Chapter 13 #2
Savio kissed her cheek before he sat down at the center island. Cashmere grabbed their plates and sat down next to him.
“And what we doin’ after this? You done spent your whole day fuckin’ on me so far. I know you got some shit to do.”
Cashmere giggled. “You been fuckin’ on me, sir, but I did want to stop by Cassydie’s house for a bit.”
“Bet. Let’s see if you can keep ya hands off me long enough to make that happen.”
Cashmere playfully rolled her eyes. They dug into their food and flirted through lunch. Her heart felt fuller than it had in a very long time.
Cassydie stared at Cashmere as if she wanted to say something.
Cashmere just got done telling her best friend about all the drama that went down yesterday.
She felt like she needed someone on the outside to give her advice.
Cassydie was always that person for her.
As an Aries, the woman was blunt as hell but loving with her delivery.
They sat in Cassydie’s sunroom with a platter of snacks, while the men were in Marcellus’s den talking about Lord knows what. Cierra and Tato were at school, so it gave Cashmere the space to speak bluntly.
“Fuck all that. I want to know how long you and ol’ dude been fuckin’.” Cassydie picked at her nails as she spoke and didn’t look up until she noticed it took Cashmere a long time to answer her question. Cashmere watched as Cassydie’s eyes finally lifted from her nails, and she frowned. “What?”
“Why does everyone keep asking me that shit?” Cashmere asked.
Cassydie’s eyes turned to slits. “Who the fuck else asked you that?”
“Vee.” Cashmere shrugged.
Cassydie hummed. “Okay, so what’s the answer?”
Cashmere’s cheeks heated, and it wasn’t from the beaming sun coming in through the glass room. “Is it that obvious?”
Cassydie plucked half a fried bologna sandwich off the platter. It didn’t matter how rich either of them got. Their tastebuds were still the same, and sometimes, a fried bologna sandwich with mayo and a dash of hot sauce was exactly what they craved.
“Cash, I been knowing you for seven years now. I ain’t seen you smile this much not once.
Not even when you bought your first set of diamonds.
Not when you bought your first imported car.
Not when you bought that big ass mansion.
Not when you fucked that nigga with the gold fronts after we got fucked up at the club a few years back—”
“Okay, bitch, damn. I get it.”
Cassydie ate her sandwich with one brow raised as she stared at Cashmere. “So?”
“Last night was the first time,” Cashmere admitted.
“Oh, so it’s fresh. No wonder you’re glowing.”
“Am I?”
Cassydie nodded. “I knew when I first saw you two together on the yacht that it was only a matter of time. That man wanted you then.”
Cashmere shook her head. She had known all along that Savio wanted her. The confusing part had been if she wanted him.
Yes.
The answer had always been yes, but she constantly came up with excuses as to why she couldn’t allow it.
After glancing behind her to make sure the men weren’t going to make an appearance, Cashmere said, “I don’t know how to handle this. I’ve only dealt with flings . . . niggas I knew wouldn’t be permanent. With Sav, I’m not so sure. He feels permanent, Cass.”
She had yet to admit that out loud, and it shook her to do so now.
Cassydie wiped her hands on a napkin. “What’s so scary about permanent?”
“A lot of things. I mean, I don’t want to get hurt, so there’s that, but my life is one big ass secret. The council isn’t really something I can share with Sav. How do I navigate that?”
“You could tell him when you get married,” Cassydie pointed out.
“Married?” Cashmere almost choked on her iced tea.
Cassydie and Marcellus’s situation was way different than hers. Cassydie was actually the rightful heir to the seat on the council, so she had to be told before marriage. Cashmere couldn’t be that lucky.
“Yeah, bitch. Married. You do want to get married one day, don’t you?”
“Well . . . yeah. But I didn’t think about it with Savio. It’s too soon.”
“I guarantee he’s thinking about it, pooh.”
Cashmere’s eyes bucked. “How can you be so sure?”
“Men know within the first couple of weeks, hell, days, if they want to marry a woman.”
Cashmere thought about that. She did want a family. She never really had one before, outside of Ivoree, but could she have that with Savio? She wanted it.
“Okay, enough about that. I don’t like how you dodged talking about what went down yesterday,” Cashmere pointed out.
Cassydie shrugged. “What you want me to say?”
“Uh . . . say you’re on my side and you think Twizz is bad news.”
“I can’t say that.”
Cashmere’s brows pulled in. “And why the hell not?”
Cassydie sighed. “You sure I can talk freely without you getting mad? I would hate to fight yo’ ass, because I know how slick both our mouths can get, and I know how you are about Ivoree.”
“Go ahead,” Cashmere said. She was already on the defense, but she would hear her best friend out.
“Cash, Ivoree is sneaky. I know you don’t see it because you only want to see the best in her, but the girl is sneaky and a whore for attention.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Twizz was telling the truth about what happened, just like I wouldn’t be surprised if she was telling the truth.
I know all about Twizz and Savio’s background, so the way I see it, either story could be true. ”
Cashmere opened her mouth to argue but then immediately closed it again. What could she say? It seemed like Cassydie had her mind made up. Over the years, she peeped how Cassydie kept a polite distance from her sister. Was this why?
As she allowed her thoughts to wander, she looked out into the large backyard and couldn’t help but feel like something was about to shift in her life in a major way. She just wished she knew what it was so she could properly prepare for it.