Page 44 of The Captain

I turn to walk out, not wanting to say goodbye for ridiculous reasons and wanting to get to my car so I could be safe with my new emotions, when his hand wraps around mine, turning me back.

“Sunshine,” he starts, bringing my eyes back to his face, his roaming all over mine. “You’re not going to say goodbye?”

“I—” I hesitate, not wanting to give myself away or say too much.

Understanding dawns on him, and he gives me a tight smile. Anguish shines through his eyes, and I want nothing more than to wrap him in my arms and promise everything is going to be okay.

But that wasn’t my job anymore.

He leans forward, overwhelming me with his scent, and I breathe it in greedily, flashing back to the kiss at the restaurant, when he presses his lips to my forehead firmly, giving me a kiss and pulling away.

“I’ll see you soon, okay?”

Releasing me, he turns and walks off to his bag, throwing it over his shoulder and making his way into the back office, leaving me standing there and wondering how, if at all, this whole mess could be fixed.

FOURTEEN

Cassie

Five Months Ago

I answered the incessant knocking on my door late Sunday night, rubbing my finger over my eye to get the sleep out. I’d fallen asleep on the couch in the middle of my book, exhaustion from the week overwhelming me.

Mick and Victoria weren’t here tonight, Mick finding some permanent residence over at Tanner’s lately and Victoria mysteriously disappearing for days at a time. I didn’t ask where she was spending her time, and she didn’t tell me, which told me wherever she was going was private.

I peeked through the little hole in the door and sighed, opening it and glaring a little at the man standing there.

Put your hate face on, Cassie.

“What the fuck?” he said deadpan, and I frowned at the opening line.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, concerned over the haggard way he appeared. I knew from his texts that he had just gotten home from two away games. The bag over his shoulder told me that, but the way his hair was sticking up every which way said that he was stressed about something.

He moved past me, coming into the apartment and ditching his bag by the door, and because I knew this was how he operated, I didn’t protest.

I didn’t even want to, and that was concerning.

“You didn’t tell me this ended on a cliffhanger, Cassandra!” He held up his phone, and I blinked when I realized he was talking about my book.

My eyes widened in surprise. “You already read the whole thing?”

Truly, it was a very long fantasy book. I didn’t expect him to read it in one weekend.

“How could I have stopped? I had to know everything that happened next and needed the happily ever after. But oh no.” He started to pace by the couch, and unable to help it, I smiled. “I needed to know what the king was doing and how the rest of the world was going to react to it and I needed to know if she was going to save them but WHAT THE FUCK, SUNSHINE?” He roared the last bit, and I couldn’t hold it in anymore, grabbing at my stomach as laughter bubbled out of me.

“You think this is funny?” he asked, pitching his phone toward the couch. “I’m pissed!”

“I’m sorry,” I said unapologetically. “Did you not like the book?”

“Are you kidding? I fucking loved it.” I tried not to, but I felt my grin widen at the compliment. “I had no idea what the fuck I was reading half the time, but I was completely consumed by this stupid book,” he said, gritting his teeth and raking his fingers through his hair again. ,

I leaned against the wall and sighed. “You thought it was stupid.”

“Stupid in the way that it pissed me off, and I need more right fucking now,” he ground out, still up in his feels about it. “I was a bitch to anyone who even dared talk to me all weekend because I couldn’t fucking put it down.”

I smiled as I watched him calm down, overwhelmingly thrilled that he loved the book. It was a part of me, and therefore, I wanted him to love it.

I didn’t want to think about what that meant.

---