Chapter 13 #2
The door opened, but neither of them noticed me as they were talking to each other.
“Rehearsal is done at four, right?” Casey asked.
“Yes. All week.” Her daughter had the same brown hair as Casey but shorter and with more curl in it. She came up to Casey’s chest when they hugged.
They turned as one and both startled when they saw me.
“Landon,” Casey exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
“Who’s he?” The teenage attitude came through in just two words and almost made me laugh.
“This is my friend, Landon. Landon, this is my daughter, Mikayla. Who is going to miss the bus if she doesn’t get moving.”
Mikayla rolled her eyes and moved past me.
“Nice to meet you,” I said to her.
“You, too,” she said, dutifully, as if she couldn’t bring herself to not reply.
I turned to Casey and watched her as she worried her bottom lip and stared after her daughter until she disappeared down the stairs.
“Why are you here? And how did you get in?”
“Andre lives in this building. I asked him to buzz me in.”
“He doesn’t live on this floor.”
“I know. But I’m not here to see him.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “What does that mean?”
“You haven’t been returning my texts.”
“I’ve been busy,” she said without meeting my gaze.
I cupped her jaw and eased it up until I could look her in the eye. “I don’t believe you.”
“Really? I’m a single mom who works three jobs. I am always too busy. I barely have enough time to shower, let alone text you constantly.”
“We both know that’s not the reason you haven’t texted me back in five days, Casey.”
Her brows shot up. “We do, huh? Then enlighten me. Why am I not texting you back?”
“Because you think kissing me was a mistake.”
“You’re the one who ran out of here.”
“I wouldn’t say I ran, but I left because I was afraid you would regret it if I didn’t.”
“So, what? Do you want a medal for being right?”
“No. I want you to talk to me. I want you to kiss me again. I want you to tell me you still want me.”
“What?” she breathed.
A door opened across the hall, and she forced a smile for her neighbor.
“Morning, Casey.”
“Hi, Ron. Have a good day.”
“You, too. Everything okay?”
She nodded. “All good. Thanks.”
Ron gave me a look that was more protective than a random neighbor should be giving another man.
I wanted to growl at him. To puff out my chest. To show him I was the bigger man and he needed to back the fuck off.
“Let’s talk inside,” Casey whispered.
And all I did was smirk and follow her into her apartment. With Ron heading to work.
Yeah, I was an asshole. And maybe Andre wasn’t completely wrong. But it wasn’t love. It was lust. It was desire. It was all the chemical and biological things that drew two people together.
“We’re not having sex,” Casey said, leaning against the now closed door.
“Ever?” I gasped.
She huffed a laugh. “I meant right now, but I’m not promising anything in the future either.”
“Listen, I’m not here for that. We… We have an agreement. You said you wanted me to help you learn to flirt. And I wanted a date for the wedding. If there’s chemistry between us, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“There is if we don’t want the same things.”
“I will never force you into anything, Casey. And yes, I want kids. I want to get married. I want to settle down one day and have someone I wake up to in the morning and fall asleep with every night. But that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to enjoy the next few weeks with you.”
She drew a breath, held it, then blew it out slowly. “I’ll make you a new deal. Same deal, but with a deadline. After the wedding, we go our separate ways.”
My chest hurt with her suggestion. My body tightened. I felt like I’d been kicked. But I refused to let her see it. “No more avoiding me. We meet at least twice a week. And we make sure we are believable as a couple at the wedding.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’re going to have to kiss me again. And dance with me. And let me touch you and act like you’re enjoying it.” I eased closer to her as I spoke. When I was within reach of her, I took her hand.
She trembled at my touch. “Landon.”
I didn’t hesitate. I tugged her against me, slamming my lips over hers.
She responded to my kiss instantly, sucking in a breath and letting it out with a sigh. Her hand went to my shirt and grabbed hold of me.
I cupped her jaw with my other hand and licked my way inside her mouth. I brought our joined hands behind her back and held her against me, devouring her the way I wanted to the other night.
She whimpered. She didn’t fight my kiss or try to control it. I could tell she was enjoying herself, but she wasn’t showing me what she wanted, what she liked.
I craved that information. I wanted to know everything about her. What turned her on, what made her retreat. Her favorite joke and her favorite food. I wanted it all.
An alarm went off somewhere to my left, and I let her pull away from me.
She rushed to the kitchen and silenced the alarm. “I’m sorry. I have to go to work this morning.”
“You don’t have to apologize to me for living your life.”
She smiled. “I told you I’m busy.”
“I know you are. Do we have a deal? Lunch twice a week, at least. Or whatever else you want to do. If that’s afternoon coffee or dinner or gathering more dick collections.”
She snorted a laugh.
“Where did you put all of that?” There wasn’t a dick in sight. Except the one trying to get out of my pants.
“They’re in my room. In my closet, where Mikayla won’t see them all.”
“Makes sense. And I’m sorry for showing up with her here. I didn’t think.”
Casey shook her head. “It’s okay. She’s pretty absorbed in her world. She’s probably already forgotten you were here.”
“I hope so. She’s not going to the wedding?”
“No. I’m technically going for work, so I never planned to take her, but Finley and Trent offered their house for a sleepover for all the kids. Trent has a house manager who lives there, and the older high school kids are going to be in charge of all the younger kids.”
“That’s a pretty good deal.”
Casey nodded. “It is. This community is pretty exceptional.”
“So are you,” I whispered.
She smiled and ducked her head. Her cheeks turned red.
I made a mental note to pay her more compliments. She needed to know how amazing she was.
“Um, I need to go. I’m sorry.”
“Understood. Do you want to have lunch today?”
She shook her head. “I can’t today. After my meeting this morning, I’m cleaning houses the rest of the day until I get Mikayla from school.”
“Tomorrow?”
She hesitated, then nodded. “I can do tomorrow.”
“Good. I’ll text you later, and we can decide on a time and place.” I stepped closer to her and kissed her softly. “Have a good day.”
“You, too,” she breathed.
I smiled and let myself out of her apartment. Back on track.