Page 47 of Becoming

“Sorry. You startled me.” Cass stooped to pick up her paintbrush. She grumbled at the dirt that now coated the paint covered bristles and tossed it aside. Taking a rag out of her back pocket, she wiped her hands as she glanced at Miranda. “How did you know where I was?”

Miranda put her hands on her hips. “It’s not hard to find someone painting a huge mural.”

“Fair enough. What’s up?”

“I came to take you to lunch.”

“Oh, um, that’s nice, but I already ate.” Cass gestured to her lunchbox. Rebecca had surprised her by making her an awesome roast beef sandwich, some of her favorite chips, and even a pickle. Best. Lunch. Ever.

“Oh, come on, Cass.”

Cass frowned. “Sorry, but it’s,” she checked her watch, “quarter after one and I was hungry. I had no idea you’d be here.”

“What’s going on with you? You’ve been avoiding me for weeks.”

“No, I haven’t.” At least, she didn’t think she was. Though, if she were being honest with herself, Cass hadn’t thought about Rand—or anything else—in the past three weeks. Her mind, body, and soul have been preoccupied with the beautiful woman that she was falling deeply in love with. Maybe that made her selfish, but what could she say? “We talked a few weeks ago. Besides, you’re a newlywed. I was respecting your time with Connor. And, the phone works both ways, Rand. You haven’t exactly contacted me, either.”

Miranda snorted. “Respecting my time with Connor. Since when? And, anyway, I thought you were upset, so I waited for you to make the first move.”

“That’s not fair, Rand. I’ve always been supportive and respectful. The one who hasn’t is Connor. He never liked that you have a lesbian friend.”

“That’s not true.”

Cass resisted rolling her eyes. Rand had a bad habit of seeing things the way she wanted to see them. Rose colored glasses. There was nothing Cass could say or do to change her mind, so she didn’t even try. “What was I supposed to be upset about?” she asked, steering the conversation back on track.

“I don’t know. You’ve been different ever since my bachelorette party. I know you don’t agree with what I did that night…”

Cass held up a hand, cutting Miranda off. “I’m not upset about that. It’s your life, Rand.” She was right about one thing. Cass had been changed that night. But not for the reasons Miranda thought.

“Okay, fine. You’re not upset. So, let’s go out then. We can go clubbing. It feels like ages since we’ve done that. We can dance and get stupid drunk. It’ll be like old times. Maybe I can even crash at your place since Connor doesn’t really like it when I drink that much.” Miranda punched Cass lightly on the arm. “What do you say?”

Cass studied Miranda. There must be trouble in paradise if she was proposing to stay over at Cass’s place. The only reason she would do that is to piss Connor off. According to Rand’s social media, she’d been out plenty of times with her straight friends. It ticked her off a bit to know she was probably being used. “I can’t. I don’t do that anymore.”

Miranda laughed. “What do you mean you don’t do that anymore? Don’t tell me you met someone.”

Why is that funny? “I did, actually. But…”

“So, I should wait a week and then you’ll be ready for something new?” Miranda joked.

Ouch. As much as it hurt to hear Rand say something like that, Cass couldn’t exactly dispute it. “Rand, I’ve told you before that I was fed up with all that. Even before this relationship. Which, for your information, has been going strong for three weeks now.”

“Wow, three weeks. You’re usually bored after one.”

“Are you going for some kind of record for insulting your ‘best friend’?” Cass asked dryly.

“I’m kidding! Damn, girl, you used to be able to take a joke. Even though I’m totally right.”

“I didn’t get bored, Rand.” This time she did roll her eyes when Miranda just stared at her. “Fine. If I did, it was because I was picking the wrong woman. I’ve found the right one, now.”

“Right one as in right one? Why am I just hearing about this now?”

Cass shrugged. “Honestly, I haven’t really told anyone.” She knew Rebecca had told her aunt about them, but she was pretty sure that was because her aunt is also her therapist. If she didn’t understand that Rebecca still had a tiny issue with their age gap, Cass would have been bothered by that. Then again, neither of them had suggested introducing each other to the important people in their lives. Maybe that was something to be worried about.

“Cass?” Miranda waved her hand in front of Cass’s face. “Are you?”

“Am I what?”

“Ashamed of her.”

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