Part 20
Chapter 26
"What do you want?" Dakota's disgust spilled out into her tone.
"You know what I want sexy." Leila said provocatively, sidling up to Dakota.
"I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I don't want anything to do with you." Dakota stepped around her and threw her backpack on her shoulder.
Leila slipped her hand around Dakota, resting it on her stomach and pulled her back as she whispered in her ear, "When are you going to get rid of your play thing and want a real woman?"
Dakota rolled her eyes and felt a wave of irritation sweep over her. "I have a real woman, her. I got rid of my play thing the day I told you I didn't want you in my life." She walked away without looking back.
Leila watched as Dakota turned the corner and disappeared. Inhaling to calm her anger she smiled maniacally with a sense of arrogance. 'Play thing huh? You'll be back with me soon.'
Dakota shook her head in disbelief as she walked towards her class. 'She just won't stop.' She inhaled deeply quelling the anger within and pulled her cell phone out. Grimacing, that Cass had not called; she stuffed it into her pocket and swung the door open in a huff. 'What is your deal Cass? You better not be back with Mary!' After taking her seat, she slammed her notebook down on the desk in annoyed.
***
"Hey, Michelle." Chad greeted with a smile as he approached.
"Hey, aah I've got to get to class." Michelle smiled nervously and looked away, before walking in the opposite direction of him.
"Michelle, wait." Chad jogged up to her and grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Chad, I've got to get to class." She grimaced, avoiding looking at him.
"This is exactly what I didn't want to happen between us." He sighed disappointed. "You can't even look at me."
Michelle looked up at him, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, I don't want us to be this way either, but I'm really confused."
"I'm really scared that I've ruined our friendship." He looked away nervously and sighed heavily.
"We'll always be friends, nothing will change that, but I have to figure out what my real feelings are for you. You already know what they are for me, but I need more time."
"I don't want to lose you." He moved closer to her.
Michelle's heart raced as he drew near. "You won't." She looked into his blue eyes.
Chad stared into her brown eyes, lost and leaned down to kiss her. He hesitated when his lips brushed hers and pressed them against hers when she didn't back away.
Michelle broke the kiss and stared at him.
"So, where do we go from here?" Chad asked with a smile.
"I'm not sure." Michelle sighed, unsure.
"Maybe I should ask you out on a date and go from there?" He grinned and softly rubbed her arm.
"Let's try it and see what happens." Michelle smiled and patted his side.
"Great, okay how about if we go out to dinner tomorrow night?"
"As long as you don't take me to Taco hell, we'll be fine." She teased playfully.
"Nah, Taco hell is not good enough. So we'll go to the Melting Pot."
"Wow, you are big spender." Michelle laughed.
"Only the best for you. I'll pick you up at seven."
"It's a date." She smiled and furrowed her brows slightly from the sound of that statement. "I've got to run off to class. I'll see you later."
"Have fun in class." He smiled widely and kissed her again.
Michelle walked away and inhaled deeply. 'This is so weird. I'm not used to kissing him like that or going out on a date with him. What am I doing?' She shook the confusion from her head and entered the classroom.
***
After a busy day of classes that barely gave her enough time to get to work at the hospital for her emergency room observational hours and working most of her late night shift, she yawned incessantly on her way down to the cafeteria for a late night dinner. She turned the corner with her eyes closed. "Oh, sorry� Cass?" Dakota looked up surprised after bumping into her and nearly running her over.
"I've been chasing you around campus between classes. It's hard to catch your attention." Cass smiled as she looked up at Dakota.
"You've had my attention since day one." Dakota smirked and walked around her.
"Hey, what's going on with you?" Cass was surprised by her greeting and grabbed Dakota's arm, turning her back around.
"What's going on with you?"
"Okay, we aren't going to get anywhere asking each other questions so tell me why you are so mad at me."
"You didn't call me last night or today."
Cass sighed when she saw the look of hurt in Dakota's blue eyes. "I'm so sorry I didn't call you last night, but after Mary left, Brooke came in hysterical after Michelle broke up with her and I spent the night consoling her and then today�" Her rambling was effectively quieted when Dakota placed her hand over Cass' mouth.
"At this moment I don't care about Brooke or Michelle, I want to know if you're back with Mary." Dakota stared deep into Cass' green eyes, feeling her own watering. She slowly lowered her hand as Cass looked at her and glanced away to gather her composure.
"You're jealous?" Cass said barely audible when it hit her.
Dakota looked back at Cass. "Of course I am. I've been that way since the day you went out with her."
"I'm so sorry." Cass was flabbergasted by Dakota's reaction and leaned up, kissing her passionately.
Dakota broke the kiss. "Cass, I don't want to be the other woman." She inhaled deeply to calm her jealousy at the thought of Cass being back with Mary.
"I don't want you to be the other woman either. I want you all to myself." Cass smiled, enjoying how territorial Dakota was being and wrapped her arms around her waist. She pulled her close and kissed her again. After breaking the sensuous kiss, she smiled as she stared at Dakota. "You have nothing to be jealous about. You are the only person I want to be with. I told Mary that and I think she finally got the hint."
Dakota smiled in relief. "The least you could have done was to call and let me know what was going on."
"I'm sorry, but like I said Brooke was hysterical last night and I forgot to charge my phone, it is as dead as a door knob." Cass smiled sheepishly. "But, I have been to all of your classes hoping to get your attention through the door. I must say that you certainly pay attention in class."
Dakota chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I do, but you could have interrupted the class."
"Ooh, you are just not going to forgive me are you?"
"I'm trying, but it's tough." Dakota smirked playfully.
"I brought you dinner from Burrito Bro's will that help persuade you into forgiving me?"
"It's a start." Dakota smiled and pulled her closer.
"Wow, is there anything else that I can do to persuade you?" Cass smiled enjoying their closeness in the darkened hallway.
"Well, that skimpy outfit you have on is helping." Dakota smiled admiringly and looked down at Cass' low cut shirt.
"What? This old thing?" Cass smiled flirtatiously after looking down at the blue, button down shirt and looked back up to Dakota.
"That old thing is very nice," Dakota glanced down one more time appreciatively. Besides, you going to the frat party with me and going to my family's house for Thanksgiving will help persuade me for sure." Dakota grinned mischievously.
"Oh really? Wow, three dates when I had originally only agreed to one."
"Well, if you don't want to forgive me and only want one date then�" Dakota released her hold on Cass and moved back.
"Oh, no you don't. Come here." Cass pulled her close again. "I want your forgiveness and I would love to have a second and third date. Even more dates if you ask." She smiled and rubbed Dakota's back.
"Excellent. I knew you would see it my way. So, what did you bring me for dinner?" Dakota smirked and looked towards the bag.
"Your favorite, a burrito!" Cass laughed.
"Well, let's find a place to eat that thing before I have to get back to work." Dakota smiled and led Cass towards the cafeteria.
***
Dakota sat across the table from Cass, finishing her burrito. She took a sip from the straw and swallowed the cold beverage. "How is Brooke taking the break up?"
Cass grimaced, remembering how upset Brooke was the previous night. "Not good at all."
"It's really strange that Chad and Michelle are so into each other. I thought it was just Chad trying to get into the pants of a lesbian. You know, a man's fantasy, but he is really into her. I never saw that coming, it's really strange." Dakota shook her head in disbelief and took another sip to wash down the burrito.
"I thought Michelle was the quintessential lesbian, like you." Cass chuckled and scrunched up her nose playfully.
"Yes, if you look up lesbian in Webster's my picture should be there with Michelle right below me." Dakota laughed and placed her drink down on the table. "I am really surprised about Michelle though. I wonder if it's just that�sorry, I know you are friends with Brooke."
"No, it's okay. Go on."
"I wonder if it's just that Michelle was really unhappy with Brooke and was looking elsewhere for what she wanted out of her relationship?"
"Probably. Maybe you should talk to her about it?"
"Nope, I'm staying out of it. It's not my business." Dakota shook her head and sat back in the chair. She ran her fingers through her hair and stretched.
Cass was taken back by her comment. "Dakota, it is your business in a way. Your brother is involved."
Dakota leaned forward in her chair. "He's a big boy and can handle himself. I already gave him my advice on the situation and whether he takes it or not is his business. If he wants me to get more involved he'll ask me, but until then I'm staying out of it."
"I suppose that's the best thing." Cass smiled.
"Well, I've got to get back. I was only supposed to be gone for a half hour." Dakota smiled and stood up.
"Will you get in trouble?" Cass worried as she rose to her feet and stood before Dakota.
"Nah, I'll just tell my supervisor that I couldn't pull myself away from such a beautiful woman." Dakota grinned seductively.
"You are making me blush." Cass smiled and looked away.
Dakota leaned over her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Get used to the compliments because they are true." Dakota put her hand on the small of Cass' back and guided her towards the door.
Cass looked up at her. "Thank you. I happen to think the same about you."
Dakota smiled mischievously. "I know."
Cass gasped and nudged Dakota. "Ooh, you are so full of yourself."
They laughed as they walked down the hallway.
"Well, this is my stop. I'll come by your dorm at ten to pick you up for the party. I will be stuck in classes all day tomorrow again and I have to come back here before the party so I won't get to see you until then."
Cass sighed disappointed. "Oh, man. I wanted to have lunch with you tomorrow and dinner and�" Cass smiled seductively and sidled up to Dakota.
"I promise to make it up to you when we are in Daytona, okay?" Dakota placed her hand on Cass' waist and pulled her close. She ran her finger along Cass' hair that framed her face and pushed it back. "I'll see you tomorrow night. Thanks for bringing me dinner." Dakota leaned down and kissed her lightly.
"You're welcome. Don't work too hard." Cass smiled and kissed Dakota again.
"I'll try not to." Dakota smiled, watching as Cass stepped back. She clutched her hand, unable to break the connection.
"Bye." Cass flashed a provocative smile and stepped back farther.
Dakota was lost in the smoldering green eyes that stared at her and reluctantly released her hand. "Sweet dreams." She said in a whisper.
"You too." Cass winked and blew her a kiss before disappearing around the corner.
Dakota swallowed the lump in her throat and walked to the hallway where Cass had turned down. She caught one more glimpse of Cass before she exited and inhaled, trying to calm her racing heart. "Yes!" Pumping her fist in the air excitedly, she laughed with a feeling of joy overwhelming her. Reluctantly, she walked back to the nurse's station to finish her shift.
***
Cass stepped out and into a cold breeze that instantly cooled off her overheated skin. Inhaling deeply, she smiled from the wondrous feeling that had swept over her from being with Dakota. 'She looked incredibly hot in those tight blue scrubs. Yummy!' Cass chuckled and pulled her coat around her tighter as she walked towards her dorm. She checked her surroundings frequently as she hurried to her dorm and sighed relieved when she arrived without being followed by the mystery man. 'Good, maybe I won't see him anymore.' After entering the building, she was stopped by Penny and Brenda.
"Hey, we are going out for beer bust, want to join us?" Penny asked with a mischievous grin.
Cass sighed, disappointed and frowned. "I can't."
"Come on Cass don't be a light weight. The cover is two dollars and all the beer you can drink until the keg is empty." Brenda goaded and nudged her.
"I would love to, but I've got to study for my exam tomorrow. I'm not lucky like you two who finished early." Cass scrunched up her nose, envious of her teammates.
"Aah, poor baby she has to study." Penny taunted and laughed.
"Well, we'll just have to drink your portion then. Have fun studying!" Brenda gave her a wink and walked away with Penny.
"Have fun!" Cass called out as she walked towards her room.
"Oh, we will!" Penny retorted and all three laughed knowingly.
Cass entered her room still laughing and sat at her desk, feeling on cloud nine from the time she had spent with Dakota. She felt a nervous trepidation as she thought about their trip to Daytona in a couple of days. 'I know we will make love.' Feeling a tingling sensation sweep over her she smiled and rubbed the goose bumps on her arms. 'I can't wait.' Inhaling deeply and smiling, she pulled out her book to begin studying.
***
Dakota, Chad and Owen walked into the crowded frat house and stopped just inside. Dakota scanned the crowd looking for Cass, hoping she wouldn't be too upset that she was late. The surgery she was observing had taken longer than she expected.
"Hey, there's the keg." Owen pointed out and the three walked towards it, weaving the crowd.
Dakota checked the various rooms for Cass and frowned when she didn't see her. 'Maybe she got sick of waiting for me and left.' She turned around and Owen handed her a cup of beer. "Thanks." Feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand up, she turned around and sighed when she saw Leila walking towards her with a smug look.
"Oh, man is that chick ever going to get out of your life?" Chad looked at Dakota and shook his head.
"I have no idea and I'm not sure what in the hell I was thinking being with her in the first place."
"She's hot and you were thinking with your virtual penis." Owen laughed and slapped her on the back.
Dakota and Chad laughed.
"Hello." Leila drawled in a sexy tone when she sidled up next to Dakota.
"What do you want?" Dakota gave her a menacing sideways glance and looked away taking a sip of her drink.
"I thought you could use some consoling." Leila put her hand on Dakota's back.
Dakota jerked away and faced her. "What the fuck are you talking about? I don't need any consoling."
"Oh, my bad I guess. I thought you would be upset by the fact that Cass went upstairs a couple of minutes ago with Beetle."
"What?" Dakota's expression turned serious and her heart raced.
"Yeah, she looked wasted, but�" She wasn't able to finish what she was going to say as Dakota had already shoved her way through the crowd towards the stairs with her brother's on her heels.
"That bastard! Move!" She shouted pushing people out of her way up the stairs. "This is going to be the last girl he does this too!"
"I'm calling campus security now." Chad called out following her up the stairs, frantically punching the numbers into his phone.
Dakota reached the top of the stairs and grabbed one of the frat brothers. "Where's Beetle's room?"
"What's it to you?" He asked incredulously.
"Where's his room asshole?" Owen interjected and shoved him against the wall.
The shorter man swallowed the lump in his throat, fearful of the tall, muscular football player. "Aah, number three."
Owen slapped his head to the side and turned to find Dakota was already down the hall, trying to open the door.
"Open the door!" Dakota pounded on the door frantically. "Fucker! I'm going to kill him. He won't get away with it this time." She stepped back and with her full force kicked the door open. After crashing through the door she looked to her left, then her right. "Get away from her!" Fear gripped her throat like a vice when she saw Cass passed out on the bed with Beetle hovering over her, unbuttoning her pants.
"What did you give her?" Dakota headed for the bed and was stopped when he stood up before her.
"Just a little ecstasy to loosen her up. I do believe you're in the wrong room Colby. So, shut the door behind you on the way out."
"No, you're not going to do anything to her." She glanced at him, then to Cass, fighting the wave of fear she felt for the smaller woman.
"Who's going to stop me?" He countered arrogantly.
"Kody!" Owen called out when he entered the room followed by his brother.
"I'm going to." Dakota angrily said, her eyes filled with rage at the man for touching Cass and stumbled back when she shoved her away from Cass.
"Yeah, right I see your football playing brothers are here."
Owen closed the door behind him and stood next to his brother with his arms crossed over his chest. "Nah, man. We are here to proudly watch our sister kick your ass!" Owen laughed maniacally.
"Let's get it on little girl." Beetle smirked and moved towards Dakota, but was quickly dropped in heap with one swift, hard strategically placed kick to the groin.
"Ooh, that hurts." Chad chuckled, looking at the guy on the ground.
"Fifty-yarder wouldn't you say?" Owen smirked looking at his brother.
"Definitely, I take it he didn't realize Dakota was a punter in high school?"
Dakota looked at the guy writhing in pain on the floor and glanced at Cass. Her blood boiled seeing her pants open, revealing her underwear. "You piece of shit!"
"Hey, what's going on in there?" Someone pounded on the door.
"Are you security?" Chad asked leaning against the door to keep it closed.
"NO!"
"Then nothing is going on." Owen added.
Beetle tried to stand up and Dakota swiftly moved to him. She reared her fist back and drove it into the side of his jaw.
Cass opened her eyes, hazily seeing a figure who she thought was Dakota. She struggled to focus on the blur to her left.
Dakota grabbed him by the hair, her rage and fear taking over as she raised her fist again.
"Dakota?" Cass asked weakly.
Dakota blinked her eyes rapidly, the sweet voice brought her back from a ragging darkness that she didn't know she had in her. "Cass." She said softly and released her grip on his hair. Rushing to Cass' side, she saw her trying to look at her. "Hey." Her tone was soft and comforting as she removed her jacket. She draped it over Cass' pants and sat next to her. Cass, hey." Cass had fallen back to sleep and Dakota gently rubbed her arm trying to rouse her.
"Campus security!"
Chad backed away from the door and opened it. "The asshole is right there." He pointed to the heap on the floor.
"What happened?" The male officer asked when he entered.
"Okay folks break it up." The female officer ordered and shooed the onlookers away before entering the room, then quickly closed the door behind her.
"He was about to rape her when I came in." Dakota explained protectively sitting next to Cass.
"How do you know it wasn't consensual?" The male officer asked, looking up from Beetle as he checked him over.
"Oh, come on Jimmy. Look at the girl, she's passed out! Check his pockets asshole. I'm sure he has ecstasy in there. Sometimes you can be such an insensitive ass." The gruff female officer ordered, out ranking him and wishing she could beat some sense into him for being so insensitive. 'I will write him up for it though.' She chuckled inwardly and walked to the bed. "Is she okay?"
"She woke up briefly, but I'm going to take her to the hospital just in case. He only unbuttoned her pants." Dakota lifted her jacket so the officer could see her pants.
"Okay, go ahead and zip her pants up. I'll note it in my report. Let me call an ambulance."
Dakota quickly zipped up Cass' pants. "No, the hospital is right next door. I want to get her there quickly. I'll take her there."
"Ma'am that isn't advisable. We should call the ambulance."
Dakota gathered Cass' limp body into her arms and stood up. "I'm not waiting for an ambulance. If that's a problem too bad, you can find me in the emergency room." She shifted Cass in her arms and headed for the door.
"I'll go with you." Chad offered and opened the door.
"Yep, he's got ecstasy and I think he may need a trip to the ER." The male officer said with a chuckle. "Who did this to him?"
"My sister, the one who just left." Owen answered, with a proud smile.
"You go girl." The female officer chuckled.
"I hear a cop car outside. I'll show them in." Owen told the officer and moved toward the door.
"Make sure you come back. I need a statement from you as well as from the other two." The female officer told him.
"Trust me; you'll get your statement from all of us. This scumbag is going down for what he did this time. His candy ass won't weasel out of this one, like he did the other times." Owen hurried through the door.
The male officer looked at his partner. "He's done this before?"
"Yep, a few times, but we've never been able to nail him. I think this time it's going to stick especially considering the Colby family is involved personally.
"That's who they are?" He was surprised. "Well, you are in deep shit pal." He laughed and stood up.
Dakota had put her jacket over Cass' head to shield her from the onlookers and hurried out the back of the house. Cradling Cass closely, she rushed across the side street to the hospital. Cass moaned and Dakota moved the jacket off her face. "It's okay, I've got you." She kissed her on the top of her head and smiled when she felt Cass snuggle closer.
"I hope they finally nail that asshole." Chad shook his head in disbelief of what had happened as he walked along side his sister.
"I'll personally see to it that he goes down." Her tone of voice was adamant and her look of determination expressed her point. She waited for the sliding glass doors to open and hurried through the lobby. "Terry, buzz me through." She said to the girl at the registration desk.
"Kody, what happened?" Terry jumped from her seat after pressing the button for the door.
"Cass was at a party and some asshole gave her ecstasy." Dakota explained slight out of breath.
"Kody!" Sarah said surprised when Dakota walked into the back area of the emergency room.
"What's open?" Dakota stopped and looked around.
"Oh, aah put her in one. I'll get Dr. Perez."
"Thanks." Dakota carried Cass to the room and gently placed her on the gurney. She brushed the hair of her face and placed the clip on Cass' finger, flipping on the switch to check her pulse.
"Is she going to be okay?" Chad asked worried, standing on the opposite of the bed from his sister.
Dakota's blue eyes flicked up at him. "I think so. Her pulse is good." She grabbed the blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around Cass' upper arm. She stared at the monitor waiting for the reading and turned when she heard the curtain open.
"Kody, what do you have?" The doctor inquired hurrying to the side of the bed as Chad stepped out of the way.
"This is my teammate Cassandra Storms and she was given ecstasy unknowingly at a frat party."
He checked Cass over and listened to her heart with his stethoscope. "When are they going to stop doing that crap?" He asked incredulously and glanced up at Dakota. "She wasn't sexually assaulted was she?"
"No, I got to her before that occurred." Dakota sighed deeply; relieved that was not the case.
"Good okay. Has she been unconscious for long?"
"No, she has spoken a few times since I got to her, but she hasn't been able to stay awake."
"It doesn't surprise me. She probably just needs to sleep it off. Sarah, let's get some blood work done on her to see what's going on."
Dakota stared at Cass and gently stroked her hair. "I should have been there to protect you." Frowning, she felt her heart skip a beat thinking of what might have happened had she not gotten there. Dakota was lost in her thoughts, watching Cass sleep and jerked her head up when Chad touched her arm. "Huh?" She looked at him bewildered and turned to the doctor when Chad pointed his way.
"Don't worry, she's going to be fine. How about you?"
"What?" Confusion swept over her.
"Your hand is bleeding."
Dakota didn't even realize she had been injured and looked down, noticing her knuckles on her left hand where bloodied and swollen. She opened and closed her hand. "It's stiff, but I'm sure it's fine. Nothing's broken."
"Just the same you should have it x-rayed. Head on down." The doctor ordered.
"Doc, I don't want to leave her." She glanced over at Cass and held her hand.
"You've got time. She won't wake up for awhile." He grinned and nodded towards the door.
"I'll stay with Cass while you go." Chad offered and stepped around the side of the bed.
"You're relentless." Dakota sighed, reluctant to leave, but relented.
"So are you!" The doctor winked and smiled when she stormed out.
Dakota had the suggested x-rays and rushed back to Cass' side. She sat in the chair next to Cass when Chad stood up, clutching Cass' hand in hers as she stared at her.
"Did she wake up?"
"What happened with your hand?"
"Nothing, no fractures, it's just bruised. Did she wake up?" Dakota was not all concerned with her own well being, Cass was her main focus.
"No, but she was mumbling a lot. The doctor said he would talk to you about the toxicology reports. Oh, there he is now."
Chad looked up and smiled when he approached.
"Well?" Dakota looked up at him expectantly.