Page 13

"It has been." She

reaches across the breakfast bar to touch my arm. "Don't rush into anything serious, Jess. I wish I had explored more when I was your age instead of wanting something too serious."

Her words shift through me. Maybe she's right. Maybe I had to stop wanting what I had with Nathan to go anywhere. Maybe I just needed to have fun.

"I'm having more fun now, at thirty-two, than I had when I was twenty," she says, her chin lifting.

"I'm glad." I like this slightly exposed and vulnerable side of Cassandra. Rebecca has only told me stories of what a bitch she can be at work.

"We should hang out sometime."

Her words catch me off guard. "We could," I offer weakly.

"Becky never told you we met at a club?"

I'm not sure if I'm more shocked by the admission or by the fact she called Rebecca by her much-hated nickname.

I stifle a chuckle by biting my lower lip. "She didn't."

"I'll get her to a plan a girl's night out for the three of us. It'll be a hoot."

***

"She actually used the word hoot?"

"Not only that, she called you Becky." I laugh as I pull a towel from the laundry basket and fold it.

"It's like you're talking about another Cassandra, not the one I work for."

"One in the same. Why didn't you tell me you met her at a club?" I reach for another towel, inwardly scowling at the fact that Rebecca is sitting right next to me and can't seem to reach over to help fold our laundry.

"It's not a great story." She gazes down at her hands. "I was so drunk. She helped me in the bathroom."

"How does that translate into a job for you?" I push the basket closer to her, hoping she'll take the hint. I don't want to spend the next thirty minutes folding clean clothes.

`"She was drunk too." She finally reaches for a washcloth. "I told her I needed a job and she told me she'd hire me."

"So bizarre." I laugh loudly. "You score your dream job while you're falling over drunk and I have to fight tooth and nail to get the privilege of cooking macaroni and cheese for two spoiled four-year-olds."

"Such is life in the big city." She flashes me a grin. "So when are we going to go out and paint the town red? Tomorrow night works for me."

"I can't." I don't offer anything more.

"It's Friday night. Do you have a date?" She leans in closer, resting her chin on the edge of the basket.

"Not a date." I shake my head hoping she's not going to press for more.

"A fuck? Are you seeing him tomorrow?"

I nod silently. "This is going to be the last time."

"Where have I heard that before?" She giggles as she throws the washcloth in my face.

Chapter 11

"There's no way you've ever had a boyfriend." Nathan's breath rushes across my skin.

"That sounds like an insult." I wrap my fingers through his hair wanting him to claim my wetness with his mouth. He's already helped me orgasm just by touching me tonight, now I want to feel his lips slide over me.