WANT (completed)

ch. 25 | Terrifying and Exhilirating

CASSANDRA'S POV

Before I can even stop Asa or offer to come with him, he's already down the steps. I pull his jacket tightly around myself, taking in the scent of his cologne. I relax a bit, but only for a second as I turn to look at Lauren.

I think Ethan was right when he said that Lauren is a model. There is no way that she isn't and I have no clue how I didn't notice it before. She's gorgeous though, there's no denying that.

I'm trying to think of what to say, but I have no idea where to start. Luckily, she breaks the silence between us by offering me a smile.

"Cassandra, right? I know we met inside, but I don't think that did us any justice. Asa talks about you all the time," she coos, her voice radiating around us. I can't help but smile back at her. She seems nice. Maybe I'm just being a little insecure and not giving her enough of a chance.

But also, what does she mean by he talks about me a lot? That means they have to be close enough for Asa to talk about me.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you Lauren," I say and she immediately comes up to me and engulfs me into a hug. I hesitate but hug her back, definitely surprised by the gesture. "I hope he says nice things about me?" I ask with a small laugh.

Lauren starts laughing and even her laugh is pretty. I pull back from her hug as she does the same, dropping her long arms next to her. "Of course. I don't think he can go five minutes without talking about you," Lauren teases, making me blush.

"How do you two know each other?" I smile at her, curious to know. Asa only moved here recently, which gives me the impression that they have known each other from prior to his move to New York

Lauren sweeps her long hair over her shoulder, exposing her bare skin. I wonder how she's not cold; maybe she's used to the weather here.

"We went to college together years ago and pretty much have always been close since then," she says casually with a shrug. I want to ask her more, but I'm too shy. "How did you two meet? I think he mentioned that he's partners with your father, right?" she then continues.

I bite down on my lip for a mere second. Wow, she knows a lot about me and I have never even heard of her. It makes me feel a little dumb, considering I didn't even think to ask Asa about his friends. I'm a terrible girlfriend for that.

"Yeah. We met before all of that, at a charity gala actually," I respond with a little smile, which is growing as I recall the night I met him.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that completely. He did tell me about that," Lauren remarks, turning her head as we hear tires crunching against the gravel. I follow her look, keeping my eyes lingering on her for a few seconds before looking at Asa's car.

Asa hops out of the driver's seat and I begin to walk down the steps with Lauren. She immediately heads to the backseat as Asa opens the passenger seat door for me. I smile at him and he gives a peck on the lips as I get to the car.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Asa places his hand on my arm, and I beam up at him. My eyes meet his and I give him a warm smile, nodding. He knows somethings up, so he gives me a sad look.

"I'm okay. We can talk about it later," I whisper as I duck into his car. The last thing I wanted was to talk about this around Lauren. First, I am not someone who talks about my feelings. Second, I don't want to make a bad impression of myself on Lauren. Both of which would happen if we got into the events of tonight.

Asa leaves it at that, completely understanding. I'm thankful for that. If it wasn't for the promise I made to be open and honest with him, I wouldn't even talk about it in the first place. But I did promise Asa and I don't want to break my promise.