Page 78 of Dirty Play

“Yes,” Max deadpans. “You also didn’t care who was in the office with you… when you did other things. Talk about traumatizing,” he says with a fake gag that has everyone laughing.

“Wish I could say I felt bad, little brother,” Sawyer says with a smirk as she turns to look at Rex, probably remembering when she hid under his desk while he talked to Max… entertaining herself with the only toys available—his cock.

“Oh well,” Max says, slipping his arm around Cassie and pulling her in close. “You got your karma when I fucked your best friend, so I guess we’re even.”

The two of them are always giving each other shit, but I guess that’s what happens when one sibling fucks his sister’s best friend and the other fucks her brother’s coach. At least there are no awkward introductions at Christmas.

“Did I tell you all that Sawyer and I are going to take a trip next weekend?”

“Really?” Cassie asks, her eyebrows scrunched. “Where?”

“He won’t tell me.” Sawyer glares, but Rex just laughs. “Says it’s a surprise. Who the hell actually likes surprises nowadays. Instant gratification is where it’s at.”

Rex just laughs harder. “You’ll know when it’s time, but for now, I’m enjoying torturing you.”

“You can at least tell me,” Cassie deadpans.

“You’re the last person he can tell if he wants to keep it a secret,” Max says with a grin, Cassie sticking her tongue out with a smirk. The girl can’t keep a secret to save her life, especially from Sawyer.

I already know where they’re going and why they’re going, but he’s right. She’ll know when it’s time.

“Where did you learn to cook like that?” Ellie asks, looking at me like she’s surprised.

“My mom. Growing up with four kids, she would have each one of us pick a night to cook. It stopped a lot of our complaining about what we were having for dinner because we were in control for one night, but it also meant that both my parents were off duty for four nights a week, which I think they loved. In the beginning, she would cook with us, show us some of her favorite recipes, and teach us the basics in the kitchen. After that, we were in full control, getting to make our favorites while she sat back and watched.”

“That’s amazing. We’ll have to do that with Addy when she gets a little older,” Ellie says, looking at Trevor.

“She cooks with me sometimes now,” Trevor says.

“Eating cookie dough and brownie batter out of the mixer does not count as cooking with you.”

He just shrugs.

“Was this one of your favorites?” Ellie asks.

“No. It was Veronica’s.”

I can feel the vibe in the room change the second I say her name, but where I expect to find sadness or pity on their faces, I find interest and compassion.

“Yeah, Veronica used to make it every single week. My other siblings would complain, but I secretly started to love it too. To this day, I make it whenever I’m missing her—and on her birthday.”

Gwen leans back, resting her head on my chest as she looks out toward our friends. The feeling of her body on mine grounds me, giving me the strength to have this conversation without feeling like I’m going to lose a part of myself in the process.

“She was pretty badass in the kitchen. I remember she used to make this cheesecake that I would give my left nut to have another slice of,” Harris groans.

“The Oreo one?” I ask, my mouth watering at the memory. I’m not sure what my sister put in this cheesecake, but it never lasted more than an hour in my house. Even less if Harris was over.

“The one and only.”

The rest of dinner goes smoothly. We spent the next couple of hours talking. They asked questions about my family and my sister for a while, and instead of feeling uncomfortable or getting upset, I felt excited. I’m happy to share stories of my sister, the memories I have growing up with her, and how she was the feistiest person I knew.

Until Gwen, of course.

Obviously, they asked a million questions about Gwen and me. Not a single one of them were shocked about us getting together or even about us moving in together. They just bitched that it took us so long.

The kidney surgery was another story, I get yelled at quite a bit about that one. Harris just sat and laughed since he already got his lecture in.

My favorite part of the night was being close to Gwen. The entire time we talked, the only time Gwen got up was to grab a snack or another glass of wine. Outside of that, she was snuggled in my lap.

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