That wasit.That was the thing on his mind. The thing that’d been on his mind since the accident. He wasn’t drinking, wasn’t doing drugs. It was just an accident on a slick winter road. Stassi was a woman of her word. She meant what she said. She’d finally said the words he so desperately needed to hear, and he believed her. But it wasn’t enough.
“Wish I could say the same,” he said softly, the pangs of guilt riding the wave of the words coming out of his mouth.
She gripped his shoulder tighter. “Things are different without him here and I know I haven’t been the best friend or the best girlfriend to you.”
“Like you said, we grieve in our own ways.”
As they continued to dance, the faces in the crowd pulled to and from focus. But when his eyes met Nico’s, standing over at the bar with a beer in hand, he looked a little too long.
Stassi’s hand gently caressed the side of his cheek, guiding his gaze back to her. “How long has it been?”
He thought about lying, because again… the betrayal. Not of Stassi, but rather a ghost. Instead, he told the truth. “A few weeks.”
The last time was in the plane bathroom with Nico.
Something that shouldn’t have happened.
Something that shouldn’t happen again, and yet it’s all he could think about.
“Who?” Stassi’s eyes searched his, as if she was trying to pull the answer from his very soul. “It’s someone in this room, isn’t it?”
“You know that’s not how this works.”
She nodded before a confession of her own, “I met a guy in LA.”
“Oh?” Cooper couldn’t hide his curiosity. “What’s his name?’
“Not how this works.”
“Touche,” he said with a chuckle.
“He’s gorgeous,” she continued. “He’s funny, and smart. Everything a normal girl dreams of.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because he’s not you. He’s notthis.”She pushed her body against his and the two melted into each other. It had always been a perfect fit, a perfect match.“You once said this thing between us was a cage, and you asked how long I could live in it with you.” She stared into his eyes. “I didn’t have an answer then, but you’re my best friend in this world. I can live in this cage forever with you.”
His eyes chased Nico on the opposite side of the room. He couldn’t look at her, not like this. “You shouldn’t have to.”
“I’m Stassi fucking Davies. Have you ever known me to do something I didn’t want to do? I’m a spoiled, rich girl. I always get what I want, and this is exactly what I want.” She pulled him by the back of his head, down tomeet her where she stood, and kissed him softly. “So, drop it.”
“Consider it dropped.”
And they continued to dance in silence, the world around them none the wiser.
It’d stay that way forever, because it had to.
“Good to see you,” Nico said to Natalie, his younger sister and guest for the evening. She was dressed in a rented black gown he had acquired for her, the sheer arms lined with glistening stones. “I was beginning to think you ran away.”
“Trust me, I considered it.” She reached for two shots of tequila and pushed one to Nico. “Unfortunately, I was accosted by some daddy-type guy out on the terrace.”
“I hope you were well compensated for your time,” Nico laughed.
“Oh, he promised me the world,” she swooned as she raised her glass. “All I have to do is suck his dick once or twice a week. That was the implication.”
“When do you start?” Nico laughed, for which he earned a punch against his chest. “Cheers to horny old men.”
The two glasses clinked together, a dollop of tequila splashing against the wooden bar. In unison, they swallowed the shots whole. Nico immediately bit into a slice of lime while Natalie tossed hers into the empty glass.
