Page 81 of Phoenix

“Are you sure?” I ask, placing a hand on his arm.

“Positive.”

“Okay...good. Well, I’m going to go see if Amelia needs help with anything. Take a dip. Cool off. It’s nice in there,” I offer.

He doesn’t respond, he just nods once and goes to find Grayson.

I move back over to Amelia and plop down onto the chair beside her.

“Everything okay?” she asks.

“Yes. Case just seems off. That’s all.” I open a bottle of water and drink some of it down. “I wonder if something happened at work.”

“I’m sure he sees and has to do things all the time that he wished he didn’t, but he’s normally good at compartmentalizing. It could just be an off day.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Maybe I’ll try to coax him into the pool. Wow him with my assets.” I joke, trying to keep my girl brain from overthinking our relationship to death.

“That’s my girl.”

The next hour or so passes in a haze of burgers, birthday cake, and gifts, but little to no conversation between Case and me. We pass glances and joke occasionally, but it doesn’t feel like it should. He is clearly working through something mentally, because even Amelia says she’s never seen him look so uptight.

His tension fades when Cadence is around though. She’d never know something is wrong by the way he interacting with her, but as soon as she’s away, he tenses up again.

He’s stays off to the side of the party, not coming near the pool or games the kids are playing, he’s just off by himself, talking to Grayson, or texting someone on his phone.

Enough is enough. Asset time.

I stand and shed my towel then look around for Case. He has moved over to the table in the back with Grayson while he cleans the grill.

I motion for him with my finger when our eyes meet, then place my hands on my hips.

He leans over and says something to Grayson before standing. Grayson stands too, saying something that stops him from moving forward. Case turns and responds, holding up one hand and nodding, as if to say it’s all right.

I move a little closer, standing about ten feet away from the pool when Case finally starts toward me. He glances toward the water occasionally, but mostly keeps his eyes on the ground until he is just a couple feet from me.

“You know, for someone who is at a party, you sure are being mopey,” I tease.

“Mopey?” he asks with a small smile.

“Mmmhmm. And that just won’t do. I don’t know what happened today or why you seem off, but I’m going to make you lighten up, Carmichael.” I poke him in the chest.

“Are you calling me a party pooper?” A hint of smile forms on his face.

“As a matter-of-fact, yes, I am.”

“What are you going to do about it?” He smiles even bigger. There’s my Case.

I reach over and grip his hand. “Where’s your phone?”

“Here.” He fishes it out of his pocket. “Why?”

“Can I see it?” I place my hand out and he gives it to me without hesitation and I place it on the table. “Just want to make sure it won’t be ruined.”

“What do you mean?”

I don’t answer with words, only with action. I begin to tug him toward the pool, as hard as I can.

“You’re going in, Case, whether you like it or not.”

---