For tonight, Cassie chose a simple outfit. Nothing sexy that would reveal too much of her skin since this wasn't a date, she had no reason to impress someone with good looks. And even if it would be a date, she wouldn't dress up like a whore. But still showing more skin than she was doing now. Also, dressing up sexier might give wrong signals even though she told Kyle that they'd be nothing more than friends.

She took a few more deep drags of her joint, her eyes landing on the clock in her living room above the TV, showing her that it was almost time to leave. Well, better said, to be picked up. Kyle was at her house a few times so that they could arrange their shifts in peace, which was left to the employees in the children's ward to do themselves. It was a nice concept that worked surprisingly well and it gave Cassie the chance to plan her week better.

She put the small stub that was left of her joint out in the ashtray on the coffee table and slipped into her black boots that were standing by the sofa and ran her fingers, with the freshly manicured nails, through her waves once again when there was a knock on the door.

Sighing, she stood up and hurried into the hallway to open the door for Kyle, giving him a small smile while she grabbed her small bag from the clothes rack. Maybe a night out was what she needed to clear her head.

“You look beautiful”, Kyle smiled sincerely as he eyed her up and down, trying to do it in a polite way and not staring at her like she was some random piece of ass he could use for his pleasure only. “I hope I'm not too early?”

Yet, his compliment made her feel uneasy. Something was off, she just couldn't say what it was. Kyle acted polite as always and the familiar strained smile was plastered on his face. It was his eyes that radiated something funny, something that made her nervous.

“Thanks Kyle, you don't look bad yourself”, her words were chosen wisely, that's what she thought. Cassie always had been a nice girl and didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. And Kyle did look good, once again she didn't deny that, that's why she told him he didn't look bad himself. But for her, that was purely based on friendship.

“And no, don't worry”, she added, throwing her keys, cigarettes and phone into her bag before she closed the door behind her and followed Kyle to his car. “Where are we going?”

“I picked the new bar in town. Have you been there already?”, he asked with genuine curiosity in his voice as he held the door open for her to get in, his brown eyes meeting hers for a moment.

“Oh, thanks.” The brunette was a little surprised about his gentleman like behavior but didn't question it and slipped into the car, which had left its best times behind. Which didn't bother Cassie, she didn't like luxury stuff anyway.

“You mean the one next to the flower shop?”, she asked, still not up to date with the shops in Charming. She hadn't even seen all of the city, although she had been here for almost five months now.

“Yeah, that one”, he chuckled after he got in his car and started the engine. “You still haven't seen much of Charming, huh? Everyone's talking about that new bar.”

“Honestly, no”, a brief laugh slipped past her lips. “When I'm not working I'm spending my time with my brothers. Never thought about doing a city tour.”

“You should. Charming may not be a big city and a little boring, but we have a few graet places here”, he told her while his eyes were focused on the street while Cassie's eyes scanned his tense body, the skin over his knuckles slowly turning white from his firm grip around the steering wheel.

“Oh, I bet”, she replied smirking before she cleared her throat, tugging a strand of hair behind her ear. “Are you okay, Kyle? You seem a little stressed.”

“Huh?” His eyes darted in her direction, but only a brief moment before they landed back on the street. An accident wasn't exactly what he wanted to happen. Noticing his firm grip around the steering wheel, which was probably the reason that made her think he was stressed, he gave his best to relax his body.

“Uh, no, the rest of the shift was just a little exhausting. Lizzy threw up again and had trouble with breathing. Had to get her to the ER and stay an hour longer”, he told her, which wasn't a lie. But this wasn't the reason why he was so tense.

“Oh no.” Genuine concern spread across Cassie's face. Lizzy was one of their youngest patients and she had so hoped that the little girl would finally get better soon. “Could they help her? Is she feeling better?”

Her genuine concern was one thing Kyle really loved about Cassie. She wasn't fake like some other nurses who only pretended to care for their patients. Her sweet, caring personality was one thing that made him fall for her a while ago.

Yes, he actually liked her, even had feelings for her, that's why it was even harder for him to get his hands dirty for a woman that blackmailed him. But he had no other choice, he couldn't loose his two children.

“Well, she was still in the ER when I ended my shift but I heard from other nurses that she was feeling better already”, he nodded eagerly, it wasn't his intention to worry Cassie.

“First thing I do tomorrow is check on her. Maybe I'll take her for a walk in the yard. Fresh air always helps”, she smiled with a glint of hope in her eyes.

“I'm sure she'll love that”, Kyle smiled sincerely.

Only five minutes later he parked his car in a free spot right next to the bar, slipped out of his car and walked around it to open the door for Cassie again.

He watched every little move she made, especially how her dainty fingers ghosted over body to pull down her top which had previously rolled up and revealed a little of her soft skin. Even in a simple pair of black skinny jeans, her curves showed off perfectly. Curves a man would probably kill for. He felt a bit shabby when his eyes fell on her breasts, which were caressed by a dark green top. What could he say? He was still a man.

For a brief, really very brief moment, he thought about sticking to the plan after all. To take advantage of it when she would be helpless towards him later that night after he drugged her drink. He quickly shook off the thought, briefly shocked and disgusted at himself for even considering doing such a thing. He would listen to Tara and only make it seem like it.

⸺

The sky was now bathed in moonlight and night fell over Charming while the bar was still bursting with life. People were chatting, dancing and laughing, having the best time of their lives with their friends and families.

Cassie had to admit that the evening wasn't that bad and that she was glad to finally have seen something other than hospital walls and her own four walls. Even just chatting had been fun and Kyle actually seemed to accept that all she wanted was friendship.

Many drinks have been shared in the last three hours, which was the reason why she had to use the bathroom.

“I'll be right back”, she said with a smile, grabbed her small bag and made her way through the crowd towards the bathroom in the back.

Kyle's eyes followed her until she disappeared behind a crowd of dancing people. He ruffled his hair, swallowing hard at the thought of what he was going to do now. But this was probably his only chance.

He looked around unobtrusively and got a small bottle out of his jeans pocket and dropped a few drops of the dangerous liquid into Cassie's glass, just hoping nobody had seen him. But as busy and excited as everyone was here with dancing and enjoying the fancy drinks, no one paid attention to anyone planning to drug someone.

Kyle quickly shoved the bottle back into his pockets and smiled at the brunette when she came back only two minutes later, the movement of her hips still cast a spell over him. Her top had now slipped back up a bit and again he could catch a glimpse of her delicate skin.

Licking his lips, he downed the rest of his cocktail to get rid of his dry mouth.

“So, tell me a little more about you. We talked the whole time about me, that's boring”, Cassie chuckled softly, reaching out for her drink to take a few sips. “I swear, those cocktails are amazing. This is definitely not the last time they saw me here.”

“Yeah, they're really⸺ good”, Kyle nervously rubbed his hands together, watching her as she took another few sips of her cocktail and how the dangerous liquid slid down her throat.

“Are you okay?”, Cassie raised a brow once she noticed how nervous the man across from her got. Today probably wasn't his best day, she thought.

“Yeah yeah, the drinks are kind of stronger than I thought”, he let out a nervous laugh but waved it off quickly. “So, let's talk about me then. I have two kids, but you know that already, and besides my job at the hospital there's nothing interesting about me.”

“I mean, yeah, they're pretty strong”, the brunette stated simply but she had much harder drinks in her life already, so she felt just fine. “How old are your kids? You never talk much about them. Are they living with you?”

“My daughter is four and my son is only a little over a year. They're the best thing that could've ever happened to me. Selena is one brave and polite little girl and Henry already loves adventures.” The laugh that fell from his lips was filled with pure love and pride as he talked about his kids, showing what a great father he was.

“Aw, that sounds so sweet”, Cassie smiled widely. Even though she didn't plan on having kids on her own, she loved those little troublemakers, especially her own niece. But she was still convinced she wouldn't make a great mom someday, she was too fucked up for that. “If you want we can go to the park with them next week. I'll bring my niece.”

“You'd like to meet them?” Kyle asked, discreetly beaming at her suggestion.

“Sure, why not”, Cassie smiled softly. “So, what about their mom? Is she still in the picture?”

The smile on Kyle's face faded, the corners of his mouth twitching nervously at her question. His dead wife was the reason why he sat here with Cassie, having to drug her to get his freedom back.

“No, she's not”, he replied simply and quickly changed the subject to draw the attention back to her. “So, who's the guy you mentioned today? Why aren't you with him if you still like him?”

Cassie put a sad smile on, shaking her head slightly. The floor suddenly became very interesting to avoid Kyle's gaze. She couldn't have heart-to-heart conversations with someone looking into her eyes.

“It's complicated. We love each other but⸺”, she paused, trying to find the right words to describe their relationship. Yet she couldn't find one. “I guess we just aren't made for each other.”

I could make you feel better, he thought, not daring to say those words out loud. Oh, how he wished he would be the man she would be interested in. How was this other guy able to stay away from her, keep his distance and give her up? Hell, he would fight anyone to get a girl like Cassie.

“Or maybe the two of you just need a little more time”, he said instead, putting a comforting hand on her thigh.

“Mh..maybe. Hey, uh, I think I have to⸺”, the brunette uttered, unable to finish the sentence. She spoke a few slurred words as she gripped the edge of the table, loosing control over her own body.

Before she could fall off her chair, Kyle was quickly by her side and supported her, gently running his hand over her hair while cooing a few comforting words into her ear as he helped her to get on her feet.

“Let's get you home, hm?” He wrapped his arm around her small waist, holding her close to him and make it look like she was leaning against him. Their drinks were already paid so he just walked her out of the bar, passing a few other drunk people who didn't notice shit.

The loud music from inside was muffled now as he carefully dragged her to his car, every now and then she slurred out words that he ignored. When he got to the car, he leaned against it, leaning his body against hers as he unlocked the door so she wouldn't fall sideways and onto the ground.

After opening the door, his gaze lingered on her face for a long moment. Her perfect, pouty lips painted in a rich red gave him new stupid thoughts. His breathing quickened a little and his chest heaved rapidly as he listened to her helpless whimpers. Why were helpless women so fucking hot? He didn't want to be like that, like one of those horrible men, yet he let his lust guide him.

A shaky, lustful sigh escaped his throat after he pressed his lips to hers, one hand on her neck to hold her head up. He slipped his other hand under her shirt, sliding it over her glowing skin to her breast, which he cupped into his hand and swallowed hard as his pants tightened. She wasn't even wearing a bra, was she trying to kill him? Luckily it was a quiet parking lot behind the bar so he didn't have to worry about being caught.

She was hardly responsive and couldn't react much at all, her whole system was practically turned off by the drugs. But the pleading whimpers and the attempt to push him away snapped him out of his trance and made him realize what he was doing. What he let himself be tempted to do. Startled, he pulled his hand back and parted his lips from hers, her red lipstick now slightly smudged and spread outside of her lips as well, making her lips look swollen but if you looked closely it was obvious that it was smeared lipstick.

“Fuck!” He ruffled his hair aggressively, quickly shoving her weak body onto the backseat before he slammed the car door shut. Pacing around, he let his emotions overcome him. As awful he felt, he had to do something, he couldn't let her stay in his car or take her home with him. She'd go straight to the cops once she'd wake up.

Killing her was no option, he could never, so he had to get rid of her otherwise. There was no way she would remember anything tomorrow morning, which was good. He jumped into his car, the tires squeaked as he pulled out of the parking lot and sped down the street. It was only a few minutes before he was on her brother's street, which he knew from Kayla where it was. No lights were left on in any of the houses and the street was only covered in dim light.

At the side of the road, he slipped out of his car and dragged the brunette out, too. She was still somehow awake, slurring words he couldn't understand. Her frightened face filled him with remorse and shame and he hoped she would recover from this night.

“I'm so fucking sorry, Cassie”, he said hysterically, the panic in his tone clear to hear, before he knocked her out completely with just one hard slap in the face and sped off, leaving her in the dirt on the side of the road, hoping her brother would find her soon.