Reflections on Ice Ch. 05

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Can one of them find the courage to take the next step?
9.7k words
4.83
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Part 5 of the 8 part series

Updated 06/08/2023
Created 05/31/2017
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MugsyB
MugsyB
2,722 Followers

Later that week, Cassia met her friends at the dressmaker's. Vivian and Olivia hid themselves behind the curtain of the big change room while Cassia and Janis stood nearby, glasses of champagne in hand.

"I can't believe the wedding is so soon already." Janis sighed and glanced at the ring on her hand. "Then I suppose I'll have to give my own nuptials some consideration."

Cassia laughed. "You sound less than enthusiastic."

"You know I've never been one for planning things."

"So elope."

Janis turned to her, a surprised look on her face. "But then you won't be my maid of honor."

Cassia gave her a wry smile. "I'll learn to live with the disappointment." Her cell phone started to ring and she pulled it out of her pocket. "Oh, it's Carol."

"Ask her where the hell she is." Janis pointed her champagne hand at the phone.

"Hi, Carol. Janis says you're really late."

"I got stuck at work." Carol sounded out of breath. "It's been a nightmare."

"Well, we're all here, waiting on you. Vivian refuses to come out until you're here."

"Is that Carol you're talking to?" The bride-to-be called out from the behind the curtain. "Stop messing with her."

Cassia grinned. "She's really pissed that you're late."

"Cass!" Vivian's tone was scandalized now.

"I'm a few blocks away. There was no parking closer to the shop."

"OK. Hurry up!"

Janis laughed and Cassia joined in after Carol replied with a colorful epithet.

"See you soon." Cassia ended the call and slid her phone back in her pocket.

"She's going to be so annoyed with you."

Cassia shrugged. Carol was usually annoyed about something, all the time. "I'm fine with that."

The curtain jerked aside and Olivia stepped out, leaving Vivian in the change room. "She's almost ready."

"She doesn't need your help now?"

Olivia grabbed a glass of champagne and downed half in one swallow. "She insisted on finishing the veil without me, so I can have the full effect with the rest of you."

They all exchanged a look.

Janis lifted her glass to her lips, her eyes dancing over the rim. "And all this time we thought she'd avoided becoming a bridezilla."

"I heard that!"

They dissolved into laughter, just as Carol hurried into the shop.

"I'm here!" She hurried over and eyed the glasses in their hands. "Are you guys drunk?"

"Not yet!" Olivia poured her a glass and thrust it in Carol's hand. "Time for you to catch up."

Carol wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, I can't stand champagne."

"Just drink it." Cassia lifted her own to her mouth and took a long swallow. It wasn't her drink of choice either, but it was free from the shop, so why not.

Vivian's voice rose through the curtain. "OK. Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

She thrust the curtain aside and stepped out, the biggest smile on her face that Cassia had ever seen.

"Oh wow!" Janis pressed a hand over her mouth. "You look stunning."

Vivian came forward and stepped onto the little platform before the mirrors. "You really think so?"

They all nodded their agreement, cooing and making comments as they surrounded her, fluffing out the skirt and admiring.

"It suits you perfectly, Viv." Olivia brushed some imaginary lint from one side.

"I'm so happy with it."

Cassia lifted her glass in a salute. "Then so are we."

The others echoed their agreement as Vivian turned one way, then the other, checking herself from all angles.

Cassia turned back to fill her glass again and perched on the arm of a nearby sofa, watching her friends. She did love Vivian's dress. It was traditional enough, but the layer of black lace around the bottom half of the skirt was a modern twist that suited Vivian, just as Olivia had said. The veil was light, not heavy enough to obscure her face, and she definitely had the bust to pull off the strapless look.

Her gaze drifted from her group of friends to the row of dresses along the wall behind them. She got to her feet and wandered over, brushing a hand down one plastic covered gown as she sipped her champagne.

She'd never given much thought to what sort of wedding she'd have. All her life, she'd been the least girly of her friends. She'd been more interested in playing games, kicking a ball or tinkering in engines with her dad. Now that she was surrounded by all the white lace, tulle and silk, she still didn't feel a nagging urge to find a man and settle down.

Her thoughts turned to Dylan and the conversations they'd had. He'd talked about his sisters' weddings but never mentioned any of his own opinions on the matter. Not that that should surprise her. Dylan was a normal guy, and most guys couldn't care less about weddings and planning for them. Cassia smiled, sliding to the next dress and looking it over.

"Don't tell me you're planning your own wedding already."

Cassia glanced over her shoulder at Carol. "Mine? No."

"Because you've only been seeing this Dylan for what? A few weeks?"

Cassia frowned and stepped away from the dresses. "So?"

"I was with Brad for two years and he still freaked out about weddings and marriage just because I was talking about Vivian's so much."

"Well, I'm not planning a wedding. I was just looking at the dresses, that's all."

Carol sighed, following her to the little sofa where they both sat down, while Olivia and Janis fussed over Vivian in her dress before them. "You say you're just looking, but I saw the smile on your face."

Cassia downed the last of her glass, wrinkling her nose at the fizzing bubbles. "What smile?"

"The sort of smile you get when you're thinking about the one you like."

"'The one I like'?" Cassia rolled her eyes. "Are we still in high school?"

"Of course not but it doesn't change the smile." Carol crossed her arms over her chest. "You had it on your face the whole night at Vivian and Troy's."

"I did not." Cassia shook her head.

Carol ignored her. "Dylan seems like a nice guy, but you know any guy can seem nice at first. Look at Alex." She paused, her expression darkening. "Look at Brad."

"Dylan is a good guy. He's nothing like Alex, and Brad was a good guy, too, and you know it."

"Yeah, he was good until he wasn't." Carol blew out a breath and fell silent.

Cassia glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. Carol had always been one of her closest friends, but sometimes, she got on these negative skids, and could be really difficult to deal with.

Vivian turned around on the wide podium, smiling at them. "How does it look? Anything need adjusting?"

Cassia shook her head. "I can't tell, Viv. It looks great to me."

The dress shop employee who'd been hovering nearby all evening was moving around Vivian, pinching a bit of material hear and there, but she straightened after a moment. "I think it's perfect, miss. No more adjustments needed."

Vivian clasped her hands together and turned to gaze at herself in the mirror. She let out a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm getting married in less than four weeks."

"It's coming up fast." Olivia nodded in agreement. "But everything is on track. It's going to be a beautiful wedding."

Cassia and Carol stood to join their friends beside Vivian. They all stared into the mirrors, and smiled.

Janis looked up at the bride-to-be. "Vivian, are you crying?"

"I'm fine." Vivian sniffed and wiped her cheek. "I'm just feeling a little nostalgic, I guess. Remember when we cut up your sheets in the fifth grade, and made veils for ourselves?"

They all laughed at the memory.

"My mom was so mad." Janis shook her head. "She made me work in the store for weeks that summer to work off the cost of the sheets."

They fell silent for another moment, memories washing over them. Cassia couldn't help joining in the nostalgia. She loved her friends, negative moments, fancy weddings and all. It seemed like everyone was getting married, and then they'd be having kids before they knew it. Cassia was starting to feel like she was years behind her friends. Most days, she barely felt like an adult, preferring pie and playing with cars to dating.

An image of Dylan's crooked smile flashed through her mind. She turned away from the mirror before any of her friends would notice the color in her cheeks.

"OK, I'm getting hungry." Olivia followed Cassia to the table with the nearly empty bottle of champagne. "Let's have one last toast to Vivian, and then pick a restaurant."

They agreed, holding their glasses out for more. Then they held them up, grinning as Vivian continued to sniffle.

A short while later, they were all out on the sidewalk, walking towards a nearby Greek restaurant called Manie's. During dinner, conversation for once didn't revolve around the wedding. They discussed Vivian and Troy's honeymoon choice and talk turned to all their upcoming vacation plans.

"St. Lucia is going to be amazing." Vivian grinned, leaning her elbows on the table. "It'll be so nice to relax after all the wedding hoopla."

"I can't wait to go to London." Olivia sighed. "I've been dreaming of it for years."

"Will you go to Scotland while you're there?" Cassia sipped her drink, a fruity cocktail she'd never tried before. "Or Wales?"

"We'll only be there for two weeks, so I don't know if we'll have time for all of it." Olivia shrugged. "We'll see once we get there."

"What about you, Carol?" Vivian's smile dimmed. "Are you still going to go to Napa Valley in May?"

Carol frowned. "Probably not. It was meant to be a romantic vacation for two."

"You could change the reservation. Maybe go with your sister, Maya. She likes wine." Janis touched Carol's hand. "You shouldn't cancel everything."

"Maybe. We'll see."

"What are you and Matt going to do this summer, Janis?"

"Oh, I don't know." Janis twisted her glass of wine around on the table. "He was talking about driving to the coast for a few days, maybe visiting his grandparents in Galveston."

"That would be nice." Vivian turned to her with a smile. "A pre-wedding getaway."

Cassia hid her smile as Janis made a face. "I suppose."

"And you, Cass? Will you and Dylan go somewhere romantic after his season is over?" Carol's question was casual but pointed, and all their faces turned to Cassia.

"Uh..." Cassia took another sip of her drink before setting it down. She really ought to stop drinking. As it was, she was feeling fuzzy-headed enough to not trust herself to drive home. "We haven't discussed anything."

"Do you think you will?" Olivia leaned forward, her expression one of avid interest.

"I don't know. We've only been seeing each other for a little while. We've barely planned anything for the weekend, never mind the summer."

"You could always go with him to his hometown." Janis smiled, going on as if Cassia hadn't spoken. "He could take you all around his old hangouts and meet his family."

Cassia's eyes widened as her other friends took up the conversation from there, agreeing and having an entire trip to Alberta planned for her and Dylan before she could get a word in edgewise.

"Oh, they could totally take a romantic train-ride through the mountains."

"Yeah, and they could go horseback riding and roast marshmallows."

"Or go star-gazing at night."

"Oh, that would be so romantic!"

Cassia clapped her hands over her face, her cheeks burning. "You guys, stop, please."

"Oh, come on." Janis slapped her arm. "You know you'd love to be alone with Dylan in some remote location, only the two of you and the stars above..."

Cassia couldn't look at her friend. It was true. Star-gazing was a favorite pastime, and something she hardly ever did anymore. The thought of laying beside Dylan, in the dark, no one and nothing around for miles, was distracting, to say the least.

Cassia dropped her hands and reached for her drink again. "All right. Fine, I would love to take a vacation with Dylan, but we're nowhere near that stage of our relationship." She didn't tell her friends that their relationship was never going to be near that stage. Or that they didn't even have a relationship, beyond friendship.

"Can we change the subject please?"

They laughed but conversation turned to other topics after that. As they sat around later, waiting for the check, Cassia eyed her phone and wondered how she was going to get home. Carol lived too far away from her to ask, and Janis and Olivia were getting picked up by their men shortly. Vivian hadn't driven herself, as she lived only a short walk from the dressmaker's.

Janis saw her fiddling with her phone. "Are you going to call your boyfriend?"

Cassia shook her head, but Olivia spoke up before she could respond.

"Ooh! A booty call! Do it, let's all hear it!"

A laugh escaped Cassia. "No way."

"I'll do it." Janis snatched her phone out of her hand.

Cassia gasped and tried to reach for it, but Janis was too quick, scrolling through her contacts and hitting 'send' when she located Dylan. Oh shit, oh shit...

"Dylan? Hi, it's Janis, Cassia's friend. Do you remember me?" Janis turned a wicked grin on Cassia, still leaning away from her. "Of course, you are such a gentleman." A pause. "Oh, we're just finishing up dinner here. Yes, Cassia's all right, aren't you sweet to ask." Another pause, and Janis' eyes widened. "Why, yes, she would like to see you tonight. Do you know Manie's on Willis? Oh, good. Yes, we'll keep her safe until you get here. Talk to you soon. Bye."

Cassia gaped at her friend as she handed the phone back. "I can't believe you just did that."

"He's on his way. Apparently he doesn't live too far from here, and he was waiting for your call."

Cassia was mortified. And yet, underneath her embarrassment, her heart started beating double time at the thought of seeing Dylan again so soon. She knew he'd talked about taking her to a movie, but he hadn't called her since the cookout. She pocketed her phone, trying to will the butterflies in her stomach to calm down. This was an unplanned meeting and she didn't know what she'd say when he arrived.

Fifteen minutes later, the five of them loitered on the sidewalk out front of the restaurant, chatting about the bridal shower in two weeks. Janis was hosting it at her place, as the maid of honor. Cassia nodded as Janis reminded her to bring the balloons. Then a truck rolled up to the curb and stopped, and Dylan jumped out of the driver's side.

"Good evening, ladies."

"Hi, Dylan." They chorused, sing-song.

Cassia covered her eyes with one hand. A moment later, she felt a hand on her waist and dropped her hand in time to see Dylan leaning over her.

"Hi." His voice was pitched low. "How are you?"

"I think I'm dying of embarrassment."

He grinned and leaned closer. Cassia's breath caught when she thought he was going to kiss her. He did, his lips brushing her cheek, awfully close to her mouth. As he straightened, she felt regret tug at her insides.

"Does anyone else need a ride home?"

The other four ladies shook their heads.

"All right." He looked down at Cassia, his hand still warm on her waist. "You ready to go?"

She nodded, waved to her friends and climbed in the passenger side of the truck as Dylan held it open for her. A minute later, they drove away from the restaurant, and Cassia leaned back in her seat, breathing deep. They didn't speak for so long that Cassia started to feel drowsy.

"Did you have a good time?"

"What?" She lifted her head to look at him.

"Did you have a good time with the girls?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry about Janis calling you."

He shot her a look and shrugged. "It's fine. I was going to call you tonight anyway."

"You were?"

"Of course. We need to get more information about each other."

Cassia laughed. "Do we? Well, you know I have a habit of drinking too much and needing you to take me home."

"It's my pleasure."

Cassia didn't know if she could believe him, but he smiled when he looked her way again. "What were you doing when Janis called?"

"Nothing. Catching up on some emails." He flicked the turn signal on as they approached an intersection. "My sisters like to send me weekly updates of them and their kids and they get ticked off if I don't write back regularly."

Cassia smiled. "You're scared of your sisters."

"I wouldn't say I'm scared."

She laughed. "You live thousands of miles away. What would they do if you didn't write back?"

"Hunt me down and pinch me to death." Dylan's expression was deadpan and Cassia laughed again.

"I'm starting to understand more of why you have women troubles."

Dylan slowed to a stop at a red light and turned to her with a grin. "Yeah?"

"Sure. You're scared of being pinched to death."

"That's just my sisters. Most women don't resort to that."

"No. I suppose not." Cassia turned her face to the front. "I'll keep it mind if you ever cross me."

"Cross you?" Dylan laughed. "How would I cross you?"

"Lot's of ways." Cassia rested her head on her seat as they started moving again. "Don't ever mess with my car."

"Couldn't if I wanted to."

"Don't ever talk about me with my family. They like to get nosy and meddle all the time."

"So I've gathered."

Cassia closed her eyes, feeling more relaxed as the miles slid past. "And definitely don't sleep with another woman."

Dylan said nothing and she cracked one eye to see him scowling.

"Dylan?"

"You know I'm not that kind of guy, right?"

Cassia nodded, realizing she may have come across the wrong way. "I didn't mean—"

"And anyway, it's not like we're a real couple, right?"

Blinking, Cassia nodded when Dylan glanced at her. "Sure. Right."

They didn't speak for the rest of the drive back to her place. He walked her to the main entrance to the apartments above, but stopped there. Cassia looked up at him for a second and bit her lip, fishing in her pocket for her keys.

"Thanks for the ride, Dylan."

He nodded, his hands shoved in his own pockets. "No problem. Do you need a ride back tomorrow for your car?"

Cassia groaned. "Shit, I forgot all about my car."

He smiled, his expression relaxing. "Well, you were having a really good time with your friends."

She glared at him. "Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not, I promise." But he still had that smile on his face. "When are you off tomorrow? I'll come get you and we can pick up your car. Maybe go for pie after."

She nodded. "That would be great. I'll call you when I'm off. Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"Just practice but it should be done by two, so whenever you're ready."

"OK. Thanks again, Dylan."

He nodded and turned to go. Cassia watched him leave, his hands still in his pockets. It was the first time he hadn't walked her all the way up to her door. She sighed, unlocked the door and walked up the stairs. She'd stuck her foot in it now. Maybe he was starting to get a clear picture of her as well, with the way things came out of her mouth when she didn't screen them, or how she seemed to get drunk enough every week to need him to drive her around. Not that any of it mattered. They weren't anything but a pretend couple anyway.

She let herself into her apartment with a heavy heart and locked the door behind her, before heading straight to bed.

****

Dylan knew Cassia hadn't meant anything by her flippant comment about not sleeping with other women. Did she really think he was anything like Alex? And why did it bother him so much? Was it because she was making demands of him when they weren't really a couple, or because he was offended that she'd ever think he'd hurt her that way?

On the other hand, he supposed he couldn't blame her for being cautious. It wasn't easy to find your boyfriend mid-hook-up with another woman.

Still, the feeling of disquiet stayed with him all night and through practice the next morning. His teammates noticed, and Jake called him out on it as they were dressing after their showers.

"Did Cass dump your ass already?"

MugsyB
MugsyB
2,722 Followers