Roman and the Hopeless Romantic (Gulf City High Book 2) Page 6

  An alligator lay in the tall grass only feet away, hidden by the stormy night. Lightning flashed, illuminating its scaled body and black eyes.

  Still, Cassie didn’t move.

  Roman approached her as rain whipped him in the face. He took her hand and pulled her back to the door. With slow steps, she walked backward, not taking her eyes from the reptile watching them.

  By the time they stepped back inside, both of them breathed heavily. Roman shut the door and latched it. His heart beat rapidly in his chest as he looked back out into the night, unable to see the gator.

  Cassie bent over with her hands on her knees. Around them, soaking wet deck furniture dripped water onto the tile floor.

  “Roman,” Cassie wheezed.

  He closed the distance between them and crushed her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her. “Don’t ever do that again.”

  “I’m sorry.” He was so relieved she was okay, he didn’t recognize how monumental it was that she was speaking to him.

  “No deck furniture is worth the risk of running out into a storm and tangoing with a gator.” He rubbed her back, not ready to let go yet.

  “I had to.” She pulled away. “You wouldn’t understand.” Turning on her heel, she walked across the room, leaving a trail of water in her wake.

  “Then make me understand.”

  She didn’t turn to respond as she reached the stairs and started climbing.

  “Cass.” He hated the desperation in his voice, but seeing her out there stole whatever strength he had. “Please. I can’t do this anymore. I need you to talk to me. When I saw you out there… that wasn’t okay.”

  She whirled around to face him once they reached her room, her cheeks reddening. “No, do you know what’s not okay? Three people going shopping in Tampa for porch furniture and only two returning. Getting a delivery of that furniture just days after you were ripped apart, and the constant reminder of what happened.”

  “The furniture… you bought it the day—”

  “I cowered for my life as my mom died? Yeah, we did. See, Roman, maybe all this time I haven’t spoken to you, you’ve been spared. You don’t want to know any of this. No one does.”

  “I’m not just anyone, Cass. I was your friend just as much as Jesse’s.”

  She shook her head. “It’s a waste of time trying to be my friend. If you weren’t so stubborn, you’d see that.” Stepping into her room, she gave him one final sad look before shutting the door in his face.

  Roman leaned against the wall and ran a hand through his sopping hair. A chill raced through him. She was wrong. Nothing about Cassie was a waste of time. She’d always been better than the rest of them—smarter, more fun, happier.

  Those were the most words she’d said to him in a long time, but each one hurt. She was right about one thing. Hearing what happened to her wasn’t easy, it caused him pain to think of what she’d gone through.

  But he’d listen to anything she said as long as she stopped the silence. He could handle her scorn, her annoyance.

  But being nothing to her? Being forgotten? That was something he couldn’t take.

  After taking a scalding hot shower and changing, Roman went downstairs to find every single light in the house on and Cassie sitting in the living room with her e-reader. It had become such a familiar scene, he smiled—even after their contentious conversation.

  She might want him to leave her alone, but he wasn’t giving up on her.

  He sat on the couch near her feet, jostling her. She didn’t look up.

  “Whatcha reading?” He leaned close to get a look at the screen.

  She held it closer to her chest.

  “Our Cass, the romantic.” He grinned. “Wouldn’t guess that by looking at you, but I should have known. You always tried to steal your mom’s books when we were younger.” He laughed as a memory came back to him. They were ten or eleven when they took what her mom called a “bodice ripper” and read it together, giggling through the sexy parts.

  “Do you remember when your mom sat you, me, and Jesse down and asked if we had any questions after that book we took from her? I don’t think I’ve ever been so embarrassed in my life.”

  Cassie’s lips twitched but didn’t form into a smile.

  “Aw, Cass. That was a good story. I know you want to smile.”

  She shook her head.

  He poked her knee. “I secretly think your mom liked our antics. Remember when we broke into old Mrs. Green’s lanai and went swimming in her pool when she was up north for the summer? We swam every day for a month. But Jesse in all his brilliance left a pool noodle there with his name on it.”

  He leaned against her knees and rested his head on the back of the couch. “Your mom’s response was the best.”

  A tiny laugh escaped Cassie. “She said if Mrs. Green wanted a private pool, she should consider a lock a ten-year-old couldn’t pick.”

  Roman spent most of his life in awe of Mrs. Carrigan, wishing she was his mom. And Cassie had been so like her in all the best ways, ways that changed after her mom’s death.

  Cassie peeked at him over the top of her e-reader as if trying to figure him out. But what was there to figure out? She knew him better than anyone other than Jesse.

  “I have a theory.” He met her gaze. “I know your silence isn’t completely by choice, but I think you enjoy ignoring me because you think I can’t take it.”

  She lifted a brow.

  He leaned closer. “Well, you know what? You’re right. I can’t take it.” His eyes latched onto hers. “Our friendship was so easy, so right, and then one day it was just gone. The girl who’d been by my side suddenly refused to even look at me.” One side of his mouth tipped up. “But you’re looking at me now.”

  “Progress,” she whispered.

  He nodded. “All I ask for is progress. I want my friend back.”

  “Do you…” She sucked in a breath. The rest of the words never came because the lights flickered before going dark, throwing the house into shadow.

  “Rome,” Cassie whispered, her voice trembling.

  He reached out to grip her hand. “I’m here.” Getting to his feet, he pulled her up, never losing contact between them. Inching his way around the furniture, he found the switch on the wall, but it didn’t help. “No power.”

  Her hand slid up his wrist to his arm, her grip tightening. “Flashlights and candles are in the kitchen.”

  Together, they stumbled around furniture, taking advantage of the lightning occasionally illuminating their path.

  “Careful.” He led her across the tile, water seeping into his socks. “It’s wet in here.”

  She let go of him long enough to dig through a cupboard for a single flashlight and two candles.

  “That it?” Roman asked. It wouldn’t even light one room.

  She opened a drawer and produced a booklet of matches with a shrug. It would have to be good enough.

  As they made their way back to the living room, gripping furniture on their way, Cassie slid her hand into his. “Don’t let go,” she whispered.

  He squeezed her hand. His favorite girl was talking to him again—even if it was still guarded—there was no way he’d let go of her now.

  9

  Cassie

  Cassie didn’t take her eyes from Roman as he spoke to Jesse on the phone, nodding his head. The small circle of candlelight set his face aglow.

  She shivered as a droplet of water from her hair raced down her spine. The wet strands were twisted in a knot on top of her head, but she wished she’d thought to dry it after her trip into the storm.

  She glanced back over her shoulder to the doorway through which she could see the furniture. It was stupid to hold on so tightly to such mundane objects, but she hadn’t been able to stand the thought of it getting broken.

  Though, by the state of it, she may have been too late.

  Annie liked to tell her she should hold on to the good memories of her mom and not the day she d
ied, but it was hard to separate the two when the helpless feeling from that day had never gone away.

  Roman sent her a smile as he continued talking to her brother. Cassie couldn’t believe she’d spoken so many words to him tonight. If that wasn’t a win, nothing was.

  He pulled his phone away from his face and set it on the table. “Jess doesn’t want to drive in this, so he’s going to stay at Hadley’s with Charlotte.”

  She nodded, glad her brother was at least safe.

  “They lost power too. He said he tried to call you.”

  Her words fought to escape, and she swallowed down a lump in her throat. “Upstairs. My phone is upstairs.”

  He nodded. “I’m going to go get it, okay? We should have both our phones.”

  She handed him the flashlight. He flipped it on, and the beam of light cut through the room, making dust particles dance in the air.

  Roman ran up the stairs, his thundering steps matching the beat of her heart. She reached under the couch cushion, trying to find her Kindle that had fallen down. Her fingers pulled it free. The stories it held gave her a comfort, a sense of normalcy. Cade was inside the device living his love story as if the world was a good and bright place where nothing bad happened.

  She powered it on, and the screen lit up like a beacon in the dark, drawing her in.

  “Cass,” Roman’s soft voice pulled her out of the book trance.

  She looked up at him, trying to figure out when he’d returned. He sat beside her. “I can tell when you’re really into a story.” He gave her a half-smile. “It’s like nothing else exists in the world for you.”

  She shrugged, unsure if he considered that a good or a bad thing. Jesse once told her she needed to start living in the real world again, but she didn’t see why.

  “Hey.” Roman nudged her with his knee. “I get it. It’s like when I play hockey. It’s all I think about.”

  She studied him for a moment before her words dislodged. “But you’re terrible.”

  He laughed in shock.

  Cassie’s entire face flushed, but she hoped he couldn’t see it in the dark. “I didn’t mean you. You’re not terrible. You’re kind of amazing. But your team… you guys only started winning when Charlotte joined and—”

  Roman reached over and clapped a hand over her mouth. “Through two years of silence, I never imagined I’d want you to stop talking.” He grinned.

  “Mgmmmm.”

  “What?” He moved his hand.

  “Can I have my mouth back?”

  His gaze darted to her lips before meeting her eyes again. “As long as you keep talking to me, Cass, you can have whatever you want.”

  “I thought you wanted me to stop.”

  “I changed my mind.” He leaned back into the couch. “So, about my hockey team. Take it back.”

  “Take what back?”

  “How terrible you apparently think we were.”

  She smirked as the candlelight flickered across his irises. “How many games did you win before Charlotte joined the team?”

  “That’s not the point. How would you know anyway? It’s been years since you came to a game.”

  “Actually, it’s exactly the point.” She leaned back and prodded him with her bare foot. “And I stream the games online.”

  He paused and looked at her. “You watch our games?”

  Her brow furrowed. “I mean… yeah. Jesse is on the team. No other reason.” She stuck out her tongue in a very old-Cassie way. Annie would be proud.

  A pout formed on Roman’s lips. “I think I liked you better when you hated me.”

  Folding her legs beneath her, she scooted forward, dropping her voice. “Rome… I thought I already told you—”

  “I know, you didn’t hate me.” He turned to face her on the couch. “But it felt like it. And that’s not your problem. It’s entirely mine. You’ve been dealing with—”

  “A lot,” she interrupted. “It’s been a lot, Rome.” She sighed and closed her eyes. It had never been her intention to hurt anyone, but how could she explain this wasn’t something she could control? That Roman wasn’t a target for her sadness, but only a casualty of war, the war she had brewing inside herself.

  She fought for every word, every look she threw his way, but this was Roman, the guy who’d bandaged her scraped knees and taught how her to avoid alligators when fishing. The emotions raged in her mind, trying to keep her trapped in her cage, but she was done sitting by, done waiting for things to change.

  It was time to fight.

  And that started with reclaiming her voice, no matter how hard it was or how much the anxiety twisted around her, trying to keep her from moving forward.

  “Do you… want to play cards?”

  A heart-stopping smile spread across his face. “The Game?”

  She nodded.

  “I’ll get the double deck.” He hopped over the back of the couch to open the large wooden entertainment cabinet.

  Cassie took a moment to check her phone, surprised to see a host of text messages.

  Jesse: Not coming home tonight. You okay?

  Dad: Saw the storm on the news. I hope you brought the furniture in.

  He was the only other person who understood what that meant.

  Mary: Stay safe, kiddo. Call me if you need anything.

  Roman returned a moment later, and Cassie put the phone away without responding to any of them. For once, she wanted to live in the now.

  Taking the decks from Roman, she started shuffling, which brought images of her mom to the front of her mind. These didn’t make her sad, though. Instead, she smiled at the thought of the “card classes” her mom taught them, insisting it was an important lesson in life—to be able to play a multitude of games.

  In cards, she’d say, there were no friends, only the ones you beat and the ones you let beat you. She’d said it with a gleam in her eye. It was her joke. She never lost, she only let others have a chance to win.

  “Do you remember learning to play The Game?” Roman sat on the floor across the coffee table.

  Cassie’s lips curved up. “It was just you and me because Jesse refused to learn how to play a game with such a stupid name.”

  “The Game is not a name,” Roman imitated Jesse’s young voice. “Only something without any imagination would be named that.”

  Cassie laughed. “My brother was such a dude.”

  “What does that even mean?” Roman took the stack of cards and started dealing eleven cards each. “I’m a dude.”

  She shrugged and hid her smile. “You know… I don’t actually know what it means.”

  “You’re ridiculous.” He slid her cards across the table. “Now, I know you’re probably a little rusty, so I’ll take it easy on you.”

  “Ha.” She threw her head back. “Don’t forget how much I know you, Roman Sullivan. You wouldn’t go easy on someone to save your life.”

  “She thinks she knows me.” He looked to the ceiling. “We’ll see.”

  They played through the hands, and by the time they reached the last one, they were within ten points of each other.

  Cassie’s eyes narrowed as she studied her opponent. Go for the kill, her mother would say. Yeah, her mother was ruthless. But she couldn’t let Roman win the game.

  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had fun other than losing herself in her books. Cade still called to her from her Kindle, but the pull wasn’t as strong as it had been before.

  In the first part of her life—the before—Roman made her feel wild and dangerous. They were two peas in a pod with Jesse trying to keep them out of trouble. But that wasn’t what she needed from him in this second part—the after. She no longer wanted to be out of control. Instead, all she needed was someone to make her feel safe.

  He couldn’t do the work for her, he couldn’t rid her of her anxiety, but he showed her it was possible, and maybe worth the effort.

  Biting her lip, she studied her cards. One side of her mouth curv
ed up as she laid them down with a flourish before discarding her final card. “I’m out.” She tapped her chin. “I think that’s game.”

  “No way.” He threw his cards down and jumped to his feet in protest. “Cassandra Carrigan, are you cheating again?” She was well-known for hiding extra cards, a trick her mother found hilarious. Roman, however, never had.

  He rounded the table and looked down at her. “Get up.”

  With a shrug, she stood, her chest brushing his.

  “Sleeves up.” He reached for her sleeves.

  She smiled at the fact he remembered all her moves.

  When he didn’t find any cards, he bent and threw her over his shoulder. “All right, bedtime. No more beating me.”

  “Roman.” She pounded on his back. “Put me down.”

  He swung her around, and her foot hit a lamp, knocking it to the ground. “Look what you did, Cass.” He clucked his tongue. “Fine, I’ll put you down.”

  He set her feet on the ground and turned back to grab his bottle of water. With his back to her, she considered her next move, channeling some of the before-Cassie. It was a move she’d have done two years ago—in fact, she had. Many times.

  Without another thought, she jumped, latching onto his back and wrapping her legs around him.

  Roman cursed in surprise before it turned to laughter. “Two years ago, I’d have seen that coming.”

  He gripped her legs and hiked her higher as she covered his eyes.

  He stumbled forward, landing on the couch. She rolled off him, ready for his next move. Roman lurched toward her, pinning her back against the couch, his chest heaving as he hovered above her.

  For a moment, they just stared at each other. When they’d wrestled before, it was nothing more than two friends having fun. Now, charged air hung around them. Light flickered over his face, giving it an ethereal glow.

  For a moment, she wanted him to a kiss her.

  For just a moment, she wondered if he wanted it too.