14. Cassidy
cassidy
. . .
J oining Travis to have lunch with Pop could blow up in my face; I’m not sure how Pop will take it. He loves Travis, but I was engaged to another man, making it painfully obvious that I broke things off with Zack because of Travis. Zack was a little too understanding, holding out hope that I’m going through some sort of cold feet phase. He could be right, but as long as whatever this is between Travis and me is unresolved, I can’t stay engaged.
The drive to Pop’s is quiet, though I don’t know what else could be said. He slides his hand onto my thigh, squeezing once before turning his palm over. I interlace our fingers and keep our joined hands in my lap. I shouldn’t compare him to Zack, but I never had butterflies with Zack. Every time Travis touches me, it’s as if a fire spreads within me; the irony of a firefighter causing a fire has me chuckling to myself.
We pull up to the house, and as I’m about to exit the truck, Travis tugs my hand to keep me in the cab. Without warning, he slides his fingers along my jaw until his thumb is resting on my cheek, then leans in to kiss me. I sigh against his lips, my nerves now nonexistent .
There’s a rapping of knuckles on the window, making me jump. Travis and I glance over my shoulder, finding my grumpy brother glaring at us. He opens the door and growls, “Do you have to do that in front of me?” It’s curious to me that he’s not upset I’m kissing Travis, especially since I haven’t told him Zack and I are no longer engaged.
“How do you think I felt, Cay, when I caught you fucking my best friend? Not once, but twice!” I hop out of the truck. “Why are you here?”
“Pop invited me to have lunch with him and Travis. Why are you here?”
“Travis invited me.” I look behind me, but he’s not in the truck. I check left and right, no Travis. “Where did he—” We spot Travis on the front porch with Darcy. She’s showing him something on a piece of paper and his grin is bright enough to light up a night sky.
“Darcy made him a thank you card for putting out the fire,” Cay explains. “It’s for the whole station, but she wanted to give it to him in person.”
My heart squeezes. “Damn, I love that little munchkin.”
“Come on.” Cay slings an arm around my shoulder as we walk toward the house. “After lunch, you can explain to me why you’re no longer wearing your engagement ring and kissing my best friend.”
Darcy glances up as we reach the porch. “Auntie Cass! Look what I made for Uncle Travis and the firemen.” She proudly shows off the picture. “There’s Inferno and Smitten.”
“It’s beautiful! I’m sure they’ll love it. But you know the Dalmatians weren’t at the fire,” I remind her, careful with my tone to not burst her bubble of happiness. Travis’ smile fades and, fuck , I’m an asshole; he lost Blaze, the station’s Dalmatian, years ago. Ever since, they’ve never let dogs on any calls. I clear my throat. “Have you talked to Pop? What’s for lunch?”
“Nope, let’s go find him,” Cay replies, taking Darcy’s hand.
As soon as they’re inside, I rush out, “I’m so sorry, Travis, I didn’t mean?—”
“Shh, it’s okay. I know.” He wraps me in a quick, warm hug, then waffles our fingers together and leads us into the house. There isn’t an ounce of hesitation, as if holding my hand is something we’ve always done. Maybe he’s right and he has grown up. Maybe it’s me who hasn’t.
We find Pop in the kitchen, slicing through brisket. “Hey you’re…” He looks down at our joined hands and back to me, cocking an eyebrow. “Well, well, well. When did this happen?”
I attempt to pull my hand away, but Travis keeps it firmly in his. Darcy answers for us. “Cassidy’s birthday. Remember? Uncle Travis said she was getting married.”
“That’s true, I did say that,” he confirms, a sly smirk tugging at his lips.
Pop lets out a hearty laugh. “Can’t say I didn’t see this coming a mile away. Caleb and I called it when you came back from the fire academy. Should’ve taken bets, but Cay would’ve won.”
“You what?” I squeak.
Pop ignores me. “Now, who wants to make themselves useful and take the potatoes out of the oven?”
“I do!” Darcy leaps into action beating all of us to it.
Travis is hot on her heels with mitts. “Hold on there, sweetheart. You’ll need these.” Instead of doing it himself, he slips the mitts onto her hands and helps her take the tray out of the oven. “Steady, now. It’s not a race. We don’t want to spill.” He guides her to the counter, and she sets it down. “Great job! Now, let’s turn off the oven.” Explaining to her what each of the knobs do, he shows her how to turn the oven off. “Every oven is different. On this one, and the one at your house, if you see this light on, it means the oven is hot. If Mommy and Daddy aren’t cooking, and you see it’s on, you need to tell them, okay?”
Darcy nods and they gather plates for all of us. How have I not seen this side of him before? Was he always this patient and sweet with the kids?
Caleb leans in to whisper, “If this doesn’t work out, I’m picking Travis.” I shove him with my elbow and he chuckles. “I’m serious. I love him like family. He’s a good man, Cass. He deserves someone who puts him first.”
“Travis isn’t a rebound,” I insist, though he’s right. I’m stringing two men along when I’m not returning either of their feelings.
“Good,” he grumbles. Darcy comes bouncing over and Cay praises, “You’re such a great helper.” She beams at him, wrapping her arms around him. I remember the day Ingrid found out she was pregnant with Darcy, like it was yesterday. So much has changed for them, but my life has remained the same.
We prepare our plates and take a seat at the table. When Darcy inquires about what happens after a fire, Travis explains why a construction crew is needed. They are understaffed, and with the bulk of fire season behind us, he will be there for at least a week before he’s needed back at the station .
Everything is so new between us, I’m sad he’s leaving, even if I understand it. My work schedule is equally chaotic, and I hope it isn’t too much for either of us.
After lunch, awkward silence settles between us as we drive back to Travis’ house. I could be the one making it awkward. My brother’s warning is haunting me, and I’m beginning to wonder if I’m good enough for Travis.
“Stay with me tonight?” His words pull me from my spiral.
My brows pinch. “What?”
“Stay with me,” he repeats. “I’m going to be away for a while and?—”
I break out in a fit of laughter. “Don’t I at least get a first date before you get in my pants?”
A boyish grin splits his face as we pull up to his house. Once he parks, he shifts to face me. “As much as I’d love to hear you begging me to fuck you while I spread your thighs wide, feasting on your pussy, we need to take this slow.” I squeeze my legs together, fighting the ache from his suggestion. “If you stay tonight, you can consider it an extended nap.”
“I have to work.”
“Then, regular nap it is.” He gets out of the truck and rounds it to open my door. “This time, you better keep your sex noises to yourself.”
As I hop out, my words tumble from me. “And what if I don’t?”
Travis presses me against the truck door, caging me in. Leaning in, he whispers beside my ear, “I’ll ruin you. You’ll spend the next few weeks feeling empty, counting down the minutes until I’m back so I can fill you again. Your sweet pussy will ache at the mere mention of my name. Do not test me, Cass.”
“Wh-what happened to taking things slow?”
“Oh, we will, no matter how much I want you. Are you ready for me to be the last man you’ll ever sleep with? Until you are, I’m not touching you, because when I finally sink myself inside you, you won’t be the only one who’s ruined.”
As Travis pulls back, his eyes are dark, making a swirl of emotion fester within me. All this talk about ruining me, it’s no wonder he was able to sleep with half the women of Sapphire Lake; I’m moments away from asking him to fuck me against his truck. Except this isn’t a game or a pick up line, he’ll take until I have nothing left to give.
My default is to make light of it. “Well, since none of us wants to be ruined, why don’t I go home to prevent branding of souls.”
“Fuck, I love you.” My eyes widen at his admission, but he doesn’t take it back or address it. Instead, he grabs my hand and drags me toward the front door. “Come on, you’re staying for a few hours and letting me cuddle you until you start work.”
I can't help the laughter that bubbles out of me. “Cuddle me? What the fuck, Travis? First you’re talking about pussy ruining, and now you want to cuddle? I have whiplash!”
Travis only stops long enough to lock the front door and toss his keys on the counter, then I’m being led upstairs to his room. He releases my hand to open his dresser and pulls out two tees and sweatpants, then sets them on top of the dresser. “I never got my shirt back, you know.”
Unlike last time where I undressed in the ensuite, Travis tugs my shirt over my head and exchanges it for his. As he unhooks my bra and slips the straps down my arms, I snicker. “Has it been a while since you’ve undressed a woman? It’s a little backward.”
“Nope,” he replies, popping the ‘p.’ “If I see you naked, I’ll want to taste you.” Dropping to one knee, he slips off my shoes and pants, pressing a single kiss to my panties. “I’m going to have so much fun with you when you’re ready.” I step into the sweatpants and he slowly tugs them up my legs. My whole body is warm. I’m always heated around him, and he hasn’t even touched me. He stands, and an adorable dimple pops in his cheek as he smiles down at me. “You look good in my clothes, Cass. Now get your sexy ass into bed.” He playfully smacks my ass, making me yelp. I do as he asks and saunter over to the bed, slipping under the covers.
I’m unable to look away from him undressing in front of me. There’s no show, no teasing, but I watch intently as he strips off his shirt and pants, leaving him in a pair of dark red boxer briefs. He slips on a pair of sweatpants and as he’s about to put on his shirt, I blurt, “Keep it off.” He pauses with his arms in the shirt, about to lift it over his head. “Keep it off,” I quietly repeat, taking a moment to appreciate his hairless chest and the peaks and curves of his abdominal muscles. I’m unable to ignore the beautiful indentation that travels from the top of his hip down to his waistband. Fuck, I want to trace it with my tongue. He’s beautiful.
“My eyes are up here, Cass.”
Shit, fuck!
“Sorry. How is it that I work out every day and have cellulite on my thighs, but you look like you walked out of a firefighter calendar shoot?”
“I like your thighs.” He shrugs and pulls the shirt over his head. “They’ll feel amazing squeezing my cheeks. ”
“Squeezing your ch— Travis! ”
“Are you practicing screaming my name for when I’m gone and you’re fucking your vibrator?”
“Pfft, I don’t have a vibrator,” I lie, even if he’ll see through it.
“You don’t? Well, I guess I’ll need to buy you one for when I’m at the station.”
I bite my lip to keep from smiling. “You wouldn’t.”
Travis climbs onto the bed, settling between my legs with his hard cock pressed against my now very wet pussy. Bracing himself with a hand on either side of my head, he leans in until our lips are almost brushing and whispers, “I absolutely would.” In an instant, he rolls onto his back and slides under the covers, stretching out his arm and tapping his chest. “Come on. Let the nap time commence.”