David turned and walked away. Cassidy hurried to catch up while the other guys had smiles on their faces as they watched Matt and Crystal argue.
“So …” Cassidy said.
“A party is fine. I’ll ask the guys. How many did you want to invite?” David asked.
“However many you want to.”
“I’m not having a sausage fest. We’ll need more girls,” David complained.
Cassidy thought for a moment.
“Ask the Song Girls. Isn’t Jesús seeing one of them?” she asked.
“I’m not sure if that’s still going on, but I can call and see.”
“If you want to have some fun, invite the Alpha Mu sorority,” Cassidy suggested.
David stopped and hugged his friend.
“You are an evil little girl, and that’s why I love you,” David announced.
Crystal, Matt’s girlfriend, was an Alpha Mu. While Matt would never come to David’s party, Crystal might show up just to piss Matt off. Cassidy knew that David would call Taylor, Crystal and Matt’s roommate, and have her invite all her sorority sisters who were either in the area or attending summer school.
“Do you think Milena might be able to come?” Cassidy asked.
David’s face clouded.
“You really don’t like Colleen, do you?”
Cassidy shrugged.
“Like I said, she’s just a fling. You need someone like Milena to remind you of the type of girl you should be dating.”
He shook his head.
“Don’t try to deny it. You know I’m right,” Cassidy pressed.
“That doesn’t mean that I’m going to quit seeing Colleen,” he shot back.
“I would hope not. As far as flings go, she’s fine,” she conceded. “Just remember, though, that that’s all she is and all she should ever be.”
“Quit calling it a fling,” David complained.
“What would you call it then? Is she your girlfriend? Fuck buddy?”
“What about you and Tank?” he fired back.
“Exactly. I have no idea, which means it isn’t serious. I think summer fling fits for him too.”
“You’re probably right,” David finally admitted.
“Good. I was just checking that you weren’t pulling your normal ‘David’ and falling in love just because she screams your name,” Cassidy said.
“You’re a brat. You know that, right? Using what you know about my past against me? That’s a low blow,” he said with a chuckle.
“Are we good?” she asked.
“You have to plan the party and clean up,” David said.
“Fine,” Cassidy said, acting put out.
She knew that he’d agreed and wouldn’t be able to help himself from helping her when the time came. She made a vow not to point that out when it happened.
Cassidy sent a text to Andy to confirm that the party was on and football players would be there. She got one back that asked if Oliver was coming.
“One more thing … you have to invite Oliver,” Cassidy said.
“I planned on it. By the way, everyone calls him ‘Knackers’ now. It’s Aussie slang for ‘testicles.’ When I was filming in Australia, the locals used the term freely when referring to each other. I was told that it was originally a derogatory term of reference for travelers but nowadays covering a whole spectrum of degenerates.”
“That’s a good nickname for him,” she decided.
“It is.”
“We good?” Cassidy asked.
David put his arm around her shoulder.
“We’re good. I want you to always call me on my bullshit. I might not like it, but I know you are only looking out for me,” David said. Then he added, “And maybe the only one I can count on to do it when I need it.”
“Anytime. Just remember what you just said about me doing it when you need it. I’ll try hard not to remind you of that.”
◊◊◊
Pink hues kissed the clouds as the sun began to go down. It settled into the treetops as Cassidy relaxed on the rooftop.
What had David called it? Stacking days? Cassidy had done everything she planned for today. If David was right, she was one step closer to her goals.
Speak of the devil; Duke came bounding up the steps with his master right behind him. David joined Cassidy on the couch as he pressed up against her. She noted the hardness of David’s body as she had a sudden desire to snuggle in closer.
From there, Cassidy had only meant to take a quick whiff of his neck to see if he smelled like Colleen. She smelled the scent of his sandalwood aftershave, which seemed to have a dizzying effect on her.
It was supposed to be harmless. How Cassidy’s mouth became involved was beyond her. Somehow her lips found the soft, warm hollow where his neck met his shoulders. Even her tongue decided to join the action, experiencing the subtle salty taste of his skin.
At first, Cassidy thought she’d imagined the whole thing until David’s sharp intake of air, followed by a reflexive stiffening of his arms, caused her to be pulled closer to him. Her eyes met his as he examined Cassidy keenly.
She wanted to drop dead.
She couldn’t believe she’d actually licked him. There would be no end to her embarrassment.
“This is going to be the best summer ever,” David announced.
◊◊◊
Chapter 21
David
After Cassidy had done whatever it was to his neck last night, she’d bolted to her room and hidden.
This morning she refused to come out and say good morning before David’s regular morning workouts. What she didn’t know was that he was skipping them this morning because his first alum, defensive end Marshall Davidson, was meeting him to do his vodcast.
“I need to trick Cassidy into thinking we left,” David told Ruth as they ate their breakfast.
“Why is that, sir?”
“There was some inappropriate touching last night, and she freaked out.”
“Sir?” Ruth said, looking concerned.
“It wasn’t me! She licked my neck,” David said before Ruth got the wrong idea.
“I understand. I agree to assist you in your subterfuge.”
After they’d cleaned up, David went to the front door and opened it.
“I’ll see you later!” he called out and then shut the door.
He and Ruth went to hide in the pantry. Duke whined when they shut the door on him. Frick!
Cassidy must have come out of her room because he heard toenails clicking on the hardwood floor. A moment later, they returned.
“What’s wrong, Boy? Did David close the door on your ball?” Cassidy asked Duke.
She opened the pantry door.
“Gah!”
David smiled at his surprised friend.
“I … uh … I … uh …” she started as she began to back away.
“Listen to me,” he interrupted, putting his hands on Cassidy’s shoulders. “Because this is all actually like, stupid-simple, and you’ve overthought it all to hell.”
She gave him a wary look to see if David was teasing her.
“If you weren’t the biggest mess of awkward-sauce right now, you would know that everything is fine,” he said seriously.
“But I don’t know what came over me,” Cassidy mumbled.
“If I thought it was a big deal, we would probably have to talk about it. I care about you more than just typical friendship, and I know that at some point, we’ll figure it out. But if something like this happens again—I mean heck, I might be the one sucking on your neck—let’s agree not to blow it out of proportion. We need to check in to see what the other thinks,” David rambled.
“What if …” she started and then blushed.
He gave her a smoldering look.
“Pam and Tracy have no problem dragging me upstairs. You know all you have to do is ask.”
Cassidy slugged him in the chest.
“Hey! I thought you were supposed to protect me,” David complained to Ruth.
“Sorry, sir, but you deserved that one,” Ruth said.
Cassidy seemed to relax, and he really did have to go.
“I left you eggs and bacon in the oven. I have to go do my vodcast,” David said.
“Take Duke. He’s used to having people around, and I don’t think he likes staying at home alone,” Cassidy said.