Come Around

After a few cigarettes and beers over the course of the afternoon and evening, Cassie had finally relaxed and was enjoying herself. It was getting dark, but the party was still going. The music felt like the soundtrack to summer.

Rian had finally completely abandoned the grill after hours of slaving over it and joined Angie in the pool, attacking her with kiss when he jumped in. Her arms immediately went around his neck and a smile spread across her face. Cassie watched them and sighed quietly.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked, taking a seat next to her.

"Nothing," she said, "They're so happy together," she motioned toward her best friends with her beer before taking a drink of it.

"Are you jealous?" he asked.

Cassie's forehead scrunched, "Of Angie? No. Rian and I could never be more than friends."

Alex laughed, "How many of those have you had? I meant, are you jealous of them being happy."

"Oh," she said, "Nah, I'm still not jealous. I'm happy too," she paused, "And this is my fourth and final beer, to answer your question. I'm not even buzzed. Just relaxed."

"But don't you ever want to be happy with someone, instead of alone?" he asked and she turned to look at him. He had a look in his eyes that she hadn't seen before. It was begging for an answer, but not just any answer. The right answer.

Cassie just shrugged and looked up at the sky, "It's one of those things that just comes when it comes," she said.

"Not if you constantly push it away," he said and stood up.

She turned to ask what he meant by that, but he was already walking away. And instead of calling his name, she just watched him as he joined in a game of blackjack that was going on across the yard.

She watched him until she was completely lost in her thoughts, her mind wandering far. When the flash of a camera brought her back to reality, she got up and jumped in the pool, joining her friends.

"Jack attack!" Rian yelled after she had been in the pool for only a few minutes.

Before she could turn around, Cassie felt someone jump on her back. The extra weight, along with the surprise, caused her and the person who now had their arms around her neck and legs around her waist to fall backward. When she resurfaced, the extra person was no longer wrapped around her and she turned to see Jack with a huge grin on his face.

"Oh, it's on," she said, jumping on him.

The two wrestled in the water for awhile, earning them an audience. Cassie finally pinned Jack against the side of the pool and Rian named her the champion. Jack pouted as she did a victory dance before getting out of the pool and wrapped herself in a towel. Shortly after, Jack did the same and Cassie noticed a thick red mark on his back.

"You okay, Jacko?" she asked.

He turned to look at her, confusion written all over his face, "Hmm?" he asked.

"You have a huge mark on your back that will likely turn into a bruise, probably from when I shoved you against the side of the pool."

"Oh," he said, "Well, it's not every day I get pinned by a pretty girl, so it's all good."

She shook her head a little and laughed, rolling her eyes, "You boys are all the same. It's kind of amazing you all get along so well," she said.

"Hey!" Rian yelled. Jack and Cassie turned to look at him, "I don't hit on you."

Cassie laughed, "Because you're like my brother and it would be really weird if you did."

"But I didn't say things like that to Angie," he said.

"And it's a good thing you didn't," Cassie said, "Because she probably would've knocked you out."

Rian turned to look at Angie and she nodded, agreeing with her friend, "It's true. I know I look relatively harmless, but I have been known to attack when provoked."

"True story, I was there," Nick said, walking over to say goodbye, "Hey, we're gonna get going."

Cassie nodded, "I'll walk you guys out."

"See ya, Ang," he said then addressed Rian and Jack, "Gentlemen, don't forget to come hang while you're here."

When they got to the cars, Cassie hugged the boys, smiling, "It was so good to see you guys again. I'm glad you could come."

"You know we wouldn't miss it," Nick said, "And you know you can always come by the house if you're bored. Someone is bound to be there."

"I've had my hands full lately, but I'll definitely keep that in mind," she said as he got in the car.

Just before they drove off, Peter rolled down the window and stuck his head out, "Think about what I said. Seriously," he said.

Cassie waved as they drove off then went in the house to put some clothes on. She didn't notice Alex sitting on the chair in the corner of her room until she turned around after pulling some clothes out of her closet.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Hmm?" he said, slowly turning his head toward her, "Oh, sorry. I had to use the bathroom and the one downstairs was occupied, so I came up here. I was looking at some of the pictures on your wall and then I got to thinking and kind of got lost in those thoughts."

Cassie raised an eyebrow, "What you said to me earlier, about pushing happiness away, what did you mean by that?" she asked.

"Nothing. It was stupid."

She sighed, "Why are you acting weird?" she asked.

"I'm not," he said, standing, "I should go."

"No, wait," she said, "I want to show you something."

She turned back to her closet and moved a few things around before pulling something from the left side. She turned around, a hanger dangling from her fingers in front of her.

"I found this and I thought of you," she said with a small smile.

"What is that?" he asked.

"My old school uniform," she said.

His eyebrow raised and he sat back down, "Can I see it on you?" he asked.

Cassie rolled her eyes, "Are you drunk? It's been so long since I've worn this, I doubt it would even fit me."

He laughed, "No, I'm not drunk. I hardly drank today. And there's only one way to find out if it fits, you know," he said.

"Are you going to behave yourself if I put it on?"

Alex shook his head slowly, a grin creeping across his face. Cassie couldn't help but notice how adorable he looked with the way the light was hitting him. Between that and Peter's words echoing in her head, she gave in. Sighing quietly, she stepped into the bathroom and shut the door.

She came out a few minutes later and Alex's jaw almost dropped. The hem of the green plaid skirt hung about halfway down her thigh and the black vest she wore over the tight white button down shirt hugged her body snugly.

"I used to be shorter," she said, "And thinner. It's awfully tight."

"Come over here," he said.

She walked across the room and around her bed, stopping about a foot in front of him.

"You look amazing," he said, reaching out and grabbing her hands, pulling her toward him.

Cassie smiled slightly and he pulled her onto the chair, her legs on either side of his. He laced his fingers with hers before letting his eyes travel her body until they found her eyes.

"You are indescribably beautiful, Cassandra," he said, holding her gaze, "I wish you would stop pushing me away so hard and let me in."

She stared into his eyes for a moment before pulling her hands from his and placing them on either side of his face. Slowly, she lowered her head and pressed her lips to his, her eyes closing. He immediately responded and his hands found their way to her hips and rested there.

A sensation she hadn't experienced in years washed over her and she deepened the kiss, lowering herself onto his lap. His hands wandered a little but stopped when they reached the buttons on her vest. She pulled away and looked into his eyes again.

"May I?" he asked softly.

She nodded and his hands gently worked the buttons. When he had undone all of them, he slid the vest off of her. She looked at Alex, then down at her shirt and a small grin played across his lips.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Cassie nodded again and Alex set to work. When he finished, his hands found their way up to her shoulders, his fingertips brushing her skin as he pushed the shirt off her shoulders slowly and she shivered under his touch. He grinned, leaning in and pressing his lips to her collarbone and working his way to her neck. She bit her lip and let her hands find the hem of his shirt.