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Steven repeated the name, but he couldn’t recall who she was, and she didn’t matter. He didn’t want Cassandra’s friend, he wanted Cassandra. While he couldn’t admit the truth to his friend, he wasn’t going to encourage any other setups. Steven didn’t need to be setup. He wasn’t looking for anything because he already knew what he wanted. It was just a bit more complicated than he liked to think of it.
***
They went to see Dennis, and Cassandra was naturally there. He didn’t have a lot to say, tried to keep his mind off of the two of them, even though it kept drifting there. Steven was the odd man out, but he was trying his best to get some space, some sanity, especially with her brother right there. It was even more complicated when the next thing he knew, Luke had gone rogue and asked her if she wanted to come out with them the next night, and to bring along her friend. Steven had asked that no setups were made, but they didn’t care what he wanted. He wasn’t shocked by any of it. Instead, he had to keep his face bland and went with it.
When he saw what Cassandra was wearing out though, he knew that the evening was going to be complicated. She had on a red dress that pulled his eyes to her even more. She was fire from head to toe, and Steven wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and kiss her. It wouldn’t have gone well, his friend would be mad, but damn he wanted to do just that.
Luke didn’t notice, he was too busy asking about Aaliyah and if she was going to show up. He sent a knowing look to Steven, and he smiled back like he knew what it was all about and agreed, but then he turned away and the look was gone. It was not at all what he wanted. Aaliyah was nice, probably. He’d seen a picture. She was cute, but he wasn’t interested. He didn’t want Aaliyah; he wanted Cassandra.
Aaliyah was at the club when they got there, and she was dressed as provocatively as Cassandra was. She wasn’t worried about Steven though; she had her eyes on someone else. From all of the talking between the two of them, Aaliyah and Luke seemed to hit it off pretty good. They started to dance together, and he was told to dance with Luke’s sister. It was asked as a favor, and Steven was more than happy to oblige.
He pulled her into his arms before she could protest and he immediately wished that he hadn’t, as well as wanting to do it again. Like always, Cassandra was bringing out several different emotions in him, and he looked toward Luke, glad that his friend was absorbed in his dance partner, not Steven and his sister who were getting way too close.
Chapter 17
Cassandra
The confusion was getting worse, the longer that she was around Steven. Every time they met was so different than the last, and she had no idea if she was coming or going when it came to Steven. When he touched her, held her in his arms, she wasn’t really able to think of much else. She wished that she could, but her mind went blank, and her body responded like she was his to command.
She wasn’t able to see Steven but one way. She wanted the man that he was, and her body couldn’t have given a damn less who he was to her brother. Cassandra liked the way his wide palm skimmed her back and pulled her ever closer. Cassandra sucked in a breath when he made her lower region tingle. Cassandra wanted to pull away, should have for her own sanity, but she couldn’t. It was impossible.
“Your brother wants to set me up with your friend.”
Cassandra nodded, not really hearing his words for a moment, but then it hit her like a ton of bricks, and she didn’t like the sound of that at all. She knew that there was something about the way her brother had made it all sound, but Aaliyah was flirting with her brother now.
“Are you sure about that?” Cassandra asked with a grin. Steven looked where she was looking, and he sighed.
“Well, I thought he was. I told him that I wasn’t interested in her, but maybe he is. Says he is getting to the point where he is ready to settle down. Maybe the two of them can work something out. You never know.”
Cassandra agreed that it very well could end that way. She smiled and asked him if he wanted her to try and hook them up. Cassandra felt a jolt of envy, even saying it out loud.
Steven shook his head in disagreement, letting her know that it was the very last thing that he wanted. “She’s not my type.”
“Maybe you are just too picky.”
“If I am going to be with a woman, really be with them, shouldn’t I be picky? It seems like one of those things that you should really be picky about. I mean, you are going to be with your wife forever. What more incentive do you need?”
Cassandra agreed and said that she had never heard him talk about a woman for the future. “You and my brother are acting strange lately.”
Steven nodded. “I think it’s having you and Dennis around. It makes us second guess everything, like our decision to be childless and wifeless.”
Cassandra wondered if that was true. She asked him if he was thinking along the same lines and Steven said that he was. There was something strange about the conversation and Cassandra could pick up on the irony of it all. She knew that falling for Steven was bad news, and talking about it so nonchalantly was just as bad.
“You guys are both young. It will happen. Having kids and marriage aren’t anything to rush into,” Cassandra said with a slightly bitter tinge to her voice. She tried not to be bitter about it, but it was really hard sometimes. She had done everything she thought she was supposed to do, but it hadn’t worked out the way she wanted. Now, she was just as unsure as everyone else, only Cassandra had a son to take care of as well. It was overwhelming at times, much like Steven’s hands on her body for the dance. When the song was over, there was space between them, and she was able to breathe again.
“It’s not rushing if I find the right person. Then, I just need to be ready for it, that’s all.”
Cassandra nodded her head and felt a little dizzy. She was sure that it was because of Steven’s presence and how she felt about him. It was impossible for her to just pretend like she felt nothing. She did, she felt loads for him, and Cassandra had never been too good at hiding her feelings without being awkward. She felt weird and said that she was going to get a drink.
She was almost there before someone else asked her if she wanted to dance. Cassandra wanted to say no at first, but then she figured that it would give her a few minutes on the other side of Steven and that’s what she needed.
The new guy was a bit younger, ready to lead with a big smile on his tanned face. Cassandra couldn’t help but smile back at him. “What’s your name?”
“Dale.”
Soon, he asked what her name was, and they talked a little bit. Dale didn’t dance with her in the same way as Steven. He was more controlled with his touch, and she didn’t feel like she was being taken advantage of, which was exactly how she felt when she was in Steven’s arms. He touched every inch of her and made it hard to focus on anything else. Cassandra didn’t worry about that with Dale. He was nervous and barely touched her. Dale was not the guy for her, but he was an anti-Steven and that was good enough for Cassandra.
When the dance was over, all of her faculties were back in her control, and she made her way to the bar after thanking Dale for the dance. He wanted to keep going, have a drink, and for them to get to know each other, but Cassandra wasn’t interested. She skirted out of it with one to jump in the deep end with another.
