Letting Go of Us (Anchored Hearts Vol. 3) (22 page)

“
No man. I don’t need or
want strippers.”

“
No way man. It’s not a
bachelor party till you get at least one lap dance.” I laughed as
Frank and the guys from the force taunted Cal until he gave
in.

“
Alright. ONE lap dance.
That’s it.”

We didn’t stay long at the
strip club and Paul, Smith and I barely took notice of the chicks
trolling around us. I was too busy texting back and forth with
Cassidy. They had just left the restaurant, heading out to go
dancing. She’d let it slip where they were going, the same bar we
went to on her birthday the previous fall. I knew Cal wanted to go
out dancing with Jane and decided to use the information to my
advantage.

We were in the parking lot
outside the strip club when I said, “I know a place. Nice bar, good
music, laid back.”

Cal chimed in, “I’m in.
Lead the way Benedict!”

We drove back to the
respectable part of town, parked the cars and walked the few blocks
to the bar. We all cozied up to the bar, ordering our drinks. It
was the first time I saw Cal drink more than a few drinks. Who was
I to judge? He deserved to have a good time. I kept my eyes out for
the girls and spotted them in the back corner on the dance floor.
No one else seemed to notice as we headed toward some barren space
on the other side of the bar.

From what I could see
across the dark expanse of the crowded bar, all the girls were
there. Lena, Cassidy, Melissa, Delaney, Jessica, Jane and a few
more girls I didn’t recognize. Ha! Anthony was there, too. They
were dancing to some song I didn’t recognize that kept
repeating
Boom, Clap
over and over.
It was annoying, but they seemed to know all the words. I enjoyed
watching her. She was carefree, happy and seemed to be in her
element. She had a drink in her hand as they all swayed to their
liking, though my eyes were fixated on her.

Like she could sense my
eyes on her, she turned as her eyes searched the crowd. Leaning
against the wall, I waited for her eyes to lock with mine as I took
a swig of my beer. She paused momentarily, before her smile beamed
at me. She didn’t say anything to the other girls, just kept
dancing knowing that I was watching her. The song ended and another
began as she pretended to ignore me. I wasn’t sure if she knew we
were
all
there or
not.

Dammit!
Smith, that pussy-whipped fucker, was already
dancing with Delaney. Why the fuck weren’t they married? They might
as well have been. They were like love sick puppies and had been
for years. It was inspiring and depressing all at once. Cal
strolled over to me as he spotted Jane.

“
Well played
man.”

I looked at him as I took
another swallow of my beer. “I don’t know what you’re talking
about.”

“
Yeah. Whatever.” He took
a drink of his ale and said, “Thanks. I’m going to go request a
song. I’ll be back.”

I nodded as my eyes went
back to Cassidy. I was surprised to see her and Melissa laughing
and talking with one another. Looking to my left, I spotted Paul
sulking. We needed to find him a woman, STAT. Just then, Lena came
over. She looked nervous as she approached Paul. Did Lena have a
thing for Paul? Huh. More power to her.

A new song started as the
dance floor emptied. A country song began to play as the girls
headed back to their table. As Jane turned, Cal was standing there,
hand outstretched. She beamed at him before she jumped in his arms.
Not one to be showed up, I put down my empty bottle and made my way
over to Cassidy.

When I reached her, I
offered her my hand and she chirped, “I thought you hated
Country?”

“
I do. But I hate you
more.” I winked as she laughed and took my hand. I pulled her close
as we rocked to the rhythm.

“
This may be the
Best Night Ever
. JB3
dancing to country music and all.” She giggled and whispered in my
ear that it was the name of the song.

As I swung her around to
the beat, I spotted Lena walking away from Paul as he moped some
more. Ryan, who I hadn’t realized was there—he must’ve been
Cassidy’s tail that night—swooped in and asked Lena to dance. She
smiled as they joined us on the floor. I maneuvered Cassidy around
so that we weren’t right in Paul’s line of sight. I held her close,
enjoying the feel of her soft curves against my body. When the song
ended, she started to pull away, but I kept her close.

She nuzzled back into me
asking, “You ok.”

Stroking her hair I nuzzled
her temple, “Perfect. Just enjoying the moment.”

As the night started to
come to a close, we all walked back to our separate cars, those of
us that were left. Melissa had already left and so had Frank and
Paul and the guys from the force. Paul had been in no shape to
drive and I hoped he’d found a ride or called a cab. The four of
us, Jane, Cal, Cassidy and I ended up riding home in Cassidy’s
mustang.

Snuggling up to her before
we got in the car, I offered up my suggestion. “Why don’t you drop
me off at your place first so I can get my truck and go
home.”

Scrunching her brows, she
protested. “Why?”

“
Cassidy, you know why.
Let’s not push the boundaries.” She took a deep breath as I
continued, “You know I want nothing more than to spend more time
with you. But it’s late.”

“
I know. How many days
left?” She smirked at me and my cock twitched.

Leaning into her ear, I
said, “Careful. I’m starting to worry you just want to make it
through these twenty-eight days so you can fuck me again.” She
pulled back and narrowed her eyes at me. “I want you back in my
bed, but only if it’s forever, Blackbird.”

I kissed her cheek as Cal
proclaimed, “Get a room!” Cassidy rolled her eyes as Cal added, “Or
at least take Jane and I home first.”

“
Shut up and get in the
car!” We all laughed at Jane’s order as the two of them crawled in
the back seat.

“
There’s not enough room.
Here baby doll, sit on my lap.” The door shut and their voices were
drowned out.

“
You’re really going to
make me ride home with the two of them making out in the back
seat?”

“
Yup. You can do
it.”

“
Have I told you lately
that I hate you?” I just shook my head at her, smiling. “Well, I
do.” She pushed me away as I smacked her ass and watched her get in
the car.

Cal and Jane seemed a
little confused when Cassidy dropped me off first. I was tempted to
stay and surprise her, but we didn’t need any more temptation. I
hopped in my truck and headed to the hotel. It was well after two
a.m. and we could all use some sleep.

~ CASSIDY ~

I crawled into bed that
night exhausted and craving him. What else was new? Cal had
inquired about why I’d dropped James off first, but Jane quickly
distracted him. I just told him to mind his own business. Their
wedding was two weeks away and I still had so much to do. I knew
that it would get done, but the next two weeks would be a whirlwind
of final prep. Programs, seating charts, song lists, and the list
went on and on.

~<>~<>~<>~

That Tuesday I had my
second private appointment with Dr. Pratt, followed by a joint
session with James. I left work early to make it on time and
recalled our session from the week prior. He’d asked me about my
childhood and we’d spent most of the time discussing my
relationship with my mother, or lack thereof. I was sure that we’d
pick up where we left off when I got there that
afternoon.

I waited in the library for
a short time before Dr. Pratt was ready for me. I sat down on my
usual spot on the couch and we exchanged some pleasantries before
he picked up back with my mother.

“
So, last week we left off
just after your mother’s death.” I nodded. “You mentioned that you
took her death pretty hard. Can you tell me about that?”

I sighed. “A few months
later I ended up in the hospital, having my stomach pumped.” He
gazed at me cautiously as I picked at my fingers. “My dad hadn’t
emptied out the medicine cabinet and I found a bottle of my mom’s
sleeping pills. I’d started taking one here and there. School was
hard for me. I didn’t have a lot of friends and after mom’s death,
nobody looked at me the same way. I heard the whispers, ‘There’s
Cassidy. Did you hear about her mom?’ It was horrible and I
couldn’t take it anymore.”

“
What happened after
that?”

“
My Dad found me and I
spent a few days in the hospital and went to therapy twice a week,
sometimes more. The joke was on me, too.” He looked at me, wanting
to know what I had meant by that statement. “The whispers just got
worse, but instead it was about how I was crazy, just like
her
. It was horrible.
The only thing that helped was Cal. He was popular and he put a
stop to most of it, him and his girlfriend. He was Mister Popular
and protected me at all costs.”

“
So there was never a
relapse or recurrence?”

“
No. I went to therapy for
several years on and off. Life goes on and I knew that once I got
away from those people things would get better. I started counting
down the days to high school graduation and my start at a new life.
I could be anyone I wanted to be, though I didn’t know who that
would be.”

“
Do you know who that
person is now?”

I blew out a breath. “Do
any of us really know who we are?” He smiled. “I’m stubborn, a hard
worker, I have a temper, I’m too sensitive, too analytical—clearly
because I can’t just answer the question.”

“
Well, we’re all a
continuous work in progress. If we weren’t trying to better
ourselves and learn from our mistakes, what would be the
point?”

“
Agreed.”

“
So, tell me about the
first time you met James.”

I couldn’t stop the smile
that spread across my face. “I’ll never forget the first time I saw
him.”

C
hapter
14
~
F
ireworks

~ CASSIDY ~

Soon our session was over
and I headed to the bathroom before James joined us. When I walked
out of the bathroom I spotted him. I’d never get over looking at
him. He was totally casual in jeans and a t-shirt. His hair was up
in a man bun and he was staring out the window. His dark jeans
clung to him perfectly as the sleeves of his shirt were pulled taut
around his biceps. As the door closed he turned and smiled at me.
He’d shaved his beard, but the goatee remained. Damn, he was
fine.

“
Hey, you.” He walked over
and wrapped me in his arms.

And for how hot he was, he
smelled a million times better. I took a deep whiff as he squeezed
me tight. “Hey yourself.”

“
You up for dinner
afterward?”

“
Yes. Food sounds
excellent. I’m starving.”

“
You two ready?” We turned
at Dr. Pratt’s voice and took our seats on his couch. “So, how’d it
go this week?”

“
Much better.” Our words
were identical and spoken in unison.

“
No sex, of any
kind.”

I shook my head as James
answered, “Only alone.” I smacked his arm as we laughed.

“
Well, you’re over half
way there. I know next week will be very busy for you, Cassidy. Can
we schedule now to meet in two weeks? At that time we’ll discuss
where we’re at and you can both make a decision about your
marriage. Does that Monday, after the fourth work, say six
p.m.?”

We both checked our phone
calendars and agreed as we programmed the appointment in. Two weeks
and we could finally move on. I already knew what my answer would
be and believed I knew what his choice would be too. We’d been
through too much together to walk away.

We walked to a nearby
restaurant and had dinner after our session. After, he walked me to
my car and I found his truck near mine. I was a little surprised he
hadn’t taken his bike. He told me to hang on and ran to his truck
and opened up the back door. He pulled out a square flat board,
closed the door and made his way back over to me.

“
What’s this?”

“
Your painting. The one
with the quote.”

Gasping, “Right! I almost
forgot.” I popped my trunk and he laid it in. “Now I need to find
somewhere to hang it.” Just then, like on cue, Ryan pulled up. That
meant one thing. James wasn’t coming over. I looked to James and
pouted.

“
Work calls. We’re almost
there, baby.”

“
I know.” I knew it wasn’t
the time or place, but I had to ask. “Nothing on Dan?” He shook his
head. “I don’t understand. Where could he be?”

“
I don’t either. He’s
probably left town, but I’m not risking your safety.”

“
I know.” I dropped my
head to his chest as he held me. Mumbling, “I just want this all
over so we can all have some peace.”