Mistakes Were Made(89)
Erin exhaled over the phone. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Cassie had told the others she’d be quick so they could get a late lunch, and here she was dripping all over her bathroom, naked and staring at the picture on her phone. “I know I can’t do it right away because I’m coming up with Parker, but Jesus Christ, I’m gonna fuck you on that bike as soon as fucking possible.”
Erin giggled, and it was about the sexiest sound Cassie had ever heard.
“I’m serious,” she said. “First I’m gonna finger you on it in your garage, then we’re gonna take back roads and I’m gonna sit behind you and talk you into another orgasm while you grind on the seat, the engine making it vibrate right against your clit.”
“Jesus, Cassie,” Erin muttered. “A simple thank-you would suffice.”
Cassie had half a mind to talk her through one right then and there, but her phone buzzed with a text from Acacia telling her to hurry up.
“I gotta go,” she said. “But a couple orgasms is a good way to say thank you. And I’m giving them to you as soon as I get the chance, deal?”
“Deal,” Erin said. “Congrats on graduating.”
Right. Graduating. The reason Erin got the bike to begin with seemed far less important than fucking her on it.
Cassie stayed distracted for the rest of the day with the Webbs, for the rest of her last week at Keckley. She was still trying not to daydream about it as Acacia hugged her tightly at 6 A.M. in the parking lot in front of her dorm, Parker’s car loaded up with all their stuff.
“Take care of yourself, okay?” Kaysh said.
Cassie hugged her again.
“Stop getting all sappy,” Parker said, adjusting the suitcases in the trunk. “You’re gonna come visit us in July.”
“Shut it, Bennett,” Acacia said and hugged her, too.
A ten-hour road trip with your best friend was a damn good time, even if you were sleeping with that friend’s mom on the side. They took shifts driving, rocked out to music, and stopped for lunch at this diner with the best pie Cassie had ever had. After, Parker slept off her food coma while Cassie drove, and they made it to Nashua in time for a late dinner.
The bike was in the garage, and Cassie swore she got wet just looking at it.
She had to wait a whole twenty minutes before she got a chance to kiss Erin. It wasn’t near as long a kiss as she’d like, but Parker was only taking their suitcases upstairs. Cassie was staying a couple nights until the weekend, when they’d help her move into her apartment.
Parker came back downstairs, and Erin served them dinner and grinned at Cassie over her wineglass.
This was gonna be the best summer ever.
Twenty-Two
ERIN
When Erin heard the front door open, she turned down the corner of the page she was on, her face already breaking into a smile.
“Parker?” she called, though it was much too early for her daughter to be home from Adam’s. “Is that you?”
There was no response. Erin could picture the scene in the foyer: Cassie toeing out of her sneakers, hanging her motorcycle jacket over the coat rack and her keys on the hook next to the spare key to her apartment. Cassie didn’t always arrive this early on Saturday mornings, but after the Fridays that Parker spent at Adam’s? Yeah, she was always here before ten.
“Is she not home yet?” Cassie’s voice came into the living room before she did.
She stood at the edge of the room, hands on her hips. Erin had imagined her entry wrong—she still had her jacket on. It made her look bigger. Tough. Erin’s smile grew.
“You know she won’t be here before noon.”
“Hmm,” Cassie said, coming closer. “Whatever will we do with ourselves with all this time we have?”
“I don’t know what I’ll do with myself.” Erin got up off the couch and met Cassie halfway. She slid her hands under that jacket. “I’ve got some ideas about what to do with you, though.”
She and Cassie were dressed and in the kitchen by the time Parker arrived.
“Cassie’s here!” Parker shouted as soon as she opened the front door.
“Yeah, ’cause you slept so late, princess,” Cassie said. “It’s almost one!”
Parker barreled into the kitchen and hugged her, paying no mind to her teasing.
Erin didn’t look up from the wraps she was making.
Seeing Cassie and Parker together was always—“bittersweet” wasn’t quite the right word, but something like that. Erin loved seeing two of her favorite people happy, but being reminded that her daughter’s friend was one of those people—for decidedly not friendship-based reasons—bitter was definitely the right word for that. Acacia was coming to visit for the Fourth, and Erin was absolutely not looking forward to it. She didn’t know how much Acacia knew—she and Cassie had never discussed it after the New Year’s Eve mishap. The idea of someone who knew, someone who might notice the way Cassie looked at her sometimes, the sly smiles and knowing glances they sent each other—it grated on Erin’s nerves.
She did have to admit there was a thrill in being near Cassie with people around, though. After lunch, some of Parker’s hometown friends arrived, saying hello on their way to Erin’s pool. It was how they spent most weekends, and sometimes weekdays, too.