~ Kyler ~
My mother and Cassey leave the hospital room, and I inhale, craving air like I’m starved for it. My chest is tight, my vision blurred, and I feel… I don’t know what I feel. What are you supposed to feel after something like this? After learning that you’re going to lose one of the most important people in your life? Not even as a grown man am I prepared for this.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask, my voice hoarse. I look up and find my father regarding me carefully.
“We haven’t known long,” he replies. “I saw the oncologist last week for the first time, when he gave me the prognosis.”
“I should’ve known,” I tell him, barely reigning in my anger. “I could’ve been there with you and mom.”
“I’m sorry, son,” he says. “But your mother and I needed time to process it ourselves before we told you. I didn’t want you worrying, with everything you’ve had going on at work - ”
I stand up in rush, shoving the plastic chair away. “I don’t care about work,” I interrupt. “I care that you’re going to die and didn’t tell me, Dad. You are more important than the company.”
My father sighs and I suddenly notice how sick he looks. He has always been the strong one in our family, and now all I see is a weary man with limited time left to live.
“Kyler, take a seat. There are a few things we need to talk about.” I calm my breathing, wishing that Cassey was back here. One touch from her and my heart slowed. Her presence calms me. I need her.
“You’ve made me so proud,” my father starts, “and I have no doubt that you are ready to take my place at Knight Media. I didn’t want you worrying about me because the legacy I have left is now yours to protect, and grow, so that one day, it will go to your son or daughter. The next few weeks are going to be difficult, for all of us, but I need you to make me a promise.” His eyes glaze over and I feel my throat tighten to the point where speaking is impossible, so I just nod. He has weeks left.
“Take care of your mother and be the man I have raised you to be.” I swallow, and wipe a tear that slips down my face. “I promise,” I choke out. “Good,” my father sniffs. “I have one more thing to ask of you, and then no more mushy, ‘doom and gloom’ for today.”
“Okay.”
“Take care of Cassey.”
His request catches me off guard, despite my inability to stop thinking about her.
“What do you mean?”
He chuckles, and shakes his head. The small smile on his face helps ease the weight pressing down on my chest.
“Even a blind man can see how you feel about her, Ky. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
I could feign ignorance, but that would be pointless. My father is right, and he did warn me.
“Dad, I - ” I start to explain, feeling like I should apologize to my father. Why, I don’t know, but it feels like the right thing to do.
“I knew it would happen,” he says ruefully. “I was counting on it.” I frown, confused. “I don’t understand.”
“There was no reason for you to help Cassey with her presentation. She was perfectly capable of doing it on her own, but I knew the minute you started spending time with her, you would be drawn to her.”
I fiddle with my fingers in my lap, replying, “It’s nothing, we’re just - ” “You care about her, son, I can see that, but it’s a little more than that.” “You’re wrong,” I lie. “It hasn’t been long enough for it to be more.” My father lets out a tired breath. “Did I ever tell you how your mother and I met?”
I shake my head, “No.”
“I was your age,” he begins, “when we met. We were at some charity thing with your grandparents and I spotted her at the bar. She was wearing this red dress, all the men wanted to dance with her. I knew I didn’t stand a chance, but the moment our eyes locked, I said to myself ‘I’m going to marry that woman’ . Of course, when I plucked up the courage to ask her for a dance she turned me down, and then again a second time, and a third.” I smile at the look on my father’s face, and the love he so evidently has for my mother. “It was months later,” he continues, “and we bumped into each other a coffee shop, literally.” He laughs. “I spilled my coffee all over her white dress, and after fighting in front of everyone, I gave her no choice but to go on a date with me. A month later we were engaged, and your grandparents were furious, but your mother and I didn’t care. She became my reason to live, and the day you were born, she gave me another reason.”
“I didn’t know that,” I say quietly. The air in the room grows thick, and the melancholy returns. Being reminded of what we’re going to lose, and what my father is going to leave behind is like a kick to the stomach. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to be the man my father needs me to be. “But what does it have to do with Cassey?”
“Time doesn’t matter. When you love someone, the way I love your mother, you’ll know, and the amount of time it took you to get there will be irrelevant. But what does matter, is that you find the woman who will be your reason to live, who will stick with you, not during the good times but through the hard times, and who will tell you when you’re being an ass. Find the woman worth keeping, for more than sex, the one you can see your future with. And when you look at her, you’ll know you’ve found her.” My father’s words sink in, and Cassey’s face pops up. I miss her.
My father yawns and his eyes close. I stand up and squeeze his hand. “I’ll be back later to check on you, okay, Dad?”
His eyes open briefly. “Okay. I love you, son.”
“Love you, Dad.”
~ Cassey ~
I hear the front door shut and check the clock on my bedside table. It’s just after one in the morning and I expected Kyler to go back to his apartment, but I hear him walk down the hallway until his tall, muscular frame fills my doorway. My eyes follow him as he walks in and starts pulling his clothes off. He crawls over to me, the soft moonlight illuminates his sharp and now haunted features. He hovers over me and his eyes convey everything he’s not saying.
“Are you okay?” I ask quietly, my voice barely above a whisper.
He shakes his head, whispering, “Make it better, Cass, just for now.” I pull Kyler’s head down to mine and I close my mouth over his. His hands reach for the hem of my shirt and I lift my arms so that he can pull it off me. He palms my breasts, sucking my tongue into his mouth, and I moan. My hands roam to Kyler’s boxer briefs, and with the help of my feet, I slide them down his legs so that he’s naked. He kneels up, and I feel my sleep shorts disappear, silently thanking Mother Nature that my period ended. Kyler reaches for his jeans, searching for a condom. I stop him, touching his face. “No,” I kiss the side of his mouth. “I don’t want anything between us.” He hesitates, asking, “Are you sure?”
Nodding, I wrap my arm around his back and shift closer to him, shivering when my breasts touch his hard pecs. He trails his fingers down my spine and he lowers me onto the mattress, positioning me on my side. Kneeling, Kyler straddles my leg, and goes to wrap the other around the side of his waist. I feel the tip of his erection at my entrance, and let out an erotic sigh when he pushes into me slowly until he’s buried balls-deep. I grip the pillow under my head and bite my lip as Kyler’s cock strokes me, pushing in deeper and deeper every time. I crane my neck slightly and watch Kyler, his brows scrunched as he watches his shaft move in and out of me. The room fills with our joint moans, our mouths open as we pant with reckless abandon. Kyler takes his time, and just when I think I’m going to come, he pulls out and rubs my clit with the head of his cock before pushing back in and starting all over again.