Nothing Goes As Orchestrated

Alex and Cassie spent most of the afternoon in his bed, seemingly trying to make up for lost time. After their last round, Alex had laid with his head on Cassie's chest. Their fingers were still interlocked, having not let go for even a second.

"Would you be mad if I said I missed your boobs?" Alex asked, his free hand closing around her breast.

She laughed, "If that's all you missed, then yeah," she said.

"Nah, I missed all of you. But at the same time, getting to rediscover and relearn you has been a great pleasure," he said with a grin.

Cassie laughed again, "I would have to agree," she said, "It didn't take long at all for you to remember the thing about my hips."

"I never forgot that," he said, releasing his hold on her breast and running his hand down her side to her hip. His fingers brushed over the purple mark that had already formed, "Truth be told," he said, "As fantastic as your boobs are, your hips were always my favorite part of your body."

She smiled and slid her fingers up his back, sending a shiver down his spine when they hit his neck before tangling in his hair. Her nails gently dragged across his scalp as she ran her fingers through his hair. He buried his face deeper in her breasts and let out a soft sigh.

After a few minutes, he lifted his head, "Come on," he said, rolling off her and out of the bed.

She sat up slowly, watching him put on the clothes he had been wearing earlier, "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm starving," he said, "Let's go get some food."

She opened her mouth to object but quickly changed her mind. She was hungry as well, having not eaten all day. Getting out of bed, she began gathering her clothes and began putting them on.

"Where did my shirt end up?" she asked, looking around the room.

Alex shrugged, "Just wear this," he said, holding a light blue v neck out to her.

"Thanks," she said, taking the shirt and slipping it over her head.

"You always look so cute in my shirts," Alex said, stepping toward Cassie and wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his lips to hers.

They walked silently out of his room and down the stairs. Once they were outside, Cassie handed her keys to Alex and they walked over to her car. Neither said anything the entire time they were in the car. The only sound was the quiet music coming from the car's speakers.

When he pulled into a parking spot, they got out of the car, still silent, and walked into the restaurant. It wasn't an awkward silence. In spite of the messed up situation they had gotten themselves into, they were still very comfortable with each other. They were seated and Cassie slid all the way to the corner of the booth. Alex sat across from her and she stretched her legs out underneath the table and across his lap, her feet resting on the bench next to him. His hand ran up and down her leg while they looked at their menus. It wasn't until after they ordered that they spoke to each other.

"So, tell me about her," Cassie said quietly, breaking the silence between them.

Alex sighed, "Why?" he asked, knowing exactly who she was talking about.

She shrugged, "I just want to know what she's like. What's her name? How old is she? How did you meet her? I'm curious," she said.

He sighed again, "Her name is Chelley, well, Rachelle, but she goes by Chelley. She's nineteen. And I met her at Starbucks. She's small and I didn't really see her until I accidentally bumped into her and made her spill coffee all over herself. I felt bad so I bought her another coffee and we sat down and talked and," he shrugged, "I guess that's about it."

"But what is she like. What does she do? How long have you been seeing each other?" she inquired.

"It's been about two and a half months, I guess. She works at Target and goes to school. She wants to be, um," he paused, "Oh, a marine biologist. She's kind of quiet and sweet-"

"So, basically, she's the opposite of me?" Cassie asked, cutting him off.

"Yeah, I suppose," he said, "Why do you want to know all this?" he asked.

"I'm interested. Do you love her?"

Alex sighed and lifted his eyes to meet hers and stared silently for a long time before finally shaking his head slowly.

"No," he said, "I don't love her. I can't because my..." he trailed off as the waitress returned to the table with their food.

They both thanked her and she walked away, leaving them to eat. Neither said anything for awhile, both focused on the plates in front of them. Once again, Cassie was the one to break the silence.

"Can I meet her?" she asked.

Alex eyes shot up from his food to her face and for a few moments he was completely speechless but the look on his face gave away what was going through his head.

"Oh geez, I'm not going to say anything to her. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Why do you want to meet her?" he asked with a slight edge to his tone.

"I'm just curious!" Cassie exclaimed.

After staring at her for a little while longer, he gave in with a sigh, pulling his phone from his pocket. He sent a few texts and when he'd received responses, he slid his phone back into his pocket.

"She's coming over to watch movies later. So are Rian and Angie," he said and she nodded.

They finished eating in silence. Alex paid for their food and as they began to walk out of the restaurant, Alex reached for Cassie's hand. He let go when they reached the car, but took hold of it again once he started driving.

When Alex pulled up in front of his house, Cassie took her keys and got out of the car, waiting for him when she got to the front door. She still had the key Rian had given her, but thought it was better if she didn't use it unless neither boy was around.

Angie and Rian pulled up just as they were shutting the door behind them. Alex quickly grabbed Cassie and kissed her deeply. She responded immediately, knowing they didn't have much time before their friends would walk through the door. The moan that was building in the back of her throat escaped as his hands slid to her hips.

"Fuck," he muttered breathlessly when they parted.

Cassie quickly walked around Alex to the living room when she heard Rian and Angie on the other side of the door. He followed her and she curled up in the chair next to the couch. He leaned down and kissed her softly once more before moving to the couch and falling lazily onto it.

Rian and Angie looked skeptically at the two when they walked into the room. Alex had turned the TV on and was flipping through channels while Cassie sat quietly and played with her phone.

"What have you two been up to all day?" Rian asked.

Cassie looked up from her phone, "We did a lot of talking," she said, "I think we're going to try to be friends."

Alex glanced over at her, keeping his face straight, "Yeah. It's been long enough. We're pretty sure we can do it," he said and pulled his phone from his pocket, "I'll be right back," he announced as he stood.

It wasn't long after he disappeared that he returned with a small girl at his side. She had long light brown hair and brown eyes. She stood about five feet, two inches, and looked itty bitty next to Alex.

"Chelley, you remember Rian?" he asked and she nodded, "This is his girlfriend Angie," he said, introducing the two.

"Nice to meet you, Angie. I'm Chelley," she said, reaching out to shake Angie's hand.

"Nice to meet you, too," Angie said.

"And this is Rian's sister Cassie," he said turning toward Cassie.

Cassie cringed inwardly when he introduced her using the name he hadn't called her since shortly after they met. Outwardly, however, she smiled at the girl.

"Hi Cassie," Chelley said, "I didn't know Rian had a sister. It's nice to meet you."

"I'm the black sheep of the family," Cassie joked, reaching out the shake the girl's hand, "No, I'm kidding. We're not biologically related. Our parents are best friends and live next door to each other, so we literally grew up together," she explained.

"Oh, okay. That's neat," Chelley said, taking Alex's hand and leading him to the couch.

They sat down, Alex next to the arm of the couch and Chelley next to him. She immediately leaned against him and his arm wrapped around her. Angie and Rian sat similarly on the love seat. Cassie stood and put in a DVD before returning to her seat and pressing play on the remote.

About halfway through The Boondock Saints, Cassie got up without a word to anyone and went outside. She leaned against the house and pulled a cigarette and her lighter from her purse. She took her time and enjoyed it, relaxing at the sensation it brought over her.

When she finished, she went back inside and straight to the kitchen to wash her hands and get something to drink. Alex was closing the refrigerator door when Cassie walked in.

"I would apologize, but you wanted to meet her," he said.

"I'm fine," Cassie replied, "She's cute. It seems like you really like her."

Alex sighed and took a few steps toward Cassie. She backed up as he did so but he kept walking toward her. Soon enough, her back hit the counter and Alex stood in front of her. He leaned forward, placing his hands on the counter on either side of her, making it so she couldn't go anywhere.

"Between you and I," he said, his face so close that his lips brushed hers and he spoke, "She could never compare to you."