making goddamn sure I wouldn't forget his touch while he was gone, but when I woke up, it was to Lucas softly kissing my cheek.
"Hey you," I mumbled, rubbing at my eyes.
"You slept in," he told me with a smile. "I left you as long as I could, but visiting hours—"
"Oh fuck," I cursed, sitting up with a gasp and swiping a hand through my hair. "It's that late? How? Shit, I'm sorry. Give me five minutes; I'll—"
"Hayden, it's fine," he cut me off as he grasped my face between his hands. "Take a breath. It's not a big deal, but I spoke with my mom's nurse and he said she was really clear-headed today. Maybe it'll be a good chance to speak with her properly."
I blinked away the last of my sleep fog and pressed a quick kiss against his lips. "I'll be quick. Where's Cass?"
Lucas wrinkled his nose. "You don't want to know." He didn't look worried, so I just gave him a suspicious look until he kissed me, then released my face. "I'll wait downstairs?"
Giving him a vague nod, I watched him leave the bedroom, then hurried to grab some fresh clothes and shower away the evidence of my night with Cass. I was ready in a little over five minutes, dressing casually since we were heading to Sunshine Estate and my intention wasn't to intimidate the answers out of Sandra.
After I raced downstairs, the sound of voices coming from the gym pulled my attention, and I changed direction to investigate. When I pushed the door open, I had to do a doubletake with what I found in front of me.
"Are you two fucking serious?" I demanded, blinking twice in case my mind was playing tricks on me. But nope, the image didn't change. Zed and Cass were actually sparring. Cass's left arm was still strapped in the black sling, but his other hand was covered with a boxing wrap and his upper body was bare and gleaming with sweat.
Zed was also shirtless, both of his hands in wraps as he danced around Cass and taunted him with quick jabs to the body.
They didn't fucking stop when they saw me, either. Not that I blamed them; I'd bet they were both cautious of the other taking a dirty shot while they were distracted. It's what I'd have done.
"Cassiel Idiot Saint!" I barked, striding across the gym to stop them by any means necessary, even if that meant decking both of them. "You've got to be fucking with me. In what world did you think this was a good idea? Either of you?" My accusing glare swung between Zed and Cass, but neither one of them had the grace to look ashamed.
"Don't give me that look," Zed responded, then flicked out a lightning-fast jab at Cass's face, which Cass dodged and answered with a sharp right hook that caught Zed across the cheekbone. "Ouch." He winced and shook his head with a rueful grin. "Besides, Grumpy Cat started it."
"Fuck off, Zeddy Bear," Cass sneered back. "You started this because your balls are so blue they're basically fossilized."
"That doesn't even make sense," Lucas drawled from the doorway. He gave me a shrug when I turned to look at him. "They've been at this for ages. Better just leave them to get it out of their systems."
I hesitated, but Cass just gave me a one shoulder shrug before swinging his leg up in a hard kick that caught Zed in the side. I winced but then shook my head and followed Lucas's advice. Fuck it, they didn't need me refereeing whatever the hell they were dealing with. So I just threw my hands up in exasperation and exited the gym with Lucas by my side.
"If it's any comfort, Cass is winning," he murmured with an edge of laughter as we headed through to the garage. "Even with one arm in a sling, he's a fucking weapon."
The admiration in his tone was unmistakable, and I gave him a curious side-eye. "Did you research Cass before or after you knew who he was to me?"
Lucas shot me a smirk. "I can't give away all my secrets, Hayden. He hardly needs the ego boost of knowing I used to watch his old fights online."
Something about that was way too adorable, so I grinned and headed over toward Zed's Shelby Mustang, as the Audi was nowhere to be seen. No doubt he'd already taken it in to get the paint touched up.