devil town

Cassie had been dancing around approaching the subject for awhile, but it seemed like every time she got around to confronting Jan, she chickened out and played it off as annoyance instead. So, with him gone yet again, Cassie let out a sigh and moved to place Claire down in her swing, strapping her in securely around the time she heard the front door jimmy open.

Jan knew he probably should tell Cassie about his new job but he was will on probation and getting paid under the table so he didn't want to get her hopes up. Though he wasn't sure if she would even really care all that much whether or not he had a job. Either way, it was the reason for him to keep it a secret and why he was trying to be quiet as he got home. He closed the door carefully, not wanting to wake either of his girls up but as he stepped further inside, he saw that they already were. "Hey," he breathed out, looking at Cassie then at Claire. "Is she being fussy?" He asked, checking his watch for the time.

Cassie glanced behind her shoulder at him when he came inside and pursed her lips, switching the swing on so the music played lightly in the background, swaying the infant. "She's been up off and on for the past hour," She murmured, taking the moment where Claire was just whimpering instead of hollering. "Where were you?"

Jan grimaced slightly at her answer. He was sure she was stressed out from dealing with that all on her own and felt bad for not being there to help out. "I was out," he answered vaguely, moving around Cassie toward Claire, making funny faces in hopes of getting her to giggle. "I'll stay up and keep her calm if you wanna get to sleep," he offered.

Cassie watched him carefully as he moved around, arms slowly crossing over her chest. "No, I'm fine. I've already made coffee," She murmured and bit into her bottom lip. "Out where? With Faye?"

Jan "Alright. We'll work together then," he said, looking back at her and flashing a quick smile. When she pressed him on where he was, his brows furrowed together. "Uh, no. I think she and Benny are in the woods getting high. Why are you so worried about where I've been?"

Cassie pulled the mug of her coffee drink off the shelves near where she was standing so she could take a seat on the couch, folding her legs up and smoothing the softer nightie down over her thighs. "Classy," She murmured before shrugging her shoulders, taking a sip. "I mean, it's late. You're always vague about where you are. Is it wrong to be curious?"

Jan made a little face at her murmuring, grabbing his own coffee mug to pour himself a cup. "No, I guess it's not wrong to be curious. But you usually don't ask any questions. Kind of assumed you don't care what I do."

Cassie "I don't ask because I don't want to intrude in your privacy that we agreed we both owed each other, but still... it's late. Am I living with a drug dealer or something?" She asked, watching him with her blue hues and her lips blowing on her drink.

Jan stopped what he was doing completely, turning to face her slow. His eyes narrowed on her and his jaw clenched in anger. "Do you really think that's what I've been doing? Or did someone else put that thought into your head?"

Cassie "I wasn't being serious, Jan. It's a joke considering you're out until late." Cassie rolled her eyes and looked back up toward him. "Who would be putting ideas into my head? I'm my own person, so no, no one is."

Jan didn't completely believe that she was joking considering what people thought about him around town. "It wasn't funny," he informed her, taking a sip of his coffee and deciding to stay standing where he was instead of sitting with her on the couch. "Oh, I don't know, your mother, your richie friends, your mother..."

Cassie looked over to Claire whom seemed to be settling down more before returning back toward Jan. "Sorry," She replied shortly with her mug to her lips and swallowing back a drink, rolling her eyes soon afterwards. "Just because my mother hasn't strong opinions doesn't mean I automatically listen to them."

Jan rolled his eyes at her. He wasn't too sure if that was completely true at the moment. "Ok, whatever. In case you're actually worried about it, no, I'm not selling drugs or doing anything illegal."

Cassie reclined back into the cushions and made a little face, staring down directly into her drink instead of at him, mumbling. "Clearly you're not doing a lot of things..."

Jan groaned at her mumbling. He wasn't in the mood to argue with Cassie but clearly something was bothering her and instead of just saying it, she was going to act like a brat. "What was that?"

Cassie glanced up toward him when he acknowledged her and gave him the sweetest smile she could muster at that moment, simply shaking her head. "Oh nothing. You don't need to worry about it."

Jan narrowed his eyes once again on her, not believing that smile for a second. He set his mug down and moved to the couch, crossing his arms over his chest. "Bullshit. What the hell is going on with you? You've been acting passive aggressive lately and now tonight you're worried about what I'm doing."

Cassie scoffed. "I have not," She got a little defensive as he sat down beside her even if she knew she really was, but she couldn't help it. It became her default quickly. "Why would i have any reason to be aggressive? Everything is peachy keen. Excuse me for wondering where you might be when it's nearly after midnight. You would be wondering if it were me." She breathed out.

Jan scoffed at her and her lame denial. "First of all, you have been so aggressive, I don't know why but you have been. Secondly, anyone who says peachy keen is either being a liar, sarcastic or annoying happy and my guess is you're lying."

Cassie narrowed her eyes in at him when he scoffed back at her and did it again herself, her arms crossing tightly once her mug was rested between her thighs. "I am not being aggressive. Maybe you're just paranoid for whatever reason!" She breathed out, pursing her lips.

Jan almost laughed at the way she was looking at him and her scoffing. It was actually cute, even though he was sure she was trying to be intimidating or angry seeming. "I think you're the paranoid one here."

Cassie "I'm the paranoid one? No, no, I'm so not paranoid." She said and shook her head. "You're acting fishy."

Jan actually did laugh that time. "Only paranoid people would accuse others of acting fishy," he pointed out in a teasing tone as he reached out to poke her playfully on the side. "What's the matter with you?"

Cassie sighed through her nose when he poked at her and leaned back into the couch, slightly slumping into the cushions. "Why did you lie about Faye?" She asked, glancing toward him. "And where are you actually going?"

Jan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at her question. "I didn't lie about Faye? She said something about hanging out with Benny and he likes to hang out in the woods so..." He trailed off, not sure why they were even talking about Faye really. "Nowhere exciting."

Cassie "No, that's not..." she said and shook her head quickly. "Dating. You never said why you broke up, why?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. "Why can't you just tell me?"

Jan was even more confused about the whole Faye subject. He had no clue why she was asking about this now since that whole scheme ended so long ago. "Why are you asking about that now?" He questioned, pretty sure coming clean about it all now would not make tonight go anymore better. "Because it's nothing to tell, Cassie."

Cassie grew a little frustrated as soon as he kept veering away from each subject she asked him. Exhaling a deep sigh through her nose, Cassie pressed her palm down against her forehead in frustration. "God, never mind."

Jan let out his own sigh, knowing it was time to give her some answers or risk ruining whatever relationship they did have. "Faye and I didn't actually ever break up," he informed her, which he had a feeling she kind of knew already. "We weren't ever really together..."

Cassie "I know," She breathed out after a moment, still frustrated but still pretty alarmed she even got an answer. "Why did you even lie to me?"

Jan pursed his lips slightly at her response. He should have known she was asking for a reason. He shrugged his shoulders lightly and leaned back against the couch. "It's dumb. I'm dumb..."

Cassie "And why are you lying about where you are?" She asked again and moved to sit the coffee down on the table in front of her, before turning more to face him on the couch again. "What's so dumb about it?"

Jan "I'm not lying about where I am. Like I said, it's nothing to tell. If and when it is, I'll tell you, ok?" She really did know how to beat a dead horse. He shook his head at her when she questioned him further on the Faye thing, glancing away from her. "Just is."

Cassie "But you're withholding the truth of where you're even at so that's the same thing as lying." She muttered under her breath with an eye roll, pushing her hair behind her ears. "Just be truthful with me."

Jan rubbed the back of his head, trying to follow her logic. "Alright," he breathed out. "I've been working at a garage for a few weeks now. It's nothing official and I'm not getting paid much but I'm trying to save up money to help out. I didn't want to say anything in case the owner decided not to keep me on..."

Cassie settled back down in the seat and sighed through her nose, closing her eyes for a few moments. "That's not a bad thing, Jan." She said softly and moved to lean forward a little. "Even if he doesn't keep you, that's a good thing."

Jan shrugged his shoulders, keeping his eyes forward instead of on her. "I know it's not bad. I just didn't want to tell you and then you start like, I don't know...getting your hopes up or whatever. I have a tendency of fucking things up."

Cassie "What would I get my hopes up over? I mean... not to sound big headed, but I'm not really worried about money. It's something to be proud of." The blonde murmured and made a small face, looking up at him. "You don't have to keep things from me. Just like you don't have to keep up a fake relationship in front of me."

Jan "Well, that, for one thing," he began. "The whole being proud thing. Don't do that, ok?" He wasn't used to it and he didn't want to ruin that with her. He huffed when she brought up the fake relationship. "How did you find out?"

Cassie made a face at that response she got, looking him over once more as she did so. "What's so wrong with being proud? I thought we were working on that?" She said, shrugging her shoulders simply when he asked where she got her info. "Does it really matter? You still lied about it. Why would you even lie to me about that?"

Jan licked over his bottom lip, glancing over at her. "I don't want you getting your hopes up, ok?" He admitted to her, being completely serious. He bit down on his bottom lip, not sure if he wanted to explain or even how. "It was a dumb idea."

Cassie "There's nothing wrong with having a little hope and when things don't go as accordingly, we work on them. You're here, you're being a father to our daughter and you're working hard at it. You're not really doing anything disappointing, Jan." Cassie sighed out a little in more frustration, brushing her blonde hair back from her eyes. "What idea are you talking about?"

Jan slowly began to smile over at her, not being able to stop himself. She was way too positive of a person to be with someone like him. "I just don't want to do anything that would change your mind on that." He turned slightly on the couch so he was facing her more, moving in to be closer to her. "Well, you see, the idea was that you're into me and me being with another woman would make you jealous. But...it didn't work, right?"

Cassie "You won't," Cassie breathed out. "I mean... unless you up and leave one night, maybe that might change, but it won't." She watched his body movements carefully when he shifted on the couch and smiled at the same time, her lips slowly pressing together. The fact that he moved in closer didn't go unnoticed, it actually almost got her smiling herself. "You tried to make me jealous?" Cassie asked after a few moments, her tone quieting down. "Really?"

Jan quickly shook his head. "No, no...I wouldn't ever do that to Claire or you," he promised. He really hoped she didn't think that was a possibility for him. He wasn't sure how to read her at the moment; whether she was trying to hide the fact that he was right or trying to keep from laughing at his ridiculous that idea was. "Yea. Why? Did it work?"

Cassie "I know you wouldn't, that's why I don't think I'll change my mind. So quit worrying." Cassie shook his head at his promise, knowing that deep down, Jan wasn't that kind of guy. That was something she came to learn over the course of... whatever this what. Whatever journey they decided to take together. When he questioned her she made a little face, tucking her legs up underneath her. "Yes."

Jan "Ok, good. As long as you know," he breathed out, relieved to hear that she didn't think he'd run out on them. He couldn't imagine ever leaving either of them. He was in too deep. He raised an eyebrow at her simple, one word answer, moving himself in even closer to her. "Yes?"

Cassie nodded in return, figuring nothing else was needed to be said. Especially since she knew he wouldn't. "Yes, I was." Cassie said, already hating admitting to it. "It drove me crazy and I didn't understand it, but you were supposedly happy and you deserved to be happy. She suited you."

Jan smirked a little as she continued to admit being jealous. He couldn't believe his stupid plan worked. As she went on, his nose scrunched up. "No, not really. No offense to Faye but she's not really my type..."

Cassie turned to glance over at him and gave him a little look, feeling the annoyance flood back to her with that stupid little smirk. "You sure seemed like she was."

Jan shook his head at her, reaching out to set one of his hands on her legs. "No. I kind of always believed that opposites attract and Faye really isn't the opposite of me in any way."

Cassie purses her lips some as he spoke and eventually crossed over her arms, "Oh," She simply replied before she continued. "Well, nice game plan."

Jan almost laughed. He was sure she was getting annoyed with him but it was kind of his sweet spot with her. "Why were you jealous?"

Cassie "I don't know," She replied with a little huff and fidgeted with her hair again, this time pushing it back behind the shoulder that was exposed with her thinner straps. "And it's driving me crazy not knowing these things."

Jan 's eyes moved down as she pushed her hair back, looking her over slowly before moving his gaze back to her eyes. "I think you know," he whispered, reaching his hand up to play with the strap, shifting it off her shoulder as he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on her exposed skin.

Cassie hadn't even expected much but definitely wasn't expecting that, immediately feeling her eyes widen ever so slightly, and some goosebumps to rise on her arms. "I don't think I do," She murmured after a moment, taking the few seconds to glance at the swing, her head dropping to the side.

Jan "No?" He mumbled against her, his lips moving over her collar bone, nipping lightly. "Not even a little idea as to why you'd be jealous?" He pressed, kissing against her neck and pulling her closer toward him.

Cassie pushed her lips together for the split second to keep her composure in tact before eventually turning to face him again, letting him drag her the small distance close. Sucking in a sharp breath, Cassie then moved her hand up to his shoulder then neck, glancing down at him when he hovered over her collar bone. "Maybe."

Jan The sharp breath did't go unnoticed by Jan, he remembered the effect he had on her the first time they were in this position and knew he could tease her if he really wanted to. Which, of course, he did. "Well, I guess if you don't know for sure," he breathed out, pulling away from her and leaning back into the couch.

Cassie wanted to huff as soon as he pulled away from her and bit her tongue to keep her from giving in and doing so, especially as he left her in something like a trance. "Maybe is as good as you're going to get," She muttered under her breath in frustration as she snapped out of it, immediately turning and moving off the couch to lean over and grab her mugs.

Jan took note of her tone, knowing it wasn't her usual one but more of an annoyed tone. But not in the usual angry annoyed like when he gets the wrong formula. This time it was different. "We'll see about that," he stated as he got up from the couch. "I'm going to hop into the shower. If you want to put Claire down and join me, well...you'll need a better answer than maybe," he said, winking over at her as he walked off toward the bathroom.

Cassie followed him with her gaze as he walked down the hallway, rolling them soon afterwards. She didn't even get why he had that stupid effect on her, she would be glad if she could rid that once and for al. But still, he seemed to know just what to do to get her head churning and tempted all once more. She eventually set aside the dirty mugs, ran some water over them, before returning to scoop up the sleeping Claire in the swing and head over to her nursery. Soon enough, Cassie had laid her down and eventually let out a little groan when she lost the inner battle of what to decide, slowly slipping inside the bathroom since the door wasn't even shut. It was late, she could blame it on exhaustion, right?

Jan might have been a little full of himself in the moment but he was ninety-nine percent sure that Cassie would end up joining him in the shower. Which was the only reason he was moving so slowly once he actually got into the bathroom. Usually he was quick to get in and out but this time he was slowly undressing as he listened through the cracked door to see what she was doing. He had only been in the actual shower for maybe a minute or two when he heard her coming into the bathroom. Trying not to get too cocky, he moved forward so she had room to get in with him.

Cassie didn't know exactly what she was doing but her subconscious apparently did, which already had her in the bathroom before she thought of a better plan. There wasn't really any use in turning back now, she was already in there. Slowly reaching behind to untie the tiny knot fitting the attire she wore for bed she shimmied out of it, fixing her hair before she moved the curtain and slipped inside behind him. "Don't tease." She breathed out, holding her finger up.

Jan licked over his lips as he entered the shower, his eyes moving over her. "Why would I?" He asked in a soft whisper, reaching out to grab her hips as he moved closer to her. And within a moment, his lips were on hers.

Cassie bit down hard on her lip now that she was actually in there and he was looking at her, especially since no one really has ever seen her post pregnancy and birth of Claire. "You seem to be on a roll of doing it--" Cassie replied and found that her arm were immediately snaking around his shoulders, leaning up at her toes to be more at his height and more underneath the spray of the warm water.

Jan "Don't think you really mind," he pointed out to her, pressing soft kisses against her lips as he spoke. It had been a ridiculously long time since he had been with someone. The only time he ever went this long without was during his time in jail. So, his hands moved over her body a bit eagerly as he deepened the kiss.

Cassie wanted to roll her eyes but in all reality, she was a little busy. "Shut up," She grumbled slightly during the time her lips parted for some air, not wasting much time in leaning back in and stealing another one, this time a little harder and her hand moving up into his hair, tongue tracing the seem of his lips.

Jan smiled lightly into the kiss, gripping her hips tightly. Carefully, he turned them around, gently pushing her back against the shower wall as he pressed his body in closer against hers.

Cassie sucked in a sharp breath through her nose once the cool tile was pressed into her back, letting her fingers grip onto his hair a little tighter. Maybe she was a bit too eager as soon as the kissing starters, but then again, it's been about a year since she was even with somebody. Pressing her lips harder onto his, Cassie attempted to curve her body and press in closer, her other hand gripping his lower back.

Jan could feel the eagerness in her kiss and was sure that she could feel his as well. Not only had it been a long time since he was with someone, it had been a long time since he's been desperately wanting Cassie again. But as eager as he was, he didn't know how far her was allowed to go with her tonight. So, he kept his hands from wandering too much until he had her go ahead. He broke the kiss, moving his lips down her jawline and down her neck, nipping here and there at the skin.

Cassie let out a quiet hum as her back pressed into the cool tile and his lips were being drug down her jawline, her eyes fluttering slightly. It was nice, it felt good and for the first time in a long while, she was actually embracing the sudden attraction she was feeling for him. That didn't mean she wasn't nervous for what all this meant though. "Did you hear that?" Cassie breathed out, almost in a whine and a little paranoid. "... Was that Claire? Please tell me it's my imagination."

Jan 's lips began moving over Cassie's collarbone around the time she mentioned hearing something. He pulled back and tried to hear over the sound of the water to see if there was something making noise outside of the bathroom. "I didn't hear anything," he said, looking back over at her. "I can check if you want?"

Cassie made a little face though let out a little groan at the feeling alone. "... I think I'm just paranoid." She breathed out and moved to cover up her face. "God, I'm naked in a shower with you and I'm freaking paranoid about our infant."

Jan couldn't help but laugh when she got embarrassed. "No, no...it's ok. You're just being a good, kind of overly worried mom," he said, reaching up to pull her hands away from her face. "I can go check on Claire and then come right back and we'll do whatever you want...ok? Do you want that?"

Cassie smoothed her lips together and sucked in a sharp breath through her nose, her eyes moving down over his body before back up toward his face. "Yeah... Yeah, okay. That works."

Jan help in his laughter this time, nodding his head. He leaned in to give her a quick kiss before he got out of the shower, grabbing a towel to wrap around his waist as he moved out of the bathroom. First, he went to go check on Claire to make sure she was ok like he said he would. Then he grabbed the baby monitors, setting one up near her and bringing the other back to the bathroom, sitting it on the sink. "She's sleeping," he informed Cassie, taking the towel off and getting back into the shower. "Now what?"

Cassie twisted back around and immediately moved underneath the actual spray of the water, letting the warmth swarm within her blonde hair and around her skin. "So I was paranoid?" She breathed out after a moment when she heard him come back in, before slowly turning around to step up and press closer to him. "Do we really need a plan?"

Jan "A little," he laughed, a little too amused about the situation then he probably should be. He smirked once she was pressed against him, his arms moving to wrap around her body. "No, we don't," he answered, leaning in to press his lips against hers.

Cassie "Can you blame me?" She laughed out softly and moved her hands up to his neck and stroked over his skin, before leaning up on her toes to kiss him again, arms moving around his neck. "This feels good..."

Jan shrugged his shoulders lightly. "No. Though...I wonder why. Are you nervous?" He asked, kind of serious. He could understand if she was given the fact that last time they did something together, she got pregnant. "You're easy to please, aren't you?" He teased between kisses.

Cassie "I think so, but like.. oh God, not because of... you know... last time... I don't know why." She breathed out as she began to kiss him deeper and harder, before immediately pulling back and lightly pushing on his chest. "Shut up!"

Jan was actually impressed that she so easily admitted to being nervous. For some reason, he expected her to try to lie her way out of that. He smiled into the kiss, pulling her closer against him until she pulled back and pushed him. "I was joking," he laughed, moving back in closer to her. "Listen, if you're nervous, we can take this...whatever this is slow..."

Cassie moved half back into the stream of the water with her teeth buried in the inside of her lip, eyeing over him once she had the chance, unable to help it. "What is this?"

Jan watched her as she back away a little further, not that she was ever beyond his reach in the small shower. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "I think if we were defining this by social media standards we'd be an 'It's Complicated'," he added to lighten it up a little.

Cassie came a bit closer once again so she could reach out and move her fingers over his forearms, then biceps. "Okay, Mr. Funny Guy." She laughed. "But slow, really? I mean... I may be nervous but we also already have a kid together."

Jan glanced down at her fingers on his arm before looking back to her, smirking a bit as he moved in closer. "Alright, so...slow is off the table," he breathed out, moving his hands to her waist and pulling her against him. "What else?"

Cassie kept her eyes on the movement of her own fingers and shrugged. "I don't think physical contact is... you know... completely off the table. We have needs, right?"

Jan slowly nodded his head, though he wasn't completely sure what limits she was setting just yet. "Alright. So...not completely off the table but some is. So, what? How far can we go?"

Cassie "I'm not saying that is totally off the table..." Cassie breathed out and scrunched her nose up just a bit. "I don't want to be a warm body."

Jan furrowed his eyebrows together at her, quickly shaking his head. "You're not and you won't ever be. Not to me," he promised, wrapping his arms around her gently and pressing his lips against her forehead in hopes of reassuring her.

Cassie slid her eyes closed for a split second before she spoke. "Then we can figure he boundaries out tomorrow," She whispered before tilting her chin up and catching his lips again, hand moving to his jaw and making the kiss a little harder, much more needy this time.

Jan perked up a bit, liking her idea a lot more than his taking it slow one. His hands moved to the sides of her face, keeping here there as he kissed her back, pushing her against the wall once again to press in closer against her.

Cassie let out a tiny whimper at the cool tile against her warm skin and his body against her own, nibbling on his bottom lip. Moving her smaller hand to his side, she slowly moved it down before brushing up against his lower stomach.

Jan smirked as she nibbled at his lip, kissing her harder than before. His own hands moved down her body, exploring her curves as her hand moved over his stomach. He moved one of his hands down to her thigh, tugging her leg up lightly against him.

Cassie groaned at the initial movement and arched the curve of her spine so her body could be closer to his own. "God," she grumbled as her hips ground up into his, eventually moving her fingers down over his length.

Jan pulled back from the kiss as her fingers moved around him, letting out a soft, breathy moan. He moved his lips down to the crook of her neck, peppering her with light kisses.