For a second, she protests, but she rolls her eyes and lets me slip my arms around her waist.
“Why are you with me?”
“What do you mean? You know why. I want to spend time with you—see where this goes.”
“But you could have anyone.”
She won’t meet my gaze.
“I want you.”
Cassie raises her face until her eyes meet mine. She’s still not smiling, and I hate it.
“Patrick—"
“I mean it. You’re what I want. Not another Vicki. You’re beautiful, smart, and I can have an actual conversation with you that doesn’t deteriorate into gossip.”
She snorts, before pulling away from me and slapping her hand over her nose.
“And you have a sense of humour. We used to laugh all the time, remember?”
“I thought you’d be more interested in someone like Vicki.” She nods toward the bikini-clad girl. “Someone like her.”
“What? Why?”
She waves her hands down her body. Cassie’s a classic hourglass shape. She’s busty with hips, and the jeans she’s wearing fit her snugly.
“I’m with you because I want you. Not her. Not anyone else.You.”
Her cheeks flush. “What are you doing to me, Patrick Cross?” she asks.
“Something I should have done a long time ago. Trying to make things right with us.”
She smiles. There’s something special about Cassie’s smile—there always was. Whenever I was down about school or sport or anything else, all I had to do is spend a bit of time in the warmth of that smile and it made everything right.
How did I ever forget that?
“I didn’t know if I could trust you at first,” she whispers, and a little piece of me curls up and dies inside.
“I hope I’m proving you can.”
“You’re doing all the right things.” She shares that smile with me again, and my throat tightens.
She’s so down to earth and, well, normal. There’s no bitchiness or gossip. She’s just Cassie.
My Cassie.
And she is my Cassie, whether she’s fully aware of it or not.
My heart feels more full than it has in a long time.
6
CASSIE
Falling in love makes it the best summer of my life.
The time flies by, and before I know it, the end of summer approaches.
