18. Emmett
“We should probably eat dinner.”
I turn to look at Cassie. She has her arm tucked under her head, while the sheets barely cover her naked body. We’ve spent the last hour exploring and memorizing one another. The sheer contentment I feel in this moment makes me wish I could freeze time and stay in this state for hours.
“Emmett.”
“Hm?” I drawl, slowly raking my eyes over her body and eventually meeting her gaze. “Right, dinner. Yes. We should do that. We need the energy for what I have planned tonight.”
Her eyes widen. “What happened to taking it slow?” Her lips turn up, forming a slight smile.
I furrow my brow. “Sass, we both knew that plan was destined to fail. You’re just—” I allow my eyes to trail her body again: the curve of her breasts, the dip of her hips, the slow intake of her breath. “Irresistible.” My eyes return to hers.
We eventually get out of bed, getting dressed in minimal clothes to eat dinner, knowing that we will just tear them off in a little while.
“So, there was something I wanted to ask you,” Cassie says after we sit down to eat. She’s avoiding my gaze, staring at her plate, which is her tell for being nervous.
“Anything.”
Her eyes snap to mine. “When you said we were exclusive, what does that mean, exactly?”
Did she not want to be exclusive? Did I do something wrong? Does she not like me the way I like her?
“Let me clarify.” She puts down her fork. “We talked about keeping this a secret since we both work at the studio, but I guess I didn’t know how long we’d have to keep this a secret.”
Oh. Oh. She thinks either we keep it a secret, or she might have to quit her job in order for us to be public.
I shake my head. “Not long, Cass. I wouldn’t have started something with you if I knew I was putting you in a tough spot.”
She bites her bottom lip, processing what I said. I continue eating as I wait for her to respond.
“But you started something.” Her eyes reach mine for a moment before returning to her plate.
“Like I said earlier, you’re extremely irresistible.”
That earns me a chuckle and a flush of red in her cheeks. “Then what’s the plan?”
The plan. The same question everyone has asked me. What is Emmett Davis doing next?
“I’m still working through it, but I don’t want to hide us for long. You’re too important to me, Cassie.” I stand up from my chair and walk over to the other side of the table to where she’s sitting. I hold out my hand, which she takes, and I pull her up toward me.
She nestles her head right under my chin in a space that was made for her. “But, since we are exclusive,” I pull back a little so I can look at her face. “I wouldn’t mind putting labels on it. For us.”
“You want me to be your girlfriend?” Her eyes widen and her jaw opens.
“Don’t look so shocked! Yes, my girlfriend.” I kiss her forehead.
She chuckles again. “Okay, boyfriend.”
I don’t know why I suggested we put a label on our relationship, but I know I wanted her to continue being mine. Sure, we agreed to be exclusive, but I wanted another reason for us to be attached, for her to be mine in every way imaginable.
When I met her in the diner the first night and she looked at me with those sultry, ocean-blue eyes, I knew she would be mine. One way or another, it was going to happen. It had to happen. She set my heart on fire, and, like I already admitted, gave me butterflies immediately.
From that first night, I should have known that I had sealed my fate. I cannot imagine my life without her now.
Over the next few weeks, we fall into a routine. Cassie always leaves early in the morning to go back to her apartment before getting to the studio. It’s easier to keep us secret and hidden from everyone that way. Well, everyone besides Lucy. I would tell the guys, but I worried they would say something in front of Marcy, and until my contract is up, I don’t want to risk it.
It’s safe to say I’m already falling for Cassie even though I’ve only known her for a few months.
When I’m with Cassie, I’m home. She fills a hole in my heart I didn’t realize was there from my parents’ lack of interest.
We’re great at keeping it a secret. We’ve even hung out as a group a few times to keep up appearances, always at my apartment. Tyler, Max, Lane, Marcy, Lucy, Cassie, and myself. We always sit on opposite sides of the room because otherwise I’d do something dumb like pinch her butt or give her a kiss. That doesn’t stop her from eye-fucking me the entire night, causing me to keep my mind on things other than her naked body, otherwise I’d end up with a raging hard on and would have to answer some questions.
Since we live so close, she goes home with Lucy and then drives back in her own car.
At the studio, we have a similar routine. We eat lunch together some days, starting as a group and ending up with just the two of us.
Those are my favorite times at work. Cassie has this habit where she bites her lip but smiles at the same time to stop herself from laughing. Her cheeks turn bright red. She rolls her eyes. Then, she places her head in her hand and sighs, raising her eyes to meet mine. It’s the cutest fucking thing. I would have fucked her over the table if we weren’t in the public cafeteria at the studio.
I only have a few more weeks, maybe a month, left in this contract before we don’t have to worry about sneaking around anymore.
It cannot come soon enough.
Our first date is going to be the best. We’ll probably get dinner somewhere secluded, with great food. Maybe pizza, which has become our favorite.
Tonight is Cassie’s show with her acting class. She auditioned last week and, of course, she landed the role of the main romance actor. I knew she would. The scenes differ from the ones we rehearsed, but they still have the same depth and emotion.
Since it’s Friday, Cassie didn’t ask anyone to go. She told me, but since we aren’t supposed to be seen in public alone, she said I didn’t have to go.
But, being the best boyfriend ever, I got Lucy to take off from work and told Tyler, Lane, and Max they had to go. I think Marcy is meeting us there, too.
We’re going to surprise her. I’m bringing her a dozen tulips, which I know are her favorite flower from her sister, Annie.
I met Annie when she was in town a week ago. She nearly fainted when she found out we were dating, but she held it together. It was cute. She asked me about 100 questions regarding my movies. “Did you really fight that guy in the bar scene?” or “What is the craziest thing that happened while you were filming in the middle of the jungle? Did you get attacked by any animals?”
I didn’t say they were normal questions. I, of course, answered all of them while Cassie sat next to me, holding my hand, shaking her head at Annie every time she asked me about something ridiculous she likely read about on the internet.
I don’t do a lot of interviews about my movies, so there are always a lot of rumors or speculations about what occurs on set and in my personal life.
I hadn’t known if Cassie wanted me to meet Annie since we were still so new. She told me what happened with that dick writer she’d dated, which helped everything about the first week I knew her make a ton of sense. So, the fact that she was okay with me meeting family, especially her sister, was pretty huge for me.
Seeing the way Cassie and Annie interacted made me want a brother. They hardly communicated with words. Annie would start saying something like, “You know that one place with the plants…” to which Cassie would say “What happened this time?!” and then Annie would answer with literally two words like “Balloon fight.” Which made no sense to me, but they would break out in laughter and continue laughing for the next five minutes until tears were streaming down their cheeks.
That’s typically when I would refill snacks or drinks and let them have their moment. I knew it had been a while since they’d seen each other. It was great to see a different side of Cassie. Sometimes we spend all day ignoring each other on set, and we hardly talk when we see each other. Our hands never leave one another and we spend most of the night in bed.
Every morning, I wish I could be with Cassie. Every evening, I’m grateful that I am with Cassie. I hate this being a secret.
That’s why I’m glad everyone could come support Cassie tonight. I would have come by myself, but since no one knows we’ve been dating for the last few weeks, it might have looked weird since, as far as anyone but Lucy and Annie knows, I only see Cassie on set and when we hang out as a big group.
We get to the theater where I have six seats near the front reserved for us. I sit in the middle. When she looks into the crowd, I want her to see me. I want her to know how damn proud I am of her for chasing her dreams and not giving up. I want her to know that nothing would have stopped me from coming tonight.
The show is amazing. There are three acts before Cassie’s and one after, making it five total for the evening.
When it’s time for Cassie’s act, she enters stage right and captivates the audience from the start. Her emotions are authentic and the chemistry she has on stage with her partner is believable. Cassie has a natural edge to her acting that is so critical, I find myself daydreaming of acting by her side, for real, not just practice.
After the final curtain falls, everyone stands in applause. The cast, including Cassie, come out on stage to give their final bow. They lift the lights in the theater so the actors can see the people who came to support.
Everyone is still applauding, myself included, when Cassie sees me. Her eyes go wide, her jaw ajar, and the biggest grin forms on her face. I give her a wink.
If I thought I was falling for Cassie before tonight, this is the moment that confirms I’ve already fallen deeply in love with her.
Sometimes you just know, and I know with Cassie.
Lucy’s been to previous shows, so she helps guide us to the backstage area to greet Cassie.
Cassie comes out of the green room and makes her way to us. Everyone takes their turn giving her hugs.
“Cassie, you were great,” Tyler exclaims.
“Thanks, Tyler.”
“Yeah, girl, I did not know you could act like that!” Marcy leans in and gives her a hug.
“Same here,” Lane chimes in.
“I almost cried,” Max says.
Cassie laughs. “Thanks, all. It means a lot. I didn’t even know you were all coming!” She turns to Lucy. “Thanks, Lucy.”
Lucy gives Cassie a hug and then points to me. “This was all him.”
I raise a hand and wave, then realize I’m still holding the bouquet of flowers like an idiot.
“You were great, Cass.” I lean in to give her a hug.
I didn’t want to let go, so I let our hug linger a little, giving her an extra squeeze since I can’t kiss her in public.
“Get a room, you two! Geez!” Tyler has to interrupt, of course.
I turn to him and give him a playful shove.
I turn back to Cassie. “These are for you.” I hand her the flowers, which leads to Cassie blushing and giving me the smile that I love so much.
“Thanks, Hotshot.” It was her turn to wink at me. Winking has almost become a secret language between us in these past few weeks. We’ve been using them to communicate when around others when something means more than what we can say with words. Her calling me Hotshot low enough that only I can hear was purely for my benefit.
“So, anyone up for a late dinner? Maybe we can go to the diner?” Lucy asks the group.
Of course everyone loves going to the diner, so we decide to head there.
“Do you mind if I catch a ride with you?” I ask Cassie loudly. “A driver dropped me off and everyone else rode together.”
“Yeah, of course. Let me just grab my bags,” Cassie says before anyone can offer a different solution. She turns to the rest of the group and lets them know we will meet them there since it might be a few minutes.
Luckily, no one asks questions. So as they leave, I follow Cassie back to the greenroom.
Cassie opens a door, pulls me inside, and switches on a light. We are not in the greenroom, but in a small storage closet with a rack for jackets and a shelf on the back wall. It leaves little room to move, forcing our bodies to be flushed against one another.
“You don’t have to grab your bags, do you?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I already threw my bags in the car.”
“Then what are we—” I say before Cassie interrupts me by putting her lips on mine.
I kiss her back with every intention to revel in this private moment before we’re forced to return to our group. Her hands wrap around my waist. Mine cup her jaw, deepening our kiss. Hers then gently glide across my back, tracing delicate circles, moving up and down.
I’m five seconds away from taking her right here in this closet when we hear a group of people walk down the hallway.
As much as I don’t want to stop, I know we should head to the diner before our group of friends think something happened to us. We can’t exactly say “sorry we were making out,” and I can’t think of any other excuse.
“Cassie,” I say when I’m finally able to get a word in, but she keeps kissing me. She’s being overly persistent. I gently push her face away from mine. “Sass.”
She finally stops and pouts. She’s so damn cute it hurts my heart.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“It’s not fair.”
“I know.” I kiss the top of her head. “Soon.”
She nods and kisses me one last time before we step out of the room and head to her car to drive over to the diner.
The drive to the diner is short. We get there in 10 minutes, and I sneak in one more kiss before we get out of the car.
Before we are about to enter the diner, we’re cornered by a reporter. This is why I don’t go out a lot.
“Emmett, look here! Who are you with tonight?” The reporter shouts as if he’s 10 feet away from me, instead of just a few.
I quickly shuffle Cassie to my left side, blocking her from the scrutiny of the reporter.
“Hey, you know the rules!” A shout comes from in front of me.
Looking up, there is an older gentleman hovering outside of the right door. He’s shaking his fist and mumbling about how cameras aren’t allowed in his diner.
“Come on, you two.” He waves to usher us inside.
“Thanks, Dave.” Cassie smiles.
“No problem, kiddo. I know you don’t work here anymore, but I’ll always be there for you. Your friends are at the big table in the back.”
I nod to Dave as we pass, silently thanking him for removing the reporter. Taking a deep breath, I look in front of me to see Cassie looking back at me and smiling. I slowly blink once, capturing this moment forever, hoping that I can figure out what I’m going to do with my career so I can keep Cassie forever.