13
5480 Words
Two weeks in Thailand flew by so quickly before she knew it, they were back in LA and Lance had set to work developing his film in his studio. Cassia tried to work herself into his time, but it wasn’t easy. She spent a lot of time watching TV in his living room while he worked.
Occasionally he came out of his dark room and turned on his light table to take closer looks at his contact sheets. He often muttered to himself as if talking to himself helped him focus. She watched him putter around his place doing what he did best.
It was late when Cassia fell asleep on his couch. When she woke in the morning, she found herself in his bed. Lance must have moved her during the night. She was alone in bed. Cassia got up and got dressed then went out into the living room where she found Lance right where she’d left him bent over his light table with a magnifying glass looking for flaws.
She walked past him to the pantry where she took down the Frootloops. She heard Lance clear his throat and she put the box back and took down the Special-K. She hated to admit it, but he had been right about everything. She didn’t fit the clothes properly, and it had been a miserable ordeal she did not want to experience again. So, she had a small bowl of cereal and then she used his treadmill for twenty minutes.
As she was stepping off and wiping her face and neck with a towel, Lance called her over. She came to his table where she saw him laying out his final prints. “What do you think?” He asked.
“They’re wonderful.” She said looking each one over. One couldn’t even tell the clothes did not fit well. He always made her look so beautiful, so edgy and fierce.
“I got these done too.” He said placing pictures of their trip on the table. Pictures of them together at the lantern festival. “I think we make a cute couple.” He said putting his arm around her. She thought so too; they looked good together.
“They’re very good.” She said flipping through the pictures of the trip. “Did you make copies? I want a set.”
“I can make copies.” He said sorting the work-related pictures. He put them in a Fed-X envelope and jotted down the address of Venus’ head office. “I’ll just ship these out, and then I’m free.”
Great, she was starting to feel ignored. “No more business lined up?”
“Oh, I got plenty of business lined up but nothing pressing. I can take a week off before I have to get buckle down again.”
“Do you have any business lined up for me?” She asked.
Her first payday had finally cleared, and she had just deposited her cheque for the Venus shoot, in a week or so she would have another five thousand dollars. She had to admit she was getting paid pretty well. Far more than most models just starting, she could only assume that was Lance’s doing. Either they felt they had to pay more to brook him as a package deal or he was just good at negotiation. Either way, she didn’t care she was profiting and that was all she cared about.
“Not as of right now but it shouldn’t take me long to line something up.” He promised. “But I think you can afford to take a week off as well. I thought we might want to get away, go on a vacation.” He suggested.
“We just got back from Thailand.”
“That wasn’t a vacation; that was work. I mean a vacation where we don’t have to work.”
Going away just the two of them, with no schedule to stick to, sounded wonderful. “Where would we go?” She asked leaning on the light table.
Lance put down the envelope and pulled Cassia into his arms. “I was thinking about going to Rookwood Texas.”
Cassia was confused. Go home? “Why would you want to go there? There is nothing there.”
“Your family is there. I thought it was time to meet the folks.”
“You want to meet my father?”
“You met mine.”
“That was under unusual circumstances. Meeting the parents is a big step.”
He gave her a questioning look. “Are you saying you don’t want me to meet your father?”
“I didn’t say that.” She wasn’t sure introducing her new boyfriend to her family was a good idea.
Her family was very redneck, and Lance was very civilized and sophisticated. They would never mix, like gasoline and water. She was worried that if he met her family, he would think she was like them. She didn’t want to be lumped in with them. She loved her father and brothers, but unlike them, she had longed for the big city. To get out of that one-horse town and make something of herself. She grew up poor, and she wanted to be rich. She wanted a prince charming riding in on a white stallion to make her a princess in a better world than the one she came from.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t think you’d like Rookwood or my family.”
He grinned. “So that’s if you don’t think we’d get along?”
“I know you wouldn’t get along.” She knew her brothers, and they were as bad as Lance when it came to people they didn’t understand. People that weren’t like them and Lance couldn’t be more different. “I just don’t want you to think I’m like them.”
Lance pulled her close and kissed her lips. “We’re not our families. I’m not going to hold them against you.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready to subject you to my brothers.”
“Would it make you feel better if I subjected you to mine first?”
“Not really.” She had the feeling that her brothers were far worse than he would be. “Do you want to meet my family?”
“Yes.” He said with a smile of confidence she did not have. “I’m sure I can hold my own.”
They had been together for about a month now, so she supposed that meeting the family was the natural progression of a relationship. Still, she couldn’t help but feel like it was a bad idea. She would have to hope that her family would play nice and that Lance had a thick skin.
***
Cassia had called in advance, warning her father that she was coming home and bringing company. Her father sounded excited to have her home and to meet the man that had likely saved his only daughter’s life weeks ago. It had been such big news it had even made the news in Rookwood. She was hoping her family’s gratitude would buy Lance some grace.
Her father said he’d make up her old bedroom and that Lance could sleep in one of the other rooms. She didn’t want to stay at the farmhouse. Neither did Lance. He had also called ahead and booked a room in Wildwood the next town over.
They drove to Rookwood; there was no way Cassia was getting on another plane if she didn’t have to. Besides she had a feeling Lance’s Lamborghini would knock her brothers dead. They stopped in Wildwood to settle into their room which was nothing special. Just a double bed and an old TV with three channels. She was sure Lance was used to better surrounding, but in places like this, it was the best Wildwood had to offer.
Cassia called from the hotel to tell her father they were on their way. They would be joining her family for dinner. Since it was just a quiet night on the farm, Lance dressed down in a simple t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Cassia chose a pair of jean shorts and a halter top. It was fancier then most people wore in places like this but she had changed in her seven months away from home, she wasn’t the same country girl she had been when she left.
They were coming up the drive around six, the tires kicking up dust. The Lamborghini had some serious speed when let loose on the interstate. They had made good time. The front yard were packed with trucks. Her brothers were already there. As they pulled up behind Tom’s black four-by-four, the front door to the little house opened, and her family came out to welcome them.
Cassia took a deep breath. They were just as they were when she left. Dirty from a day in the field with a beer can in one hand and a cigarette in the other. John and Tom had even brought their girlfriends. This was going to be a long night.
“So, this is where you grew up?” Lance said looking around. “Quaint.” She was sure he was just being nice. There was no going back now. They got out of the car which was quickly being circled by the boys.
“Wow, this is a sweet car,” Rupert said running his hand over the hood.
“It must have cost a fortune,” Ernie said taking a drag from his cigarette. All her brothers looked a lot like her with their dark hair and light eyes, except John and Ernie were a bit taller than Tom and Rupert. John was the oldest followed by Tom then Ernie and Rupert. Cassia was not only the only girl but the baby of the family.
“Is that Cassia” Erika Witmen gasped when she saw Cassia. Erika and John had been dating for the last four years. They lived together in a trailer ten minutes from their father’s farm. She was a pretty blond closer to Lance’s age than her own.
“Oh, my look at her hair.” Ginger Rockwell said coming to Cassia’s side. “It’s so short.” Ginger was Tom’s new girlfriend; she had been his last girlfriend’s best friend until she caught Tom and Ginger in bed together last year. Both women were the usual small-town beauties, with long hair and curvy figures, very different from Cassia’s slim build.
“You look so different,” John said touching her hair. “Like a total stranger.”
“Holly hell on wheels it’s Lucas Sanchez!” Rupert yelled jumping up and down like a groupie meeting a rock star. “I saw you jump a dirt bike over a football field last June.” He said shaking Lance’s hand. “You are so cool. Cassia you said you were dating a photographer, not a daredevil.”
“I am dating a photographer.” She said.
Lance pried his hand from her brother’s grip a little annoyed. “I’m Lance, not Lucas.” He corrected.
“So, you’re not the daredevil?” Ernie asked.
“No, but Lucas is my brother.”
“Twins, cool,” Tom said. “So, you take pictures of clothes for a living?” He chuckled mockingly. “Isn’t that a bit of a sissy job?”
“I take pictures of beautiful women for a living and then at the end of the day I get to go to bed with those beautiful women. And my sissy job paid for my lavish lifestyle and this car. When was the last time you made ten grand for a day’s work?” Lance asked rather calmly. “I’m the top in my field; my time is worth money and my opinion are important. Can you say the same?” He asked with calm composure.
Cassia looked back at Tom. Lance had just insulted him, and she wasn’t entirely sure Tom wouldn’t deck him. The two men kept intense eye contact staring each other down, then Tom laughed. “City boy has got a little bite to him. You got to respect that.”
“Can I see it?” John asked.
“See what?” Lance asked lifting one dark brow curiously.
“The knife wound. The news says you got knifed protecting my baby sister. I want to see it.” John said coming over to Lance’s side.
“He’s not going to show you don’t be grotesque.” Cassia snapped. They were going to make Lance uncomfortable.
“No, it’s ok,” He said lifting his t-shirt to expose the still healing gash in his side.
“Ooo, that looks nasty,” Rupert said bending over to take a better look. “Looks like it hurt.”
“It did,” Lance said lowering his shirt.
“Well you know what they say,” Ernie said lifting his beer to his lips, “Chicks dig scars.”
“So, you’re rich and heroic?” Erika smiled flirtatiously. “Looks like Cassia landed her a good one.” Cassia didn’t like the way the girls were looking at Lance and judging from the look on their faces neither did Tom or John.
“Well we are all mighty grateful you are the heroic type.” Her father said pushing past his sons to shake Lance’s hand. “I shiver to think what might have happened to my baby without you. My name is Walter Dillinger.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Dillinger,” Lance said shaking his hand.
“Oh, please call me Walter. You’ve already met my boys; John, Tom, Ernie, and Rupert. This is John’s girlfriend Erika, and Tom’s girlfriend Ginger.” He said patting John’s back. “You must be starving after your long drive. Erika and Ginger have whipped up a hell of a home-cooked meal. Cassia must cook for you all the time.”
Lance looked at her father and then her. “Cassia doesn’t cook for me; we go out.” He clarified getting an odd look from her family.
“What is the point of having a woman around if she ain’t going to cook for you?” Ernie asked with genuine confusion. “Do you do all the women’s work?”
“In my family, there is no such thing as women’s work,” Lance said sternly. “My Mother would beat me senseless if I dared even to suggest such a thing.”
“You’re scared of a woman?” John laughed.
“Am I scared of my Mother? Yes, you would be too if you met her.”
“I think a healthy respect for the women in your life is an amiable trait.” Ginger said.
“Well, you’re missing out buddy because Cassia’s a pretty good cook,” Rupert said.
“I’m sure she is she made me a great pie.”
“Cherry cheesecake?” Tom asked. “Damn I miss those pies. Cassia, get in there and make us a pie.”
“Don’t be silly. Your sister is visiting she’s not going to spend the whole visit in the kitchen.” Her father scolded. “Come on let’s go inside. Erika makes a killer fried chicken.
Lance looked at Cassia like he wanted to say no way but wasn’t going to come out and say it. She knew what he was thinking. Fried chicken was not only a million calories, but it was also greasy and fatty. It was the absolute worst thing they could have made, but she should have suspected as much. Her family wasn’t exactly the salad eating vegans one found in LA.
Her family headed in and Cassia laced her fingers with Lance’s and trailed behind. “I’m sorry I should have warned you they would make something like this. We could tell them you’re a vegetarian and see if Erika will whip up a salad.”
“And make your brother’s think I’m a bigger sissy then they already do? I’ll eat the chicken.” He said as they went into the house.
It was a small house cluttered with a lot of furniture, shelves and various country décor. They settled in around the long wooden table in the dining room. Lance pulled out Cassia’s chair, and her family stared at him like he was crazy.
“Well look at that a city boy with manners.” Ginger giggled. “Why don’t you ever take out my chair?” She asked Tom.
“Why would I? Are your arms broken?”
Lance took the seat next to Cassia. “My parents instilled manners into all us boys. It’s just second nature now I don’t even think before I do it.” Lance said as he watched Erika place a platter of greasy fried chicken in the middle of the table.
“You sound like you come from a good family.” Ginger said as the boys attacked the platter of food before them like rabid wolves.
Their father slammed his fist against the table and brought everything to a standstill. “Boys,” he barked, “we have company, try to show a little restraint.”
“Yes, Pa,” John said taking three pieces and passing the platter to Ernie. The platter went around the table, and when it reached Lance, he picked up one piece, placed it on his plate, and then looked at his greasy hand and turned up his nose. “You have an aversion to good food?”
“I have an aversion to packing on twenty pounds and clogging my arteries.” He said reaching for a napkin to wipe his hand off.
“I suppose the city boy only eats rice cakes and summer salads.” Tom teased as he passed the potato salad.
The bowl made its way around the table, and Lance looked into the half-empty bowl of potato, egg, and mayonnaise. “You people ever hear of vegetables?” Lance scoffed as he took a scoop and passed it on. Cassia looked at Lance pleadingly. His true nature was starting to shine through. She didn’t want to defuse a fight tonight.
“I suppose you only eat steamed organic baby peas.” Rupert chuckled taking a big scoop of potato salad.
“Well, all those chemicals are bad for you,” Lance said poking his food with his fork. He looked turned off by what was on his plate.
“Cassia darling, look at you,” Erika said, changing the topic, “You look so thin.”
“That’s because she doesn’t eat this crap anymore,” Lance said without thinking.
“What he means is I’ve been eating healthier since I moved to LA,” Cassia said quickly trying to play the insult down. Cassia then leaned in close to Lance and lowered her voice so the others couldn’t hear her. “Will you please smile and eat it. Just this once.”
“Ok but if I have a heart attack on the way back to the hotel I’m holding you responsible.” He muttered and picked up the chicken to take a bit. He bit off a small piece of chicken and then forced a smile.
“So, Lance, you said us, boys, does that mean you have brothers?” Her father asked.
“Yes, four, I’m the oldest.”
“I thought you were a twin?” Ernie asked.
“I came out first. I’m older by ten minutes.”
“What do your parents do?” Her father asked.
“My Mother is a ballerina, and my Father is in the music industry. He owns Blue Moon Records and Chase Recordings. He used to be a drummer for a punk rock band called FX, but he’s been retired from the stage for about fifteen years.”
“Wait your father is Damien Sanchez?” Her father asked. She was surprised he knew the band; her father was a hard-core bluegrass fan. “I dated a girl back in high school that loved that band. She took me to one of their concerts back in the day. I’m not really into rock, but they put on a pretty good show. Cassia you landed a seriously well-connected guy. I’m impressed.”
“There is more to Lance than just connections and money.” She said awkwardly. Her family was making such a big deal over who he was.
“Yeah, he’s cute too.” Ginger winked at him only to be glared at by Cassia and Tom. Something told Cassia all Lance had to do was say the word and the hussy would jump him right at the table.
Lance just smiled that easy, confident smile that made women melt. Annoyed Cassia picked up her chicken and took a big bite. Lance shot her a nasty look. The sort of look that said, ‘you better intend to run after eating that.’ They made it through the meal, and then Cassia helped the ladies clear the table and do the dishes while the boys took Lance out onto the porch to have a beer.
“He’s great,” Ginger said nudging Cassia. “How did you get a guy like him?”
“We started working together and things just evolved from there.” She said honestly.
“I’m impressed seven months in LA, and you’ve got yourself a sugar daddy.” Ginger giggled. “Has he given you anything cool yet?”
“I’m not with him for his money.” She snapped and then looked down at the charm bracelet on her wrist. She felt a little guilty now. He’s spent so much money on her, paid her rent, bought her clothes and this bracelet. She could see how people would think she was taking advantage of his wealth and his connections. After all, he did build her career off his pull in the industry. When she thought about it, maybe she had been using him, at least in the beginning, but things had changed. She cared for Lance, quite a bit. Oh, dear, this was probably why his mother didn’t like her, she thought Cassia was a gold digger. “There is more to it than money; he’s a great guy.”
Both Erika and Ginger laughed. “Oh, please after that dinner I know one thing. He’s a jerk.” Erika said. “We all heard what he said about the food.”
“Well yes, he can be a little abrasive.” She would admit he had been a little rude at dinner, but that was just him. “He can be really sweet when he wants to be, and he’s well-bred, you saw the way he behaves, the way he thinks. It’s nice to be with a guy that can appreciate a woman without saying something utterly sexist.”
“I like him,” Erika said putting a plate in the cupboard. “Honestly I thought when you went away to LA you’d come back with a drug dealer or some other kind of gang thug.”
“Are his brother’s single?” Ginger asked.
Cassia glared at her. “You know you’re dating my brother, right?”
“I’m willing to trade up.”
Cassia tossed her towel on the counter. She’d had enough of Ginger eye humping her man. Cassia went outside to find Lance. “I want to leave.” She said outright.
“Oh, thank god,” Lance said getting up from the wicker chair and handing his half-drunk beer in Tom’s hand. “Well I wish I could say it was nice to meet you all, but my Mother told me never to lie.” He took her hand and in a brisk walk drug Cassia to the car.
“Bye Daddy,” Cassia called back as Lance opened the passenger door. “Thanks for supper. I love you.” She said getting in. Lance wasted no time getting behind the wheel. He looked back and backed out onto the road.
They drove back to Wildwood. Lance took her hand in his and kissed the back of her knuckles. “I love you babe, but your family are pigs.”
Cassia was annoyed. Sure, her family had their drawbacks, but she loved them. “My family are not pigs… wait what did you say?” He had distracted her with an insult, but she thought he said he loved her.
“I said your family are pigs.”
“I heard that the other thing you said.”
“I didn’t say anything else.”
“Yes, you did you said you loved me.” She said. “I heard it.”
“I did not.”
“Yes, you did.”
“Well if I did I didn’t mean to.” He said making a left turn.
“You didn’t mean to insult my family or to say you loved me?”
“I meant to insult your family but not to say I love you.”
“So, are you saying you don’t love me?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You do love me?”
“I didn’t say that.”
He was frustratingly aloof. “What are you saying?”
“Nothing.” He said and then glanced over at her. “Why, do you want me to be saying something?”
She didn’t know how to answer that. Would it be nice if he loved her? Yes, it would but could a man like Lance fall in love with a woman like her? Her feelings for Lance had become strong over the past few weeks. She didn’t know if it were love, but it was defiantly something.
“Have you ever said I love you?”
“I say I love you to my Mother all the time.”
That wasn’t the answer she was looking for. “Have you ever said it to a woman that wasn’t your mother?”
“Does my Aunt count?” He asked, with a playful grin.
“No. Did you tell Cindy Ratter you loved her?”
His smile faded at the mention of that woman’s name. He turned his eyes back to the road. “I’d rather not talk about her.”
She was going to take that as a yes. He had told other women he loved them. But he wasn’t going to repeat it to her. Either he was being defensive and had merely slipped up when he said it, or he said it with so much frequency it meant nothing. She really couldn’t tell which.
***
I love you… he hadn’t meant to say it out loud. Did he mean it? He wasn’t sure. Did he have feelings for Cassia? Most definitely they were strong too, it worried him. Everything was happening so fast between them; his feelings became stronger each day. He loved the way she made him feel, but if he was, to be honest with himself, it scared him. He’d fancied himself in love before, and it never worked out for him. He could only hope this time would be different, but he would never really truly know for sure. It was better for him if he kept his feeling to himself. Saying I love you would only complicate things and the last thing he wanted to do was complicate things.
They drove the rest of the way in awkward silence. Lance unlocked the door to their suite, and they went inside. They didn’t speak a word to each other and Lance couldn’t help but feel it was his fault she wasn’t speaking to him. He had accidentally opened up a can of worms. He had said something she wanted to hear and then had quickly taken it back. Now there was a distance between them.
Lance watched as Cassia sat on the bed to remove her shoes. “I’m going to take a shower.” She said heading for the washroom.
“Cassia.” He spoke bringing her to a stop. She looked back at him, and he sat down on the foot of the bed. “I’ve been thinking. You spend all your time with me anyway, really isn’t it a little ridiculous to pay rent when you spend every night in my place?”
She lifted a quizzical brow. “What are you getting at?”
This was hard for him to say. He’d never asked it of anyone. It was all new territory. “I was thinking why don’t you move in with me?” She was quiet for a long time which was making Lance uncomfortable. He was starting to worry she was going to say no.
“That’s not funny.” She finally spoke. “You’re just playing with me, and I’m not in the mood.”
“I’m not playing with you.” He countered. “I’m serious. I want you to move in with me.”
“Isn’t that a little fast?” She asked. “It’s only been a month.”
She was right about the timing, but it felt like the right move. “Is that a no?” He asked.
“I didn’t say that.” She said sitting on the bed next to him. “You’re serious about this? I mean, what is your mother going to think if we move in together?”
She had a good point his mother was going to flip. She would defiantly think he’d lost his mind, but he couldn’t limit his life to what she thought he should do, he’d never do anything. “I don’t care what she thinks. I know it’s fast, but it feels right. If you like, we can test it. Pay the rent for another month where you are, but you stay with me. If it works out, you stop paying rent.” It was the most reasonable offer he could make.
Cassia thought about it and then smiled. “I think it’s crazy, but I like crazy. Ok, I’ll move in.”
“You know there is no way to keep this quiet; I give it a week before the whole world knows. Are you ready to live your life in the public eye?”
Cassia leaned in and kissed his lips. “As long as we’re together.”
- Writer
