Chapter Nineteen

Lane was starting to wonder if maybe they were broken. Mia was wearing an incredibly low cut top and making the point of leaning toward them over the table as often as possible and Lane felt…nothing. They recognised a fabulous pair of breasts when they saw them but it was like it was happening someplace else, like it had nothing to do with them, like it was honestly really none of their business.

The same thing had happened with Sasha, their old crush and many a time casual hook up, when she had gotten in touch last week. Lane had been thrilled to hear from her. It was perfect timing, what with how they were still reeling from ending things with Cassidy and filled with unspent energy. Sasha would be an amazing distraction and a great step toward moving on.

Only when they arrived at the bar and there she was, gorgeous as always, long legs bare under a cute tiny mini-skirt and pressing right up against them and kissing them on the mouth as a hello, Lane's body seemed to shut down. It felt like Sasha was behind Plexiglass; Lane could see her perfectly clearly, but they felt nothing. They'd eventually pled a stomach ache and gone home, still frustrated.

So far the only time their libido had flared in weeks was when they'd walked into the kitchen the day after their failed date with Sasha and seen Cassidy lit up with laughter, everything smelling like sugar, a splash of chocolate smeared across her cheek, another on her throat. Lane had instantly wanted to taste her skin. They'd all but run in the opposite direction, since while their brain knew it was over for good, their body hadn't seemed to have gotten the memo.

Lane stared directly into Mia's cleavage as if her breasts had magical properties that could somehow restore them back to themself. She noticed and smirked at them.

"You good, Lane?" She raised her eyebrows teasingly. Lane jerked their eyes back down to their laptop, feeling guilty. No girl would enjoy knowing you were checking them out purely in the hopes of erasing someone else. "You know," Mia said softly, quickly glancing up to see Aria was over chatting to a student at the next table, "you don't have to just look. All you have to do is ask me out sometime."

Lane looked up at her. Her eyes were steady and her lips looked soft. She was, by any measure, incredibly sexy, and that she knew it and was in charge as hell about it was appealing too. She couldn't be more opposite to Cassidy in practically every way. That had to be a good thing, right?

"I'll keep that in mind," they said, actually meaning it, and she smiled.

That afternoon when Lane arrived home, the household was in a state. Brynn was getting ready to fly home to see her family for the weekend. Her grandmother was getting toward the end of her life, and with the baby due in less than a month, she'd figured it might be her last chance before chaos hit. Tucker was clinging to her and complaining on the front doorstep while Burt loaded her bag into the car, and Savannah looked exhausted in advance.

On their way over the driveway toward them, Lane watched the family interact. Brynn kissed Savannah with extra tenderness, her hand habitually on the small of her back where she was always supporting or kneading Savannah's aching muscles. Then she hugged Cassidy. Lane blinked. They hadn't known those two were on hugging terms, but Cassidy said something as Brynn drew back that made her laugh. Brynn hugged and kissed Tucker and when she stepped back, it was Cassidy that he smooshed his sad face into.

Lane made it to the steps just in time for their own hug.

"Look after them," Brynn said under her breath so her wife didn't hear. Lane looked her in the eye and nodded. Then they reached up and noogied her, right as she tried to noogie them. Lane looked to Tucker, waiting for him to leap on them for comfort, but he stayed where he was, leaning his face against Cassidy's hip.

The car slowly disappeared down the driveway and Lane looked to Savannah to see how she was holding up and caught her brief I'm okay smile directed at Cassidy, who also appeared to be checking in.

For a second, it felt like the twilight zone. Instead of butting heads with absolutely everyone, Cassidy seemed tight with Brynn, adored by Tucker and almost caring toward Savannah, while Lane was the only member of the household who she seemed to barely acknowledge. It was such a sharp contrast to the first couple of months of her presence, when the whole family were on the outer and Lane was the only real recipient of her soft side, that Lane felt their breath catch in their chest.

Of course, this was the better option. Obviously it was. Cassidy was working on her family relationships - which, good for her, Lane guessed - and Lane and Cassidy couldn't happen, so the distance between them was good. It was good. It was really, really, actually good.

It wasn't a problem then that Lane was also keeping their distance. It would be better for the household dynamics if they could be friends, but Lane wasn't sure that was possible. They were torn between their ongoing anger at Cassidy for her viciousness toward Savannah, and the fact they still woke up thinking about her.

It was like she'd nudged her way deep into Lane's brain and as yet, they'd found no way to extract her. They closed their eyes at night and saw her arch her back for them, bare skin in the moonlight, while their hands recalled the shape of her body and their ears replayed her ragged whisper as she begged for Lane to touch her. Since that very first night under the stars, not a night had gone by without Lane longing for her, and it just didn't seem to stop.

So when Savannah and Cassidy walked up the steps, side by side, Tucker holding his aunt's hand, Lane stood there nodding for a moment, then headed home to the guest house, alone.

"Could you please pass the orange juice?"

Lane looked up. It was the longest sentence Cassidy had spoken to them in weeks. They passed her the juice and tried not to look at her for longer than a polite second. It was a Saturday morning and she was so damn pretty in a casual loose t-shirt dress, Lane wasn't sure they'd be able to function if they truly observed her.

Suddenly, from the head of the table, came a sharp gasp. Both Lane and Cassidy's heads snapped up to look as Savannah grasped the table, her knuckles going white, her face scrunched in obvious pain.

"Savannah?" Cassidy's voice was slightly high. It took a few seconds for Savannah to respond.

"I'm okay," she said, breathing out slowly. "Just…Braxton-Hicks," she said. "Totally normal. Just my body practicing for labor. I've had a couple of them already this morning."

Lane frowned.

"Have you called Brynn?" they asked. Savannah shook her head.

"I don't want to stress her out when she's with her grandmother. She'd only fly back unnecessarily. Don't look so worried, these things can go on for weeks."

Savannah looked at them both and then her son who was blithely oblivious and smiled reassuringly, before going on calmly with her breakfast. Lane watched her for a minute, then went back to their toast. For a while, everyone went on as normal. But by the time they were finishing their coffee, they couldn't stop themself from sneaking another look at Cassidy and found she was watching her sister again, her eyes narrowed. Lane followed her gaze and saw nothing amiss. Then Savannah grimaced again. She didn't make a sound, but her face went tight with pain.

"Savannah," Cassidy said quietly, the second the pain passed. "I think you need to call Brynn."

"For god's sake, Cassidy," Savannah snapped sharply. "I've done this before, okay? I know what I'm doing." She got up from the table and walked inside, her hand rubbing her lower back, her face tense.

Lane's eyes met Cassidy's. They looked at each other for a beat, communicating silently with their eyes. Then they jumped to their feet in unison and followed her inside.

Savannah was pacing around the living room, looking anything but calm. When she saw the two of them on each other's heels, she huffed out a breath of annoyance.

"Look, your worrying is sweet, but it's not helping, okay? Pregnancy is just a weird time. Everything is fine. You can calm down."

They both teetered awkwardly, torn, while Savannah stared them down. Then she gasped and gripped the back of the couch, going pale, her face contorting again as another wave hit her. Lane pulled out their phone and walked away to the window so Savannah wouldn't freak out as they quickly called Brynn and told her to get her ass back to the airport right that minute. Then they called Burt.

"I'm fine!" Savannah hissed at her sister, ignoring her cajoling tone as Cassidy tried to talk sense to her.

"You're not fine," Cassidy said bluntly. "We're going to the hospital now."

"It's too early," Savannah shook her head in denial. "I'm not due for another three weeks. These are false labor pains. Besides, I was in labor for thirty-four hours with Tucker," she argued. "Even if it were real, it would be too early. I just need to go walk it off," she said, looking to the door as if she were about to go for a hike.

"Savannah!" Cassidy snapped at her, and Lane stiffened, ready to step in. "I know what you're doing. You don't want this to be happening yet, and you don't want it to happen without your person. It sucks, I get it. But now's not the time to go be a goddamned squirrel."

Lane was alarmed and confused, but Savannah lost her haughty in-charge look all of a sudden and nodded slowly, like Cassidy was making any kind of sense, a dawning realization on her face.

"Can you call Brynn?" she asked Lane, a slight panic arriving on her features.

"Already done," they told her. "She's on her way. Burt, too." Savannah's face crumpled, then just as suddenly she sniffed back her tears and rearranged her features to a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, honey," she said to Tucker, who'd appeared and hung back, staring at her. "Don't worry sweetpea, Lane's going to hang out with you." She gritted her teeth and her face changed color. "They're going to take you swimming right now!" She soothed her son despite the contraction and something in Lane's heart cracked as they watched her expertly pretend to be fine.

They gathered Tucker and brought them over for a quick kiss from his mama. Then, crossing a professional line they had never predicted they would, they smacked a kiss on Savannah's slightly sweaty forehead. She gave their hand a quick squeeze and they tried not to cry as they turned away. Savannah was in labor early, Brynn was away, and Lane's only contribution was to jump in the fucking swimming pool. They knew, though, that the knowledge that her firstborn was safe and happy was the best support they could give her right now, so they'd damn well do it.

"Take care of her." They looked to Cassidy, who stared back at them, shocked. Then she straightened her spine and nodded, her eyes wide. She knew what Lane was saying. Brynn had a snowball's chance in hell of making it in time for the birth. Cassidy was it.