Stassi groaned as she leaned her head back against the chair and did a full spin in the seat.
She felt her anxiety dissipating. “This is the first time I’ve felt like I can breathe all day.”
“Sum’n on your chest? You good?”
It wasn’t often that somebody asked her what was going on in her life. Everyone, for as long as she could remember, always focused on Charlie. Charlie was the sister who needed things, who needed time, attention, who required meetings with teachers and parents. Charlie was the runaway teen; she was the one who did drugs and drank alcohol before her time. She was the one people paid attention to because she was the one who needed extra guidance. Stassi was the straight-A cheerleader. The popular girl with friends who voted her homecoming queen and had colleges clamoring to accept her. Nobody asked about what was bothering her. Nobody ever even thought to check on her from time to time. She was the strong sister. Even before her mother married Charlie’s father, she was the strong child. Her mother was the one who needed nurturing. Man after man had come through their door and walked all over her mother’s heart, leaving Stassi with tears to wipe when they were gone. Stassi was used to taking care of others and hiding her own torment. It was just her role. Day was the first person in a long time to even inquire. It was a shallow ask; she was sure, but at least he had asked, even if only out of courtesy.
“I got fired today. Demi’s ex-wife fired me because my sister stole her husband, and now, I have to walk in their home and pretend to be happy for them.”
“Or just keep the shit real and don’t walk in their home. It’s easy to be real, baby,” Day said.
That ‘baby’ slid off his lips like butter off pancakes, and she knew it was just a natural finesse he had. He wasn’t even trying to flirt or seduce; he was just the type of man that was designed to make women feel seen. His thick brows were messy, and she had an urge to smooth them out. She reached over and ran her thumbs across them.
He leaned back, caught off guard as he stared at her, stunned.
“Sorry, I just have a thing. It would drive me crazy to sit here and look at those brows going in every direction,” she said. Her half-smile was full of light.
He scoffed.
“What you gon’ do? About your predicament? You ain’t really a hustler if you can’t fall off without bouncing back,” he said.
“I really don’t know what to do,” Stassi said. “Rebuilding my client list from the ground up feels impossible.”
She hit the weed once more and then fanned the smoke she blew out before passing it off. Her phone rang, and when she noticed it was Charlie, she flashed her screen to Day.
“She’s probably looking for me. We better get back.”
“We could do that,” Day said, nodding as if he were thinking of some master plan in his head. “Or we could just be real and say fuck it.”
Stassi smirked and then looked down at her phone once more.
The bubbles dancing on her screen made her chest tighten.
Charlie
Your car is here. Where are you?
She had never wanted to skip out on a dinner party so badly in her life.
“I can’t,” Stassi answered.
Day spun the chair to the soundboard and turned on the music. “You better get to it then.”
Stassi reluctantly stood and headed back to the house. She glanced back before she descended the stairs, and he sat nodding his head to the beat of a song she had never heard. She had a feeling he would be creating his own vibe instead of joining the rest of the guests, and she wished she had the guts to do the same.
The number of cars that had arrived let her know it was a full house. Chatter filled the night air as she caught up with a group that was walking in the front door. Charlie stood, holding it open, her bright smile greeting everyone as she held a champagne flute with cotton candy sitting on top in one manicured hand.
“Where have you been?!” Charlie asked excitedly. “I been looking everywhere for you!”
“Sorry, um, but this house!” Stassi was still floored at the luxury of it all. “It’s beautiful! Show me around!”
Charlie grabbed her hand and took her from room to room. From the 20-foot ceilings to the marble floors, it was truly a dream.
“Charlie, this is a lot of house! It’s like something out of a magazine! It’s so…”
“Clean, I know,” Charlie snickered. “It drives me a little crazy. Everything is so shiny and in order, but Demi’s happy so…”
“Are you?” Stassi asked.
