An Unexpected Love, Amber Riel [i have read the book .txt] 📗

“Okay?”

“Ok-ay?” Cassie repeated, confused.

 

 

Brandon rearranged his garage. He turned on all of the fans to keep the room cool. He wanted the night to be perfect. This was it. He was finally going to confess his feelings. There was nothing that could ruin the evening. He placed his stereo on top of a table and listened to a few compact disks, searching for the right music to play. “No… no… no…” he paused for a moment. “Perfect.” He looked at his watch then at down at his clothes. “Crap. I need to get dressed.”

 

 

          Cassie wished she had a mirror. She was surprised that Brandon had bought her a beautiful red gown which fit her perfectly. It sparkled in the light from the glitter. She loved it. The dress was lovely and there were no words for her to describe it. She sat on the bed and waited for Brandon.

 

 

          A few minutes later, Brandon fixed the collar of his shirt. He considered it to be a real date and hoped that Cassie would feel the same. He was actually nervous, even though, the date would take place in the garage with no one else around. He took a deep breath and knocked on the bedroom door.

 

 

          Cassie smiled and opened the door to find Brandon standing there with his hair nicely brushed back, and how nicely dressed he was. “You look handsome,” she complimented.

          “Thank you and you look beautiful,” Brandon replied.

          “Thank you.” Cassie felt herself blush. “So no carnation?” she asked with a small smile.

          “Kind of forgot… ready to go?” Brandon asked, holding out his arm.

          “Yes.” Cassie wrapped her arm around his. “So what’s all this for?” she asked whilst they walked down the steps.

          “It’s a surprise.” Brandon smiled.

 

 

          When they arrived at the garage, Brandon moved his arm away from Cassie. “Can you wait right here please?” he asked.

          “Okay.”

          Brandon walked into the garage. Once he was inside, he walked over to the stereo and pressed play. He turned the volume down to where he and Cassie would still be able to hear it but they could have a conversation without having to yell at each other.

 

 

          Cassie waited for Brandon by the door when he came out and leaned against the door. “Ladies first,” he told her, gesturing with his left arm.

          When they were in the garage, Brandon closed the door and walked over to Cassie. The music which played was a soft and sweet love song. Cassie looked around with amazement. She couldn’t believe what Brandon had done.

          “Would you care to dance?” Brandon asked, holding out his right hand.

          “Sure,” Cassie answered with a smile. She placed her left hand on his right shoulder and he placed his left hand on the small of her back. Brandon led her in the dance. “Why did you do this?”

          “Well, you didn’t have a date for prom and when I went to prom my date ditched me for another guy. I figured you could have a date and I wouldn’t be left by myself again,” he replied with a smile.

          “Awe… that’s so sweet.”

          “So… who would you rather dance with me or that Matthew Table guy?”

          Cassie laughed, locking eyes with Brandon. “Actually,” she replied, “I made him up.”

          “Really?” Brandon asked, pretending like he didn’t figure that out. “Man, I was looking forward to meeting that guy.”

          Cassie looked away, still keeping her smile.

          “Cassie.”

          “Yeah?”

They locked eyes again.

“I… I love you.”

Cassie smiled. “I love you too…. I didn’t want to admit it at first but then I got to know you. You’re not the guy I thought you were. You’re the guy, I least expected, you to be… and I like that.”

Brandon smiled at Cassie’s reply. “So are you going to consider this our first date?”

“Yeah.”

Brandon lifted Cassie’s chin up and leaned down to kiss her. The kiss was intended and expected, unlike the first one, which had been unexpected, but both were unbelievable.

 

Cassie & Zeke Meet

Cassie woke up and walked down stairs. She sighed, just thinking about the night before. Months ago she would have killed herself, but she couldn’t help the fact that she had fallen in love with Brandon. He had kidnapped her and she had stolen his heart. She worked her way into the kitchen and found a note on the counter. She picked it up and read it to herself. “Cassie,” she read with a whisper, “I went shopping. Don’t worry… I’ll be back when I get done. Your lovable new boyfriend, Brandon… hugs and kisses.” Cassie laughed and blushed. The man had a good way to be sweet and charming, even when he wasn’t around.

 

 

          An hour later, Cassie had sat on the couch and watched television. Brandon still hadn’t arrived from the store and she was beginning to grow anxious. Suddenly, she heard a car pull up and waited for him to come into the house. The minute the door opened, she jumped out of her seat with excitement. “Bran-don!” she said, hurrying into the hallway and lost her excitement.

          The man who stood before her was not Brandon. Zeke looked at Cassie, confused.

          “You’re not Brandon,” she told him.

          “And you’re not Brandon either,” Zeke replied. He did recognize Cassie but for some reason couldn’t figure out where he had seen her. “Have we met before?”

          “No,” she replied. “Oh… I’m sorry… I’m being rude.” She laughed a little. “I’m Cassie Smith, Brandon’s girlfriend.” This time she could say it without it being a lie.

          “Oh well hello, Cassie.” The name even sounded familiar to him but he had no idea why. “Well, I’m Zeke Jackson, actually, Bandon’s best friend.”

          “Oh. Nice to meet you Zeke,” she replied.

          Zeke laughed. “Are you sure we haven’t met before?”

          “I’m pretty sure.”

          “You look familiar and your name kind of rings a bell. Oh well. Maybe I’m just having déjà vu or something.”

          “Yeah.”

          “I don’t think that Brandon’s ever mentioned you before.”

          “Oh. That’s because we were trying to keep it a secret because we didn’t know if we would last this long. Then last night we decided that we should let people know.”

          “Oh. Well, that’s cool.”

          “So, you’re best friends with Brandon?”

          “Yep. We’re like brothers we actually grew up together.”

          “Well, that’s cool.”

          Cassie and Zeke began having a conversation about random topics. Cassie wanted to get Zeke’s approval because he was her boyfriend’s best friend and she could learn more about Brandon too.

 

The Approval

Brandon noticed Zeke’s car was parked on the side of his lawn. “Oh crap.”

 

 

          Cassie and Zeke were telling jokes and having fun when they heard the front door open. “I know who that is,” Cassie laughed. She stood and Zeke followed her into the hallway. “Brandon,” she said, hugging him.

          “Yeah… I’m back.” Brandon looked at Zeke. He was hoping that Zeke hadn’t recognized Cassie from the news. “Hey, Zeke.”

          “Oh… hey, man… good choice on picking this girl. She’s cute and made for you. You two are a cute couple.”

          “Thanks, man,” Brandon replied.

          “No problem,” Zeke answered.

          “Zeke was telling me how two are practically like brothers,” Cassie added.

          “Really?” Brandon asked, smiling. “Did he tell you that’s a big fan of the Jonas Brothers?”

          “No way… that’s unusual,” Cassie spoke with a laugh.

          “Yeah… I’m a fan believe it or not,” Zeke agreed.

          “Yeah… he actually thinks that if he listens to them then he’ll get more girls that way. So far, the only girls who had a crush on him are the thirteen year old girls.”

          Cassie laughed.

          “Man, why’d you have to tell her that?” Zeke asked, pretending to be serious.

          Brandon smiled. “Zeke, can you help me bring in the groceries?”

          Zeke sighed. “Yeah… I guess.” He walked outside.

          “Zeke seems to be a cool guy,” Cassie told Brandon.

          “He is… he’s fun to have around.” Brandon went to leave when he stopped and turned to face her. “You’re actually the first girlfriend that I had to get along with my best friend.” He went out the door and Cassie was surprised by his words.

 

 

          Jennie and Melinda were loitering around the food court area of the mall. Jennie had just gotten off of work. They had decided to hang out and Lloyd went to get food. “Did you get any word about Cassie, yet?” Jennie asked.

          “No.” Melinda shook her head. “Honestly, I think that the police stopped looking for her. It’s been three months. This is horrible.”

          “Tell me about it.”

          Lloyd arrived with the food. “Here, let’s go find a place to sit,” he told them. “So, what are you two talking about?”

          “What happened to Cassie,” Jennie answered.

          “Oh.” Lloyd searched for a table. “Yeah… that was terrible.” He found an empty table and had the girls follow him.

 

Forgetful

A few hours had flown by and Zeke had left. Brandon and Cassie were in the living room. Brandon bent forward on the couch, using his arms to hide his face from Cassie.

          Cassie could tell that something was bothering him but she didn’t know what. “What’s wrong?” she asked, concerned. She walked over and sat down next to him. She wrapped her around him. Then she took her free hand and rubbed his arm.

          “Zeke… he’s going to figure out… he’s going to know what I did… He’s going to know that I-”

          “It’s okay. Maybe, he didn’t know. I mean he probably hasn’t watched the news.”

          “No. Zeke always watches the news. He likes to know what’s going on.”

          “Well, maybe, he didn’t realize it. It’s okay… think about something else… anything else. Something to get your mind off-”

          “Okay.” Brandon locked eyes with Cassie and something