Page 23 of Back Up Plan

CASS

Cass hadn’t stopped fantasizingabout Ari’s arms, her smile, her laugh on her entire commute home which ended up being nearly an hour.

When she got in, Gabby was somehow still up.

“Hey! How was it?” She asked, eager to hear the details.

Cass sighed as she set her bag down and took off her Doc’s, dropping a few inches as her feet hit the hardwood floor.

“Ugh, it was good,” Cass admitted.

Gabby scrunched her forehead, “And that’s a bad thing?”

Cass grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen and leaned against the doorway between the living room where Gabs sat on the couch and the kitchen.

She sighed as she replied, “I mean, I’m not supposed tolikeher. It’s a convenient arrangement.”

“Would it be so terrible if it was more than that?” Gabby asked.

“I don’t think I’m ready. I don’t trust myself…” Cass said as she looked down to the floor noticing a dent in the wood.

Gabby nodded as Cass trailed off.

“She asked about Hedone,” Cass said, looking up from the floor.

Gabby tilted her head and crinkled her eyebrow, “How did she find out about that?”

Cass shrugged and threw herself down onto the couch, “I wasn’t careful and I went in to say hi to some of the girls when we went to Antler.”

“Got it,” Gabby nodded and asked, “What did you say?”

“That it was a place of personal significance and maybe I’d tell her about it someday,” Cass said.

“That’s not terrible,” Gabby replied.

Cass shrugged, “Well, I may have said I’d take her if the pride thing went well.”

Gabby put her head in her hands, “Are you going to sabotage it?”

Cass considered it for a moment, on one hand she would have to deal with Elle’s party alone or some up with some lame excuse to not go. But, on the other, she wasn’t ready to let someone who was essentially a stranger into a part of her past she was hesitant to share with anybody.

She had been so judged for what she had done at Hedone’s that she wasn’t sure someone as stuffy as Ari could handle it.

Although, maybe it didn’t matter. If she judged her, they weren’t meant to be together anyway.

“No, I don’t think that’s worth it. Besides, she seems like she kind of needs to experience it. She’s really buttoned up and needs to loosen up. But she’s missing that… oomph to do it. Ya know?” Cass said.

Gabby nodded, “Well, if anyone can loosen her up, it’s you.”

“Thanks, Gabs,” Cass said as she sunk into the couch.

* * *

Cass had been anxious all week about her next date with Ari, and now it was just a day away. She knew they had a lot to learn about each other before they could convincingly sell their relationship to Ari’s whole company at the pride event the following week.

She’d have to get Ari to dish about her entire life in one night.

They had been texting which helped open up their dialogue a bit, Cass had made sure to flirt and joke about what their sex would be like. But, Ari would move on to another topic as quickly as possible.

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