3. Cassie
Chapter 3
Cassie
Cassie couldn’t stop smiling all the way back from the park.
Katie really and truly hadn’t been lying when she said that her new bubble machine was the best thing ever.
Big bubbles.
Seriously big bubbles of all different colors too.
Even a built-in sound system that played cute music as the machine pumped out bubble after bubble.
Cassie and her fellow Littles had experienced a wonderful time playing with the bubbles.
Chasing them.
Jumping up to pop them.
Even managing to catch a couple on their arms and attempt to keep them from popping.
It had been brilliant fun.
Cassie had managed to take her mind off work too. This was always an added bonus. And something that she wanted to do more of in the future.
Despite arriving late, Cassie had still managed to cram an awful lot of fun and activities into the time at the park.
Painting.
Playing tag.
Even a fun game of touch football against the Daddies. Which the Littles managed to win, even if it did involve a splash of cheating from Katie – something that she was sure to get punished for with a good spanking on her butt when she got home.
All in all, it had been a perfect ten out of ten fun time.
Katie and Cage had gone straight home, so it was Sydney who walked home with Cassie. They both lived close to each other, Sydney’s place only being a couple of blocks further along than Cassie’s.
Sydney didn’t have a Daddy either, and it was admittedly nice to spend time with someone who got it. You know, that feeling of wanting someone , but not knowing who yet.
Sydney was a whole heap of fun too.
Along with her quirky sense of humor, she was getting a big reputation online for her viral skateboarding stunts.
With her sandy blonde hair, nose piercing, and ultra-cute smile, Sydney was every inch the New York’s hottest skate Little.
‘Don’t worry, dude,’ Sydney said, flashing her ocean green eyes in Cassie’s direction. ‘You’ll find your Forever Daddy soon. Just like we all will.’
Sydney was always able to see the upside.
She was a good, positive person to be around.
Cassie was grateful for their friendship, that was not in doubt.
Their conversation continued to bubble away as the pair of them continued towards Cassie’s building. There was always something to talk about, but on that day it was all centering on how they could possibly go in together and buy an even bigger bubble machine than Katie’s!
‘But who would keep it?’ Cassie asked, arching her eyebrow.
‘ Hmmm . Maybe joint custody?’ Sydney laughed. ‘I call first weekend though!’
The pair laughed.
It was a silly idea really, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t fun to fantasize about. The same could be said for many things in life.
Cassie and Sydney were still finding the idea of sharing a bubble machine extremely amusing when suddenly the smiles were wiped off their faces.
‘W-w-w-why are there so many fire trucks outside your building?’ Sydney asked, her happy-go-lucky vibe definitely taken down a few notches. ‘OMG! There’s smoke coming from your floor!’
Cassie couldn’t get the words out to answer.
Instead, she grabbed Sydney’s hand and the pair of them approached the building.
Well, as close as they could get anyway.
A large area was cordoned off around the entrance.
Four fire trucks were parked up.
Police were on the scene.
As always, a crowd was gathering to rubberneck the situation. See what was happening. Try to grab some footage to share online no doubt.
‘I’m scared, Sydney,’ Cassie finally said. ‘W-w-w-what if I’d been inside when it happened?’
Sydney brought Cassie in for a special Little hug.
‘But you weren’t, dude, Sydney said, giving Cassie an extra squeeze for reassurance. ‘We’ve got that to be thankful for. Your apartment is probably fine. We don’t know anything yet. Let’s just hang here for a while and wait.’
Cassie bowed her head.
Sydney’s optimism was admirable, but it wasn’t her building that was on fire. Cassie felt extremely worried. It was like her entire world had been turned upside down in one moment.
‘Hey, I’ll ask this guy,’ Sydney said, flagging down a nearby firefighter. ‘Mr. Firefighter dude? Over here? My friend lives here!’
As the firefighter approached, Sydney took a big breath.
Cassie even more so.
Despite the severity of the situation, there was no doubting that this firefighter was hot.
Seriously hot.
He was giving off major Daddy vibes too.
The kind of unmissable signals that are louder than any siren, if you know what to look for. The firefighter began to address Cassie, but Cassie’s mind was elsewhere.
My building nearly got burned down.
Is it wrong I’m imagining him naked?
Wait, he’s speaking to me. I should answer…
‘Sorry, can you say that again?’ Cassie asked, her voice trembling a little. ‘I think I might be in shock.’
Cassie listened as the firefighter began to explain. His name was Kane, and he began by explaining that there had been an electrical fire in one of the apartments. The result of computer equipment overheating and triggering a violent reaction in the mains electrical system.
‘Thing is, a lot of these gorgeous older building have pretty damned terrible electrics,’ Kane said, his voice stern and extremely gruff. ‘Pisses me off. Landlords and building managers should be held accountable.’
Cassie nodded.
Kane was big. His shoulders were broad, muscular. He had the kind of face that Cassie couldn’t help but imagine putting her soft, delicate hands on.
The fact that Kane was looking sensationally hot in his firefighter’s uniform may also have prompted Cassie’s totally overwhelming attraction.
‘You’ll have to excuse my little friend,’ Sydney said, giggling. ‘It’s been a tough day.’
‘Not to worry,’ Kane said, holding his hand in the air as he listened out for a call from his colleague. ‘Okay. I need to go back in. You said you lived here. What number? I’ll check to see if your apartment was close to the action.’
‘He’s talking to you, Cassie,’ Sydney said, rolling her eyes.
‘Oh, um, sorry,’ Cassie replied. ‘16D. Thank you. Thank you so much.’
Kane nodded and turned to walk away.
‘Look at that butt!’ Sydney said, nudging Cassie. ‘He’s so big. Rugged. If he’s not a Daddy, I will gladly run the New York marathon totally nude.’
‘That doesn’t sound so bad,’ Cassie giggled, a little bit giddy from the adrenalin that was coursing over her entire body. ‘Seriously though, I hope my apartment’s okay. None of my recent completed work is backed up online. It’s all on my tablet, laptop, and desktop computer.’
‘Well, we’ll just have to wait,’ Sydney said. ‘Come on, come with me. There’s that cute new gelato place on the corner. Let’s go there and come back in a bit. Everything will be fine.’
‘I hope so, Sydney. I really hope so.’
There was a big queue at the gelato place, so it took Cassie and Sydney a while to get served. This was probably a good thing all things considered.
Sydney did her best to keep Cassie’s spirits up.
She even did something he would never usually do. Sydney told Cassie about a new skateboard stunt she was planning. It was going to be her biggest yet - a stunt that could take her YouTube views onto the next level.
‘That could be your first million views video,’ Cassie said, cheered up by Sydney’s sharing of her secret, and the tasty vegan gelato she was tucking into. ‘It’s amazing how you just go out and do things. The way you don’t care what anyone says. It’s amazing in fact.’
‘Thanks Cassie,’ Sydney said, a big smile on her face. ‘Now before we arrive back, tell me one thing. On a scale of one to a billion, how much did you have a crush on Kane the firefighter?’
Sydney began laughing as Cassie hesitated.
The obvious truth was that Cassie had a huge crush on him.
The more Cassie paused and tried to think of reason why she didn’t find Kane total Daddy-candy, the more obvious it all became.
It was a hopeless task.
‘Okay, probably about a billion out of a billion,’ Cassie conceded, her cheeks blushing. ‘But you know me. It won’t work. The comic is just too much of a time-consuming passion for me. It’s fun to fantasize, but there’s definitely not going to be anything else with this, or any other, firefighter.’
‘If you say so,’ Sydney said, clearly not believing her friend. ‘Speak of the Daddy. Heads up. Here he comes.’
It was at that point that Cassie and Sydney approached Cassie’s building and were met by Kane. His face was covered in soot. The kind of dirt and grime you’d associate with a trip down a coal mine rather than an electrical fire in NYC.
Still, Cassie wasn’t complaining.
It was… hot .
‘Okay, Cassie, I’ve got some bad news,’ Kane said. ‘I won’t attempt to sugarcoat this. The fire came from your apartment. It was in all likelihood your equipment that triggered the system to blow.’
Cassie felt like collapsing.
This was awful.
She felt utterly horrible.
In that moment, with tears forming in her eyes, Cassie would have done anything to rewind the clock and not gone out to the park to play.
If I’d stayed in to carry on making the comic perfect none of this would have happened…
‘Cassie, it’s not your fault,’ Kane said. ‘As I said, the wiring and electrics in these buildings are not fit for purpose. I wasn’t criticizing you, simply stating facts.’
But Cassie could barely hear a word of what Kane was saying. She buried her head into Sydney’s chest and began to sob.
‘Kane, I need to ask something. What about Cassie’s computers?’ Sydney asked, fearing the worst.
Cassie lifted her head up from Sydney’s chest.
She was grateful to her friend for asking that question.
While she was super-fortunate to not have been caught in the fire, Cassie felt a sense of dread over the state of her computers. Every single piece of work she had ever produced professionally was on there.
None of the newer files were backed up either.
Cassie had always meant to do it, but somehow had always put it off. Every single time.
Without fail.
And now she was potentially going to pay the price.
‘I’m afraid they caught fire,’ Kane said, wiping his brow. ‘It’s not good–’
Cassie didn’t let Kane finish his sentence.
Instead, Cassie burst into tears. The kind of uncontrollable bawling that only happens when you’ve truly taken an emotional gut-punch.
‘A-a-a-a-all my work. It’s g-g-g-g-gone,’ Cassie said, tears flowing down her cheeks. ‘I’ve screwed everything up.’
‘Kid, calm down,’ Kane said, more than a hint of impatience in his voice. ‘Had you let me finish, you would have heard me say something else. Yes, it looks bad. But at the same time, nothing is ever totally beyond repair. I have an idea. Now, do you want to hear it, or not?’
Cassie stopped crying.
Kane’s voice was firm. Commanding. Not to be challenged.
But even more than that, Cassie needed to know what this idea was.
And she needed to know right now.