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Her son agreed and ran to go get his favorite color. Cassandra sighed and Steven smiled her way. He didn’t say anything, but damn if he could stop his eyes from saying their fill. She looked good, just like a treat that he was dying to have melt in his mouth. Being without her around, made him realize how much her presence was contagious. He wanted her, right then and there.
Chapter 15
Cassandra
She could feel his eyes on her, and she waited for something to be said, the kiss to be mentioned, but Dennis was back with the popsicle to get it opened, and Steven stayed silent. Cassandra didn’t know what he was playing at, but it felt like a missed opportunity. She wasn’t going to say anything, though she did ask about Luke and why he hadn’t picked him up instead.
“He had something come up at work. He wanted to be there, you know. I hope you don’t mind that he sent me.”
Cassandra shrugged and said that she was surprised that Steven could make it, after he had been so busy. Steven looked guilty for a minute, but it didn’t last very long. He obviously wasn’t too eaten up over it. She tried her best to ignore everything going on, but it was hard. She wanted to talk about the kiss, especially when Dennis went to go watch cartoons. There was this long span of time where they could have worked some things out, but it didn’t happen. Another wasted moment and instead of getting anything worked out, neither one said a word for quite some time.
Finally, he asked her what was wrong, and Cassandra told him about her failed attempts to find an office that was close and reasonable that she could rent and use for meetings. She liked to work from home most of the time, but she had to meet with clients often, and she needed a place to take them that wasn’t her house. Her business was going well, and she wanted to stay professional. She couldn’t do that without a proper office, and she had several meetings she needed to reschedule, but she still hadn’t landed on her feet as far as the office went.
Steven asked her why she hadn’t asked him about it, and he said that he had an office space that he could rent her. Cassandra wasn’t ready for that, and she was surprised. Again, it seemed like Steven was saving her right out of the blue. How was she so lucky all of the time?
“So, you had an apartment that was perfect and the perfect office space too?” Cassandra asked incredulously.
Steven shrugged. “You’ve seen my headquarters. They are huge and there are lots of office spaces in there. You can take one of them, any floor you want, and I will give you the family discount.”
Cassandra nodded. “Right, because you think of me like your sister?”
Steven didn’t meet her gaze, but he did agree with the sentiment. Cassandra wanted again to mention the kiss and how a man didn’t kiss his sister like that, but she couldn’t bring herself to say such a thing. It was hard to think of much else though, his lips close as they talked, and her eyes kept veering to his soft pillowy lips. Why did she want him to kiss her so badly? Was it because she didn’t believe that what she remembered was real? There was a such thing as someone being too good to be true; their kiss was much like that.
He didn’t stay too much later, though he did promise to get her a key and a walk through as soon as the next day. Cassandra needed the help, and she didn’t want to get so much help, but it was hard to say no. Steven knew that too. She could see why he was so good in business. He just found out what a person wanted and offered it in a deal that they couldn’t refuse.
“You know, you don’t have to help me like this.”
He insisted that he did and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Cassandra thanked him again, waited for him to kiss her goodbye, but he didn’t. He just said goodbye to her son and left. Cassandra was feeling some kind of way about it, wanted there to be more to it, but he was gone, and she didn’t have a choice but to accept his friendly farewell.
That night after Steven left, Cassandra put her son to bed and she was feeling good about so much, except her love life. She had an office for her clients, a great apartment that she loved, a school for her son that he loved. She was now close to her family and the relationship with her brother was better than ever. She still had to hear from Nelson every once in a while, but even that was more tolerable because she didn’t have to see him much. Cassandra could see that in almost every aspect of her life, things were looking up.
A lot of the good things that had happened since Cassandra got to Hartford, were wrapped up in Steven. He had been there for her time and again, making her coffee, finding her an apartment and then filling it with furniture. He had gone out of his way several times, then kissed her, then ignored her. Cassandra felt herself going through a rollercoaster of emotions when she dealt with Steven. Even thinking about him at night in bed, made her go through the same slew of them, never landing on one feeling for very long.
Cassandra went to sleep, thinking about Steven and how it was a shame. If he was just some guy, maybe they would have already tried things out. Cassandra truly felt like she had wasted the chance with one of her brother’s friends when she was with Nelson. If Steven would have given her the eye like he did then, kissed her only once back in the day, Cassandra didn’t think she would have ever gotten with, or married, Nelson. She couldn’t change it, but her mind couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like.
Her mind filled with other ideas of what it could be between them. It wasn’t hard really. All she had to do was think of the kissing that had gone on between them and then play it out for a little while. She could feel his eyes on her, then his hands, his mouth. Cassandra drifted off to sleep with fantasy on her mind and a smile on her lips.
Dreams were harmless, right?
Chapter 16
Steven
“Come on, Steven, you’re coming with me.”
Steven said that he would, got into his friend’s truck, before he asked where they were going. He didn’t care really, had a smile on his face that was hard to beat. When Steven heard that they were going to Cassandra’s house, he was a bit petrified. It was always with Cassandra that he felt so out of sorts. There was something that he couldn’t figure out and it was his best friend. While Luke liked to remind him that Cassandra was off limits, he really found it easy to put them together all the time. Luke didn’t understand what it was like to be around Cassandra. She was his sister after all, but it wasn’t hard to see if he would just look at her.
Steven tried his best to act like he wasn’t bothered by her. They talked about Dennis and how Luke was now starting to think that he had waited long enough to start his own family. Steven had never heard him talk about it before, so it threw him off.
“When did you start thinking about getting serious? Who is your girlfriend right now?” If he was that serious, Steven felt bad that he didn’t even know her name. It was right there, somewhere, he just couldn’t remember it.
“It’s not to do with her. We won’t last long, but maybe it’s time to start looking for a real woman. I never really thought I wanted a family, but it turns out that I do. I didn’t realize how cool kids were and how much I have to teach a kid.”
Steven felt the same way, but he wasn’t going to agree. He was thinking that way more because of Cassandra than of Dennis. He was a cute kid and all, but it was Cassandra who made him want a wife and a family to come home to. He was never lonely, or at least he was never alone. He was starting to realize that it was two different things. He wasn’t lonely when he was around Cassandra and Luke. Why did he lose one, if he had the other? Steven wanted Cassandra, but he also wanted to keep his friendship with Luke. He wanted it both.
“I don’t know if I can see you with a chic, married and all.” Steven meant it too. Luke was a bit crazy. While he liked to talk about how much he wanted a family, they were also planning on partying and getting wasted the next night. Steven didn’t think that one activity went well with the other.
“You know, it does, and we should see if Cassandra can take some time off. You know that we can have her get Aaliyah to come by, and then we can all have some fun.”
