Page 25 of Cade

“There was a night, Jamie. That’s all. It’s hardly anything to make a fuss over.” I said the words, but after two rounds of scotch, I wasn’t sure I believed them entirely myself.

“But you wanted a morning, am I right? Maybe even a lunch the next day? Someone to commiserate with while you play good son to mommy and daddy?”

Why isn’t this woman a shrink?

“Even if I did want those things, Jamie, the chances are slim. He... Cade... doesn’t seem to want anything to do with me.”

“You said chances were slim, Wes. Not impossible. Besides, a man who doesn’t succumb to your money and model looks? Shit, I’d want him too.”

I sneered in response to her taunting, and just as I was about to speak, Jamie’s laughter subsided, giving way to a pregnant pause.

“Why do you think he wants nothing to do with you? Did you say something? Was the sex bad? Did you get whiskey dick or—”

My shoulders fell, and thanks to the alcohol in my system, the words came of their own volition as I confessed my sins to a woman who was certainly not pure enough to take confession.

“No, it was... wonderful, despite the alcohol, but—”

Jamie waited for me to continue, and for once in my life, I felt the need to unload, to give some of what I’d been carrying around up.

To vent, and trust my friend with the truth.

“The next morning... this morning... he seemed to be... regretful. Worried about what we’d... done. I assured him it was fine, I’m clean, and it was just sex. Nothing major, and then I saw him at the fundraiser and—”

“You told him fucking him was no big deal?” she exclaimed.

Yes, because it wasn’t...

But even as my thoughts wandered, as her tone hit me, I knew somehow it must have come across in a way I hadn’t intended.

“Yes, because it’s not a big deal. Sex is just... sex, Jamie. It doesn’t mean we’re fated mates like in those romance books you’re always reading.”

Jamie huffed, sighing deeply as she chose her words.

“You are such a dense asshole sometimes, but I guess I can’t blame you. You haven’t exactly dated many men with substance, so let me make this crystal clear for you, Wes.”

My lips tightened along with my grip on my phone.

How dare she insult my choice in men! As if she is one to talk!

Before I could launch into a “that’s the pot calling the kettle black” speech, Jamie’s voice softened.

“Sex might not be a big deal to you, but it is to some of us. Some people don’t give it up as easily as you do.”

“Are you calling me a manwhore, Jamie?” I deadpanned.

“Yes, Weston. I am.” She tutted.

She wasn’t wrong. Not entirely anyway.

Perhaps that is part of the problem. I’m too detached.

But then again, in my life, attachments usually didn’t pan out well for me. It wasn’t like people hung around me for my intellect, or lack thereof apparently.

“I offered to buy him lunch, and he refused.” I specifically left out the part where I hadn’t actually purchased Cade lunch, but I did not need to feed Jamie any more ammo.

“Because it probably made him feel like shit. Like you were trying to pay him for—”

Oh.

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