Florida Heat: Book One in the Clearwater Pack Series

Cassandra’s Point of View: With my feet in the sand staring out over the Gulf I’m in awe of this life I get to live. Being a midwestern girl at heart, I thought Lake Erie would always be home for me being that I’m from Sandusky, Ohio. But, living here in Clearwater Florida now, insisting that after I graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University this past spring, I’ve decided that Florida is home now. Not to mention the job offer from Disney doesn’t hurt, but the sand between my toes and this view – it’s always been my dream. My parents Scarlett and Leon Diez II insisted that I attend college at The University of Ohio or somewhere closer to them. I happened to fall in love with Clearwater, Fort Myers and St. Petersburg visiting my grand parents here on a yearly basis to their home within Cape Coral. They were snowbirds, but since I was in 8th grade, they had made their move to Florida Permanent. My grandmother Martha Diez, she needed me more than ever though because my sophomore year in college my grandfather Leon he passed away from a heart attack. My parents tried to get my grandmother to move home, but I promised to keep an eye on her. In the last year she has finally come out of her shell and is back to frolicking throughout the tiny little community down here. She now hosts bingo and euchre nights for the community and is thriving, just like my grandfather would have wanted. My grandpa was my favorite person, he and I clicked. I was an only child and his only grandchild, and he spoiled me. I look down at my right wrist and read the tattoo, “Life is brief, but love is long” it’s in his handwriting and is a reminder of the man he was and the legacy he has left. He is the one who encouraged me to go into Film, I have a fascination being behind the camera, working a set, organizing the clutter and finding potential in scripts. The position I was offered from Disney, I believe was made up. They gave me an assistant producer position paying me an incredible amount of money to find talent for Disney. I’ve interned for Disney for the last 3 years while in college. It started my sophomore year I would travel the hour and half to Lake Buena Vista Florida where the Disney headquarters is located and help with coordinating events, helping structure music throughout the park and booking talent for different nights within Disney Springs. Disney ended up putting me up in the junior suites off the Contemporary Hotel within the heart of Disney World. I shared that suite with my best friend Harper O’Mara whom I met while in college in one of my introductions to film classes. She was more interested in the costume design of film. She and I hit it off right away, in fact so much so that my grandparents in my sophomore year insisted that Harper live with us too. It was nice to have her on rides to Orlando, working with Disney and when my grandpa passed, she was right there. My Junior year I continued my internship with Disney as did Harper. That year I was introduced to ESPN and worked along the sports casting team helping produce and run the NCAA College football bowl games. My father played college football at non other than The University of Ohio. When I ran the Buffalo Wild Wing bowl game here in Florida, and Michigan won, I thought my dad was going to have a fit. Little does he know, I’m an Alabama fan, but for now that remains to myself. I enjoyed sports and I believe its closer to what I want – I am more interested in Musical and comedic performances and live television. Harper our junior year was actually introduced to the seamstress that helps create the gowns that the Disney Princess’s wear. She was in absolute heaven. Our Senior year we both again dove back into our Disney Internship opportunities and along with the heavy course load we again took on the internship in our spare time. This time I was behind the liveeality Television show “Making the Band.” This was right up my ally, I helped conduct interviews to get the right contestants on the show along with the backdrop of the majority of our scenes that would take place. I helped conduct their live performances and even assisted directed a handful of episodes. This is where I belonged. Harper worked with me on the show and was 3rd hand in costume design. Meaning, she didn’t make the decisions but helped find the right outfits for the performances of the people on the show. After graduation Harper and I both took positions with Disney. Mine being the assistant producer position traveling around the United States/ mostley Florida to find top talent. Top talent in terms of the performances that will be held within Disney Springs as well as the second season to Making the Band. I can work remotely, thanks to covid but I do go in every two weeks for group meetings and discussions. Harper took a position with the outfit and creations to a couple Disney Network pre-teen shows, she drives to Orlando two times a week and we both live together in Clearwater Florida. My grandma Martha comes and visits us every other Sunday for a nice family dinner, but she is too busy hosting and creating all the community events, I don’t worry about her anymore. At least not as much as I used to. Me on the other hand, I worry about me. Leaving Ohio and moving down here on a full ride academic scholarship I’ve buried myself in school and work. I do have a boyfriend; his name is Landen. He’s fine, he’s safe. I realize I think more of my best friend and grandma then I do of my own boyfriend. Landen Miller, a Florida boy from Orlando. I actually met him my sophomore year in Disney Springs when I was helping get the stage set up for a band to perform. I was carrying some cables and accidently bumped into him. He turned around so incredibly handsome and caught my attention immediately. I’ve never given a man the time of day, that was until Landen. Listen, he is perfect. Me, I’m not – I think I’m broken, truly… because he is right in front of me and yet he feels a million miles away. That spark we had 3 years ago, to me at least it has faded, and I just don’t break up with him because, I enjoy his company. It’s gotten to the point that Harper even tells me he is more of a brother than a boyfriend. I gaze out over the Ocean and breath in the salty air that stings my nose and reminds me of how fortunate I am. I get to see this daily. Harper and I live in an apartment complex called the Nolen’s just over the bridge from the beachfront town of Clearwater. I’m not athletic by any means, my father claims I should be considering he was an all-American football player – but there isn’t an athletic bone in my body. I do however enjoy running. My typical run is to the ocean at least 4 times a week and from here, I sit. I soak in the world around me before I get back up and run home to start by workday. I place my ear buds back into my ears and hit my soothing playlist of John Mayer, Jason Mraz and Eric Hutchinson to coast my way back home. When I arrive at the apartment, sitting outside my door with his baseball cap pulled over his face is Landen. I pull my ear buds out and he pulls himself up to meet me standing. He grabs my hands and instinctively places a kiss on the palm of my right hand. “What are you doing here,” I ask him confused, thinking I may have missed a date or something. “Hi to you too Cass. I came to see you because, I miss you. I forgot you went out running and I thought about coming to find you and run with you, but literally had no Idea where to even begin so I just sat here and waited for you,” he explains. “Oh, okay. Well, I miss you too. Come in, I’ll make us some breakfast,” I tell him. Landen is wearing a light blue shirt that sticks out against is very tan Florida Skin. His dirty blonde hair is tossed around, and his incredibly bright blue eyes are piercing into my soul. He’s joked time and time again that when we have kids our children will have “White Walker” eyes, as if they were from the Game of Thrones. You see, I have incredibly bright blue eyes too as well as blonde hair. My eyes remind me of the Clearwater blue water that surrounds me within this city. I can’t help but think about Harpers comment that Landen and I are more like brother and sister, because we truly are. Inside my apartment I cook us some breakfast and pull out my laptop to see if I have any zoom meetings today or any appointments to meet with bands or performers on my agenda. Landen leans up against the Island within my kitchen and is staring at me. I look at him and shake my shoulders instigating, “What?” He comes over to me and places a hand on my arm and the other upon my cheek cupping my face. “You know I love you, right? I know the last year it’s been different or at least it feels different. I’d do anything for you, anything. You mean the world to me, and I know we’ve grown complacent with one another a bit in the last year and we are both busy with our careers but Cass, I want to find us again. We’ve always been incredibly in sync, and I believe we can get back to that, I truly do. I’m willing to work for it, if you are.” I smile at him and shake my head in agreement letting him know I too want to make things work. When he places a kiss upon the top of my forehead and turns away to continue eating his breakfast, I stand there trying to hide the emotion on my face. I don’t know how we can find our way back to one another when I truly have never felt lost, is it acceptable that this relationship has simply run its course? I know he is perfect and to many he seems to be, to me even he is. But he does have his flaws too – he is the worst at answering his phone and or text messages, when he drinks, he gets handsy and he has gotten into a couple bar fights because he does in fact get rowdy and this might sound silly but he pops his gum when he chews and I cannot stand that damn noise. He has gotten better with his drinking and it’s not like we drink all the time, and I usually don’t go out with him and his guy friends when these events have occurred but, he does tend to be possessive of me in general when he has been drinking – so I usually steer clear of that. Are any one of these things a deal breaker, no. Are all of them together a deal breaker? Honestly, maybe at this point. I guess I am going to do the same thing I always do when I get to this point, I will just see how the next couple weeks pan out and then reassess this relationship at that point. Tonight perhaps he will have to come with me when I go to a local bar for an open mic night at Jamminz on the beachfront of Clearwater. Maybe, we can go out for dinner and take a nice walk on the beach to start this "finding one another" again phase of our relationship, even though it always feels like thats what we are doing.