Her response? Cass just flops over to her side.
“Cass?” I say with a shake to her hip because there’s no fucking way she fell asleep after kissing the fuck out of me like that. “Cass!” I give her another shake and…nothing.
“That’s just great. Kiss me until I’m dizzy for the very first time and then go to sleep,” I tell her with a sigh. “No problem. I don’t have about a million questions or anything.”
Since she’s obviously out for the night, I reluctantly trudge back downstairs to unlock and open the door.
On the other side is a shorter, leaner version of the person I see in the mirror every day.
“Who are you?” I ask my shrunken doppelgänger.
“I’m Mike,” he answers with a smirk and even holds his hand out for a shake. “You must be Cassidy’s friend, Xavier. Is she home?”
I squeeze his hand harder than necessary before telling him, “She’s already gone to bed.”
“Sweet,” he responds with a bigger, goofier grin. “I know the way to her bedroom.”
No fucking way. Cass isn’t thinking clearly if she was kissing me. I sure as hell won’t let this asshole up in her room to take advantage of her.
When he tries to slip by me on my right, I sidestep to block him from coming inside.
“Not tonight, Romeo. She’s asleep and had too much to drink.”
“Why don’t we just wake Cassidy up and ask her, huh, buddy?”
“I’m not your buddy,” I tell him as I cross my arms over my chest. “And I’m not waking Cass up to ask her because I’m telling you the fucking answer is no.”
“That’s how it’s going to be, huh?” he responds while still grinning.
“Yeah, that’s how it’s gonna be.”
“Well, tell Cassidy I stopped by and that I’ll give her a call tomorrow,” he says while backing away from the door.
“Sure thing,” I agree since she won’t be getting any calls or messages until she buys another phone.
Chapter Nine
Cassidy
“You were pretty wasted last night. Are you sure you’re up for a hike and camp out tonight?” Xavier asks when he comes into the kitchen wearing his cargo shorts, white tee and above the ankle hiking boots. Not many guys can pull this outfit off, especially not ones who weigh over two-hundred pounds, but somehow, Xavier makes it work, looking like a big, sexy mountain man thanks to his jet-black beard that’s coming in nicely around his gorgeous face.
“Oh, absolutely,” I tell him between sips of my coffee.
“Really?” he asks with an arched eyebrow.
“Really.”
“You’re wearing sunglasses in the house.”
Which makes it so much easier to gawk at you.
“It’s a super bright sunshiny day,” I remark.
“And it’s only going to get brighter when we actually go outside.”
“I can handle it. My headache is almost gone thanks to the coffee.” I hoist my Baltimore Ravens mug up to support the lie.
The pounding in my head seems to be getting stronger with each breath I take, but I’m sure that enjoying the fresh air all alone in the woods with my best friend will do wonders for it.
Hopefully.
“We could wait and go tomorrow,” Xavier suggests as if he senses my distress.
“Nope. It’s going to rain tomorrow, so today is the day. Unless you’ve been in an office for so long you can’t handle the great outdoors?” I counter.
“Oh, I’m good to go,” he says with his palms in the air. “I’m not the one who is battling one hell of a hangover. Why did you drink an entire bottle of wine last night?”
“I had to deal with my mother. Isn’t that reason enough?” I ask.
“I suppose,” he agrees. Leaning his back against the kitchen counter and bracing his hands on either side, he says, “My parents weren’t all that easy to deal with yesterday either.”
“Oh?” I ask.
“We can talk about it after we set up camp and realize how bored we are without phones, television or any other technology for an entire night.”
“Right,” I agree. “I’m ready if you are.”
Xavier stares at me silently for several long moments before finally asking, “Unless there’s anything you want to talk about this morning to get it out of the way?”
“Huh?” I mumble.
“Nothing you want to hash out or discuss after last night?” he prods.
“I’m a grown woman. I can drink to excess occasionally if I want to,” I tell him.
Squinting his dark eyes at me, he asks, “You don’t remember anything from last night, do you?”
Scoffing at his accusation that I was blackout drunk, I say, “Of course I remember last night. I drank several glasses of wine, my mother nagged me, you came home, and then I fell asleep.”
“That’s it?” Xavier asks. “Nothing else happened?”
“Not unless I was sleepwalking,” I mutter. “Was I sleepwalking?”
“Nope,” he answers with a shake of his head. “If that’s all you remember, then that’s all that happened.”
“Right,” I agree as I glare at him through my shades. “Why are you acting weird?”
“Nothing,” he says. “Oh, well, there is one thing I should probably tell you about.”
“What’s that?”
“Mike showed up.”
“He did?” I ask with my brow drawn together as I try to recall seeing him. “I don’t remember that part.”
“You were already in bed asleep,” Xavier explains. “I refused him entry.”
“Why?” I ask in confusion. “He comes over late some nights. It’s not a big deal.”
Hold on. Is Xavier jealous? No, that’s just crazy.
“You were drunk, Cass! I wasn’t going to send a guy up to your room when you couldn’t keep your eyes open.”
“Oh,” I say in understanding. He was being a good friend, acting like a protective older brother. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up that it was more than that. “Well, thanks, but again, I don’t need you to make decisions for me.”
“Right, I know that,” Xavier replies. “And, ah, Mike said to tell you he stopped by and would call you today or something.”
“Good. Guess I should buy another phone.”
“After we get back tomorrow,” he suggests. “It’s not like we’re going to have any cell reception, and we want to make camp before sunset.”
“True,” I say. “The phone can wait.”
“Is it just me or does that Mike dickhead sort of look like me?” Xavier asks.
“Hmm, I don’t know. Never really thought about it,” I respond in a rush. “Let’s get moving. Time’s a wasting, right?”
“Lead the way,” Xavier says. “I take it you’ve already pre-packed our gear?”
“Yep.”
“Always prepared like a good little girl scout,” he says with a smile.