Savage Love (Ash and Innocence 2)

I didn’t want her to be the next one to turn her back on me and leave with fresh scars. For once, I wanted it to last. I needed it to mean something.38CharliClint joined Zoe and I at Dead Ringers. I prepared myself for the inevitable speech convincing him it was over, but he sat next to Zoe and put his arm around her.

I looked between them, raising an eyebrow. “Is this what it looks like?”

Zoe blushed and chewed on her lower lip. It was cute seeing her look bashful. After getting my footing in Silver Falls, I’d come to see Zoe the way most of Parker High saw her: as some kind of athletic phenom. She was unstoppable in any physical event she participated in, and she had a work ethic that made me feel like a lazy slob, even though I showed up to every practice and put in extra hours at home.

I admired her, and I was happy to see her happy.

Clint winced a little. “Sorry. Is this weird?”

“No.” I gave a firm shake of my head. “It’s good. Really good. And Zoe warned me that you two were getting gooey eyed for eachother, so I figured it was coming.”

Zoe let out a breath. “You’re sure? Because we were worried it might have been too soon. Or—”

“No, but if you guys keep talking about it, it might get weird.”

They laughed, and within moments, we were all talking like we’d just stepped into a time machine and gone back to that night before Cassian tried to strangle Clint in front of everyone. Except in this version, Clint was flirting with Zoe and trying to feed her fries.

I checked my texts and saw a message from Cassian.

Cassian: Meet me at the football field in fifteen minutes. Don’t make me wait.

I sent him an eye roll emoji, but still made an excuse to Zoe and Clint before slipping out and walking toward the school. It was late evening, and I wasn’t sure what he was planning, but my heart tried to beat out of my chest every time I thought about being near him.

It still wasn’t perfect between us. Far from it, in fact. But I was starting to realize a relationship didn’t have to be perfect. Maybe it shouldn’t be.

People thrive when they struggle. It’s the only way we really learn who we are and what we’re capable of. A relationship with no struggle and strife would be like a game with no challenge. There’d be no purpose. No room for growth.

Maybe there was a message I didn’t want to hear buried in that idea—a message about how I should accept the challenge of finding my way to forgiving my dad.

Cassian was leaning on the fence overlooking the football field when I arrived. He had on his letterman jacket and looked like something straight out of a dream. The lights were on, glaring behind his head and making his eyes twinkle.

“What?” I asked. “Why are you smiling at me like that?”

“Because our next game is at home. I think I’d play better if I knew I had you in both endzones. It’d give me a pleasant memory to run towards.”

I snorted, then paused. “Wait. You’re serious?”

“You think I figured out how to turn these lights on for a joke?”

“No way. Schools have maintenance staff. Janitors. Administrative people who come in randomly to check on things. If any of them see the lights on, they’ll come straight here.”

“I took care of that. I know the guy who cleans up at night. I told him the toilet in the freshman building was leaking about five minutes ago. In fact, all six of them are thoroughly clogged to fuck with paper towels. He’ll be in there at least an hour.”

I stared. “What if someone else comes?”

“Then we’ll run for the trees before they see our faces. Any other questions?”

All I could do was laugh. “There’s no way I’m going to do that in the middle of the football field. No way.”

Five minutes later, I was looking up into the lights while Cassian moved above me. At first, I couldn’t stop rolling my head to either side, scanning the building for any signs of movement and the parking lot for cars. But there was nothing.

He’d stripped off his shirt and just slid his pants down far enough to get himself free. I’d been wearing a dress, which he had pushed up after yanking off my panties and tossing them beside us.

He kissed my neck, playfully running his tongue up to my earlobe before sucking it into his mouth. “Because you’re gorgeous when you moan for me.”

“Only when I moan?” I teased.

He drove himself into me, forcing me to gasp and arch my neck back. He put his hand around my neck, kissing just above his fingertips along my jaw and my chin. “And when you try to defy me.”