I don't own the secret circle. I love Cassie and Nick!
I woke up the next morning and when I rolled over to cuddle closer to Nick, there was no one there. Pain hit my heart and I started to panic. Last night seemed so real it couldn't have been a dream I thought to myself. In that instant I felt empty and sad again. I groaned, got out of bed and headed downstairs. As I started to get closer to the first floor I smelled bacon and fresh bread. I headed into the kitchen to see Diana frying some eggs over the stove.
"Good morning Cassie" she said smiling.
"Hi Diana. What are you doing here?" I asked bewildered.
"I let her in" a husky voice said from behind me and I turned around to see Nick. Relief washed over me as reality hit. This was real. Last night was real and Nick was in deed home. I smiled and walked over to him he pulled me close to him and hugged me tight.
"You're really here" I said softly into his chest.
"What did you think you were dreaming?" he teased.
"Actually yeah" I smiled "though dreams usually are better than reality" I teased back.
"Let's see if you still think that after tonight" he smiled.
"Game on" I said leaning up and pressing my lips to his.
"Alright you two breakfast is ready come eat" Diana said in a motherly way and we all headed into the dining room. There were eggs, bacon and fresh rolls with sweet butter.
"This looks amazing Diana, how long have you been here?" I asked curiously.
"Eight as planned. Aren't you forgetting Cassie its jam day" she said smiling. I just shrugged because I did forget. Diana and I had plans to harvest the rest of the raspberries and blackberries from my garden and make jams and pie fillings.
"Cut her some slack Diana, it was a long night" Nick teased. Her eyes narrowed and she gave me a disapproving look.
"So Nick I was thinking we would have a meeting and a welcome home celebration tonight. That way you can tell what you were up to the past four years" Diana said and Nick shook his head. He was always very comfortable being on the outskirts of the circle and hated being the center of attention.
"Well can you at least tell us what you did with Black John's spirit?" Diana pleaded.
"I can do that but not tonight" Nick said smiling at me. Diana looked at me funny.
"Nick is taking me on our first real date" I said trying not to sound overly excited.
"Then we can have a short meeting tomorrow and Nick we are celebrating so don't bother protesting" she smiled.
"Fine" he scowled and I laughed. The look on his face was adorable the way his lower lip curled up into a fake pout. I had never seen him like this before especially in front of other people. We ate in silence after that. The food was delicious and the company even better. I had my two favorite people, Nick and Diana, in one place and I couldn't be more thrilled. When we finished I helped Diana clear the table and followed her into the kitchen, Nick in tow. We did the dishes and Diana started a fire in the hearth that was in the kitchen.
"I got to go" Nick said pulling me close, kissing me softly. He let his lips linger on mine. "ill see you at 7" he said softly kissing me again "I can't wait" I whispered and this time it was me who leaned in and kissed him forgetting we had an audience until I heard Diana giggle. "see you later" I laughed. As he disappeared out the back the door he called over his shoulder "bye Diana" "bye nick" she called back and with that he was gone.
"Cassie Bake you tell me everything!" Diana squealed the minute Nick closed the door behind him. "Well, we talked and we are going on a date tonight" I smiled.
"So you aren't going to tell me what happened?" she asked with a hurt look on her face.
"Let's just say it was a very emotional night for both of us that resulted in us getting back together" I said trying to stop a big cheesy smile from taking over my face.
"He loves you, you know" she said quietly.
"I know that" I whispered.
"You love him too" she stated.
"with every fiber of my being" I replied softly.
"Does he know that?" she asked.
"I think so" I replied.
"Cassie you need to tell him" she urged.
I smiled "I will when the time is right". She nodded and we headed out the back door to the garden.
It was a bout quarter to four and I was pouring the last batch of jam into jars while Diana was over the stove melting the wax to poor on top to keep the jam fresh when my cell phone buzzed. It was a text from Nick. Change of plans is 5 too early? It read. 5 is fine I replied.
"Nick just texted me. He is picking me up at 5" I told Diana.
"That doesn't give you a lot of time to get ready. You go upstairs and get in the bath and I'll finish up here" she said smiling.
"Are you sure?" I asked her.
"Of course I am Cassie. You and Nick have been waiting a long time to be together. Go get ready and enjoy your date" she smiled knowing how much tonight meant to me.
"Thank you" I said hugging her and I went upstairs.
I took a nice hot bath filled with lavender and rose buds. Soothing and relaxed and boy did I need to relax. I had gotten nervous all of a sudden and I had no idea why. This was Nick. I was never really uncomfortable around Nick. We always had a good time and we laughed a lot especially when we would tease each other. I missed those days so much and to finally have that back was overwhelming. I wanted tonight to go perfectly.
I was standing at my closet, a fluffy towel wrapped around me trying to figure out what to wear. Nick said nothing about where we were going and I didn't want to be over dressed or underdressed. I was running out of time I needed to decide when Diana appeared next to me taking a few items out of my closet.
"Wear this tank top and this cardigan" she said handing me a white guinea tee and a light blue ¾ sleeved cardigan "and these jeans" she handed me my favorite Abercrombie dark blue boot cut jeans.
I quickly got dressed as Diana rummaged through the bottom of my closet and pulled out a pair of white wedge sandals with a cork bottom.
"These shoes will look nice" she said. I smiled. Diana was so good to me. She really was like my sister the way she took care of me.
"thanks" I said putting a brush through my hair. I decided to let my brown hair air dry to my shoulders revealing the natural waves. I put on a little make up, some lip glass and daubed some essence of roses on my wrists and neck.
Diana put the crescent moon necklace that she had given me at my initiation around my neck. I smiled remembering that night. Remembering the sexless hug Nick gave me and how much had changed since then. I had always been attracted to Nick in the physical sense but who wouldn't be, he was gorgeous. As the time went on and he let me see glimpses of who he really was the attraction became that much stronger but more of an emotional attraction. Nick was a good guy though not many people got to see that side of him. I felt so lucky that he let me in four years ago and even luckier that his walls were still down when it came to me. I was lost in thought when the doorbell rang.