“So, I’m supposed to what, throw seven years of working my ass off in school into the garbage to let people beat the shit out of me?”
“If you’re not happy, then yes,” Cass tells me.
“It’s not that simple.”
“Sure, it is. You just have to be willing to take the chance.”
“I can’t,” I reply.
“Can’t or won’t?”
“You’re a pain in the ass,” I say when I jerk the pillow out of her hands to whap her on the top of her head with it. “This week was supposed to be about relaxing and catching up, not making me second-guess every decision I’ve made for myself.”
“Sorry,” she says as she reaches up to run her fingers through her hair to smooth it out and redo her ponytail after I ruffled in. “But I care about you and want you to be happy. You deserve to be happy, even if that means hanging up the stiff suits for a while and breaking out the tight undies again.”
That gets a grin out of me.
“It doesn’t have to be forever. You could go back to practicing law after you give fighting a shot,” Cass suggests.
“Everyone would think I’ve lost my mind if I quit my job to start training for one of the bloodiest sports in the world.”
“Who cares what everyone thinks?” she asks. “Everyone, especially my parents, thought I was insane when I told them I wanted to start my own business at eighteen. I did it anyway because it was what I wanted. It wasn’t to make anyone else happy. And now I’m successful enough to buy a house with no mortgage and even open up a second location if I want.”
“Really? That’s awesome, Cass. I’m so damn proud of you,” I tell her.
“Thanks,” she says with a shy smile. “It’s nice to know I did one thing right. Now, if I could just figure out dating.”
“Dating?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she replies. “Finding a husband and popping out a few kids by the time I’m in my thirties. Why do you think I bought a house with four bedrooms?”
“Oh,” I mutter since I didn’t even consider that. “Are you dating many guys?”
“A few,” she says. “None serious, just playing the field.”
“How many is a few?” I ask.
“Just two.”
“Just two?” I exclaim. “Why haven’t you told me you were dating two men before now?”
“Because I’m pretty bad at it. You should see me when they show up to pick me up and take me out. It’s like being sixteen all over again with the awkwardness. I either talk too much or not enough or drip tomato sauce all over my blouse. It’s all pretty pathetic.”
“I bet your dates don’t even notice,” I say.
“Maybe not because they both ask to come inside when they drop me off.”
“Come inside?” I repeat, wondering if she means that in the literal sense.
“Yeah, but it’s just sex. They know about each other, and I’m sure they’re dating other women too.”
“So you’re sleeping with two men?” I ask in disbelief. In my mind, I think I knew Cass probably wasn’t a virgin, even though she never talked to me about guys she was seeing, but I liked to pretend she was innocent, for some reason.
“I’m not sleeping with them at the same time,” she answers with a grin.
“Jesus Christ, Cass,” I mutter once she puts that image in my head.
“What?” she huffs. “I bet you’ve slept with more than two women in the past week!”
“Are you calling me a whore?” I ask with mock indignation.
“Yes, Xavier. You are a manwhore, and everyone in town knows it!”
“Only after Camilla and I ended things,” I remark.
“And before you met her,” Cass adds.
“Right.”
“Anyway, it’s getting late,” she says when she gets to her feet and stretches her arms over her head, causing her tiny t-shirt to reveal her flat midriff. “You ready for bed?” she asks.
I start to say yes, but then realize she’s not inviting me to hers where she’s been sleeping with not one but two guys. My mind is blown. Good little girl Cass is all grown up. I should be happy for her, but I’m not.
“Ah, I’m not tired yet. Still on Seattle time,” I respond. “Mind if I stay up and watch television a little longer?”
“Help yourself,” she says as she walks over to the stairs.
She’s halfway up when I blurt out the question racking my brain. “Hey, Bambi?”
“Yeah?” she asks, pausing with her hand on the stair rail.
“Are those guys…will they be coming over this week?”
“Maybe,” she says with a shrug of her shoulders. “But don’t worry. It will only be at night if so, not during the day when we have plans.”
“Wow,” I mutter since having them over at night is so much worse.
“And Mike is taking me to the reunion.”
“Oh?” I ask. “I thought we were, you know, going together.”
“That would have been easier,” Cass agrees. “But you didn’t decide you were coming until about two weeks ago, and I had already asked Mike.”
“How long have you and him been…”
“Seeing each other?” she offers, which sounds nicer than fucking.
“Yeah.”
“I’ve been seeing Mike for a month or two I guess, and Eddie for a few weeks.”
“Mike on his own wasn’t enough?” I ask.
“He didn’t seem interested in a commitment, and Eddie asked me out, so…”
“So you’re doing them both. Gotcha.”
“Don’t get all big brother judgy with me,” Cass warns through narrowed eyes. “Especially when you’re the biggest player I’ve ever met!”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” I tell her honestly. Well, partially honest. The truth is, I’m…jealous.
“I won’t,” she says. “I’m a big girl, and I’m not letting my heart get involved.”
“Good. That’s good,” I reply.
“Night, Xavier.”
“Goodnight,” I say as she disappears, unknowingly leaving me sitting in her living room with a stiff cock trying to punch its way out of my pants leg.
I try to tell myself it’s nothing but my competitive spirit. My cock loves a challenge and conquering unchartered waters.
If Cass is screwing around with two guys, then she’s clearly not
