Sass Read online

  All of a sudden, I can’t stand looking at it, and I want it gone. I have the piece of stone out in the garage I had originally wanted to put there, and I realize now I can. This is my home, no one else’s. If I want to do this, I can; if I want to walk around naked on my hands, I can do that too. There’s no one here to tell me otherwise.

  “You ever done demo?” I ask her, an idea forming in my head. If I’m going to do this, I want her to be a part of it too. She’s one hundred percent the reason I’m doing as well as I am right now. I’m man enough to admit that. Sass is warming my heart and calming my soul more than I ever anticipated she would.

  “Can’t say I have.” She takes another leisurely bite of her pizza, trying to hide a smile. I can see it though, curling up behind the food she’s holding in front of her.

  “You want to?” I want her to. I want her to be a part of this, to be my partner in crime. Like I want her to be my partner in life. That thought hits me across the chest so hard I almost have to take a step back. Is that really what I’m thinking right now, or is it because we’ve had such a great day together? I know I can’t express to her what I’m thinking, I don’t want to lead her on, but I know later I’ll examine my thoughts and I’ll get my head on completely straight.

  She thinks about it for a minute before gifting me with a mischievous smile. “Does it mean I’ll get to see you without a shirt on, hammering things?”

  I walk over and grab her around the waist. “That’s exactly what it means, and if you’re good, I’ll let you swing the hammer too.”

  She laughs, her eyes bright. “Sounds good to me. Let’s get started.”

  Thirty minutes later, after we’ve laid plastic and I’ve gotten the sledgehammer out, I’m taking back a piece of my life when I strike that countertop. As it crumbles, I realize I’m the one who’s going to pick up those pieces of my life and put them back together. I realize I’m strong enough to do it now. I wasn’t in the beginning, and it’s okay to admit, but now, I can do this. I’ve got this, as long as I have Sass by my side.

  Lacey no longer has a hold over me, and getting rid of this piece of shit countertop feels a million times better than it should.

  “You want to do it?” I ask her, holding the sledgehammer out to her.

  Sass immediately nods her head, more excited than I imagined she would be to do this. I watch as she pulls back and slams the hammer down. It does nothing but bounce back at her. I try to withhold my laugh.

  “Put some muscle behind it,” I tell her from where I stand over to the side, with an amused smile on my face.

  “I did!”

  I walk over and stand behind her, slipping my arms around her and putting my hands over hers where they meet the wood of the handle. We pull back together and let it fly. She shrieks as pieces of marble fly at her.

  “There ya go,” I encourage her.

  “That’s scary.” She laughs as she wipes pieces of the stone from her clothing. “But it’s fun. Let’s do it again!”

  I’m more than happy to help her, and I realize by doing this together, it’s breaking down a barrier in our relationship. It’s one I hope never stands in our way again—I hope we won’t let it. Now that it’s been toppled, it’s our responsibility to make sure it never gets rebuilt.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Sass

  I grin as I look at my phone. The text Reed just sent me is making my cheeks flush and my thighs wet. This is a new facet to our relationship, but I can’t say I don’t like it.

  I woke up this morning hard, remembering how you squeezed my cock so tight.

  Between my thighs I can remember the feeling of how hard he was and how he shoved his body into mine. Thoughts like this shouldn’t be running through my head at work, but I’m here by myself and I’ve got most of my work done. Justin isn’t due back for at least an hour, so I can take this time to bask in the relationship Reed and I seem to be building with one another. I’ve never had a guy text me like this, flirt with me like this, and the fact it’s Reed? It makes my heart pound. I never knew he was the type of guy to leave a woman in a puddle of goo, but here I am—in my own puddle. Thanks to him.

  I can feel it. I text him back. I’m still sore from the other night. A little bruised even, but I’m willing to take one for the team.

  That’s not a lie either. I’m quickly coming to realize the people I’ve slept with before were boys. They were more worried about their pleasure and less worried about mine, not making sure I was satisfied. It wasn’t equal opportunity. Reed? He’s very much equal opportunity. Now I’ve had a man, I’m not sure I can ever go back. Let’s face it; I never want to give Reed up.

  We continue flirting by text, and we’re at a particular hot group of texts when oddly he texts me with a brb. It feels abrupt, and I wonder what in the hell is going on.

  Breathing out a frustrated sigh, I adjust in my seat and wonder if I can handle this. I’m playing with fire, and I could easily get burned if I’m not careful. I still don’t know exactly what Reed’s intentions are for me, and I’m still unsure of mine for him ultimately. We’re playing this game with each other, but neither of us is sure of what the outcome will be. It seems dangerous, as if we shouldn’t be doing this, but I don’t want to give this up. For once in my life, I want this for me. I want something grown up and something that matters to the both of us. This matters more than anything in the world to me. I can’t throw it away and tomorrow be good with my life. Even to myself, I can see I’m not a little girl anymore. It’s time everybody take me seriously, because I’m taking myself seriously.

  Reed

  “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  I realize my voice is hard; it’s harsh, not friendly at all, because there is no friendliness towards the woman standing in front of me. She should have showed up months ago—then I’d welcome her with open arms. I’d probably grovel like a pussy, begging her to take me back. Not today though, not today.

  “Reed, come on, we have a history,” Lacey says, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face.

  There’s something about the way she smiles at me that feels calculated; I can tell she knows exactly what she’s doing. It makes my skin crawl, because I’m just now getting over the broken heart she left me with and moving on with my life. I want zero to do with this bitch. Our past is a fucked up mess of mistakes that should have been called off years before it was. I don’t want her or the situation for anything in the world. I’m at the point, and I thank God I’ve come through on the other side.

  “Forgive me if I’m not super excited about reliving history. You liked to have killed me when I kicked you out of our house. The past we share isn’t exactly completely happy.”

  I stand up from my seat, towering over her as she looks up at me with calculating eyes. Before, I may have mistaken the look as helpless, one that said she needed a man to do things for her. One that would call on my need to be a man and help out a damsel in distress. Not anymore. I’m not stupid. Now I know who she is, I know what she is. She’s calculating and she’s sizing me up. I want this over with, and I want it done quickly.

  “Again, I ask you what do you want.”

  Her smile fades, and I think she realizes I’m not as easy to manipulate as I once was. It gives me a feather for my cap and makes me push my chest out further as I cross my arms over it. She needs to see I’m no longer weak when it comes to her. I’ve finally got a brain of my own and a head on my shoulders. One that’s not pussy-whipped where she’s concerned.

  “The house Taylor and I moved into needs some work, and we were wondering if you could do it for us. We know you’re good at what you do and would give us a fair price.” She says it with a straight face, and I have to blink twice to make sure I heard what she actually said to me.

  I do everything I can to keep from laughing. Bitch is crazy. Which I kind of already knew, but this shit takes the cake.

  “You can’t afford me for what needs to be done to that house. You’re be
tter off going to someone who’s starting out, and someone you don’t have a fucking history with. Can you really trust I won’t screw you over?” Because that would be what I would do. I would screw them over so hard, they wouldn’t be able to even occupy the house—then I’d feel like a bastard, and I’d have to fix the problems I created. I can’t let myself do this. The house Taylor put her into is a piece of shit, and this is evidence more than anything else that maybe she does like the drugs he said she does. She would have to be high to be okay living there. I know her standards, I know what she demanded of me, and if she’s happy with what he’s given her, shit has changed drastically.

  She comes to stand next to me and puts her hand on my shoulder, leans in, and speaks to me in what I know she thinks is a sexy voice. “I can pay you in other ways, Reed. It was always good between us.”

  I smack her hand away and physically move her so she’s not draped over me again. I smirk, hating myself for telling her this, but knowing it’s the absolute truth. I won’t lead her on, and I won’t lie about what I have with Sass. She’s turned me on in ways Lacey never had a snowball’s chance in hell of doing, and I won’t cheapen what she and I have together. I have to make Lacey see I don’t even entertain the fucking thought. “Now I’ve had better, and know exactly what I was missing with you. Sorry, Lacey. It’s over. I don’t want a damn thing to do with you ever again.”

  Tears come to her eyes, and she truly looks heartbroken. These don’t look like the tears she manufactures for people who don’t let her have her way. I have to seriously wonder how many people in her life haven’t given into her pouty face and whiney voice. It must hurt if she never hears it. I know she’s never heard it from me before. Without another word, she turns and runs from my office.

  Picking up my phone, I text Sass back. I need to see her, I need to be grounded in reality, and if there’s anyone that can ground me, it’s her.

  Wanna go to Hank’s tonight?

  When she texts back sure, I know I’m right where I’m supposed to be at this time in my life. With a relief I didn’t know I had, I realize the breakup with Lacey was a gift from God I’m not throwing back anytime soon.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Sass

  I swipe the Lolita red lip stain over my lips and smile at myself in the mirror. It’s not often I decide to get dolled up. It’s even less often I decide to wear what Morgan calls my blowjob-red lipstick, but tonight, I have a plan. In fact, I’m on a mission.

  Looking at myself in the mirror, I know I’m hot. I don’t pull out all the stops all the time, but I’ve done it tonight. Tonight I need something all mine; like I want to stake some sort of claim, and I’ll be damned if Reed tells me no.

  Grabbing up my curling wand, I work on curling the long pieces of hair that frame my face. My dark hair is getting a little lighter with the amount of time I’ve spent out in the sun this summer, and I like it. The natural highlights haven’t been paid for this year, they’ve been earned. I’ve been careful to use sunscreen too, so the golden quality to my skin—that’s another thing I’ve earned by hard work. It all feels good. Glancing down at my nails, I grin. I took the afternoon off to go get them done. They are Tiffany blue on all but my ring finger, which flashes a shimmering gold as I grab hold of my brush.

  There’s only one hairstyle I do well, and it’s this one. I purposely make my curls all kinds of messy because I’m hoping Reed will mess them up when I’m on my knees and he’s digging his hands into my hair.

  Tonight he won’t say no to me. I know he won’t.

  *

  Sitting in the passenger seat of Reed’s truck, I can’t help but smile. I’ve wondered a lot since I became aware of my crush on him what it would be like to sit here. What it would be like to command his attention. Since we started “dating”, I’ve always met him at his house, or he’s met me somewhere. We haven’t gone many places together, and when he said he’d pick me up, I jumped at the chance.

  “You okay to eat at Hank’s?” he asks as we drive on the main strip towards the bar.

  The windows are down, and my hair is blowing in the warm, summer air, but I’m okay with that too. It’s everything I ever wanted and ever thought it would be. I love that people can see me riding shotgun. I revel in it, because funny as it sounds, it’s one of my dreams come true.

  “Sounds good,” I answer back over the sound of the wind coming through the open window. This is everything I’ve ever wanted in my life being handed to me on a silver platter. I wonder if maybe I shouldn’t get so excited, maybe I should assume things will go downhill, but I can’t. Not when I’m so high on the life I’m living right now.

  His gaze is heated as his tongue brushes against his bottom lip. “If I haven’t mentioned it, you look amazing tonight.”

  Looking down at myself, I try to see what he sees, but it’s hard, to the point where I can’t. I’ve always been the little girl chasing him, but now I’m the woman who’s had him. I do something I’ve never done before. I point-blank ask him. “What do you see when you look at me?”

  He adjusts in his seat, and I’m unsure if it’s because I’ve put him on the spot or because I’ve affected him so strongly. I hope it’s because I’ve affected him so strongly. It gives me a boost of self-esteem.

  “An amazingly beautiful woman wearing a tight-ass tank top, perfect fucking ripped jeans, and fuck-me boots, with hair that makes me want to bury my face in it and take a deep breath. Do you have perfume there, or is it the natural scent you have? Every time I’m around you, I smell coconuts.”

  “It’s my shampoo,” I mumble, not sure at all how to handle what he’s just told me. I’ve always been the same old Sass, and for him to see me as something different is empowering, but also a little scary. I push my thighs together and turn to face him, pulling my seatbelt away from my chest.

  “You really see that when you look at me?”

  We’re at a stoplight, and Reed takes his eyes off the road long enough to rake his gaze over my body. His big hand comes off the wheel and he reaches over, caressing my cheek in the palm of his hand. The callouses and rough skin rub harshly against my softness, but it’s soothing. If anything screams Reed, it’s those strong, working man’s hands.

  “You’re a gorgeous woman; I can’t believe it took me this long to realize it.”

  There goes my heart. It’s not playing in this game we’ve started. It’s beating fast and strong and for him. If this ends, I’m dead, but I’m going to enjoy it while I can. I realize for the first time maybe the way I see myself and the way he sees me are two totally different things.

  Behind us, a horn blares, and the moment is broken, but not before he leans forward to brush a kiss against my forehead.

  *

  “Reed!” I shriek as he swings me around the dance floor. He pulls me closer, and I hook my arms around his neck, giggling as he hugs me close. My heart flutters against my chest, and looking at him, I can see how much fun he’s having. It makes me happy, makes me hopeful.

  “What?” He grins at me, the dimple in his left cheek showing. “You wanted to dance, Cassandra,” he teases.

  He’s right, I did want to dance, but this feels so different than any other time we’ve hung out. We’re here in front of half the town, and I’ve seen Lacey and Taylor here too. Justin sits over in the corner with a few guys from our crew and Morgan. This is public, this is for real, and it scares me because I feel this so acutely. Looking into Reed’s eyes, I wonder if he feels the same way I do, but I’m scared to ask. There is a glimmer of something there that part of me knows is honest and true, but I don’t want him to actually voice it. I’m afraid it won’t be what I want, and then I’ll be done for.

  “You wanna stop?” he asks, his chest heaving against mine, his eyes sparkling in the dim lights of the bar.

  “No.” I shake my head. I never want to, but I keep those words to myself, shrieking again as he twirls me around the dance floor.

  In this moment, the
little girl who adored Reed becomes the woman who’s fallen in love with Reed, and nothing has ever frightened me more.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Reed

  Sass has had a little too much to drink, and she giggles as she stumbles her way out of Hank’s. I grab hold of her belt loop and pull her closer to me, making sure she has her footing.

  “You okay?” I ask, taking a moment to look at her face. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes are bright, and she’s never looked more beautiful or alive to me than she does right here, right now.

  She giggles again and pulls my face down to hers. “I’m perfect,” she says one second before her mouth meets mine in a kiss. Her lips coax mine open, and her tongue invades the space between them. It’s hot, how she’s taking control, and I’ve sprung a chubby just thinking about what I can do to this woman, my woman, when I get her home. She hooks her fingers into the belt loops of my jeans, and before I realize what she’s doing, she’s pulled me to the side of Hank’s. The only truck parked over here is mine. We’ve stayed a lot later than I meant to, and tomorrow is going to be a hell of a day at work for both of us.

  I turn her towards the passenger side of the truck, popping the door open as I pull my lips away from hers. “C’mon, Sass, we’ll move this to someplace a lot more private,” I mumble, trying to tell both her and my dick to calm down.

  “No.” She spins me around and pushes me into the seat so that I’ve got my feet on the running board. “Let me show you how much I want you, Reed.” In that moment she sobers up, and I know immediately I’m done for. She has a plan, and the plan is me.

  My eyes follow as she runs her hands up and down my thighs before focusing her attention on the space where my cock is attempting to make a tent in my jeans. She glances around and then looks back at me. The heat of the bar has smudged her mascara and eyeliner, but the red lip stain is still on there. Since I picked her up, I’ve wondered what her mouth would look like wrapped around my cock, but thinking about it brings back all the bad memories. I want to stop her as her fingers go to the button on my jeans and pop it open. The loosening against my junk lets me know my zipper is being lowered.