A/N: I am so happy you all seemed to enjoy the first chapter! Your reviews were amazing and warmed my heart. :) So, I intended to update Sleep first, but this one begged to be written and I caved. Btw, I have been crazy cramming grad work in today, so this is getting posted without proofing. I will check it over tomorrow, but I wanted you all to have it tonight! Enjoy!
Thirty minutes after arriving back from the Cabot home, Casey was packed and ready to leave again. Walking out into the large open living room of her parents penthouse apartment, she was met with an icy glare from her mother. The stare was so intense it stopped her in her tracks, she was suddenly happy she'd booked her trip under her alias.
"Where do you think you are going?" Ellis questioned.
She shrugged, "I told you that I am leaving? The girl backed out, so I plan to resume my travels."
"Her mother is bringing her back, and when she returns, you two will be married."
"That's fantastic!" Casey beamed, "I've always wanted to marry someone who runs away from me." She quickly let her sarcasm bite, "This is fucked up and I want you both to know it. I'm not okay with forcing a woman to marry me. But, I will tell you what, you find her and convince her to marry me and I will come back."
"Don't be a smart ass," Ellis sighed as she stood and moved to fix a drink.
"I'm not, but I sure as hell am not going to sit around here and wait for this house of cards to fall." She snapped, "My cab is waiting, and I have a flight. I will see you later."
With that, she walked from her parents apartment. She had no intentions of returning to New York City again. It almost pained her to see the Empire State Building on her way out. She'd always loved the building. It had always been a beacon of her youth and innocence, a symbol of what home use to be. Now, it would be her last time to see it...if she was lucky.
As the planes wheels touched down, Casey pulled out her iPhone. Unraveling her headphones, she fixed each earbud then hit play. She hated to walk through airports listening to the clamor of people being greeted by loved ones, or talking about their soon to be adventures. The redhead preferred her chosen playlists and solitude until she reached her temporary residences.
Navigating to one of her favorite bands, she hit play. Modest Mouse always seemed to help dissipate her frustrations, one song in particular seemed to currently fuel her never ending frustrations with her mother. She didn't think they'd ever see eye to eye, half of the reason being Casey's deep resentment, the other half being guilt.
"Who the hell made you the boss," she whispered the lyrics under her breath, as the plane drove across the runway towards the gangway, "the parting of the sensory..."
The redhead knew she'd eventually have to bury the hatchet, but currently she wasn't ready. Right now, she was embracing her lost boy lifestyle. She didn't need the burden of facing demons. She was happy being alone, it was much safer that way. She'd keep people around just long enough then move to her next location. Letting people in was far too risky.
Snorting to herself, as the plane pulled up to the gangway, Casey realized it had easily been eight years since she'd seen her two best friend, Olivia and Amanda. As much traveling as she did, she made a point to avoid Colorado. There was no reason to travel to where painful memories may be dredged up. She was far happier, making new ones and drowning out the old ones.
As her music shuffled to another song in the album, a soft pattern of music hit her ears. She'd normally pass it over, but there was something unusual to acoustic arrangement. It was the black sheep of the album by far and seemed to invite her mind to dance with it.
Closing her eyes, she let her mind play over the electric guitar solo. As the deeply moving melody continued, she noticed the rest of first class standing. Grabbing her small bag from the overhead, she headed out of the large plane, whispering the repeated lyrics, "Cause that's what we're waiting for, that's what we're waiting for, that's what we're waiting for, aren't we?"
As the song ended, and another pumped up song shuffled forward, she started her journey out of the airport. Seemingly lost in her travels, she forgot the haunting tune of the past song, she forgot the awful thoughts from the flight, her next conquest was upon her.
Much to her excitement, she'd caught the first plane to Rome. It was a 10:05 pm flight, landing her in the beautiful Italian capital at 12:40pm. She'd attempted to sleep the whole flight, so she could wake up ready to pick up her adventures, but she still felt like she needed a nap.
Walking from the airport, the warm spring sun caught her face. Yawning lightly, she figured she would check into her hotel and sleep for a few hours, before heading out to the hot nightlife. It seemed like her best plan to hit the party scene just right. Rest always ensured a fun evening.
Smiling to herself, she always figured if Rome turned out to be a bore she could always travel down to Naples. Napoli, she thought in her head, always has something fun going on.
Hailing a cab, she pulled her headphones free and climbed inside. "Hotel Ponte Sisto, per favore."
"You speak English?" The Italian asked as he pulled out onto the busy streets.
"Yes," she answered.
He smiled as he navigated their route, "Where are you from? American, right?"
"New York City," she sighed as she settled in, and watched the city zoom by her from the window.
"Ah, you are my second today!" He laughed, "I even brought another New Yorker..."
He continued to ramble on about his other fares, but Casey didn't listen. Lesson one she taught herself years ago, tune people out but be convincing that you are actually paying attention. She was an expert at this game.
When they pulled up, he was still talking, but Casey quickly ended it by handing him twenty more euros than her fare. "Thank you for your stories," she said with a fake smile, before grabbing her bag and heading up to the hotel.
Entering the grand hotel, she walked up to the front desk. As the concierge came over she said, "I'm checking in, the name is Casey Burton."
"Ah, Ms. Burton, your room is almost ready. Housekeeping is adding the final touches. Can I can take your bag, and get you a complimentary drink while you wait." The young Italian man explained.
Fetching her credentials from her bag, she smiled and passed her bag over, "That would be great. Where can I get a good cup of coffee?"
"Behind you, ma'am. In the cafe, tell the barista the coffee is on the house."
"Thank you," she said as she dipped her head and turned towards the cafe.
Walking in the casual space, she got in line and looked around at the other patrons. Instantly, she spotted a gorgeous blonde in the corner window. The woman screamed tourist, by the map laid out before her followed by the travel books. Casey couldn't help but smirk at her. The blonde was breathtakingly beautiful, but she also screamed innocence. Her black framed glasses perched on the end of her nose were a dead giveaway, and one that quickly attracted a sleazy guy.
Watching the guy pull up a chair, and then begin his unending harassment made Casey frown. The poor woman was clearly trying to nicely turn him down, but he wasn't taking no for an answer. She could easily make out the woman clearly trying to pretend she was waiting for someone. Sadly, everything about the blonde said she was alone in her travels.
Reaching he counter, Casey turned her back on the two and attention to the barista, "I'd like an americano with an extra shot of espresso. I'd also like a black coffee, extra hot please. I was told to tell you they are on the house."
"Yes, ma'am." The young woman replied as she fixed Casey her drinks.
Looking back to the window, she could see the blonde trying to pack her things up as the man continued to dawn over her. Letting out a deep sigh, Casey looked over the gentleman, Casey noticed his nice dress pants followed by Feragamos, white collared shirt, and slicked back hair. She couldn't exactly figure out where he was from, but she hated him already. She may not be the greatest example in how to treat women, but she'd never harass a woman.
"Ma'am?" The barista said from behind her, "Your drinks."
"Ah, thank you," Casey said picking them up. Holding the black coffee in her left hand, she turned and walked towards the blonde. Conveniently, the douche bag was to her left.
As she came up to them, she excitedly said, "Hey, babe," earning a confused looked from both patrons, but Casey kept her green eyes locked on the blonde, "I got you a black coffee for your headache." The moment the words left her mouth, she faked a stumble and poured the extra hot liquid all over the man. As his shriek of pain left him and he jumped up, she winked at the blonde.
Setting down her drink, she quickly faked concern, "Oh my god, I am so sorry, are you okay? I tripped!"
"I'm fine! Just leave me be!" He squealed as he pulled his soaked britches from his skin. "I have to go," he said in a hot faced mess.
Once he was out of sight, Casey sat down in the opposite seat from the jaw dropped blonde. "Tip number one when traveling alone, don't look like a tourist. You will make yourself an easy target. It sucks, but happens."
"How do you know I'm alone," the blonde asked as she relaxed into the window seat.
"Your demeanor," she smirked. Seeing a look of confusion, she continued, "You sit with your back to the wall, so you can scan the room. You aren't law enforcement, so clearly you are uneasy. You have travel books and a map laid out before you, but you fail to look up to sight a companion, you are engrossed in what you are doing, therefore, stating your journeys are a single event. Meaning, you are weak for the picking. Don't let yourself look weak."
"I'm not weak," she defended.
Leaning forward, Casey smiled, "I'm not saying you are, I am just warning you to not look weak."
"Warning taken." The blonde laughed, "My name is Alex."
"Nice to meet you, Alex. My name is Casey."
"Casey, huh, must be popular." She said with a slight smirk.
"I guess," the redhead said with a shake of her head, "So, what brings you to Rome?"
"Oh, um, I've been meaning to travel for some time, and recently found myself with the means to."
"Sounds nice," Casey genuinely smiled.
"Ms. Burton," the concierge interrupted, "Your room is ready."
"Thank you," Casey said looking to his name tag, "Christoph."
"I guess I will see you around," Alex said warmly.
"Most definitely," she answered with a wink, "Remember, don't look like a tourist."
The blonde laughed with a wave of the hand. Casey only smiled and followed the bell hop to her room. However, on the way, she noticed how the simple sound of Alex's laugh seem to plaster a smile to her face.
As Alex traveled the sights of Rome, she found her mind tumbling over the mysterious, Casey Burton. She found it funny that the first woman to really catch her attention since running from her sham marriage, happened to share the same first name. What a small world it was...
Making her way back to the hotel that night, she couldn't help but instantly notice the redhead, who'd filled her thoughts all afternoon, sitting at a table in the cafe reading a paper. Not wasting a minute, she walked over and confidently sat down to the table. The surprised look that came from mischievous green eyes, set butterflies loose in her stomach.
"Why, hello," the redhead smirked.
"Hi," Alex softly said back.
The small smile on her face, slightly thrilled and slightly terrified Alex. She felt a little like prey sitting in front of the lion, but thought whatever might come her way might be fun. Watching Casey bite her lips before leaning forward, Alex wondered if she was making the right choice in approaching the redhead.
"You know, usually when women approach me they have something in mind," Casey whispered. "I don't want to misread things here. So, what's on your mind."
Feeling a little panicked, Alex rather nervously spit out, "I am going to get dinner in forty minutes. I plan to eat at the restaurant across the way. I want to know if you'd like to join me."
"I'd love to," feel from the redhead's lips before she had a chance to really think. The sudden blush at her uncontrolled admission, made her sigh deeply. "Yes, I think that would be nice," she attempted to recover.
"Fantastic," Alex beamed.
Casey noticed how elated the blonde seemed, as if she'd expected a no. The redhead didn't understand why any one would tell the woman sitting before her no. She was clearly gorgeous and could have anyone she wanted. Maybe that was the way the blonde liked it.
Folding up her paper, Casey stood, "I will see you in thirty-five?"
"Yes," she softly said standing and heading towards the elevator with Casey. "I will see you shortly," she said stopping at the front desk, as Casey pushed the button.
As the doors to the lift opened, and Casey walked inside and pressed the button to her floor, she couldn't help but hear the concierge say, "Ah, Ms. Cabot, what can I do for you?"
The words hit her like a ton of bricks as realization set in. Staring at the back of the blonde, she wondered if it could really be true. At that moment, the blonde's words seemed to make since, 'Casey, huh, must be popular.' Only as the lift doors closed, did she find herself able to break eye contact.