Seeing Stars
29: American Kids
"Makin' out on living room couches, blowin' that smoke on Saturday night, a little messed up but we're all alright..."
Cassidy hopped out of the car and ran to the house, knowing well enough that her dad would still be at work. She tilted the little frog statue backwards, retrieving the key from underneath it and slid it into the locked front door, twisting the knob and pushing it open.
Only when she could smell the remnants of the bacon her dad had cooked that moment, did she turn back to the car, helping Jamie hoist their bags out of the trunk.
“And you’re sure you don’t want to stay at a hotel?” He looked up at the house, half grimacing at the thought of having to stay with her father for the next few weeks.
She glared at him and lifted two bags, carrying them back to the house with Jamie right on her heels. Once everything was settled inside, Cassidy giggled childishly and jumped into his arms, earning a tight embrace as he held her up. With her hands clutching at either side of his face, she leaned in and kissed his lips slowly, sucking on his lower lip.
“Isn’t it like some sort of fetish to have sex in a childhood bedroom?” Cassidy murmured against his lips, pulling away just enough to keep their foreheads together.
Jamie set her back down and pushed her hair away from her face, taking a deep breath in to capture her scent, “it may be a fetish, but it’s not mine.” He groaned and herded her towards the kitchen counter, pinning her up against the refrigerator door. “I want you so badly, Cass,” as he stepped in, offering small kisses along her neck, a car pulled into the drive.
Hearing the engine shut down, Cassidy pulled away from Jamie’s lips, looking out the screen door to see her father’s familiar truck parked on the gravel road. He was gathering his things, getting ready to enter the house, carefully eyeing the unfamiliar car that was also parked in the driveway. She was about to go greet him, when Jamie gripped onto her arm, pulling her back in front of him. With a quick flick of his hand, he smoothed out her hair and bent back down to kiss her lips quickly just as her father entered the house.
Immediately upon seeing his daughter, Lee dropped his belongings he had brought in from the truck and ran up to Cassidy, holding her in a warm hug. “Cass, you crazy girl.”
“Dad, I brought you something from Canada,” Cassidy shrieked, making way towards the living room to dig through the luggage she had brought in.
“Mr. Knox, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” Jamie offered his hand, shaking Lee’s firmly.
“I told you to call me Lee,” he smiled and chuckled at Jamie’s timidity, but then figured he’d let him off the hook. “It’s good to see you too.”
Cassidy came skipping back into the kitchen, smiling as she thrust a bottle of maple syrup towards her dad, grinning ear to ear.
“You really did buy my syrup…” Tears were coming to Lee’s eyes as he struggled to hold back small laughs.
Jamie wrapped his arm around Cassidy’s lower back, holding her against his body, just to be close to her. “I told her to bring back something more unique. But she wouldn’t have any of it.”
“That’s my girl.” He paused and set the syrup down on the counter, “we’ll have waffles in the morning with our Canadian syrup.”
It was easy to get caught up in conversation and ignore everything else. Being four months since she had last seen her dad, Cassidy didn’t even want to get up from the living room couch to move to the dining room. She was enthusiastically recalling the time she spend in Victoria, and even throwing in a mention about the Los Angeles experience, leaving out the first few days.
Dinner was made up by Lee, consisting of steak and chicken, baked potatoes, and grilled zucchini. And as the sun was setting, they sat on the back patio at the glass table, sipping beers and enjoying the meal set before them.
“Cass, why don’t you tell your dad what you told me the other night,” Jamie smiled and cut a small piece of his steak, popping it into his mouth, clearly loving the taste.
Cassidy blushed and cut her chicken into small bites. All the while, her dad stared wanting to know the details of that conversation. “I told Jamie that if I have a son, I want to name him Knox.” She paused, saw the slight horror on her dad’s face, and continued, “I’m not pregnant. It was just a thought.”
Lee relaxed, able to take another sip of his beer, and sunk back into his chair. He eyed Jamie, seemingly trying to get him to slip up and expose the fact that they’d already slept together. But Jamie remained stoic. “Well Cass, I think that’s a fine idea. But I hope you’re married by the time you have to give baby names a real thought.”
“Of course, daddy.”
Jamie smiled and leaned in to kiss her quickly as she leaned into his body. As odd as it felt to be displaying affection in front of Lee, she couldn’t help but comply to it.
Quickly, Lee cleared his throat, getting their attention off of each other. It couldn’t have been easy to see his daughter fawning over someone. Once he had their attention, he finished off his beer, “so we’ll set you up on the couch. Jamie can stay in your room,”
“But…” Cassidy interrupted, wanting to prove a point.
Lee held up his hand, stopping her before she could go in depth with her explanation. “It wasn’t a suggestion,”
With an awkward silence ensuing, Jamie spoke up, “Mr. Knox, thank you for allowing me to stay in your home.”
Cassidy looked at her dad again. While she did want to spend as much time as possible with her dad, maybe it would have been easier if they just stayed at a hotel.
Jamie had been out the entire next day with some friends from the Predators, and it wasn’t until the evening that he arrived back, spinning gravel on the driveway. The front door had been propped open to allow the evening breeze to cool the house. Jamie peeked through the screen door with one hand behind his back, and the other pushing open the latch to allow him entry.
He stood across the living room, smiling at Cassidy as she stared at him, trying to guess what could possibly be behind his back. In the same moment, he pulled his hand in front of him, revealing a bouquet of Dogwood flowers.
Cassidy shrieked and jumped off of the couch, running to him and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. He set his free hand on her lower back and turned his head to the side to kiss her temple softly. When she finally pulled away, she took the bouquet from him, burying her nose into the flowers, relishing the smell.
“I love you,” Jamie murmured, albeit probably loud enough for Lee to hear. He brought one hand up to the back of her neck.
“I love you too,” she smiled and kissed his lips once, turning back with the bouquet in her hands. “Don’t forget we’re going to a friend’s house tonight.”
Jamie smiled and wiped his lips, “I know I’ll be ready. I just want to change.”
She grinned and began to walk off in the direction of her bedroom, “thank you, for these.” With a quick nod, she was off, disappearing into the darkness of the hallway, only followed with the shutting of her bedroom door.
“That was very thoughtful of you,” Lee said, lowering the volume of the TV.
Jamie took the liberty of sitting in the reclining chair across from him, biting his lip nervously for a moment. “Mr. Knox… Lee… I’d like to talk to you for a minute,”
Lee glanced at Jamie, getting the hint that it might be a more serious conversation. And with that, he shut off the TV completely, giving Jamie his full and undivided attention.
“Your daughter is such an amazing woman, and I really do love her. I… was hoping that by the holidays… I’d be able to propose to her; with your permission, of course.”
“It’s awful fast,” Lee commented, squinting and rubbing the scruff on his face as he spoke.
Jamie licked his lips quickly, trying to remedy the situation in a way that would prove he wasn’t bringing up the subject casually; that he was actually serious about it. “I know, but I’ve thought a lot about it. I’m gonna be twenty-five in a few days, and I don’t want to go another year without her being my wife.”
“You haven’t given her much time to have her own life. She’s only twenty-one, Jamie. You’re asking a lot of me; to allow my child to bind herself to one person at such a young age.”
“This is Cassidy’s last semester in school. I want her to do whatever she wants in life; I just want her to do it with me by her side. Mr. Knox, your daughter is the best thing in my life.” He felt like he was pleading, but at this point, he didn’t care. “I can be a faithful husband, a dedicated and protective one, and I want to be that for your daughter.”
Lee offered a small smile, folding his hands in his lap. “Jamie Benn, there’s not a doubt in my mind that you’d be a good husband…” he trailed off and took a deep breath, as if he was contemplating all of his options at once. “And I’d like it very much if you were that for my daughter.”
Jamie let out a relieved sigh, standing up from the chair as Lee did so. The two men shook hands, and then Lee pulled Jamie in, hugging him tightly, patting his back. When they pulled away from each other’s embrace, Jamie looked around the room hesitantly, unsure of what to say next.
Shaking his head, Lee flicked his hand towards the hallway, “fine, go see her. If I hear anything I shouldn’t be hearing, I’m rescinding my permission.”
He smiled and made his way to Cassidy’s bedroom, trying not to seem too eager. When he shut the door behind him, the small adjoining bathroom door was cracked open and the shower was on. He stepped towards it and slipped in, catching Cassidy’s glance.
She seemed unable to say much of anything, shaking her head in slight disbelief and confusion. Cassidy reached for the faucet and turned off the water, stretching to reach her towel and pull it around her body. Tucking it securely, she stepped out of the stall and stood on her tiptoes to get closer to Jamie’s level, her head just reaching his shoulder.
“My daddy’s gonna kill you, handsome,” she pecked his neck quickly, retreating back to her feet.
“I have a feeling he won’t,” Jamie began, smiling and following Cassidy with his eyes as she began moving through the bathroom. “Will you be ready to go in a half hour?”
She nodded and looked at him through the mirror, noting he was pretty much ready. All he would probably do was fix his hair to make it looked more coiffed.
The slamming of the car door was enough to make Jamie run around and assist Cassidy, as she stumbled towards the front door of her father’s house. She had gone a tad overboard on the alcohol in the company of her old childhood friends. Now she was a giggling drunk as Jamie unlocked the front door, and urged her to be quiet as they entered the house.
His efforts were in vain, as he saw the glow of the lamp in the living room, along with Lee sitting in the chair beside it. It felt as though his heart sank into his stomach as Lee stood up, watching the mess that was his daughter, staggering in Jamie’s arms.
“She’s drunk,” Lee muttered, looking his daughter up and down. It was clearly the first time he’d seen his daughter in this condition.
“Jamie, shhh!” Cassidy rolled her head back to look up at him, a huge grin spreading across her face, “you’re so cute. I just want to get you…”
“Mr. Knox, I know you have rules… but I…”
“Go,” Lee interrupted. Almost immediately after, he was heading for his own bedroom, shutting the door behind him.
It was then that Jamie took the liberty of literally sweeping Cassidy off her feet, and carrying her into her bedroom, where he promptly sat her down on the bed, and dug through her dresser to find some pajamas for her. When he approached the side of the bed, Cassidy was laying on her back with her legs dangling over the side. Jamie bent in front of her, pulling on each of her boots until they slipped off, before he moved to her tight jeans, undoing the button and sliding down the zipper.
“Jamie Benn, are you gonna fuck me right now?” She blurted out, lifting up her hips wobbly, and pushed down her jeans to expose her pale pink thong.
Her tone was completely serious, and it took everything in him to keep from laughing. But after sliding her pants off her legs and replacing them with a pair of her short, fabric shorts, he smiled and reached for her shirt, “no, you’re plastered.”
She lifted her arms, allowing him to slip her shirt over her head, and before he had the chance to replace it with one of his shirts, Cassidy was unclipping her bra and throwing it to the side, reaching out for Jamie’s shoulders. He smiled again, undoubtedly amused by the show he was receiving.
“I’m just drunk.” She paused and looked at him, “Jamie,” she whined, accentuating the end of his name, “I want your di…”
“Here, let’s put this on…” he offered his shirt to her, keeping her as quiet as possible. It was proving easier said than done. And when she began to protest again, he laid her back on the bed, now fully clothed, and slipped in beside her, “let’s cuddle right now, and we can do everything else another night, alright?”
She nodded, her eyelids already halfway closed, and he effortlessly turned her on her side, pressing his chest tightly against her back to keep her in that position. Because it was the first time he’d ever seen her drunk, he didn’t know if she’d get sick. And now, having gotten her father’s permission for marriage, the last thing he wanted was for her to asphyxiate.
Cassidy hopped out of the car and ran to the house, knowing well enough that her dad would still be at work. She tilted the little frog statue backwards, retrieving the key from underneath it and slid it into the locked front door, twisting the knob and pushing it open.
Only when she could smell the remnants of the bacon her dad had cooked that moment, did she turn back to the car, helping Jamie hoist their bags out of the trunk.
“And you’re sure you don’t want to stay at a hotel?” He looked up at the house, half grimacing at the thought of having to stay with her father for the next few weeks.
She glared at him and lifted two bags, carrying them back to the house with Jamie right on her heels. Once everything was settled inside, Cassidy giggled childishly and jumped into his arms, earning a tight embrace as he held her up. With her hands clutching at either side of his face, she leaned in and kissed his lips slowly, sucking on his lower lip.
“Isn’t it like some sort of fetish to have sex in a childhood bedroom?” Cassidy murmured against his lips, pulling away just enough to keep their foreheads together.
Jamie set her back down and pushed her hair away from her face, taking a deep breath in to capture her scent, “it may be a fetish, but it’s not mine.” He groaned and herded her towards the kitchen counter, pinning her up against the refrigerator door. “I want you so badly, Cass,” as he stepped in, offering small kisses along her neck, a car pulled into the drive.
Hearing the engine shut down, Cassidy pulled away from Jamie’s lips, looking out the screen door to see her father’s familiar truck parked on the gravel road. He was gathering his things, getting ready to enter the house, carefully eyeing the unfamiliar car that was also parked in the driveway. She was about to go greet him, when Jamie gripped onto her arm, pulling her back in front of him. With a quick flick of his hand, he smoothed out her hair and bent back down to kiss her lips quickly just as her father entered the house.
Immediately upon seeing his daughter, Lee dropped his belongings he had brought in from the truck and ran up to Cassidy, holding her in a warm hug. “Cass, you crazy girl.”
“Dad, I brought you something from Canada,” Cassidy shrieked, making way towards the living room to dig through the luggage she had brought in.
“Mr. Knox, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” Jamie offered his hand, shaking Lee’s firmly.
“I told you to call me Lee,” he smiled and chuckled at Jamie’s timidity, but then figured he’d let him off the hook. “It’s good to see you too.”
Cassidy came skipping back into the kitchen, smiling as she thrust a bottle of maple syrup towards her dad, grinning ear to ear.
“You really did buy my syrup…” Tears were coming to Lee’s eyes as he struggled to hold back small laughs.
Jamie wrapped his arm around Cassidy’s lower back, holding her against his body, just to be close to her. “I told her to bring back something more unique. But she wouldn’t have any of it.”
“That’s my girl.” He paused and set the syrup down on the counter, “we’ll have waffles in the morning with our Canadian syrup.”
It was easy to get caught up in conversation and ignore everything else. Being four months since she had last seen her dad, Cassidy didn’t even want to get up from the living room couch to move to the dining room. She was enthusiastically recalling the time she spend in Victoria, and even throwing in a mention about the Los Angeles experience, leaving out the first few days.
Dinner was made up by Lee, consisting of steak and chicken, baked potatoes, and grilled zucchini. And as the sun was setting, they sat on the back patio at the glass table, sipping beers and enjoying the meal set before them.
“Cass, why don’t you tell your dad what you told me the other night,” Jamie smiled and cut a small piece of his steak, popping it into his mouth, clearly loving the taste.
Cassidy blushed and cut her chicken into small bites. All the while, her dad stared wanting to know the details of that conversation. “I told Jamie that if I have a son, I want to name him Knox.” She paused, saw the slight horror on her dad’s face, and continued, “I’m not pregnant. It was just a thought.”
Lee relaxed, able to take another sip of his beer, and sunk back into his chair. He eyed Jamie, seemingly trying to get him to slip up and expose the fact that they’d already slept together. But Jamie remained stoic. “Well Cass, I think that’s a fine idea. But I hope you’re married by the time you have to give baby names a real thought.”
“Of course, daddy.”
Jamie smiled and leaned in to kiss her quickly as she leaned into his body. As odd as it felt to be displaying affection in front of Lee, she couldn’t help but comply to it.
Quickly, Lee cleared his throat, getting their attention off of each other. It couldn’t have been easy to see his daughter fawning over someone. Once he had their attention, he finished off his beer, “so we’ll set you up on the couch. Jamie can stay in your room,”
“But…” Cassidy interrupted, wanting to prove a point.
Lee held up his hand, stopping her before she could go in depth with her explanation. “It wasn’t a suggestion,”
With an awkward silence ensuing, Jamie spoke up, “Mr. Knox, thank you for allowing me to stay in your home.”
Cassidy looked at her dad again. While she did want to spend as much time as possible with her dad, maybe it would have been easier if they just stayed at a hotel.
Jamie had been out the entire next day with some friends from the Predators, and it wasn’t until the evening that he arrived back, spinning gravel on the driveway. The front door had been propped open to allow the evening breeze to cool the house. Jamie peeked through the screen door with one hand behind his back, and the other pushing open the latch to allow him entry.
He stood across the living room, smiling at Cassidy as she stared at him, trying to guess what could possibly be behind his back. In the same moment, he pulled his hand in front of him, revealing a bouquet of Dogwood flowers.
Cassidy shrieked and jumped off of the couch, running to him and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. He set his free hand on her lower back and turned his head to the side to kiss her temple softly. When she finally pulled away, she took the bouquet from him, burying her nose into the flowers, relishing the smell.
“I love you,” Jamie murmured, albeit probably loud enough for Lee to hear. He brought one hand up to the back of her neck.
“I love you too,” she smiled and kissed his lips once, turning back with the bouquet in her hands. “Don’t forget we’re going to a friend’s house tonight.”
Jamie smiled and wiped his lips, “I know I’ll be ready. I just want to change.”
She grinned and began to walk off in the direction of her bedroom, “thank you, for these.” With a quick nod, she was off, disappearing into the darkness of the hallway, only followed with the shutting of her bedroom door.
“That was very thoughtful of you,” Lee said, lowering the volume of the TV.
Jamie took the liberty of sitting in the reclining chair across from him, biting his lip nervously for a moment. “Mr. Knox… Lee… I’d like to talk to you for a minute,”
Lee glanced at Jamie, getting the hint that it might be a more serious conversation. And with that, he shut off the TV completely, giving Jamie his full and undivided attention.
“Your daughter is such an amazing woman, and I really do love her. I… was hoping that by the holidays… I’d be able to propose to her; with your permission, of course.”
“It’s awful fast,” Lee commented, squinting and rubbing the scruff on his face as he spoke.
Jamie licked his lips quickly, trying to remedy the situation in a way that would prove he wasn’t bringing up the subject casually; that he was actually serious about it. “I know, but I’ve thought a lot about it. I’m gonna be twenty-five in a few days, and I don’t want to go another year without her being my wife.”
“You haven’t given her much time to have her own life. She’s only twenty-one, Jamie. You’re asking a lot of me; to allow my child to bind herself to one person at such a young age.”
“This is Cassidy’s last semester in school. I want her to do whatever she wants in life; I just want her to do it with me by her side. Mr. Knox, your daughter is the best thing in my life.” He felt like he was pleading, but at this point, he didn’t care. “I can be a faithful husband, a dedicated and protective one, and I want to be that for your daughter.”
Lee offered a small smile, folding his hands in his lap. “Jamie Benn, there’s not a doubt in my mind that you’d be a good husband…” he trailed off and took a deep breath, as if he was contemplating all of his options at once. “And I’d like it very much if you were that for my daughter.”
Jamie let out a relieved sigh, standing up from the chair as Lee did so. The two men shook hands, and then Lee pulled Jamie in, hugging him tightly, patting his back. When they pulled away from each other’s embrace, Jamie looked around the room hesitantly, unsure of what to say next.
Shaking his head, Lee flicked his hand towards the hallway, “fine, go see her. If I hear anything I shouldn’t be hearing, I’m rescinding my permission.”
He smiled and made his way to Cassidy’s bedroom, trying not to seem too eager. When he shut the door behind him, the small adjoining bathroom door was cracked open and the shower was on. He stepped towards it and slipped in, catching Cassidy’s glance.
She seemed unable to say much of anything, shaking her head in slight disbelief and confusion. Cassidy reached for the faucet and turned off the water, stretching to reach her towel and pull it around her body. Tucking it securely, she stepped out of the stall and stood on her tiptoes to get closer to Jamie’s level, her head just reaching his shoulder.
“My daddy’s gonna kill you, handsome,” she pecked his neck quickly, retreating back to her feet.
“I have a feeling he won’t,” Jamie began, smiling and following Cassidy with his eyes as she began moving through the bathroom. “Will you be ready to go in a half hour?”
She nodded and looked at him through the mirror, noting he was pretty much ready. All he would probably do was fix his hair to make it looked more coiffed.
The slamming of the car door was enough to make Jamie run around and assist Cassidy, as she stumbled towards the front door of her father’s house. She had gone a tad overboard on the alcohol in the company of her old childhood friends. Now she was a giggling drunk as Jamie unlocked the front door, and urged her to be quiet as they entered the house.
His efforts were in vain, as he saw the glow of the lamp in the living room, along with Lee sitting in the chair beside it. It felt as though his heart sank into his stomach as Lee stood up, watching the mess that was his daughter, staggering in Jamie’s arms.
“She’s drunk,” Lee muttered, looking his daughter up and down. It was clearly the first time he’d seen his daughter in this condition.
“Jamie, shhh!” Cassidy rolled her head back to look up at him, a huge grin spreading across her face, “you’re so cute. I just want to get you…”
“Mr. Knox, I know you have rules… but I…”
“Go,” Lee interrupted. Almost immediately after, he was heading for his own bedroom, shutting the door behind him.
It was then that Jamie took the liberty of literally sweeping Cassidy off her feet, and carrying her into her bedroom, where he promptly sat her down on the bed, and dug through her dresser to find some pajamas for her. When he approached the side of the bed, Cassidy was laying on her back with her legs dangling over the side. Jamie bent in front of her, pulling on each of her boots until they slipped off, before he moved to her tight jeans, undoing the button and sliding down the zipper.
“Jamie Benn, are you gonna fuck me right now?” She blurted out, lifting up her hips wobbly, and pushed down her jeans to expose her pale pink thong.
Her tone was completely serious, and it took everything in him to keep from laughing. But after sliding her pants off her legs and replacing them with a pair of her short, fabric shorts, he smiled and reached for her shirt, “no, you’re plastered.”
She lifted her arms, allowing him to slip her shirt over her head, and before he had the chance to replace it with one of his shirts, Cassidy was unclipping her bra and throwing it to the side, reaching out for Jamie’s shoulders. He smiled again, undoubtedly amused by the show he was receiving.
“I’m just drunk.” She paused and looked at him, “Jamie,” she whined, accentuating the end of his name, “I want your di…”
“Here, let’s put this on…” he offered his shirt to her, keeping her as quiet as possible. It was proving easier said than done. And when she began to protest again, he laid her back on the bed, now fully clothed, and slipped in beside her, “let’s cuddle right now, and we can do everything else another night, alright?”
She nodded, her eyelids already halfway closed, and he effortlessly turned her on her side, pressing his chest tightly against her back to keep her in that position. Because it was the first time he’d ever seen her drunk, he didn’t know if she’d get sick. And now, having gotten her father’s permission for marriage, the last thing he wanted was for her to asphyxiate.
Notes
This chapter is titled after "American Kids" by Kenny Chesney.
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5/2/16