Mixed Connection (Cypress Lake Reunion #1)

19. Chapter 19

19

*sends a selfie of Babygirl and me*

Pops

This is her? She’s beautiful, son.

Mama

You two look lovely together.

She’s the one for me.

Pops

You think so?

I know so.

Seeing the smile on her face only further validates this was a good choice. After some snooping, I found out the Night Markets is something Cypress Lake started organizing a few years ago. They’ve got everything from small pop-up eateries to painting activities, sometimes they even have dance classes.

Cassidy has been having nightmares and I thought getting her out of the house would be good for her. Plus, it gives me another reason to be with her, to touch her. Since the break-in, I’ve been staying with her the past few nights. I want to be sure she feels safe, and it doesn’t hurt that we can satisfy our craving for each other before we pass out, her wrapped in my arms.

Every morning I wake up to the taste of her strawberry chapstick on her lips and she moisturizes my beard, that’s before I get out of bed. Waking up between her thighs is all the breakfast I need. Interlocking our hands I pull her deeper into the market, my eyes focused on where we are headed.

“Stop it right now!” Her mock anger makes me laugh as she slaps my arm. They have a live band here tonight and dancing. Since the reunion, I couldn’t stop thinking about how free she was while she danced. And honestly, I can’t stop thinking about how free I felt with her, either. Everything is easy with her.

She pulls on my hand, the joy in her eyes shining bright. How could I not love her? My eyes go wide at my own realization. I don’t even want to fight against how soon it feels. She’s it for me. And the smile she has on her face right now makes it all the more real.

I let her curves lead the way as she sways her hips to the beat. We jump and dance, enjoying the band that has some amazing covers and original music. The music changes to something we can really dance to and I waste no time pulling her into me, my hands grabbing into the softness of her stomach before she rolls her ass against me. The feel of her ass pressing into me lights my body up, knowing I’m the one that gets to hold her, to call her mine. She grinds into me as I hold her, my dick doesn’t care that we are in a crowd. It responds instantly to her movements. An aching throb as we dance, not missing a beat she rolls her hips and smirks at me before she turns to face me. There’s no way she can’t feel the hard-on I’m sporting, she rubs herself against me and her devilish smirk tells me I’m not wrong.

“Can I touch you, Cassidy?” My voice is thick with need, but I want to be sure she’s okay with blatant PDA.

In response, she throws her arms around my neck, reaching on her toes to give me a deep and sensual kiss. Her warm tongue runs at the seam of my lips and I open for her, inviting her in for more. Our tongues dance as do our bodies, there is no competition and no need to rush. She leans back slowly, looking up at me with those dark-honey colored eyes, her lids are heavy and her mouth holds a satisfied grin, plump from the kiss we shared.

She turns back around, swaying her hips as we dance as if there isn’t anyone around—no band, no dancing couples—just us . I run my hands around her waist, right below her breasts. Gently, I squeeze the underside of one as I grip her wide hips with the other. Dropping her head back against my chest, I can see that she has her eyes closed, her mouth parted slightly as a soft murmur leaves her lips. She gives me her body fully, to touch and tease and worship.

Lifting her arms up toward the sky she wraps them around my neck as she softly runs her nails back and forth on the back of my head. I run my fingers along the underside of her breasts before teasing her peaked nipple through the material of her dress and the whimper she releases makes my knees buckle. My dick aches behind the zipper of my pants and I consider taking her from behind in the back of the truck. My hand strains as I dig my fingers into her hip a bit more, thinking about having her spread open for me, her moans would drown into the music.

Spinning her in my arms, her head stays back as she laughs and I quickly pull her body into mine. Knocking her off balance a bit, she falls into me and my eyes watch her pink tongue travel along the bottom of her lips.

She pulls out her phone, one that has a crack running right down the middle, I watch it slip through her fingers and I snatch it up. Not wanting it to hit the ground and incur more damage.

I swipe down her screen and click the camera button, angling it in front of us. I watch her smile reach her eyes as I say, “Take a picture with me, Babygirl.” I snap a couple pictures, one of us smiling and another with my tongue peeking out, pressing it against her cheek.

She snatches her phone back, giggling as I drop my head to her shoulder and nuzzle my face in her neck, taking in the heady vanilla scent of her and hear one more snap of her camera.

“Can we get something to eat?” she whispers in my ear, still swaying to the music as she grinds her pelvis into my thigh. Fuck, this woman is every wet dream I’ve ever fucking had. My hands skim down her curves, squeezing at the fullness of her waist.

“Yeah, Babygirl.” I place a small kiss on the space between her neck and ear as she pockets her phone. “There’s a new place here tonight that I think you’ll really love.”

Her hand is small and warm within mine as I lead her to the late night brunch spot I read was going to be here. I learned quickly how much this woman loves breakfast and even though I can’t cook it myself, I will gladly take her to every single breakfast eatery I can find.

Syrupy sweetness wafts in the air, growing stronger the closer we get to the spot we came here for. The hot pink food truck is parked just north of the center of the market where all the music is. Bubble letters are written across the front in cursive that reads Bangin’ Brunch Bites, the white background making it appear neon.

A woman with the same color hair peeks through the window and greets us with just as much spunk. “Heya! Welcome to Bangin’ Brunch Bites, where every bite packs a punch and sass comes with a side of syrup! Let me close up this order and I will be right with you guys!”

When I look at Cassidy, she is buzzing with excited energy that matches my own. As she looks over the menu I watch her dance and shimmy her shoulders as her eyes land on options I assume she wants to try.

We decide to get a few different things so we can try all our favorite sounding menu items: sweet potato biscuits with hot honey fried chicken sliders, strawberry stuffed french toast bites, mimosa coolers, and a few other small plates we couldn’t say no to. Which is how we both end up gorged out on a picnic blanket under a tree with twinkling lights hanging above our heads from a low hanging branch.

My eyes find her lips and I watch her lick off a bit of frosting from some strawberry filling. I can’t help but stare, my eyes glued to how her loose curls frame her face. Cassidy is leaning back on one of her hands as her upper body rocks side to side listening to the music that plays throughout the market while the band takes a much deserved break. Her legs are crossed at the ankle but her feet tap along too. The look of contentment that plays on her face, her lips turned up softly at the corners, makes her all the more beautiful.

“See something you like?” Her question is flirty and dripping with a lust I want a taste of, which is exactly what I do when I lean over and kiss her.

Her lips are soft against my own and I pull her bottom lip between my teeth. Her eyes light up then soften before closing slowly, the feeling of her soft lips drives me to open the clip she has her curls trapped in and I quickly tangle my hands in her hair. Gifting me with a low groan as the vanilla scent of her lotion around me. The tastes of strawberry and mango from the mimosa linger on her tongue. She moans faintly and that’s all I need to haul her into my lap. Her thick thighs rest on either side of my legs and she hovers over me just enough. Fuck that, I want to feel all of her on me. I grab two handfuls of her ass and lower her completely.

“Mmm.” She hums before I’m back to kissing her.

“See something I like and want,” I say, responding to her earlier question as I bite gently on her neck and she hisses. “That’s it Baby, give me all those pretty sounds. I want every last one of them.” She grinds down against my hard cock to the rhythm of the music and I return her moan with my own.

I press my hips into her as she rolls against me and drops her head back. Cassidy is a sight to behold and I don’t plan on ever letting her go. She leans down, resting her forehead on my own and our heavy breaths mingle together as we both try to calm ourselves. She takes in a breath and releases a shuddering exhale before she laughs a bit and says, “We should save this for later, yeah?”

“Definitely” I agree with her, my ragged breathing now calmed somewhat.

I don’t want our interaction getting anymore heated out here. No one gets to see her break apart but me. “You’re right, Babygirl, let’s go. Looks like the band is getting back on the stage.”

She stands, smoothing her shirt into place, and I follow her back to the center where the music thumps and the light pulses to the beat. The rest of the night is perfect, we dance until sweat glistens on our skin and then make our way back to the car.

Halfway back to her place when she turns the music down and faces me. “Tell me about this house! I know you’ve been working on it for a long time now but I haven’t seen it yet.”

My hand has been rubbing her thigh as we drive and I squeeze it just a bit at my excitement. The house is almost done and I love that she wants to see the hard work we’ve put into it.

“We’ve got a couple more weeks to go but we are in the final stretch. Then I need to fly out to the second house and make sure the team is on top of things. Actually”—he pauses for a moment, contemplating his next words before continuing—“if you are up for it, I would love to show you.” She nods her head and I make the next left, taking us to the house I still don’t have a name for.

“I didn’t realize the new property would take you further from Cypress Lake.” Her voice is small in her question. It may sound like a statement but I can hear the concern in her voice.

“I need to fly out there soon to check on the progress. I promise you, had I known that I would have been running into you, I may have passed up on it. It’s a full flip, unlike this one that I plan to rent out to tenants as a short-term rental,” I say, hoping that quells the anxiety that’s rippling off of her. I pull her hands into my lap, rubbing my thumb back and forth as we get closer to the property.

We pull into the driveway and I jump out of the driver’s seat to get her door. Noticing she no longer reaches for the handle when we park has me puffing my chest out a bit. Once we make it in the house, I turn on the lights and rush to adjust the security system before it starts going off.

“Here, let’s start this way.” I walk her through the kitchen and living room, pointing out the areas I’m especially proud of as well as the spaces that still need work but telling her the ideas for it all nonetheless.

Once we make it to the backyard, I share my plan to make a social gathering oasis, one for large groups as well as more intimate moments, along with a full outdoor kitchen. Seeing her eyes sparkle at my hard work brings me so much pride. Anders and I have worked on this for a while, not including all the work we did with the design and draw-ups.

“It’s really amazing, Jameson. Seriously, it’s beautiful. You guys have done an amazing job.” Her praise sends me to a new level.

“I love it and I’ve gone back and forth, but the more and more I think about it, the more I know it will be a great rental and in the end, will make us money.”

Briefly, the thought of hiring a management company crosses my mind. But staying here in Cypress Lake with Cassidy means I could manage it myself. It wouldn’t be hard to find or build new properties for the area. The vision of starting a new unit in Crews Construction and Consult flits across my mind and a thrill runs through me.

“You’re amazing, do you know that?” I set down my phone and keys on the counter in the kitchen before looking back at her. “I’m going to run to the bathroom, I’ll be right back okay? Hopefully, Anders hasn’t turned off the water on me.” I laugh as I head back to the front bathroom.

Keeping this house as a rental property is the right move. I’ll have to really think through this management portion for Crews, maybe talk about it with Anders over a beer. I want to have all my ducks in a row before I tell her I plan on moving here permanently. Staying here with my Babygirl feels more and more like a reality. Now, more than ever.