From Ashes

“You guys are pathetic. Okay, well since it’ll be our last night together for a few weeks, lasagna and triple-chocolate cake on Thursday. Now get out or help me with the dishes.” I’ve never seen an apartment clear out that quickly. Jerks.

Gage started walking into the kitchen and froze when the door opened suddenly and Ethan and Adam ran back in, grabbed the rest of the peanut butter chunk brownies, and ran back out the door. Gage chuckled softly and stepped up next to me. “You washing or drying tonight?”

“I dried last night, I’ll wash tonight.”

He picked up a dish towel and stepped to the side as Tyler walked in and gave me a peck on the cheek. “Good di

I raised an eyebrow and stopped scrubbing the pan. “Did you want to do the dishes?”

“Err, uh . . . I’m go

That’s what I thought. I went back to the pan and handed it off to Gage when I was done. This was our new routine. Gage would help with the dishes before he went back to his place, and Tyler would come in to make sure there wasn’t anything going on he wasn’t okay with. After a month and a half of Gage coming around again, you’d think he’d have been over it by now. Apparently not. Ty continued to kiss me too often and make his presence known whenever Gage and I were in the same room. Not like we ever did anything. I got a hug when he walked through the door and before he walked out it. Other than that, it stayed strictly friend-level.

“Y’all go

“Uh, I don’t think so, Gage.” The last time I was there I’d fallen in love with his family almost as fast as I’d fallen in love with him. I still had dreams at night of us living together somewhere on the ranch, or close to it. There was something about that ranch that felt more like home than Mission Viejo ever had. But being there would just bring back that awful morning, and I still wasn’t ready for that. “Besides, we’re not even going back to California this winter. I haven’t gotten any time off at work; most of the employees are taking long vacations. So they need all the help they can get.”

“Well”—he nudged my side with his elbow—“you’re welcome anytime. You know that, right?”

“Yeah.” After a quick look at Tyler to make sure he was deep in the game, I turned slightly toward his cousin. “I just don’t think that’s the best idea considering . . .” I trailed off and braved a glance into his green eyes, only to find them fixated on Tyler, jaw clenched so hard I could see the muscles working.

“Probably right. Merry Christmas then, I guess. I’m go

“Merry Christmas, Gage—oh! Wait, I have your present.”

“Present? Cassidy, you really didn’t need to get me anything.”

I smiled and grabbed his arm, towing him back toward my room. “I didn’t get you anything. And if you don’t like it, don’t worry about it. It won’t hurt my feelings or anything.” I was surprised that Tyler didn’t jump up and follow us in there, but I figured I only had a minute or so before he realized we weren’t in the kitchen anymore. “Here you go.” I worried my bottom lip as I shakily handed him his gift.

Gage walked over to his old bed and sat at the edge, just staring at the wrapped present for a few seconds. With a slight shake of his head, he unwrapped it slowly and paused when the front was revealed. His next intake of breath was audible and an oddly pained expression crossed his face. “Cass—” Looking up, he broke off quickly as his eyes narrowed on something behind me.

Tyler wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on top of my head.

Gage stood up quickly and strode out of the room. “I gotta go. I’ll see y’all in a few weeks.”

“Later, man,” Tyler called after him, and waited for the door to shut before speaking again. “Did he not like it?”

My heart sank. “Guess not.”

G AGE

WHAT THE FUCK? Was she trying to twist the knife that was already in my heart? She just had to throw the best night of my life back in my face even though it already hurt like hell watching them together. And I had no doubt they were together too. I don’t know if they’d always been like this and I’d just missed them kissing each other, or if I was just so in love with her I chose not to see it. But I was definitely seeing it now. It’s like Tyler couldn’t keep his damn hands off her. Not that that part was new, but now he kissed her so often even I could see how uncomfortable he was making her. I slammed my hand down on the steering wheel and cursed Tyler. It didn’t matter that I was still completely torn up from what happened last summer, or that she was bringing that memory back up; I hated seeing him touch her. She was mine. Granted, the flirting had stopped completely, but she still looked at me the same way she had all last year. Then she went and gave me that picture? I knew she was amazing with her camera, even if she thought her pictures weren’t anything special, and I saw her take it out often while we were at the ranch, but I had no idea she’d taken a picture of our spot. I’d barely looked at it for more than a few seconds, but it was perfect. The tree, the creek, and the hill we’d slept on were all there, blown up in black and white. Her tattoo and this? It’s like she was trying to make sure I couldn’t forget that night, which of course made me unable to forget the morning that followed. My eyes rolled when my phone rang; I figured it was Tyler getting ready to throw a bitch fit at me for leaving the way I did.

“What?” I all but growled.

“Oh, uh . . . sorry? Did I interrupt something?”

Glancing at the screen, then back to the road, I brought the phone back up to my ear and sighed. “Sorry, Cara, thought you were my cousin. What’s up?”

She giggled and paused before continuing. “Well, I know it’s not Monday or Wednesday, but I’m leaving to go home for break tomorrow and I was thinking we could get together . . .” She trailed off suggestively.

Thoughts of Tyler’s arms wrapped around Cassidy’s waist as she watched me open that picture flashed through my mind and I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. “I’ll be at your place in ten.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

I ran a hand through my hair, pulling at it slightly. Cara was one of the girls I’d been seeing since I started hanging around Cass again. Seeing might be the wrong term, since we never did anything outside of a half hour in the bedroom. Once I realized that Tyler wasn’t full of shit and they were actually together, I’d stopped waiting for a girl who would never be mine and did the one thing I knew would piss Cassidy off more than anything. I slept with every damn girl who was the exact opposite of her. Including Bry

It’s not like I rubbed it in her face; in fact I knew she didn’t have a clue about it, and I wanted to keep it that way. I secretly hated what I was doing . . . I was disgusted with myself but I couldn’t stop. I wanted to forget her, forget the way her small frame felt beneath me and curled up in my arms.

Pulling up outside Cara’s apartment, I hopped out of my truck and made my way to her door. She opened it before I could knock and stood there in black lacy underwear and bra, holding up a foil packet between her index and middle finger with a satisfied smirk or her face. After I grabbed the packet from her, she took my hand and walked me back toward her room, shutting and locking the door once we were in. She turned and wrapped her arms around my neck, bringing my face down to hers, but I removed her arms and pushed her back toward the bed. I couldn’t stop the roll of my eyes when she pouted but kept from saying anything; she knew how it was, and the fact that she was trying to change it just made me know nothing could happen between us after tonight. No kissing, and no holding each other after. The only two things I’d done with Cassidy, and I couldn’t bring myself to do them with anyone else now.