Page 17 of Cash

"I have to get out there, but we should go out some time," he said, trying to be as smooth as possible.

She just nodded at him with a sly smile. He didn't know why, but all he wanted to do was rumple her perfect presence. He wanted to get his hands in the perfectly styled hair and kiss her until she didn't know her own name. Then he wanted to play with her until she was begging for release. He hadn't wanted anyone like this before. He had been right about her the night of the gala. She was something special and he just couldn't stop looking at her.

"Mr. Hawthorn?" the small voice said again.

"Yep, let's do this." He turned and followed the woman to the other rink and got his skates on for the meet and greet with the players.

When he finished, he was hoping he might be able to catch Evie between classes and maybe plan a time he could take her out to dinner. He could tell his normal tactics wouldn't be enough for a woman like her, but he was willing to up his game. Deep down, there was part of him that was afraid. She was way out of his league, he could tell that right now, but that wasn't going to stop him from pursuing her. He would stop if she told him to, but she hadn't yet. He wasn't going to give up until then.

But when he got to the observation window for the other rink where most of the figure skating took place, he stopped. There on the ice alone was Evie. She was gracefully skating to what sounded like Tori Amos. His mouth dropped open as he watched her glide elegantly across the ice. Then she jumped into a spin. She was captivating.

"Are you ready to get out of here?"

He jumped at the surprise of a voice cutting in on this perfect moment. He turned to see Wes standing next to him, giving him an interested look. He turned to the ice and saw Evie gliding gracefully around the rink. There was a part of him that didn't want Wes to look at her. There was a part of him that wanted to claim this graceful creature as his own. He took a calming breath to get rid of those thoughts. Wes was happy with his new girlfriend; he had no reason to be jealous. Not to mention he had never been out on a real date with her, a one-night stand didn’t count for much, but he was hoping to change that soon.

"Is that the woman you were dancing with at the gala?" Wes asked.

Cash nodded.

Wes's cocky grin pissed him off.

"What are you grinning about?" he asked as they turned to leave.

"Nothing, just noticing you seem interested in that woman. Is Cash Hawthorn going to become a one-man woman?"

"Shut up..."

"I say go for it. First me, then Conner, it looks like the whole team is going to wifey up." he said playfully punching his arm.

"You’re ridiculous. Just because you did doesn't mean I want to," he grumbled.

"Whatever you say man, I'm going to Mystic Falls to have amazing sex with my beautiful girlfriend. Have fun at home," Wes said as they got out to the parking lot.

"Fuck you," Cash said.

"See you next week man," Wes shot him a grin as he got in his car.

"Yeah, see ya," Cash said as he made his way to his truck.

While he wasn't interested in getting 'wifey-ed up,' as Wes so obnoxiously put it. He was interested in getting to know Evie more. He would text her later, but even if she wouldn't go out with him, he had the week of camp to get her to say yes. He knew he could do it, then he just had to prove that there was more to him than his playboy image. He could do that right? How hard could it be?

Later that night he got a text from her. He responded immediately and watched hopeful as the dots danced at the bottom of his phone screen but then they stopped...and nothing. Damn...He wasn't used to this.

10

EVIE

“Ithink the pink peonies on the center pieces clash with the pink in the ribbons. They really should have checked that.” Evie’s mother tsked with irritation.

“They look lovely, mom,” Evie said.

“I just want things to be perfect for your sister’s shower. I did invite Mrs. Winters after I talked to her the other day.”

“What?” Her eyebrows shot up and she turned to look at her mother.

“Oh, don’t be dramatic, Evelyn. It was the polite thing to do after speaking with her the other week. There was a time when she was almost family.”

“Yeah, there was. That time ended when I broke up with her son.”

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