Chapter Six
Cassi
Dinner was tense after Carly and my verbal smackdown. Well, it wasn’t really a smackdown, but I like calling it that in my head because the outrage followed by panic that took over her was fucking priceless. To be fair, I was only airing it out for Nicholas’ benefit. My parents were already aware. They received a phone call from the dean when she was placed on probation, and her professor was fired. As my sister predictably would, she turned on the waterworks when confronted and claimed that she felt she had no choice. The professor lost everything. His job, his house, his family. Gone.
Do you think my sister has lost even a second of sleep since then?
Absolutely the fuck not.
A few minutes past that, Alec brought over everyone’s meals and we ate in relative silence while my parents would intermittently ask questions about Nicholas’s family and overall life. Though, their efforts were effectively wasted. He is as closed book as they come. All of his answers were short and clipped, never letting on too much about…anything. Honestly, I’m not entirely convinced that he’s even human. He could be some alien or weird AI powered robot impersonating a human. That’s how he conveys himself at least. Dry. Rigid. Cold.
Nothing at all like the man I met last night.
Fuck. No. None of that.
I chastise myself internally, shaking my head. I’ve been doing everything I can to erase that night from my mind completely. Him being two feet away from me isn’t fucking helping, though. Despite his personality being more bland than a soggy piece of bread, his body is definitely something I’m having a harder time forgetting. His hands, his eyes, his mouth, his…
Fuck. There I go again. Goddamnit. Tomorrow can’t come fast enough. The sooner they are out of here, the sooner I can forget about the time that I was a big ole slut and slept with my wicked bitch sister’s boyfriend.
No matter how much I can’t stand her, that guilt is going to eat me alive for approximately the rest of my fucking life. So, that’s cool.
After my dad and Nicholas fought over the bill, and Nicholas ended up winning, we all gather our things and stand to leave when a soft hand touches the crook of my elbow. I look up to see Alec smiling at me tentatively.
“It was really good to see you, Cassi.”
“It was good to see you,” I smile before pulling him in for a hug.
His arms wrap around me instantly, a comforting familiarity that grips me as he does. When we pull away, he looks down like he’s bashful before his blue eyes land on me.
“Do you think I could get your number? I got a new phone about a year ago and lost all of my contacts. Yours was one I definitely kicked myself for.”
A soft stirring of butterflies flutter through me at that. I’d texted him on his birthday at the beginning of this year, but I never got a response. We never had bad blood so I was confused, and maybe alittle hurt. Hearing that he didn’t ignore me, that it wasn’t intentional eases something inside me. Nodding, I smile and steal his notepad and pen, jotting down my number and name, like he doesn’t fucking know my name. I’m so stupid.
He looks down at it like he just pulled the winning lottery ticket numbers before pocketing the notepad into his apron.
“I’ll text you.”
I smile at him as I look to see my family has already left, clearly to give us some semblance of privacy which I appreciate. As I weave through the restaurant, my eyes pause on one individual who is standing at the door, looking down at his phone.
“You shouldn’t have waited for me,” I say as I walk straight past him.
“Believe me, wasn’t my idea,” he scoffs.
“Whose was it?” I ask as I reach for the exterior door, though a large hand grabs it first, pulling it open.
I look to see Nicholas standing over me, holding the door open as he impatiently gestures for me to keep walking. God, this guy is such a fucking asshole.
My parents and Carly are already in the car and when I open the back door, I see that Carly is sitting on the passengers side, as opposed to in the middle like when we drove down here. I guess they didn’t see a point in renting a car when they were only in town for two days but that means that we are pushing my mom’s Camry to the max when it comes to space.
“Move,” I say to my sister.
She looks up from her phone, scoffing as she shakes her head. “You move.”
Looking up at Nicholas and his six foot plus giant frame and the tiny little middle seat, I know I have no choice. Doesn’t mean I enjoy it.
Begrudgingly, I slide into the car, scooting into the middle before buckling in. Nicholas follows suit, shutting the door behindhim as his thigh brushes against mine. I’m quick to jerk my leg away, a move that does not go unnoticed by him. He pushes himself further against the car door as he buckles into his seat and the car takes off.
If dinner was eaten in silence, then this car ride is similar to a ride in a hearse. The tension around us is physically palpable and honestly, it’s fucking suffocating.
