Page 137 of The Pact

“Are you as hungover as I am?” she asks, reluctantly lifting her sunglasses to sit on the top of her head. Her brown eyes squint against the last rays of sun that are filtering through the windows.

“Oh yes,” I say, letting out a regretful laugh. “What time did you get home?”

Her eyes widen and she purses her lips. “You’ll have to ask Anthony. I could barely see or walk straight by the time he was putting me in the car.”

The waitress comes over and takes our order.

When she leaves, I notice the light hitting Cassie’s diamond and I grab her hand to gush over it again. “It’s so beautiful, Cass.” I look her in the eyes. “I’m happy for you. More than happy. You deserve this more than anyone. I couldn’t have picked anyone better than Anthony.”

She smiles at me and squeezes my hand. “I wish the same for you. If that’s what you want, someday.”

Fuck, how would that even work with four guys? It’s definitely not legal. But marriage has never been a big priority for me, so maybe that’s not what I need. I’d be happy with living a beautiful life with my guys. I know it’s too soon to even think about that, about a future, although the thought fills me with joy.

“How was the rest of your night?” She asks as the waitress puts our food down on the table. She waits for the older woman to leave before elaborating. “It looked like you were getting a little frisky with the guys in the booth. No judgment.” She assures, putting her hands up.

My cheeks heat. I thought I’d escaped prying eyes, but clearly I hadn’t. “It was…eventful,” I admit, chewing the corner of my mouth.

Cassie tips her head down and levels her gaze. “Listen, as your best friend who’s told you a million and one wild stories about my dating and sex life, you owe me at least one.”

She’s not wrong. Whether or not I asked for it, Cass willingly gave me the dirty details of her escapades before Anthony and even with him. Although, those don’t come up often anymore.

“Things got a little crazy in the limo.” She puts her elbows on the table, resting her chin in her hands, waiting eagerly for me to spill. “This is so embarrassing,” I laugh out.

“Uhhh…remember the cruise elevator story of 2018 or the jacuzzi incident of 2010.” My lips push together as I try not to cackle, recalling the details she shared.

“Okay, okay. Well, let’s just say that there are no issues with the four of them sharing. They really know how to make a woman feel…everything.”

Cassie’s eyes widen. “Like they all focused on you?” I nod vigorously while sipping through my straw. “Damn. I knew I should have experimented more in college.”

“Trust me, I experimented in college and it did not come close to what these men did. It’s hard to explain, but they each just have something about them that fits me so well. Cole is sweet and attentive. He always knows exactly what I need and the way he looks at me makes me feel special. Then, Sutton. There’s some kind of soul connection there or something, like we’ve known each other for lifetimes. When we touch, it’s like he’s reaching into the deepest parts of me and knows exactly who I am. With Wes, it’s the opposite. It’s all need and flesh. I feel like he could devour me and I’d let him because he’d make it feel so good. And Damian…” I let out a breath. “He’s the hardest to decipher. He always wants to be in control, however, sometimes I see it slip. If he’d only realize that he could trust me, he’d be able to relax. Damian wants to take care of everyone. I worry that he’ll never let anyone take care of him.” My eyes sting at the thought. Somehow, despite the emotional distance between Damian and I, a part of me cares deeply for him. It doesn’t make sense.

I admit, “I want to take care of him and I’ve never felt that need before. I’ve always been independent. You know me, I don’t really rely on anyone and that’s made me put up a wall so that people don’t rely on me either. For the first time, I think I’m ready to let my guard down.”

I’m staring down at my plate, pushing my food around as I finish speaking.

“Hey,” Cassie says, making me glance up at her. “Give into it. Let them care for you, rely on them and let them lean on you, too. I know I was skeptical, but I see a change in you. I like it. It looks good on you.” She smiles widely. I’m desperate for the attention to be off of me for once, so I shift the conversation.

“I got you a little something. A small gift to wish you a happy engagement.” I hand her the white gift bag and she unwraps the layers of tissue that’s protecting the ring holder. She loves it and comes around the table to give me a long embrace.

“Now tell me about this idea.”

I dive into the details I’ve been thinking over all day—taking the flashes of a dream and turning into a full-blown plan. I’m hoping that she’ll love it as much as me because I need her help to execute it.

“If it does well, I figure we can do more events like it so that we can bring in more clients, but also to show people that boudoir isn’t evil. It’ll also be a great way for you to get business as well. I’m hoping that with this and the money I’ve saved with Damian paying the studio rent and not having to pay rent on my apartment that we can put in another offer on the property, if it’s still available.” I study Cassie’s face. It’s stayed relatively flat as she’s listened to me, yet the last part of my idea makes a smile pop up.

“Let’s do it!” She exclaims. Cass lifts her glass of water to cheers. “Water will have to do for now, but after this, we’re going to get a real drink to celebrate.”

“Uhhh, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea after last night.”

Cass tilts her head. “One drink, we deserve it.” I want to argue, my head aches in protest, however, she’s right. We have so much to celebrate right now and it’ll only be one drink.

47

THEA

I shift uncomfortably on the bar stool. I don’t want to be here. It’s crowded and noisy. People are bumping into my back and Cassie has to yell at me so that I can hear what she says.

However, the real issue is that this isn’t the first time I’ve been to this bar.

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