11. Cassie
“Hi, I hope you’re having fun,” a familiar voice whispers in my ear. Little bumps rise on my arms as a chill runs down my spine, making my heart beat a tiny bit faster.
Glancing over my shoulder, I catch sight of Emmett grinning at me. He”s standing a few inches behind me, and the warmth of his presence brushes against my back, leaving me wishing he were closer.
As if the universe heard my thoughts, Emmett’s body bumps into mine and his hands find my waist. His head whips behind him, glaring at whoever just bumped into him. With so many people on the dance floor, it was bound to happen. There isn’t much room between the clumps of people.
“Sorry,” he murmurs in my ear, but he doesn’t let go of my waist.
“Hey, man!” Tyler yells over the music. He walks across the circle of friends toward us. Emmett lets go of me with his left hand while dragging his right hand over the width of my waist until he’s no longer touching me and instead hugging Tyler. I’m suddenly jealous that his hands aren’t on me anymore.
Damn, the night is still early and I’m already in trouble. I should not be thinking about this right now, but you can’t blame a girl for getting hot and bothered in the club. Right? It’s not insane. Emmett is just here. And he’s being extra flirty and handsy and all I want to do is dance with him. It’s harmless, I swear.
I don’t need Smart Cassie to infiltrate my brain right now and remind me Emmett is bad news for me. Falling for an actor is not a part of my plan. Anyway, I don’t have the time to make a relationship a priority. Between working, auditions, and acting class, I hardly have time for myself.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun tonight. Lucy told me I deserved to have fun, so to hell with being smart. For one night at least.
Speak of the devil. Lucy enters the front door of the club and I wave my hands until she sees me and starts running toward the dance floor. She’s sporting a little black dress with tiny spaghetti straps. Her auburn hair falls in loose, bouncy curls around her shoulders. It’s almost shocking because I don’t think I’ve seen her out of her work or painting clothes in months.
“Damn, Luce.”
She smiles and turns in a circle. “Oh, this thing?” She glances down and gestures to her dress before looking back at me. “Dress to impress, right?” She smiles and pulls me into a hug.
When she releases me, she looks around and sees Emmett and Tyler. She holds out her right hand and waves at Emmett. “Hi! I’m Lucy, the best friend, if you didn’t remember me from a few weeks ago at the diner.”
Emmett nods and grins. “How could I forget? I”m Emmett, the uh…” he stumbles over his words, his gaze flickering toward me, and I silently urge him on with a raised eyebrow. “This is Tyler.” Instead of claiming a title, he introduces Tyler to Lucy.
Tyler steps forward with the biggest smile I’ve seen from him. He gives her a small wave and says hi. When I told Lucy about Emmett and his friends, I may have mentioned that Tyler would be the one I thought she’d like the most. Lucy normally goes for more quiet, reserved guys, but I think she’d like a change. Tyler is the opposite of her ex, who I think I spoke to maybe three times in the few months they dated. He is more outgoing, talkative, and I’m sure just as supportive—which she needs desperately in her life.
“Join me for a drink?” Lucy says to Tyler. He nods. They both smile at us, Lucy winks at me, and then they’re off to the bar.
Emmett turns to me. “Well.”
“Well,” I mock.
He looks around the room before meeting my gaze again. He takes one step closer to me and holds out a hand. “Want to dance?”
Do I want to dance? Yes. Most definitely. Do I want to feel his body close to mine? One thousand percent. Being around Emmett makes me nervous, but the good kind of nervous. The kind where my stomach is full of butterflies, but I try to hide it. The kind where my cheeks are constantly flush with red and hurt from smiling. I don’t know what this is or what we are to each other, but it feels different from just friends.
I’ve had male friends before. I didn’t get goosebumps or giddy thinking about them. I definitely didn’t want them to touch me like I’m thinking about Emmett right now. Besides the few people I’ve dated, I’ve never felt this pull to another person before. It’s magnetic, two sides pulling toward each other, begging to touch.
With a slight nod, I place my hand in his as Emmett pulls me toward him. I collide with his torso; the impact sends a jolt through my body as my hand connects with his chest. Emmett”s hand is on my waist, his grip tightening with each sway as we dance to the rhythm, moving left and right.
The song transitions to “Miracle” by Calvin Harris as if the universe expected my wants. As Emmett spins me around, his hand effortlessly moves from mine to rest on my waist. The song is talking about how when someone touches you; you get vulnerable and I gotta say, I feel vulnerable as fuck right now.
We keep dancing, losing ourselves to the rhythm. The music grows louder, consuming the room with its energetic beats. Each movement brings us closer, the intense heat radiating between our bodies, overwhelming my every thought. I tease Emmett by pressing against him, grinding my backside into him. In response, his fingers dig into my waist, encouraging me to push a little more. I lean my back and head onto his chest, closing the small gaps between us.
The music continues to play similar songs, so we never have to break our dance. Emmett’s head dips forward, breathing into my neck. My breath quickens, speeding up with the anticipation of his lips on mine. I think he’s waiting for me to make the move or to give him some sort of sign that I want to cross the line we’ve drawn. Tonight is different for us, given the nature of the event. Hanging out alone in his apartment brings a different level of intimacy. That’s when I get a version of Emmett that many people don’t have the pleasure of knowing.
Here, I get the public version of Emmett and, because of that, I won’t cross the line. Even if I want to.
The music transitions into a slower song. Emmett talks into my ear and asks if I want to grab a drink. I nod.
His hands leave my waist, but not before he gives me one last squeeze, which I can’t help but overthink. I’m about to say “fuck it” and press my lips against his. This tension between us is going to be the death of me, I swear. Every time Emmett meets my gaze, I want to slam him into the nearest wall and declare him as mine in front of everyone in this venue.
When we get to the booth, I slide to one side. Instead of sitting across from me, he slides next to me and stops a few inches short of our legs touching. A soft, red velvet lines the booth, creating a cozy ambiance that pairs well with the vibrant lights. I’ve never been inside this club, but I would have thought the inside would have featured more blues and purples. You know, moonlight and all doesn’t normally remind me of the color red. But, looking around the venue, there is a lot of red. Red lights, red chairs, red signs.
“What do you want to drink?” Emmett asks. He’s looking at a menu on his phone from the QR code printed in the middle of the table.
“Any mocktail with lime would work for me. What do they have?”
“Would it surprise you to hear that the menu is custom for tonight based on my resume of movies?” Emmett winces. “Tyler thought it’d be hilarious.”
Emmett slides his phone over to me and I look. There are a handful of normal wines and beers, but the cocktails are all named after a movie.
“To the Moon” is from one of his first big movies, where he played a hotshot engineer who saves a moon landing. Not kidding with that one, it was quite hilarious, and it was a plus that he was very hot and smart in that movie. It’s also the reason I call him Hotshot. “Jungle Breeze” is from when he played a journalist. “Man of the Hour” was from when he played a CEO (which was his role in multiple movies). “Cash Money” must be from the bank heist movie he was in. I think “Too Hot to Handle” is from when he played a lifeguard and had his shirt off for 90% of the movie.
I giggle.
“Recognize any of them?”
I look over at Emmett. He has his left elbow on the table and is resting his head on his hand.
“All of them, actually,” I answer truthfully. Sure, I could hide the fact that I know the movies he’s been in. Except he’d catch me lying. It’s not like his movies are indie movies or anything. These are blockbusters. Everyone knows them.
Emmett opens his mouth for a moment to say something, but he’s interrupted when Tyler and Lucy come barreling on the other side of the table.
“Well, helloooo lovebirds,” Tyler says, grinning ear to ear while sliding into the booth. Lucy follows suit and slides in next to him.
Emmett glances at me, rolls his eyes at the notion, and returns his gaze to Tyler.
“What have you two been up to?” Emmett asks. His hand that was once on the table slides underneath and lands on my thigh. He gives me one squeeze. To my surprise, he leaves his hand there. It suddenly feels hot in here again, having this little intimate secret between us. Since we”re nestled into the booth and the venue is dark, his touch remains unseen.
Tyler glances over at Lucy and throws his arm around her shoulder. “Oh, you know, little bit of this, little bit of that.”
“We got a drink.” Lucy grabs Tyler’s hand and moves his arm out from behind her shoulder. This is typical Lucy. Tyler is pushing his limit with her and he will find that out real quick if he doesn’t tone it down a bit. She’s single, sure, but only because everyone she’s been with has never shown any serious, long-term interest in her. Lucy and Tyler share a glance. Maybe it’s a glare. Either way, it’s some shared moment that makes me wonder what they talked about while they got that drink.
A waitress brings over two drinks and smiles at Emmett when she places them both in front of him. She doesn’t glance at anyone else, but slips a piece of paper to him with the drinks. I can only assume it’s a phone number and now I’m wondering if that happens to him a lot. My mind feels like it”s rapidly switching contexts tonight. I’m overwhelmed by the environment and all the people.
I can feel myself growing increasingly restless. Now that I have a drink, I find myself twirling the little straw in the glass. I take small sips and smile when I remember I need to act engaged. Tyler is rambling about something to Emmett in relation to the studio and work, but I zone out. When there’s a break in the conversation, Emmett leans over to me and asks me if I’m alright. I meet his gaze and nod, trying to convince my mouth to form a better smile than what I’m sure is displaying on my face right now.
He squeezes my leg once. It”s comforting to know that I am heard and understood.
“Let’s dance?”
“Sure.” I smile. A real smile. Anything to get out of this booth and occupy my mind.
He turns back to let Tyler and Lucy know we are going to go dance. He offers to have them join us, but they both decide to stay at the booth.
Emmett gives my leg one more squeeze before he removes his hand and slides out of the booth. I slide out after him, standing up and moving to Lucy’s side for a moment. I lean down to be closer to her face before speaking. It’s not too loud in the club, but I also don’t want my conversation to be heard by everyone surrounding us.
“Will you be okay? Sorry for basically ditching you tonight.”
Lucy places a hand over mine, which is resting in front of her on the table. “I’ll be fine. I got this guy—” she glances back at Tyler before returning to face me, “to keep me company. He’s a goof. Don’t worry about me. You go have fun. Just let me know if you plan on leaving.” She smiles and removes her hand from mine.
I nod. I don’t know what I’d do without Lucy.
Actually, I do.
I’d probably be living with someone who cares more about themself than others. I’d most definitely not be working at the diner. I only got that job because of Lucy. If I didn’t work at the diner, I wouldn’t have met Emmett. I also wouldn’t have the job at the studio, since I only applied for that when I was with Lucy and we stayed up too late watching a movie after work. Hell, I don’t know if I’d still be living in Los Angeles trying to chase this dream.
“Let’s go dance,” Emmett whispers the reminder into my ear. My cheeks flush and I bite my bottom lip when I turn around to glance at him.
I let him take my hand and lead me onto the dance floor. He moves past the spot we were originally dancing and leads me into the far back corner, where it’s empty and less illuminated.
“I want some alone time with you while I can,” he says.
Before I can respond, his hands land on my waist and he puts enough pressure to spin me so my back is once again on his chest. I’m feeling spoiled by all of this close contact with Emmett.
I’m finding that he’s very forward tonight.
I like it.
I like that I can always find his gaze on mine if we’re in the same space. Our relationship has evolved since that first night to this moment on the dance floor.
It’s no longer surprising that I crave his touch and presence. From tonight onward, I decide to welcome it.
But it’ll be my secret. For now.
“Come back to me,” Emmett whispers in my ear.
My body melts into his as we sway to the pulse of the music. I do my best to keep my head from wandering into all the what ifs and I shouldn’ts and enjoy the night. It’s not every day that I let myself let loose and have fun.
The music continues, and Emmett and I keep dancing. When the song ends and transitions into a slower beat, he spins me around and pulls our chests together into a slow dance. His left hand moves to grab my hand, my other hand moving to stabilize myself on his chest. I rest my head in the nook of his neck and breathe him in. My nose fills with smells of cinnamon and sage. He smells like a forest in the fall.
The song ends and I pull away, letting go of his hand and moving it to my side. Standing up on my tiptoes, I lean my head close to his so my mouth is next to his ear.
“I should go find Lucy,” I say. My heels return to the ground and I look at him to see his reaction.
He opens his mouth to say something but hesitates.
“You should go mingle. We can chat later.” I smile.
He removes the hand from my waist and covers my hand that is resting on his chest. He gives it one squeeze. Our secret language. He raises his eyebrows. “This isn’t over.”
I don’t know what this is, but I nod anyway. This could mean a lot of things. Too many possibilities that I don’t want to think about at this moment. I don’t need to feel overwhelmed by my own thoughts right now. The club is already enough to overstimulate me with the sizable crowds of people and loud music.
By the time I make it across the dance floor, I find Lucy still with Tyler at the booth. I move in their direction and sit back in my same spot as before.
“Where’s Emmett?” Tyler asks.
Before I can respond, the booth sinks.
I look to my left to find Emmett sitting next to me. He must have followed me.
“I thought I told you to mingle.”
“I thought I said this isn’t over,” he counters.
I know Tyler and Lucy are both looking at us, but I don’t take my gaze away from Emmett. Instead, I turn my body toward him and continue to face him off. This is the hottest staring contest I’ve ever had.
Of course, I end up blinking first, and he winks at me before turning to the table. I sigh a little too loud, maybe on purpose, but find Emmett’s hand back on my thigh with a squeeze following. This time, I place my hand over his, interlace our fingers, and give him a squeeze back.
“I think I’m going to leave,” Emmett says to the table. “Cassie can drive me home. Right, Cass?” He turns to me and smirks.
“I suppose I did bring you here.” I dip my head and follow the action with an eye roll. My signature response.
“Great. It’s settled then. Let’s go!” he says with a grin.
“Don’t you have to say bye to everyone?”
“Sass, this is my party. I can do what I want and what I want to do is leave with you.”
Like before, he slides out of the booth and grabs my hand. I say goodbye to Lucy and Tyler and he leads me to the back door of the venue.
Before opening the door, he peeks out to ensure there aren’t any cameras waiting for us. I already forgot about that minor part of his life.
We head out of the venue, walking slowly to my car. I can”t help but steal a few glances in his direction, and I”m glad I do, because I spot a faint smile during the entire walk. He drops my hand to open the door for me.
I get in and Emmett walks around the front of the car to get in the passenger seat. We pull out of the club, onto the road, and start making our way back to his apartment.
It’s silent for a few minutes until Emmett speaks. “I’m glad you came tonight, although I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk much.”
“We would have talked more if we didn’t spend most of the night dancing.” I glance at him for a quick moment before returning my gaze back to the road.
He laughs.
“Fair point. Maybe you can stop by my apartment Monday after your shift?” Emmett says, looking out the window. The passing streetlights cast a soft glow on his face.
“Mhm, maybe,” I tease.
“I can provide food.” Emmett shifts his gaze from the window to me.
“Well, in that case, I can come over before my shift at the diner,” I tell him.
When we get to his building, he has me pull into the garage instead of dropping him off at the front. I can only assume he asked for privacy reasons.
I put the car in park and look at him, placing my right arm on the center console. He has a look in his eye, like he is thinking about kissing me, but he’s hesitating. Between dancing together and all the little small touches, the 10-foot wall I built is almost nonexistent. If he kissed me, I would kiss him back.
That’s a scary realization. I was so sure that I was better off alone, but maybe I should take a chance. What would the harm be? If something went wrong, I could just quit the studio. It’s not the worst outcome that could happen and I’m getting tired of keeping my guard up. I want to lean into the feelings building up between us. I want to know what it’s like to wake up next to Emmett.
To my disappointment, Emmett simply lays his hand over mine and gives me a single squeeze.
“Text me when you get home?” he asks.
“I will.”
“Okay, good.” He hesitates again, his gaze dropping to our hands still intertwined.
For every second that passes, my breathing gets heavier and my heart beats faster. All my thoughts escape my head as his thumb moves back and forth in a rhythmic motion. He leans farther over the console, bringing our faces inches apart. At the last moment, he dips his head to the left and plants a kiss on my cheek.
He doesn’t move, not yet, his lips hover over my ear as he whispers, “Goodnight Cassie.”
When Emmett pulls away, a chill rushes over me and I have a strong urge to tug him back. A small smile appears as if he can read my mind, another single squeeze, and then he lets go of my hand.
“Goodnight Emmett.”
I return my hands back to the wheel while Emmett gets out of the car. He turns to give a last wave before stepping into the elevator.
I drive off, headed for home, unsure of what to do with these feelings. That’s tomorrow’s problem.