Bait (Wake, #1)(34)

Her: He was with me today when you sent so many messages. Maybe you should have taken the hint. He said you won't leave him alone. In fact, he gave me your number. Don't call him later.

Her: Leave.

Her: Casey.

Her: Alone.

If only it were that easy.

It had to be. I was with Grant and Casey was with this girl, Girlfriend Bitch, who seemed to be ready to throw down if I got in their way.

I felt another rush of that cold hotness spring to the surface of my skin.

I needed a shower. Grant was going to be there in a little while and I needed to wash the grossness away. I needed to get my shit together. I needed to grow up.

Casey wasn't my cheater and I wasn't his hypocrite. Or maybe it was the other way around.

I turned off my phone. I couldn't allow myself to think about it anymore. That was it. It was done. I could finally move on. I needed to focus on the man who I had. A man who would never text another man’s girlfriend behind my back. A man who was faithful and in love with me.

It was time I let this thing with my perfect stranger go. Let the secret become a memory. I didn't want to though, I only told myself I did.

I'd miss him. Even only spending one weekend with Casey, and barely a dozen days texting, I'd come to rely on him for something. Friendship, I guessed.

Maybe we were friends after all. I guessed I'd never really know.



Grant was a little late, a bit unlike him, but it was good. It gave me more time to regroup, get my game face on, and prepare myself.

I'd known for a while now that he was waiting for the right time to propose and I'd given him some pretty obvious “not now signals” in my Casey fog.

I was just angry enough to make a decision. That's the thing about anger. It makes you decisive.

I wasn't taking what I had with Grant for granted anymore. Not after Girlfriend's messages.

When he came to my door with flowers, I looked at him like I hadn't seen him in weeks. Then I realized I probably hadn't.

He looked nice. He was still wearing his work clothes, brown pants and a blue shirt. He'd even had a haircut. He handed me the roses and I took them, feeling a little shy and unworthy.

“Thank you, they're really pretty.” I turned back around then glanced back at him. “Come in for a minute? I'll put these in water.”

“All right,” he said. “Then I'm taking you somewhere.” He walked into my foyer, sure and calm.

I busied myself with the flowers, looking at my phone on the kitchen counter next to me, the entire time. I wasn't even going to take it with us.

After sorting the flowers and putting them in a tall vase, I grabbed my purse.

He didn't say much, but he held my hand on the way to the car and it felt nice. After the afternoon I'd had, it was reassuring. That was what our love and relationship was, comforting and familiar.

No bullshit. No worries. No girlfriend.

He kissed the tops of my fingers before he dropped my hand to walk around the truck.

I didn't know where we were going, but I didn't really think it mattered. I was where I was supposed to be if I was with Grant. Even my parents thought so. Even Shane.

Before I realized where we were, he was putting the car into park. We were in the parking lot of the gas station where we'd met.

Tonight was the night.

“Blake, I love you. We met here at a gas station on Christmas Eve. I think I might have fallen in love with you that day.” He turned and faced me, his freshly shaven skin looked so smooth. “I know that there's been something on your mind lately. I can tell. But I don't want to wait any longer.”

I didn't know what to say. I was rotten.

He said, “I want to talk to you tonight about our future. Do you want to talk about it? The future? Our future, maybe?” He smiled and it was endearing, full of hope and love and goodness.

“I'd love to talk about it.” I gave him the best smile I had.

“Do you see me in your future?” he asked. Cars drove around us and looked into our windows since he parked in the middle of the lot. Almost the exact same place we’d been standing when he got my number.

I thought about my future. I saw him there. It was peaceful and happy and predictable. In that moment, it felt good. Then, as I did, I put Casey in my future to see what it would look like. My evil imagination tried these men on like jeans in a department store.

In my alternate Casey-future, he would always be gone on business. I’d be stuck at home. And he would cheat on me.

After all, he did admit to cheating on other girlfriends and not just Aly, which created a mental image of flashing red warning lights reading “Danger!”

I didn’t know. Casey’s version was unpredictable, but the future with Grant looked nice, safe, and comfortable.

“I see you in my future,” I said looking at my hands in the streetlight that poured through my side of the vehicle. I wanted to bite my nails badly. When I peeked up at him his face was alight.

“I see you in mine, too. Ours. If you want that.”

“I think I want that.” I didn't want to feel like I had earlier that day. I knew that for sure. “I know I want that.”

“Good, then I have a surprise.” He put the car in drive and we left the gas station where it turned out Grant and I made all of our major plans. First to see each other, now to be together in the future.