Page 50 of Courting Trouble
Cassie scanned the hall, and when her eyes found Delilah, her mouth curved into something that looked alarmingly like a smile.
Delilah sat up straighter without meaning to.
Cassie made her way over and slid into the seat opposite her.
‘Hey,’ she said easily.
Delilah blinked. ‘Hi.’
Cassie opened her water bottle, took a sip, then looked back at her, tilting her head slightly. ‘You alright?’
It was such a simple question. But it hit weirdly deep. Delilah nodded, because what else was she supposed to do? Say,No, I’m not alright. Your ex just interrogated me, and you’re on your third personality of the week.
She went for something closer to the truth, but lighter. ‘Had some unexpected company.’
Cassie frowned. ‘Who?’
‘Petra.’
Cassie put her bottle down. ‘She sat with you?’
Delilah nodded. ‘Asked a bunch of questions about where I’d played before.’
Cassie’s eyes narrowed slightly. ‘What did you say?’
‘I kept it vague.’ Delilah tried to smile, but it didn’t quite land. ‘I wasn’t sure what else to do. I mean, I’m obviously not a player. Anyone who’s watched me for five minutes knows that. But she didn’t seem to know my name until I put it down on some waiver.’
Cassie leaned back slightly, arms crossed. Her expression wasn’t cold exactly, but it was hard to read.
‘It’s going to be fine,’ she said eventually, oddly gentle.
Delilah wanted to believe her. She didn’t even know why it mattered. Petra just gave off threatening vibes. But maybe that’s just who she was. Maybe it didn’t really matter either way. If she found out Delilah was an actress prepping for a role, what could she do with it?
What was worrying her? Really?
It didn’t take long to figure that out once Delilah really looked at the problem. Underneath the career anxiety, there was another thought: Petra had sat across from her, cool and in control, asking questions not just because she was suspicious, but because she still felt connected to Cassie. There had been something proprietary in the way she saidCass is being quiet about you. Like she had access to parts of Cassie that Delilah hadn’t even seen yet.
And that pissed her off more than it should have.
Cassie was watching her quietly.
‘It’s not just about her questions, is it?’ she asked.
Delilah met her gaze, startled. And then she just said it. ‘I don’t know what she is to you now,’ she said. ‘Or what you are to her.’
Cassie looked startled, and Delilah prepared herself for the inevitable shutdown. But Cassie looked her squarely in the eye and said, ‘She’s nothing to me. Not anymore.’
Delilah felt her whole being trembling. Cassie wasn’t telling her it was none of her business. She was saying something very different. But what did it mean? Did it mean what Delilah couldn’t deny she wanted it to mean?
It was as close as they’d ever gotten to a conversation about the tension between them.
Delilah gave a small nod, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. ‘OK.’
Fifty
The court was empty except for her.
Late evening, and Cassie was bouncing a ball against the far wall, again and again, letting the sound fill up the silence. That steady rhythm: thump, catch, thump, catch. It used to calm her. Tonight, it barely made a dent.
