Page 60 of Captivated

“Hey, I know you’re rattled right now,” Cooper pulls my attention back to him. “But you need to shut it down and do your job. Remember, protect and serve. That’s our motto.”

“I know. Fuck, man. I… I gotta deal with this later though. I just don’t know how or when. I’m supposed to see her in a couple of days.” My plans were to bring over food so Piper and I could cook dinner together, and then I was gonna ravage her body for hours. Now the thought of being near her right now brings back my urge to hurl.

“Then tell her we need you on shift. Come up with some excuse to get out of it.”

“You mean lie? Like she did to me?”

“Yes, because if you don’t, you’re going to end up saying something you’ll regret and fucking up a good situation.”

I huff. “Remind me what’s good about the situation I’m in again?”

“Despite what you might think, Cash, that woman is good for youandis a good person. My gut is telling me so. I saw you with her, man. Whether or not you want to admit it, you have feelings for her, which aren’t going to go away just because there’s an obstacle to face. What you need to decide ishowto face it.”

“I really hate you right now,” I grumble, looking around us as other deputies mill about.

“That’s okay. A few months ago when you were being the voice of reason, I hated you too. I’ve got to go. Try to get through this shift, and then sort through the shit when you have the time.” Cooper pats me on the shoulder and then walks off, leaving me to gather my wits and my things from my desk and head for my cruiser.

He’s right. I need to take a step back, because I feel like if I go to her place right now, I’m gonna react on the emotions coursing through me and say or do something in the moment that I can’t take back. I may never have been in a relationship before, but I do know myself well enough to decide seeing her right now is not a brilliant idea.

Towards the end of my shift, when I have a moment, I shoot off a text to her.

Me: Hey. Turns out they need me to work Wednesday night. Pulling a double. Won’t be able to stop by. Sorry. See you soon.

Short, sweet, and to the point, although even I know that it sounds like I’m an asshole and I’m avoiding her. I just hope she doesn’t read too much into it.

Chapter 23

Piper

He’s avoiding me. It doesn’t take a genius to read between the lines. Although for the better part of my relationship with Mason, we avoided each other. But since Cash has pursued me, he’s never blown me off. In fact, he was relentless and when I finally caved, he was always the one who initiated contact between us.

Maybe I’m reading too much into it. Maybe they really did need him on shift and that short, curt message was the only thing he could type out with his fingers when he had a spare moment. Yeah, that’s it. He was just in a hurry. He wasn’t trying to be stand-offish, or rude, or avoid me.

But it’s not even just the text he sent me Saturday afternoon, cancelling our plans for Wednesday. It’s the lack of communication for the last three days that has me freaking out. Several sent text messages from me—all read, but never replied to.

So what if he truly is dodging me? What could have happened in the last few days that would make him act that way?Oh, God. Did he hear me talking on the phone with my mom Saturday morning? I wouldn’t usually have her on speakerphone, but I was trying to load the coffee maker and talk to her at the same time. The vibrations of the phone had already woken me up while we were lying in the bed as I frantically escaped the room so he wouldn’t hear it. I thanked my lucky stars that the phone was on vibrate and not the ringtone, but since Cash started staying at my place, I made sure to cover my tracks.

But what if I didn’t cover them well enough?

It’s possible he heard, but no. I’m over-analyzing, overthinking, and creating drama in my head where there aren’t any issues—also known as, the curse of being a girl.

“I think Cash is avoiding me,” I greet Rachel as soon as she picks up the phone. I know I said I was over-analyzing, but when girls do that, of course they need their best friend to tell them whether they’re truly being crazy or not.

“Well, hello to you too. Care to start at the beginning?”

I lie back on my bed, one hand behind my head, the other holding the phone to my ear. Memories of being in this same position years ago speaking to the same person on the other end of the line hit me hard. Except my room isn’t pastel pink anymore, I’m not the naïve girl I was back then, and I actually have a man worth panicking over.

“Cash was supposed to come over tonight, but he texted me three days ago and said he had to work late tonight. In all the time I’ve known him, he’s never had to work late that far in advance. It has always been a spur-of-the-moment thing.”

“Not to be a jerk, but you haven’t known him that long. You’ve only been dating officially for about two weeks, right?”

I huff. “Almost three now, but why can’t you be on my side here?”

“I’m not choosing sides, just stating facts. Continue please.”

“So, I feel like he’s avoiding me…”

“Any reason why you might think that?” I hear the volume of her television turn down substantially in the background.

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