* * *
We had to rush to get ready for dinner but still managed to make it to the pizza place in time to meet Audrey. It was our favorite restaurant, the one she took me to after I passed a major exam and where I brought her after the breakup with her last girlfriend. It was cozy and small but with a big back porch and the best sauce either of us had ever tasted.
“Fuck,” Cass groaned. A string of cheese stretched from his mouth to the slice he was holding. “So good.”
“He’s got good taste in pizza toppings,” Audrey said approvingly. Her hair hung in waves down her shoulders, flowing over the top of her light purple sundress. “I thought I was the only person who liked black olives and pineapple together.”
Cass took another big bite from his slice. “Thank you,” he said with a full mouth.
I frowned at them both. “I’m glad they have personal pizza options.” I spun my little tray around, then pulled another slice of the veggie supreme off. “Although watching you eat that gross pizza does make me miss Atlanta, Audrey.”
“You like it here?” Cass asked. “I’ve come through a few times to play a show. Seems nice.”
“I don’t love sitting in traffic all the time, but outside of that, it’s pretty good. I love the library where I work, and of course the food is amazing.”
“I’m definitely getting barbecue before we leave town,” Cass nodded.
Audrey leaned back in her chair. “I’d say it’s perfect, except I miss having Shawn around. I’d almost be jealous that you got him all summer, Cass, except I’m so happy he’s getting laid.”
I waved my finger in the air. “Nope,” I said. “None of that. It doesn’t matter how happy I am to see you. I’m still shutting down any embarrassing conversations before they start.”
Cass took a drink of his beer. “Come on. I definitely have more embarrassing stories anyway. You can’t top the awkward teenage years.”
Audrey leaned forward. “Giant cowlick, glasses that always fell off, gay as the day is long. Is that about right?”
“He had the cutest way of shuffling his feet when he hurried down the hallway. Considering his shoes were always untied, I don’t know how he avoided tripping.” He took another bite of pizza. “Well, he tripped sometimes.”
“Okay, okay,” I said. “Let’s not forget I have plenty of ammunition on you both, too.”
Cass and Audrey exchanged a concerned look. “Safe for now,” Audrey muttered, then winked across the table at me.
I didn’t mind the teasing at all. In fact, it felt pretty good to have a couple of people who knew me so well they could make jokes like that, and it reminded me again how close I had gotten to Cass in such a short amount of time.
“So, Cass,” Audrey said, “I take it part of the reason you came to Atlanta this weekend was to catch the show tomorrow night?”
“Show?”
“Twice Shattered,” she answered. “They’re playing at a venue not too far from here. I know you left the band, but when I saw the show announced, I assumed that had something to do with this trip.”
I turned to Cass, who looked just as surprised to hear it as I did. “No, I haven’t really been in touch with them,” he said, his voice dropping.
I pushed my foot under the table, toeing my sneaker against his boot to let him know I was there. I believed Cass when he said he was happy to have left the band, but he never really talked about his old bandmates or anything like that, outside of the few times he’d insisted there weren’t any hurt feelings. There could have ben more to the story, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it bothered him to be around his own old scene.
Cass tightened his brow in concentration, then turned to me. “Would you want to come see the band?”
I blinked, surprised by the question. Of course I was curious. I knew it wouldn’t be the same as seeing them with Cass behind the drums, but it was still a part of his life. “I mean, sure, if you want to,” I said cautiously.
Cass nodded. “It’s hard to say when another chance to see them will come along. And I should be able to get us tickets with a quick phone call.” He turned to Audrey. “Three?”
Audrey looked to me. “Sure. I mean, if you don’t mind me crashing your date.”
I opened my mouth to object, saying it wasn’t a date even though my heart clearly shouted otherwise, but Cass spoke too quickly. “We drove across three states to see you, didn’t we? Nothing would make the date better.”
Chapter Twenty
Cass
Shawnand I managed to stay in bed through most of the afternoon, which was fine by me. After we woke up pressed together under the soft sheets, I couldn’t keep my hands off of him anyway. We pawed at each other, and Shawn dragged his lips across my body until they were puffy and red, and I teased orgasm after orgasm out of him, usually with my tongue buried in his hole.
