𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 » bryce harper [✓]

the pact | nine.

Cassandra

I kissed him because why the hell not. Because I was tired of denying my feelings, tired of acting as though our hearts hadn't always belonged to each other. I breathed in the scent of his cologne, savoring the feeling of his lips moving against mine. I could get used to this. God, did I want to get used to this.

I don't really know when we broke apart; I just knew that I wished it didn't have to end so soon. But Bryce couldn't hold me like he wanted to because of his hand, and I was sure that if Aaron happened to catch us like this, we'd never hear the end of it.

My heart rate started to return to normal as I pulled back slightly to look at Bryce. He kept his hand rested on the small of my back, caressing the skin tenderly. "Okay, wow. Can we do that again?"

I giggled, leaning my forehead against his. "For the record, I love you, too."

Bryce nuzzled my cheek. "For the record, I already knew you did. I was just waiting for you to come around."

"I know." I gave him a quick peck before pulling back once more, sighing. "And about all that—I'm really sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, babe." He hopped down off the counter and began helping me put away all the tools from the first-aid kit.

"No, I do. I hurt you because of my own insecurities, and I'm sure that made you feel horrible."

"Hey, stop it. There's no reason to feel guilty, okay? It's all in the past now." He tilted up my chin and kissed me again. I felt the warmth spread from my chest all the way down to my toes. A beautiful feeling. "All's forgiven."

I smiled and shook my head in disbelief at how lucky I was to have someone like him. "Look, when we get finished here we need to go and get your hand checked out at urgent care. We don't want it to start swelling."

"Yeah, it's starting to hurt a bit more. Still no regrets, though." He shot me a smirk and I laughed. "If you don't feel like driving, maybe we can ask Aaron to."

"I'll go see if he's busy, but I don't mind. I've been meaning to get over there to see Mom again, too."

Bryce held the door open for me as we stepped out into the hallway. "Speaking of, you mind if I tag along to see her? I think she'd be happy to know we're together."

I turned around to face him, arms playfully folded over my chest. "Fine, but you still haven't officially asked me to be your girlfriend."

He laughed, wrapping an arm around my waist. "I thought it was implied after that kiss."

"Technically, yes. But you still gotta ask me." I beamed a grin. I always loved teasing him.

He threw his head back and groaned playfully. "Fine. I feel like I'm back in middle school. Cassandra Davis, will you be my girlfriend?"

I leaned my head against his chest. "The answer is yes. Now let's get going."

Bryce

"You're sure you've got everything? " I asked Cass as we loaded our bags into the back of the rental car. Having my arm in a sling was a little constricting, but it wasn't anything I hadn't had to deal with before. Besides, since the doctor said yesterday the injury wasn't as severe as we'd originally assumed, I would be out of it in no time and back to playing before the playoffs started.

"If we left anything, I'll have Dad mail it." She rummaged around in her purse for the keys. "Do you think we have time to grab something to eat before we go to the airport? I'm hungry."

"Me too, but maybe we should just eat something there." I checked my watch and saw it was a quarter to 3. "Hopefully it won't be too crowded."

"It probably won't be." Cass sighed and then pulled on her Penn State bomber jacket. She had her hair pulled back into a ponytail and decided to go without makeup to let her skin breathe. She looked beautiful either way. "Ready?"

"Yep, let's hit the road." I shut the trunk and went around to the passenger's side. Mr. Davis and Aaron waved as Cass and I pulled out of the driveway. What a crazy, unexpected trip this had been. But as of yesterday, it all proved to be worth it.

"I'm so happy to finally be going home." Cass said as we headed onto the main highway. "I love Pittsburgh, but D.C. is...I don't know, more familiar, I guess?"

"I know what you mean. The circumstances weren't ideal, but it was good to see everyone. I need to make my way down to Vegas sooner than later."

"Yeah, how are your parents and siblings?"

I pulled out my phone and showed her a picture of my sister and her kids. "Her youngest is growing so fast. I feel like she was just born yesterday."

Cass squealed. "She's adorable! How's Bryan?"

"Still single, still avoiding talking about it." I said with a laugh. "He's the oldest, but we're always saying that he's gonna be the last one to get married."

There was a brief lull in the conversation, until: "Have you thought about getting married?"

Well, of course I'd thought about it .A lot of 25 year-olds do at that stage in their lives. Had I thought, extensively, about marrying the woman sitting across from me? Almost too much. "Maybe a little, here and there."

"Me too." She reached across the console and grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers. I held her gaze for a moment. "I know we like, just got together so don't think I'm asking you to propose. I just want you to know that I wouldn't even have to think twice about spending the rest of my life with you."

Once traffic slowed, I wasted no time in pulling her into a kiss. I loved this woman so much. "For the record, the feeling is mutual."

She smiled.

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i apologize for the long wait! hope you guys enjoyed this chapter (: