Cassie (Book #1 of the "Cassie" Series)

Chapter #33: Surprise, Surprise (Ryan's POV)

9:05 pm

The stream of hot water showered over my back as I scrubbed my torso over with a soap covered sponge. A feeling of excitement and anticipation rushed through my veins. Cassie was coming over tonight, we'd planned to exchange presents, chill out together, and do other cute couples Christmas Eve shit. Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to do more than chill. 

After two near misses, I knew I was ready to take the next step with her, and I was hoping that it would be tonight. I had the room set up nicely, I'd spent the entire day packing up all my sports stuff, cleaning the surfaces, hanging up lights, and also telling my parents and sisters NOT to interrupt me tonight. I'd even bought her some flowers. If she wasn't ready, that was also fine, at the end of the day it didn't matter what we did together, as long as I was with her. All I wanted to do tonight was be with her, show her how much she meant to me, and make sure she knew I was there for her. Recently she'd been very, for a lack of a better term, distant, especially since the suspension. 

I turned the dripping handle on the shower and the stream of water slowed down, emitting little droplets of hot water until it came to a complete stop. I brushed aside the blue shower curtain and stepped out, grabbing a fresh white towel from the heated rack and wrapping it around my waist. I wandered into my bedroom, dried myself off, and sprayed on some Armani cologne. Some on the wrist, and some on the base of my neck, that's the way Dad taught me how to use it, something about it being the best "pulse points" for fragrance. All I know is I wore this cologne both times Cassie and I almost hooked up, and it drives her WILD.

"Ryan, you have a visitor!" Dad called out from the other room. Shit, already? I wasn't dressed at all, my hair was still soaking, Cassie hadn't called or texted to say that she was coming over. I guess maybe she wanted to surprise me? Either way, worst possible time to be surprised.

"Uh, give me a sec, Dad!" I frantically ran around the room and grabbed a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt. It wasn't ideal, I was hoping for at least another hour so I could properly get myself together and not just look like I threw on the first articles of clothing lying around. 

"Relax." I thought to myself. "This is Cassie we're talking about. She's not gonna care whether you're in a tuxedo, a tracksuit, or butt ass naked... okay, she might care about the last part. But still, she's not that kind of girl who's picky." 

As I was drying my hair with a towel, I saw a pair of high-heeled feet step into the room. 

"Surprise, surprise!" the female voice called out as she knocked on my open door. Thank God, I was dressed before she walked in. I lifted the towel from my head and discarded it on the floor. Nothing could have prepared me for who I saw standing in front of me.

"Brianna?!" I stared at her in shock. Why was she here? Why did Dad let her in? I looked her up and down, she leaned against the door frame wearing a short pink dress, a white faux-fur coat thrown across her right shoulder. Her wavy blonde hair carefully fell across her left shoulder, and her face was perfectly painted in makeup. She looked almost like a Barbie doll, straight out of the box and standing right before me.

"Hi." she smiled sheepishly and brushed the hair from her shoulder. "Can I come in?"

I was stunned, I didn't know how to react. It had been a long time since she'd stepped foot in my bedroom. The last time she was here was when she broke up with me, a day I've tried to block out from my mind since it happened. There was a lot of yelling, a lot of crying, conflicting feelings, kissing, more yelling, it was the day I felt like I'd lost everything and I had no explanation as to why.

Here was my chance to get that explanation.

"What's the point in me saying no? You're already here, you're going to come in anyway." I shrugged, kicking the towel from the floor under my bed. Brianna stepped into the room slowly and closed the door behind her, she seemed unsure, cautious, almost as if she half-expected me to jump on her and start throttling her.