CHAPTER 29 Cassie Fields
We Have This Phone Call
I stare at my phone.
Why did you kiss me?
I can’t make myself send the text even though I want to know. I need to know.
And when morning rolls around, I’m nervous.
I shouldn’t be. I’ve been to his house every day, and it’s been fine.
But he kissed me yesterday, and I don’t know why. Even so…I want him to do it again.
In one day, my kids fell for him. Hard.
And seeing them fall for him made me fall for him a little bit, too. Then he follows it up with that text conversation telling me he wants to start up a football program for kids while he’s injured so he has something to focus on…
Are you kidding me?
How am I supposed to act around him now that my heart is invested ?
It was easy enough to play it off before. It was just a heated attraction, just the memory of our night. I convinced myself that he wasn’t feeling the things I was.
But then he kissed me yesterday, and all hope I had of keeping things professional between us was completely obliterated.
It was a good run—for an entire five days.
God, what is wrong with me?
My first VIP patient and here I am, falling for him like some sort of idiot.
But it’s not just that.
I could lose my job over this if I allow it to go any further than that kiss yesterday. I could get into serious trouble, and I absolutely will not stand in the way of his healing.
And that’s why I’m nervous.
I decided I’m going to shoot my shot with him, and then if he takes me up on it, I’m going to resign as his physical therapist.
It’s the only way we can move forward.
I can’t risk my job for the unknown when I’m reaching the goals I set for myself and my kids.
My hands are trembling when I ring the bell, and Miller answers it.
“Come on in,” he says. “Tanner is on the couch with ice, as usual. But for something different, he’s doing a puzzle today. I gave him the challenge to finish the puzzle before the timer on the ice goes off.”
I chuckle as I follow him through the house. Of course he likes puzzles. So do I. Still, disappointment lances through me that we’re not going to be alone. “Great win yesterday. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” He nods to Tanner, and I spot him on the couch with a laptop .
“Good morning,” he says to me, and his voice is warm and friendly—a one eighty from the grumpy man I dealt with last week. “I finished the puzzle and got back to work.”
“Good morning,” I say, and my voice trembles a little.
If Miller notices, he doesn’t say anything. “And thanks for whatever you’re doing with him. He’s in a good mood for the first time since the injury, and I think it has something to do with you.”
I smile, though I’m surprised he told Miller about us. Maybe he didn’t, so I play it cool. “Happy to help.”
“He has his purpose back, you know? The kids’ program, I mean. He was working on it when I got home last night, and he’s working on it again this morning.” He shrugs. “He’s excited about something, and I’m relieved.”
“How much do you feel what he’s feeling?” I ask.
He shrugs. “It varies depending on the situation, but man, when he was depressed last week, I felt it.”
“I’ve always been fascinated by twins,” I say, and I hear a grunt from Tanner over on the couch that I choose to ignore since Miller doesn’t catch it.
I’ll ask him about it later once we’re alone.
As it turns out, Miller has the day off since the Storm won, and he decided he’s going to spend the day chilling at home.
With us.
I don’t get to have the conversation with Tanner I need to have.
He watches our session, and we’re forced to remain professional.
It isn’t until after I get Luca down for bed that I spot a text from Tanner.
Tanner: I’m sorry my brother was hanging around all day. I really wanted to talk to you, but I didn’t mention anything to him about…well, any of it .
Me: I had some things I wanted to talk to you about, too.
I click the send button before I change my mind, though I’m nervous about what his response might be.
Tanner: Are the kids asleep?
Me: Yes.
My phone starts to ring, and I answer it right away when I see his contact flash across my screen. “Hi.”
“Hey.”
I know I spent the majority of my day with him, but hearing his voice feels like a warm blanket wrapping around me.
He starts talking before I can say what I was planning to say. “I really wanted to kiss you again today, Cass. I can’t stop thinking about our night in Vegas.” His voice is low and raspy, and my God, it pulses a strong ache right between my legs.
“Tell me why you kissed me yesterday,” I blurt.
He’s quiet a beat as if I caught him off guard, and then he clears his throat. “I guess I just…couldn’t let another moment go by without doing it. I did it because I wanted to do it. It felt right.”
“I wanted you to kiss me, too,” I say, and my voice is breathless. “And, you know…other things.”
“My brother will be here tomorrow again, but we have tonight.”
“I can’t come over now. My kids are home. They’re sleeping, and—”
“That’s not what I meant,” he interrupts softly. “We have this phone call.”
“We can’t kiss through the phone.” I mean, maybe I’m stating the obvious, but I’m not sure what he’s getting at.
“No, but we can talk. We can do other things.”
“Such as?” I ask .
“You can touch your nipples and make them hard for me. You can reach into your panties and tell me how wet your cunt is with my voice in your ear.”
Oh. Whoa. I wasn’t expecting him to say that .
I clear my throat. “I, uh…” I stutter as I fail to come up with something to say, but I’m not exactly practiced in dirty talk these days.
“My cock is so hard for you, Cass,” he murmurs. “All I can think about is getting inside you again. Tell me you want it, too.”
“I do,” I squeak.
“How bad do you want it?”
“So bad.” Oh my God, I’m awful at this. I clear my throat and try again. “I haven’t stopped thinking about our night together.”
“When you think about it, what are you thinking?” He’s gently urging me on, guiding me through this conversation as if he knows it’s out of my comfort zone even though I want to do it.
“I think about when your mouth was on me. I think about when you were moving inside of me. I think about how your eyes connected with mine, and this moment passed between us that I wasn’t expecting. It was more intimate and erotic than I thought I would have from something that was only ever supposed to be one night.”
“Maybe it was never meant to be only one night,” he suggests. “That’s what I think about, too. And your gorgeous body. We were so close to being naked yesterday when we were swimming together. Can we swim again?”
“Of course. Tomorrow, if you want.”
“Oh, no. Not tomorrow. Not until I can get you alone, and I can fuck you in my pool.”
“Oh God,” I moan .
“I want you to use my name when you moan,” he demands, and he may be seven years younger than me, but I love how dominating he sounds in this moment.
“Oh Tanner,” I moan.
“That’s right. I didn’t realize the night we were together that you didn’t know my name, but now it’s the only thing I want to hear when you’re moaning.”
Jeez. Where did this guy learn to talk like this? I always thought dirty talk sounded so…cheesy and corny, I guess. But coming out of his mouth with that dark little rasp to his deep voice?
It’s everything.
“Mm, Tanner,” I moan again as I practice it. Maybe it’s because he isn’t here looking at me that I can do this.
Maybe it’s the glass of wine I had after I got Luca down.
I get up and lock my bedroom door just in case, and then I settle back into my bed.
“Touch your pussy. Tell me how wet you are,” he demands.
I lift my shirt a little and reach down into my shorts, bypassing my panties, and I slide a finger into my pussy. “Mm, yes. It’s so wet, Tanner. I’m so wet for you.”
“Push your fingers in a few times and then slide them out and touch your clit for me.”
I do it, and I let out a low groan. “What are you doing while I’m touching myself?” I whisper.
“I pulled my cock out of my shorts, and I’m stroking it. I did it last night while I thought about you, too. All I think about is you, Cass.”
“Oh my God, Tanner,” I moan as I start to rub my clit a little harder. “I’m going to come. I’m getting close.”
“Come on your hand for me, baby. I want to be there with you. I want to be the one making you come. ”
“You are,” I shriek as my body tightens. It’s all him doing this to me, guiding my hand with his words. I start to come, and I tell him. “Oh God, I’m coming!” I squeeze the phone in one hand, and I squeeze my eyes shut as my legs thrash together, the orgasm plowing into me as I listen to his moans on the other side of the line.
“Yes, Cass. Jesus, you sound so hot right now. Fuck yes, oh fuck,” he murmurs. “I’m going to come just from listening to you.” He grunts a few times, and then I hear a louder moan as my own pulses start to slow.
We’re both quiet a few beats, and then he says, “Oh fuck, that felt good.”
“Just wait until we can do it in person,” I say, and I have no idea where those words come from.
No part of this is okay. I still have things I need to say to him, and those words do not include me telling him to fuck me in his pool.
Even if that’s exactly what I want.
I can’t tell him the things I wanted to tell him now—not after he made me come just from his voice directing my hand over the phone.
“I can’t wait.”
“Neither can I,” I admit.
He sighs, and we listen to each other breathe for a few quiet moments as we bask in the afterglow. It should feel weird that neither of us is talking, but instead, it feels comfortable—like neither of us wants to break the silence, and neither of us wants to let go of this conversation.
But then I hear my doorknob wiggle, and I hear a voice on the other side of the door. “Mama?”
“Shit,” I whisper. “I have to go.” I hang up, and I leap out of bed as I run to the bathroom and wash my hands before I head back to answer the door .
“Hey, Lilypad. What’s the matter?”
“I had a bad dream,” she wails, and she’s distracted enough that she doesn’t ask why my door was locked.
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.” I take her hand and walk her back to her room, and she climbs into bed. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. Just lay with me.”
I do, and we both fall asleep.
It’s Luca who wakes us up in the morning, and that’s how our day begins…late. I’m discombobulated from a broken night’s rest, and my neck is stiff from using a stuffed animal as a pillow.
Tanner texted me last night after I abruptly ended the call, and I feel bad I never replied.
I’ll see him soon, but now I need to focus on getting the kids to the bus stop on time.
Then I can focus on figuring out how to deal with the Tanner situation.