Chapter 20 – Cassie
“You guys don’t know how ready I am for girls’ night,” I said, hopping out of my car.
Ellie, Molly, and me had just spent the last hour searching for the perfect movie-night snacks at the store before deciding that the only right answer was popcorn, Red Vines, Diet Coke, Nerds Gummy Clusters, Cool Ranch Doritos, and chocolate ice cream.
Now we just had to decide on a movie. Our track record for decision-making was not good, so what we would be watching once we plopped ourselves on my couch was still completely up in the air.
Since Molly hosted the last girls’ night, it was my turn to host.
Nothing could make you forget about a long week at work like sitting around with your best friends, eating your favorite snacks, and catching up on town gossip.
“Seriously, Cassie, when do you have time to put this much effort into your landscaping?” Molly asked, admiring the fresh mulch I had laid last weekend as we walked up my front porch steps.
“Every time I come over, your lawn is perfectly manicured. The grass grows one inch and you immediately cut it.”
“I really enjoy working with my hands. At home and at work, I guess,” I replied, sticking the key into my front door and turning it until I heard the click.
“Let’s get this party st––,” I stopped, almost falling over something in my entryway. It was a vase of flowers. And not just one vase either. There had to be at least fifty bouquets of flowers in front of me right now.
My eyes widened as I took in the scene. The flowers were everywhere—on the floor, on the tables, lining the walls. Petals littered the hardwood like confetti. Roses, tulips, sunflowers, daisies—you name it, it was in my living room.
“Uh, Cassie… I think you have a secret admirer,” Ellie said from behind me.
“Well, they broke into my house, so it seems like they’re more stalker than secret admirer to me.”
“Where do you think all of these came from?” Molly asked, tiptoeing carefully through the vases.
“Do you think I should call the police?” I asked confused.
“Call off the dogs,” Ellie said, holding up a folded piece of paper.
One vase for every time I thought about you today. – McDreamy
I rolled my eyes. “He is such a pain in my ass,” I muttered, setting the bags of groceries down on the coffee table—the only spot not completely covered in flowers.
“Who’s McDreamy?” Molly asked, the only one not aware of the accidental nickname I had created for Jace.
“Your annoying brother.”
“This would immediately work on me, I fear,” Ellie said, inhaling the scent of the blossoms. “I’m such a sucker for swoony gestures of love.”
“How did he even get in here? I always make sure the door is locked.”
“I bet he snuck up to my house and grabbed the spare key you leave there in case of emergencies,” Ellie pointed out.
I shook my head, still staring at the mountains of petals surrounding me. “He’s insane. Fifty vases. Fifty. I can’t even figure out where he would store all of them before sneaking them in here.”
Molly plopped down next to me on the couch, grabbing a handful of petals and letting them sift through her fingers. “You’ve got to admit, though… it’s kind of romantic in a ridiculous, over-the-top, heart-eyes kind of way.”
“If he thinks a couple of vases of flowers is going to fix all this, he’s dead wrong.”
“A couple?” Ellie said, pointing out the fact that there was way more than just a couple of vases in front of us.
“What am I supposed to do with all of these?”
“You could make him come here and clean it all up himself,” Molly suggested. “I’d pay good money to watch that conversation. I bet it ends up with you two kissing. Like something from a 90s rom-com.”
“No, it wouldn’t. It’d be more like fight night,” I said, not buying into Jace’s antics the way Ellie and Molly probably would if this happened to them.
I pulled out my phone, typing quickly.
Cassie: Come get your shit.
Jace: What shit would you be referring to?
Cassie: You know exactly what I’m talking about. Come get all these flowers right now and take them literally anywhere else but here.
Jace: Someone got you flowers? That’s sweet.
Cassie: I’m going to make Liam press charges on you for breaking and entering.
Jace: I didn’t break anything. I used a key.
Cassie: Then I’m changing my locks and getting an attack dog.
Jace: Challenge accepted.
Ugh.
He was insufferable.
With nowhere else to put all the flowers, we decided that tonight’s girls’ night would include sweet and salty snacks, cringy reality TV, and fifty flower vases crowding every inch of my living room.
I grabbed the remote from the table, careful not to bump over a vase of roses.
“What if I was allergic to flowers and he didn’t know it. I could be having an allergic reaction right now.”
Ellie snorted. “He’d probably send more flowers as an apology.”
“Exactly,” I groaned.
Molly settled on the floor, wedging herself between two vases. “It kind of reminds me of a fairy garden. A beautiful, chaotic fairy garden.”
I shot her a look. “One more compliment about his ‘romantic gesture’ and I’m sending you home with all of these.”
Before Molly could stop snickering and respond, my phone buzzed on the coffee table. Jace’s name flashing across the screen.
Of course.
I stared at it, the vibration rattling against the wood, sending a few petals fluttering to the floor.
Ellie raised her eyebrows. “Well? Are you going to answer your florist?”
“No,” I said immediately, crossing my arms. “He doesn’t get rewarded for his bad behavior.”
The phone buzzed again.
Molly grinned. “What would you do if he pulled into your driveway right now?”
“So help me God,” I muttered, “I would throw every single one of these vases at his stupid face.”
“Well, your abusive dream is about to come true—look,” Molly said, pushing aside the curtains, revealing Jace’s black truck parked in the street directly in front of my house.
Ellie pressed her ear to the window. “Can you guys hear that? It sounds like… music?”
I dragged myself off the couch, quickly opening the front door. As I opened the door wider, the music outside became louder.
Ellie’s mouth dropped open. “Is he playing Def Leppard?”
Pour Some Sugar on Me blasted at full volume from Jace’s truck speakers, echoing down my entire street. He had a smile stretched a mile wide across his dumb face, completely unbothered by the total scene he was making.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
He cupped his hands around his mouth. “DO YOU LIKE MY SUBTLE APPROACH?” he shouted over the music.
I slapped a hand over my face. “I cannot believe this is my life.”
Ellie snorted. “Oh, sweetie… I can.”
Molly practically squealed. “Wait, don’t stop him. This is the most romantic feral thing I’ve ever seen him do.”
“Romantic?” I snapped. “He’s two seconds away from Ms. Betty next door calling the cops on him for a noise complaint.”
Jace, apparently pleased with himself, pointed at me and shouted again.
“THIS SONG MADE ME THINK OF YOU—ESPECIALLY THE DRAMATIC PARTS!”
I stared at him. “I literally don’t even know what that means.”
Molly clapped her hands together excitedly. “It means he’s obsessed with you.”
“It means he’s unhinged,” I groaned, rolling my eyes. “Go home Jace!” I shouted above the music.
He hopped out of his truck, leaning against it with his arms crossed, that infuriating smile plastered across his face—way too pleased with himself, like this was all some game he was absolutely winning.
“You wanna play hardball, sugar?” he drawled, tilting his head. “That’s fine. We can play hardball. I didn’t come this far just to give up now.”
Ellie let out a quiet, “Oh lord,” behind me. “If Colt said something that sweet to me while he blared a Def Leppard song in the front of God and everybody else, I’d have married him on the spot.”
I ignored her, narrowing my eyes at him. “Hardball? Jace, you broke into my house and drowned it in flowers. This isn’t hardball. This is—this is criminal mischief.”
He pushed off the truck with his good foot, sauntering closer. “Then arrest me.”
“You wish.”
He smirked, leaning in just slightly. “Come on, sweetheart. If you didn’t want me here, you’d have thrown something at me by now.”
I opened my mouth—fully prepared to unleash hell—but the girls were pressed against the doorway behind me, whispering like they were watching a pay-per-view event.
“Throw something,” Molly whispered.
“No,” Ellie whispered back, “kiss him.”
I turned and glared at both of them. “I swear to God—”
Jace chuckled. “See? They’re rooting for me.”
“Stop enjoying this,” I snapped. “You think a couple dozen flowers and this chaotic circus in my front yard is gonna make me forget what you did? Nothing will ever make me forget how much it hurt when you walked out my front door. So take your grand gesture and go use it on someone else. I’m sure the waitress at Maggie’s would eat this shit up. ”
“I don’t want the waitress at Maggie’s,” he shot back, jaw tight. “I want you.”
“Well,” I said, lifting my chin, “we don’t always get what we want, do we?”