Intertwined

Eighteen

Houston

Despite my adamancy when Cassidy decided she was coming along with me, I couldn't fight with her much on the whole issue. In some weird, unconditional way, she knew that the best way to help was to join me when I visited my dad. Which no one I dated has ever done.

None of the girlfriends I had in high school or college, nor even Camila.

Instead of dismissing Cassidy like I would have done for any other girlfriend, I grabbed the small backpack she packed and opened the car door for her. It was crazy of me to let this girl I only knew for a month meet my entire family. Cassidy was different.

In a few hours, the car sped through the towns of Plainview and Amarillo, and every single town in between. After a couple of hours of sleep, I woke up to the most grating irritable voice as Dallas asked, "So how long have you been dating Houston?"

Scrunching my brows together, I sat up straighter in the passenger seat and glared at my brother. I questioned, "Why are you asking her, Dallas? You should already know."

"I want to hear it from Cassidy," Dallas answered sneakily, resting his arm on the steering wheel as his flirty gaze glanced into the rearview mirror. "You never know, there might be a different story."

I swore that once we arrived home, Dallas was getting punched in the balls. He needed a touch of reality every once in a while.

Cassidy muttered, interrupting my brother and me, "A different story? Houston and I met last month, and at first, we hated each other mostly because he was an ass."

"That checks out," Dallas said in a mocking tone. "Houston has always been an ass. Ever since he was born."

I raised my eyebrows at my brother, in a perplexed tone as I witnessed his crafted lies. What my brother meant to say was that I was only an ass towards him - and there was a big difference.

I leaned back in my chair and felt Cassidy's head rest on my arm, as the comfort she brought made the trip much bearable. I whispered into her hair, "You shouldn't listen to him. He's lying, and I would never do that."

When Dallas was nearly distracted from the road ahead, Cassidy leaned over the chair and planted her lips on mine, and the kiss was cut short soon after. Unfortunately for me, Dallas always was the one who ended up interrupting me in the most intimate moments. 

I craned my neck to look at Cassidy in the seat behind me, with a cunning smirk on her red lips that left me hungry for more. She mouthed the words, her green eyes eyeing my brother in the other seat, "Sorry, guess we'll have to continue another time."

Without any other indication, I settled back in my seat and stared straight ahead at the road, even when I was way too excited to sleep. Every little moment Cassidy and I shared, made me want to keep and protect her for every single day afterwards. Even with every action, kiss, and smirk, it always seemed that being with Cassidy now was never enough.

With her smirks, her lips, and rebuttals to my every word - Cassidy made me want to take the eventual next step. Which I had never done before with any girl before, and I was unsure how I could be meant to find someone who was basically my best friend.

Dallas's grating voice lectured Cassidy and me, as we shared glances between the rearview mirror and us. My brother said, "Okay, this is not happening right now. This trip is only to see Dad and help out with Mom; it's not a honeymoon trip for you two."

Cassidy stuck out her tongue as a thought popped into her head. She replied, "Dallas, this just sounds like you're jealous. You're not jealous of me?"