Page 16 of Sensuous

“What do you want to drink?” he asks as he begins straightening up the area. “I swear to God I don’t know how some of my bartenders work in all of this mess. Fucking lemons and limes all over back here, and the sink is a disaster.”

“Something strong. Whiskey. Make it a double. It’s been that kind of day,” I say as I scan the dance floor.

“See anything you like? You look like you need something to take the edge off. Didn’t that reality show thing start today? The way your face looks tells me it wasn’t all fun and games.”

I roll my eyes at that description of my day. “Try no fun and no games but all bullshit and hassle.”

Cade pushes a glass of whiskey in front of me and shakes his head. “The trials and tribulations of Alex March. Next you’re going to tell me you hate it.”

After I down half the glass of whiskey, I say, “Not exactly hate. Well, not the whole show. Just one person.”

My cousin stares at me in disbelief. “You don’t hate anyone. I don’t think you’ve ever felt that emotion. Hell, you don’t even hate Wilder, and he’s the world’s biggest pain in the ass. Who is this person who’s got you all fucked up?”

“Her name is Kat,” I answer before gulping down the rest of my drink. As I push the glass back toward Cade for a refill, I add, “I honestly don’t think I’ve ever met anyone more distasteful in my life.”

“Cute name. Sounds like one of the royals,” he says with a chuckle as he pours me another glass of whiskey.

“A royal bitch maybe. She’s one of the contestants, and I swear to God, man, I’m going to enjoy beating the pants off her in this competition.”

Again, he looks surprised by what I’m saying. “What happened to the mellow guy who enjoys life? Where has everyone’s favorite hedonist gone to?”

I take a drink of whiskey and let it warm my mouth before swallowing. “I’m still here. I’ve just added a lust for revenge to my repertoire of emotions. Trust me. This woman has everything coming to her and more.”

Leaning toward me, he shakes his head. “I have to know who this woman is. I’ve never seen you like this.”

“You already met her. She was the one with the woman who had a thing for your father last week.”

He thinks about that for a few seconds before he gives me a broad smile. “She was pretty nice looking, if I remember correctly. So she’s the world’s biggest bitch, huh? Too bad. That’ll make hooking up with her friend difficult, I guess.”

In all of this, I hadn’t even thought of that. Damnit, Kat ruined that too. I can’t get together with Sadie now. She’s probably poisoned her against me after today. Just another reason to hate her.

I finish the rest of my second whiskey and slam the glass down onto the bar. “So much for that. The last thing I need is some angry friend getting in between me and a woman. No thanks. Talk about cock blocking. I swear there isn’t a good thing about her. No wonder the other contestants can’t stand hereither. Well, except for one of them, but I expect her to be gone in the first round since she can’t even master a simple vegetarian lasagna.”

“Well, what happened? You’ve got me imagining you two brawling it out over the crème brûlee. Did she make a soufflé of yours fall or something?” he asks with a hearty laugh.

Nice. Now my best friend is busting my ass. Exactly what I need after a day like I had.

“No, asshole. She claims I offend her because I’m charming,” I explain, getting irritated about all that happened today once again.

Cade seems confused by my statement, though. “Does she think you should be a classless piece of shit? What’s her problem with being charming? I like to think it’s gotten me places I would have never gone to in this world without it.”

“I have no idea. I guess charm offends her.”

My cousin waves his hand like he’s dismissing the entire idea of Kat and her being offended. “Fuck her. She’s probably just jealous. That’s it, I bet. Or maybe she’s just doing it for the audience. The people who watch reality shows eat that kind of shit up.”

“Maybe the thing about the audience could be it, but it’s not like the cameras were on. The show hasn’t even started taping. And jealous of what? I’m not some woman with bigger tits or nicer cheekbones. I’m a man. I’m not thinking this is a jealousy thing.”

“Jealous of what?” Cade says, his eyes wide like he’s stunned I’m not agreeing with him on this point. “You really are living in some kind of dreamworld, aren’t you, Alex? Everyone’s jealous of you. They always have been. You’re just so used to it that you don’t even see it anymore.”

What the fuck is he talking about? Everyone’s jealous of me? Since when?

“I have no idea what you mean. You aren’t jealous of me. My brother isn’t jealous of me. Well, maybe you guys are a little since I’m not tied down to one woman and you guys are all but married, but other than that, no. Why would anyone be jealous of me? I go to work, enjoy my life, and leave people the hell alone.”

He laughs at my defense. “You really don’t get it, do you? Not that I want to feed your ego and make your head big, but you live a pretty fucking great life. You went to school for what you love and then got a job right out of college, not entirely because you’re a great chef. I mean, nepotism isn’t a bad thing, as you can tell by my job here, but it’s not like you had to struggle to find a job and work your way up, dude. You get every woman you want. Hell, I can’t remember the last time a woman said no to you. You want for nothing and never have. Whatever you want just comes to you. It’s like you’re a goddamned magnet for everything great. Success, sex, money—you name it, it’s yours. Of course, people are going to be jealous of you.”

“You’re full of it, Cade. Everything you just said, except for going to school to be a chef, could be said about you.”

He levels his gaze full of judgment on me, clearly disagreeing with my argument. “Okay, tell me if this sounds like anyone. He’s the golden boy of his family. Always the favorite. Even the matriarch of the clan loves him best. He can do no wrong in the eyes of his parents. Christ, even his uncles and aunts think he walks on water. Everything goes his way, and no one’s surprised because it always has his whole life.”

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