Chapter 17 #2
Not in her wildest imagination of how this could go had she come close to envisioning the thrill that Cassie brought to her life.
There was an undeniable and insatiable chemistry between them for sure, and they had definitely devoted a sufficient amount of time to exploring that, but what she hadn’t been prepared for were the emotions.
The strength and softness Cassie exhibited pushed Drea to be better and to fall for her even harder than she thought possible.
She had never wanted to make something work so deeply before.
It seemed unsustainable, to feel so much for someone and have no control.
To put her heart in Cassie’s hands and hope she didn’t break it.
She turned back to the painting, the steamboat reminding her of Nellie and Katherine’s painting and the story of how they met that night on the water.
There was so much hope in love. And despite her fears, she couldn’t say no to Cassie.
She couldn’t not see what this could be.
No one had ever affected her so completely.
What did she know? Maybe she’d been wrong all this time and something amazing could last.
“Do you know how sexy you look right now?”
Drea smiled at the sound of Cassie’s voice and turned to see her lying on her stomach with her head propped on her hand, eyeing her from the end of the bed.
Drea’s eyes ran over the uninterrupted expanse of creamy smooth skin on top of the covers before settling on the delicious curve of her lips.
“If it’s half as sexy as you look right now, then lucky us. ”
“Come be with me.” It wasn’t a question or a command. Like everything else about this woman, it was a blend of extremes that resulted in the most wondrous soul she had ever met.
Drea placed her brush on the easel along with all the fears and doubts that could wait for tomorrow. “Yes, ma’am.” Cassie sat up to meet her with a kiss, pausing only to lift her T-shirt off before pulling her deeper into the abyss. It would be a while before they both drifted back to sleep.
Drea woke with a start. She blinked as she adjusted to her surroundings, finding comfort in the darkness of her room. Her heart pounded in her ears and she breathed slowly, trying to calm herself from the nightmare, when a soft hand ran along her upper arm.
“Are you okay?”
She looked over to see Cassie lying beside her, watching her with an expression of concern.
“Yeah.” The word was somewhere between a breath and a whisper.
“Go back to sleep.” She kissed her forehead and got out of bed, putting on her T-shirt and pajama pants as she headed to the kitchen.
Moonlight seeped through the glass door to the balcony.
She leaned on the counter and rested her forehead against her clasped hands, unable to determine what was more upsetting, the nightmare or waking up to someone who had witnessed it.
A thought ran through her mind and as much as she tried to resist it, it rang louder until she couldn’t ignore it anymore.
This was why she needed to be alone. The truth of her, in all her brokenness, wasn’t something that could be loved.
She had hidden it for so many years, she almost forgot why, until she saw it in Cassie’s expression.
Sober concern where joy had been. She sighed, filled a glass with whiskey, and gulped it down, wanting to drown the memory.
“Cheers!” Cassie clinked her raspberry seltzer to Drea’s margarita. “I told you he would love it. Get ready for the big time.”
A flash of something dulled Drea’s grin as she sipped her drink.
Cassie stared at Drea. There had been something off about her all day.
Cassie hoped it was just nerves about the painting, but that had gone off without a hitch and still something lingered in Drea’s eyes.
Cassie wondered if it had something to do with this morning, but she had no idea how to ask Drea about it.
She assumed it had been a nightmare, and Drea had removed herself from the room immediately, so she didn’t seem to want to discuss it.
Everything was so new between them, but she hoped Drea knew she’d be there for her, whatever it was.
That she could talk to her. Maybe she should have followed her and comforted her, but she had been so alarmed herself.
Drea’s scream had ripped her awake and her heart had been racing so fast, she had to calm down a moment before she could see if Drea was okay.
But it wasn’t just a scream. She had yelled “no,” which made Cassie think it wasn’t something random.
And then she was gone and Cassie didn’t want to corner her if she didn’t want to talk about it. But now she seemed distant and sad.
She sipped her seltzer, the tartness and bubbles lifting her spirit to proceed. “Hey, I actually have some news.”
Caution passed through Drea’s eyes, but curiosity won out. “Okay.”
“A client is coming in tomorrow, and I may have mentioned that you have some fresh takes on designs that might fit what they’re looking for.” She raised her eyebrows, hoping that Drea took it as good news. If Drea could see other people catching on, then maybe she’d believe in her art more.
Different emotions seemed to jockey for position on Drea’s face, and Cassie started to think she’d made an error in judgment in setting up the meeting.
“Which client?”
“Pawper’s Pups.”
“I thought they wanted stuff months ago.” Drea’s brow furrowed, which at least wasn’t an outright no.