the now thinner stack of pillows to watch the movie still playing on the TV.
The water shut off, and she wondered for the first time what he slept in. For a moment, she hoped he slept naked. With a roll of her eyes and a shake of her head, Cassie wondered where that thought came from and told herself to stop being stupid. There was probably a reason he was single, and it wasn't because he was looking for a chunky girl with glasses and a mess of unruly hair.
The bathroom door opened, and she held her breath until Shane appeared. He had on a pair of black shorts, with ARMY printed in gold letters on one leg, and a matching t-shirt. He rolled his neck and shoulders.
"Oh, that feels much better. What are you watching?" He moved around his side of the bed and sat with his back against the headboard beside her.
"Some movie that was on, I'm not sure what it is."
"But it was interesting enough to stop on?"
Cassie glanced over and found him watching her with a smile. Her heart stuttered in her chest, and she mentally called herself ten kinds of fool for caring.
"When I was flipping, it was in the middle of a fist fight scene. I figured it was an action flick, not a romance or drama, so I stopped. I wasn't paying much attention to it until a few minutes ago. It was just background noise."
"Hmm... so you like action movies." He acted like he was interested in what she liked and disliked. For some reason, that made her like him a little more.
"I do." She turned to look at him. "In some ways, they're predictable. There will be some kind of epic fight, or shoot out, or car race, depending on the movie, but they're not sappy. And they have big twists that, sometimes, you don't see coming." She tried to keep her eye off the drop of water on his neck, but it was hard. She wanted to lick it off but knew how stupid that was. He had no interest in her, he was just stuck here because it was the only room and better than sleeping in his truck.
"I'm not arguing. I like shoot-‘em-up movies, I'm just a little surprised that a brainiac like you does."
Cassie cringed. "I'm really not a brainiac, I just had a lot at stake. Mom would have been crushed if I lost my scholarship. St. Martin's was a better education than she could ever afford, and it got me into Stanford. I couldn't do that to her, so I worked hard to keep my place."
"Your mom? What about your dad?"
"He left when I was little, it's been just Mom and me for as long as I can remember. She hated sending me away to school, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up. She worked hard and saved up to come visit every chance she got."
"I remember seeing her once, I think. I was watching for Dad to show up, which he didn't, but she looked so happy to see you. It made me miss my mom."
"I never knew, I hope you don't mind me asking, what happened to your mom? I never saw her."
"She died when I was ten. Car accident. We were devastated. Dad as much as I was. He buried himself in work after that, almost forgetting he had a son who was hurting too."
They kept talking, getting to know each other and remembering bits about their school years, late into the night. When they finally called it a night and turned out the lights, Cassie slid between the sheets, facing her side of the bed and wishing, for a moment, that he would reach over and wrap his arm around her, but she knew better. She trusted him to stay on his side of the bed while she slept and knew he wouldn't violate that.
4
Shane woke slowly, and in a situation he wasn't used to. Something wasn't right, but he didn’t know what. It took him several seconds to realize something soft was tickling his face and there was an odd weight on his chest. After a moment more, he remembered the evening before. The double-booked room and talking most of the night.
He was in Cassandra's bed, and she was beside him with her head resting on his chest. Opening his eyes, he gazed down to find her nose scrunched as she pressed it into his shirt. Her face was soft and round with sleep, and he wanted to smooth her hair away from her face and watch her wake, then kiss her and possibly more. But how would she take it if she woke that way?
Would she panic and accuse him of taking advantage of her? His questions froze in his mind when her lashes fluttered and opened. She stared at him with unseeing eyes for a moment, then moved away. He instantly missed having her pressed against his side.
"Sorry," she muttered as she reached for her glasses. "Did you sleep okay?" She threw the covers back and slid out of bed.
"Fine."
"Give me just a second, then you can have the bathroom." She shuffled into the bathroom and Shane couldn't take his eyes off her. Her mussed hair looked like someone had done what he'd just been fantasizing about. Buried their hands in it while they kissed her breathless, then made her scream his name as he fucked her senseless. His cock stirred and he tried to think of something else. Anything else. Why didn't he have better control of that? It made him feel like a green kid again.
When Cassie came out of the bathroom, he took her place, keeping his body angled slightly away from her so she couldn't see his erection.
"What are your plans this morning?" Cassie asked as he stepped back into the main room.
"I hadn't thought about it much. I'll probably get something to eat, then maybe drive around and see what's changed until it’s time to head over to the country club. You?"
"I need to get some food, but there's an estate sale I was going to hit, it's about forty-five minutes away. I figure I can check it out and be back in plenty of time."
"What's an estate sale?" He'd heard of them, of course, but had never been to one.
"Kind of like a big, pricey yard sale, usually indoors. Sometimes a little different. Want to ride along and see for yourself?"
He thought about it a moment — why not? Spending time with Cassie would be better than being alone. He'd enjoyed the night before as they'd sat, then lay face to face on the bed and talked.
"Sure, why not? When do you want to leave?"
"I need to get dressed," she put one hand to her head, "and do something with this. Give me twenty minutes and I'll be ready."
>
"No problem. I'm going to dress, and I'll meet you in the lobby. Do you drink coffee?"
"I do." She gave him her coffee order, then disappeared into the bathroom again. Shane changed into a pair of slacks and a clean shirt before making sure he had his wallet and room key, then he slipped out of the room.
Thirty minutes later, Cassie stepped off the elevator into the lobby. Normally, Shane would have been annoyed she was late, but this time he was glad. He'd just picked up their coffee from the in house coffee shop because it had taken longer than he'd anticipated for the staff to get a manager for him to speak with. He'd explained what had happened with the room and expressed his disappointment and displeasure at the situation and had gotten them to issue refunds, not only to him, but Cassie as well. Shane had convinced the guy that comping a room for the weekend would be cheaper in the long run than annoying the alumni of St. Martin's. Shane didn't plan to tell Cassie what he'd done. Let it be a surprise when she checked out.
"You look nice." Shane handed Cassie the paper cup as she joined him, her dark green sweater looked as soft as her hair and brought out gold and green flakes in her eyes.
"Thank you. Are you ready?"
"I am."
“There’s a café next door, or we can wait until we’re a little closer and see what there is to eat in Evansville?”
"Coffee will hold me for a bit, if you'd like to wait."
"Sounds good."
They went out to her rental car, she set her bag in the back seat while he settled into the passenger's side, and in a few minutes, they were on the road.
5
By the time they reached Evansville, Cassie's coffee was gone. She was getting hungry and needed to pee.
"Let me know if you find somewhere that looks like a good place to eat." She slowed the car as they entered town. It had been a pleasant ride from Linwood. They'd talked about music, movies, and laughed. She'd learned the night before that he had no one special, no wife or girlfriend. He claimed he'd been too busy for either, first with the military, then with building Durant Security. She knew how that felt. She'd dated some, had a couple long term relationships, but nothing that had gone as far as living together. She'd been busy too.
"That place looks good."
It was a little café called Maud's. That was all. The outside looked a little run down, but there were at least fifteen cars parked outside. She pulled into the lot, parked, and they went inside. Just inside the door sat a pedestal sign that read ‘Please Seat Yourself’, so they found a booth and sat facing each other.
"You haven't told me much about your time in the military," she said after the waitress took their orders and brought them water and more coffee. "Did you go anywhere interesting?"
Shane rubbed one hand over his face, making Cassie realize there was likely a reason he hadn't told her about that time. Something about it made him not want to talk about it, and she was sorry she'd asked.
"I was stationed a couple places in the US, in Germany for a little while, and the rest of my time was spent in desert countries I try not to remember."
"What was Germany like?" She tried to think of some way to move the conversation away from this, but nothing came to mind.
"Germany was cool. There's a lot to see and do when you're not on duty. A lot of history there."
"I bet. I've always liked history. I guess that kind of shows with my thing for antiques."
"History is fascinating."
They talked about their favorite periods in history and debated why each was better until their food came and continued while they ate. When they were done, Cassie tried to pay the tab, but Shane wouldn't let her.
"But you bought coffee this morning."
"And I'm buying breakfast too." The look on his face didn't leave room for argument, so she gave up. She'd figure out how to make it up to him later.
6
Shane asked Cassie to drop him at the hotel when they arrived back in town. He wanted to pick up a couple of things, check in with the office, and take his truck to the country club. He didn't want to have to rely on anyone else for a ride. What if he ran into someone and they wanted to cut out of there and discuss business? He wanted to be prepared. After a quick call to the Durant Security office in Baltimore to make sure nothing there required his attention, he gathered his things, hopped into his truck, and headed over to the River Creek Country Club. Reunion events wouldn't officially start for a while yet, but he figured there would be a few people having lunch or drinks after a morning round, and he could renew old acquaintances.
Shane settled in at a table on the patio. He had a tumbler with an inch of bourbon and a glass of ice water on the table beside him as he watched the crowd. People milled about, with even more by the pool, both in and out of the water. He relaxed in the shade, enjoying the warm afternoon until something on the edge of his vision caught his attention. Turning, it took him a moment to recognize Cassandra. It wasn't that she was wearing only a stunning, blue two-piece swim suit, or even the lush, curvaceous body, which made him want to do more than talk, that made him double take, it was her confidence.
Cassie walked around in the skimpy suit with the same confidence she did while she was fully dressed. That wasn't an uncommon sight with women who were little more than skin and bones, but Shane didn't find them attractive. He liked substance to his women. Someone who didn't care what others thought was even sexier. He watched as she waded into the pool, only to turn and walk right out again before moving to a nearby lounge chair to stretch out in the sun. As she settled in, a waiter approached. She spoke to him for a moment, then leaned back. Shane couldn’t be sure through her over-sized sunglasses, but he suspected from her relaxed pose that she'd closed her eyes, perhaps even started to doze.
The atmosphere at the country club was great for relaxing and visiting, but not the networking he'd hoped for. He should have skipped the trip to Evansville this morning in favor of a round of golf, but he'd never seen the point in that so-called sport. Wandering around large expanses of manicured grass to whack a tiny ball with a stick while it just laid there was boring. Besides, watching Cassie wander through rows of stuff, her eyes lighting up like a kid in a candy store had been amazing. He wouldn't trade that for a dozen clients. He sat sipping his bourbon and people watched. After a while, he noticed the waiter hadn’t returned to her. Shane caught the young man's attention and called him over.
"Did she order anything?" Shane asked, nodding at Cassie.
"The woman in blue?"
"Yes."
"No, she said she was good."
"Will you bring me a patron sunrise and water please?" The water was for him, he'd finished both of his drinks and had hit his limit, one, before driving back to the hotel.
"No problem, sir."
A few minutes later, the young waiter brought the drinks, set them down, and left. Shane took them and made his way over to Cassie.
"You look a little warm, I brought something to cool you off." He sat in the lounger beside her and waited while she lifted her head and looked at him before extending the drink he'd ordered for her.
"Oh, thank you." She blinked a couple times before pushing her sunglasses up from where they’d slipped down her nose. Shane knew he was right, she'd been dozing. "Patron sunrise," she said after taking a sip. "You remembered." Cassie flashed him a brilliant smile. She sat up, lifting the top of the lounger as she went, then took another drink. The look of pleasure on her face at the flavor made it worth his time. "I really shouldn't though. I have to drive back to the hotel for dinner tonight."
"I had one drink earlier, but I'm done. It's water from here on out. You can ride back with me. I can bring you back to get your rental in the morning." He watched her a moment. "It's not like we'll have to schedule it."
"Are you sure?" she looked over at him, "I wouldn't want to impose."
"I offered, that makes it not an imposition." He couldn't help but wonder who made her feel like a burden.
"I think I'll take you up on that." She shot him a smile. "What have you been up to?"
"I talked to a few old friends, caught up a little, then I settled in to do some people watching."
"See anyone interesting?" she scanned the pool's edge.
"Only one that caught my eye over the last hour, it's been hard to look anywhere else." He watched her from the corner of his eye to see how she would react.
"Who?" she looked around again.
"She's unbelievably hot."
"So it's a woman."
He could tell by her tone that she was intrigued and kept his face turned so she thought he was looking at someone else. "It is. She's just stunning. I saw her last night, and she was beautiful then, but this afternoon, she took my breath away."
"Hmm..." Cassie paused as she looked. "Is it Rachel Smith over there? She's pretty. I hear she's single, you should go talk to her."
"It's not Rachel." Shane wondered how long he would be able to draw this out, and how long he should.
"What about Becca? She's gorgeous, knows how to dress just right and has all kinds of connections."
"Becca's pretty, but it's not her." It was interesting to see who she thought had caught his eye.
Cassie pursed her lips as she thought. "Maybe you should give me a hint about your type, I don't seem to be getting any closer."
He considered what to tell her for a moment then said, "I've got a thing for women who are down to earth. I'm not big on high maintenance. I've got too much going on in my life for that."
"Becca is high maintenance, you can tell just by looking at her, with her perfectly dyed and cut hair, immaculate nails, and designer clothes and bag."