26. Casey
CASEY
It’s Labor Day weekend, and while I couldn’t take the typical August vacation a lot of people in publishing do while I worked to acquire new authors for Starlight, I allowed myself a long weekend to spend with Trina.
I treated her to a lavish dinner at one of my favorite restaurants on Friday night, going to the beach the next day, and making love before watching a movie on my couch until she dragged herself back to her place.
As she gathers up her purse and slides her feet into her sandals, I awkwardly shove my hands into my pockets, watching as she hops on one foot when she loses her balance. She puts her other foot down and runs a hand through her sex-tousled hair, laughing quietly at herself.
Suddenly, the idea of spending tomorrow without her just so I can spend time with Robert is unacceptable. I don’t want to be away from her for one minute.
“Robert has been asking about you,” I say, testing the waters.
“Oh yeah?” She folds her arms and cocks a hip, giving me her undivided attention, almost as if she doesn’t really want to leave and is taking an excuse for a few extra minutes. “How is he?”
“Good.” I take a step toward her. “Come have lunch with us tomorrow.”
Her lips make a little O in surprise. “I wouldn’t want to impose on your time with him.”
That’s not a no, and I dare to hope that maybe she wants to come, to be part of my family. I take another step toward her and tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, letting my fingertips linger. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want you there.”
She tips her chin up, leaning into my touch. “Okay. Text me the details.”
“That was easy,” I tease. “I didn’t even have to bust out a ‘my girl.’”
“Shit.” She smiles wryly. “I should have held out.” Her gaze drops to the side as her grin fades. “I like watching you and your brother together. I never had a sibling. Evelyn”—she glances at me—“my cousin…she wasn’t…we weren’t that close.”
I kiss her nose, then her lips. Every time she shares something small from her life, I want to etch it into my brain, scribble it into the book I’m compiling about Trina that sits front-and-center in my mind.
“Well, Robert thinks you’re amazing.” I kiss her again. “And so do I.” I pull away so I can look her in the eyes, so she can feel the gravity of what I’m saying. “You’re welcome with us any time.”
She melts a little, folding herself into me and wrapping her arms around my waist as she rests her cheek against my chest. “Thanks, Casey.”
I hold her there for a long moment, breathing in the strawberry scent of her shampoo, planting kisses on the crown of her head. And as I do so, I get the sense that this means a lot more to her than she’s letting on.
“You weren’t nervous last time.” I laugh as Trina readjusts her skirt for the third time since we left my condo. We’re sitting at a table, waiting for Robert’s shift to end.
She glares at me. “Last time, we weren’t dating.”
“The plot thickens,” I tease. “We’ve raised the stakes.”
Rolling her eyes, she swats at my arm. “God, you are such a nerd.”
Just then, the restaurant door opens, and my dad walks in. Before I can think about it, I shoot to my feet half overeager, half anxious that something is wrong. “Dad? What are you doing here?”
“Well.” He shuffles his feet. “You’re always asking me to come on Sundays, and I…
I should come more often.” He glances at Trina, then wraps me in a quick hug.
“Plus, Robert told me there was going to be a pretty lady here, and I’ll admit I was curious.
” Then, quieter, he adds, “Is this the one you were making moon eyes over?”
I huff a laugh as I clap him on the back. “Yeah, this is her.” I’m so embarrassingly giddy with excitement at having all the people I care about most in the world in one place that I can barely speak.
His smile is full of joy as he directs his attention to Trina. “My son seems to have lost his manners.” He extends his hand as Trina stands. “Casey Endersen, Senior.”
Trina’s mouth twists as she tries to hide a smile. “Trina McBryde. Pleasure to meet you.” Her hazel eyes shift to me. “I didn’t know you were a junior.”
Dad scoffs in mock offense. “I see we have a lot to fill you in about the Endersen family.”
Robert comes out of the back room, and as soon as he clocks Trina, he hustles over and locks her into a big bear hug. “Hi, Trina. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“The first thing you should know is that we’re huggers,” I say sarcastically. “I probably should have warned you.”
“No way.” Trina releases Robert. As if to illustrate my point, Dad steps up, arms wide despite having just shaken her hand. Trina embraces him in turn. “I love it.”
When she pulls away, she’s beaming, but her eyes are glistening. As Dad and Robert busy themselves with sliding into one side of the booth, Trina turns her back to them and surreptitiously wipes her eyes.
“Sorry,” she whispers.
Dad glances in our direction, then quickly grabs a menu and starts asking Robert some questions. I make a note to thank him later for giving us a minute.
“Nothing to be sorry about,” I tell her softly, tipping her chin up so she’s forced to meet my eyes. “You okay?”
“I’m great.” Her smile rivals the summer sun, and even though I know there’s more going on under the surface, I believe her.
“You want to eat?” I ask. “We can leave if you want.”
“I always want to eat.” She takes my hand and squeezes it. “I’m fine, I promise.”
And with that, we slide into our side of the booth to join my family.
On Monday evening, as the long weekend comes to a close, the sun casts a riot of oranges on the walls of my bedroom. Trina lies in my arms, her shoulders pink from another day in the sun. I idly trace the line her tank top hid from its rays.
She belongs here with me. I’ve never been happier.
“Stay,” I whisper. I’ve tried this once before, and she did, though I think it was an accident.
I want her here with me on purpose. I want to wake up next to her, to see her smile in the hazy light of dawn, to make her breakfast and kiss her senseless and make love to her before we’ve even had our coffee.
And even though I know she drove her car here to avoid this very outcome, I can’t help but ask for it anyway.
Lifting her head and resting her chin on my chest, her hazel eyes meet mine. They’re more gold in this light, and so is her hair. She looks like the statue of a goddess. I have to run my fingers through her hair to remind myself she’s real.
“I want to,” she sighs.
It’s been weeks, and this is the first time she’s given me anything but a protest or an excuse. I try not to get too over-eager as I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. “Then stay.”
“Depends what you have in your fridge,” she deflects. “I know you haven’t had a chance to go grocery shopping this weekend. You’ve been with me almost the whole time.”
“Hmm.” I pretend to think. “There’s bread.” I kiss her nose. “And cheese.” I kiss the corner of her lips. “And eggs.” I kiss the other corner.
She giggles, playfully shoving me away. “That’s a good start.”
“Coffee, of course.”
“Of course.”
“And there’s always ice cream.”
“Now you’re speaking my language.” She rolls over and sits on the edge of the bed, throwing on her shirt and shorts.
I sit up against the headboard and rest my hand behind my head as I watch her. “It’s a shame to get dressed just to get undressed again.”
“Your blinds are open,” she points out. “Plus”—she winks—“getting undressed again is half the fun.”
I’m pretty sure she puts some extra sway in her hips as she makes her way to the kitchen, but I can’t say I’m mad about the view.
Sure enough, she wiggles her ass as she bends over to rummage in the freezer. Ice cream procured, she drops the container on the counter and grabs a spoon, taking a taste right from the carton. She makes a show of licking the spoon several times, her tongue lapping up the cream.
It’s enough to have me bounding out of bed and crossing into the kitchen. Trina squeals as I turn her so her back is pressed against the counter, but I stop the sound with a deep kiss. She tastes of sugar and summer and promises.
“You had some on your lip there,” I tease.
She gives me a breathy laugh. “Did you get it?”
“Hmm.” I squint at her lips, then kiss her again. “Now I did.”
“Right.” She chuckles again.
Her phone rings from where it sits on the counter, and in that instant, her entire mood changes. Her eyes go wide, and her body stiffens under my grasp. It rings again, and with a start, she snaps out of it enough to grab the phone and look at it.
Relief crosses her features. “It’s Imani. Go put some pants on,” she jokes, but it falls flat.
I don’t know what could have made her so nervous about a call, but as she’s answering the phone isn’t the time to ask, so I do as she says before joining her back in the kitchen.
“Imani, slow down,” she’s saying. “Whatever he said, we can figure this out.” She listens for a moment.
“That’s not true.” Another long pause. “I can promise you, that won’t be an issue.
” She listens again, frowning deeply. Then, she glances at me and turns her back.
“There’s no need to do that. I can ask, okay?
But you’re going to have to have some faith in the answer.
He hasn’t done anything that would make you think this is true, right?
Okay, then let me talk to him. I’ll call you back. ”
She hangs up and immediately starts tapping out a message. Once she sends it, she finally turns to face me again, still wearing that frown while she studies me. I get the inescapable feeling that whatever she’s about to say is not going to be good.
“If you’ve got beef with any of the editors over at Halo Sun, I think now is a good time to tell me,” she says.
“What?” I reel back. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Tilting her head, she winces. “You keep evading the question when I ask about them. Why?”