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It was a transparent excuse to let Cassie and Erin have a moment, but Cassie seized it, let Parker and Acacia disappear up the staircase.
“How was it?” Erin asked.
Cassie took a step toward her, would’ve liked to collapse against her but held back. “Normal? Shit, I don’t know. It was normal, which was fucking weird.”
Erin closed the space Cassie had left between them and wrapped her arms around her. Cassie wished the feeling of being held didn’t make her sag in relief, but it definitely did.
“You okay, babe?”
Cassie shrugged.
“It’s a lot to get used to,” Erin said.
“Yeah,” Cassie said. “But I mean. She might actually be okay with it? It seems like it, anyway? Or she’s plotting ways to kill us.”
Erin smiled. “There’s always that option. But I don’t think she’d leave us alone if that were the case.”
“Yeah.”
“And she’s done it a lot this summer,” Erin said, rubbing Cassie’s back. “All while apparently knowing about us.”
It was true. There had been so many times when Parker had left them alone, and always for longer than she’d needed to. Coming back from Adam’s late or taking too long at the store or in the shower. And she’d known the whole time.
It wasweird,but it made Cassie’s heart jump.
“So maybe she doesn’t want to kill us after all.”
Erin chuckled and brushed a kiss against Cassie’s cheek.
“Cassie!” Acacia called from upstairs. “Come put your suit on! We’re going swimming!”
“Duty calls,” Cassie told Erin.
They stepped back from each other, Erin trailing her hand down Cassie’s arm to catch her fingers.
“You gonna swim with us?”
Erin shook her head. “You don’t think it’s weird enough without me around?”
“I do,” Cassie said, “but it’d definitely be better if you were.”
“I think I can give you three a day without me,” Erin said. “I’ve got some work to do anyway.”
Parker and Acacia came barreling down the stairs. Cassie immediately dropped Erin’s hand, then felt bad about it, but Erin waved her off.
“C’mon, slowpoke,” Acacia said.
“We’re not waiting for you,” Parker said, and they didn’t, heading straight outside and to the pool.
“Go,” Erin said. “I’ll be here if you need me.”
It was a pretty normal Saturday, all things considered. Having Acacia splash in the pool with them was so great, most of the time Cassie forgot things were supposed to be weird. Caleb showed up, said Lila and Madison would be by after they picked up Haylee from the train station.
About a half an hour later, Erin came out to say hi to Caleb. Cassie didn’t hear any part of their conversation, because Erin had on white cutoffs, and her legs went on forever. It wasn’t fair. Cassie kept staring after her even though she’d disappeared inside.
“Um, Cassie?”
Cassie snapped her head around to look at Caleb. “Yeah?” she said, sounding breathless instead of nonchalant.
