Safe with You

by Shelby Reeves

  “I’m sorry, we were just talking.”

  “It’s my fault, sir,” I interject. I’m not going to let her take the fall for my mistake.

  He changes his stance so his feet are shoulder width apart with his arms folded across his chest. He is obviously trying to intimidate me.

  “Explain, now.”

  “You see, sir, Cassie and I got into an argument and I came to apologize.”

  “I see. Cassie, go in there with your mother.”

  Cassie gives me an apologetic look and leaves her room.

  Her father appraises me for a moment. I don’t know if he is trying to figure me out or what he is doing, but it is kind of unnerving standing here while he stares me down. I won’t let him see he intimidates me though or otherwise he’ll win. He won’t think I’m good enough for his daughter.

  “I don’t want to catch you here with my daughter alone, again. Understand?”

  I nod, pretending I do.

  “Good, now that we have that out of the way, tell me, do you actually care about my daughter?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Another good answer. I don’t approve of Cassie dating, but I can’t really do anything about it. So, with that being said, Cassie is only allowed to see you on Saturday’s only, starting now.”

  What? No freaking way. “I respect that, sir, but my games are on Friday nights and I really would like her there. And what about the holidays?” Christmas break is two freakin’ weeks long. No way would I be able to go without seeing Cassie once a week.

  “Don’t expect to see her there this Friday, but I’ll take the other games as well as holidays into consideration.”

  Dang it. He is really torturing me. “Yes, sir.”

  “Say goodbye to Cassie,” he instructs as he opens the door, wanting me to walk out first.

  When I walk into the living room, Cassie is in a heated argument with her mother.

  “You broke the rules, Cassie!”

  “Screw the rules, Mom! You and dad never think about what I want!”

  “Cassie,” her Dad yells in warning. “We will discuss this in a minute. Say goodbye.”

  Cassie runs into my arms. “I’m sorry,” she whispers so low I barely heard it.

  “Don’t be, babe. It was all my fault. See you tomorrow?”

  “Yeah.”

  I kiss her cheek and release her. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

  Cassie nods sadly. “Okay.” I kiss her cheek and back away from her. I give a hard nod to her father then I am out the door.

  Cassie

  My heart cracks watching J walk out the front door. I don’t know what Dad said to him and it’s killing me.

  “Cassie, what are the rules?” Dad asks the moment the door clicks shut.

  Sighing, I recite them. “Never give out personal information, lie if necessary, and keep a low profile.”

  “Exactly, so why do you keep breaking them?” Dad asks harshly as he walks into the kitchen. He stops at the fridge and turns to me, waiting for me to answer him.

  What do I say to that? I mean at first I tried to get rid of them, but now I actually like hanging around them. “Answer me! You were specifically told to lay low, but you blew that all to hell on the second day at school,” he snaps. If he is that upset about it then why is he just now saying something?

  Dad grabs a bowl of leftover spaghetti from last night and forks out of the drawer before sitting down at the table to eat.

  “It’s kind of hard to keep a low profile when you are in a town where everybody knows everybody,” I answer smoothly. “Besides, it’s hard to lay low when we obviously stand out here.”

  Dad leans forward, propping his arms on the table. “That’s not the point, Cassie. Regardless of where we live you know the damn rules. Do you want them to find us? Do you want us to get killed or do you want us to get arrested? Because that’s what will happen if you keep hanging around those boys. They are nothing but trouble.”

  Of course, it’s my fault. It always is.

  “How can you say that when you don’t even know them?” I demand.

  “Their dad is a cop so if you keep hanging around them all the time they will dig into our lives, we will get arrested, and you will be put in a foster home until you turn eighteen. Do you want that?” he asks in an irritated voice.

  I knew it. The real reason Dad cares so much is because Dan is Chief of Police. Shocker.

  “No,” I answer forcefully.

  “As I explained to him, you are only allowed to see him on Saturday’s until I say otherwise.” His voice is firm, demanding, and kind of scary. “The only reason we are even doing this is because if you all of a sudden stop seeing them it will raise suspicions. I expect you to follow the rules, Cassie. Don’t ruin this for us. If you fuck up, there will be hell to pay,” he threatens severely.

  “I don’t think she should even get Saturday’s,” Mom interjects, walking in the kitchen.

  “Marcie, I have to or they will start asking questions. It’s the only way for now,” Dad tells her. I don’t know why Dad is being so harsh. We weren’t doing anything except talking.

  “Can I go to my room now?”

  “Sure, but Cassie…the rules, remember them.”

  “Yep,” I reply, forcing myself to bite my tongue so I don’t say what I really want to. No doubt I wouldn’t get to see J at all other than school or even worse, we’d move again.

  I fight the urge to slam my bedroom door as I breeze in my room. Throwing that temper tantrum would be no help either. Gah! I have the need to throw something, anything I can get my hands on, yet I refrain. I can’t not see, J, and my one measly day a week to get to spend time with him and his family is a ten times better than not seeing them at all and a hundred times better than moving again.

  I throw myself on my bed and roll onto my side, the side I was lying on when I opened my eyes and thought I was seeing things. I stare in the direction he was lying, picturing him there smiling back at me.

  Oh, how I wish he was here now.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cassie

  All this week, J and I have been spending every moment we can together, knowing once school is over, I won’t be able to see him until the next morning since he has football practice. What was once being able to spend any of my free time with him, turned into hardly getting to see him at all. We steal as many kisses as we can before he has to report to practice. I try not to sulk every afternoon as Jess drives me home, but I can’t help it. Once I decided to just let my life be and give in to my feelings for J, I have done a complete one-eighty. I am happier than I have ever been, and it’s all thanks to J.

  J and I are relaxing on the porch in the wooden swing. I am lying against him, and he has his arm wrapped around me.

  We are talking about things we haven’t done before that we’d like to do.

  “Okay, my turn,” I say as I try to think of something else I’d like to do. A moment later, I know what I am going to say. “I’d like to learn how to drive,” I blurt out.

  J throws his head back, letting out a throaty laugh. “I-I promise…I’m not laughing at you, Cass.” More laughter. “It’s just, I wasn’t expecting you to say that. I guess I assumed everyone our age knows how to drive.”

  I shoot him a glare. “It’s not like I haven’t wanted to, J. My parents wouldn’t teach me.”

  His laughter slowly fades away. “You really want to learn?”

  “Of course,” I answer without having to think about my answer.

  He jumps up and grabs my hands, jerking me up from the swing. “Well, Cass, let’s teach you how to drive.”

  I give him a questioning look. “Right now?”

  “Duh, Cass. Right now is as good of a time as any.”

  Nerves suddenly kick in. “Why do we have to do it today? Can we do it next Saturday?”

  He kisses my forehead. “Nope, we are doing this right now. Wait right here, I have an idea.”

  J d
isappears inside the house then reappears a couple minutes later, grabbing my hand as he walks by. “Let’s teach you how to drive.”

  Rolling my eyes, I let him lead me around the house to where his truck is parked in the front yard.

  He opens the passenger door to let me in, closing it behind me. I wait patiently for him to climb behind the wheel and crank the truck. Once he is in, he turns to me, not even bothering with starting the truck.

  “Okay, so let me give a crash course on driving real quick…”

  J spends the next fifteen minutes going over the simple things I already know.

  Finally, he cranks his truck and drives through the yard, heading around the side of his house.

  “I can’t believe I let you talk me into doing this,” I groan as J drives us to the middle of his field.

  “You need to learn how to drive at some point, Cass. What happens if you have to go somewhere and no one can take you?” J points out, making me want to punch him for being right. On the inside, I know he is gloating about it. He is just smart enough to not gloat to my face.

  He’s right, though. I do need to learn to drive. My parents never tried to teach me because it would be a way for me to get to freedom one day. I really want to learn.

  “But why in a field?”

  “Just a precaution,” he replies, patting my knee. I sense an underlying statement in that sentence.

  “I don’t see how learning to drive in a field is going to prepare me for driving on a road,” I argue.

  “Just trust me, babe. I know what I am doing.”

  J stops smack dab in the middle of the field and gets out. I watch him walk around the front of the truck to my door. When he opens it, he looks at me expectantly. “Are you getting out?”

  “I guess since I have no other choice.”

  “You wanted to learn remember?” he reminds me.

  I wave him off. “Yeah, yeah.”

  Once I’m seated behind the wheel, I make sure J is in and has his door closed before reaching to put the truck in drive.

  Out of nowhere, J’s hand shoots out to stop me. “Whoa, hold up,” J says, almost scaring the crap out of me. “First of all, you need to buckle up.” He waits for me to do so before lecturing me again. “Now, check your mirrors and adjust your seat if you need to.”

  I do as he says and when I’m ready I place one foot on the brake and place the truck in drive.

  “Now, ease off the brake and give it a little gas,” he coaches.

  I wanted to be funny and gas it, but I change my mind for fear I might lose control of the truck. I don’t want to be responsible for wrecking his truck.

  Pressing down gently on the gas pedal, I grip the steering wheel as the truck creeps forward. Feeling confident, I give it a little more gas. The ride is bumpy as the field is full of holes, but I manage to stay straight.

  “So far so good, Cass,” J praises like he had little faith in me.

  “You don’t sound so confident in my driving skills, there, dear boyfriend.”

  J throws his head back and laughs. “Cassie, you surprise me every day, babe. With you, I never know what will happen.”

  I’m not sure if he is complimenting me or insulting me.

  “Thanks, I guess?”

  “It’s a compliment, I swear,” he assures me.

  “If you say so,” I say as I turn the wheel to the left, taking us in a different direction.

  “You forgot your blinker, Cass.”

  “Seriously, J?”

  He nods. “Oh, and watch for the red light up here as well?”

  Red light? “You’re insane,” I tell him. He seriously has put way too much effort into this.

  Sure enough, up ahead, Bo is sitting off to my left, parked like he is waiting to cross the street. Wait-when did Jess get here? She is standing off to my right, holding up flags. She has one green, one yellow, and one red, which she is currently holding up right now.

  I slow to a stop at the ‘red light’ and when I am stopped, I look at J. “How did you pull this crazy idea off?”

  He shrugs one shoulder. “I made a call.”

  Rolling my eyes, I say, “You guys are mental, you know that?”

  J just smiles and shakes his head.

  “It’s y’all down here, Cass, and so are you for hanging out with us.”

  “I was forced into it,” I remind him.

  “At first, but you’ve had plenty of chances to avoid us,” J counters.

  True, but I highly doubt they would have left me alone. “Like you’d let me.”

  J leans across the seat to press his lips to mine. “No, letting you go would not be an option,” he murmurs before kissing me again.

  I am about to respond until Bo interrupts me. “Hey! No kissing the driver!” he shouts.

  My reply is to stick my hand out the window and give him the middle finger.

  “That’s a deduction, darlin’! One more and you fail!”

  “You’re not my teacher!”

  He looks past me to, J. “J, control your student! She’s getting out of hand!”

  “Just cross the road, Bo so we can go!” J bellows.

  “My light is red now, idiots. Another deduction for not paying attention, you fail!”

  Seriously? I look over to Jess and sure enough, she is holding up the green flag.

  I let off the brake pedal and ease down on the gas again.

  “You’re not my teacher so zip it!” I yell out the window at Bo when I pass him.

  I swear, Bo maybe one of the most annoying people I have ever met in my life, but he makes me laugh.

  After driving in the field a little longer, J finally trusts me enough to drive on the pavement, you know, where vehicles are supposed to be driven on.

  “You’re doing great, Cass,” he praises again.

  I glance over at him and smile. “That’s because I have a wonderful teacher,” I smirk.

  My lesson continues for another hour until it is time to head back. Once I successfully park the truck in the driveway, I turn off the truck and hand J the keys.

  “I think after a few more lessons you will be a pro,” J says, chuckling.

  “You mean like you?”

  “Well duh, who else?” he replies laughingly.

  I smack his arm playfully. “Let’s go eat before your head explodes from your ego.”

  “You can’t forget the football game,” he points out.

  “Oh, yeah, and that.”

  When we walk inside I instantly notice all the changes. Red and white decorations are everywhere. They take football way too serious down here.

  J and I pour us something to drink then plop down on the couch as we wait for the football game to start. I’m not even sure what colleges are playing today.

  “Alright, darlin’ I got to ask you to the million dollar question.” Bo claps his hands once and then points his fingers at me. “Are you for Alabama or Auburn?”

  I look at him like he’s crazy. “Am I for what or what?”

  He exhales and holds his chest like it physically hurt him for me to say that. “Sit down darlin’ I’m going to give you a crash course on football in the south.” Bo grabs a nearby chair and flips it around so the back is facing me and then he straddles the chair. “You know what football is right?”

  I want to laugh in his face, but instead I go with, “I know that it’s a sport and in England soccer is called football. Duh, you idiot, I go watch you two play every Friday!”

  He shakes his head and looks behind me. “It’s worse than I thought, J.” I shoot him an evil look, but he ignores me and continues to lecture me. “Let’s start with the basics. You are correct when you said football is a sport.” He holds his hands up and catches a ball in his hands that J throws. “This is a football.” Bo holds up said football in front of my face. I knock it out of his hands and watch as it hits the floor. Bo’s jaw drops in shock and I smirk in his face. “Not cool, Cass, not cool.”

  “I thought
it was,” I say with a smile. “I know what football is you, idiot!”

  “Control your girl, J!”

  J kisses my hair. “That’s my girl. Give ‘em hell,” J praises me and we high five each other and laugh at Bo who looks like he is two seconds away from strangling both of us.

  “Anyway, when you live in the state of Alabama you either root for Bama or you root for Auburn. So which side do you choose?” The way Bo asked the question made me feel like if I chose wrong I’d be banned from the house. Judging from the shirts they are all wearing today I’d say the team to root for in this house is Alabama.

  “That’s not fair, Bo! I don’t watch football so how can I choose a side?”

  “She’s got a point, Bo. Besides what does it matter anyway they don’t play each other until November,” J points out.

  “She has to answer the question!” Bo fires back.

  “No, I don’t.” I cross my arms and lean back against J.

  “Yes, you do! You can’t live in Alabama and not root for one team or the other!” I think Bo has officially lost it…

  “Bro, just let it go. We’ll just say she roots for Bama. I don’t think Cass will be a die-hard fan anytime soon, if ever.” Oh J, he knows me so well already.

  “Fine, at least, she’ll be rooting for the right team,” he grumbles.

  On second thought. “No, J, I want to choose and I pick…” I pause and narrow my eyes at Bo. “Auburn.” Bo slaps his hands over his ears and squeezes his eyes shut like I just said the most horrible thing ever. He takes several deep breaths, I assume to try and calm himself.

  “What’s his deal?” I ask J pretending I don’t know what’s going on.

  “He’s just really into football,” he explains. “Oh and it’s probably because you chose the enemy team.”

  “Who, Auburn?”

  Bo shoots up from his chair, lunges at me, and slaps his hand over my mouth. “Don’t say that word! It’s forbidden!”

  J falls over on the couch laughing at Bo’s sudden freak out while I’m left struggling to push him off of me. I grab the pillow next to me and start beating him in the head repeatedly with it. Bo reluctantly lets go and stands upright. I then launch the pillow at J who was still laughing.

  Bo grumbles something about going to get the food and walked away.