Chapter 16 Jackson
Sunlight glimmers off the rippling pool water as I float on my back, attempting to make myself relax.
You can only float if you’re relaxed.
I exhale slowly, closing my eyes behind my sunglasses. The rest of the wedding party laughs and drinks in and out of the pool, their voices surrounding me as I drift toward the middle. I’m not used to being in this sort of environment.
Hell, I’m not used to relaxing so much.
I work all the time, and I’m used to the grind of long shifts. Not snorkeling and swimming to my heart’s content.
I let my legs sink into the water as I turn myself upright, my arms fanning out around me to keep myself from sinking. My skin is hot to the touch from the blaring sun, but the pool water is nice and cool.
I wish I could swim around and enjoy it without my mind trailing where it shouldn’t.
My eyes sweep around the large pool area, moving over people lounging in chairs, sitting on the edge of the pool, and ordering drinks at the outdoor bar. Cassidy is nowhere in sight. I don’t think that I’ve seen her out here at all over the past two hours.
She has been acting so stiff lately. I guess I can’t blame her. I’ve been adjusting my behavior around her so that Ryan doesn’t suspect anything has happened between us.
But there’s just something off that I can’t put my finger on.
And why isn’t she here with everyone else?
I swim over to the nearest ladder where Becca and Kara are standing with drinks in their hands. “Where’s Cassidy?”
Becca shrugs. “I haven’t seen her.”
Kara glances around. “She might be in her room or something.”
From what I remember, Cassidy isn’t the type to nap. She’s usually go-go-go until she finally crashes at night, so why has she been MIA for multiple hours?
I grab my towel off one of the lounge chairs and dry myself off, water dripping off my red swim trunks. “Leave her alone. Don’t do anything stupid.”
I keep muttering orders to myself, but I still head straight to her room once I’m dried off. I only know her room number because I overheard her telling it to one of the other bridesmaids.
I shouldn’t even be here.
But I knock on her door regardless.
A few moments later, the door unlocks and slowly opens. Cassidy appears in the doorway, her skin looking paler than usual. A loose t-shirt hangs on her figure, almost covering the lounge shorts she has on underneath. She blinks at me slowly, her hand resting on her upper stomach.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, her voice sounding strained.
“Are you sick?”
Cassidy swallows and looks away from me, an unsteady exhale leaving her nose. “I might have food poisoning or something. I just don’t feel well.”
That explains some things.
“Why didn’t you say anything to anyone?”
Cassidy lowers her head and lifts her hand to her forehead like she’s trying to shield herself. “No one needs to know that. It’s gross. You should probably—”
I slip past her and shut the door behind me. “Get back in bed. I’ll keep your secret.”
Cassidy huffs. “You can’t just barge in here, Jax.”
“Well, I’m already here,” I say as I walk over to the phone on her nightstand. “Bed.”
Cassidy narrows her eyes, but she doesn’t protest anymore. She pulls back the sheets on her large bed and crawls under them, flopping back against the fluffy pillows. “What are you doing?”
“Find a movie to watch. The wedding party can survive without you for the rest of the day,” I tell her before dialing room service. “Could I get a ginger ale and some crackers sent to 504? Thank you.”
Cassidy gives me a perplexed look.
I sit down on the bed next to her. “They’ll help your stomach. Maybe you ate a bad oyster or something.”
Cassidy grimaces and grips her stomach. “Ew. Don’t say that.”
I can’t help but crack a small smile. “My mom used to do this for me when I felt sick. Nothing like a can of ginger ale and a sleeve of saltine crackers to soothe a stomachache.”
Her face immediately softens. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you talk about your mom in a long time.”
I busy myself with tucking her in and adjusting her pillows behind her head, my eyes steering clear of hers. “I don’t talk about much that has anything to do with her.”
Cassidy places her hand on my wrist, making me pause. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Do what?”
She slides her hand down to mine to squeeze. “Bury your pain. You know I understand a complicated family life.”
Ryan was basically her father after their actual one left when the divorce was finalized. Their mom checked out emotionally and mentally, and they were pretty much left to fend for themselves.
I think having messed up families helped us bond more.
“It’s not easy to talk about,” I reply, drawing my hands away from her to rest on my thighs. “It’s in the past anyway. It doesn’t matter.”
Cassidy sighs. “Acting like you don’t care about anything is making me feel sicker.”
I smirk. “You’re being dramatic.”
“Me? Never.”
Our soft laughter mingles before fading away, leaving behind a weight on my chest.
“I’m not trying to be an asshole by not talking to you much,” I tell her. “It’s just easier, you know? Especially in front of Ryan and everyone else.”
Cassidy’s expression turns serious as she nods. “I get it. You can say a little bit to me, though. I thought you were giving me the cold shoulder.”
“I’m behaving.”
A wry smile tugs at her lips. “Behaving?”
“Vegas can’t happen again. Not when we’re stuck at the same resort as Ryan and everyone else for a whole week,” I reply as I lean back against her pillows, our shoulders brushing. “That’s just asking for trouble.”
She nods again. “Yeah, we should probably avoid that.”
I gaze at her for a few moments, fighting the urge to go against my own words of wisdom. It’s hard to be on my best behavior when we’re alone together in bed. When she’s looking at me like she’s waiting for me to make a move.
“Find a movie,” I tell her before turning my attention to the flatscreen television mounted on the wall in front of us.
Cassidy grabs the remote off the nightstand and skims through the different movies available to watch. Her eyes stray back to me, but they’re not on my face. They’re on my bare chest.
“Were you swimming?”
“Everyone is swimming right now but you,” I reply.
Cassidy’s eyes dart away. “I hope you’re not getting my bed wet.”
“I mean…”
She swats at my arm, and I laugh, hearing a knock on the door at the perfect time. I get off her bed and open the door so that the dining server can wheel a small cart inside. As asked for, there’s a bowl of crackers and a can of ginger ale next to a glass of ice.
“Thank you,” I say as I grab some money from my wallet to tip him.
Once he leaves, I crack open the can of ginger ale and pour it into the glass, hearing it bubble and fizz. “This should fix you right up.”
“You think so?” she asks with an amused glint in her eyes.
“I know so,” I reply before handing her the glass and the bowl of crackers.
“Thanks,” she says before taking a sip. She closes her eyes for a moment and sighs. “Oh, yeah. I really need the carbonation.”
I smile and push the cart out of the way before pausing, my eyes straying to the door of her room. I should probably leave now that I know she’ll be fine. There’s no reason for me to stay.
“I found this old horror movie we all used to like to watch. Are you busy? I wouldn’t mind some company.”
How am I supposed to tell her no? Especially when she uses that cheerful, hopeful tone of hers.
“Until someone blows up my phone asking where I am,” I tell her before sitting back down next to her. “No one should be coming by here, right?”
Cassidy shakes her head. “And if someone knocks, I just won’t open the door. I could be in the middle of a deep tissue massage for all they know.”
I do not need to be caught alone with her in her room. It’ll just look weird.
“Okay,” I say before relaxing next to her.
Cassidy offers me a saltine cracker.
I take it, our fingers brushing. “Tell me if you need anything else.”
Cassidy nods and sinks back into her pillows, her head leaning to rest against my shoulder as the movie starts.
This is fine. This is completely innocent.
Nothing is going to happen in this room that we’ll later regret.