Before Happy could led her to her brother's bathroom, Cassie decided to take a shower at her own house since all her clothes and stuff was there. Plus, she wanted to give her brother a moment to breathe and process everything, which she also needed to do, especially after flashbacks of last night hit her.

The brunette couldn't help but ask herself if there was more, if those images that popped up in her mind were just a little part of what happened. Hopefully not, it was disgusting enough to know her co worker tried to get in her pants while she was not in the state to defend herself.

Was her knowledge of human nature really that bad? She was usually good at judging which people were good and which weren't. Kyle's kindness towards her didn't seem fake or forced, she actually thought he liked her as a friend.

She has been standing under the warm jet of water for twenty minutes now, the glass panes of the shower already tarnished as the warm water ran down her body, helping to relax her muscles. She leaned against the cold tiled wall and used her hands to wash the smudged makeup off her face before reaching for her shampoo to wash her hair and body. After she was done with everything and the water started to feel cold, she got out of the shower and was startled by Happy who was leaning against the sink, holding out a towel for her.

“Sorry, didn't mean to scare you”, he spoke up, his voice hoarse, holding a hint of worry. “Want me to get out?”

“No, you can stay. I just didn't expect you to wait for me”, she said with a small smile as she reached out for the towel to wrap it around her body, quickly squeezing some water out of her dripping hair.

“I wanted to make sure you're fine, that's all”, he grunted with a shrug, meanwhile his hands were shoved into his pockets.

“I am, Hap, don't worry”, the brunette assured him. Worrying anyone she cared about was the last thing she wanted, yet she felt the walls she tried to build around her crumble.

Happy raised a brow, not believing a word she was saying. He knew that woman better than anyone and the way she wrinkled her nose when she spoke told him she wasn't saying the truth. That was one of her tics when she lied.

“Since when do we lie to each other, Cassie?”, he asked with a low growl, not a intimidating one, more a desperate one.

“What do you want me to say?”, the brunette countered with a sigh while drying off her body without giving a thought to what Happy might be thinking. There was nothing she needed to hide from him, by now he knew her body probably better than she did herself. And she had never been a prude one, another reason why it didn't bother her. 

“I want you to talk to me, little girl”, he demanded, his arms now crossed over his chest as he let his eyes wander over her body. This time he wasn't looking at her with lust, but to check if she had any injuries.

“What the fuck, Cassie?”, Happy barked when he discovered new scars at the top of her thigh, almost at her hip.

“What?” The brunette frowned, not sure why he suddenly became so angry. His voice was filled with anger as he barked those few words at her, making her feel a little uncomfortable.

“This shit”, he pointed at her thigh before he stroded towards her and grabbed her chin to lift her head so she had no chance but to look at him. “I thought you stopped doing that years ago!”

“Stop, you're hurting me!” She winced in pain at his firm grip, suddenly feeling a wave of panic at his rough touch. The young woman didn't know why, Happy was the last person she was scared of, knowing he would never actually hurt her physically.

He let go immediately as he saw tears form in her eyes, running his hand a few times over his bald head while the brunette wrapped the towel around her body, watching him from a safe distance.

He didn't mean to get rough, especially not after what she went through but when he was worried, he sometimes acted stupid. But the scared look on her face was now burned into his mind. Feelings and emotions weren't his thing and it showed, which caused Cassie's features to soften when he started pacing around.

“It happened once and it was a stupid thing to do, I know that”, she eventually spoke up, her tone as soft as ever. Carefully, she reached out to pull him closer by his kutte. “Please don't be mad at me.”

“Why?”, he stared into her eyes, his hands resting on either side of her hips as he swallowed hard. “Why did you do it?”

“Because I needed some relief”, she told him honestly, her blue eyes meeting his dark ones that were waiting for an answer. “The weed alone didn't help much anymore. It felt like my life was falling apart once again when I ended the thing, whatever it was, between us.”

“You can't fucking hurt yourself because of me, Cassie”, he grunted urgently before he cupped her pretty face in his calloused hands to capture her lips with his for a quick but meaningful kiss.  “Don't ever do that again, you understand?”

It wasn't a question, it was an order and he wasn't going to watch her hurt herself because of him. If he had been more careful, more attentive to her even when they had little contact, maybe it wouldn't have come to this.

“I won't, I promise”, she told him eagerly, a pleading look in her eyes as she looked up at him. “I don't want to be without you any longer, Happy. I don't care that we both aren't capable of being in a relationship, but I need my best friend back at least.”

Instead of answering her right away, he picked her up and carried her to her room, which he figured was right next to the bathroom. His eyes scanned the room and he had to admit that he liked it. He wasn't sure why he had expected the house to look different and more run down, probably because the rent was pretty cheap for a whole ass house, but he liked it.

Just like in their apartment in Tacoma, she had her bed right next to the window but instead of a view of pine trees, she now had a palm tree and the neighboring houses as a view. It wasn't so bad though.

“No one says you need to be”, he rasped after he sat her down on her bed, making himself comfortable next to her and ran his fingertips up and down her arm. “But we both know we can't keep our hands off each other for long. So it will end the same as last time.”

“So, does that mean you wanna keep the distance?”, she asked meekly, disappointment and a hint of sadness but also comprehension lingering in her tone.

“That's not what I said, little girl”, he stated simply. “But is that what you want? Getting hurt again like a few months back?”

“There isn't any other solution, isn't there?”, the brunette sighed, dropping her eyes.

A silence fell over them for a long moment, not an awkward one but also not a comfortable one. The tension felt weird, both wanting to give in and catch up on what they didn't have the last three months. On the other hand, neither of the two dared to surrender to their desire, too afraid to destroy things between them even more.

“What if we just give it a try?” His words were chosen wisely, well aware they could scare her, yet he needed to know if she would give him a chance to prove her that a relationship between them might ain't such a bad idea.

“Try what exactly?”, she raised a brow at him after clearing her throat, feeling nervousness rose inside her and make it's way to the surface.

“A relationship. I can't even look at another woman anymore, that fucking means something, Cassie”, he told her, completely honest about this topic. He wasn't a guy who said shit like that only to impress a woman. No, he hasn't been inside a bitch since the last time he was buried between Cassie's legs.

She tried to form a few words while she stared at him almost in disbelief. It weren't his words that she doubted, she knew Happy was a brutally honest person and would tell her if he had been fucking someone else. What shocked her was the vulnerable side he showed her, the side he always locked away and hid from everyone. She never thought she would hear him say those words, that he wanted a relationship, that just wasn't like him.

But here they sat, in her bed staring at each other, him impatiently waiting for an answer. Her heartbeat sped up at the thought of him an her together, even the slightest smile crossed her face. But her brain tried to think logically.

What if everything would go wrong? It was no secret that both of them were fucked up and had no idea how to be a good partner because they simply never tried that before. Cassie loved her freedom more than anything, yet she started to hate the feeling of being alone even if she wasn't. Her brothers, Gemma or Lyla could be around all day and the feeling of loneliness still didn't go away. Something was missing in her life and she had an idea what it was. So, the brunette decided to ignore the logically thinking part and listened to her heart.

“I still remember our first time. God, I was so happy.” A soft laugh filled the room as she fiddled with the hem of the towel. Slowly, she looked up at him. “You were my first, I just never told you. When you pulled me in your arms afterwards I felt safe again for the first time in a long while. I fell hard for you in that moment, I just knew it could never work. That's why I kept it to myself, hoping I'd get over you one day.”

“I remember that day, too”, he rasped as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Grabbing her wrist gently, he pulled her with her back facing him between his legs and wrapped both of his arms around her. The satisfied sigh that slipped past her lips was a relief to him, knowing she didn't mind that he wanted her close to him. “And I knew that I was your first but I didn't say anything because I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“Did it work? Getting over me?”, he wanted to know.

“No, it didn't. And you really could've said something that you knew”, the brunette chuckled, nuzzling the side of her face into the crock of his arm, tracing the tattoos on his forearm with the tip of her manicured fingernail. “But I managed to persuade myself that it worked for a long time.”

“I guess I did the same”, he muttered. Thoughtfully he looked out of the window and watched how the palm leaves hit the window over and over, making him assume that a storm might come later.

“You did? So, you..you liked me, too?” Bewildered, she turned her head so that she could look up at him and studied his features, which seemed strained and tensed.

“Yeah”, he nodded briefly, still looking out the window. “I thought you would figure that out on your own since I only treated you with respect and not like I treated the Croweaters around the clubhouse.” 

It wasn't easy for him to look someone in the eye while having this kind of conversation. It made him look vulnerable and he hated to show off that side of him, even to her. He wanted her to see him like the strong person he was, the man who didn't fear anything. Especially not being turned down by a woman. But that's exactly what he was⸺ afraid. Afraid that she could turn him down.

“I just thought you were nicer to me because of James and because of our friendship. I never thought you'd fall in love with a woman like me”, she muttered softly, brought her hand up to his cheek and gently forced him to look at her. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“A woman like you? Every man who doesn't fall in love with a woman like you is just stupid or not capable to fall in love”, he shrugged slightly, the grip around her becoming more possessive as their eyes met. “I didn't tell you because I knew I'm fucked up in so many ways. You know what I do for the club, Cassie. That shit should scare me, make me feel sick, yet I even enjoy it sometimes. You wanna tell me that doesn't bother you?”

The brunette blushed hard at his first sentence since she didn't expect to hear such words from him. Or ever from any man. But it boosted her confidence immensely and showed her once more what an amazing person Happy was. That's why she was able to ignore the torturous, almost sadistic side of him. As long as he would never hurt a innocent person she was okay with what he did for the club.

“No, it doesn't and you know why? Because I know you, Happy. You're a killer, yes, but you would do anything for the people you care about. You would turn the whole world upside down just to support the people you love”, she smiled sincerly, pressing a soft kiss on his lips.

“I'd be stupid if I wouldn't give us a chance”, she added in a whisper, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip. “So, I'm your Old Lady now, or what?”

“I already know that I don't deserve you”, he grunted lowly, he then grabbed her chin between his fingers, this time much more gentle as before, and kissed her deeply before he leaned his forehead against hers.

A smirk formed on his face at her blunt question who made it sound like he was the one  who made her wait. He fucking loved that woman for her bold yet sweet personality.

“If you want that too, then yeah, you're my Old Lady from now on”, he told her, his raspy voice and the fact that he just told her that she was now his Old Lady made her knees weak.

“I love you, Lowman”, she purred against his lips.

“I love you too, little girl. Let me show you how much”, he growled lowly, tugging at the hem of the towel that was thrown to the floor by her without hesitation while she never broke eye contact.

The next for hours only belonged to them, what was exactly what the two of them had longed for for months.