Page 4 of Cheese Daddy

“I’m sure he doesn’t… and even if he did, it’s not a good idea.” When her friends looked blankly at her, as if they couldn’t fathom why she would think it was a good idea, she shook her head again. “If we did date or something and it ended badly, that would make these group hangouts even more awkward.”

“You mean even more awkward than Marcus and I make it.” Eden made a face, and Bree and Rita exchanged a glance. The impulse to reassure her that she and Marcus didn’t make things awkward was there, but it would have been a lie. “Sorry. I know, it’s been hard. I’ll try to be better, I promise.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t expect a personality transplant,” Rita teased. “Besides, I understand. I think half your problem is that you’re worried if you give this new Marcus a chance, you’ll actually like him.”

“Half? That’s like, ninety percent of the problem.” Eden snorted. Well, no one could say she lacked in self-awareness. “I am so not putting myself through that again. Plus, even if he has changed, I’ll still pretty pissed that after promising over and over again that he was going to change, he waited until after I was gone.”

“That’s valid.” Bree swirled her straw around her drink. “Anyway… that’s why I think it’s a bad idea if Owen and I started something. Even if we were both interested, which I’m not saying I am.”

“Oh, no,” Eden disagreed immediately. “You two are totally different. First of all, you’re way more mature than I am. Second of all, if you were to start something, Owen would never treat you badly, especially because he’s friends with Andres. If you two broke up, it would be because you weren’t compatible in some way, and I bet it would be, like, the nicest breakup ever. You can’t even get righteously mad at Samuel, no matter how much he deserves it.”

“She’s right,” Rita said before Bree could respond. “Not only that, but you’re only thinking about what if it doesn’t work out. But what if it does?”

Bree blinked.

Wow. She wasn’t used to Rita and Eden being the positive thinkers. That was normally her job. It made her wonder how badly her breakup with Samuel had really affected her, considering it had her thinking worst-case scenario instead of best. Though, really, when the stakes were high, the worst-case did need to at least be considered.

But Eden had a point. Even her breakup with Samuel hadn’t been all that dramatic. If she had to see him again, she wouldn’t make things awkward. She’d be civil. Polite. And she would expect him to do the same.

Heck, most of her break-ups had ended in ‘we’re better off as friends.’ Sure, none of those friendships had lasted because the guys hadn’t put any more effort into being friends than they had being a boyfriend, so why would she expect anything else from Owen? He definitely wasn’t the type to do any of the major deal breakers—cheating, abuse, that kind of thing.

If things didn’t work out, maybe they really could be just friends.

Something twisted in her stomach. Yeah, that was the problem right there. Her crush had taken on a life of its own, and the idea of starting something and reverting back to being ‘just friends’ already hurt more than it should have. That was just her imagination. How much worse would it be to live the reality?

“Hey Chiquita, I missed you.” Andres slid in next to Rita and Eden, sliding one arm around her hips and kissing her temple. Marcus and Owen were right behind him, Marcus sliding in between her and Rita, while Owen took the spot between her and Eden. It felt like her entire body came alive on her right where he was standing, all of her senses attuned to him.

“You could see me the whole time. You couldn’t have possibly missed me,” she teased him.

“Oh, are you calling me a liar?” His accent made the vaguely threatening question sound sexy.

“No, Daddy, of course not.”

“Hey, Taco Daddy, what’s shaking?” Eden asked, focusing her attention on Andres rather than Marcus for once. Her question made them all laugh.

Owen shifted next to Bree, his arm brushing hers. It felt like a current of electricity surged through her at his touch.

Ah, fuck. I’m so screwed.

2

Owen

Standing next to Bree might have been a mistake. It had also been irresistible. And it wasn’t like there was any other option unless he’d wanted to push Rita and Andres or Eden over.

Standing next to her, smelling her perfume, feeling her arm brush against his… it was torture, and he was no masochist. The past two months had been brutal. She’d been coming to the Outlands regularly with Rita and Eden, and word that she was single had spread pretty quickly. Keeping the other Doms off her had been a job and a half, and some of them had needed a second reminder.

Sure, he probably should have let her play a bit and find herself, but… he had selfishly been unable to watch it happen. If she’d come at times when he wasn’t there, that would have made it easier, but she only came with her friends, which meant it was always on nights he was there with Andres and Marcus. Staying away just because he’d known she’d be there had also been impossible.

“I am not Taco Daddy,” Andres said with a sigh, shaking his head and sliding his hand up to the back of Rita’s neck, just under her blonde ponytail.

“Well, Taco Truck Daddy is too long, so I shortened it.” Eden grinned when Andres gave her the stink eye. She was a brat through and through.

“Since he’s not your Daddy Dom, you shouldn’t be calling him anything at all,” Marcus said gruffly, which was a surprise. Normally, it was Eden instigating the arguments with him, not the other way around.

Then again, Eden usually went straight for needling Marcus, not ignoring him. She waved her hand at Marcus and turned her attention to Owen, rather than rising to the bait.

“How are you doing, Cheese Daddy?”

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