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“What? Noooo,” she shrieks, her hands flying to cover her face, completely embarrassed. “Tell me you’re lying?”
“Hell no,” I scoff. “I pushed the door open real slow so you wouldn’t notice, dropped my pants, and came right along with you.”
“Jax,” she whines. “You didn’t.”
“Babe, I would never lie about you touching yourself. It was pure heaven. It was the best welcome home present you could have gotten me.” She ducks her head under my arm and refuses to meet my eyes. “Don’t be embarrassed,” I tell her. “You used to perform for me all the time. I loved it.”
She groans out my name once again, and I can’t help but laugh, which she apparently doesn’t appreciate. I curl her more firmly under my arm as we find a bench that looks out over a small pond and take a seat.
Pulling Cassie into my lap, she leans into me, right where she belongs. “Thanks for dinner,” she murmurs as she turns her head into my neck and kisses me softly. That’s not enough for me, though. I reach up and take her face in my hands and gently raise her chin until we’re eye to eye. I pull her into me and kiss her, letting my feelings shine through.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper as she pulls back. “I should have done this weeks ago.”
She closes her eyes for a brief moment, taking relief in my words. She drops her forehead to mine. “It’s okay. You needed time. I hurt you. I get it.”
“I missed you, Cass,” I whisper, brushing my fingers down the side of her face. “I’ve known since I was a kid that I can’t live without you, and I don’t know why I believed I could do it now. I was stupid and stubborn, I should have gone after you and brought you home.”
“No,” she demands. “I didn’t deserve that. I left. I was the one who made the mistake and let my pride get the best of me. I hate myself for putting you through that, but I promise, Jax, I’ll never hurt you like that again.”
A tear falls down her cheek and I pull her into me again. “I know,” I say, realizing for the first time that I truly believe it. The Cass that I grew up with and fell for has come back to me. She has managed to somehow look past my reputation to see that the old me is still in here, dying for her to find. Now, as I watch her pouring her heart out, I know I don’t have to wait for her to earn my trust. She already has it.
“I love you, Jax,” she murmurs into me. “I’ve never stopped.”
I hold onto her just that bit tighter as her words wrap around me, not realizing until this moment just how desperate I’ve been to hear those words on her lips. “I know. I love you, too.”
She pulls back slightly, tears of happiness falling from her eyes. She wipes her cheeks with the back of her arm, once again telling me how sorry she is, and I hold her until the tears have run their course.
“You really haven’t been with anyone else since that day in class?” she asks a little sheepishly.
“No, babe,” I tell her, then let her in on the truth, not really knowing how she might take it. “The reason why there were so many girls was because when I was with them, it gave me a break from thinking about you. The triplets disappeared right after you did, and it was like I was abandoned by my family. I had this massive void and no idea how to fix it. I sulked around for ages until I realized that I could dull the pain with alcohol and sex. It never lasted long, but it helped. It was never the same though. There was never a connection, not like there is with us.”
She sits in silence, taking it all in before looking back up at me with a frown. “I guess it’s just weird knowing that most of the girls on campus have been with you.”
I can’t help but grin. “You’re not jealous, are you?”
She rolls her eyes but a grin takes over. “Shut up,” she laughs as she tries to swat me away. And just like that, the final piece of the puzzle falls right into place.
“Come on, babe. Let me take you home,” I say, trying to get up only to be stopped by a very stubborn Cass.
“Wait,” she says, looking around the park before continuing. “I sort of did something today,” she tells me.
I watch her through narrowed eyes. “What?” I ask suspiciously.
Cassie looks around again, probably making sure we’re alone before adjusting herself on my lap until she’s straddled over me. She comes up on her knees and swiftly hoists up her dress before lowering her ass back to my lap. She gives an embarrassed cringe before lifting her dress up a little higher and pulling down the edge of her underwear, revealing a bandage just inside her lower hip.
