23. Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Avery
I can’t believe Cass took a train to see me again so soon after her last trip down. She hadn’t sounded quite like herself on the phone. She’d said everything was fine and she just missed me, but I’m not so sure that’s the truth. Whatever is bothering her, I’ll find a way to get her to tell me before she goes back to New York.
I’m also more than a little shocked that Corbin didn’t have a problem with me leaving after only 3 hours at the shop today. I know he has another client this afternoon. There’ s plenty for me to work on and to learn. But he hadn’t seemed annoyed by my request. In fact, he’d seemed almost relieved. Which would bother me if I didn’t know the reason for him wanting to avoid me. Hell, I want to avoid him too if I’m being honest with myself. At least, I thought I did before I saw him this morning at work. Why does he have to be so damned sexy? It’s not fair. Because when I’d seen him this morning, I’d forgotten all about my resolve to avoid him. All I’d been able to think about is how he’d pinned me against the wall last night and made me come. And how much I wanted him to do it again.
But I know exactly how big of a mistake that would be. So, when Cass had called to tell me about her surprise visit, I’d been confused but grateful for the excuse to leave for the afternoon. Since tomorrow is my usual day off, it’ll give me more time to compose myself so I can do a better job of ignoring Corbin’s sexiness when I go back on Tuesday. If that’s even possible now that I know how good he can make me feel. Why couldn’t he have been a shitty kisser? Or a bad fuck? Why did he have to go and blow my mind? And why didn’t I stop him before it got that far? All these questions and more run on a loop in my head as I drive until I finally let out a groan of frustration and shove them all aside. I can’t think about Corbin right now. I need to figure out what’s going on with Cass.
I spot her wild, red curls as I approach the ride share pickup area outside the station. She waves maniacally when she sees my car and jogs over, a large bag thrown over each shoulder. She’s smiling and doesn’t look like anything is wrong with her. But the fact that she came here on a Sunday afternoon when she has work tomorrow isn’t like her. She hasn’t missed a day of work since she started her dream job at one of her favorite museums in the city.
She tosses her bags into the back seat and climbs into the passenger seat. She’s a whirlwind of red hair and words spoken almost too fast for me to make them out. She leans over and plants a noisy kiss on my cheek, making me laugh.
“Holy shit, I’m so happy to see you, A. It’s been too long. You look great. I hope I didn’t screw up your plans for the day, but I just needed to see you today. You understand, right?”
I don’t have a chance to respond to any of Cass’s questions or comments since she doesn’t pause between any of them. She finally leans back into her seat and fastens her seatbelt. The police officer is already waving at me to tell me I can’t park here.
“Geez,” I mutter, rolling my eyes and raising a hand in a quick wave of acknowledgement. “I’ve been here for all of 32 seconds, guy. I’m going.”
As I leave the station and begin to drive toward my apartment, I give her a quick glance.
“It’s good to see you too, Cass,” I say. “Is everything okay?”
I see her shrug from the corner of my eye as I focus on the traffic around me .
“It’s fine,” she says dismissively. “I just missed my best friend. That’s all.”
I can tell that she’s not going to give me a straight answer. Whatever is bothering her isn’t something she wants to talk about right now. Fair enough. I can be patient.
“I missed you, too,” I say. “I’m happy you’re here.”
I glance over at her as I pull to a stop at a red light. She looks like her normal, happy self. But I know her better than that. Something is bothering her. I can see a hint of it in her green eyes, but now isn’t the time. I’ll get it out of her before she goes back home.
“Where do you want to have lunch?” I ask.
She thinks about it for a second. “What about that place with the good pasta we had last time I was here?”
I smile. “Francesca’s?”
“Yes! I’ve been dreaming about that carbonara for the past month.”
“Done,” I say, steering the car in the direction of the restaurant.
We keep our conversation light on the way there, glossing over subjects like work and family. It isn’t until we’re seated at the restaurant and studying our menus that Cass asks me the one question I’ve been hoping to avoid.
“How’s Tattoo Daddy doing? Have you two boned yet?”
My face goes instantly hot, and I know I’m blushing.
Cass's eyes go wide. " Oh. My. God."
“What?” I ask, trying and failing to sound nonchalant.
“You dirty whore,” she says, her voice far too loud for my comfort.
I glance around quickly, trying to see if anyone else heard her. “Shhh,” I hiss. “What are you talking about?”
She grins at me. “You did it. You fucked Tattoo Daddy, didn’t you?”
I shake my head in denial, even though I know she can tell I’m lying. Not that I’m making it difficult for her. The truth is written all over my face. I might as well have gotten a tattoo on my forehead that says, ‘I had the best sex of my life last night. Ask me about it.’.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, turning my attention back to the menu in my hands. “And stop calling him that.”
Cass yanks the menu from my grasp, forcing me to level my gaze on her.
“I was looking at that,” I say.
“I don’t give a shit,” she says. “Stop holding out on me. If you finally gave in and fucked that man, I need to know every filthy detail. Is he really a daddy? Wait. Did he make you call him daddy? I bet he did, didn’t he?”
“Oh, my god,” I say, covering my face with my hands. “What is wrong with you?”
Cass shrugs. “I’m in a drought. I’m living vicariously through your whorish ways. So, tell me everything before I spontaneously combust. ”
“You have problems. You know that, right?” I say, eyeing her.
She just nods. “Yep.”
“As long as you’re aware,” I mutter. “Fine. I’ll tell you, but not here. This is not a conversation fit for the public. You’ll have to wait until we get back to my place.”
“Come on, A!” she whines. “You’re going to make me sit through an entire meal, just wondering?”
“I am,” I say. “But, if you promise to be a good girl, I’ll give you a few details to hold you over.”
“Oh, I can be a good girl,” she says with a wink, making me laugh.
“Save that for your next conquest,” I say.
She shrugs. “Suit yourself, but I have letters of recommendation for my status as a good girl.”
“I’m sure you do. Do you want to hear this or not?”
She motions with her hand for me to proceed.
“He’s intense,” I say in a low voice. “Like, way more intense than I expected. Even after all these weeks of working with him, I did not see that coming. He’s got a filthy mouth. And he likes to be in control.”
Cass leans closer to me across the table, her eyes lit with interest. Her voice is low, barely above a whisper. “How in control?”
I bite my lip, trying to decide how much to tell her right now. Not that I’m not going to tell her every detail later. We’ve never kept secrets when it comes to our sex lives. Why start now ?
“Like, hand on my throat while he fucked me against a wall. That kind of control.”
“Holy fuck, that’s hot,” she says, fanning herself with her hand.
“Oh, it was,” I say, remembering the way I’d been at his mercy last night. “And he’s pierced.” My gaze strays down to my lap meaningfully before coming back up to look at Cass.
Her eyes light up with excitement. “Oh, shit. How was that?”
I sigh. “So good. I can’t explain it. Different, but once I got used to the feeling, it was incredible. I don’t think I can go back.”
“How’s that going to work with your apprenticeship?” Cass asks, pulling me out of my memories of the best sex of my life.
I frown at her. “It’s not.”
“What do you mean?”
I shrug, reaching for my drink.
“He took off while I was cleaning up in the bathroom and when I went back to work today, he acted like nothing ever happened. So, I did the same thing.”
Her mouth drops open in surprise before she narrows her eyes in an angry glare. “That fucker. Who does he think he is?”
I don’t have an answer for her since I’ve had the same thought since I walked out of the bathroom last night and realized Corbin was gone .
“Did he say anything afterward?” Cass asks. “Before he left, I mean?”
I shake my head. “Just that the situation is ‘messy’ now.” I use my fingers to make air quotes. “Whatever that means. Like I’m too stupid to realize that sex complicates things?”
“Did you say anything?” she asks.
I sigh. “No. I thought we’d talk after I came out of the bathroom. But he was gone already.”
“What about when you came to work this morning?” Cass asks. “Any reaction?”
“Nope,” I say, my lips making a popping sound. “He treated me the same way he’s treated me since the day I started working at the shop. Completely indifferent.”
Cass’s brows lower in confusion. “What the fuck is wrong with him?”
I huff out a laugh and shrug. “Who knows?”
I pick at my food for a moment while Cass seems to think over my situation. After a minute, she leans forward and touches my hand. Surprised, I look up to meet her gaze.
“What?”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, A,” she says, her voice gentler than before. “But are you sure he had as good a time as you did? Not that I’m saying you’re bad at sex. Just that the first time with a new partner can be awkward sometimes. I’ve had plenty of people who just weren’t that great the first time. There’s nothing wrong with it. You’re learning each other’s bodies, their likes, and dislikes. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out the first go around.”
I nearly laugh at her obvious concern and her attempt to be tactful.
“Trust me,” I say. “He enjoyed it.”
“How do you know?”
I lean forward across the table, annoyance evident in my hissing whisper. “Because the evidence was dripping down my thighs, if you must know.”
Her mouth drops open, and she blinks at me. “You let him come in you?” she hisses back, shocked.
“I was caught up in the moment! Aren’t you the one who told me to fuck him?
“Yeah, I told you to fuck him. I didn’t tell you to get herpes!”
Part of me wants to immediately argue with Cass. Of course, Corbin doesn’t have herpes. Right? But then I realize that there’s really no way for me to know if he’s got STIs. And the thought hadn’t even occurred to me in the moment. It wasn’t until afterward that I considered it. But Corbin had thought about it. At least he’d thought to ask me if I was on birth control before filling me with his cum. Just the memory of that moment is enough to make me squirm in my chair. What the fuck is wrong with me? I should be wondering if I’m infected with gonorrhea, not daydreaming about the sounds Corbin made when he came inside me.
“Are you on birth control?” she asks .
I roll my eyes. “You know I am. And I picked up some Plan B this morning before work.”
“That solves one problem, but not the other one.”
I meet Cass’s gaze again to see a knowing look on her face. “I know,” I say. “It was careless and stupid. But it’s not going to happen again. And I’ll go get tested as soon as possible.”
She nods. “Good. And it wouldn’t hurt to ask him if he’s been tested recently. I’m sure as a tattoo artist, he’s probably worried about bloodborne illnesses, right? So, getting tested shouldn’t be too big of a deal.”
“I’ll ask him,” I say, even though the idea of talking to Corbin about last night isn’t something I want to do right now.
But Cass is right. It’s not something I can afford to ignore. Even if Corbin seems perfectly happy to pretend it never happened, I can’t forget it. I’ve tried not to let his behavior bother me, but the longer I spent with him at work today seeing him so completely unfazed by what happened, the more annoyed I became. And yeah, there’s at least a little bit of hurt there too. I’d like to think sex with me isn’t something someone would just prefer to forget. Especially since I can’t stop reliving every moment of it. But maybe it’s a one-sided thing. Maybe Corbin wasn’t as affected as I was. That thought bothers me more than I like, so I push it aside.
“Let’s forget about guys for right now,” I say. “What about you? What’s new in your life? ”
Cass shrugs, keeping her gaze on her food rather than looking at me.
“Not much,” she says. “Boring, as usual.”
I study my best friend for a moment, noting the shift in her demeanor and the way her shoulders seem suddenly tense. I’ve known her for long enough to know when she’s not telling me something.
“What’s wrong?” I ask. “Did something happen?”
She shakes her head. “Not really. It’s just…the job isn’t quite what I thought it would be.”
“I thought you loved the museum?”
“I did,” she says. “I do. It’s not the museum that’s the problem. It’s my boss.”
I try to remember what she’s told me about her boss in the past, but I can’t recall anything negative about the man. Cass has only worked there for about 6 months. It’s a job she’d wanted for years and pined over all throughout college. When she got the offer, the two of us went out and celebrated together.
“What’s going on with your boss?” I ask.
She suddenly looks nervous, like she doesn’t want to talk about this. That has me more concerned than ever. Cass doesn’t get nervous. She’s always been outgoing and the type of person who’s not afraid to speak her mind. So, what has her so nervous now?
“What is it?” I ask, my voice soft with concern.
When Cass finally lifts her gaze to meet mine, her green eyes are sad, and there’s something else there that I can’t identify .
“He’s kind of a creep,” she says in a low voice.
I feel something clench in my gut and I lean across the table toward her. “Did something happen? Did he do something to you?”
She shakes her head, but the look on her face is pure misery. “No,” she says. “He hasn’t done anything. It’s more about the things he says. I thought he was just being flirty and I kind of played it off. But then he kept doing it. And it kept getting more overt. And last week he cornered me in one of the archive rooms.”
Anger flares through me, hot and fierce. It’s quickly followed by worry for my friend.
“Cass, what did he do? Tell me.”
She shakes her head. “Nothing. Not really. I was working in the archives and it’s quiet down there. Not a lot of people go down there because access is restricted. I was listening to music and cataloguing some stuff. Then I looked up and he was just there, in the doorway. I jumped because he scared me, and he laughed. He apologized, but then he just stood there, not saying anything. It was weird. So, I asked if he needed something. He smiled this super creepy smile and just kind of looked me up and down. Then he said something like, ‘Oh, I’ve got needs.’”
My mouth drops open. “Gross.”
“Right?” Cass agrees. “But he said it kind of low, so I pretended I couldn’t hear him. I pulled my earbud out and smiled. Said something like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that. Could you repeat it?’”
I nod. “Perfect reply.”
She sighs. “Luckily, one of the other assistants walked in right then, so he couldn’t say anything else. He just kind of laughed and shook his head. Said he was just checking on the archives and for us to have a good evening.”
I can picture the scene exactly as Cass described. Just the idea of being cornered in an empty room that way gives me the creeps. And she’s always been a good judge of character. If this guy gives her a bad vibe, chances are he’s not a good guy.
“Do you think I’m overreacting?” she asks. “I mean, it’s not like he did anything. And I could have misinterpreted the situation, right?”
I eye her for a moment until she sighs, her shoulders drooping in defeat. “Yeah, I know,” she says. “It’s just that I love this job. It’s perfect for me. I don’t want to jeopardize it because my boss is a disgusting pig.”
“So, go to his boss,” I suggest. “He’s got to have someone above him, right? Or an HR department you can complain to?”
Cass nods, clearly deep in thought. “Yeah. You’re right. I need to report it.”
Something about her tone makes me wonder if she’s really going to go through with reporting her boss’s creepy behavior, but I know Cass. No one is going to make her do something she’s not ready to do. Not even her best friend. But that doesn’t mean I can’t try.
“Cass, you have to,” I say. “You can’t let him keep intimidating you. Maybe it’s just creepy behavior, but what if it’s more than that? You can’t take the risk that he’ll catch you alone one day and do more than say weird shit.”
She nods. “I know. I’ll go to HR when I get back.”
Relief fills me. “Call me as soon as you do.”
She smiles. “Promise.”
We finish eating lunch and head back to my apartment. True to her word, Cass demands details of my night with Corbin as soon as we cross the threshold. I consider how to start the story, feeling slightly nervous for some reason. But this is Cass. She’s not a stranger. Besides, it’s not like we’ve never shared details of our sex lives.
“Fine,” I say. “But no interrupting. And no judgement.”
She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “You know I never judge, A. I might get a little envious. But I won’t judge.”
We settle on the couch, and I tell her everything I can remember from the events of yesterday. I start with the piercing and lead up to Corbin’s hand on my throat, ending with me standing in the empty shop. I don’t look at Cass until the story is finished. When I do, I’m glad I avoided her shocked gaze while I was talking. Her eyes are wide, and her mouth is hanging open in shocked amusement.
“Wow.”
“Is that all you’ve got?” I ask. “Wow? ”
She nods. “Wow seems to cover it. I mean, damn.” She fans herself with one hand. “That was hot as fuck. I’d be pissed at him for running away too. Especially now that you know what you’ve been missing.”
I huff out a laugh, rolling my eyes. She’s not wrong, though. Part of my annoyance at Corbin’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge what happened stems from the fact that I want it to happen again. But his reaction makes me think he doesn’t feel the same way. Which is disappointing, to say the least.
“Are you going to just let him get away with it?” she asks, pulling me back to the present.
“What am I supposed to do, Cass? I could confront him, but he’ll probably just shut down and go on ignoring me.”
She shakes her head. “No, confronting him probably won’t work. What you need to do is decide how you want to go forward. Do you want to go back to the way things were before you two hooked up? Or do you want to do it again?”
I laugh. “It doesn’t matter what I want, Cass. He clearly wants to act like nothing happened.”
She waves a dismissive hand. “Yeah, and he told you in the beginning that you two were going to keep things professional, right?”
I nod.
“And he fucked that one up already,” she says. “So, it stands to reason that it might happen again. With the proper motivation. ”
“What are you trying to say?” I ask.
She gives me a knowing look. “I’m saying, if you want him you need to push him over the edge. It happened once. It can happen again. Especially if you’re trying this time. I’m guessing you weren’t trying before?”
I feel my face heat because honestly, I had been trying to push Corbin’s buttons yesterday. But his shitty attitude after the piercing was driving me nuts. I’d wanted to prove to myself and to him that he wasn’t as unaffected by me as he was pretending to be. And I’d been right.
Cass’s eyes light up. “You were trying, weren’t you! You dirty slut!”
“Shut up,” I mutter. “I was, yes. A little. But not before that.”
She shrugs. “I’m not judging. I support all slutty behavior. Slut is only a bad word if we give it that power, and I don’t. Embrace your inner slut!”
I toss a couch pillow at her. “Stop yelling about sluts. I have neighbors.”
She shrugs. “Then they’ll know you have fun friends,” she says with a wink. “Who don’t slut-shame.”
“Seriously,” I say. “What should I do about Corbin? Keep in mind that I’ve still got to work with the man.”
“The way I see it,” she says. “You have three choices.”
She holds up one finger. “You can ignore it, like he’s doing. Pretend it never happened and keep the memory in your fantasy bank for solo sessions with your vibrator. ”
She’s not wrong about the fantasy bank. There’s no way I’m forgetting a single detail of what happened between me and Corbin last night. Especially if it’s not going to happen again. But as soon as I consider the option, I reject it. I shake my head.
“I don’t want that to be our only time together,” I admit.
“I didn’t think so,” she says. Holding up another finger, she says, “So, another option is to confront him. Tell him what you want and hope he feels the same way and doesn’t get defensive and weird.”
I shy away from that idea, too. I can picture exactly how that conversation would go. Corbin isn’t the kind of man who likes being pushed around or backed into a corner. He might like my defiance and bratty nature, but that’s only because he likes the challenge of getting me to submit. And damn it, that thought is turning me on all over again.
“What’s the last option?” I ask.
“Torture him until he can’t help but give in and fuck your brains out again,” she says with a grin.
She makes it sound so simple, but Corbin is the kind of man who’ll see through any kind of manipulation tactics. And he hates liars. When I say exactly that to Cass, she just shrugs.
“No one said you’ve got to be manipulative about it. If he calls you out on it, be honest. Tell him you’re not satisfied with just one time together and you’re just doing what you need to do to get what you want. He strikes me as the kind of man who likes a challenge.”
I think over her words, considering how Corbin would react to me telling him I’m trying to seduce him. The idea has merit, but part of me worries he’ll be angry and dismissive. But a much larger part of me remembers how he’d lost control last night and taken me against a wall. Besides, hadn’t he mentioned using every part of my body? We definitely didn’t get that far last night. He should make good on his threats.
Right?
And now I’m back to thinking filthy thoughts about my boss. Great. What if Cass is right and I can get what I want without confronting Corbin directly? I consider for another moment before looking up to meet Cass’s gaze.
“Okay,” I say. “Tell me how to drive him over the edge.”
“That’s my girl.”