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"I thought you were researching addiction."
"Oh. Right." She swallows a long sip of coffee. "No. I, uh, decided on sex. At the last minute. But I haven't told anyone."
"Congratulations."
"Thanks."
"Is that what you're doing this weekend? Research?"
"Absolutely not. Anything except research. No. This weekend, I'm only looking to satisfy Daphne Webb, human being."
That sounds way too good. "Do you need help?" Fuck. Why did I say that?
I try to pull the words back, but it's too late. They fall through the space. They expand to fill the air.
I'm offering to help her satisfy herself.
She looks at me with surprise. Curiosity. Delight. She opens her mouth to say something, but her purse cuts her off. No, her phone. The vibration makes her entire pink purse buzz.
"As a wingman," I say.
"Perfect." She smiles as if I'm offering something entirely normal, and she answers her phone. "Hey. Where are you?" She laughs at Cassie's reply. "No. We can stop there on the way. Of course. Hurry up. I think your brother is scared of me."
No. I'm scared of being alone with her.
But it's the same thing, really.
Four days. And I'm her wingman.
Fuck me.
Chapter Four
Daphne
Cassie and Damon arrive the way they typically do: ten minutes late, with their hair and clothes mussed just so. An intentional attempt to look casual or a sign they spent the morning getting busy?
I don't know, and I don't want to ask. I may be more open-minded than most, but I'm not so enlightened I wish to hear details of my brother's sex life.
I push the thought from my mind as I greet Cassie at the front door. She throws her arms around me and squeezes tightly. "It's been too long."
"Days." I nod in agreement. Once upon a time, the two of us did everything together. We haven't grown apart as much as we've grown up. She's busy with her job as a songwriter. I'm glued to my textbooks.
"This feels like a last hurrah," she whispers as she releases me. "No. That's way too focused on me. I'm so happy for you, Daph. I'm just going to miss you."
"I'll miss you too." I force my lips into a smile. It's all the truth. I'll miss her. I'll miss her to pieces. But it won't be simply because I'm too busy to hang out as often. It will be because I'm three thousand miles away.
I need to tell her, I know.
After this weekend.
"Of course, it's a last hurrah." My brother Damon steps into the house and pushes his sunglasses from his nose. With that trademarked Webb charm, he says, "It's a bachelor party."
"Is that how you see marriage?" Cassie asks.
He shoots her anI know better than thatlook. "Since when do you care about marriage?"
Usually, I let them banter, but today, I want to play the game with them. "Oh. Are you writing an album about marriage?"
