Boy Crazy (12 page)

T
he third time her phone buzzed in her pocket, Cassie ignored it.

“Do you need to get that?” Trey asked, breaking their long kiss and grinning down at her. He was leaning back against the counter in his parents’ kitchen, with Cassie pulled up against him. They hadn’t made it too far once she’d come in the back door. Cassie was just happy his parents were out for the evening at some fancy law gala, and therefore not likely to suddenly burst in on them.

“I’m good,” Cassie told him, and then pulled his head back toward hers, feeling anxious to kiss him more. The more they kissed, the more she wanted to kiss him. Nothing was enough. He was addictive.

“You’re sure?” He was teasing her now. He laughed
down at her scowl. “You answered the last two times. You can answer now, if you want.”

“I don’t want,” Cassie said. She let out a noise that was half a sigh, half a groan, and all frustration. “But apparently, you do!”

Trey laughed again, and kissed Cassie on her forehead, then set her away from him. He eased away from the counter and headed across the kitchen toward the refrigerator.

“I just want your full attention,” he said over his shoulder. “So if you have to text, do it now. That’s all.” He grinned back at her. “Unless you’d rather be somewhere else.”

“I told you, I don’t want to go out tonight,” Cassie said. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, and waved it at him. “See? I’m turning it off.”

Trey watched her as she turned her phone off and then set it down on the table with a little flourish. Then he gave her a smile that made her feel wobbly all through her body.

“As a reward,” he said, “I think I’ll make you my world-famous cheeseburger.”

“You cook?” Cassie asked, and she couldn’t help herself—she laughed. “When you said there would be dinner, I thought you meant, like, pizza.”

“I can make a cheeseburger to die for,” Trey said. “I watch a lot of
Top Chef
, you know. Oh ye of little faith.”

“Are you sure?” Cassie asked. “I watch a lot of TV too, which is why I’m a big believer in pizza delivery.”

“Cassie,” Trey said, shaking his head at her, “I’m offering to make you a cheeseburger that’s so mouthwatering it will change your life with one bite. And you keep talking about pizza delivery.”

“I like pizza,” Cassie replied, making a face at him. “I’m not really into E. coli.”

“E. coli. Wow.” Trey advanced on her, making her giggle. “So now you think I might poison you?”

“You just don’t strike me as the cooking type,” Cassie said, laughing harder when he grabbed her and yanked her closer to him.

“Keep it up,” he said, eyeing her. But he was grinning when he planted a kiss on her mouth, fast and quick and still dizzying. “That kind of attitude leads to no dessert, that’s all I’m saying.”

Cassie laughed again and settled back against the kitchen counter, content to watch him pull ingredients out of the big Sub-Zero refrigerator and stack them on the counter. She loved the way he moved. She loved the sleek lines of his body, and the way wore his jeans slung low on his hips. She loved the fact that he was wearing an old, beat-up Stanford T-shirt that she suspected had once belonged to his father—and that it was so old it clung to his body and made her breathless. But most of all she loved how easy everything felt when she was with him.

She told herself she didn’t feel guilty at all that she was blowing off the girls again. Greta and Keagan were headed out to that party in Silverlake, but Cassie had gone straight to Trey’s house after work. She’d thought that maybe she’d meet up with them later—but once she’d seen Trey, she couldn’t bring herself to leave again. First she’d claimed that there was bad traffic. Then she’d made some noise about being tired, too, and not sure she could motivate to go out. She’d been saved from any further lies by Trey’s making fun of her—since she kept interrupting their kisses to respond.

The real truth was, she felt guilty because she
didn’t
feel guilty about skipping the party. She didn’t want to go. She wanted to wave a magic wand and have Greta and Keagan know all about Trey—and have them somehow be perfectly okay with her relationship with him. And then she wanted to sink into him and stay there for a while, without having to worry about keeping secrets or protecting feelings or anything else.

Soon, she promised herself. She would tell them soon.

“I want a full apology,” Trey said later, as they lay cuddled together out on the patio that ringed his pool. Cassie was full and happy and couldn’t think of anything she’d rather
do than be with him, within kissing distance. “Maybe even in writing. Assuming the E. coli doesn’t get you.”

“It was a good cheeseburger,” Cassie admitted. “But we don’t know the incubation period for E. coli, so let’s not get carried away.”

“Carried away? You fully doubted me!” He grabbed his chest, mock-wounded by her doubts.

“I only
sort of
doubted you,” she replied, leaning closer and kissing him on his sexy mouth. The kiss was far more delicious than any cheeseburger, even a life-altering one.

Trey gazed down at her, and as Cassie looked back at him, she felt her heart swell. There was a heat behind her eyes, almost as if she wanted to cry, though she couldn’t remember being happier.

“Sort of doubting me is still doubting me,” Trey said softly, tracing patterns along Cassie’s jaw and playing with her hair. “The goal here is to have no doubts.”

Cassie knew he was talking about more than his cheeseburger prowess. She lifted her hand and let her knuckles smooth across his jaw. She loved the way his skin felt against hers. So warm, and then he turned his head and pressed a kiss to her hand, and she felt her breath catch in her throat.

“I doubted the cheeseburger,” she said, whispering for some reason. “But nothing else. Everything else is doubt-free.”

“Is that true?” He was whispering too. As he smiled down at her, Cassie would have challenged even Greta to question how true his feelings were. Cassie could feel an echo in her own body, shaking her.

She’d never felt like this before. She thought of Daniel Fletcher suddenly and wanted to laugh. She’d thought she was so desperately in love with him, but it had never been like this. She’d always been so…
afraid.
Afraid to tell him what she thought, or how she felt. Afraid that he wasn’t interested in her, or that he would think she was silly, or too young, or not good enough. Always afraid. But with Trey, she was never afraid. She said whatever was on her mind. She laughed all the time—instead of stressing out that she wasn’t smart enough or pretty enough for him. It was revolutionary.

“It’s true,” she told him. And she knew it was. She didn’t care what Greta said, what Trey had done in his past. She believed him.

“I love you,” he said, and then let out a kind of surprised breath, like he’d startled himself. Cassie froze. He smiled, and framed her face with his hands. “I’m in love with you,” he said, more deliberately this time, like it had slipped out the first time and he wanted to get it right.

And suddenly Cassie knew.

That’s what all these feelings were. Why she couldn’t stay away from him, why she wanted to cry but wasn’t
sad—all of it. She’d thought love was painful and agonizing and all about
not good enough.
But it was about fitting so well with someone that everything felt bright and crisp and right.

“I love you too,” she whispered, smiling so hard she thought her face might crack in two.

“Yeah?” he asked, smiling back at her.

“Yeah,” she said.

Trey kissed her then, rolling over so the length of his body was pressing Cassie back into the chaise. She loved it. It was like a fire ignited between them, and she couldn’t get enough of him. She helped Trey pull off his shirt. It was almost too much to be that close to him, to all that smooth, muscled skin—and then it wasn’t enough. Cassie sat up and pulled her own shirt off, and they both sighed happily. When he pulled away from her, Cassie pulled him back.

“Don’t stop,” she whispered. “I want you to be the one.”

“You want me to…?” His eyes widened as he looked at her, as he got what she meant. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” Cassie told him, and to prove it she stood and held out a hand. Trey blew out a breath, and Cassie felt a moment of panic. But then his smile kicked in at the corner of his mouth, so sexy, and his dark eyes moved over her like he’d never seen anything so beautiful. He stood too, and
took her hand in both of his as he led her into his bedroom.

“Don’t worry,” he told her, smoothing his hands down her body, never looking away from her. “I’ll take care of you. I promise.”

And he did.

T
he next night, Cassie was having trouble keeping her feet on the ground, when all she really wanted to do was float around somewhere in the stratosphere.

It didn’t help that Trey was at the party Greta had dragged them to in the hills of Echo Park. He kept looking over at Cassie from where he stood with some friends, and the look in his eyes made her squirm. She wished they could go off somewhere alone—but that wasn’t going to happen, not until she confessed everything.

Which she wanted to do, but she was so giddy from what had happened the night before that she didn’t want to let anything potentially negative touch it. She wanted to float in the giddiness for a while.

The knowing look Trey gave her then made her flush. He was far too sexy for his own good. She sighed to herself.

“Earth to Cassie!” Keagan cried, and snapped her fingers in front of Cassie’s face. Cassie focused on her and forced a smile. “You are so out of it tonight,” Keagan continued, shaking her head. “What is going on with you lately?”

She glanced around, distracted from Cassie’s flakiness by the prospect of a hot guy, and Cassie risked looking over in Trey’s direction. Luckily, he and his buddies had turned away and were headed back inside the small house that commanded an impressive view. Cassie leaned back against the railing of the large sun-bleached deck that looked out from the hillside and told herself that she wasn’t being a coward to keep the Trey secret just a little bit longer. She was holding on to something wonderful and private. She didn’t want to have to defend it.

“There you are,” Greta said, shimmying her way through a tight clutch of people, holding three beers in her hands. “Getting drinks was crazy. There are way too many people here, and
way
too many ironic sideburns.”

“At least we got this one out of the house,” Keagan said, nodding at Cassie.

“Seriously.” Greta handed out the beers and then eyed Cassie. “What’s going on with you?”

“Why are you guys all over me tonight?” Cassie asked
with a laugh. “Sometimes I get tired. It’s no big thing.” She hoped that had come off casual and easy, but Greta was watching her with a slight frown.

“I still think you’re bailing on Project Kiss,” Keagan said. She pointed a finger at Cassie. “And I know for a fact you didn’t kiss that guy with all the tattoos down on the beach in Venice that time.”

“What?” Cassie stalled for time, needing a moment to even remember the tattooed guy, or the party in Venice.

“We ran into him last night,” Greta said, her eyebrows arching up. “Keagan told him she couldn’t kiss him because you had.” She paused and tilted her beer toward Cassie. “But he said he’d never touched you.”

“Too bad,” Keagan said with a giggle. “Because he’s a really good kisser.”

“When did I say I kissed him?” Cassie asked, trying to remain calm. It wasn’t easy when Greta was looking at her so suspiciously.

“I was counting him in your tally,” Greta said. “If he’s not on the list, who is?”

“Wow, you guys are suspicious,” Cassie said, trying to laugh it off. “I was never counting him in the first place.”

“You’re dragging your feet, missy,” Keagan said, mock-accusingly. “You make excuses to not come out anymore. You don’t kiss guys who, let’s face it, are easily kissed.”

“We all swore,” Greta chimed in. “We made a pact. If you aren’t into it anymore…” She let that sentence trail off, and shrugged.

Now, obviously, was the time to come clean. But Cassie opened her mouth and found she couldn’t do it. Keagan and Greta were suspicious, but they were still teasing. Bringing up Trey would ruin that.

“I know we made a pact,” Cassie said, making a big show of rolling her eyes. “Hello. I was there.”

“You’re obviously working too hard,” Keagan said lazily, taking a swig of her beer. “If you have to sleep so much. There are only a few weeks left before school starts, you know. I think you’re going to have to rethink your priorities.”

“You mean, pay more attention to kissing and less attention to my summer job?” Cassie asked, laughing.

“Exactly.” Keagan sighed. “You’re way too responsible.”

“Unless you’re over the whole kissing thing,” Greta murmured.

“Greta, please,” Cassie said, rolling her eyes. “I’m all about kissing. I’m just picky. Didn’t we talk about this?”

“You make a lot of claims,” Greta said, “but I’m not sure anything happens.”

“She’s totally calling you out,” Keagan said, taunting Cassie gently. “She’s questioning your kissing skills, Cassie. Are you going to stand for that?”

Cassie could hear the laughter in Keagan’s voice, but she was looking at Greta.

“You talk the talk,” Greta said quietly, her hazel eyes narrowed. “But I’m not sure you walk the walk.” And suddenly, it didn’t really feel like teasing anymore. Maybe it was because Cassie knew she was lying to them, but this all felt too sharp. Cassie hated that Greta was looking at her like she didn’t believe her, like she’d let her down. She knew that if she told the truth, Greta would be even angrier, and Keagan would stop teasing her and get serious. But she didn’t know how to keep lying to them, either.

“Fine,” Cassie said, shrugging as if she didn’t care. “Believe what you want.”

“How many guys
have
you kissed?” Keagan asked.

And it was the last straw.

“God,” Cassie groaned. “You never give up, do you?”

She didn’t know what she meant to do. She slapped her beer down on the dark wooden railing and looked around a little wildly. She caught Greta’s smirk—like she knew she’d pushed Cassie—and Keagan’s raised eyebrows. She just didn’t want them to be angry with her. That was all. That was why she let her eyes fall on the nearest guy, a nice enough–looking boy in an Ed Hardy T-shirt. She marched over, interrupted his conversation, slid a hand around his neck, and kissed him. Not just a peck, either. She made it good.

She turned back to her friends and glared at Greta and then Keagan in turn.

“Satisfied?” she asked.

But then she saw Trey standing a little bit farther away on the deck, staring at her.

Cassie’s heart dropped to her shoes.

“I’m totally satisfied—” Keagan was saying, but Cassie ignored her.

Trey.

She forgot about the secrets she was supposed to be keeping, and about what her friends might think. All she could see was that awful, hurt look in his eyes. She ran over to him.

“What the hell, Cassie?” His lips barely moved. She’d never heard him sound so pissed off before.

“I was just proving a point,” Cassie said, wishing as she said it that it sounded a little bit better. “It didn’t mean anything.”

“That’s how you prove points?” he asked sarcastically. “Wow.”

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said. “You know I—” She couldn’t say it, not when he looked so furious. Like she was a stranger.

“I can’t believe I’ve been tiptoeing around trying to make up for stuff that happened years ago,” he said bitterly. “And you’re using your girl power summer crap as some excuse to hook up with whomever you want!”

“I am not,” she said desperately. “I would never—”

He shook his head as if to clear it and stepped back. “Is this why you wanted to keep everything a secret?”

“No!” She was dimly aware that her voice was too loud, but she didn’t care. All she could see was how mad he was, and how disgusted he looked. With her.

“Who’s the player here, Cassie?” he hissed at her.

And then he broke her heart by storming away from her.

Cassie took a deep, shuddering breath. She could not fall apart in front of everybody. She couldn’t let herself—

She turned and saw that Greta and Keagan were standing right there—and, from the looks on their faces, had heard everything.

Great.

“Are you kidding me?” Greta snapped. There were two spots of color high on her cheeks. “Trey Carter? After everything I told you?”

Cassie could no longer hold back the tears.

“I’m sorry—” she started, but Greta threw her hands in the air as if she could physically stop the words.

“I’m out of here,” she snapped, and then she too stalked away.

Cassie had to stand there on the deck, surrounded by staring strangers and with Keagan’s shocked expression front and center, wondering how her amazing summer had fallen apart so fast.