Obey Fate: Fated Duet: Book Two, page 16
Because there wasn’t.
I hadn’t cut since I had what Dr. Bay liked to call my manic episode. It had scared me, more than I liked to admit, and I’d told Cade as much. He’d informed me of everything that had happened between him and Miss Simmons—Willow as he called her—and I hated what he had to do just to keep her quiet. But now that we were here, and nothing stood in our way other than the fact he was still my teacher and coach.
“I can feel you staring at me,” Cade murmured, his brow raised as he glanced at me briefly. “Stop being a creeper.”
“Who? Me?” I pointed at my chest and widened my eyes, acting completely innocent. “I’m not being a creeper.”
His chuckle made goose bumps spread over my skin. “You totally are being a creeper. A hot, sexy creeper, but still a creeper.”
I gasped. “You think I’m hot and sexy.”
He shook his head, his chuckle now moving into full-blown laughter. “I swear, I’ll never get tired of listening to you.” His hand reached over and settled on my thigh over my jeans, his fingertips resting above the scars hidden underneath the denim.
“Good.” I placed my hand over his, moving my fingertip up and down his long fingers. “What’s going to—”
Cade’s cell ringing cut me off, and then his mom’s name flashed on the screen above the center console.
“Shit.” Cade glanced at me, his nose screwing up. “I’m gonna have to answer this, that okay?”
I shrugged. “Fine by me.”
He clicked a button on his steering wheel and cleared his throat. “Hey, Mom.”
“Finally!” Her voice surrounded us through the speakers. “I’ve been calling you for hours.”
“Sorry.” His fingers tapped on the steering wheel, and his other hand gripped my thigh tighter. “I’ve been away at a school event. I’m just driving home now.”
“Ah yes, you said you were at an event. I must have forgotten.” I raised my brows at the way her voice sounded, both bored and interested all at the same time. How the heck did she manage to achieve that? “Anyway, I’m calling to tell you I booked your flights.”
Cade groaned. “I told you I’d book them, Mom. You know I can only come on certain days.”
“I know that. Honestly, Cade, do you think I never listen to you?” she tutted, and I turned to face Cade. I thought my mom was bad, but his…I’d only heard her talk for a couple of minutes, and already I could see how tense Cade was. “Your flight leaves on the Thursday night, and you return Sunday evening. All good, yes?”
“Mom—”
“Good. See you then!”
The line went dead, and Cade slammed his hand on his steering wheel. “Fuck’s sake!” A muscle in his jaw ticked, and he let go of my thigh and moved his hand into his hair. “I swear, the woman is a walking, talking, stress creator. How does she expect me to fly to France on a Thursday evening when I have classes to teach the next day?”
“I’m sure—”
“And all because she’s getting married for a fourth time. Why can’t she just live her life without the whole wedding all over again?”
“Cade.” I waited for him to glance at me, then took his hand in both of mine. “Breathe. I’m sure the principal will let you take the day off. And it’s not like it’s real soon, right?”
“Three weeks.” Cade groaned and took the exit off the highway. “The week after your mom and Sal get married.”
“I…” I bit down on my bottom lip, trying to keep my emotions at bay. It wasn’t fair for me to be sad that he was leaving for a long weekend, but yet, I was. It wasn’t something I’d been prepared for, and I was being selfish. “I’ll be staying with your dad and Lola that week,” I said instead of what I really wanted to say which was for him to stay home.
Cade pulled the car to a stop at a set of lights and turned to look at me. “You will?” He frowned. “Why?”
“Mom and Sal are leaving for their honeymoon the night they get married, right after the party. They’re going to be gone two weeks.”
“Yeah?” His lips started to spread into a grin but stopped when he turned to look out of the windshield. “And I’ll be in France for a few of those days. Shit.”
I held his hand tighter as he drove closer to my house. “They’ll be gone for two weeks, you’ll only be gone for three nights. Plus, you can bring me back a present.”
“A present?” Cade asked, his lips now lifted and the tension evaporating from his body. “What kind of present?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged, my stomach dipping as he entered my street. “Maybe a magnet or something?”
“I’m going to France, and you want a magnet as a present?”
“What can I say”—I turned in my seat as he pulled up in front of my house—“I’m easily pleased.”
His eyes sparked, his hand gripping me tighter as his gaze dipped to my lips. “Very easily pleased,” he said, his voice lower now. “Fuck, I wish I could take you back to my place right now.”
“So do I,” I whispered, spotting Mom opening up the front door. “I have an appointment with Dr. Bay on Tuesday. Are you still going to take me?”
“You know I am.” He leaned forward, blocking the view with his body as he brought my hand up to his lips and pressed a soft kiss there. “I’ll call you later. Go celebrate your win.”
I swallowed and waited a second. I just needed to let his gaze wash through me and remember the way he stared at me. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school?” I asked, spotting Sal now walking toward the car with Mom.
“See you tomorrow,” he whispered, letting my hand go.
I floated out of the car and met Sal at the trunk as he got my suitcase and bag out. Mom said something to Cade, but I was too inside my own head to hear what they were talking about. I followed Sal onto the curb and watched Cade drive away, wishing I was still in the car with him.
* * *
ARIA
“So you win the race and don’t even message me? I thought I was your best friend?”
I closed my eyes and counted to three before I turned to face Hope. “Sorry. The weekend was crazy and—”
“You won!” She threw her arms around my shoulders and squeezed the life out of me. “I need to know everything.” Her hands gripped my shoulders as she pulled back. “What was it like? Where did you stay? Was Mr. Easto—”
“Hope,” I interrupted her, widening my eyes and looking around. “Lower your voice.” We were surrounded by students in the hallway, and I had no doubt they weren’t paying attention to us but on the off chance…
“What? Listen here, girly, you bailed on me on your birthday—which I still haven’t forgiven you for, by the way—and now you win at your meet, and you don’t even message me? I want details. It’s the only way we can stay besties.”
I groaned, hating that she’d brought up my birthday again. She’d used it at every opportunity she could over the last week to get what she wanted, even though I’d spun her the story of my mom needing me back home. But she hadn’t let up.
“Fine,” I ground out as the bell to the last class of the day rang out. “My mom is picking me up from school today. Meet me on the steps, and I’ll fill you in before I leave for my dress fitting.”
“Awesome!” She pulled away and flashed me a huge smile. “It’s a date.”
I shook my head as she danced down the hallway, weaving through the students rushing to their last class of the day.
“Will you be joining us today, Aria?” a deep voice asked. The same voice that had whispered how much he wished he could take all my clothes off last night. He hadn’t been able to because I’d had to stay at home, but he’d made a promise for this weekend. One where it could just be the two of us, no interruptions or boundaries to get in our way.
Flicking my gaze over to him, I stepped forward. “Yes, Mr. Easton.”
Cade stood in the doorway to his classroom, blocking most of it, but he didn’t move an inch as I tried to enter. My hip connected with his thighs, grazing past him, and I let my hand drift over him too.
“Aria,” he growled, only loud enough for me to hear. “You’re playing with fire.”
“Am I?” I asked innocently.
“You have three seconds to get to your seat. Otherwise, I won’t be held accountable for what happens to you.”
“Promises, promises,” I sang, skirting away from him and to my seat.
I knew exactly what I was doing to him. I enjoyed watching him lose his cool, and I wondered if the thrill of being caught was the reason I was so obsessed, but as I watched him pace at the front of the class, discussing the current subject, I knew it wasn’t.
I’d been in love with Cade before I even knew what love was, and everything that had happened over the last six months only made it so much stronger. It was unbreakable, impenetrable. He was all I could think about since we’d reconnected after the track meet. His hands were imprinted on my soul.
He told us to turn to a certain page in our books, but I couldn’t move an inch to do what he’d said. I was enthralled, obsessed with watching the way he moved, and the curve of his lips as he quickly glanced at me told me he liked it. The weekend couldn’t come soon enough, and as soon as the bell rang for end of class, and all the students filed out, I walked up to his desk.
“Great lesson,” I remarked.
“Yeah?” He pushed his laptop into his bag and stared down at me. “What was it about?”
“Erm…” I blinked, not even able to remember any of what he’d said in the lesson. “I can’t…remember.”
“Too busy staring at a certain—”
“Mr. Easton, may I have a word with you?” We both turned to see Miss Simmons standing in the doorway, her narrowed eyes watching us. “You may leave, Aria. The adults need to talk.”
Cade stepped in front of me, his gaze meeting mine as he inclined his head, signaling to follow him. “We have nothing to discuss, Miss Simmons,” he said, his voice brooking no room for argument. “Excuse you.”
She didn’t move from the doorway as her stare slid to me. “You shouldn’t be alone in a classroom with her. Imagine what people could think.”
Cade leaned forward, his voice dropping dangerously low. “Imagine what people would think if they knew what Jasmine was doing. I somehow think that would be bigger news than a teacher talking to a student.”
“A student he’s fucked,” Miss Simmons gritted out.
“Tell me, Willow.” Cade dipped his head to the side, and I moved over so his body was fully shadowing mine. “Are you jealous because I didn’t fuck you? Is that your problem? Or is it because you don’t like the thought of me having the upper hand.”
“You don’t have the upper hand, Cade.” I gripped the back of Cade’s shirt. “You never will.”
“Yeah?” His hand reached around and collided with my arm where he squeezed. “We’ll see about that when I hand the evidence into my dad then, huh?”
“You wouldn’t.”
“I will if you don’t get out of my goddamn face. I warned you what would happen if you didn’t leave either of us alone. This is your final warning. One more time, and it’s over.” He paused, and I wasn’t sure what he did, but then he demanded, “Now move.”
I peeked around his body, blinking as she huffed and stomped away. Her heels clicked along the floor as she marched to her own beat.
“Jeez, Cade.” I let out a breath and swiped some hair off my face. “You’re scary.”
He stepped out of the classroom, and I followed after him. “Only when it comes to protecting the people I care about.” He kept his body inches away from mine as we walked down the hallway and around the lingering students. “Which is you, in case you were wondering.”
His gaze slid to mine and I smiled up at him. “I think I got that impression loud and clear.”
“Good.” He halted outside the school office. “I gotta head in here. Remember to tell your mom you’ll be gone all weekend.”
“I know.” I bit down on my bottom lip. “I’m gonna ask Hope to cover for me.”
I’d told Cade last night that Hope knew some of our history, and even though he wasn’t happy about it, he knew I couldn’t go back on what I’d told her. Besides, her knowing would come in useful, like this weekend.
“Okay.” He glanced around the hallway and whispered, “Imagine me kissing you goodbye right now.”
My cheeks burned from the blush that was no doubt rising. “My imagination is never as good as the real thing.” I stepped back. “I’ll speak to you later?”
“Yeah, baby. Later.”
I backed away another step, then spun around, and headed outside. It wasn’t until I exited the doors and saw Hope’s face that I remembered what I’d promised her earlier.
“I thought you’d stood me up again.” She planted her hands on her hips and pushed her bottom lip out.
“Sorry, I had to talk to…Mr. Easton.” I jogged down the steps, not seeing Mom’s car anywhere. “Come on.” I grasped her arm and pulled her to the side. “I’ll fill you in.”
Once we were in a spot where no one could overhear, I gave her a rundown of the last weekend. Her facial expressions were a vast range of excitement, shock, awe, and lastly, something in between all three.
“So you’re together together now?”
“Yeah. I think? I’m not one hundred percent sure, to be honest.” I leaned against the wall and stared at the parking lot entrance. Mom was late, but at least it had given me time to tell Hope what had happened. “He’s taking me away this weekend. Can I tell my mom I’m staying at your house?”
“You want me”—she pointed at her chest—“to cover for your romantic weekend away with a…” She glanced around and whispered, “Teacher?”
“Erm…yes?” I pushed up off the wall as Mom’s red car peeled into the lot. “Is that…can you…”
“Hell yes!” She squealed and threw her arms around me. “Oh man, I’ve never been part of a plot like this. I got this covered. I’ll plan the entire weekend out with fake things we’re going to do. No one will ever know.”
I chuckled. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Maybe we could go pretend ice skating. Or maybe see a pretend movie.”
“My mom is here, I gotta go.” She waved me off, not really looking at me as she continued to name things we could go and do on our pretend weekend. “See you tomorrow!” I shouted, running toward Mom’s car and jumping inside. “Hey.”
“Wow. What put that smile on your face?”
I shrugged, knowing exactly who put the smile on my face. “Just excited to go try the dress on.”
Mom sighed as she pulled out of the lot. “I can’t wait. I can’t believe, this time next week, I’ll only be days away from being married to Sal. And the diner is so close to being finished too. It’s all coming together now.”
“I can’t wait to see when it’s all done,” I told her, leaning back in my seat. “Oh, before I forget, is it okay to stay at Hope’s this weekend? Her sister is going away again, and she doesn’t want to be on her own.”
“Again?” She took a turn. “Yeah, that’s fine. Sal and I won’t be home much this weekend anyway, so it’s kind of perfect.”
My stomach fluttered at the lie I’d just told her, but it was nothing in the grand scheme of things. There was so much more she didn’t know about, and even though I knew I was going to tell her after she got home from her honeymoon, it didn’t make it any easier.
For now, I’d bask in her happiness as well as my own, and take each day as it came.
Chapter Thirteen
CADE
“This is the key to the front door, and this is the one to the back door.” Dad handed me two keys, each marked with fobs that said precisely what he’d just told me. “The housekeeper hasn’t been for a couple of weeks, so you may need to dust or something.”
“I got it,” I told him, pocketing the keys.
“What are you going up there for anyway?” he asked, his dark-brown eyes telling me he already knew.
I shrugged, acting like it was no big deal. I was taking Aria away, and not just to any place, but to my great-grandparents' lake house. The house had been passed down to my dad, and he’d owned it for years. The first time I’d been there was the summer Lola was pregnant, and I’d fallen in love with the small town right away. “Just haven’t been there in a while, so I wanted to go and spend the weekend.”
“You know, the first time I went back there was with Lola. You taking a girl there, son?”
“I—”
“Because if you are, know that it’s a special kind of place. You don’t take just anyone to see that kind of beauty.”
“What kind of beauty?” PB asked, running into the kitchen and colliding with my legs.
“The lake house,” I told her, bending down to pick her up. She may have been eight, about to turn nine, but she would never be too big for a hug from her big brother.
“We’re going to the lake house?” she asked, clapping her hands in excitement. “I want to bring my pink swimsuit.”
She wiggled in my hold, so I let her go, but stopped her as she tried to run out of the kitchen. “There’s only me going,” I told her.
“Awww.” She pushed her bottom lip out. “I want to come. Please?” She dragged the last word out, and if it weren’t for the fact Aria and I had to keep our relationship secret, I would have said yes.
My thoughts jarred me. Relationship. We were in a real relationship. Neither of us had confirmed what we were, but there wasn’t a doubt in my mind what I wanted it to be. Me and her. Just us. Something fluttered in my chest, and I pressed my hand against it.
“Please, Cade? Pretty please with a juicy red cherry on top?”
“Sorry, PB. I can’t bring you.”
Her bottom lip wobbled, but within a second it was gone, anger taking over her little body. “This weekend is going to suck!”
“Belle,” Dad warned. “Don’t say suck.”
