Reflections on Ice Ch. 04

Oh God. Cassia shook her head. There were just some things that friends didn't need to share. They fell silent for another several blocks.

"You don't know how good you've had it, Cass."

"What do you mean?"

"Being on your own, being able to do whatever you want, whenever you want." Carol flopped back in her seat, her head lolling to one side. "Sleeping with whoever you want."

Cassia snorted. "Yeah, because I've been sleeping with so many different guys."

"You could, if you tried." Carol touched her arm. "You're so hot, Cass."

Cassia patted her friend's hand, smiling. "Thanks, Carol. So are you."

"Well, yeah, but I know I am. You're like the quiet kind of hot, that if the right guy takes his time to get in your pants, he wins big."

That made Cassia laugh. "You're very drunk, Carol."

"Maybe." Carol smacked her arm. "What about this Dylan? Has he got in your pants yet?"

"I'm not going to answer that." Cassia glanced at Carol with a smirk, but Carol's eyes were closed. "Oh no, don't you dare fall asleep on me."

"I'm not asleep." When a nasty snore emitted from Carol a second later, Cassia reached over and pinched her arm. "Hey! What did you do that for?" She shot Cassia a dirty look, rubbing her arm. "So?"

"So what?"

"Dylan?"

"What about him?"

Carol opened her mouth in a wide yawn, her eyes drifting shut even as she replied. "Is he good in bed?"

Cassia looked over at her, took in the way Carol's mouth hung half open as she rested her cheek on the back of the seat. Cassia sighed and faced forward. "I'll probably never find out, seeing as how we're only pretending to date."

There was no response. Cassia let out another deep breath and shook her head. "Glad you're getting some rest."

A short while later, they were rolling into Carol's neighborhood and Cassia reached over to shake her shoulder.

"We're almost there."

Carol grumbled for the next few minutes, until Cassia pulled up in front of her house. Next door, Cole - the hot neighbor - did happen to be in his front yard, working in the garden. He looked over as Cassia circled the car and opened the door to help Carol out.

"Hi, Cole!" Carol sang out, waving a hand.

"Hey there, Carol." He rose and walked over, pulling his gloves off. "You look like you had a fun time at lunch."

Cassia smiled and nodded, kicking her car door closed as she kept one arm around Carol's waist. "Hi, Cole."

"Hey, Cass." Cole stuck his gloves in his back pocket and took Carol's other arm. "Let me help."

"Thank you."

Together, they got up the front porch steps and Cassia let go of Carol to dig in Carol's purse for the keys. When she got the door open, she swung it inward and turned to find Carol pressed to Cole's side, his eyes wide as he looked at Cassia.

"Oh dear." Cassia jumped forward and pulled her friend off Cole. "Come on, Carol. Almost there."

"Almost where?" Carol didn't let go of Cole for a moment.

"Your room is just around the corner."

"Mmmm... will Cole be there?"

Cassia shot a look at Cole, who stayed in the front doorway, still looking shocked. Smiling, Cassia didn't answer her friend. They made it down the hall to Carol's bedroom and Cassia grunted as she managed to lever her friend onto her bed.

"There you go."

Carol didn't say anything. She wriggled into the center of the bed, hugged a pillow to her body and started to snore.

Cassia watched her for a minute, before backing out and closing the door. She put Carol's purse on the kitchen counter, dropped the keys beside it, and walked back to the front door. She locked the door handle and closed the door, turning to find Cole sitting on the front steps.

"Hey." He looked up as she walked down. "Is she all right?"

"Yeah." Cassia brushed a few loose strands of hair from her face. "She's just having a bad day."

Cole nodded and stood up. "I'll check on her in the morning. She'll probably need some Advil."

Cassia laughed. "A lot of Advil."

He nodded with a laugh. "See you around."

Cassia watched him go, wondering if her friend knew of Cole's interest. She glanced back at the house before walking to her car and getting in. She was curious about what had actually happened with Brad, but she knew they would all hear about it the next day at Vivian's.

She headed for home and called Janis as she parked. "She's home in bed."

"Thank God." Janis sighed. "I thought I was going to have to let her sleep it off in my office."

Cassia laughed. "Not this time. I can't remember the last time I saw Carol like that."

"Not since her twenty-fifth birthday, I think."

"That was three years ago."

"Well, I guess she was overdue." Cassia tossed her keys in the air and caught them as she walked towards her building. "She's going to regret it in the morning."

"No kidding." Janis spoke to someone else and came back a minute later. "Thanks for coming to help."

"Of course. It's not the first time I've driven a drunk friend home."

Janis laughed. "We've all had our moments, even you."

Cassia recalled the last time, just few weeks ago, when it had been Dylan who made sure she got home safely. "Yes, we have."

"Well, thanks again. I should get back to work. I'll see you tomorrow night?"

"Yeah. I'll see you there."

The call ended and Cassia walked up the stairs and down the hall to her apartment. Inside, Kyle was deep into his shoot-em-up game and Cassia wandered into her bedroom. She flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling.

She thought of what Carol had said and wondered if she'd been such a wreck when she'd broken up with Alex the year before. She'd had a good cry but didn't remember getting falling down drunk. Then again, she'd only been with him for a few months. Carol and Brad had been together for more than two years. That would be a lot harder to deal with.

Then again, Cassia thought it would hurt just the same if she'd broken up with someone she was in love with. Maybe that was the difference. She hadn't been in love with Alex, even though she'd liked him a lot.

Dylan's crooked smile broke into her thoughts and she felt her cheeks warm.

At least she didn't have to worry about breaking up with Dylan. They'd just stop pretending after the wedding, and she'd still have a friend she might run into at the diner now and again.

She told herself the sinking feeling in her stomach was because she was hungry. Not because she didn't want to pretend anything.

****

As promised, Dylan arrived to pick her up for the gathering at Vivian's at five o'clock the following day. Cassia offered to drive, since she knew the way, and Dylan agreed.

"So who all will I be meeting tonight?"

"My friends, Vivian, Olivia, Carol and Janis." Cassia turned to him with a smile as they buckled in. "But I've told you about them before."

"Yes, you have."

"Then there's Troy, the groom-to-be, his best man, Howie, and the other groomsmen, Adam, Zach, and Tyler."

"And you know all them?"

Cassia shook her head as she turned the car at the end of the block. "I know Troy, obviously, and his brother, Adam, and Howie, since we all went to high school together, but I've never met the other guys. One's his cousin, and the other is a friend from college."

"Gotcha. Anyone else?"

"Just their girlfriends, and Olivia's husband, and Janis' fiancé."

"What about Carol's boyfriend?"

"Oh, well, they're not together anymore."

Dylan gave her a surprised look. "What happened? You told me they'd been together for a while."

"They were, and I don't know all the details yet." Cassia recapped her impromptu adventure from the day before.

"Wow." Dylan let out a low whistle. "All I did was play a game yesterday."

Cassia grinned. "And you won!"

"Well, not me personally, but yeah, the team." Dylan returned her smile.

"I watched it. You were great."

His ears turned pink and he shrugged. "Thanks."

They fell silent for the next few blocks, turning into a quiet residential neighborhood. They rolled up in front of the house Vivian and Troy had purchased a few months before.

"This is it." Cassia took a deep breath as she released her seatbelt. "Are you ready?"

Dylan glanced at her and nodded. "Of course."

"You sure?" Cassia smiled. "There are going to be a bunch of women here."

He laughed. "They're all taken, so I'll be fine."

Cassia nodded, not mentioning that Carol was newly single. They climbed out of the car and Cassia led the way towards the laughter and chatter in the back yard. The rounded the house and Janis was the first to spot Cassia.

"Hey!" She hurried over and gave Cassia a big hug. "Is this Dylan?"

Cassia ignored the look Dylan gave her. "Yes. Dylan, this is my friend, Janis."

He shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

As they spoke, Vivian and Olivia came over, and Cassia introduced them all to Dylan.

"Where's Carol?"

Janis smirked. "Probably still trying to get out of bed."

"Janis told us about what happened." Vivian clucked her tongue. "I feel so bad for her. I thought she and Brad were the real deal."

Olivia shrugged. "I guess they weren't meant to be."

The four friends shared a commiserating look before Vivian turned to Dylan and touched his arm. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"I'm all right for now, thank you."

"OK. Come in and meet everyone else."

They followed as Vivian led the way, introducing Cassia and Dylan to the groomsmen, and their dates. Zach, Troy's cousin, had brought his high school sweetheart, Heather, and Howie's wife, Jill, was friendly and, having grown up in Minnesota, a big hockey fan, one who actually recognized Dylan. The other two guys, Adam and Tyler, hadn't arrived yet, but would be bringing their girlfriends. Olivia introduced Dylan to her husband, Ethan, and Janis' fiancé, Matt.

Last, he met Troy, who was manning the grill, checking the temperature. "Nice to meet you, Dylan. Vivian said you guys just met?"

Cassia and Dylan exchanged a look and Cassia shrugged. The way they'd met was no secret, but she decided they may need to get some other 'facts' straight before anyone asked too many questions.

"Yeah, we met a few weeks ago."

Troy turned from the grill, setting the lid down. "You going to be able to make it to the wedding?"

Cassia clapped a hand over her eyes. Yes, they'd already arranged for Dylan to take her, but no one else knew that. For all Troy knew, Cassia hadn't even asked him yet. Leave it to one of the guys to get right to the heart of the matter.

Vivian, who'd approached just as her fiancé asked the question, gasped and slapped his arm. "Don't ask that."

Troy looked mystified. "Why not?"

But Dylan was laughing. Cassia looked up and saw him nod. "Yeah, we checked my schedule, and I'll be there."

Troy grinned. "Awesome. Come on, let's get a beer, and I can tell you some stories of Cass from high school."

"Don't you dare."

Troy winked at her and turned away with Dylan at his side as they walked into the house.

Vivian turned to Cassia. "I'm sorry, Cass. I told Troy not to be an ass."

Cassia shook her head. "It's fine."

Vivian broke into a wide grin. "I'm so happy you brought him. He's so cute, Cass!"

Even as her cheeks warmed, Cassia nodded in agreement. "He is, isn't he."

Just then, Carol arrived and the girls hurried to her side.

"How are you feeling?" Janis reached her first and took her arm.

Carol groaned. "I feel like hell. Why did you let me drink so much?"

Janis smiled. "Sweetie, I couldn't have stopped you. The martinis disappeared before the waiter was even two steps from the table."

The other girls laughed and Carol managed a smile. They all moved through the yard to one of the picnic tables set up, and sat down.

"Do you want to tell us what happened?" Olivia asked.

Carol frowned but told them all about her blow-up with Brad on Friday night. "He basically said he didn't want to marry me, and he'd realized it when I kept bringing up the wedding plans and all."

Vivian reached for Carol's hand. "But you guys weren't even engaged."

"I know! I told him that, and that I never said I wanted to marry him either."

"Oh, Carol." Olivia shook her head.

"He said I kept talking about it, and hinting, and he was tired of me trying to pressure him. I tried to tell him that I wasn't pressuring him, that I only talked about the wedding because I was excited for you." Carol gave Vivian a weak smile. "But he didn't want to hear it." She blew out a breath and pushed her hair off her face. "It spiraled from there. There was name-calling, a lot of swearing, and then he just... left."

"I'm so sorry, Carol." Janis hugged her.

The others echoed her.

"Thanks, guys." Carol sniffled and rubbed her nose before she glanced up and blinked. "Who is that?"

They turned to see Troy and Dylan walking out of the house, drinks in hand. Troy stopped to talk to the other guests but Dylan kept walking towards Cassia.

"That's Dylan, Cassia's boyfriend." Vivian leaned close to Carol, her voice low.

Cassia shot her a look. "We haven't started calling each other that."

Vivian smiled. "Fine, he's your date, and soon to be your boyfriend."

"Shut up."

Dylan approached, hesitating for a moment when he saw all their eyes on him. "Uh, hi. I brought you something." He handed the red plastic cup to Cassia. "It's just soda."

"Thank you." Cassia took it, and held a hand towards Carol. "Dylan, this is my friend, Carol."

"Oh, nice to meet you." Dylan's voice softened with sympathy. "Can I get you a drink?"

Carol blinked again, clearly surprised by his offer. "Uh, sure. Just water, please."

Janis snickered and Carol elbowed her.

"Coming right up. Anyone else?"

The other girls shook their heads and Dylan turned to head back to the house.

"Oh, he's so sweet, Cass." Olivia clapped her hands once. "You are so lucky. Ethan hasn't offered to get me a drink since 2015."

They laughed, even Carol, and Cassia smiled, sipping her drink.

They chatted about Vivian's last dress fitting until Dylan returned, and then Cassia stood up, taking his hand and leading him a few feet away from everyone else.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I think we should maybe get some details straight."

Dylan smiled and nodded. "I agree. I wasn't sure what to say when I met Troy."

"Exactly." Cassia glanced over her shoulder to find her friends all watching them with avid interest. She scowled at them before pulling Dylan further away, until they were on the far side of the big oak tree in the corner of the yard.

He chuckled. "They're going to think we're making out."

Cassia laughed, though it sounded strained, even to her own ears. "Let them."

Dylan smiled down at her, leaning a shoulder on the tree trunk beside her. "So. Details?"

Swallowing, Cassia nodded. "Yeah. Well, I already told my friends about Tapley's so that's fine."

He nodded. "Right. What about dates?"

She chewed her lip. "I don't know. What should we say?"

"Maybe we should just stick as close to the truth as we can. We have talked on the phone a couple times, and met up for coffee a few times, too."

"Yeah." Cassia nodded. "Yeah, OK." She thought about it for a second, and frowned. "What about other stuff?"

"What other stuff?"

Cassia felt her face start to burn and looked down. "Um. You know. Other... stuff."

When she looked up again, his ears were pink and he was rubbing his neck. "Well, I mean, you can tell the girls whatever you want, I guess."

"What about you?"

He let out a short laugh. "Guys don't usually talk about stuff like that. Especially not guys who've just met."

Cassia laughed. "Right. I didn't think of that."

"So." After a moment, he leaned a little closer, his smile wider. "What will you tell your friends?"

Cassia blinked, caught in his gaze. Why was he leaning like that? "I don't know. I'll just make something up."

"What if we give you something to talk about now?"

"W-what?"

He bent closer, putting his mouth close to her cheek. She swayed towards him, until she heard his voice. "They're watching us."

"Oh God." She squeezed her eyes shut and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you serious?"

When he nodded, his chin brushed hers and he pulled back enough for her to see his eyes. He looked nervous as he lifted a hand - was she imagining the tremble? - and brushed her hair over her shoulder. His gaze drifted down to her mouth and she licked her lips, feeling self-conscious. They had not discussed this sort of thing ahead of time. It hadn't even occurred to her that they'd have to actually put on a show.

He touched her hair again, and this time his fingers brushed her skin, making her shiver. He paused, his eyes lifting to hers, and his hand stayed at her neck, his palm coming to rest on her collarbone.

"I, uh..." She cleared her throat and tried again. "Are they still watching?"

He gave a slight nod, his eyes darting away for only a second. "Do you want me to?"

"What?"

His lips tilted in that crooked smile she liked. "Kiss you."

That sounded like the best idea she'd heard in weeks. And yet, as he leaned closer, his other arm going around her waist, she could feel him trembling.

Oh man, she was a real jerk. No, she wasn't going to take advantage of the situation. He was clearly uncomfortable with the display they were already putting on.

She pressed a hand to his shoulder to stop him. "It's OK. I'm pretty sure we're already giving them something to talk about."

He nodded, though something flashed across his expression that she couldn't read.

She leaned back against the tree, which forced him to move his arms away. "Besides, it was enough of a surprise for them to see me arrive with you."

His smile widened and he nodded again. "Good point. You should have heard the razzing in the locker room yesterday."

She grinned. "Oh yeah? What did they say?"

"Well, some suggested I'd paid you to go with me."

Her jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me? What a bunch of assholes."

Dylan laughed and Cassia's face burned. Real classy.

"Sorry. Sometimes I don't think before I speak."

"No, you're not wrong. I said the same thing." He shifted on his feet. "Jake likes you though. Couldn't stop talking about how you'd wiped the floor with him at poker."

Cassia laughed. "He had no way of knowing that I'm the family champion."

"He wants a rematch."

She scoffed. "Tell him, anytime."

He laughed and there was a louder commotion behind them. Cassia turned to see that Adam, Tyler and their dates had finally arrived. Along with someone else who wasn't a part of the wedding party.

"Oh, shit."

Dylan moved to stand at her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

She turned her back on the new arrivals and looked up at Dylan, clutching the front of his shirt. "Kiss me."

He started, his eyes going wide. "What?"

"Please."

He still hesitated, his gaze darting over her shoulder before she lifted up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. For a moment, she thought he would shove her away. He didn't move, clearly caught by surprise.

Then his arms closed around her back and he tilted his head, joining the kiss. With gusto. His mouth was warm, soft, and yet he kissed her with enough pressure that a tingle shot down her spine. She put her hands around the back of his neck and clung to him, forgetting in the next few seconds about who she'd seen.

Dylan's mouth opened and she obliged in kind, shivering all over as his tongue touched hers. He made a noise and lifted her almost off her feet, one hand going to the back of her head, holding her, and taking the kiss deeper.

Cassia clenched her hands in his hair, letting him take her weight in his arms. Why had she said no the first time? She'd never say no again. She wanted more.

The sounds of whistling and hollering brought her skidding back to reality. Dylan released her at the same moment, their eyes opening to each other's startled looks. Cassia's lips tingled as his exhalation brushed across them. She saw him swallow, the muscles in his throat working, and her mind shot through several images of more kisses, in more places, until Dylan cleared his throat.