Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The next morning, Wave woke early and headed out to work out. He was almost done with his run when he saw Bang and T coming toward him. They all stopped in the middle of the running path.
“Good to see you, man,” Bang said.
“Good to see you two. How’s it going?”
“Can’t complain,” T said.
“How is Cass settling in?” Bang asked.
“Good. Of course, we’ve only been home since last night.”
“I’m sure she will love living here,” T said. “There is a lot to see and do, especially for the younger crowd. I mean, she’s almost old enough for the party circuit.”
Wave chuckled as he shook his head. “God, I hope she doesn’t find the party circuit.”
T threw back his head, laughter spilling out. “You know she’s probably a lot like you and will do whatever she wants.”
Wave drew in a slow breath. “Yeah, she is independent, and that is frightening.”
“So when do we get to meet her?” T asked.
“Oh, and that woman, Gina. When do we get to meet Gina?” Bang asked.
“Soon. I think I’ll have you all over Friday evening. We’ll have hot dogs and burgers.”
“Sounds great,” T said.
“I’ll send out a text when I get home.”
“We’ll be there for you. We need to finish our run so we can be at the base on time.”
“Sure. Late start?”
Bang nodded. “Yeah. We were there late last night. We decided on ten today.”
“Cool. I’ll see you all this weekend.”
“Awesome.”
Wave took off toward home. When he’d been looking for a house, he’d almost purchased a smaller place, but decided on a place that had been remodeled with an upstairs added in. If he’d bought the smaller house, it would be cramped now that Cass had moved in.
The thought of kids flashed through his mind, and he slowed. Did he want kids? He’d never really thought about it too much. Kids with Gina would be interesting. They had the room in this house, or they would have the room once Cass found a place on her own.
Of course, kids were something far off in the future, if they even entered the picture at all.
Before meeting Cass, he never would have contemplated having kids.
Now, it was something he might consider.
But starting a family wasn’t a necessity for him.
If it ended up with it being just the two of them, that would be okay, too.
He stepped into the house and heard someone in the kitchen. Gina flashed him a big smile. “Hey, did you get in a good run?”
“I did.” He moved close, but not so close that his sweat got on her, and leaned in for a kiss.
“I would pull you to me, but I just got out of the shower.”
He stood tall and smiled. “Later.”
“Yes, later. I’m about to make breakfast. Do you want any eggs?”
“Yes. I eat a lot when I’m training. So I’ll take three. I want some potatoes, too, but I can fix those.”
“I can start prepping them while you’re in the shower. How do you like them?”
“Microwaved then smashed together with a little butter and milk just so they hold together, add in an egg and a quarter cup flour, then make patties and fry them in some butter. Oh, and add about a half cup of shredded cheese to the mix.”
“Damn. That sounds delicious. How many potatoes do you eat?”
“Two.”
“Cool. I’m going to add one for me.”
“Toss one in for me,” Cass said as she ran down the stairs. “That sounds delicious.”
“It is,” Wave said.
“Good morning.” Cass moved to Wave and was about to give him a hug before she pulled back. “Oh goodness, you stink.”
He laughed. “I just worked out.”
“Go shower. I’ll heat up the potatoes. Are you okay doing the eggs?” Cass asked Gina.
“I am. I’ll cut up some mushrooms and onions.”
“Sounds good. I’ll take a quick shower.”
“Not too quick. You need to use extra soap,” Cass called out as Wave stepped into the bedroom.
“Did you sleep well?” Gina asked as she pulled the onion and mushrooms from the refrigerator and started cutting them. She was glad Jump and Blakely had bought food for them. It made coming back easier.
“I did,” Cass said as she began working on heating the potatoes.
“Good.” Gina was a little worried that Cass had heard them getting busy, but she didn’t want to bring it up. They could talk about it later if it felt right. Honestly, she wasn’t used to talking about sex with other people.
“I wanted to go out and see where my classes are later,” Cass said.
“That’s a great idea.”
“I’m excited to start college. I didn’t plan on finishing high school early, but when I figured out that I needed to finish and that I was moving out here, I made sure my dual credits transferred.”
“That’s good. Do you know what you’re going to major in?”
Cass laughed. “Heck no. I have no clue. I want to finish with my basics, and then I’ll decide. Who knows, I may take a year off and try to figure stuff out.” She started mashing the warm potatoes, adding butter and milk.
“Well, good for you. Life is long, and at thirty-five you may not like what you picked to do at eighteen.”
“Yeah. So is that how old you are? Thirty-five?”
Gina chuckled. “Yes. I’m thirty-five.”
Wave walked out right then, drying his hair with a towel. “Thirty-five. Does it bug you that I just turned thirty?”
Cass turned to Wave and narrowed her eyes. “That’s an odd question. Why would it bug her?”
Wave froze, then looked from Gina to Cass, then back to her. “So I guess it didn’t come up?”
Gina shook her head. “Nope.”
“Well, heck. I—”
Cass rolled her eyes, then started laughing. “Jesus, you’re thick, but the walls in your house aren’t. Of course, I heard you two. I’m just giving you a hard time.”
Heat raced up Gina’s neck to her face. “Oh God, you heard us.”
“It wasn’t that loud. I’m happy for you two. At least you’re decent, and I like you.”
Wave wiped his hand down his face. “I didn’t know you could hear.”
“Dude, it really isn’t a big problem. I turned on a white noise application and put in earplugs.” Cass raised her eyebrows. “Are you going to start making the eggs? I’m ready to fry the potatoes.”
“Sure.” Gina whipped the eggs together in a bowl as Wave began heating the onion and mushrooms.
At least Cass knew, and they didn’t have to have a conversation.
She tried not to think about Cass hearing them having sex.
They would need to play music to cover the sound of them together.
There wasn’t any way she would be able to live with Wave and not have sex.
The man was too hot to keep her hands off him, but she didn’t want Cass to know every single time they got busy.
They ate together, planning their day. Wave wanted to go with Cass to look at the college, so she decided to go with them.
Gina liked spending time with Wave. She was excited about meeting his friends.
Hopefully, it would go well, and they would accept her.
The last thing she wanted was his buddies having a problem with her.