Chapter 25 #2
“We don’t know that she really is yet. Though granted, the notes aren’t good, but they’re also just notes.
You don’t have to lie to him, just don’t say anything unless he brings it up,” Claudia advised.
“Audrey’s not wrong, he does have a lot going on right now.
Mason is a good person to take point on it—he’s who David would assign to do it if he couldn’t handle it himself, and right now, he doesn’t have the time to, so we’re just skipping a step—and now that I know, I can help, too. ”
“What’s going on with work? If you can tell me.
” Yasmine’s expression was hard to read, even though Audrey was desperate to, especially after admitting that Mason was helping her.
She was very blank, so Audrey couldn’t tell if she was upset.
She didn’t seem outwardly disapproving or anything, but that wasn’t exactly the same thing as approving.
“Devlin again. You remember Zeus’ girlfriend, Noelle?”
“Sort of. I only know what I’ve heard; I haven’t actually met either of them.”
“Well, I’ll have to get you a picture of Noelle, so you know who to avoid. She was cheating on him with Devlin, and Zeus found out at a meeting on Monday. That or he’s been working with Devlin, and she was the go-between, and he got outed on Monday. It’s kind of hard to tell which it is.”
Yasmine’s mouth dropped open in shock. Even that looked pretty on her.
“Wow… okay…” She said the words slowly, as if she was trying to think of what to say and coming up with nothing. Audrey could relate.
“So, either he’s spying on us and reporting back to Devlin, or Devlin’s been banging his girlfriend, so we’ll think Zeus is spying on us, or it’s just an incredibly wild coincidence that Devlin happens to have been banging Zeus’ girlfriend.”
“And on top of that, David’s worried that Jensen’s brother is doing filthy things to his grandmother.” Claudia snickered when both Cassidy and Audrey groaned.
“Did you have to phrase it like that?” Audrey asked plaintively.
“Yes. It’s funnier that way.”
“Maybe to you.” Cassidy scowled at her, but she was fighting a smile.
“It’s a good thing Mick isn’t a member of the Outlands,” Yasmine said. “I could see him bringing Brenda there just for the shock value—hers and David’s. And Audrey’s, if she’s there.”
“Oh. My. God.” Audrey covered her face with her hands. “The last place I want to see my grandmother is a kink club.”
“Are you coming back? You didn’t stay long last time,” Yasmine said, and now her expression was concerned. “You don’t have to go just because we do if you weren’t into it.”
“I… I wasn’t not into it…” Crap. This was awkward.
How did one say ‘I didn’t like picturing you doing the things I was seeing with the man you were engaged to,’ without actually saying it?
“I was really tired, of course. And I had to get up early the next day. And maybe it was a little intimidating.”
She’d rather admit it was intimidating, even though they might think less of her, than admit her crush on Mason had been the biggest problem.
“Okay, just wanted to make sure that you knew you can still come to game night and hang out and everything. The club is not a requirement to be friends with us.” Yasmine smiled as the others nodded, and Cassidy nudged Audrey with her elbow.
“I do like the books a lot.”
“If you’re up to it, you should come tomorrow. I’ve decided to go, and I could use the support.” Yasmine glanced around at all of them.
“Of course!” Cassidy was already nodding her head. “David and I can be there. You’re going to jump right back into things?”
“Might as well.” Yasmine shrugged. “While Mason and I were talking about marriage and everything, I wasn’t going to scene with someone else. But now I’m free, and so is he.”
Wait, had she just glanced at Audrey when she said Mason was free?
“Good for you.” Claudia nodded approvingly. “There’s no point in wallowing, right?”
“Right. Though I’m not looking for a relationship,” Yasmine warned her. “I’m off of those for good. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a good scene or some filthy hot sex, but I’ve sworn off relationships for right now.”
Claudia arched an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. “Mmm.”
“But you still want the marriage and kids thing, right?” Cassidy asked.
“You’re not just going to give up on it because this didn’t work out?
Like, if you really don’t want it, that’s one thing, but I don’t want to see you give up on something you really want because you and Mason didn’t have chemistry. ”
“That’s not the only reason. There is a pattern after all.” Yasmine shrugged. “Maybe it’s time I just accept the curse. I don’t need marriage to have a kid, after all. There are other options.”
“Well, that’s true.” Claudia sat back in her chair, blinking. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she couldn’t quite figure out what to say.
Neither could Audrey, but that wasn’t surprising because her own emotions were all over the place when it came to Mason, and she didn’t know Yasmine well enough to know what the right thing to say was.
“I think you’d make a great mom,” she offered up, both because it was true and because maybe that was what Yasmine needed to hear.
The other woman flashed her a smile.
“Thank you. Now, let’s get back to the game. We don’t need to talk about my cursed love life anymore because I’m just not going to have a love life at all.”