Roman sat in his parents' living room, watching his mother set the table. He had offered to help but she had refused. In her world, it was a woman's job. He didn't care for so called gender roles but it was still her house so she got to decide.
It was always nice coming home every once in a while but this time around it felt weird. Normally he and his ex wife would come here together, but she was the reason he was here alone for the weekend. He was now a divorced man.
He had been the one taking that final step and asked for a divorce. It was the right thing to do. There was no cheating going on. Just two people that should never have been together to begin with. They had been too young, and it took him way too long to see that it wasn't fun having a woman in his life who constantly nodded like a doll and gave in to everything he wanted. He needed something more. He needed someone who had her own opinions and wasn't afraid to voice them.
"Who else is coming?" He asked.
"What's that, honey?" His mother asked.
"You're setting the table for six people. I thought it was just gonna be me, you and dad," he said.
"Oh, I invited some friends of ours along with their daughter," she said.
He sighed. This was a setup. She had lured him back and made him promise to stay the weekend, and now she was playing matchmaker.
"Mom," he said firmly.
"Just give her a chance," she smirked. "She's a good, christian girl."
"Girl?" He frowned. "Is she even 18 yet?"
"Of course," she laughed. "She turned 30 last week. She still lives at home. She was raised well."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"You know, no sex until marriage, and no living together either. She's really sweet, Roman. You're gonna love her. And you can take things slow. She's not going anywhere. She'll be right here waiting, and it would be nice having you come around more often and maybe even moving back here," she said.
She hummed as she put down the cutlery. The last thing he needed was a good, christian girl. He was done with religion by now, and he was done with so called good girls. He needed to be challenged. He needed someone who wouldn't be afraid to push back against him when it was needed. The door bell sounded and his mother started grinning.
"They're here," she said.
"Great," he mumbled.
She walked out and opened. It didn't take more than a few minutes before she came back with the three people expected for dinner.
"This is my son, Roman," his mother introduced him. "You know, the famous wrestler. Also an actor. I'm hoping he'll eventually join his cousin and become a major movie star."
"Enough, mom," he chuckled.
He stood up and shook hands with the three people. The daughter's hand felt warm in his. He studied her as he greeted her. Long, straight, pecan brown hair that went to the middle of her back. A pair of moss green eyes that were really beautiful. She smiled at him, but it felt like she was doing it out of duty. He could see she had been trained her entire life.
"Sit down," his mother said. "Roman, be a dear and get your father. Dinner's ready."
Roman went to get his father from the garden. When he came back in, he could see they had arranged it so that he had to sit next to the daughter. He didn't mind. He could sit there and be polite, but there was no way he would ever date someone like her. That wasn't her fault though. She just wasn't what he was looking for now that he was finally a free man again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," he said.
"Casey," she said.
"Would you like some potatoes, Casey?" He asked.
"Yes, thank you," she answered.
He reached across the table to grab the potatoes and handed them to her. The entire dinner went like that. She was polite and would constantly thank him for every little thing he said and did. It was starting to get to him. She was a copy of his ex wife in personality. A blank woman with no thoughts, opinions or ideas of her own. He felt sad that she had been brought up like that. Nonetheless, he was happy when dinner was finally over.
"Casey has her bible group tonight," Casey's mother said. "She has to leave."
"Roman can take her there," Roman's mother said.
"What?" Roman asked.
"Take her to her bible group," his mother continued. "Maybe you can even join them."
"There's room for one more," Casey said.
"I don't know about that but I'll take you there," Roman said.
He looked over at his mother who nodded in return. Clearly she wanted him to spend his Friday night reading the bible. He couldn't think of anything more boring. His plan was to take Casey there and then go somewhere he could be alone. They walked out to his car and got in.
"Where to?" He asked.
"To the beach," she answered. "My friend lives close to the beach."
She directed him to a house where several cars were parked outside. That wouldn't be weird if she was meeting with a group of people. The weird thing was that there clearly was a party going on inside.
"Are you sure this is it?" He asked.
She smirked at him and opened the car door. As soon as she was outside, she pushed her long skirt down to reveal a shorter one underneath. He couldn't help but smirk back at her.
"Nice," he said.
"Wanna come party?" She asked.
"What happened to the good, christian girl my mother talked about?" He asked.
"She only exists on paper," she winked. "Come on, Roman. Let loose. It's just a party. Plenty of cute girls. You might meet someone."
He got out of the car and locked it. He walked over to her and placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a sideways hug.
"How long have you been playing your parents like this?" He asked.
"All my life," she answered. "I'm planning on leaving this town once I've saved up enough. I need to be able to find a job and somewhere to either rent or buy. Everything needs to be in order before I make my grand escape. I can't fail. I can't crawl back to them once I'm out of there. Until then, I have to keep pretending to be virgin Casey looking for a husband."
"Marriage is overrated," he said.
"Good, because I don't want it," she grinned. "I just want a man to love me and that I love back. Fuck marriage, fuck kids, fuck religion, fuck the so called life script that other people want for me."
He grinned at her. He suddenly liked her a whole lot. He already knew she ticked off all the boxes that made him attracted to her with her looks, but he didn't think she would come with a personality that he would be attracted to as well.
"Do you have a secret boyfriend too?" He asked.
"Not these days," she answered. "Why? Are you applying to be my boyfriend?"
"Maybe," he chuckled.
She let out a laughter, grabbed his hand and pulled him inside the house. Everyone greeted her. She pulled him around and introduced him to everyone. It didn't matter that they hadn't met him before. He was welcome. It felt like his crowd of people.
"Sit down," she said.
She pointed at the last empty seat on a couch. He sat down and looked up at her. He was about to ask where she was going to sit when she placed herself in his lap.
"I hope you don't mind," she said.
"Not at all," he said.
She turned her attention towards one of her friends on the other side of the table. While she struck up conversation, he watched her long hair in front of her. He could sense the scent of her shampoo. Something berry-ish. A strong and sweet smell. Maybe cherries or blackberries. He placed his hands on her hips and leaned a bit closer.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" She asked.
He looked up and got caught in her moss green eyes. She had twisted her upper body enough to be able to look at him.
"I really wanna kiss you right now," he mumbled.
"I can't hear you," she said.
She leaned down and placed her ear in front of his mouth. All the hair on his body stood up. He knew she was just trying to hear what he was saying over the loud music but it felt so sensual.
"Nothing," he said.
"Really?" She asked. "Because I could have sworn you said you wanted to kiss me."
Of course she had heard him. She was messing with him, and he liked it. He liked that she had this cheeky side to her.
"I did say that," he admitted. "I really wanna kiss you."
"So what's stopping you?" She asked.
"The fact that I can't figure out what you want. I can deal with you slapping the taste out of my mouth but I don't think I can deal with everyone hunting my ass out of here afterwards," he said.
She twisted a sideways smile and leaned down to kiss him. Her lips were soft and working against his at a slow pace. She buried her fingers in his hair and deepened the kiss. He pulled her closer and had to restrain himself so he didn't start pulling her clothes off her in front of all her friends. She broke the kiss and instead moved her mouth to his ear.
"I want you," she purred. "I want you so bad."
"Is there a place we can go?" He asked.
"I usually crash in the guest room. Bible study tends to run late," she said.
She leaned out and bit her lip. He couldn't help but chuckle. She was perfect. The only thing holding her back was her crazy parents and their idea of keeping her locked up and pure until a man came along that would then own her. No one could ever own her. That was clear to him. She was a free spirit.
"What do you say?" She asked.
"I'm yours," he grinned. "Use and abuse me all you want tonight."
"Abuse even?" She laughed. "Abuse isn't my thing. I am gonna use you up, Roman. That you can be sure of. I'm gonna drain you until you pass out from exhaustion."