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Chapter Thirty-Nine

L eaving for an away game almost immediately after all the shit that happened with Cassie felt like a betrayal to her.

She promised she was fine. That everything with her mom was stable and that she’d be so busy with work that she wouldn’t have time to think about anything else. Apparently, they were making turkey crafts for Thanksgiving, and it would take a lot of her time and energy.

But the whole time I was gone, I missed her like she was a missing limb. I texted her constantly. I even watched that show she liked so much just to be reminded of her. Not as if I needed a show to do that, but it made me feel like she could be in the same room in some bizarre sort of way.

When we finished the game, I saw a string of texts from her commenting with horribly incorrect terminology on plays I made throughout the game. My heart nearly burst out of my chest.

I’d never had anything like this before. I didn’t think I ever would again. Which is why I had to be really fucking careful not to screw it up.

Cassie had a lot of shit going on, and as much as I was prepared to tell her how I felt that night at the gala, I knew now more than ever that the slightest wrong move on my part might send her running out of my life forever.

I couldn’t handle that. I just couldn’t.

So I had to wait it out and give her time to breathe.

Which is why it made zero fucking sense that I booked a flight home right after the game instead of waiting to travel back with the rest of the team.

I was quite literally feening for this girl and there weren’t any options left to reel myself in. It was past that point.

I knew she’d be sleeping when I opened the door, but it settled something inside of me to know that at least we’d be under the same roof. At least I could see her when she woke up instead of another night staring at the ceiling of a hotel room listening to the symphony of Brody’s loud-as-hell snores.

Walking into the apartment, I wondered how I could have ever gone home for the past five years without her being here.

But she’ll be gone soon if I don’t figure out a way to keep her.

The thought had been haunting me. How did I get her to stay? To want to be here with me? I knew everything with Dave was fresh, but if I didn’t push her, and if we kept the whole thing in the roommate category… would that help my chances of keeping her here?

I had to figure it out fast before she hit me with more of those apartment listings that felt like I was being served fucking divorce papers.

Wearily, I opened my bedroom door, restraining myself from going upstairs to peek in and make sure she was sleeping okay.

The second the door opened, my heart stopped.

The bed wasn’t empty. A small figure was curled up beneath the comforter, only visible by a bump in the dim light.

For a minute, I wondered if someone had broken into the apartment to sleep in my bed. It was out there but not unheard of. I heard it happened to Taylor Swift once.

But then, the figure shifted, and it was Cassie who blinked back at me in the darkness.

“?” She sat up abruptly, panic evident in the tense set of her shoulders. “I didn’t know you were coming back tonight.”

I bit my lip to keep from smiling.

She was in my bed. Cassie was sleeping in my bed.

“Got an early flight,” I said, moving closer to the bed to get a better look at her.

I didn’t need the lights on to know how deeply she was blushing.

“I’m so sorry, ,” she said, hiding her face in her hands. “This is so humiliating. I thought you were coming home tomorrow. Not that it’s an excuse for sneaking into your bed like a creep, but—”

“Shhh,” I told her, reaching a hand out to gently push her back down into bed, “It’s okay. I’m glad you’re here.”

More than fucking glad.

“No, it’s not. I should leave,” she said but remained exactly where she was.

“Are you comfortable?”

She nodded hesitantly. “But now that you’re back, you’ll be wanting your bed back, of course—”

Had she been in here every night?

“So, I should go.”

“Don’t,” I said, falling onto the bed beside her. “I want you to stay.”

“You want me to stay?” she repeated incomprehensibly.

I nodded. “I really do.”

Cautiously, she settled back under the covers.

“Are you sure?” she asked, peering over at me.

There was a huge gap in the space between us, but I could still feel the warmth radiating off her. Or maybe it was just my body about to light itself on fire from the pure joy of finding her here.

“Hey, Cass?” I said after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah?” she breathed.

“I missed you.”

She was quiet so long I thought she might be asleep, but then, in a voice so soft I barely heard it, she whispered back, “I missed you too.”

And with the slightest motion, she pressed against me until her head was against my chest, and my arm was falling around her torso.

It was the fastest I’d ever fallen asleep in my life.