Chapter 18 - Cass
Fucking Bob. Nia is dancing with Bob.
I saw them joining everyone on the “dance floor” a while ago. I saw the bastard acting all goofy around her; saw her laugh at his silly moves. And I sure as hell noticed how she purposefully avoided looking at me, even though we were standing right next to each other.
Fucking Bob.
He runs his dad’s garage, is unmarried, has no kids, and has had his sights set on Nia since her and I were fifteen.
You’d think the age difference would have affected the way he looked at her back then, but nope.
He was a perv, through and through, and it’s pretty clear things haven’t changed for him, even now.
When Nia and I’s eyes had met for the first time in days a few minutes ago, she’d been standing behind the serving table.
My stupid heart had done a fucking tumble after seeing her, because God, she’s absolutely breathtaking.
The color of her sweater is the exact same as the blush on her cheeks.
Pair that with faded jeans and brown boots, and she’s the most beautiful person in the crowd.
And her long hair, open and flowing with the wind like it always is, makes me wanna run my fingers through it.
I’d been the first to look away. She’d seemed shocked to see me, which’d led me to believe that maybe Gerald hadn’t told her that I’d be attending the party.
“So, Chase,” says Clary, pulling me out of my thoughts. Or is it Chloe? I have no damn idea. “You’ll come check out our racks tomorrow, won’t you? I promise you that our collection is the best in Adenbrooke.”
I flinch a little and face the twins. They don’t just say my name incorrectly – every damn time, despite me having corrected them more than once – but they also emphasize the word ‘rack’ whenever they use it in a sentence.
I know that there’s a very high bar of ignorance, combined with stupidity out there in the world, but just how fucking dumb does one have to be to not remember a simple name, or even behave like they aren’t coming on to someone too hard?
I really want to know.
“Chase?” the other twin says loudly when she thinks I haven’t heard her sister over the sound of the music.
I blink and flash her a smile. “Yeah?” This is exactly what I’ve been doing for almost an hour: smiling, being polite, and trying not to bang my head against a wall.
Clary/Chloe grins and steps closer to me. “You’ll come check out our clothing racks, right? I think some of our designs will look perfect on you.”
Jesus, if you’re up there, please tie me to a fucking anchor and drown me into an endless ocean.
“Chase?”
I’m close to losing my shit. Completely.
“I’ll have to take this up with my designer, ladies,” I reply as politely as I can. “If he agrees to it, then I’ll have him come check out your collection for potential outfits.”
Clary and Chloe look blankly at me. “But can’t you just come and do that yourself?”
“I hardly shop fashion these days, what with my busy schedule. It’s difficult to balance everything out, hence I have a designer.”
“But–”
I put on my professional face. “Javier is excellent at what he does, I promise. He’s the perfect person to come look at your stuff.”
They open their mouths to say something, but I turn around, only to find Bob with his hands pressed to the sides of Nia’s waist.
Fucking dipshit.
He bends to say something in her ear, which makes her laugh.
I clench and unclench my fists, feeling annoyingly frustrated.
She should be dancing with me, but instead, she won’t even glance my way.
Fucking fantastic.
Something small hits the side of my head.
I hiss a curse and look down, only to find some plastic toy fallen at my feet.
I then look in the direction from which it had come, and see Gerald, seated in a chair a few feet from me, with a beer bottle in one hand and a freakish-looking toy in the other, ready to hit me with it again.
“What the fuck, Gerald?” I mouth.
He huffs and drops the toy, then fishes his phone out of his pocket. Tapping on the screen for a while, and then places the phone to his ear, and I feel mine begin to vibrate in my jeans a couple of seconds later.
“I repeat: what the fuck, Gerald?” I say by way of greeting.
He glares at me. “What’re you doing, you dickwad?”
“What?” He has to stop drinking, or else he’ll seriously injure someone.
“You’re letting Bob steal your girl,” he grumbles.
My brows furrow in confusion. “Wait, how do you kno–”
“You aren’t exactly being subtle about it, Cass,” he provides. “And neither is she.”
I sigh and run a hand over my jaw. “Everything is fucked, Ger. Hell, I don’t even know if she’s my girl anymore. Or if she even wants to be mine anymore.”
The old rug scowls at me. “And whose fault is that?”
I roll my eyes. “Why did you hit me? Couldn’t you have simply called me, like you did after almost giving me a concussion?”
He smirks. “Where would the fun in that be?”
I snort. “So, you stole some poor kid’s toys for what, fun? Your idea of fun is making people lose consciousness?”
He flips me off, which makes me chuckle. “I didn’t steal them. I borrowed them.”
“Uh-huh, whatever you say.”
He glares at me. Again. “Go get her, Cass, before Bob puts a fucking ring on it or somethin’.”
I quickly glance at Nia and Bob, who are still laughing and dancing, then look at Gerald again. “Well, he might as well. She seems really happy right now.”
Gerald makes to throw his beer bottle at me, and on instinct, I take a step back. “Stop being so goddamn insufferable, boy. Get your ass in gear and do something. Get that bald fucking caveman away from Nia.”
“Jesus, how much have you had to drink, Ger? You sound like my dead grandma, man. May the lord rest her soul.”
He huffs again. “Go. Do. Something.”
“Fine.” I raise a hand when he again threatens to attack me with the beer bottle. “I’m going; I’m going. Fucking contain yourself, dude.” I disconnect the call and slide my phone into my back pocket.
Gerald grins and gives me a thumbs up, which makes me smile and shake my head at him.
I look around, but can’t find the Williams twins, which is a relief.
Good riddance.
With a deep inhale and a quick exhale, I step forward and place a hand on Bob’s shoulder.
Here goes.