1. Ladies don’t speak of broken hearts
"Cassandra, keep a close eye on your sister. If I hear that you lost her in that place..." I bit back a sarcastic comment. I’ve heard this little speech more than once for the past couple of days and I was not happy about its encore presentation.
"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled as I watched Mia go about, pulling on her silver flats. I mentally groaned at spending the weekend at Disneyland with my sister. I loved the ankle-biter, don't get me wrong. It's just that it was I had homework to do and an ex-boyfriend to mope over. James and I had just broken up a week ago and Mom thought this was the way to get me out of my rut. Yes, spending the next couple of days worrying about my Calculus grade while being driven to the brink of insanity by my overeager mother. That's a surefire way to raise my morale.
"Cassie, which car are you taking? I'd like to know so that Charles can check if there's enough gas in it," my dad asked. He, along with everyone I knew called me Cassie. Mom was the only one who insisted on Cassandra.
"Yo, Chuck! Gas up the Beemer!" I yelled down the hallway. I could hear his quiet chuckling and smiled innocently at Dad and Mom. Chuck was technically our butler/nanny but he was more than that to me. He was like family.
"Cassandra! Please don't shout like a barbarian!" Mom scolded.
"Didn't you know? I was raised by wolves. Yeah, they're coming for Thanksgiving, actually. But refrain from using nuts in the dishes, they're allergic..." Mom scoffed and turned to leave the room. After so many years of hearing my sarcasm, she wasn't the biggest fan of my sharp tongue.
"Cassie..." Dad reprimanded in a soft voice. He hated when Mom and I went back and forth like this. She was already tightly wound because I wouldn’t tell her why James and I broke up. She thought he was the perfect boyfriend and she was literally in the middle of picking out the place settings for our wedding when we broke up. I was sort of glad the parents were leaving the country on their anniversary getaway this weekend.
"Dad, I'm already taking Mia to see the Jonas Brothers in concert and spending the weekend at the park with her. Instead of being the responsible college student you keep wanting me to be. So let me get the sarcasm and dry wit out of the way before I'm subjected to plugging my ears for the next 72 hours."
"I thought you liked this band too," he smiled.
"Yeah, they're a good band. But their fans aren't the most composed. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that we'd have a private box, I'd be dressed in football pads and a helmet." He laughed and continued to pull on his tie.
Dad was a director who had more than a couple box-office hits, which is how he met Mom. She’s an actress, a pretty well-known one at that, who’s got a couple of Oscars decorating our bookshelves. They had Nathan (my twin) and I before they were even married (gasp!). They eventually did get married, albeit in a small ceremony in Dad’s native Australia with a matching celebration in Mom’s home country of Spain. Nate and I both go to UCLA, his major Political Science while mine is English literature. Then, when we were 10, once nature and the reproductive system took their course, Mia was born.
"I know you hate that I'm asking you to go to college. But put yourself in my shoes. I've seen lots of careers crash and burn before they even get off the ground. I just want you to have something to fall back on." I nodded softly. The whole industry was a major reason I was fighting Dad on this. He let me take acting jobs here and there, when it didn’t interfere with school but he was refusing to let me drop out to consider it being a full-time career. Both Mom and Dad went to college and they wanted Nate and I to have the educational background to make such an informed decision (their words, not mine) so college it is.
"I know, Dad." He smiled, kissing my head before leaving the room. Mia was pinning on a billion Jonas pins to her shirt and once she deemed herself decent, we finally got to leave. Of course, I couldn't leave without yet another warning by Mom and Dad. I was in charge of Mia while they left on their romantic honeymoon to Paris. Nate was more than likely throwing a party at the house (which Chuck would be blissfully ignorant of) and while I was sort of upset I’d be missing it (I mean, watching huge offensive linemen from UCLA’s football team pass out from two shots is pretty funny, if you ask me), I was glad Mia was out of the house for it. She always asks about the multitude of red plastic cups on the front lawn.
Once we left, it was like I got my second wind. It was always harder to spend time with Mia, just us two. It was a whole lot easier to see that how much she looked like me. We had the same shade of dark brown hair, though hers was straight like Mom's while mine was thick and curly like Dad’s. Both our eyes were shaped like almonds but mine were brown, like Mom’s in the sun and hers were a blue tint like Dad’s.
Arriving at the park, we were to meet one of the Disney officials at Guest Services and they'd show us around the park. But when we got inside the City Hall building, four boys were waiting for us.
"The... The... They're the..." I laughed quietly at the astonished look on her face. Eight-year-old Mia was never at a loss for words. But one look at the Jonas Brothers only ten feet away and she was like Rainman.
"You wanna meet them?" She couldn't say words yet and only nodded. I smiled and took her hand, leading her to the group of boys.
"Um... Excuse me..." They all turned at the same time and smiled. Wow. Was it possible to have a heart attack at 18? Because these boys just made it possible.
"Hi," Joe said as he stepped forward. He was closest to my age, only one month older than me.
"Hey, sorry to bother you, but-"
"Oh, it's no bother at all. I'm Joe," he said as he held out his hand. I smiled and Mia chose this time to find her voice again.
"She knows who you are! We have posters of you!" I felt my cheeks burn and I gently put my hand over her mouth.
"Uh, she's the one with the posters. I'm the one driving her home." She nodded and continued with the "I'm so shy" act she was putting on five minutes ago. I saw her eyeball their youngest brother before focusing her gaze on the fascinating floor tiles.
"That's a shame. But I do appreciate you having our posters." She gave an embarrassed smile and I went on.
"We're seeing your concert later on, at the castle." They all nodded and Joe smiled.
“What’s your name? Maybe I’ll dedicate a song to you…” he said while looking at me. But it was my sister that answered.
“I’m Mia and my favorite song’s ‘Burnin’ Up’! My dance class at school made a dance to it! Wanna see?” She bounced with enthusiasm and I laughed at her excited face.
“And I’m Cassandra. But everyone calls me Cassie-“
“Including me?” Joe asked. I tried to keep myself from blushing before I looked down at my sister.
“Uh, Mia, we should let the guys go. They’re probably got a busy day in front of them-“
“Actually, we were just going into the park. Were you guys going to get on some rides?” Mia nodded enthusiastically and looked up at me.
“We were. Um, we were supposed to wait here for one of the officials to take us.”
“Well, you could come with us. We’d love to have you, right guys?” Kevin nodded and Nick looked down at his feet. I opened his mouth to ask what was wrong with him when a hand clamped down on my shoulder.
“Mia and Cassandra?” I turned and saw a woman in a Disney uniform, with a man standing behind her.
“Cassie, please.”
“I’m Jennifer and this is Ben. We’re going to be taking you around the park.” Joe stepped forward, throwing his arm around my shoulder.
“Actually, she’s going to be joining us.” Jennifer blushed, obviously knowing who he was and whispered something to Ben before nodding and walking away.
“You know, I don’t remember agreeing.” He smirked, letting his arm run down my arm.
“But you would’ve,” he concluded. I smiled and once their security was in place, we walked to the first ride- Space Mountain.
“So tell me about yourself.” I shrugged, making sure to keep an eye on Mia. She, however, had taken a liking to their little brother, whom I now know was named Frankie and was walking with him in the front.
“Not much to tell.”
“Yeah, right. You were getting a private escort around the park. That’s saying something, if you ask me.”
“My dad got us tickets to the concert. Since he’s overprotective and Mom’s overbearing, they made sure there was security with us.”
“Oh,” he said simply. A couple of times, he opened his mouth as if he came up with a truly intriguing question but he quickly shut it, probably running it through a couple of times before deeming it lame. I almost laughed at how nervous he seemed. This was Joe Jonas. If anything, I should be nervous basking in his presence. He stopped asking questions after that and we walked through the exit of the ride. Standing there, some fans waiting for their turn recognized the guys and pointed their cameras in our direction. I tried hiding behind their bodyguard and Joe, noticing what I was doing, did the same.
“You don’t like fans pointing cameras at you?”
“No, I’m just back here because you are,” he countered. I smiled and glanced over the beefy man’s shoulder to see that our car had arrived at the docking station. Smiling, Joe held onto my wrist, helping me in. Frankie was sitting with Mia in the seat in front and my hand clenched down on the rails. I wasn’t much of a thrill person and this ride wasn’t at the top of my list. Joe saw this and pulled one hand from the bar.
“Chill, Cassie. It’s just a ride…” he said amused. I wonder where all this confidence is coming from. Probably from me acting like an infant.
“And hell is just a sauna…” I muttered. He laughed and laced his fingers with mine. I almost forgot we were on the ride, my mind had zoned in on our joined hands. Until the car made the first drop.
I had shut my eyes tightly after the first drop and when I felt the car coasting up a hill.
“Cassie, open your eyes…” Joe’s voice said from only inches beside my ear. I peeked to see Joe’s face in front of me.
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“Don’t be afraid. I’m right here…” His hand held onto mine and the car fell down another drop. But I couldn’t scream or close my eyes anymore. Because Joe Jonas’s face was staring right at me.
The rest of the day was fun. Mia obviously had a crush on Frankie, who won her over when they found out they shared a love of Webkins. I laughed when I heard this; Mia and her Webkins were inseparable.
“Looks like they’re getting off on the right foot, huh?” Joe said from his seat across the table. We had gone to the Stagedoor Café, where they had the best chicken fingers and fries. I looked over at Mia and Frankie, who insisted on a table by themselves.
“I guess that means more play dates for them,” Kevin added. I nodded, sticking another fry in my mouth. Joe was watching me as I ate, which was slightly unnerving. There was this look of determination on his face and I couldn’t figure it out. I shook my head, trying to shake the image of his golden brown eyes but I couldn’t.
“So Cassie, where are you and Mia sitting?” I turned to Nick, who hadn’t said much to me the entire day. I hadn’t done much to him to deserve the cold shoulder so I was definitely thrown off by his question. I managed to make it look like it didn’t faze me.
“The VIP box. Dad had the tickets but he and Mom decided to celebrate their anniversary a bit early so they went off on some romantic weekend tonight and they won’t be back until Sunday.” Three days of babysitting Mia alone. Yeah, we had Chuck but still, I was her blood. Shouldn’t I be watching her?
“Oh, so you’ll be home alone all weekend?” Joe spoke up. I turned to him and saw the small burning in his eyes.
“Well, we’re staying here another day. I guess Mia wants to see both parks or something…” I drifted off. Joe nodded curtly, giving me one lingering glance before asking Nick something about their TV show.
After lunch and a few more rides, the guys had to sound check and Mia was drooping. Luckily, Dad expected this to happen and got us a room at the Paradise Pier hotel for the weekend. That way, we could stay close to the park for occasions like this.
“Sorry guys, but if Mia doesn’t get a nap in, she’ll never make it for your show tonight.” Mia sent me an angry stare but softened. She knew I was right. The poor kid was practically falling on her face and if she fell asleep and missed the show, I’d somehow get blamed.
“OK, well, do you need a ride somewhere? Which hotel are you staying at?” Kevin asked courteously. I had only known them for a few hours but I think I had them pegged. Kevin was the polite, energetic one who also put others before himself. Joe was the fun, frenetic one who had more than met the eye. And Nick was the quiet, sarcastic one who, for whatever reason, had shunned me.
“The Paradise Pier Hotel. But it’s okay, I can walk-“ Before I could react, Joe had swung Mia into his arms. Not that she was complaining, a freaking Jonas Brother was holding her. Hell, I was kind of jealous of the little monster.
“Guys, tell Dad I was accompanying our newest friend to the hotel and I’ll be there soon…” Kevin and Nick didn’t have a chance to respond because a security guard had already followed us and blocked us from seeing whatever they were doing. Nick could’ve chucked Kevin into the Rivers of America and we wouldn’t have known.
“Joe, really, it’s fine. Mia and I can make it back to the hotel by ourselves. You don’t need to get in trouble with your dad…” I said. He smiled, looking down at Mia, who had already drifted off in the comfort of Joe Jonas’ arms. Lucky.
“What if it wasn’t about taking you back to the hotel out of chivalry? What if I just wanted to spend time with you by myself?”
“Without your wingmen? They’ll be disappointed you’re going off on solo missions…”
“They’ll live.” Joe then turned to the following Disney official and whispered something I couldn’t make out. Soon, he was talking into a radio, giving Joe a thumbs up before steering us into an “Employee’s Only” area.
Once behind the wooden door, we were brought over to a golf-cart, on which Joe and I took the backseat to. His bodyguard sat behind us, facing the back. The car then sped off, around some unfamiliar buildings. If Mia were awake, all the Disney wonder would be gone. It was for me.
“So Cassie, you’ve managed to catch my eye.”
“Oh really? Like that’s hard? I’m sure if I held something shiny and sparkly, I would’ve caught your eye.” He laughed, making sure that Mia didn’t wake up.
“So a girl like you doesn’t have a boyfriend?” I stopped watching all the unmarked buildings blur by to look at him.
“What makes you say that? For all you know, I could be lying about Mia being my sister. She could be my child and I could be married.”
“But you’re not. Mia’s your sister and whatever guy has you this bitter and guarded deserves not to have you in his life.” I sighed heavily. One thing was certain, this day didmanage to make me forget about James. But I credit that to Joe and his brothers. Until now.
“So what? Yes, I don’t have a boyfriend. Happy? You brought up unpleasant memories. Congratulations.” The cart finally reached a side entrance to the hotel and I leaned over to take Mia from his arms.
“Nice knowing you, Joe. Thanks for making my little sister’s life.” I stomped off to the front desk, trying to drive out the sounds of him yelling for me.
“Hi, I have reservations under Laragnella…” The woman behind the desk clicked away on her keyboard and I mentally yelled at her to go faster.
“Ah yes, Cassandra. Let me get your room key for you…” Yes! Thank you.
As if she wanted Joe to catch up to me, she moved at a snail’s pace until finally, she got me the receipt and two room keys.
“Thank you for staying at Disneyland’s Paradise Pier…” I ignored the rest of her pleasantries and shifted Mia higher on my hip to hit the elevator button. The car arrived with a ding and the doors opened, letting out an older couple before I could get on. I glanced down at the room key to see what floor I was on and almost dropped Mia. 13. Great. God’s probably rolling around on the floor laughing at me right now.
“Cassie!” I heard Joe’s voice and I looked up to see him looking around the lobby, his bodyguard keeping fans at bay. I urged the elevator to go faster and just when I thought the doors were about to close, he looked up and saw me.
I saw him mouth ‘Wait’ but before he could move towards me, the doors closed and I was faced with my reflection in the mirrored doors.
For 13 stories, I was asking myself why I cared. Joe was a guy. Nice guy but guy nonetheless. And that meant that he shared the same genetic makeup as the rest of them, including the one who broke my heart not a week ago. Why, in the few hours I’ve known him, does his opinion all of a sudden matter? How the hell did he drive such a wedge in my heart that having my past brought up by him hurt so bad? And why in the world did seeing him in that lobby make me want to run out to him and hug him until he couldn’t see straight?
“Concert…” Mia muttered as I laid her down gently on the bed. I patted down her hair and took off her shoes.
“The concert’s at 8 and it’s only 4, Mia. Sleep a bit and we’ll go get dinner beforehand, ok?” She nodded sleepily and I smiled, kissing her forehead gently. Sitting up, I walked over to the window and admired the view from the 13th floor. I could see the stage being set up from my room and could even make out the blurry shapes of Nick and Kevin. But one less body on that stage made my breath catch in my throat. I rummaged through my purse for my wallet and after taking out five singles and my room key, I walked out into the hallway and made sure the door locked. I had seen a vending machine down the hallway when I was looking for the room. Finding it, I scanned the items and settled on a bag of peanut M&M’s and a granola bar. Knowing Mia would kick me in the shin if she found out I bought something, I got her a bag of gummy worms. I also bought a water for myself and apple juice for her. I stuck the candy and granola bar in my pockets, holding the bottles in my hand. And just as I started walking back down the long hallway to my room at the end, the elevator door dinged, letting off a black-haired boy with skinny jeans.
“Cassie…” he said, relief evident in his voice. I instinctively took two steps back to match his two steps forward. When he noticed I was backing away, he stopped moving.
“Cassie, let me-“
“No. You should be at sound check.” I ignored his feet moving forward and I matched him, stride for stride. But just before we were to meet face-to-face, I stepped to the right and walked around him. He turned to follow me, keeping right on my heels.
“Cassie, sound check doesn’t matter. It’s just-“ I turned around suddenly, cutting off whatever he was about to say.
“What? Did you come here to make more assumptions about my life?”
“I never meant to offend you, I swear!” I rolled my eyes and reached my door.
“Well, too late for that, isn’t it?” I dropped one of the bottles and as I bent down to get it, I just collapsed on the floor. I felt Joe’s impeding footsteps on the ground below me and soon, his hands stroked my face.
“Cassie…” He helped me sit up and his arms locked around me, clutching me to his chest. I sobbed uncontrollably and I couldn’t breathe.
“Where’s your room key?” he asked. I tried telling him it was in my pocket but couldn’t due to my lack of air. I could only point to my back pocket. I saw the indecision in his eyes and he gave me an apologetic smile before reaching for the key. Once he got it out, he stood up, swiping it in the door and swinging open the door. Holding it open, he helped me stand and keeping his arm around me, he walked with me into the room and settled me on the couch. When the door closed, his hands brushed back my hair from my face and settled on my cheeks.
“Are you okay?” By now, I had controlled my breathing and while I was still out of breath, I could try to form coherent sentences.
“Yes…thank you…”
“No problem,” he chuckled. He reached over and unscrewed the top of my water bottle before handing it to me. I chugged about half of the bottle before setting it down.
“I really am sorry. About what I said. I guess it was a tough breakup?”
“You have no idea…” I muttered. He smiled and stroked my jaw with his fingertips.
“Are you upset with me?”
“Not now, but hey, there’s always two hours from now.” He laughed, dropping his hand to my lap. Without thinking, I leaned in, our faces now only inches away.
“Whoever he is, he’s an idiot, Cassie. He doesn’t know what he lost.”
“And you do?” He started leaning in more and I couldn’t help myself, I did the same.
“I’d be stupid not to…” he whispered and before my mind could come up with a witty comeback, his lips claimed mine. We moved in sync, letting our hearts rule instead of our heads. I had only known this guy for one day and already he wiped my mind clean of any memory of James. Without knowing it, I needed him near. He made me forget.
“Cassie…” he said softly, when I pulled away for air.
“Yeah?”
“You’re so beautiful,” he got out as he leaned in to kiss me again. His arms snuck around behind me, leaning me back so that he was hovering over me on the couch. His hands cupped my face and when air became a problem again, he only moved lower to reattach to my neck.
“Joe…I…I barely know you…” Mom had raised a lady, one who didn’t just kiss random strangers. But Joe was anything but a random stranger; a few hours with him made it seem like we had grown up together. And besides, I wasn’t exactly a fan of Mom’s rules.
“But it’s like we’ve known each other forever, right? And you already trust me?” he growled. I couldn’t see straight and his lips retook mine, the passion all the more evident. Just as his hands snuck down to the hem of my shirt, his phone rang from his pocket, making us both jump.
“Hello?” he answered breathlessly. I took his distraction to slip out from under him, fixing my shirt and hair. He talked on the phone some more and I could hear the angry voice on the other end clearly, even from the bathroom. Soon, a knock had me looking up at the doorway, where Joe leaned against the frame.
“That was Nick. I was supposed to be at sound check 20 minutes ago.”
“So you didn’t go back when I got on the elevator?” He shook his head, sneaking his arms around my waist and brushing his lips against the bare skin my tank top wasn’t covering.
“I went to the front desk and asked for you. It was kind of hard, considering you weren’t the only Cassandra staying in this damn hotel.” I laughed and turned, letting his arms press against my lower back. I know I said we hadn’t known each other long but he was right. He had this natural thing about him, I instantly trusted him. I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing yet but after the disaster known as Hurricane James, I was going to ride this out as long as possible. I won’t get attached, I promised myself.
“Yeah, and…?”
“Well, they had it narrowed down to three. But then I asked for the girl who just came in with a little girl on her hip and she luckily remembered. Then came the task of convincing the front desk that I wasn’t going to kidnap the daughters of Jonathan and Carmen Laragnella. You didn’t tell me those were your parents…” he mumbled. I kept from laughing and brushed away some of the wrinkles on his shirt.
“It’s not something I advertise. But at least I know something like hotel policy doesn’t keep you away.”
“It doesn’t. So…I have to go. But do you promise to stick around after the show? A trio of very famous brothers may be staying here tonight also…”
“You guys have a room here?” He scoffed, pulling one hand away from my back on blow on his fingernails and brush it against his chest.
“Presidential suite, babe.” I laughed and nodded, letting my cheek rest against his heart.
“I’ll be there, for as long as I can without having to drag Mia behind me.” He laughed but bent down to kiss me, the warmth running through my veins and flooding my toes.
“Here, put in your number…” He handed me his iPhone and I punched in my number, saving it under ‘C<3’ before handing it back.
“I’ll see you later, Cass.” He kissed me once more and wouldn’t pull away, his hand keeping my lips attached to his. I laughed into his mouth, pushing him back towards the front door and reaching for the handle. I managed to push him away just as I opened it.
“Go, before they send a search party.” He laughed and bit his lip, smiling once more before walking towards the elevator. I closed the door, leaning against it and smiling like an idiot. Before I could push myself off it, a knock came. I looked through the peephole and laughed to myself.
Pulling open the door, I couldn’t get one word out before Joe’s lips slammed onto mine. His hands gripped underneath my behind, pulling me into his arms. My legs locked around his waist and my arms wrapped around his neck. He closed the door with his foot and pushed me against it, pulling away from my mouth.
“I thought you were leaving…”
“I was…until I got the idea to do this five seconds after you closed the door.” He laughed and after dropping me to the floor, he patted my butt and turned to open the door. Leaning to kiss me gently once more, he winked before walking out. I made sure he made it into the elevator and he leaned out of the car, blowing me a kiss before the doors almost chopped his head off.
I chuckled to myself as I walked back into the room and sat down at the couch. Could I get through this without falling for him? I sure hoped so. Because I think the hole James left would be nothing compared to the hole Joe Jonas could leave behind.
