The Wedding Agreement (10 page)

Disorderly Conduct

Alex took a long sip of his Corona and tried to appreciate the band that was playing on stage. The girls had been raving about this band for weeks. “What is it you like about this band exactly?”

The girls all did a slow pan toward him. It was creepy as fuck.

“Um, have you seen the lead singer?” Simone asked, as if Alex were incredibly stupid.

Alex looked back toward the stage and took in the longhaired, possibly homeless man gyrating his crotch against the mic stand. “Yeah.”

Simone widened her eyes as though simply gazing upon the specimen before him should be explanation enough. She huffed out a breath. “He's gorgeous.”

Alex let his eyes dart back to the waif screeching into the microphone. He squinted as if altering his vision would somehow alter what he was seeing. “You have really bad taste.”

Simone jerked back. “I'm an artist. I have better taste than anyone here.”

Alex smiled. “Let me guess. You specialize in abstracts.”

Simone looked like she was trying to fight the grin threatening to spread across her face. “Asshole.”

Alex looked to Cass. “You think he's hot?” He was more interested in her response than he thought he should be. Why should he care who Cass found attractive? But the truth was that he did care, so he watched her closely as she studied the creature on stage.

Cass shrugged before turning back to Alex. “He's hot in a Jared Leto kind of way.”

Alex didn't know what the hell that meant. The guy on stage was the very antithesis of Alex—skinny to Alex's stocky, lithe versus Alex's heavy musculature, smooth to his rugged.
Is that what Cass likes?
“He's the opposite of every guy sitting at this table. If he's the type you girls like, you're keeping the wrong kind of company.”

Everyone laughed, which was good, because their taking his words as a joke hid his own insecurity. Especially since he wasn't even sure why he felt that way. Alex could bench-press the guy on the stage. He could incapacitate him in seconds without so much as breaking a sweat. What the hell did he have to feel jealous about?
Wait. . . .Jealous? Is that how I feel?

Lauren's voice broke him out of his meandering thoughts. “It's just the hot-rocker thing, really. He's like a fantasy, an ideal. Not someone any of us would actually go for in reality.”

“Speak for yourself,” Simone muttered.

“But we're here to listen, not watch. He sounds like a drowning walrus,” Alex said.

Cass looked at him curiously. “Can walruses drown?”

Alex looked at her like she'd lost her mind.

She must have taken that as a cue to continue. “They live in water. Can animals that live in water drown?”

“They're mammals, so it'd make sense that they could drown if they were forced to stay underwater for too long,” Quinn answered.

“If a walrus is drowning, can it make a sound at all?” Lauren asked.

The seriousness of the unfolding conversation flabbergasted him. He looked at his male counterparts around the table, all of whom looked equally confused.

“Are you girls seriously discussing walruses?” Scott asked.

“I'm not,” Simone stated. “I'm imagining the lead singer naked.”

“That's . . . way worse,” Alex said.

“Are you just not a band kind of guy?” Cass asked.

It took Alex a second to process her question, since it was such a departure from where the conversation had just been. “I like bands. Just not this one.”

“Oh. I thought maybe you were more of a DJ kind of guy.”

“DJs are okay too. I guess it just depends on what I'm in the mood for.”

Cass smiled. “Since this is the third time we're having this discussion, maybe we should settle it.”

Ugh, not this shit right now
. It had been a while since they'd all been able to get together, and he had hoped they could do it without mentioning his impending non-nuptials.

“We're having that debate too,” Lauren added.
“Scott wants some Motown band, but I think we're better off with a DJ who will be able to play something for everyone.”

“Everyone loves a good band. Any loser with an iPod can DJ nowadays. Bands are timeless,” Scott said.

“Except this one,” Xavier said as he gestured toward the stage. “I think their fifteen minutes is just about up.”

Simone turned to glare at him before returning her attention back to the stage.

“Since Cass said you already discussed this, what were you guys thinking of doing?” Scott asked, his eyes darting back and forth between Cass and Alex.

Alex felt his brow furrow. “We were thinking of not actually getting married.”

Scott rolled his eyes. “Well, I know. But you guys are still planning a wedding, right? So which way were you leaning?”

“Dude, are you seriously trying to compare wedding-planning notes with me?”

“I was just asking.” Scott sounded oddly defensive.

“How is it planning a wedding you're not actually going to have? Isn't that . . . a waste of energy?” Quinn asked.

“And money?” Tim tacked on.

“We need to be able to sell it. How are we supposed to do that if we don't plan out some of the details?” Cass explained.

Quinn's eyes widened in excitement. “You should turn it into a party. That way it wouldn't all be for nothing.”

“It's not for nothing. It's for Nina and Alex.” Cass' voice was quiet but sharp. Her words touched Alex, and he sent her a small smile.

Quinn looked abashed. “I didn't mean it like that.
Of course it's not for nothing. I just meant that you're doing all the planning anyway, so you'd may as well celebrate the fruits of your labor.”

Alex thought about it for a second before looking at Cass. “It's not a bad idea.”

“Really?” Cass looked surprised.

Alex nodded. “We should do it.”

She smiled a bright smile that made his dick harden. “Okay. So, band or DJ?”

*   *   *

The group spent the rest of the night bickering amicably, laughing, and having an all-around good time like they always did. Sometimes it surprised Alex how well they all jelled. They each brought a strong personality to the table, but it improved the dynamic instead of disrupting it. When the band ended their set, the friends all remained for one more round, then settled up the tab and made their way out into the cool spring evening. Everyone said good-bye and headed toward wherever they'd parked their cars.

Cass turned to Alex, seemingly about to say good-bye, but Alex interrupted her. “I'll walk you to your car.”

She smiled softly and nodded. Threading her arm through his, she led him in the direction of her car. When they reached her red Acura, she turned and opened her mouth to speak.

But Alex stopped her again. The dim streetlight gave them relative privacy, and he couldn't resist moving toward her. He used his body to push her gently against the car so her back was flush with it, settled his thigh between her legs, cupped her jaw with one hand, and kissed the ever-loving hell out of her. All night he'd felt it—a quiet, steady thrum of
desire. It crackled through him, made his blood boil. He couldn't take it anymore. The need to act on it—to take what he craved—was too overwhelming to be ignored.

When he finally pulled back, Cass didn't open her eyes right away. She seemed to be savoring the same feelings he was. Finally she looked at him. “That was a helluva good-night.”

Alex kept his body pressed against hers, maintaining the proximity that his dick was clearly appreciative of as it hardened in his jeans. “Maybe it wasn't good-night.” His eyes searched hers.

They crinkled with her smile. “You're much better at planning a seduction than a wedding.”

“Is that a compliment or an insult?” he asked as his gaze dropped to her lips.

“Whatever makes you want to fuck me more.”

He buried his head in her neck to suck on the skin there. “Hmm, that's a tough one. I do love when you berate me.”

She slapped his shoulder playfully before wrapping her arms around his neck. “My place is closer,” she whispered in his ear.

Alex let his hands drift down her back until they cupped her ass. “Your car is even closer.”

Cass gasped at his caress. “We couldn't leave it parked here though. This street is too busy.” She looked around for a moment. “Follow me.”

At that point, Alex was so hard he'd follow her anywhere.

Cass made her way into a narrow alleyway between two large brick buildings. She walked in just enough for the streetlights to cast a pale glow on them, and then turned toward one of the walls, resting her arms against the brick. She pitched forward
slightly, arching her back and sticking out her ass. “Fuck me, Alex.”

It took him a second to get over the thrill of her words, but he recovered quickly, stepping up behind her and rubbing his cock against her ass. Even through two layers of denim, the feeling was amazing. “You're really going to give it up to me on the street? You are a dirty, dirty girl, Cass. I fucking love it.”

Alex's hands were everywhere, roaming over her body, completely unsure of where they wanted to settle. Finally they stopped to pop the button on her jeans and lower the zipper. He pushed her pants and thong down roughly, lowering them just enough to give him the access he needed. He let his fingers drift over her clit and through her wetness. He'd never been so turned on, and it felt like she was right there with him. Undoing his own jeans, he pulled the material down enough to free his straining erection. He dragged it through her crease, pushing his cock back and forth between her thighs.

“Stop teasing,” Cass scolded breathlessly.

Alex fished a condom out of his wallet and sheathed himself before pushing immediately inside of her. There was no place for slow and romantic. They both needed hard and carnal. This was the most erotic fuck of Alex's entire life, and it propelled him to take her—to pound into her wildly. “Fucking amazing,” was all he could grit out.

“So good, Alex. I'm already close.”

He was close too. His fingers dug even more deeply into her hips, trying to hold her as steady as possible as he drilled into her. She was bent at nearly ninety degrees, fully extending her arms so she didn't go careening into the wall. The slap of skin against skin reverberated through his ears, dragging him
closer to release. Quickly losing his control, Alex slid one hand around her hip and down to her clit so he could work her toward climax.

“Fuck,” she mewled. Then he felt her body tense before she shuddered with the intensity of her orgasm. He rode her through it, watching her body buck and shiver with pleasure.

He managed about four more thrusts before he was emptying his release into the condom. Shallowly rocking into her, he let her milk all of the cum from him. Alex dropped his head between her shoulders, allowing it to rest there as they both came down from the high they'd just experienced. But he didn't linger long, the sounds of the street reminding him of where they were. He pulled out, tied off the condom, and walked farther into the alley to dispose of it in a trash can. By the time he returned to Cass, he'd tucked himself back into his pants and Cass had straightened out her clothing as well.

He stepped right into her space and slid his arms around her waist, dropping a soft kiss on her lips. The action was in contrast to the raw encounter they'd just shared, but as great as that had felt, this felt right too.

Cass slid her arms around his neck and nestled into him. “That was the single hottest moment of my life,” she murmured against his neck.

He snuggled her closer. “Glad I could be of service.”

She huffed a soft laugh but didn't move to pull away. They stood there for a few minutes, and Alex felt as though they were reconnecting in a way—sloughing off the hardened edges of what they'd just shared and allowing the genuine affection they'd begun to feel for one another to soften the entire experience. Cass shivered slightly in his arms, causing him to pull back to look at her.

“Cold?” he asked.

“I think you had me so hot and bothered, the cool air is starting to shock my system.”

Alex smiled. “Let's get you to your car, then.” He didn't let himself think about the action before he laced his fingers in hers and walked her back to her car.

Public Opinion

“Jake, just sit down and I'll get it.” Cass watched her sister Rachel try to placate her oldest son, who was insisting on fixing his own plate.

“I can do it myself,” the boy declared with a stomp of his foot for emphasis.

The truth was, Cass thought, Jake probably could do it. He was eight, after all, a year older than Nina, and in all the time she had spent with Alex's little girl recently, Cass had never felt the need to plop food on a plate and cut it up for her. Not to mention that the entire ordeal looked exhausting. Rachel would still have to repeat this complicated plating ritual two more times for her five-year-old son, Jonas, and three-year-old Jessica. Cass looked at Rachel's husband, John, the progenitor of the “J” tribe, as he hacked at the turkey Cass' mom had made for dinner.

Normally her dad, Tom, carved—it could actually be considered carving when he did it—but he'd
recently hurt his wrist when he'd fallen off a ladder in the garage. Her mom had said he was lucky he didn't break his neck, to which he'd replied with a swat of his uninjured arm. In his thirty-plus years in this house, Cass' father had managed to escape no fewer than ten potentially fatal catastrophes. “Klutzy” didn't even begin to describe the man. Even more amazing was that he'd never seriously injured himself, which was a blessing, because Cass' mom, Gloria, practically had to tranquilize him to get him to the doctor.

“White or dark meat, Cass?” John asked as he swiped his arm across his brow to soak up the moisture there.

“Whatever's easiest,” she replied with a smile as she passed her plate to him so he could put some turkey on it.

Cass' head turned as she heard a thump to her left. Amy's toddler, Asher, had dropped his sippy cup. Again.

“Ben, can you grab that?” Amy asked her husband.

“Why? He's just going to chuck it down there again.”

Cass had always liked Ben. He was sarcastic, loud, and unapologetically honest—almost like a Cass in male form. He was a good balance for the sweet and witty Amy. And their kids were adorable . . . and total ballbusters. It was clear that Asher, even at two, was already adept at fucking with his parents. His sister, Zoey, was more subtle in her torture, but no less effective. Cass often thought that the beautiful four-year-old would either grow up to cure cancer or become a criminal mastermind. Cass watched as Zoey asked her mom to get her potatoes. But it was all a diversion so the little girl could transfer the broccoli from her plate to her mother's.
Genius.

Cass' plate was handed back to her, and once it seemed as though everyone else had everything they needed, the Mullen clan dug in. About three minutes of silence passed as everyone enjoyed the first bites of the meal. But quiet never lasted long with this crew. They normally congregated for dinner at her parents' house twice a month, and it was always chaotic and noisy. Cass loved it. It made her think about the calm meals she'd shared with Alex and Nina. The three of them never lacked for conversation, but it was relaxed, tranquil. She realized that she loved that equally as much. Cass wondered what Alex and Nina would make of the zoo that currently surrounded her. There were at least five conversations going on, each trying to be heard over the others. The funny thing was, Cass could picture Alex and Nina here, fighting to get a word in edgewise. Because despite their laid-back personalities, they both had a confidence about them that commanded attention. She'd been spending time with them for only about two months, but she'd learned a lot about them in that time. However, it had never really occurred to Cass how similar Alex and Nina were until now. She wondered if Alex knew that his strong, intelligent, thoughtful little girl was exactly like him.

“What are you smiling about?” Rachel's voice jerked Cass out of her musings.

“Huh?”

“You were smiling. What were you thinking about?”

Of course the table had fallen silent to hear Cass' explanation. She hadn't even been aware she was smiling.
Friggin' Rachel.
“I don't know. I'm just happy, I guess.”

“Lame,” Ben muttered beside her.

Cass turned to him. “Did you just call me lame?”

“No, your excuse was lame. Take a minute and regroup. I'm sure you can do better.”

Cass looked at Amy. “Can't you, like, forbid him from talking?”

Amy sighed. “If only.”

Ben chortled before shoveling more food in his mouth.

“What has you so happy? Something, or
someone
, you want to tell us about?” Gloria said with a raise of her eyebrows.

Cass felt herself grimace.

“Yeah, Cass. Anyone you want to tell us about?” Rachel said. Cass could see her sister smirk behind her water glass as she took a sip.

Cass tried to telepathically convey her hope that Rachel would drop dead. “No. I just like spending time with all of you. Is something wrong with that?”

“Of course not. I'm happiest when we're all together too,” Gloria replied.

And Cass knew that was the truth. Her mom was one of the greatest people Cass had ever met, and that wasn't just bias speaking. Gloria Mullen had the patience of a saint mixed with a deep commitment to her family. Her mom always put her husband and daughters before herself. Always. She had been at every sporting event, chaperoned every class trip, participated in every PTA function, kissed every boo-boo, and chased away every monster lurking under their beds for the duration of their childhoods. And Gloria's first two daughters had inherited that same love of motherhood, that same dedication to their families, though with more of a twenty-first-century twist. Both of her sisters worked, while Gloria had been a stay-at-home mom. But Cass could see
it in the way Amy absently pushed her hand through Zoey's hair, or the way Rachel listened attentively to her kids' nonsensical stories as though they were spouting Shakespeare. The absolute devotion and self-sacrificing love was evident.

Cass was not built that way. Maybe because she was the baby, or because she'd always been more of a daddy's girl. Whatever the reason, Cass had never been able to identify a single maternal bone in her body. Sure, she loved her nieces and nephews. But Cass wasn't the type to sacrifice the success she'd worked so hard to achieve. As far as she was concerned, there was no balancing work and family life like her sisters did so effortlessly. When Cass did something, she did it a hundred percent. And she just couldn't give all of herself to a family. That probably made her a little selfish, but Cass was okay with that. It was a trait she recognized in herself and never made excuses for. She liked the praise that working hard brought her. She liked spending all of her time doing what made her happy. She liked having to be accountable only to and for herself. Her mother's entire identity was wrapped up in her family. Cass couldn't live that way. Gloria had given up her goals to raise her children. Not that she knew what her mother's goals were, but Cass was sure she'd had at least a few that didn't involve shuttling ungrateful teenagers around like a taxi service and making them home-cooked meals they never appreciated.

Cass was a kind and decent person who had no interest in ever having a family. She wasn't ashamed of it. Being able to admit the truth actually made her proud—like she could see her own shortcomings and accept them. But now, as she glanced around at her family, who'd all gone back to their conversations, she
found herself feeling slightly . . . bereft. For the first time in her life, it bothered her that she wasn't more like the people surrounding her.
Alex is.
The thought popped into her head out of nowhere, but it was true. She often caught Alex running his hands through Nina's hair as they relaxed on the couch, or listening to her with rapt attention as she recounted every minor detail of her day. Yes, Alex would fit in nicely with her family. And for the first time in a long time, Cass wished she fit in too.

*   *   *

Alex's phone rang, the ringtone telling him who it was without him needing to glance at the caller ID. “Hey, Chris,” he said as he flopped down on the sofa. He hadn't talked to his sister in a while—an occurrence that always made him feel guilty, even though he never did anything about it. Despite the fact that they loved and supported each other, they'd never been particularly close.

“Hey, stranger. How ya been?” Christina asked.

“Not too bad. You? How are the boys?” Alex hadn't told Christina about the drama with Tessa or his crazy plan for dealing with it, and he didn't intend to. Their conversations were always like this—superficial and brief. It wasn't that they didn't care about each other's lives. They did. But the Walkers were a stoic and self-reliant bunch. Their problems were just that: theirs. He and Christina had gotten a little closer when their mom had died when Alex was in college, bonded together a little tighter by the knowledge that they had only each other. But there was still an impenetrable distance between them. Their father had died of a heart attack when Alex was fourteen, and his mom had gone six years later, after a long and painful battle with breast cancer. Even though his
mother had fought the illness for almost two years, Alex actually knew very little about her battle. She'd kept it largely to herself, suffering in silence because . . . well, because that had been the way she was. The way they
all
were. That is, until they lost her, and Alex and Christina came to an unspoken agreement that they wanted more of a relationship than what they'd previously had. It wasn't much more, but it was something.

“They're good. Baseball season is starting, which is the busiest time of year for us. Between the school team and their traveling teams, it's a logistical nightmare.” Christina sighed before pressing on. “But they love it, and I guess that's all that matters. How's Nina? We have to get together soon. I haven't seen her in months. She's probably getting so big.”

Alex couldn't help the smile that drifted to his face, as often happened when he thought about Nina. She was the first person in his life that had really opened him up. Even with Tessa, despite the fact that he'd loved her, he'd never put himself fully out there for her. But he didn't hold himself back with Nina, at least not anymore. Wanting to be a better dad for her had woken him up, made him realize that he couldn't compartmentalize his entire world. Loving Nina had made him better in every aspect of his life. “She's growing like a weed. I swear, she's going to be six feet tall if she keeps going at her current rate.”

Christina laughed. “It's amazing how time flies. It seems like just yesterday the boys were knee high. Now Caleb is taller than I am, and Price isn't far behind.”

“We definitely have to get them all together. Maybe once summer hits we can arrange something.” They lived only about forty-five minutes apart, but actually
finding time to see each other was always like trying to arrange a meeting between foreign dignitaries.

They chatted for a few more minutes before Christina had to rush off to pick up one of the boys. And even though they'd made a promise to get together soon, Alex knew they probably wouldn't. It saddened him how okay with that he was.

Alex had a lot of acquaintances, but he wasn't particularly close to very many people. He had Scott and Xavier, who had somehow become staples in his life without him even realizing it. It often seemed like one day he hadn't even known who they were, and then the next the three of them were inseparable. He'd never had friends like that before those two—people who just barged into his life and staked a place there. Then there'd been Tessa, even though that had gone south fairly quickly. And, of course, Nina. Beyond that, Alex was a fairly private person.

But after hanging up with Christina, Alex felt . . . lonely. It was a feeling he wasn't used to. He normally found solace in being his own company. He looked around his empty apartment, and then down at the phone in his hand. He quickly typed out a text.
What are you up to?

Cass' reply came almost immediately.
Watching my nieces and nephews systematically break down their parents' sanity.

Alex laughed, thinking how preferable all of that sounded to what
he
was currently doing. He relaxed into the couch again and replied, hoping Cass wouldn't misinterpret his honesty for sarcasm.
Sounds like fun.