Chapter 16: The Storm Stories
Cassie grinned, clearly delighted to have an audience. She leaned back on the bench, stretching her legs out in front of her with the smug satisfaction of someone about to deliver a well-rehearsed performance.
Cassie grinned, clearly delighted to have an audience. She leaned back on the bench, stretching her legs out in front of her with the smug satisfaction of someone about to deliver a well-rehearsed performance.
"So, okay, so," she began, gesturing with her water bottle. "Day one of the storm, right? Marcus texts me, says the roads are closing, I should come over before they get bad. So I pack a bag, I trudge over there, and I'm expecting, like, a Netflix marathon and maybe some chili. You know, the standard snow day fare."
A chorus of knowing murmurs rippled through the room.
"We get to his place, and he's already got this whole setup going. Candles everywhere. Like, a concerning amount of candles. His roommate was stuck at his parents' place, so we had the whole apartment to ourselves. He'd made this playlist, this soft, slow thing with all these songs I'd never heard but they were perfect. And he'd cooked, like, an actual meal. Chicken parmesan. Made from scratch, not the frozen kind."
"Shut up," Joanna breathed. "Marcus? From the engineering building? He cooks?"
"From scratch," Cassie repeated, savouring the admission. "He had a salad and everything. And then after dinner, we just, like, sat there on his couch, listening to the snow hit the windows, and he just looked at me with this expression, and I knew exactly what was going to happen."
"...like, he just looked at me with this expression, and I knew exactly what was going to happen." Cassie paused for dramatic effect, letting the silence hang in the locker room like smoke. "So he leans in, and he kisses me. And I mean, really kisses me. Not the quick peck he gives me when he drops me off after class. This was the kind of kiss that makes your toes curl inside your socks."
Joanna made a soft, envious noise. "Okay, that's adorable. That's actually adorable."
"It gets better," Cassie said, her grin widening. "So we're making out on his couch, and it's getting heavy, right? And he just stands up and scoops me up like I weigh nothing. Like I'm a bag of groceries. And he carries me to his bedroom because he's a gentleman and he's not going to do this on a couch like an animal."
"Marcus?" Alyssa said, eyebrows raised. "The quiet guy with the glasses? That Marcus?"
"The very same. And when we get to his bedroom, he's got the lights dimmed and the blankets already turned down. He set the whole thing up in advance. I'm telling you girls, I almost cried right there. He laid me down like I was made of glass, and then he just looked at me for a minute, like he was memorizing me. And then he started kissing me again, slow and deep, and his hands were everywhere, and I mean everywhere."