16. Kennedy
16
KENNEDY
H e just sat there in his dark blue striped suit, looking stupidly irresistible, and didn’t even want to hear my apology about the bet. And I didn’t even get to offer him a BJ like Harper suggested. Hey, I’m just kidding, of course. It didn’t even cross my mind. Not once. Not at all.
I’m glad he didn’t fire me, but he did shut me down, like he always does.
“Well, K.” Harper stares at me, her eyes full of mischief. “I’ve got another challenge for you.”
I shake my head. “No.”
Having just finished our yoga session, we’re in the kitchen, tossing toppings onto our pizzas for a cozy movie night.
“You’ve got to.”
“Harper, please,” I say.
“Just make sure you have proof this time. You don’t have to do this one at the office, and it’s even more fun.”
“Even more fun, huh?” I groan, rolling my eyes.
“Oh, yes!” she says.
“Oh, yes, because getting caught with my panties off in the middle of my ex’s office was sooo much fun for me. I nearly got fired!”
She snickers and reaches into the fridge, emerging victorious with yet more cheese. “Chica, you didn’t even get close to getting fired, if memory serves. Mr. Legal Eagle was into it!”
“Be that as it may, I’m not agreeing to anything until I know what it is.”
Harper proceeds to explain this new trendy app she downloaded. It lets you chat with people in your city. Without revealing your identity.
Geez.
I know where this is going. And how it will turn out.
Me, in an awkward situation. Without clothes. Or fired (for real, this time).
“CupidLurks?” I ask, as I take on the crucial task of maneuvering the loaded pizza trays onto the racks.
“Yes!” she says. “And I just so happen to know Cade’s secret username.”
My eyes grow wide. “What is it? How do you know?”
“That guy Miles I think I might’ve mentioned to you once, he’s a regular at the bar, a superhot chill guy. Anyway, he and his brother Oliver are tight with Cade, and he’s always hyping him up as their go-to lawyer.”
“And?”
“I might have mentioned I know somebody who has a crush on him.”
“Ugh, no! Harper!”
“What?”
“ Had a crush, not has a crush.”
“Right, sorry. Anyhow, Miles said Cade is single, and they’ve been trying to set him up for years. He decided to help everybody out by giving me his handle for the app. Said I should pass it on to my friend,” she says.
“Also, I would hardly call what I used to feel for him a crush,” I argue, still stuck on the whole infatuation thing. “It was real love. Real, deep, love.”
“Right,” Harper replies casually, as she pivots to grab a bottle of wine from the fridge. “But I had to protect your identity! Right? I mean, dropping hints to Miles about a girl Cade seriously dated and dumped when she was in college, and now he’s got her on the payroll—not to mention probably stashing her used panties in his desk—it wouldn’t take a genius for him to connect the dots. It’d ruin this whole new challenge.”
“How would it ruin it?” I ask.
She hands me the bottle and I pour for both of us. “If Cade knows it’s you sliding into his DMs, you can’t say or ask whatever you want. But with this, you’re like totally incognito. You can spill your guts, and he’ll never suspect a thing. You can finally get closure and kick him to the curb. It’s genius!”
Something in me perks up at that.
“You can tell him anything, ask him anything,” she continues, then winks at me. “Don’t you have a burning question he never got around to answering?”
My eyes grow huge. “What if he finds out it’s me?”
“He won’t. Impossible.”
Next thing I know, I’m downloading the app.
By the time I’m putting a third slice of pizza on my plate and pouring myself another glass of wine, Harper is slumped over on the couch, sound asleep and snoring loudly.
I look at her, then back at my phone.
I can’t stop thinking about the app.
Chatting with Cade anonymously? Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
But a bet is a bet.
After exhaustively Googling everything about the app to confirm its guarantee of anonymity, I finally open it. CupidLurks welcomes me with a cheeky fwip-thunk-hehe! sound, practically inviting me to indulge in some mischief.
My pulse quickens as I enter Cade’s secret handle (and it’s such a goofy handle!).
Feeling a bit at a loss for words—and maybe a tad tipsy—I fire off a snappy little message.
“Hey, havin’ a fun night?”
I’m positive he’s either sleeping, or he’ll ignore the message entirely. Messaging with anonymous strangers doesn’t seem like Cade’s style. Frankly, it’s not really my vibe either, but here I am, diving in headfirst.
Sipping on my glass of wine, I keep watching the movie Harper put on.
I’m shocked when my phone goes off a few minutes later and jolts me back to reality faster than a double shot of espresso.