The others all grinned.
“I was a freshman, and he was a senior. But he didn’t seem to care about that. He was always nice to me, and I may or may not have written Mrs. Cassidy Zanardi a hundred times with a heart around it in my notebooks.”
They all laughed again.
“I got his address from my parents, who got it from his folks, and I wrote to him when he was in the Army. We wrote for quite a while, actually, but eventually my life got busy, and I guess his did too.”
“You got married, and your husband didn’t want you writing another man,” Skylar guessed.
Cassidy nodded. “I felt guilty because I looked forward to getting a letter from Leo more than I did hanging out with my own husband. I suppose I should’ve gotten a clue, but instead I acquiesced to what Alfred wanted. He alienated me from all my friends and was generally a jerk. Having Mario helped for a while, but then things turned bad again. After the divorce, everyone I knew told me how stupid I’d been to leave Alfred. I needed a break from that. I thought Jamaica would be fun. And the rest is history.”
“I’m sorry about what you went through, but I can’t help but think somehow it was all meant to be. What are the odds that the guy you had a crush on in high school would be the one to rescue you?” Taylor asked.
“I know. It’s pretty unbelievable,” Cassidy agreed.
“But you guys are together together now?” Molly asked.
Cassidy shrugged. “I guess so.”
“You guess so?” Skylar echoed, then shook her head. “Honey, if you don’t know so, then you need to step up your game.”
“We’ve been taking things slow. It just feels weird to do anything with Mario nearby.”
“You’ll get over that,” Taylor said with a smile. “Trust me. I know how you feel. For the longest time, I didn’t feel comfortable doing more than kissing when Kevin was in the room with us. Even though he’s a baby, I thought I might damage him emotionally if we made love where he could see and hear us. But one night, after I’d fed him in the middle of the night and put him back in his crib, I couldn’t resist Eagle anymore. I jumped the poor man, and we made love for hours. And you know what? Kevin slept through it all. I know Mario is different because he’s not an infant, but I think as long as you aren’t having crazy monkey sex in the living room right before dinner, you’re good.”
Cassidy was blushing. She’d never had such frank talk about sex with anyone before. But it felt kind of liberating. “I want him,” she admitted. “But I don’t know how to make the first move.”
“I’m guessing you won’t have to do much,” Molly said dryly. “I’ve seen the way Gramps watches you. He’s hyperaware of where you are at all times and what you’re doing. At Silverstone, I saw him get out of his chair and leave the conversation he was having with one of the drivers, grab your glass, go to the fridge, get you a refill, and bring it back to you before going back to his conversation as if nothing had interrupted him. When Smoke teased him about it, Gramps just shrugged and said he didn’t want you to be thirsty. The next time he’s at your apartment and gets up to leave, just grab him and kiss him. He won’t be able to tear himself away.”
“Although, the walls in her apartment complex are pretty thin,” Skylar said. “I heard Tiana and Maria more times than I can count enjoying the company of men. It might make you feel better if you made a move when you were at his house.”
Cassidy nodded. She’d noticed how thin the walls were at her apartment, and the last thing she wanted was Mario waking up and coming to her room to investigate any weird noises he might hear. It had taken him long enough to get comfortable sleeping in a room by himself.
He was even more comfortable at Leo’s house. He loved being able to decorate his room however he wanted and had no problem sleeping by himself when they were over there.
“What if he doesn’t want to? I’d be so embarrassed,” Cassidy admitted.
“Believe me, he wants to,” Skylar said.
Taking a deep breath, Cassidy nodded. She wanted Leo too. She wanted more than his kisses. She wanted all of him. She’d waited over twenty years; she didn’t want to wait any longer.
“You got this! Good job, Jake! You can do it, Beth!”
Cassidy recognized her son’s voice, and she turned to look at his class. The younger kids were once again gathered around the older class. There was music playing, and they were doing some sort of intricate routine. Some boys were catching the girls after they were thrown in the air, others held girls on their shoulders, and between the aerial tricks, almost everyone was tumbling across the mats.
The younger kids were watching silently, their eyes open wide—except Mario. He was smiling and clapping and yelling out encouragements to the older kids.
“Oh my gosh! That was awesome, Harriot! Keep it up! Amazing! You’re doing so good, Josh! It’s okay, shake it off, get back into it, Sarah!”
Her eyes filled with tears as she listened to her son lifting everyone else up. She knew he wanted to be right there performing along with the other kids, not standing on the sidelines, but that wasn’t preventing him from encouraging them.
“He’s a pretty amazing kid,” Molly said. “If my daughter is anything like him, I’ll be blessed.”
“Kevin’s got a fantastic role model, for sure,” Taylor added.
“I wish I could’ve had him in my class,” Skylar agreed.
Watching Mario blossom was one of the most satisfying things in the world. His cheerleading, gymnastics, and dance classes were expensive, but Leo didn’t seem to care. And no matter how much they cost, she’d do whatever it took to keep Mario enrolled, even if things with her and Leo didn’t work out. She’d bend over backward to keep the smile on her son’s face that he had right that second. His passion wasn’t cars, or sports, or anything most men would want their son to be interested in, but she knew without a doubt that didn’t matter to Leo. He’d been encouraging Mario from the first day he’d met him. Encouraged him to be exactly who he was without trying to pigeonhole him into what society deemed acceptable.
She loved Leo for that. And couldn’t wait to express exactly how much she appreciated every single thing he’d done for both herself and Mario since he’d found them in Jamaica.
She couldn’t keep the silly smile from her face. She didn’t know when or how, but she was going to show Leo how much she loved him. How much she’d loved him from the time she was fifteen years old. Leo Zanardi was the man for her, and the longer she was around him, the more sure she became.
There’d been a time not too long ago when she’d despaired of even living long enough to see her son grow into a man. Now she felt as if she was living the American dream. Maybe it was in a run-down apartment with hand-me-down furniture and clothes, but she had friends, people who cared about what happened to her. She had a job, earned her own money. And her son was finally living the kind of life she’d always wanted for him.
It was time to stop being so unsure about her relationship with Leo and just go for it. Leo wasn’t going to reject her—she’d known that even without Skylar’s, Taylor’s, and Molly’s reassurance. She just needed to reach for what she wanted. And what she wanted was Leo.