Page 62 of Back Up Plan

“I had no idea there were really people who didn’t believe unions were a good idea,” Ari said as she shook her head, “Who are these people?”

Cass exhaled, Ari’s presence bringing her back to earth, “Weirdos.”

Ari smiled and put her arm back around Cass.

“Are you okay?” Ari asked, lowering her voice.

Cass nodded, “Just calculating how much longer I have to stay here.”

Ari looked at her, “What happened?”

Cass leaned into her ear and whispered, “I’m pretty sure Elle cheated on me with Leila… and that she cheated on Leila with me.”

Ari’s forehead scrunched up, as she gritted her teeth and growled: “Are you serious?”

Cass nodded, unsure where Ari’s frustration was coming from.

“I’ll fucking… I’ll fucking kick her ass,” Ari said, scanning the room for Elle.

Cass stepped in front of her, meeting her eyes, “Listen, I don’t want a scene. Honestly. I kind of want to cash in that rain check for pizza and a movie, though.”

Ari took a deep breath, she wouldn’t do anything that would embarrass Cass.

“I’ll grab our stuff from the room,” Ari said, gently squeezing Cass’s arms as she turned to leave.

As she walked, Cass watched Elle spot Ari and begin to move toward the coat room. Before she could intervene, an old friend stopped to chat with her. From the corner of her eye, she watched Elle prowl toward an unsuspecting Ari.

17

ARI

She could hardly believeElle’s behavior. She had not only played Cass for a fool but was still treating women the same.

Ari couldn’t lie, she had hoped Cass was the last woman Elle would hurt like that. But, she couldn’t say she was surprised, given how often she’d been in contact with Cass since they broke up.

She was making her way to the coat room — which was really just Elle’s bedroom — hugging the wall to avoid displacing too many people. The party was just beginning to kick off, the initial cordial greetings and congratulations shifting into taking shots and dancing.

Ari was never one for a party, and the thought of a warm pizza and Cass’s laughter was more than enough for Ari to be ready to leave.

She walked into the room, the only space with an overhead light on, and began digging through the pile of jackets and bags. Once she had found them, she was surprised by how many items had piled on top of theirs despite having arrived so late.

As she stood up and turned around, a familiar voice came from behind her.

“Leaving so soon?” Elle asked, leaning against the doorway.

Ari felt her body clench,what could she possibly want from me?

“Yeah, we’ve got another party to stop into,” Ari said, stepping toward the door.

Elle stepped forward and looked around, “I’m surprised you could manage to drag Cass to a party.”

Ari laughed, “Well, some peopledochange.”

Elle made another step closer, trying to intimidate Ari, “Do they?”

Ari looked out of the bedroom door, making sure no one was coming in, before stepping closer to Elle. Standing in front of her now, just a foot away, Ari could see how short Elle was. She looked down at her and sized her up.

“I know what game you’re playing,” Ari said.

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