Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty One
Cassi
Once we landed in Boston, we were immediately escorted to a town car where Nico’s bags were already being loaded into the trunk.
I’ve always heard people say that once you fly first class, you can never go back.
I really hope the same can’t be said for private.
No stress, no hassle. Just ease, comfort and everyone around you treating you like you’re their favorite person.
Is this what it’s like when you have money?
It’s a mixture between awesome and wildly fucked up.
“So what’s the plan?” I ask.
Nico looks up from his phone as he glances at me, squeezing my thigh as he speaks.
“What do you mean?”
“Where are we off to?” I clarify. “Are we going to your apartment because I’ll be honest, not sure how I feel about hanging up my clothes next to my sister’s lingerie,” I say with a dry laugh.
“I mean, not like I have any clothes to hang up,” I say, pulling at my shirt because I literally only have the clothes on my back with me and my purse.
Nico frowns for a moment before it melts away and he nods.
“We aren’t going to the apartment. We’re going somewhere else.”
I nod at that as I look out the window, gorgeous historic buildings coming in and out of my view as we zoom through the city.
Remember how I said that I feel no guilt?
That was a lie. I feel really fucking guilty.
No matter how much I try to convince myself that what we’re doing is okay because my sister is a bitch who doesn’t deserve Nico, and I’ve the fact that I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, it doesn’t ease the guilt. I’m sick to my fucking stomach.
I try to push it aside, I try to enjoy the moment and yeah, maybe I’m a shitty person because the idea of sneaking around is kinda hot.
The underlying guilt is there, and it’s all more than a little overwhelming and majorly fucking with my head.
Just wait until Ari and Nay find out. Fuck, I’m actually kinda scared for their judgment.
Who says I have to tell anyone, though? This is a fling.
We had a one night stand that turned into a couple of hook ups.
Just because he flew me across the country doesn’t mean I’m worth much more than a call girl to him.
He has the steady girlfriend bit with my sister, I’m just the side piece, which means I don’t need to tell anyone about it, right?
As gross as it may be, for some reason, that puts me at ease a little bit.
Maybe if I pretend that I don’t have rapidly growing feelings, that butterflies don’t tear through me the instant Nico’s eyes meet mine, that I don’t secretly wish he’d dump my sister and profess his undying yearning for me, I’ll come out of this unscathed.
Unlikely, but possible. So, I’m going to hold onto that for now because what the hell else will keep me grounded when a man who looks like him and fucks like him scoops me up and takes me away on a whim?
“Fuck,” I say, pulling out my phone before I click on the text thread with my mom.
“What’s wrong?” Nico asks.
“I forgot to message my parents. It’s been hours since I was supposed to be off work.”
Me: Hey! I’m staying the weekend with Naomi and Arianna at Arianna’s cabin up north. Just wanted to give you a heads up.
I hit send and my mom’s reply comes almost instantly.
Mom: Thanks for letting me know. Me and your dad were starting to worry about you. Love you, be safe.
Nico leans over my shoulder to read my text, nodding his approval.
“You’re an excellent liar, Miss. Fischer.”
I lift an eyebrow at him as I turn to face him.
“I know that was anything but a compliment.”
He shakes his head with a soft smile at his lips as his hand lifts, running his fingers through my hair.
“Just as long as you never turn that talent on me, we’re good.”
“I could ask the same,” I quip.
Nico looks at me seriously, his fingers pausing momentarily.
“I’m not sure it would be possible to lie to you. There is something about you that just…”
His words trail off and instead of searching for the right ones, he shakes his head and drops his hand from my hair. I’m still sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for him to finish his thought before I realize he won’t be doing any such thing.
Damn.
My phone buzzes with a notification and I cringe when I see who is texting me.
Alec: Hey. I haven’t heard from you in a little. Is everything okay?
Fuck. I’m an asshole.
Me: Hey! I’m so sorry. I suck. I’m doing a girls weekend with Arianna and Naomi up north. Service is spotty out here. I’ll text you when I can!
Alec’s response comes quickly, and it sours my stomach instantly.
Alec: No worries. I was just worried about you. Selfishly, I’m disappointed I can’t see you but I get it. Be safe, I’ll be thinking about you. Love you, Cass.
Love you.
It’s innocent enough. A phrase that can be exchanged between close friends, family members, or in this case I guess, ex-boyfriends?
It’s all about the intent of use, and unfortunately I know Alec well enough to know he is not saying or doing anything platonically.
I can’t let this thing between us go on any further.
I’ve let it go far enough. Did I seriously consider giving us another chance?
Absolutely. That was when I was doing anything and everything to keep my mind off my sister’s boyfriend, though.
Now that I have apparently decided to abandon all of my morals…
well, I guess I can cut the safety net loose, which yes, I know how gross that is to refer to someone as wonderful as Alec like that.
I look up from my phone to see Nico deeply engrossed in his messages.
Good. I have no doubt him reading Alec’s message would send him into a foul mood.
For this being a casual forbidden fling, he’s most definitely the jealous type and I don’t feel like arguing the entire time I’m out here.
Then again, if we hate fuck, I could end up tied up again as he takes his anger out on my body. Hold up, maybe this could work.
Before I can make a decision on poking the bear or not, the car stops and the driver gets out promptly, opening Nico’s door before I slide out through it. The driver grabs our bags and Nico slips him a few bills and nods.
“Thank you, George.”
“Always a pleasure, Mr. Sanders.”
I look around us, my eyes stopping on a large brownstone.
With his bags in tow, Nico gently ushers me up the steps to the front door before taking out his key and unlocking it.
It opens into a cozy foyer with a wooden hand railed staircase leading up to the second floor.
The floors are a deep cherry oak and the trim throughout the home is a bright white, complimenting to the cream walls.
Slowly, I begin moving through the house, stepping through the formal living room with a huge fireplace before coming into the kitchen.
It’s clean, crisp and open, though the entire place this far feels a little…
empty. Like no one has lived here in a long time.
There is minimal decorations and the house feels more like it’s staged to be sold than to be lived in.
“You live here?” I ask as I turn to Nico.
He shakes his head.
“I bought this place years ago. It was pretty run down at the time but a great deal. I fixed it up and planned to flip it but…I don’t know.
I got attached, I guess,” he says as his hand runs along a carved door.
The intricacy of the design make it very easy to believe it was hand carved, too.
The entire place just oozes charm, but lacks occupancy.
“Come here,” he says as he guides me past the kitchen, deeper through the house. “This is my favorite part.”
He opens a pair of french doors that open to a private outdoor patio. Red brick cover the ground as well as the similar brick siding boxing us in. One side is slightly lower, allowing a beautiful view of a body of water. It’s breathtaking.
“I’ve been meaning to fix this up but I don’t really know what to do outside of what’s been done,” Nico shrugs as he points to the patio furniture that looks like it belongs on a balcony of a high rise penthouse, not a historical buildings patio.
“Maybe some lights? “I suggest. You could string them above and it would warm it up back here. And you don’t have any plants. We are outside and I don’t see a spec of green anywhere,” I tease.
Nico looks around and nods.
“What else?”
I step around the area, a million different ideas flickering in my mind as I point to the middle of the patio.
“Maybe a firepit? One of those gas ones or something with the glass rocks? That would be really pretty and would be a nice conversation hub.”
My hand traces over the slate grey couch as I shake my head.
“I hate to say it, but this all should go too.”
Nico frowns at that. “Why?”
I shake my head. “This place is a historical gold mine. It’s a moment of history frozen in time and you’re watering it down with millennial grey,” I tease.
He scoffs at that as I shake my head. “Think warm colors. Browns, creams, nudes. Maybe a pop of greens or reds here or there.”
My head keeps swiveling around, more and more ideas bubbling to the surface before I realize Nico hasn’t responded, and I’ve no doubt offended him like a complete asshole.
I mean, this place has to be worth several million dollars and I live at home with my parents. Who the hell am I to judge anyone?
When I look to him, though, I don’t find judgment or irritation. Instead, he’s watching me with a considering eye as he nods.
“I like it, your vision. It seems nice. Warm.”
I nod. “I’d always take a nice cozy house over a sleek modern place any day of the year.”
“Yeah, me too. I think that’s why I couldn’t let this place go.”
“So, what? You just sit on it for fun? Bring your ladies of the night here?” I say with a waggle of my eyebrows, though, I’m only partially kidding.