Chapter 20
***Cass***
Cash didn’t miss a beat. He held my hand in the air as he led us deeper into the house, a playful smirk on his face when I looked back at him.
There were people everywhere and we passed through a hallway that made me claustrophobic but then we were in a large living space with all the furniture pushed against the walls to create a faux dance floor.
Cash spun me as much as he could in the slightly less packed space and then whistled when I came back to him.
“Did Hayes suggest this top? Remind me to hug him.” He gripped my waist and swayed to the music.
There was something mischievous in his gaze and it was intoxicating.
He always looked like he was up to something but that certain hint of wildness made me want to go bad with him.
It was easy to forget the gravity of what we were supposed to be doing when he looked like a dare.
“Show me those dance moves, sweetheart. Make everyone jealous that I’ve got you and they don’t. ”
Even if it was fake, he was proudly showing me off. It stroked that need in me to feel wanted and I couldn’t hide the way it made me happy. I grinned at him and shrugged. “Sure you can handle me?”
He laughed. “I’m sure as shit going to try.”
Years of cheer and dance had given me rhythm and enough skills to impress the average person and I used every one of them.
I danced around him, only brushing against him every so often.
It was torturous but also the most fun I’d had in so long.
With each brush of my hips against his, the energy heated around us.
I forgot about everything else and just enjoyed myself.
Cash laughed and tried to keep up with me but when the first slow song came on he locked his arms around me and held me still. “Ah. This is more my pace.”
I grinned up at him and swayed as much as possible. It rocked our middles together in a way that Cash definitely didn’t hate, if his erection said anything. When I didn’t pull away shrieking, he raised his eyebrows at me and let his hands rest a little lower on my back.
“Okay?”
I locked my hands behind his neck and shrugged one shoulder. “Is there a reason I wouldn’t be?”
He shook his head and stopped whatever he was going to say when someone pressed into me from behind.
His calm response had me relaxing even before I looked back and saw Hayes.
Cash might not have noticed the vibe shift in the room around us but I did.
We were putting on a show and it didn’t seem like they had any clue.
My body grew jittery but pinned between the two of them, it would’ve been hard for anyone else to notice. They were each big enough that when they wanted to they could practically engulf me and keep me hidden. I wanted that, especially when a camera flash went off in the room.
Hayes gripped high on my waist and spread his hands so it felt like he was holding me everywhere. “We should grab a few drinks and sit out back.”
Outside? Away from random camera flashes? “Absolutely.”
Hayes led the way and we grabbed a few more bottles of beer on our way out.
It was somehow cooler outside with the breeze and I relaxed instantly.
We settled around a patio table with some of their friends, with me in Hayes’ lap.
Everyone was nice and it was easy to forget that it was all fake.
It felt so natural to sit there with Hayes’ arms around me, his hand stroking my hip.
The looks that passed between us felt genuine.
I just drank a little more each time that thought started to terrify me.
I lost track of time and switched to Cash’s lap at some point. He was handsier than Hayes. I felt like I was overheating sitting in his lap with him touching me all over. My body hadn’t gotten the memo that we were acting. I was soaking wet and every brush of my jean shorts made me bite my lip.
To distract myself I stared at the pool and wondered why no one was swimming. I mistakenly asked that question out loud and Cash suddenly stood up, shifting me around so I was wrapped around him. The first step he took towards the pool made me freeze. “Cash! No. Don’t do it. Don’t you dare!”
He gripped my ass and his eyes flashed as he watched me. “Afraid of a little water, Cassidy?”
Hayes laughed from the table. “Come on, Cash.”
“Oh, sorry.” Cash smirked. “I guess you don’t want to mess up your hair, princess.”
I heard the challenge in his voice and growled. “Fine. Do it. If anyone is worried about their hair here, it’s you, pretty boy.”
He took a running start and let out a war cry as he jumped in.
The water was cold as it rushed around us but Cash didn’t let me go as we went under.
We sank in the deep end and I blinked my eyes open just like I had as a kid.
Back then it was the light dancing across the bottom of the pool that I needed to see.
That night it was Cash. He was looking back at me, his face tinted blue under the water.
My chest grew tight from needing to breathe but Cash dragged one of his hands up my back and into my hair.
He pulled my face closer to his but waited a beat to see if I’d pull away.
I leaned in instead. It was a rushed kiss as we floated higher but it felt special and secret.
We’d both separated by the time our heads popped out of the water.
Several other people had jumped in and the once tranquil pool had exploded with activity.
Cash easily hauled himself out of the pool and reached down to pull me out.
His eyes went straight down to my chest and I looked down to see that my tank top was pointless when wet.
I crossed my arms and slapped a hand to my face.
“That’s embarrassing.”
He grunted. “Disagree.”
Hayes appeared next to us, his own shirt already stripped and in his hand for me. “Someone just told me that Weston is wasted. We should grab him and go before he does anything stupid.”
I tried not to but it was impossible not to check out Hayes’ tan muscles as I yanked his shirt over my head. He gripped my hand and pulled me after him. Cash was at my back, hand never far from my waist. I didn’t understand their haste to get to Weston until I saw him.
I felt both Hayes and Cash tense and I got it.
Weston was a massive guy. Too massive to be as wasted as he was.
He was swaying on his feet, arguing with some other drunk guy about what probably amounted to nothing.
His energy was scary as he raised his voice.
I wanted to shrink back and let the guys handle him but then the other drunk asshole brought me into it.
“There’s the slut now. Go back to USC, whore.” He slurred his words while jabbing a finger in my direction and I would’ve ignored him if I thought everyone else would. To avoid Hayes or Cash feeling that they had to stand up for me, I decided to stand up for myself.
I stepped forward to tell him off just as Weston jerked his arm back to throw a punch.
The force of his elbow striking me in the face was shocking and caused me to fall backwards.
I went down silently, accustomed to dealing with sports injuries in public where I didn’t want to make a scene.
It wasn’t easy, though. By the time I hit the ground my nose was bleeding all over Hayes’ borrowed shirt and I was seeing stars.
I sucked in a breath of air and choked as blood also drained down the back of my throat. Staring up at the ceiling, I wondered if I’d escaped a decade of competitive cheer and a lifetime of playing football and other rough sports without breaking my nose just to have it broken by Weston.