Page 63 of Our Sadie

TWENTY-ONE: The Cupcake

DOMINIC: JANUARY

This sleeping in the same bed with not just a woman but with two other full-grown men should probably feel weirder than it does. And maybe the occasional contact that I have with Jerome and Zach should bother me. But it doesn’t. Three nights back, I turned over in the dark to find Sadie clinging to one shoulder and Jerome using the other like a pillow.

I blinked at the ceiling for a few beats, decided to say fuck it, and conked out positioned like I already was.

Whatever.

It’s funny as hell to me that Zach is the only one who’s more than a bit iffy about this. Anytime he winds up next to either me or Jerome, he’ll put himself as far to the outside of the mattress as he can. He’s like some first-grade boy nervous about the other kids having cooties.

It’s led to some pranks.

Recently, Jerome caught my eye and nudged our dancer pal just enough for him to lose his balance there on the edge. Zach yanked his eyes open when it happened in real-time, yelping as he landed with a thud on the floor. And Jerome, that fucker, did an excellent job at pretending it was an accident.

“Oh, sorry there, man. Didn’t mean to overcrowd you.”

I snort at the memory of that livid look on Zach’s face.

I’ve come to understand that as much as Jerome has this big, nothing-gets-to-me attitude, he has a dry yet diabolical sense of humor. I’m ninety-seven percent sure that he’s the one who keeps moving my aluminum water bottle to various locations while I work out in the gym.

Prick.

Good thing we get along so well.

I’ve kept up with my Zoom calls better lately, and I’m preparing for one tonight which is New Year’s Eve. Paisley never handles disturbances to her routine well, so having her sound asleep way before any of the evening staff make a commotion is important.

She might not be able to hear anything, but that doesn’t mean the extra hyper vibe won’t mess with her if she’s not already out.

“You’re sticking to her usual schedule, right?” I ask George once I’m on.

“Yeah, one hundred percent. She’s been more restless over the past week, so I might give her a low-dose sedative to make everything easier, anyway.”

I’m instantly worried. “What do you mean restless?”

“Just tossing and turning mostly. She’s been having a tough time settling back down.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before now?” I’m so pissed off, but it’s mostly at myself. My sister needs me, and I’m MIA.

“This isn’t especially new. It’s been on and off for a while now. It’s not impacting her significantly, but I thought I should mention it since it’s still going on. But you shouldn’t let it alarm you. Being here in person is unlikely to make a difference. It may just be a phase.”

A phase, my ass. She wasn’t doing this shit when I was there to visit her all the time.

I want to sprint to Sadie right this second and tell her I have to go back to Boston. That’s my knee-jerk reaction. Yet for the first time ever, I’m torn. My priority is Paisley. It always will be. But I feel obligated to do right by Sadie, too. She needs me here to help her just like she needs Jerome and Zach.

Well, if you can call providing hours of climaxes helping her.

I do need to get Sadie past this bump in the road. Abandoning her would feel wrong. She’s no longer just another client to me. I care about her. But I can’t neglect my sister, either.

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