Page 57 of The Loneliest Number
“Hey, did you see the new summer menu in the café?” I ask Jack as we step off the treadmills, both guzzling from our water bottles. My question has the desired effect, and his gaze skates that way, a huge grin spreading across his face when he spots Cass there. He lopes over to the glass, planting a sweaty kiss lined up with where her lips are positioned on the other side. I can’t hear her laugh, but her face is full of joy. The three of them are so effing cute and it’s fun watching the dynamics between them as a trio and when there’s only two of them present, too.Perhaps relationships aren’t all that bad.
“You knew she was here?” he asks me, laying a sweaty arm along my shoulders and dragging me close so he can graze the knuckles of his other hand over my hair, mussing me up.
“I think she only just arrived. You may as well come and see her before you shower. You know that your sweaty arse is one of her weird kinks.” I slap a hand on his chest and he lets go, leading the way round the corner and through the side door to the café beyond.
“Hey, honey,” Cass says with a sultry drawl as we approach.
“Hello, love,” I say, pushing Jack out the way and planting a kiss on Cass’s cheek before he can get there first. He growls, he actually growls at me, making me double over with laughter.
“Hey, Jack,” Cass greets him as if the first greeting was for me. “Come here, let me sniff you.”
“You’re so weird, no wonder you write such filthy stories,” I tell her.
“Hey, we don’t kink-shame,” Cassidy tells me with a stern voice.
“No, but we are allowed to kink-ask-why, right?”
Jack rests his chin atop her head and takes a deep breath of his own.
I punch him on the arm, unable to help myself from teasing him. “She smells heaps better than you right now. Can I come closer and sniff her, too?”
“No.” His voice is deep, and he scowls in my direction. “Find your own. This one’s mine.”
“And Tom’s too.” I delight in telling him. “Don’t forget that.”
“Yeah, well, he’s not here right now, so I don’t have to share,” he answers me before drawing Cass’s head back to waggle his brows at her. “In fact, why don’t you come with me? I wanna show you something.”
“I saw that this morning, and knowing you, I’ll probably see it again when you get home from work. I’m here to meet Abby for a drink. You’re welcome to stay, but we will be discussing her love life.”
“Get your facts straight, Cassidy. My sex life. I don’t have a love life, remember?” My arms fold across my chest. She stares at me for a moment, pursing her lips like she wants to argue, but stays quiet. “You staying, Jack? Maybe you can pick up some tips for pleasing your woman.”
He grimaces. “Much as I’dloveto hear about your sexual exploits, Abby, I have to shower and get back for a meeting.” He plants a kiss on Cass’s forehead, giving her another squeeze before stepping away. “Thanks for the company.” He punches my bicep as he walks past and heads towards the changing rooms. He may be a dick, but I’m still glad I get to call him my friend.
“Just us, now I can steal you away,” I joke with her.
She laughs and pats the stool next to her. “What do you want to drink? I’ll go and order.”
She heads off to order us each a smoothie and is back before I know it.
“Okay, we have drinks… now, spill.”
“It was really fun. Cam and I spent time together with Saff at The Juniper. She set her camera up to take photos while we were at it. And once we were all worn out, we had a look through them.”
“That sounds really hot, I’m going to need to put that in a book,” she tells me. We chat for a while, and I share just enough information to hopefully inspire her future stories without giving away anything too personal about either of my companions.
I wince. “Perhaps I should have asked permission to share this with you.”
Her eyes widen. “They don’t know.”
“They know you’re my friend, and I did mention that you’re always looking for fodder for your books, but I didn’t specifically ask, no.”
“I don’t have to use anything you’ve told me. And most of what you’ve said has just been about positions rather than sharing specifics.”
“I’ll mention it to Cam. I didn’t expect to feel bad for spilling my guts. It’s never bothered me before.”
Cass’s head tilts to the side. “And why do you think it bothers you now?”
I scrunch my nose at the question. “I dunno, I guess because he means something to me. We’re good friends as well as lovers, and because I now feel I know him outside of playing with others, it’s different.” My eyes widen with acknowledgement as it sinks in. I’ve let him in. I’m closer to Cameron than I ever have been with a playmate before.Shit.
