Deceptive Cadence (32 page)

“I’m not gonna let her dump me. I’m gonna wait outside her classroom and make her see that I want to be with her because I love her.”

He plucked up his bag and marched toward the car park.

“James! Wait!” Tom hurried to follow.

The scene froze. I turned to face the man, who held his hands behind his back. “The rest you know.”

I nodded and looked back to James. “For months? I didn’t know that.”

The man smiled. “Are you happy with him, Cadence?”

I bit my lip, giddy from the memory of James confessing his love. “I am.”

“Then you have a decision to make.” The man touched my shoulder and the scene split, showing me the first time I’d laid eyes on Austin. “Will you go to Western Australia again to pursue the love you know is possible, or will you stay and be with the love you already have?”

My stomach knotted as I stared at them both. They looked so different. James was tall, lean, with gray-blue eyes and chestnut brown hair. Austin was shorter, but broad across the shoulders and heavily built, with dark hair and brown eyes. They were equally attractive, and I loved them both.

“I guess I’ll have to think about it this year. I mean, a lot will change with James going off to uni. He may even find a girl who is far more attractive and interesting than me, so . . .”

The man chuckled. “You’re going to keep your options open.”

I bit my lip and wrapped my arms around myself. “No, not really. I just . . . I know where the path I’ll take with Austin will lead, and I want that. I want stability and our beautiful Melody. Austin’s the best thing that ever happened to me. But James . . . he’s an uncertain path.”

The man touched my shoulder again. The scene faded back into Tom’s house, and I stood facing James.

“You’ve been taking that risk all along, and he’s proven over and over his dedication to you.”

His hand released me. I swung around, but he had gone.

I hurried back into James’ arms and kissed him, just in time for time to move forward again.

TWENTY-SEVEN

I hurried into the townhouse and found the A/C. I flicked it on as the first people began carrying the furniture inside.

“Thanks, Cadence!” the three guys yelled.

School would start for me in a week, but university started in just over a month. James, Tom, and Sam were each attending different universities, so they’d chosen a central location close to all the public transportation.

I ran back out, passing Karen and John as they brought in a couch. I found Melanie by the trailer, pulling out boxes. She scowled when I stepped up beside her, but didn’t say a word.

“Hey, Melanie.”

She rolled her eyes and dumped a heavy box in my arms. “Kitchen.”

I struggled to carry it inside, wondering what was in it. James ran over to me. “Why are you carrying this?”

“What is it?”

He lifted it out of my arms. “All my books.”

I glanced back at Melanie, who smirked. I pulled the box out of his arms. “Where do you want them?”

“Cadence, this is way too heavy―”

I glared at him.

“Up the stairs and in the room on the left.”

I trudged up the stairs and into the room. Inside, his parents worked on setting up his bed. His desk and drawers sat by one of the walls. In the wall opposite the window was a door to a bathroom. I set the books on his desk and turned to his parents. “How did he score the master bedroom?”

“He pays twenty dollars more each fortnight,” John answered as he bolted the headboard to the frame.

Karen stood while John finished screwing in the frame. “I can’t believe he made you carry his books.”

I scowled. “He didn’t, I just did.”

She rested her arm around my shoulder. “Come on, let’s empty that trailer.”

When Melanie saw us heading out together, she turned her back on us. I wasn’t sure what I could do to get through to her. “Melanie . . .”

She dumped a much lighter box in my arms. “Living room.”

“Melanie,” Karen said. “When are you going to let go of this resentment for Cadence? She’s only ever nice to you.”

Melanie sneered. “Yeah, when
you’re
around.”

“Melanie, I’ve never been mean to you.” I frowned.

“Oh, yeah? So what was with the acid in my face?”

I paused. “Oh! That was Geri, and it was only water.”

“Whatever.”

“And I distinctly remember you calling me a slut before―”

“Melanie!” Karen swung to her. “You know better than that.”

Melanie glared at me and continued unloading the trailer.
That hadn’t gone well.

Once we had everything inside, Karen and I unpacked in the kitchen. We didn’t say much, but I followed her lead on where to put the cookware. While we worked, Melanie put away the DVDs in the living room, and John and James set up the bedroom. Sam and Tom had gone out to buy groceries, having already set up their rooms and arranged the furniture how they wanted it around the house.

I watched Melanie when I could, hoping to find a moment to speak to her again. She worked slowly, looking at each DVD before she set it on a shelf. I felt fairly certain she didn’t want James to move out. She’d made a few snarky comments while we packed the truck about him using the townhouse as a brothel and for drug dealing. James ended up angry, and she’d earned a week’s grounding.

It grew dark, and James and John came down the stairs, joking and laughing loudly together. As they entered the living room, Melanie jumped up to meet them, but James rushed by and wrapped his arms around me, swinging me around.

“Check this place out!” he said. “Look at how hard you’ve worked! Cadence, we’re gonna have so much fun here.”

“Ah, I’m not the only one who worked hard, James.”

He set me down. “I know that.” He walked over and wrapped his arms around Karen. “Thanks, Mum.”

When he turned back around, I motioned toward Melanie with my eyes. He stared at me, gaping, before a light turned on in his eyes. “Thanks, Mel.”

I glared at him and mouthed,
Go hug her, too
.

He raised his eyebrows. “Ah . . . no. She’s been a right little brat all day.”

“James!”

“Well, she has.” He walked past me to Melanie. “Thanks for your help, but you could have been nicer about it.”

She flushed bright red as he walked over to the TV. I went to snap at him again, but Karen intervened. “Say goodbye to your sister, James. We’re going to leave now.”

He turned back to Melanie. “Bye, Mel. Good luck at school next week.”

She slumped. “Thanks.”

John embraced him. “We’re going to miss you around the house, son. Don’t be a stranger.”

“I’m sure I’ll be back, so Mum’ll wash my dirty laundry for me,” he said teasingly.

Karen slapped his behind. “You have your own laundry, so don’t you dare.”

After John pulled away, she wrapped her arms around James.

As his parents headed out to the car, Melanie stepped in front of him. I pulled back into the kitchen to give them some privacy, but could still hear everything they said.

“Bye, James,” she said flatly.

“Bye, Mel.”

“James?”

“Yeah?”

“You know you’re my best friend, right? So you better call and text me every day.”

“Mel . . .” He sighed. “You need to detach a bit. Make friends at school with kids your age. You were doing great for a while before you freaked out and turned all bitter again. You should try being friends with Cadence. I know she wants to, and I know you were really happy hanging out with her and her friends. So whatever it is that’s making you so nasty, you need to let it go.”

I glanced around the corner. Her fists clenched and her face turned dark red. “I’m so tired of hearing about Cadence,” she said in a low voice. “It’ll be great now that you’re gone, ’cause I won’t have to see her in my house!”

“Seriously, Mel?”

“Bye,
James
.” She stormed out, banging the door behind her.

He shook his head. I hurried over and grabbed his hands. Immediately, his demeanor changed; his eyes lifted as a wide smile spread across his face. He pulled me against him. “Let’s christen the couch.”

He grabbed me around the waist and shoved me onto it, climbing on top.

“James!” I laughed as he bit into my neck.

“I just wanna ravage you!”

I slapped his shoulder. “Well, you can’t!”

“I know.” He shifted up, giving me a firm and intense kiss. I gave in to him as a warm rush flooded over me. His tongue slid in my mouth, stroking my lips and tongue. His left hand caressed my face. He broke away for a second to whisper, “You know I love you, right?”

“I do.”

“And do you love me?”

I smiled. “Of course.”

He pressed his lips back against mine again as I clung onto him, enjoying the feeling of his body all around me.

We must have made out for about half an hour before Tom and Sam walked in.

“Geez, James!” Tom snarled.

“Get a room!” Sam groaned.

James sat up. “Hey, you’re just jealous.”

“Seriously, James, we talked about this,” Tom said. “This is a
public
area.
That
is for
private
areas.”

James laughed and climbed off the couch as I sat up, discreetly trying to flatten my hair. “We were only making out.”

I blushed when they both looked at me. Sam walked over carrying in groceries. “Help us out, Cadence.”

I jumped up and scurried to the car. When I came back in, I found them wrestling on the floor.
Boys
.

I set the bags down on the counter and James came up behind me, pinning me in place. His hands rested on my waist. “Are you gonna miss me at school?”

I was going to say no to spite him, but when his lips found my ear, I melted. “Yes, very much.”

He chuckled softly in my ear. “As you should.”

I giggled. “Are you gonna miss seeing me every day?”

“Not as much.”

I elbowed him in the ribs. He burst out laughing and I turned to face him with a fierce look. When he stopped, he grabbed my hand and we sat to watch a movie with the guys before he drove me home.

TWENTY-EIGHT

I kept scanning the corridors for James out of habit. It frustrated me, and I scolded myself mentally every time I caught myself doing it. Geri knew that I desperately missed him being around, so she rarely left my side. When we were in our two separate classes, she’d drop me off and meet me at the door afterward.

The first few weeks passed, but I still couldn’t get used to it. One day, I sought out Dusty. He lay on the ground while his stupid friends tried to stand on his belly. I watched with my hands on my hips for several minutes before he looked across and saw me.

He jumped up and ran over with a huge grin. “Hey, Cadence. What’s up?”

“I need a hug.”

“Ah . . .” He raised his eyebrows. “Seriously? We’re out in public.”

“I miss James.”

“Ooooh.” His grin turned into a smirk. “Oh, James. How I miss―”

I slammed my hand over his mouth. “I don’t know why I even bothered.”

When I moved to walk away, he wrapped his arms around my waist. “There,” he said gently.

I squeezed him back. “Thank you.”

He released me, wearing a smirk across his face again. “So . . . how’s Geri?”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re hilarious. I’ll tell her you say hi.”

Back with my group, Geri rushed to me and wrapped her arm through mine. “Where’d you go?”

“Dusty.”

“Oh.” She glanced around. “So . . . how was your date last night?”

I grinned and eagerly told her about James. He worked all day every day to save up for when he started university, but he’d finished at seven and picked me up. We pretty much spent the whole two hours in the back of his car making out, but I told Geri we’d gone to a movie.

We sat at the table, chatting away like normal, when Brian sat beside me. I tried to ignore him, furious again about how he treated Melanie, but he shifted closer to me.

“Hey, I’ve noticed you’ve been kinda down lately.”

Geri leaned forward. “Hey, dirt bag! I’m
talking
.”

“I’m just checking on Cadence,” he said calmly. “With James gone, she’s been pretty low.”

“I’m fine, thanks, Brian,” I responded.

He touched my back. “If you need anything I’m here, okay?”

Geri scowled. “Get lost.”

Brian stood and moved away.

I huffed. “Will he ever give up? It’s not like I encourage him.”

Geri threw him a filthy look before she continued with her rambling.

In maths, Justin sat beside me. I wasn’t fazed by it―he often sat beside me―until he leaned back to stretch and his arm rested on the back of my chair. I leaned forward onto my desk, my stomach flipping. Was I just being paranoid, or was he hitting on me?

A quiet murmur spread across the class while everyone discussed their work. Justin’s hand pressed against my back and he leaned in.

“Hey, how you doin’?”

“I hate doing these equations,” I answered, trying to deflect his focus.

His hand stroked my back. “It must be hard with James moving on, but I’ll be here for ya if you need me.”

I pushed his hand off. “We’re still together.”

“Yes, but you’re a high school girl, and he’s about to start university.”

I glared at him. “What are you saying?”

“Well, chances are you’ll be single soon . . .”

I slapped his chest. “Shut up!”

“Ouch! Cadence, you’ve gotta be realistic. There’s gonna be a lot of girls there that will distract him. Not that you’re not smoking hot, but they’re promiscuous―”

I jumped to my feet, marched out of the classroom, and paced the hallways. Unfortunately, he’d raised a good point and brought up fears I didn’t want to consider. What if James
did
find someone prettier and more interesting than me?

I gnawed on my lip as tears streamed down my cheeks. I didn’t want to lose him, but then again, maybe it would be easier that way and going to Austin wouldn’t be complicated. But James . . . I still had almost two years before Austin came into my life.

The bell rang, making me jump. I ran back to my classroom to find the last of my classmates leaving and Justin standing by my bag. I tried to avoid him as I grabbed it, but he caught my arm.

“Cadence, I’m sorry if I upset you. I just care about you. We’ve been friends for a while and I don’t wanna see you get hurt.”

“Justin, I’m okay. I can handle whatever happens.”

He glanced around, causing me to do the same. “You deserve better than to be cheated on―”

“That’s terrible English.”

“―so you should get him first. I could make sure you―”

“Justin!” I tried to pull free.

“Don’t reject me again, Cadence.”

“I’m still with James!”

“He’s going to cheat on you and then dump you like a piece of trash!”

“Is that so?” James leaned against the door frame with his arms folded. “Cadence is definitely
not
a piece of trash, so, Justin, why don’t you let my girlfriend go?”

James walked casually over to us and stared down Justin. They may have been the same height, but James exhibited a definite superiority. Justin released my arm. James nodded and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

Without looking away from Justin, he said, “You ready to go, Cadence?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Because I have a romantic night of
not
cheating on you and
not
dumping you like a piece of trash planned.”

Justin scowled as James turned me around and guided me out the door. I held in a laugh.

James didn’t say a word until we stood by our cars―he’d parked next to my silver hatchback. As I reached to unlock my car, he caught me by the waist and turned me to face him. “How long has this been going on?”

“Ah . . .” I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, so I answered, “Me driving? A few months now.”

He pushed me back against my car. “No, Justin trying to convince you to date him.”

“Oh, that.”

He scowled. “Don’t be so casual about it. I know he tried to date you way back before we were together, and he’s had his eye on you ever since.”

“Don’t be jealous.” I kissed his bottom lip. “There’s no one here who could possibly tempt me away from you.”

He stroked my hair behind my ear. “Good, because there’s no girl anywhere who could distract me from you, so don’t go listening to any of his lies.”

I clasped his face and kissed him. “So, where are we going?”

He grinned at my smooth change of topic. “We’ll drop off your car first so I can charm the socks of your dad, as usual”―he smiled as I giggled―“then I was thinking maybe the drive-in?”

“Oh! I’ve never done that before.”

“Then let’s do it.”

We drove to my house. Dusty greeted us on his way home from the bus stop. He didn’t like riding home with me, preferring the bus so he could talk to the cute girls in the bus bays. Most of the time he ended up talking to Geri, and she’d complain about him harassing her the next morning. He waved as he made his way over, and he and James did their man embrace, pounding much too hard on each other’s backs.

We entered the house and Mum smiled at James as he brushed a kiss on her cheek. “James Gordon, you don’t need to keep charming me.”

“Aw, but I can’t help myself. You’re the reason Cadence is so beautiful.”

She rolled her eyes and laughed.

He followed me to my bedroom and stood at the door, watching me as I picked out my clothes. I pulled out a pair of jeans and he snorted.

I paused and looked at him. “What?”

“I don’t like those.”

“Really?”

“Mmm. You should wear that paisley skirt with your red tank top.”

“That’s a bit dressy for a drive-in.”

“Fine. How about that denim mini with your black tank?”

I rested my hand on my hip and glared at him. “I’m sensing a theme here.”

“What’s that?” He grinned.

“Minimal clothing. Not gonna happen.”

He laughed. “Fine. Your dark blue skirt―that one goes below your knees―and that white, low-cut shirt.”

“Fine, but I’m wearing a jacket with it so you don’t get any big ideas.” I pulled them out and turned to see him still watching me. I shoved him backward and shut the door.

He tailed me, watching me put on my makeup and pick out my jewelry. When Dad came home and he saw him standing by the bathroom door while I straightened my hair, he growled and grabbed him. “Do you really have to watch everything she does?”

James laughed. “Yeah! She’s so beautiful.”

Dad dragged him into the living room where Dusty joined them to chat while I finished. I was relieved that Dad was getting along with James again. It took months, but when we both swore we weren’t having sex anymore, he calmed down.

I entered the room and Dad shot to his feet. “Cadence, you look lovely, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Dad.” I kissed his cheek.

He wrapped his arm around me and turned to James, whose gaze locked on me. “You better take care of her, boy. If she’s in a wreck because of you, I’ll―”

“I’ll be careful, sir.” James reached for my hand. “You know there’s no one more important to me than her.”

Dad scoffed, but a smile curled the corners of his mouth. “Get out, and since it’s a school night, have her home by ten thirty.”

“Midnight.”

Dad scowled. “It’s not a negotiation.”

“The movie doesn’t finish until ten twenty.”

Dad growled. “Fine. Ten forty-five.”

James shook his hand. “Deal.”

Once in the car and driving, I caught James smirking. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of asking about it, so I asked casually, “What are we seeing?”

“
50 First Dates
,” he said with a shrug.

“Ah, Adam Sandler. Will we ever go see a chick flick?”

But as I sat in the car sobbing, I ate my words. James chuckled at me, apparently mighty proud of himself. I couldn’t believe I’d never seen it in the first timeline. I’d been so put off by early Adam Sandler films, I never gave it a chance.

When the movie finished, I looked at my watch. Eight thirty. That explained his smirk earlier.

He drove me back to the townhouse. Tom and Sam sat with fast food strewn across the living room while they played video games. They grunted as we entered, but never looked up.

“I’m gonna take off my shirt,” I said to them.

They grunted again and kept playing. James smirked.

“Wow, the graphics are so poor quality,” I let slip.

They both swung around in horror.

“Are you insane?” Tom said. “This is the best graphics on any video game out!”

“Oh, so now you hear what I say. An offer to flash you my boobs didn’t do the trick, but an insult on your graphics―”

Sam sat bolt upright. “You offered to flash your boobs?”

James wrapped his arm around my waist. “Sorry, you missed it.”

“Gah!” Sam pouted and returned his attention to the game.

I sighed at the sight of the mess. It gave me images of cockroaches and mice infesting the house. Before I even realized it, I was picking everything up and dumping it in the trash.

“Cadence!” Tom growled. “You’re in the way!”

“Well, you’re disgusting.”

“We’re gonna pick it up.”

James grabbed me by the waist and pulled me up the stairs. He closed the door to his room and my gaze swept across a similar mess, but of dirty laundry. I snorted with disgust and started scooping everything into the hamper. “You know, it’s not hard to dump your dirty clothes in this.”

He laughed. “Cadence, you’re not my maid.”

“It looks like you need one.”

“Cadence!” He laughed again. “Relax.”

He shoved me onto his miraculously made bed, and we lay side by side. He grabbed my hand. “Uni finally starts next week.”

“I know.”

“I’m kinda nervous.”

I turned my head to look at him. He had his hand on his forehead as he stared solemnly up at the ceiling. I shifted closer to him to help ease his mind, then nuzzled up to his neck and kissed his jaw.

His hand shifted from his head onto my face as he let out a long breath. “You know just how to make me feel better.”

“James?”

“Mmm?”

I shifted over him and kissed him. He stroked my neck and his fingers pushed up into my hair. How I loved kissing him!

He pushed into me as his tongue entered my mouth. It sent shots of excitement through me and I felt myself craving him. I climbed on top of him, straddling him. His lips parted from mine as a soft moan burst from them.

I rubbed against him, feeling his arousal. It excited me. I found myself remembering months earlier when we’d last been together intimately, desiring the sensations he’d provoked in me. I wanted him to love me.