Page 17 of Yours for the Weekend

Chapter Eleven

I ’m running on maybe a half hour of sleep?

It’s hard to sleep when you spend the night tossing and turning in bed.

I replayed everything Remi said while analyzing Casey’s every move from the bar.

I thought she was acting strange in the moment, but, looking back, her behavior makes no sense.

Like calling Remi the wrong name when I know for a fact she knows Remi’s name?

And there was another open table Casey led Josh past to sit at the one in my line of sight. I didn’t realize it then, but, after scouring my thoughts, it’s crystal clear. And the longer I think about everything, the bigger the little spark of hope in my chest grows.

Burning with the need to know for sure, I plan to talk to Casey. I make myself wait to avoid showing up at her door in the middle of the night, but it still feels a little unhinged being here at five am. She’s a morning person, though, so this is fine. Right?

“Dakota?”

Casey’s voice startles me, and I stop my pacing. “Shit. Hey, hi!”

Casey’s hair is falling out of her messy bun. She’s wearing a white University of Michigan sweatshirt and black boy shorts. She’s barefoot and is rubbing the sleep from her eyes. And, oh god, she is so beautiful.

“What’re you doing out here?” Casey asks.

I clasp and unclasp my hands together. Because I’m a damn coward, I sidestep and ask, “How’d you know I was out here?”

She leans against the doorframe of her front door and smiles softly. “I got the Ring notification five minutes ago. I couldn’t stand to watch you pace a second longer.”

Heat rises in my cheeks. Shit. Busted.

“Did things not go well with Remi?” Casey asks. “Come in. I’ll make us coffee.”

“Did you mean it?” I blurt, not following her as she attempts to lead me inside.

She turns around, confused. “Huh?”

“When you said you’d never let anything mess up our friendship? That our friendship is strong enough to make it through anything?”

Because I have to know. If I’m wrong about her feeling the same, I’ll figure it out. But I can’t lose her. I have to know she’s as committed to fighting for our friendship as I am—no matter what.

“Dakota, what’s going on?”

“Can you …” I take a deep breath, not liking the panicked urgency in my tone. Softer, I say, “Can you just answer me? Did you mean it?”

“Of course,” Casey says, not an ounce of hesitation in her words.

“Then I need to tell you … I … fuck ,” I whisper softly.

“Dakota, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?” She pushes the front door open wider and beckons me forward. “Come inside. We can?—”

“I think I’m in love with you.”

Casey freezes.

“You … think?” she asks after a long pause.

I swallow. “I know I’m in love with you.”

There. I said the words. To say Casey looks shocked is an understatement. She’s perfectly still, her lips slightly parted, and I’m not even sure if she’s breathing. But I’m not done.

“Casey, you are the single most important person in my life. I admire your passion and drive. Your generosity and compassion. The way you make me smile when all I want to do is cry. How hard you make me laugh when we’re just hanging out.

How much fun we have together even when we’re doing nothing at all.

“I appreciate the way you’ve always listened to me without judgment and how you’ve never made me feel small or stupid or wrong. You’ve opened my eyes and have helped me understand and learn new things about myself.”

My voice catches, emotion thick in my throat.

“And I love being your best friend, but I realized I want more. You’re right about so many things when it comes to dating, but you were wrong about one thing.

I don’t need to date other people. I’ve been on so many dates the past couple weeks, but my favorite part of every one has always been coming back to you after them.

“It was being able to tell you everything and just being around you . And I don’t want to just come home to you after the date, I want to be on the dates with you.”

“Dakota,” Casey starts, but I need to finish.

“You’re my favorite person. And I’ve debated telling you this, because I thought there was no chance you’d feel the same way.

I’m terrified I’m going to mess everything up, but if there’s even a small chance, I need you to know.

And I’ll trust in the strength of our friendship that we can figure things out if you don’t feel the same. ”

My voice is wobbly, and tears are in my eyes.

I laugh breathlessly. “I know we said casual back at the lake house, but there isn’t a casual thing about my feelings for you.

I’m so fucking in love with you, Casey. And if you don’t feel the same, that’s okay.

Well … it’s not okay . It’ll hurt like hell, but I’ll get over it …

eventually. And it will be okay, somehow, and I’ll?—”

I’m cut off as Casey clears the distance between us in three long strides. She slams into me, her mouth on mine. I rock backward from the momentum, but she grabs hold of me and locks me in place against her.

It only takes one shocked second before I return the kiss.

It’s fierce and messy. Lips and teeth colliding.

I groan when she nips my bottom lip, but it’s that light pain that pulls me back into my body.

I grab her by her hips and guide her backward until we break the kiss.

My breath is ragged, and I think I know what she was trying to say, but I want to hear it in words.

“Casey?” I start, and she cups my face in her hands.

“I love you too, Dakota,” she says.

“You do?” And I kind of hate how fragile my voice sounds, but I have to be sure.

Casey nods. “I do.”

I smile and sink into her embrace. She holds me tight for a long time until slowly we start to pull back. She rests her forehead against mine, and her thumbs stroke the sides of my face.

“I’m taking you on a date tonight,” Casey says.

I chuckle. “You are? ”

“Yep.” She flashes me a wry grin. “I’ve had to sit back all summer and watch woman after woman take you out, now it’s my turn. That okay with you?”

“More than okay.”

And I pull her face to mine and kiss her hard.

Casey has to work today despite getting campaign approval from her client. So I head home to get some rest. All-nighters weren’t a big deal when I was in college, but I feel like a zombie on my feet at twenty-seven.

After a five-hour nap, I prance around my apartment as giddy as can be because I have a date. And not just any date—but a date with my favorite person.

She won’t tell me anything. I’m impressed since Casey can’t keep a secret if her life depends on it.

She gives me presents the second she has them wrapped—never able to hold out till Christmas Day or my birthday.

Yet she remains tight-lipped over the details for this evening.

Not even when I get all flirty with her over text.

All I know is she’s picking me up at seven and to dress cute but comfortable.

So when her Jeep Rubicon pulls up to my apartment building at five till seven, I’m beyond ready to go. There’s a bite to the air, so I went with a white v-neck, jean jacket, and black jeans. I dressed the look up with my favorite pair of boots, and Casey whistles when she sees me.

“You look gorgeous.” She hops out to open the passenger door for me. She kisses me softly. I grin as I pull away and turn toward the open door.

“How chivalrous,” I tease then look her up and down. She looks great in her own pair of black jeans and a black turtleneck. “You don’t look half bad yourself. ”

Casey smiles and shuts the door behind me. After she climbs into the driver’s side, I ask, “So can you tell me where we’re going now?”

“Nope.”

I pout.

“Put that lip away before I bite it,” Casey says.

“Come on ,” I groan. “You know you want to tell me.”

Casey smirks while pulling out of the parking lot. “I do, but I think this is far more fun.”

I try to guess, but Casey continuously tells me I’m wrong with growing amusement. She begins taking random left turn after right turn after left turn, and I’ve officially given up guessing. I have no idea where we’re going. As Casey pulls up to a red light, she reaches into the center console.

“Put this on,” she says while holding up a black silk blindfold.

I stare at it. “Excuse me?”

There’s a glint in her eye as she glances at me. The light has turned green, and she eases forward, still holding up the blindfold. She shakes it a little, prompting me to take it. “Come on, Dakota, be a good girl and put it on for me.”

The words said in her sultry tone light a fire between my thighs. And, fuck it, I do as I’m told. The blindfold is soft and feels nice on my skin as I secure the knot. My mouth is dry, and my skin is tingly. Casey rests her hand on my knee, and I startle.

Casey giggles. “So jumpy.” She interlaces our fingers, and I squeeze her arm with my free hand. The warmth from her body mixed with the blindfold sends a tingle straight to my core.

“This is …” I lick my lips. “This is nice.”

“Is it? ”

I nod.

“Mm. Good to know,” Casey practically purrs.

There’s a FLETCHER song playing softly over the speakers.

The Jeep smells like her: black forest air freshener and the faintest hint of old coffee.

Casey’s turn signal clicks on and she slows.

I’m rocked softly to the side as she makes a right turn.

I don’t know if it’s down another street or what, until she comes to a stop.

She lets go of my hand to shift the car into park.

“Can I take this off now?” I ask.