Page 21 of Most Likely to Fear Love

Cassidy: Just paperwork.

Me: Can I call you?

Cassidy: Yes.

I pressed the dial button, and Cassidy answered on the first ring. “Hello.”

“Hey there.” I leaned back in my chair. “Rough day?”

“No more than usual,” Cassidy sighed. “Just feeling edgy about everything. Can’t get my mind to focus. Overthinking everything, just for a change.”

There was that self-deprecation again. “Sounds like you could use a distraction.”

“I really could, thanks.” Her voice had a weariness to it that hurt to hear.

“Unless you want to talk about it?”

A pause. “Not really. But I wouldn’t mind listening to you talk about something else for a while.”

“Alright, how about I tell you about the time I accidentally entered a lumberjack competition?”

“You what?” The soft laughter in her voice was a welcome change from the fatigue.

“It’s a true story, but tell me something first.”

“Okay.”

“Now, this isn’t meant to sound creepy, but what are you wearing?”

“Yoga pants, a t-shirt and a hoodie.”

“Is that what you’ll wear to bed?”

“No, I usually?—”

Sleep naked? Fuck.

“Wear pjs to bed.”

I was almost certain that she had just cut herself off from saying naked. Ignoring the way my dick twitched, I said, “Okay,here’s what you’re gonna do. Put the phone down, go change into your pajamas, then go to the kitchen.”

“Wow, bossy all of a sudden.”

“Yep.”

I heard the rustle of movement on the other end of the line as Cassidy presumably followed my instructions, walking down her hallway to her bedroom.

A few moments later, her voice slightly muffled, she said, “Tell me about this lumberjack competition.”

Doing my absolute best (and failing spectacularly) not to picture her getting undressed, I settled back in my chair. “Alright, picture this: I’m fresh out of college, road-tripping with my buddies through the Pacific Northwest. We roll into this tiny town in Oregon, right in the middle of their annual festival.”

“Mmhmm,” Cassidy hummed, slightly further away now. Taking her top off?

Don’t do that.

“So, we’re wandering around, taking in the sights, when this guy in a flannel shirt approaches me. He’s got a clipboard and a desperate look in his eye.”

“Oh no,” Cassidy laughed softly.

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