Just a Game Ch. 03

"Look who's home. Where have you been so late little sister?" Aaron asked with a wide grin.

"Out." She nudged Aaron out of the way to get to the fridge for a bottle of water.

"What a coincidence, we've been out too."

"You better hope she ain't been out doing what you've been out doing," the more coherent of the guys said with a leer.

"Shut the fuck up, man," Aaron retorted.

"What? I'm just saying. The way you were grinding on that girl at the bar-"

"I said shut the fuck up."

Aaron looked annoyed, but Cass snorted. She was about to make a comment about how quickly he got over Shelly when the really drunk guy stirred and shifted closer to her, startling her.

"Can't blame you, man. That girl had a juicy ass," the guy slurred.

He was speaking to Aaron, but his eyes were on Cass and she didn't like the way they were raking over her body. She'd just started to move away from him when he reached out and grabbed her butt.

"Not as juicy as this one, though."

She slapped his hand away at the same second that Aaron grabbed the neck of his shirt and slammed him up against the refrigerator, his fist drawn back ready to strike.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Aaron, don't hit him." Cass backed away, unsure what to do, but certain a drunken fight in the kitchen wouldn't turn out well for anyone. "Come on, calm down. He didn't hurt me."

Aaron glanced at her, his angry scowl lightening a bit, and lowered his fist. "I'll tear that hand off if it touches my sister again, do you hear me mother fucker? Dave, call a cab to take you and this dickhead home."

Dave looked offended. "I thought you said we could crash here."

When the glare turned on him Dave quickly pulled his phone out and started looking for the number for a cab. Aaron let go of the drunk guy's shirt violently enough that he staggered and nearly fell over, but Aaron didn't seem concerned. With a firm hand on Cass's back he guided her out of the kitchen.

"I'm so sorry about that, Cass."

"It's alright. It's not the first time some drunk guy has grabbed my ass, it probably won't be the last."

"Yeah well, it won't be that guy. You won't see him around here again."

"Aaron, I'm fine. You don't have to do that."

"The fuck I don't. You don't deserve to be treated like that in your own home and that asshole should know better than to mess with you, anyway."

She sighed, knowing better than to try and argue with Aaron when his mind was made up, and went up to bed. Her thoughts as she fell asleep were mixed. She was still basking in the afterglow of her amazing night with Gabe, but after what happened downstairs she was feeling suddenly anxious and a little bit guilty. She hadn't really thought about it before, but she'd really put Gabe in a difficult position and it was only going to get more precarious.

If Aaron found out about them...well, Aaron just couldn't find out about them.

...

Cass shivered and shook her head to clear away the memory of that night. She stood in front of the mirror adjusting her shirt. It was one she never would have bought it for herself, but it was a Christmas present from Jill and she had to admit it looked really good on her. The emerald green silk hung loose to her hips, but the wide, deep-scooped neck made it cling to her curves invitingly as long as she could keep her boobs from falling out. With her tight dark jeans and just a touch of makeup she thought she looked pretty damn hot and her heart beat faster in anticipation of the evening.

She and Aaron were having a little New Years Eve party. Their parents would be home tomorrow, so they didn't plan anything huge, but they both wanted to catch up with old classmates who were in town for the holidays and decided that it would be safer for both them and their friends to have everyone get together at their house rather than going out somewhere. As happy as she was to see everyone though, she had to admit that wasn't really what she was excited about.

She and Gabe hadn't really even had a chance to speak to each other since that night she'd gone to his house. With Shelly gone, Aaron was around all the time and Gabe was in and out, but she suspected he might be avoiding her. Or if not actively avoiding her, he wasn't making any effort to sneak around and get her alone the way he had that first couple of days.

It was alright with her, since she'd determined not to take such risks with him after what had happened that night with Aaron's other friend, but as far as she knew Gabe didn't know anything about that so she couldn't help but wonder why he was distancing himself.

She didn't think he was upset with her. He didn't act cold or awkward when he was there; he joked around and teased her just like normal. And a few times she caught him staring at her and he winked and gave her a secretive smile.

The day before she'd walked in the front door and ran right into him as he was about to head up the stairs. He looked like a deer caught in headlights and started to turn and continue up the stairs, but she grabbed his t-shirt and pulled him into the living room.

"Is everything alright?" she asked quietly.

His expression softened and he wrapped his arms around her. Her hands slid automatically up his sides under his t-shirt. His skin was warm and soft and she couldn't help following his ribs around to his back and pulling him closer as he breathed into her hair.

"Yeah, of course. Are you still thinking?" he asked in a low whisper as he kissed along the column of her neck.

"I told you my mind was already made up," she said, pulling back to look him in the eye so he knew she meant it. "Are you still thinking?"

His gaze remained locked with hers. "I can't stop."

With a frustrated groan he let his arms slip away and damn near ran out of the room, taking the stairs two at a time while Cass stood there wondering what the hell he meant by that. But despite his vague words, the way he looked at her made it pretty clear he wasn't going to change his mind so she felt confident that they were still on.

And now it was almost time for the party and she was a crazy mixture of excited anticipation and anxious nerves. She wasn't going to back out, no question about that, but the vague ache underneath the excitement told her she had reason to worry.

She was falling for him. Or falling harder. Her crush before had been pure fantasy, leftover teenage hormones. Now that they had spent time together, talked, actually got to know each other as adults and not memories of kids who didn't exist anymore, she realized she really did like him. He was more thoughtful than she'd ever given him credit for, given his general goofiness, and his views on relationships had actually made quite an impression on her.

They had fun together, and not just when they were naked. He joked with her and, even better, laughed when she teased him back. When they talked he actually listened as if what she had to say was important and responded like he honestly wanted her to understand his point of view. It was refreshing.

Most of the guys she dated, even her boyfriends, treated her like something fragile; like they had to say exactly the right thing, be exactly the right person that she wanted them to be. She'd always assumed that's just the way it naturally was between people in the beginning and to a degree she knew she did it herself. You act the part of the perfect partner long enough to get them hooked and then you could gradually start being yourself again, hoping neither of you lost interest.

But it wasn't like that with Gabe. He didn't pretend. He was honest with her even if he knew she wasn't going to like it and on some level that made her feel secure. She knew where she stood with him. Well, on most things. There was that whole unspoken conversation they'd never had about her feelings, but she was pretty sure he let that go for her sake. Because he didn't want to hurt her. Because he...cared about her?

Yes. He did seem to care about her. And it was okay to admit that to herself as long as she remembered there were limits. He treated her like a friend. A close friend he cared about. A close friend he cared about and just happened to be sexually attracted to; at least attracted enough to enjoy some physical recreation with for a while.

She groaned to herself. It was going to be hard to walk away from him after this week, but tonight wasn't going to change that. She'd already fallen; she figured she might as well get everything she could out of it before it ended. With a final tug at her shirt and a deep breath to calm her nerves she headed downstairs to make the final preparations for the party.

Several hours later Cass found herself wandering into the kitchen feeling mildly tipsy and a little nervous. Midnight was approaching and the house was full of people. They were mostly friends from high school, but between Cass and Aaron they spanned several years' worth of classmates, many of whom hadn't seen each other in ages and some of whom she didn't know at all. It wasn't a rowdy party, but most people were pleasantly buzzed so it was noisy and there was a lot of laughter.

Jill and Avery were in the kitchen talking, but they stopped when she walked in, which immediately made her suspicious.

"What's up?"

"Nothing," Avery said.

"Aves is pouting," Jill replied.

"What are you pouting about?"

"Nothing," Avery insisted.

"Aaron's been hanging all over some girl all night," Jill reported

"Jill would you shut up?" Avery looked annoyed and that was surprising because she rarely got annoyed.

"Oh yeah, that girl he met at the bar the other night," Cass said with a nod of understanding. "Aves, why are you even thinking about it? You don't want to be his New Year's booty call slash rebound from Shelly anyway, do you?"

"Exactly! That's what I've been trying to tell her," Jill said, giving Cass an approving nod.

They stopped talking and all took sips of their respective beverages as a five or six people walked through the kitchen and out through the garage door.

"I just can't believe he hooked up with someone else so fast. It doesn't seem fair. I never get my shot," Avery said with a sigh.

"Those girls aren't getting a shot either. They're just filling an empty slot."

Jill looked at Cass with a raised eyebrow, but Avery sighed again. "I don't know what that means, but I wouldn't mind getting my slot filled right now. God, it's been ages."

"It means if you ever want a chance at something real with him you don't want to be just another notch in his belt. Believe me, I know," Jill said.

Cass opened her mouth to ask what Jill meant, but closed it again as another group of people came through on the way to the garage. "Where are all these people going?" she asked instead, moving to follow them.

"Don't go out there." Jill said with a hand on her arm. "Plausible deniability, my friend. If the cops show you have no idea why the entire garage smells like weed."

"What?" Cass headed toward the garage door, but Avery stopped her.

"She's right. Unless you want a hit you should just stay out of there."

"Why don't you go get your boy toy and find somewhere to play?" Jill asked with an evil grin.

"What are you talking about?" Cass felt her face getting warm as Avery and Jill stared at her with amused expressions.

Avery grinned and shook her head. "You haven't been this relaxed in..."

"Ever." Jill finished. "We're not stupid, Cass. It's obvious somebody's giving it to you good and it's not hard to guess who, given the potential candidates."

Cass just stared, speechless. She thought she'd been so careful. Her surprise that her friends had figured out what was going on was tempered only by her relief that Jill was at least making an attempt to quiet her drunk-voice.

"Don't worry. I don't think anyone else has picked up on it," Avery added.

"We didn't even figure it out until I gave you that vibrator the other day and you just laughed. I was so disappointed. I expected a much more dramatic reaction. I've seen you blush harder at tampon commercials."

Cass laughed again at the memory of opening the gift in the middle of lunch at their favorite Mexican restaurant. It was true; she hadn't been nearly as embarrassed as she normally would have been. She shoved it quickly back into the bag before anyone saw, but all she was really thinking was that she hoped Gabe would come over that night, since she wasn't sure she'd know what to do with all the switches and dials. Unfortunately he spent that entire day with his mom so she didn't see him. She'd ended up trying it out by herself that night and didn't have any problem figuring out exactly what to do with it.

"So how is it?" Avery asked, her eyes twinkling. "Are all your fantasies coming true?"

"Well, I don't know about all my fantasies, but oh my god y'all." She burst out in giggles with a couple of tears of relief at finally being able to share the monumental turn of events with her best friends. "That's all I can really say. Oh. My. God."

"Yeah," Jill said with a sigh. "I figured he'd know what to do with you."

"So are you guys..." Avery trailed off as a group of Aaron's classmates walked through the kitchen on the way to the garage. "Are you, like, together or what?"

"No, we're just having fun. Purely physical."

"That can be cool," Jill said approvingly.

"Is it cool? Are you okay with that?" Avery asked.

Cass thought about the question just long enough that her friends knew the truth. "I'm not complaining."

"I bet you're not," Jill said, her eyes resting on something over Cass' shoulder.

Cass turned to see Gabe saunter into the kitchen and tried to suppress a smile. She'd caught a few glimpses of him tonight, but this was the first chance she'd had to speak to him. He was clean shaven, for once, with his hair pulled back almost neatly into a short ponytail and he was wearing nice jeans with a plaid button up, which for him counted as dressed up. He made no effort to hide his grin as he sidled up to the three girls and even gave her a wink.

"You ladies look like you're up to no good. What are you whispering about?"

"Top secret. We can't tell you, we'd have to kill you," Avery said.

"Hm," he intoned, looking from one to the other of them with a thoughtful expression on his face. When he got to Cass he grinned mischievously. "Better not tell me, then. Someone promised me a kiss at midnight and I don't want to miss it."

Cass dropped her eyes to the floor, trying to ignore the flush in her cheeks. For a second she wondered if he was annoyed that her friends obviously knew about what was going on between them, but he seemed to be more amused than bothered.

"Oh really?" Jill asked suggestively. "And who might that be, I wonder?"

"I can't tell you, I'd have to kill you."

"The fact that you're in the kitchen with us when the real party is out in the garage tells me all I need to know," Jill said with a tipsy giggle.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I only came in here because somebody told me I'd find something sweet to eat in the kitchen," Gabe replied, his face a picture of blank innocence.

Jill burst out laughing and Avery turned red and choked on a sip of beer while Cass just stood there looking at them like they were crazy.

"And did you?" Jill asked.

"Hell yes I did. Sweetest I've ever had. I can't wait to have some more." His eyes slid back to her and the heat in his gaze had Cass turning red again as she realized that whatever he was talking about had something to do with her. He finally broke eye contact to glance over at the clock on the stove.

"Well, it's almost midnight. I guess I better get a move on if I don't want to be late." He took a couple of steps backward, his eyes never leaving hers, before he turned to walk out of the room.

"Is it just me or is it really hot in here all the sudden?" Avery asked, fanning herself with her hand.

"If you don't follow that man in the next ten seconds, I'm going to," Jill said, boring holes in his back with her eyes.

"I don't think it would do you much good the way he was looking at Cass," Avery murmured. "I'm pretty sure she's the only woman on earth as far as he's concerned.

Cass's mouth was dry and she was still staring after the spot where Gabe had disappeared, paying no attention to what her friends were saying or the knowing look they exchanged. Her feet were moving before she spoke. "I'm just going to...um...yeah. Don't wait up."

She gave her friends a final grin and walked into the dining room where several people she graduated with were standing around grazing on snacks. After a few minutes she extricated herself from the conversation and walked through the foyer, peeking in the living room to see two couples making out on the couch, but no Gabe. A throat cleared behind her and she turned and saw him leaning against the rail at the top of the stairs looking down at her. He gave her that bone-melting grin again and disappeared from view.

With a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching Cass hurried up the stairs to her bedroom. The second she was inside he had her up against the door, locking it behind her. His lips brushed across her cheek, placing soft kisses here and there. He trailed them along her jaw and paused for a moment near her mouth before moving to the other cheek and doing the same thing. When he started to suck and nibble his way down her neck, Cass shivered and slid her fingers into his hair, stilling him long enough to get her pounding heart under control.

He pulled back and looked at her with a heated expression. "You ready to break some rules?"

"I'm definitely ready." She hoped her voice sounded more confident than she felt because she was pretty sure her stomach was about to flutter right out of her body. "I thought you might back out, though. You've been avoiding me all night."

"Not a chance." His fingers trailed slowly down her neck and chest to hover between her breasts, leaving a tingling path on her skin. "You just look so gorgeous tonight I had to keep leaving the room when you walked in because I was afraid someone would notice that I couldn't keep my eyes off you."

Cass laughed nervously and tried to ignore the fact that he could surely see the blush creeping up her neck. "Sorry about Jill and Avery. They guessed and I didn't want to lie to them."

"I don't mind." He lifted his eyes from where his fingers were resting to her face, fixing her with a searching look. "Does it bother you that they know?"

She shook her head, but before she could answer they were both startled by the sound of cheering downstairs and then the collective shouts of "Ten! Nine! Eight!"

"I guess that's our cue," she said, meeting his eye.

"Five! Four! Three!"

"Happy New Year, Cassie." His hand slid along her cheek, his thumb gliding softly over her bottom lip.

"Happy New Year."

His lips were warm and so soft and he teased her with a few gentle brushes before pressing them firmly against her mouth. The muffled chorus of Auld Lange Syne was drowned out by the pounding blood in her ears as his tongue flattened against her bottom lip, gliding smoothly over it before pulling it into his mouth, sucking it gently.

When she parted her lips and slid her tongue along his top lip it was like she flipped a switch. Suddenly his gentle kiss turned demanding, his tongue slipped into her mouth as his hand came up to bury itself in her hair. Cass matched his eagerness, sliding her hands up his chest and around his neck, lifting up on her toes to press herself closer to him.

Gabe devoured her lips like he was starving, his tongue exploring every part of her mouth, sucking, licking, and biting. She moaned against his lips and wondered what she'd been so afraid of. If she'd known he kissed like this she never would have come up with that stupid rule.