I remembered the hundred-dollar bills I sometimes found floating down from the sky outside the shop.
It had been Jagger. Like some kind of sign from my future.
I lifted my hand and tossed the money into the wind, then watched as it drifted over Main Street.
Laughter bubbled up in my throat and Jagger handed me more money.
“Again,” he said over my shoulder.
I tossed the money from the roof, watched it float in the breeze. “I can’t believe we’re doing this. This is crazy!”
“Does it feel good?” he asked.
“It does,” I said. “I feel… lighter.”
He pulled me against him, his hands sliding around my waist as my back nestled against his chest, and the desire I’d felt back at my apartment came to life all over again.
“Then it’s not crazy,” he said. “It’s natural to want to feel good. Sometimes all the shit the world puts on you just weighs you down. We have to find ways to let it go.”
I reached back to put my arms around his neck and he kissed the top of my head.
It sounded so simple: if it felt good, it wasn’t crazy.
Being with him felt good. Being with all the Hawks felt good.
Did that mean it wasn’t crazy?
41
VIGO
Not gonna lie:I was jealous as fuck that Jagger got to spend the day alone with Cassie.
It made sense: Jagger had a financial background, and Cassie had mentioned that in addition to emails and property records, a lot of what was in her parents’ files had to do with money: bank records and shit.
Still, I was more than ready for a little alone time with our mouse.
Or any time with our mouse really.
That was the weirdest thing about having Cassie live with us: it wasn’t only the fucking that was fun.
It was everything.
It was nice hanging out with Cassie in the kitchen in the morning. I liked the way she looked, her hair tousled by sleep, the shorts and tank tops she wore to bed rumpled.
It didn’t hurt that she never had on a bra in the mornings and I was able to catch glimpses of her tits when she leaned over to accept the coffee that had become part of our morning routine.
But it wasn’t just that stuff. She made me feel calm.
Or calmer anyway.
I liked the way she could make a grilled cheese in ten minutes and the way she brought a book to read on the sofa when Hawk, Jagger, and I were playing video games. I liked the way she’d settled into the house like she’d been there forever.
Like she belonged there.
Most of all I liked the way she’d fought to stay with us. With Bram no less.
She was calm and centered, but when it counted — in bed and when she wanted something — she was willing to fight.
