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“Oh my god, Cassio, I’m so sorry,” I gasp as he reaches up to tenderly touch his split lip.
“Ow,” he says, his voice filled with shocked awe as he brings his fingers away to examine the fresh blood there. “You pack a mean punch.”
I blush profusely and press my palms to my cheeks, mortified that I made him bleed. “I’m so,sosorry,” I repeat. “I didn’t know it was you.”
Cassio chuckles and sets my backpack down before meeting my eyes. “It’s fine. I probably deserved it.”
Then he leans between the seats, his hand combing beneath my hair to find the nape of my neck. Pulling me closer, he presses a warm, determined kiss to my lips. I taste the coppery hint of blood as he breaks away, his hazel eyes with the freckle of brown searching my face.
“Care to let me use you as a getaway driver?” he asks lightly, sinking low behind the seat once again.
I raise a skeptical brow. “Where are we going this time?”
“Out of town. You know Starved Rock State Park?”
I gasp, feigning exasperation, but honestly, I’m just grateful to know Cassio isn’t mad or avoiding me. It seems he’s the one with the even head and temper when it comes to the two of us. “I know the general direction.”
“Well then, my lady, at your leisure,” he teases, flashing me a charming smile.
Giggling, I shake my head and turn in the driver’s seat to start my car. I stay quiet for a time as I drive away from Rosehill and get onto the highway heading west. As soon as we’re clear of the city, he climbs into the passenger seat to keep me company.
I haven’t said as much, but I love that Cassio’s an adventurer. Swimming in Lake Michigan, road trips out to the state park. For all his family’s pomp and circumstance, he’s an outdoorsman, a nature boy. And I love that.
“I’m sorry I overreacted,” I say finally as I keep my eyes on the road. “I know you said what you did to protect me.”
Cassio’s hand finds my knee, and his touch makes my heart skip a beat.
“Don’t be sorry. I’m the one who needs to apologize. I never should have said it. I just… I don’t want to be the reason you get kicked out of Rosehill, and I got carried away today. But it’s like, whenever I kiss you, I lose my mind. I wasn’t thinking about how it might look to others, and then it was too late.”
I glance sideways at Cassio, my chest tightening. “You weren’t just acting during the kiss?” I ask in surprise. He seemed so calm and collected, I thought I’d been the one to give it away.
“Acting? Are you kidding me? I blew the whole thing by coming across as some sex-starved teen who’s never kissed a girl before, and I’m sorry. I just couldn’t stop kissing you.”
Laughter bursts from me as giddy excitement pools in my belly. “I thought I was the one who blew it. You seemed entirely unfazed to me.”
Cassio snorts. “Sounds to me like we’re going to have to practice our stage kiss a little more,” he suggests playfully.
My wide grin makes my cheeks ache. “Aw, maaan,” I tease.
It’s an intense relief to realize we’re through our argument and that, once again, we’re shockingly in the same space as one another. I love that just speaking to Cassio seems to fix things.
He helps me work through my own defensive insecurities, readily reinforcing his feelings for me in a far healthier way than I ever could have hoped for someone from such a cut-throat, dangerous family. I suspect, in part, I have Lucca to thank for that. Their bond as twins probably helped Cass feel far less alone as a child.
But he also has an impressive confidence to stand by what he believes in. He doesn’t hesitate to be different, to speak his mind–even if that means showing vulnerability–and I find it sexy as hell.
The hour-and-a-half drive to Starved Rock State Park gives us plenty of time to talk and laugh. By the time I reach the parking lot, the sun is hanging low in the sky. We might have another hour or so of light, but with fall in full swing, the days are getting shorter.
Killing the motor, I look out the windshield of my Lexus at the beautiful yellow, orange, and red colors of the park’s trees. Golden light shines through the canopy onto the leaf-strewn pathway.
“I’ve never actually been here before,” I confess, my tone reverent.
Cass smiles as he takes my hand, giving it a squeeze. “You’re gonna love it.” He releases me a moment later to reach into the back seat.
I gasp as he lifts a beautiful bouquet of red roses into view. “What are those for?”
“You,” he says simply. “Don’t actresses receive bouquets for their performances all the time?”
I laugh breathily. “Well, yeah, but….” I was going to say that I wasn’t in a performance, but then it hit me. That’s why he left class early. He went to buy me flowers. “You did this because I sang in class today?”
