Operation: Endgame (11 page)

They made up their plates and sat down at Cassie’s painted dining room table that sat between the kitchen and the living room.

Cassie pulled two frosty mugs out of the freezer for their beer. As she handed Jake his glass, she asked, “Is everything okay at your mom’s house?”

He ducked his head, but said, “Yeah, it’s fine. Sorry to abandon you earlier.” He gave her a sheepish smile and nodded at the food. “I was hoping Mesquite’s BBQ would help make up for it.”

“You know the way to my heart.” She took a huge bite of her shredded pork sandwich. “Mmm, this is so good.”

They ate for a little bit in silence, but then Jake looked at Cassie. “Cass, why do you still have Chris’ truck in the garage?”

A flash of pain crossed her eyes right before her jaw tensed up for a fight. “I’m keeping it. He loved it and I won’t get rid of it.” She glared at him as if daring him to fight her over this and he debated how to approach this.

“Cass,” he spoke softly, “he did love that truck and he’d hate that it’s just moldering away in your garage rather than someone else loving it as much as he did.” Another flash of pain in her eyes caused his gut to clench. He hated to hurt her by talking about this, but she needed to accept Chris was gone and stop hanging on to the pain of it all.

She shook her head and took a long swallow of beer. “I don’t want to talk to you about this Jake. You don’t understand.” Her eyes filled with unshed tears.

“Understand? You don’t think I understand? God, Cassie. He was my best friend. You don’t think I miss him every single minute of every single day? If there was anyone who could understand what you’re going through, it’s me. I miss him so much it’s a physical pain, but he’s gone. Holding on to that truck out there,” he nodded towards the garage out back, “isn’t going to change that fact.”

“I know.” She said quietly. “I’m just not ready yet. I will…soon. Just not yet, okay? Let me get through Christmas first.” She looked at him with pleading eyes.

“Okay, Cass, but in the New Year, you need to sell it. It can’t be good to have that reminder every time you go out there. It’s time to move on.”

She didn’t want to talk about Chris. She just wanted Jake to quit about the truck, so she gave in, at least she told him she did. “I know. I will. In another month, I promise.” In reality, she wasn’t ready to let go…of either the truck or Chris.

“Okay, I can accept that for now, but I’m holding you to that promise, Cass.” He reached over and grasped her hand. “I’m here for you. We can get through this together. I’m sorry that hasn’t been the case for the last few months, but I’m here now. Lean on me. We can get through this, all of this, together.”

She gave him a watery smile. “Thanks Jake.” It was obviously time for a change of subject. “So how tough are you feeling?”

He looked up at her suspiciously. “Should I be scared?”

“Naw, just wondering if you can handle a full day of power-Christmas shopping tomorrow.” She gave him a challenging look.

“Darling, I can handle anything you throw at me.”

Three and a half hours after hitting the mall, and spending at least half that time acting as Cassie’s pack mule, Jake began to wonder at his sanity level when he made that statement. He had more packages slung over the handles of his crutches than was probably safe for him or the other customers bustling around them. His feet hurt, his leg ached, his arms were throbbing, and he felt like he could use a full week under the hands of a licensed masseuse. How could women think this was enjoyable? This was worse than his PJ training.

Thankfully, he was finally getting a break. Cassie was shopping for a dress for her annual Christmas party she was throwing next week. She hadn’t originally planned on holding it, but after decorating yesterday had a last-minute change of heart. So here he was comfortably ensconced in a really large club chair outside the dressing room with the mass of bags scattered around his feet. His only job now was to wait. He could handle waiting if it meant no more hobbling around this enormous and, seemingly getting bigger every minute, mall.

Cassie had taken a handful of cocktail dresses into the dressing room with her. She came out in one of them now and twirled in front of him. He felt like he’d swallowed his tongue. After she finished twirling, she stood with her back to him, looking at herself in the mirror. She tilted her head to the side and said, “What do you think? Too much?”

Too much? Was she insane? There was no dress there. It was black, sparkly, and clung to her every curve. From the front, it seemed rather sedate with long black sleeves and a high neckline. At least, that was the case if you didn’t look down to the miniscule length of the skirt that showed off the miles of her long toned legs. But when she turned around, the back was nonexistent. There was nothing there besides miles of skin from the top of her spine all the way to the top of her ass. Four draped strands of thin rhinestones stretched across the top expanse of the milky skin of her back, but with a simple little flick of the wrist, the entire dress could be dropped in half a second. His fingers itched with the desire to do just that, but he clenched his hand into a fist to keep from reaching towards her.

He didn’t realize he was sitting there staring, until Cassie spoke. “Okay, you’re going to have to give me a hint here. Does the mouth hanging open mean you like it? Or does it look so hideous you just don’t know what to say?”

Jake snapped his jaw shut and cleared his throat. “No, hideous is not the word I was thinking, but do you honestly think you need to show that much skin?” He scowled at her, thinking about all the guys drooling over her at this party.

At that moment another customer walked up who had been surreptitiously observing them while she shopped. “Girl, don’t listen to him. You look gorgeous! Your boyfriend just doesn’t want to deal with any competition.”

Jake flushed in embarrassment, but Cassie didn’t even notice. “Oh, he’s not my boyfriend….just a friend, actually more like a brother than anything.”

He sure wasn’t having any brotherly thoughts about her right now.

But Cassie continued on, “You don’t think it shows too much skin?” She turned and looked at the back again.

The customer gave him a mischievous look. He liked her less and less the more she talked. “You have the body to pull it off. Take advantage of it for the rest of us who can’t. It’s the holidays which mean you can be a bit more daring than normal.”

Cassie was nodding now. “You know, you’re right. This is the perfect holiday dress. I’m getting it. Thank you so much for helping.”

Jake groaned inwardly and wondered how he could fix things so no other males showed up to this party of hers.

Finally the never-ending shopping trip to the mall was over. Jake decided he’d rather have his leg re-broken than ever have to go through that kind of torture again.

As they got into Jake’s truck, Cassie turned to him, “Thanks Jake for going shopping with me. I think I got almost everything on my list.”

He glanced into the back seat where the packages and bags were overflowing. “
Almost
? That isn’t everything you need?” He hoped she didn’t hear the rise of panic in his voice.

Cassie giggled. “No worries. Next time I’ll bring Julie or Penelope. No more hazardous duty for you. You’ve served your time.” She was obviously having a good time making fun of him.

“Ha-ha. Laugh it up, but guys were simply not made for that kind of shopping. There’s a very good reason we don’t do it.”

“Let me make it up to you. Let’s head over to The Mocha Mermaid and I’ll buy you some coffee.”

As they entered the shop, the rich aromas of deep dark coffee assaulted Jake’s senses. They were standing in line behind a group of college age girls who were all making eyes and giggling at the good-looking guy working the complicated coffee machine. He looked to be about Jake’s age and from the smoldering looks he kept giving the girls, he didn’t mind the fact they were at least ten years younger than him.

Jake watched him as he worked the girls and made their coffee. The guy was fit. He had the look of someone who worked out a lot, although it might be something like martial arts because he moved with an innate gracefulness, especially considering the size of the guy as he worked in the cramped space. He had to be at least 6’0”. His olive skin tones and dark hair and eyes bespoke a Latin heritage, but Jake was having a hard time placing his barely there accent. The one thing he did know was this guy was a player and a flirt if the smile he continually flashed the coeds was any indication.

Finally when all the girls had their coffees in hand, the guy turned to them to take their order, but before they had a chance to say anything, the man’s voice lowered an octave as he reached across to grasp Cassie’s hand. “Well, hello Professor. Are you craving the usual?” There was a glint in this man’s eye and a familiarity with Cassie that had Jake’s skin crawling.

Cassie didn’t seem to think anything was amiss though as she said, “Ricky! What are you doing working on a Sunday?”

He gave her a sly grin. “I switched shifts with Vicky so I could take Molly to the Carol of Lights Friday night.”

“Oh, it was gorgeous wasn’t it? Did she like it?”

“She loved it. Working during Sunday football was worth the smile on her face Friday night. It was definitely worth it.” The guy had been making a drink the whole time he and Cassie chatted, but Jake had never heard her order. “One Venti non-fat Latte for the beauty that made my day today.” He handed over the coffee to Cassie.

Cassie smiled at him indulgently. Jake could not believe this guy got away with piling it on that thick. Seriously? Jake snorted. Cassie suddenly looked back at him like she had forgotten he was there. “Ricky, I’d like you to meet my friend Jake. We grew up together. He just needs a plain coffee.” Jake might have imagined it, but the guy he had been watching charm all the ladies in sight for the last ten minutes turned to him like he was a mangy dog who had just wandered in trailing mud behind him.

Ice didn’t even begin to cover how quickly this guy’s friendliness disappeared. “Just plain coffee, huh? Well, not all guys can appreciate the finer things in life.” Ricky nodded his head towards Cassie and gave another smile, but it definitely didn’t reach his eyes. Jake wasn’t sure if the guy was offended about the coffee or the fact he was male. If he truly had to guess, he’d think it was more a matter of him being a male with Cassie. The guy was entirely too intimate and cozy with her. He wondered if she ever dated him.

The more he hung out with Cassie, the more complicated her life seemed. Where the hell had all these guys come from and how many of them had she slept with over the years? The eight years since he had left to join the Air Force seemed to yawn out before him. Cassie had never really mentioned guys around him too much, but of course she had relationships somewhere in there, right? But why was it every single time he turned around, he was finding himself looking into the face of another guy who seemed to be in love with her? The churning in Jake’s gut started up again. At this rate, he was going to have an ulcer before the month was over.

Cassie took his coffee from Ricky while Jake paid. He threw a dollar in the tip jar and with a nod towards Ricky, he headed over to the table where Cassie sat.

“What’s the deal with Casanova? Did you two date or is it just he wants to date you?” Jake watched Ricky clean the machines while he talked to Cassie.

Cassie looked at him puzzled. “Ricky?” She laughed. “No way. He’s completely in love with his girlfriend Molly. He talks about her all the time. He’s just a serial flirt. He can’t help himself.” She looked over at Ricky and smiled at him. Ricky smiled back. “He normally works the morning shift during the week, so he provides me with my caffeine to keep me going after my run. He also gives me my morning dose of self-confidence that any girl can appreciate. Every gal needs a guy like Ricky in their lives to continually tell them how gorgeous they are. He’s fun and harmless.”

Jake scowled and grumbled, “I don’t understand why you would need someone like him giving you shallow compliments. You have a mirror. You can see how gorgeous you are.”

Cassie gave him a scowl right back. “I’m going to take that as a compliment, although I really can’t understand why a little harmless flirting has your hackles all up. Come on, let’s head home. I have work to do tonight to get ready for this week’s finals and I think you’re about to miss the kick-off of the Cowboys game.”

Cassie was sitting at her kitchen table working on her laptop doing last-minute preparation for finals. She could see Jake’s profile as he watched the football game in the living room. He’d been quiet ever since the trip to The Mocha Mermaid, but she still couldn’t figure out why he’d gotten so upset about Ricky. So, Ricky was flirting. Ricky flirted with every female that walked through the doors. They all knew it and quite honestly, that was part of his charm. Jake’s ego wasn’t so fragile he couldn’t handle another guy getting attention. If that was the case, then he would never have been friends with Chris and Colton all these years. Girls fell all over themselves for her brothers, not that Jake was a slouch either. Her three guys had never had any issues with lacking female attention that was for sure.