Chapter 28
CASH
Once Cash got his truck, he was surprised to come home to a quiet house. The music that normally greeted him was gone. He decided to check out the music room. As he walked in, he shook his head. There were Mountain Dew bottles and Doritos and all kinds of other stuff, but the instruments were well taken care of, and his Fender was still untouched on the wall.
He walked over to it and picked it up and gave it a strum. He plugged it into an amp and started playing around. He hadn't played in a long time. It felt good. He lost himself playing around. Before long he noticed someone standing in the door.
"Pearl Jam. Nice. Which one was that?"
"Black. You need to brush up on your grunge if you didn't know that."
"Is that what grandpa played?"
Damn, that threw him. He very rarely thought of his dad. Yes, he knew that was River's grandfather, but he had never heard of him referred to that before.
"Some, mostly jam bands, like Dave Matthews shit."
"Gross."
Cash chuckled. "Yeah, not the punk you seem to play."
"It's not punk per say. I just like driving beats."
"Who was singing this morning? I don't think I've woken up to Bikini Kill since high school."
"You know Bikini Kill?"
"Of course, but aren’t they before your time? They’re a bit before my time."
"Yeah, I guess. I just like them."
"But for real, who was singing?"
"Her name is Mallory. She's a friend of Mateo's."
"You guys sounded really good together."
River nodded and picked up the bag of Doritos and started to munch.
"You seem to be settling in pretty well."
He nodded. Talking to him was like pulling teeth, but that was pretty par for the course with a broody teenage musician. While Cash had never been a broody musician, he had been a broody hockey player, and equally talkative.
"I think I might apply for a job at the music shop with Mateo. They’re hiring, but I don't know if they would want to hire me for just a month or so."
"I think that's a good idea."
"You do?" he said looking up at him.
Cash smiled at him and nodded.
"Do you think I could stay longer than the summer?"
The thought of that warmed Cash. They had gotten off to a rocky start, but somewhere over the last few weeks they seemed to have come to an understanding.
"I think it's a possibility. We need to talk to your mom, and when the season starts up I'm gone a lot."
"I'll be eighteen then. I promise I’ll be responsible."
"I believe you. Let's talk to your mom and see what we can work out," Cash said. "I'm going to go shower," he said as he stood to leave.
"Can I play the Fender?" River asked as Cash got in the hallway.
"Don't touch the Fender," he answered back as he made his way up to his room.
He checked his phone. He had left it here for his run, but he wasn't even sure why he was checking. It's not like Evie magically decided she was ready to talk to him, but as he picked it up, he saw a text from her. His heart started pounding in his chest as he opened it.
Evie - Can we talk?
That gave him nothing to go on. It could be a fuck you or a reconciliation. While he didn't know what this was, he knew he was only willing to accept the latter. He couldn't change his past and he didn't want to, he just hoped she would be able to accept it.
Cash - Please. Where?
His heart warmed at the dots that appeared immediately beneath their text exchange.
Evie - Dinner? Manelli's?
Cash - I'll pick you up at six
Evie – Okay. I'm sorry Cash.
At that his heart nearly fell out of his chest. Everything was going to be okay, and he would make sure it stayed that way.
Cash - I can't wait to see you, baby girl.
Somehow Cash managed to get through the rest of the day. He fought all the urges to drive her to her house and talk to her earlier. He was ready to make this better right now, but he could be patient.
At six on the nose, he was knocking on her door. When she came to the door in a pretty sun dress, he was done. He wouldn’t take her back in her house and lift up her pretty sun dress, no matter how badly he wanted to.
"Hi," she said quietly behind a small smile Cash didn't recognize.
"Hey there, baby girl. You look amazing," he said as he pulled her hand up to her mouth and kissed it.
A real smile stretched across her face and settled in his heart. He had suspected he loved her for a while now, but after this moment there was no denying it. He was in love with Evie Masterson, and he would do whatever it took to make her his.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah, let's go."
They walked hand in hand to Cash's truck because he couldn’t bring himself to break contact with her.
Once they were seated in a cushy round booth in Manelli's, he slid her over, so they were sitting close.
Evie jumped in as soon as they were comfortable. "I'm so sorry about what happened."
He wanted to tell her there was no need to apologize, but she had hurt his feelings, and he really did want her to stop blocking him every time something happened. So, he just sat there holding her hand and let her continue.
"I know about your history and that's not what bothered me. I think it was just the culmination of a lot of things with too much alcohol and I kind of freaked out."
"If my past doesn't bother you, why were you so upset?"
"It's silly," she said as she turned her face from his breaking their gaze.
"It is not silly if it bothered you enough to leave me at a bar and block me for three days."
She looked back at him with a tentative eye. All the graceful confidence she usually exuded was gone. He didn't like it one bit.
"I know we’re going to run into women you've been with, but I guess when I saw them and how different they are from me it made me nervous."
"What do you mean different from you?"
"Cash," she said, giving him a pleading look. "Are you really going to make me say it?"
"I'm afraid you're going to have to, baby girl, because I'm not sure what you’re talking about."
She gave him a flat stare. "Are you serious?"
He nodded and waited for her to continue.
She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Those women at the bar were perfect. All blond and petite. I'm not like the women you are usually with."
He was openly gawking at her like she had lost her mind because what in the actual fuck was she thinking. "Evie. You are perfect. You blow me away every fucking time I see you, and you have from the moment I saw you at the gala."
"I know, I think I just got in my head."
"Hey," he said as he cupped her face, turning her to face him. "I mean it. You take my breath away." He kissed her and she relaxed into him. "I don’t want to get into my past too much, but I do want you to know I don't have a type. I've been with all kinds of women who all look vastly different, and while I never thought I’d be talking about it like this on a date with a woman I actually want something long term with, I feel like you should know that. I’m attracted more to the way women carry themselves...and honestly sometimes what was convenient, which I'm not proud of, but that's the truth of it."
"I get it," she said quietly. She turned away from him, taking a sip of her wine.
"Evie," he said, resting his hand on her gently trying to pull back her attention. "I like you a lot. I think this could be something very special, but I need you to stop blocking me every time we get in an argument. I'm going to fuck up, I know this about myself, but it really fucking sucks when you block me."
She closed her eyes and nodded her head. "I know. I promise not to block you. I'm sorry I did." She finally met his gaze and the tortured look on her face gutted him. "You scare me."
"What?" he asked gently.
She took a deep breath and looked away, but he wasn't going to let her off the hook that easily. "Why?"
She was chewing on her bottom lip still not meeting his gaze. "Evie," he said as he gently turned her chin.
"I've never felt like this before. I feel out of control when I’m with you, but in the best possible way and sometimes that freaks me out."
He held her gaze and something settled in him, "I feel the same way too, baby. Whatever this is, it blindsided me, but feels big. I just really need you to stay in it with me and trust me."
A little light finally found her eyes and a small smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. And damn, that smile was everything to him, she was everything to him.
"Do you still want to go to the wedding with me?" she asked tentatively.
"Baby," he said, brushing her hair behind her ear. "You couldn't keep me away from that wedding."
An actual smile finally found her face for the first time since that night, all the tension left Cash's shoulders and he wanted to scoop her up and do really dirty things to her on this table, but he would wait until he could get her home.
"I should probably tell you something else too," she said with a look on her face she couldn't quite read. He gave a little nod and waited for her to go on. "That night at the bar when I was talking to Bryan, he tried to kiss me."
"What?" Cash almost growled out. He tried to silence the fighter in him, but he was about to lose the battle.
"I slapped him and told him to leave," Evie said, quickly sensing the rage rising in him. "I told my sister about it, and she said she would take him off the wedding guest list."
"You hit him?" That did appease his caveman a little bit.
"I did. Then I told him to leave. I was still so emotional after that...then I saw that woman with her hands on you and I just couldn't think clearly."
"You were jealous," he said, grinning at her.
She pointed her nose up and crossed her arms. "I was not."
Cash just looked at her with a cocked eyebrow.
"Okay, maybe I was a little jealous."
"As much as I like that you feel just as jealous as I do, I need you to know that you’re all I see. You’re everything and you have been since the gala."
The look on her face softened and Cash could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes until she took a deep breath.
"I told my sister to take him off the guest list. I’m so done with all of that."
"How's your mom going to handle that one?" he asked.
"I don't care. She can just deal. I'm with you now."
"Are you? You are finally ready to admit there is nothing fake about this and you're mine."
"If you'll have me, I'm ready for all of that."
"Oh, baby girl, you already have me breaking all my old rules." he said with a slight growl in his voice as his eyes raked over what was his.
“Let’s just throw out the rule book and make our own.”
“I like the sound of that,” he said as he traced her jaw. “I’ll break all my rules if it means I can be with you. Don’t worry, I won’t break your rule.”
“My rule?” she asked like she didn’t know what he was talking about.
“Yeah, your rule.”
It was apparently her part of the date to have no clue what he was talking about.
“That night in the hotel, you said no butt stuff,” he reminded her.
“Oh,” she said in an almost surprised tone. “I made up that rule. I just felt like I should have something to add. I’ve never done anything like that, but I’m not opposed.”
“Oh.” The only word his brain would find. Lust was filling all his senses, leaving him a horny caveman ready to claim his woman.
He was only vaguely aware of the waitress, because he was not taking his eyes off her.
"I think we’re ready for the check," Evie said, her gaze locked with his.
It was fucking on as soon as he got her home.