Chapter Eight
Cassi
My arms are wrapped around Alec’s lean torso as he takes a sharp left turn.
I lean with him as we speed down the road before we are upright once more.
I haven’t been on the back of a motorcycle since…
god, I guess since him. It was the only thing about Alec my parents didn’t love.
They forbid me to ever ride with him, to which I promptly broke that rule every chance I got.
Hey, I never claimed to be a good teenager. Who was?
Besides, they didn’t need to worry. Alec was an excellent driver then and he clearly still is now. He loves to ride but safety is important to him, so is keeping me safe. At least, that’s what he always said.
It’s funny how sometimes, certain parts of your life, someone can mean so much and then over time they just sort of…
fade. Not that I ever forgot about Alec.
To this day I thought of him often, I just assumed he didn’t want me in his life anymore and I guess I got over it.
Though, now that we are here and now, I can touch him, see him, smell him, it all makes me remember why I fell in love with him in the first place.
As if he can hear my thoughts, he turns over his shoulder to look at me as we pull up to a red light. I can’t see through him helmet but for some reason I just know he is grinning. I can’t help but smile in response as I shake my head before the light turns green and we take off again.
I didn’t make it ten feet out of the restaurant before I got my first text from Alec.
Unknown: Where do you think you’re going with my heart like that?
I immediately couldn’t contain my smile when I read it.
It goes back to an inside joke we had back in high school.
He’d always tease that when I left it felt like his heart was leaving too.
Kinda intense now that I think about it, at least for a high school relationship. That’s just how we were, though.
We burned bright and fast and then kinda faded out after we broke up.
He wanted to stay together despite his parents having to move all the way to New York.
I was the realist. He’s a gorgeous guy who had college right around the corner.
I didn’t want to hold him back. I gave him all the typical shit of us staying friends, that if we were meant to be together we’d find our way back.
My mind can’t help but pull at that thought as we cruise through the early morning streets.
Maybe seeing Alec was all for a greater purpose.
Maybe me accidently sleeping with my sister’s boyfriend will work out because if anything, it’s given me great motivation to think about and do practically anything else.
Lo and behold, I have the perfect gorgeous distraction right in front of me, and if memory serves, he loved eating pussy for literal hours so honestly, win, win.
After I went to bed last night, Alec and I texted for literal hours.
When he suggested going out today, I assumed he meant at night since the text was sent at just after three in the morning.
When I told him I was in he said ‘great, see you in four hours,’ and that was that.
I could have laughed in his face because normally I would require way more sleep than that but honestly, it feels good to have someone desperate to spend time with you.
So, I set an alarm for three hours, only leaving me an hour to do a bare minimum shower, makeup and outfit change before I was out the door.
God, what was with Nicholas this morning?
Or Nico, whatever. He was such an ass. I can’t tell if his problem stemmed more from issues with me or issues with Alec.
I’m going to go out on a crazy limb here and say that his issue is with everyone.
He seems like one of those rich, arrogant ‘I can be mean to anyone because I can buy your entire life with a swipe of my credit card’, types.
Not like Alec in the slightest. Maybe that’s why I was so eager to go out with my sweet ex-boyfriend.
He is literally everything Nicholas isn’t, which I’ve very recently realized is everything in a man I despise and want nothing to do with.
When I see where we are going, I literally almost pee myself laughing.
Alec maneuvers our way into the parking lot of the sketchy breakfast restaurant we came to nearly every morning.
It’s sketchy because of the part of town, the overall dilapidated appearance and the less than pleasant customer service.
It’s amazing though for the food and the price.
So, for a couple of high school kids on a budget, this place was date night material. Or in our case, date day.
Once Alec kills the engine, he takes his helmet off before helping me with mine. My hair becomes a static ball instantly and he smiles at me as he attempts to smooth it out.
“I can’t believe Donny’s is still around,” I say with a shake of my head.
“Right? I drove by when I got back in town and was shocked. I thought they’d have knocked it down or maybe someone else had bought it by now.”
Alec offers me his arm like it’s 1860 and he is escorting me around the gardens, and I happily take it, laughing as we walk through the parking lot and slipping inside the restaurant.
Once we choose a corner booth, we order our usuals like no time has passed as the impatient waitress rolls her eyes at us and walks off.
Neither of us pay her any mind, though as Alec rests his forearms onto the table and leans forward, smiling at me with those beautiful bright eyes.
“So, how have you been, Cass?”
I smile and nod. “Good. I’m a receptionist at a dental office. It’s not the most glamourous job but I’m happy.”
“I’m so glad,” he says, like he truly means it.
“How have you been? How is college?”
He nods as he leans back a little. “College was good. I graduated early and have a job lined up on the east coast once I’m done out here.”
“Done?” I question.
Alec’s smile fades as he nods.
“My grandma is sick. She was put on hospice, and I moved out here until she goes.”
I frown at that, reaching out my hand to cover his. “Alec, I’m so sorry. I always loved her so much. Is she in pain?”
He shakes his head. “No, she has a great team that keeps her comfortable. I spend most of my days with her. Her memory is kinda going so a lot of the time she thinks I’m my dad, but it helps her, I think.”
I nod at that.
“How does she do when you and your dad are in the same room? Or do you guys visit separately?”
No attempt at keeping his smile in check works. His face falls as his eyes drop to the table. He doesn’t speak for several moments before he finally does, his eyes never moving up more than an inch or two.
“He, uhm. He actually passed away. Him and my mom.”
“What?” I ask, unable to hide my shock.
“Yeah, it was last November. We all went up to Vermont to ski and we hit a patch of black ice. Threw us right into a semi and…”
The air between us is so heavy, I’m practically choking on it.
“Alec,” I whisper, feeling my throat tighten with each passing second. “You were…you are okay?”
His eyes come to me as he nods. “Physically, I had a broken leg and some fractured ribs. The car sort of contorted into this weird angle that created a protective bubble for me. I don’t know. The doctors were blown away I wasn’t more hurt.”
Normally, I wouldn’t ask this follow up question, but it’s Alec. He was at one point my absolute best friend, the one person I knew better than anyone.
“And mentally?”
He attempts to give me a strained smile as he nods.
“I’m hanging in there.”
My heart aches for him, for all of them.
I loved his family like he loved mine. We were all this funky amazing blended family.
So many barbeques and lake days spent together.
Holiday gatherings, birthdays. To think that they’ve been gone for months and I didn’t even know.
Grief strikes me hard and true, accompanied by a deep amount of empathy.
What must he have felt like to wake up in the hospital and realize that his parents were gone?
That he was the only one to survive? Then just a few months later, move back across the country to take care of his dying grandmother?
The fact that he’s even hanging on at all is a literal miracle.
“Alec…I wish I would have known.”
He shakes his head and shrugs.
“I kinda kept to myself after the funeral, it was probably best that I lost your number. You would have had my drunk and depressed ass calling you at two in the morning every night,” he laughs dryly.
“I would have answered,” I say, causing his laughter to die as his heavy eyes look to me. “Every time. If you would have called, I would have answered.”
I watch as his throat moves like he’s swallowing before he nods.
“I know,” he rasps, his hand twisting beneath my own before lacing our fingers together.
I give him a soft smile that he matches before letting out a heavy breath.
“Jesus, what a way to start a date.”
My smile widens but I shake my head and roll with his obvious need to switch topics.
“I mean, screw breakfast. I’m wet and ready to go.”
His look of appreciation flashes before it’s gone in the next minute, a suggestive smirk touching his mouth as he leans forward once more.
“Oh really? Well, in that case. I’ll meet you in the bathroom?”
A surprised laugh rips through me, echoing inside the restaurant as I shake my head.
“Not on your fucking life, buddy. I don’t even want to know what we’d catch getting naked in there.”
He frowns in mock disappointment but nods. “Fair enough. Honestly, I’m just impressed my game is strong enough to have you talking about getting naked two minutes into a date.”