Cassie pushed the intrusive thoughts out of her head. “Yes, sorry. Why do you want to see her again? You met her once, and I’m not sharing, if that’s what you had in mind.”
“Pah.” Rachel snorted. “You know I like my lovers curvy and pretty, and while Taryn does look great in a wig, you said her body was all hard and flat, and that’s not for me. No, I just thought it might be nice for us all to go out and get to know each other properly.”
Cassie raised her eyebrows. “I’m still not getting it. Why do you need to get to know her?”
Rachel groaned loudly. “For a doctor, you can be incredibly dense sometimes. I’m your best friend, and Taryn is your new girlfriend. I need to make sure that she’s worthy of you.”
“Not my girlfriend on two counts. One being we’re just fucking and the second being she’s a grown woman, not a girl.” Cassie patted a tissue to her lips and pouted at herself in the mirror. Yep, that would be sure to get Taryn hot and horny. “So there’s no need to see if she’s ‘worthy’ of me. She’s fantastic in bed, and I’m going back for as much as I can get while she’s in town. It’s that simple.” And Cassie also wanted to get on the other side of an orgasm. She wanted to draw the pleasure out of Taryn and witness what she looked like on the receiving end in the throes of passion. A pillow queen Cassie was not.
“Oh,” Rachel said.
“What do you mean by ‘oh’ in that surprised tone of voice?”
“Nothing, it seems. Except we’ve had plenty of candid conversations about your conquests, and I’ve never seen you light up quite like you did when you were telling me about Taryn.”
Cassie shook her head. “You’dlight up if you had more orgasms in six hours than you’d had in six months too.” She couldn’t ignore that their conversation had been intensely stimulating too, but it had all been a lead-up to the sex, nothing more.
“Mm, okay.”
Cassie’s phone vibrated to indicate another call. She murmured her disappointment when she saw it was her mom and not Taryn to say she was early and was outside waiting.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Cassie pushed her phone along the countertop, deciding whether to answer it. “It’s my mom calling.”
“Let it go to voicemail.”
Cassie smiled at the vehemence of Rachel’s instruction. She was the one person in the world who Cassie had ever talked to about her mom, and even so, she hadn’t gone into all the detail. She’d just said she was a bit of a drunk who was always asking for money. She hadn’t told Rachel why her mom was an alcoholic or why Cassie felt like she had to support her even though she’d had no support as she’d navigated her childhood and teenage years. No one but her knew the whole story, and Cassie was almost positive no one else ever would. What was the point, really? “You know I have to answer.”
“I know youthinkyou have to answer,” Rachel said. “But you don’tactuallyhave to.”
“I’ll see you at work tomorrow. Have a great day.” Cassie hung up before Rachel could protest further, then called her mom back.
“I thought you might be screening your calls and ignoring me.”
“Good morning to you too, Mom.” Cassie regretted calling back and half wished that she could occasionally believe Rachel’s statement that she didn’t always have to be at her mom’s beck and call.
“Whatever. Maybe it’s a good morning for you, but I can tell you now, it isn’t for everyone.”
And by everyone, her mom meant only her. “What’s happened?” Cassie asked, fighting to keep the judgment from her voice. A text pinged in.
I’m outside. Come see why you needed to wear jeans.
Cassie picked up her cell and headed toward her office at the front of the apartment.
“My car’s broken down, and I’m in the middle of bumfuck Egypt. The tow truck guy says the engine’s gone and is offering me fifty dollars for scrap.”
While her mom droned on about the latest in a long line of emergencies, Cassie clamped her hand over her mouth when she saw Taryn astride a motorbike with a second helmet in her hand. She waved up at Cassie, and Cassie shook her head, quickly giving a thumb’s down before she texted her.No way I’m going anywhere on THAT. You can leave it in my garage, and we’ll take my car.
“The guy’s got a car he’s selling, and it looks great, but I don’t have the cash on me or in the bank, Cassandra.”
The unspoken request wiped the smile from Cassie’s face. “How much is he selling it for?”
Come on. Live a little. I promise not to do any wheelies or go over the speed limit.
“It’s only five thousand dollars,” her mom said. “And it’s white, my favorite color and great for the Nevada heat.”
Cassie exaggerated shaking her head then arched her eyebrow, though it would be lost over distance since Taryn probably wouldn’t be able to see her full expression from three floors down.
