by Karen Renee
Gabe would only be willing to kiss me or pursue me physically if he was intoxicated, that seemed clear. That was humiliating as hell. My choices were to get over my humiliation and keep our friendship, which was like nothing else I had ever known, or I could throw it all away because of my humiliation. While I told myself that rationally, it didn’t mean I was on board with it.
AROUND FOUR IN THE afternoon, I arrived back at my apartment. To my surprise, Kaylee stood at the breakfast bar when I came in.
“Oh, fantastic! I don’t have to leave you a note.”
“A note? About what?”
She arched an eyebrow. “I don’t know what the hell went down between you and Gabe, but he was fit to be tied when you weren’t here. He really wanted to know where to find you, but I kept quiet about it. It also didn’t hurt that Dad and Uncle Mike were here. He didn’t want to discuss it with them around.”
I nodded and her eyes widened.
“Seriously? You’re not gonna tell me anything else?”
I sighed. “There’s nothing to tell. He tied one on, and he conked out on the sofa.”
Her eyes narrowed. “But you couldn’t bear to see him in the morning?”
I kept my mouth shut. After a moment, I asked, “So, are you done? This the last time you’ll be here? You’re always welcome to come back, but...”
She smiled. “Yeah. I’ve got everything. My key is on the counter.”
“Well, hang on. I have something for you.”
I hustled to my room and back out with my checkbook and pen in hand.
“What are you doing, Cass?”
I filled out the amount and scribbled my signature on the bottom.
“Here,” I said, ripping the check off. “This is your security deposit back plus a little extra.”
“I never paid you a security deposit.”
“Well, you should have seeing as you essentially were security a couple weeks ago.”
“Cassie, this is too much. God. It’s like nearly a year’s rent. You need this.”
I really didn’t, but I didn’t want to tell her why.
“Kaylee, I’m not taking it back from you. Call it an early graduation gift. Call it whatever you want, but that’s your money, so take it.”
A devious look crossed her face. “I could tear it up.”
“I could just give you cash, if you’re going to argue.”
“You have this kind of cash on hand?”
My lips twisted. “Not quite, but close-ish.”
She laughed. “I know that you pinch pennies, but really? No way you stuff money in your mattress.”
I scoffed. “Of course not! That isn’t the least bit secure.”
She laughed. “Fine, since you insist. This is very generous of you, Cassie.”
After she left, I put on my swimsuit and went down to the pool. I knew I wouldn’t run into Gabe there, since he avoided it. With almost ten laps done, I realized how out of shape I had become. I forced myself to get to the fifteen-lap mark, and dragged myself to a chaise lounge. As I toweled off, I saw DeShawn had texted me.
You all right?
My eyebrow cocked. There was no reason for him to ask me that... unless, Gabe had mentioned something to him.
I texted back: Yes, why do you ask?
He sent me back a shrugging emoji and I shook my head. Every instinct told me to let it go, but I couldn’t stop myself from texting him again.
I don’t believe you, but thanks for thinking of me. You being so sweet will remain our little secret!
His response was nearly immediate.
Not sweet, Cass. Glad U R OK.
I left it at that, and stood up to wrap my towel around me before heading back to the apartment.
9
Merciless Little Deaths
Gabe
I FELT LIKE SHIT. A jumble of so many shitty emotions. Especially guilt. To some extent, regret.
Except I didn’t regret kissing Cassie; I regretted her reaction to it. I needed to talk to her, and I could only hope she would hear me out.
After spending time with her at the shelter last week, I knew Tuesdays were lighter days for her. I didn’t know if she was still at the shelter, so I called the main line.
Nona answered with her southern twang, making me smile.
“Hi, Nona. It’s Gabe Sullivan, but don’t say anything. I was curious if Cassandra Daughtry was still there. Or not?”
“Oh, no, Gabe. She left an hour ago, but she didn’t seem quite herself. Didn’t even head back to spend time with the cats.”
I sighed quietly. “All right, Nona. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll see you later this week.”
“I better. We love our volunteers, but you gotta hold up your end of the bargain, Gabe.”
I grinned. “Don’t worry. I’ll see you soon.”
When I stood up, I looked down at what I was wearing. My head jerked up as I wondered what the hell I was doing. I never cared what I wore around Cassie before, why the hell would it matter now? Either she would forgive my fuck-up or she wouldn’t. Wearing special clothes wouldn’t change that one iota.
I toed on some flip-flops and left my room.
Brock, sitting on the couch in the living room, caught sight of me and his brows furrowed. “You aren’t headed to the pool or some shit, are you?”
I glared at him. “No. I’m headed to Daughtry’s place, but I’m not even sure if she’s home, so you could say I’m just headed out for a walk.”
“Good luck. I have a feeling you’re gonna need it,” he muttered.
The puffy clouds in the sky had grown and turned an ominous shade of slate. I heard distant rumbles of thunder, but my instincts said it would be another hour before the clouds above let loose. Even though the clouds obscured the sun, the heat persisted, just as stifling as ever in late July.
At quarter to five in the afternoon, not many people were home yet, which meant I didn’t run into anyone on my walk over to Cassandra’s building.
As I approached her door, I checked the doorway of the unit across from hers. The Ring cameras were both gone, which relieved me.
I knocked, and Cassandra opened the door a few moments afterward.
“Gabe,” she said, in a strange voice.
“Cassie. Can I come in? Just for a little bit. I’m sure you’re busy with the end of the summer semester.”
Her lips shifted as though to purse, but she caught them and her expression turned neutral. She opened the door wider, so I went inside.
I stood next to the breakfast bar while she locked the door.
She walked toward her couch, but stopped and turned to me. “What’s up, Gabe? And I hope you will make this quick. You were right about the end of the term. I’d invite you to sit down, but I’m working on a project.”
I glanced at her couch; papers and books were scattered everywhere. She had her laptop perched on the arm of the couch in a precarious position.
I shoved my hands in my pockets. “I’m sorry, Cassie. I shouldn’t have come over here the other night. And I never meant for you to feel so uncomfortable that you couldn’t sleep in your own bed here.”
She nodded with her lips pressed together, but her expression told me nothing. I didn’t trust her nodding, and my hands suddenly went clammy.
“Well. I’m sorry, too, Gabe. But it’s good you were able to stop. Things would’ve been different.”
I frowned. “I don’t regret it,” I blurted. That didn’t sound good, and I pushed forward. “I wish I hadn’t been drunk.”
“What? You don’t... No. See, you may have told me you were done with the meaningless hook-ups, but drunk or not – we can’t do that again.”
I pulled my hands out of my pockets and put them on my hips. “Nothing with you would be meaningless.”
Her face turned stony. She looked to the carpet at her bare feet. “Exactly why it can’t happen, Gabe.” She looked up at me. “It would be wrong.”
Would it, though? I wondered.
“It didn’t feel wrong two weeks ago when I almost kissed you to the Stones.”
She looked away, giving me her profile. Her nose had to be the most elegant one I had seen. Or, more likely, the only one I had ever noticed. Her beauty defined the terms ‘understated,’ and ‘classic.’
The silence between us became harder to handle.
“Sorry, Cassandra. I didn’t say that to make this more awkward. It’s just, I don’t want you to think I only kissed you because I was drinking. I’ve wanted to do it for a while. So, it wasn’t the whiskey and rum talking for me or making me act that way. Does that make sense?”
Her eyes flashed with surprise, but she shuttered it just as quickly. “Yeah, I get what you’re saying, Gabe. I’m not holding it against you. I just don’t think we should go there.”
If I had learned anything from my Dad and two older brothers, it was to give in to a woman’s desires.
“You’re right. It won’t happen again.” I held up two fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
She semi-frowned. “You were never a Boy Scout, G-Rock.”
I grinned. “Damn it! You know all my secrets, Cass. Can’t pull anything over on you. We cool?”
She gave me a small smile. “Yeah. But seriously, I have to get back to it.”
Cassie
GABE KILLED ME, BUT not because he drunk-kissed me.
Even at twenty-seven, he had a boyish way about him. His beard muted that boyishness to an extent, but it was still there.
We were adults, but his words reminded me of high school. Besides cliques and teen angst, the thing I most loved leaving behind in high school was the talk about kissing. Or not kissing.
‘I’ve wanted to do it for a while.’ When he said those words – sounding just like a high school boy, not a man – my tongue wouldn’t move, even though my brain screamed, “Lies!” Yet, him sounding so young and almost boyish endeared him to me further.
I could not be trusted around Gabe Sullivan. That was abundantly clear.
Yes, he killed me. A thousand merciless little deaths. Merciless because of the resuscitation. I came back for more every time.
But we could not go there. Which meant I would no longer be back for more.
Definitely time to move on.
I threw myself into finishing my end of term project because I reported for orientation to my bookkeeping job tomorrow.
My time would be limited moving forward, and I hated that I didn’t know when I would get back to the shelter again. However, I would figure something out since I couldn’t go a week without seeing Nona and the animals. Gathering my papers together, I reviewed my presentation one last time and put a couple finishing touches on it before going to bed.
“MISS DAUGHTRY,” RYAN Pruitt greeted me from across the hall.
As he came closer, my instincts told me he was too slick. I knew those feelings had been influenced by my father’s distrust of him, but everything about this man seemed overly put-together. The florescent lights were on, and his light-brown hair looked stiff and brittle, as though he used too much gel. His black dress shirt had two buttons open at the top, but the twinkling diamond cuff-links at his wrists were a bit much for a Friday afternoon with nobody in the club.
It floored me when I found out the business my father was silently invested in was a dance club. He’d diversified over the many years of my childhood and now adulthood, mostly moving into commercial real estate. I didn’t know the details of his investment with Ryan, but knowing Dad was suspicious of him strengthened my impression Ryan would hide it well.
I held my hand out, and Ryan shook it.
“You’re prompt. An excellent sign. Unfortunately, you’re the only employee for today’s orientation.”
I smiled. “I’m not surprised. I mean, you didn’t have any other open positions, right?”
He smiled back, but it didn’t reflect in his eyes or sound in his voice. “Right. Anyway, let’s get started. The most important policy we have is no fraternization. This is to protect employees as much as our patrons. Other than that, I think everything else is common sense and self-explanatory.”
I followed him to a small office tucked in the back of the cavernous building. He left me with a two-inch binder containing the employee handbook, and Rhonda, the woman who had been balancing the books.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi, yourself. I shouldn’t share this with you, but since my last day is coming up, I don’t care. Ryan didn’t want to bring you on board, but he knew your father would step in if he didn’t.”
I was afraid of that and had said as much to Dad right after I sent my resume. He assured me it wouldn’t be an issue.
“Well, I’m not looking for special treatment,” I muttered.
She shot me a saucy grin. “Wouldn’t get it from me even if you did. No matter who the hell you are.”
I chuckled at her frank tone. “Good. So, do you use Quickbooks or some other software?”
“College girl knows about Quickbooks, huh?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I volunteer at an animal shelter and help with their books. So, I know my way around the software.”
She nodded, and her gaze shifted from assessing to approving. “Well, we use something else. It’s designed to help with the alcohol sales, but at the end of the day it’s not too far off from what you’ve seen in Quickbooks.”
I dragged a chair next to her and spent the next two hours learning the software. I knew I wouldn’t be able to determine if Dad’s suspicions were solid or not on the first day, but a thrill stole over me. I had no desire to be a PI, but I wanted to get to the bottom of this.
10
Personal Bubble
Cassie
TWO WEEKS LATER, I found myself working without the help of Rhonda. Even though I thought I knew the software pretty well, I ran into problems left and right. My goal had been to get out of the building at seven, but before I knew it, the time in the corner of my computer screen read quarter to nine. The club opened at nine, but the hipsters and ‘real’ customers didn’t show up until closer to ten.
With a sigh, I realized I had another hour of work to go.
“That won’t be so bad. I’ll get out of here before the crowd,” I muttered to myself.
“Miss Daughtry, are you still here?” Ryan asked from the doorway.
“Yes, sir,” I called.
I stood from my desk and turned to him. “I should be out of here in another hour, maybe less.”
A glint hit his eye and his lips tipped up, but then he schooled his features. “All right. If you have any questions, you can reach out for help.”
I shot him a feeble smile. “That’s all right, sir. Just some computer updates and stuff slowed me down earlier.”
He slowly tipped his chin up to nod, but I sensed his skepticism.
Once he left, I sat down and went back to work. I tried to keep an open mind, but my every instinct said something wasn’t right about Ryan.
Nearly an hour later, I finally saved my work and powered down my PC. I had been guzzling water like a woman in the desert, and my bladder demanded I visit the restroom.
During the day, using the club bathroom wasn’t a big deal. No different from any other office environment, except now that the club was open to patrons, I worried I’d have to wait in a line.
Luckily, I walked in just as another woman walked out, smacking her lips, which appeared to be fresh with lipstick.
I scurried into a stall and took care of business. As I washed my hands, four women came in chattering with one another.
“I can’t believe y’all talked me into coming here. We don’t even know who the DJ is tonight. If this doesn’t work out, one of you owes me my cover charge!”
Hearing their conversation reminded me why I so seldom went to clubs. My infrequent club-hopping always showed in times like these. The glossing of lips in the bathroom and gossiping among girlfriends. I was no good at it, and I never understood w
hy the DJ at a club made any difference.
Well, unless that DJ was Gabe.
I had been to GILT twice when he was the DJ, and as I expected, his musical prowess shined through in every track he played and how he blended one into the next. Anyone else though? I wasn’t so sure I would care who was at the turn tables.
I smirked to myself as I opened the restroom door.
One step into the corridor, and I froze. Ryan’s office door faced the women’s restroom, something which set all my red flags to flying, but Gabe stood in front of the closed door. When he realized who I was, he glowered at me.
“The fuck are you doin’ here?” he hissed.
I glared at him but turned and walked down the hall.
Except, Gabe stopped me after two steps when he grabbed my bicep and guided me toward the wall. He positioned me with my back against the wall, and he stepped into my space.
“I asked you a question, Cassandra,” he gritted out. Then his eyes traversed my body. “And dressed like you just came from the office. Really?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Ryan’s slick voice got there first.
“Miss Daughtry. I thought you were done for the day, and surely you recall the no fraternization policy?”
I shot daggers at Gabe with my eyes, but softened my look when I turned to Ryan.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Pruitt. Mr. Sullivan is a neighbor. We’re not fraternizing.”
If I hadn’t been paying attention, I would’ve missed Gabe’s disagreeing growl.
After three quick strides, Ryan stood a foot away from us. “The body language between you both says something entirely different, Miss Daughtry. Neighbors don’t stand inside your personal bubble, as it were.”
Gabe immediately stepped back, and I straightened my spine. “You’re right, but it can be hard to hear people when the music is blaring.”
