Page 29 of Mayhem
"Then why did you eat it?"
"Becauseyougave it to me, baby," he responded.
"Finally," Chayse and Alijah stated together after looking between the three of them, and they turned their attention to the other women.
"It took you long enough," Alijah continued.
"Right,"Chayse added."I was sure I would have to start meddling if this dragged past the middle of this year."
"Wait,"Erin stated before trailing off, and Cruz assumed she didn't know what to say.
"Come on, End. It isn't as if they were being subtle about it," Alijah told her.
"Which I pointed out to you when we discussed it,"Chayse added.
Cruz found himself chuckling as Erin took another bite of cake, whichhe assumed was to avoid having to respond. He hadn't been under the impression that the other women didn't know that he and Paetyn were attracted to Erin to some extent. As Alijah and Chayse stated, apparently to Erin at some point, they hadn't been subtle about it.
Cruz wanted to be more aggressive about it, but they didn't want to risk scaring her off. Erin wasn't the kind to scare easily, but specific things about a person could change when presented with something they'd never considered before.
Deciding to change the subject, even though he knew they'd talk about it alone at some point later, Cruz turned his attention to Chayse. "One of your co-workers attempted to ask mesomething before saying she'd just get you to do it."He watched as she thought momentarily before smiling and laughing a little.
"Yeah, I'm supposed to talk to all of you. Gale thought featuring affluent fathers and their children for June's edition would be good. We did mothers for May."
"That's great, but we don't have kids,"Kieran responded.
"Though I'm willing to practice every day if needed between now and then," Nik said, and Chayse shook her head at him while playfully rolling her eyes.
"Right. So, anyway, Diamond pitched that if we did that, we should also feature daddies who aren't daddies," Chayse told them.
"Oh,"Erin stated, a smirk falling onto her lips. "I like that. Though it does speak to Diamond's kink."
"She's not the only one,"Kieran responded, and Alijah elbowed him.
"Aw, And. Embrace your kinks. They're fun," Erin teased, and Cruz glanced at Paetyn, sure to remember this conversation for when he needed to recall it.
When Erin finished her cake, she told them she'd be back before walking off. She'd only been gone a few seconds before Alijah and Chayse stood before them.
"Do we need to give you the "hurt her, and we'll castrate you" speech?" Alijah asked. "I don't think you'll need it because it's a given, but we'll go through it if necessary.
Cruz blinked down at them, trying to control his amusement. It wasn't every day that he was threatened by women a foot shorter than him.
"Did the two of you threaten each other's significant others this way?"Cruz questioned in lieu of laughing.
"Alijah threatened me the very next time I saw her after Chayse and I started dating, and Erin threatened me at the yacht party."
"Chayse and Erin threatened me after I proposed,"Kieran informed them. "Together, and castration is tame compared to what I was told."
Cruz listened to Paetyn chuckle before responding. "No, we don't need the speech, but you have permission to do so if we do."
"Consent to torment. I like it," Chayse responded with a wiggle of her eyebrows and a smile.
"Who'stormenting someone?"Erin asked when she returned with adrink in hand. "I want to help."
"You just might get to,"Alijah responded.
"But I wouldn't hold my breath,"Chayse added.
A few minutes later, Nik and Chayse went to mingle and check on some of the other guests, and Kieran pulled Alijah outside to the balcony. Erin turned her attention to them.
