“What?” I all but growled.

“Oh, uh . . . sorry? Did I interrupt something?”

Glancing at the screen, then back to the road, I brought the phone back up to my ear and sighed. “Sorry, Cara, thought you were my cousin. What’s up?”

She giggled and paused before continuing. “Well, I know it’s not Monday or Wednesday, but I’m leaving to go home for break tomorrow and I was thinking we could get together . . .” She trailed off suggestively.

Thoughts of Tyler’s arms wrapped around Cassidy’s waist as she watched me open that picture flashed through my mind and I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. “I’ll be at your place in ten.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

I ran a hand through my hair, pulling at it slightly. Cara was one of the girls I’d been seeing since I started hanging around Cass again. Seeing might be the wrong term, since we never did anything outside of a half hour in the bedroom. Once I realized that Tyler wasn’t full of shit and they were actually together, I’d stopped waiting for a girl who would never be mine and did the one thing I knew would piss Cassidy off more than anything. I slept with every damn girl who was the exact opposite of her. Including Brynn. Tall, red or blond hair, and any eye color other than the golden honey of Cassidy’s eyes, and I was game.

It’s not like I rubbed it in her face; in fact I knew she didn’t have a clue about it, and I wanted to keep it that way. I secretly hated what I was doing . . . I was disgusted with myself but I couldn’t stop. I wanted to forget her, forget the way her small frame felt beneath me and curled up in my arms.

Pulling up outside Cara’s apartment, I hopped out of my truck and made my way to her door. She opened it before I could knock and stood there in black lacy underwear and bra, holding up a foil packet between her index and middle finger with a satisfied smirk or her face. After I grabbed the packet from her, she took my hand and walked me back toward her room, shutting and locking the door once we were in. She turned and wrapped her arms around my neck, bringing my face down to hers, but I removed her arms and pushed her back toward the bed. I couldn’t stop the roll of my eyes when she pouted but kept from saying anything; she knew how it was, and the fact that she was trying to change it just made me know nothing could happen between us after tonight. No kissing, and no holding each other after. The only two things I’d done with Cassidy, and I couldn’t bring myself to do them with anyone else now.

Cara’s pout turned into a hungry grin when I shed my clothes and rolled the condom on. Crawling onto the bed with her, I pulled down her underwear and threw it to the floor before sliding into her. My groan was matched by hers and I had to force my eyes back open before I could get lost trying to picture Cassidy beneath me. I’d made that mistake once already with a girl, Hannah, and the impressively forceful slap I’d received across my face from saying Cass’s name as I came served as a reminder to always keep my eyes open.

An hour later I was back at my place and taking a scalding hot shower, trying to wash away everything Cara. Cassidy’s sweet face when she told me she had a present for me kept flashing through my mind, making me feel even more nauseated over what I’d just done. I was drawing a blank as to why I was still trying to push her out of my mind this way, since it obviously wasn’t working. And God, if she ever found out, I knew she’d never look at me the same way again. The thought of her looking at me with the disgust I already felt had my gut churning even more and I had to steady myself against the wall when I felt like I was going to lose my dinner.

“God, what the hell is wrong with me?” I said out loud. “She doesn’t even want me.”

Shutting off the water, I stepped out of the shower and had just haphazardly tied a towel around my hips when my phone beeped. I cringed at the thought of Cara asking me again to be exclusive when we got back from break. I’d thought it earlier, but knew it for sure now: there was no way in hell I could see her again after tonight. Warily, I picked up my phone and let out a relieved yet strangled breath when I saw Cassidy’s name.

CASSIDY

I’m really sorry you didn’t like the picture. You told me it was your favorite spot on the ranch, and I realized I’d taken a picture of it at some point that week when we got back . . . I just thought . . . Well anyway, like I said you don’t need to keep it. I hope you have a good Christmas and New Year, see you when you get back?

What was I supposed to say to that? I wanted to ask how she could possibly think that was something I’d want to remember. I wanted to tell her I loved it just so she wouldn’t feel like I hated something she’d given me. I wanted to say the part I didn’t like was that she had gone back to Tyler like she always had, and I wanted to beg her to come with me to the ranch and leave Ty there. Jeez, why did she always turn me into such a f**king girl?

I do like the picture, Cass. I’m sorry I left the way I did, there were just a few things I needed to take care of before I left tomorrow. Enjoy your holidays, see you in three weeks.

Three long weeks of my life without Cassidy. Again.

Chapter Nine

CASSIDY

I WAS JUST about to slip into bed when Tyler came walking into my room with a hungry look on his face. Crap, not again. I’d done all our laundry, gone grocery shopping for us and for Gage since he was supposed to be back tomorrow or the next day, and all I wanted to do was lie down. Before I could say anything to him, he picked me up and laid me on the bed. “Ty, I’m really tired—oh!”