Chapter 21 #2
She turned to Sam, confused. “I love it,” she said slowly.
“Oh good. I wasn’t sure if you collected ornaments.”
Embarrassment for being so dumb overtook her. She stared at the ornament, trying to hide the heat creeping up her neck. “It’s great. Thank you.”
After a few more gifts were opened, the party finally ended and she could pack up and go, and maybe never show her face again.
“Hey.” Sam joined her on the way back to her desk. “You okay? You seemed a little upset earlier.”
Cassie forced a smile. “Yeah, I uh, I was confused. I thought maybe Drea got the gift, but I was wrong. I love it, so thank you very much.”
“Oh, well, Drea helped me pick it out. I wanted to get you something special for everything you’ve done over the past few months. We wouldn’t be here without you. I wouldn’t be here without you.” Sam placed her hand on Cassie’s arm.
“Oh.” She tried to focus on the compliment and the kindness of the first boss who ever really appreciated her, but her mind swirled with confusion. Why would Drea do that? “Well, thank you. It’s very meaningful to me.”
Sam smiled, but a flash of something crossed her expression. “Have a wonderful holiday, Cassie. You deserve it.” Sam squeezed her arm and headed to her desk.
* * *
Drea hadn’t been sure what was up when Sam grabbed her after the party and strongly suggested they go to Charlie’s immediately, but Cassie had crossed her mind as one of the possibilities.
“What happened?” Sam asked from across the table.
Drea scratched her neck. “Can you narrow that down a little?”
Sam sighed. “With Cassie. Something happened, didn’t it?”
Drea grimaced and turned her face to avoid whatever might spew out of Sam as she nodded.
Sam’s eyes widened as she gasped. “You slept with her?” It felt more like an accusation than a question, despite the weak inflection at the end.
Drea raised her hands. “In my defense, you never said that was a rule.”
“Oh my god, Drea. Not Cassie. Why Cassie? You could sleep with anybody else, literally anybody. Why her?”
“We did sleep together,” Drea said, trying not to focus on the rage in Sam’s eyes before continuing. “We slept together a few times actually. More than a few times.”
Sam’s mouth tightened, about to launch into a tirade before the realization hit. “Wait, what?”
“We kinda dated.” Drea held up her hands and wiggled them in the air. “Surprise.”
Sam stared at her blankly, her mouth agape, and Drea wondered if she needed to plug her in.
The waitress came up to their table during the brief silence. “What can I get you ladies?”
Sam came alive again at the waitress’s voice. “A margarita.” She held up her hands and moved them apart from each other to indicate the size. “The big one.”
“And for you?” Her voice dripped with sweetness as she turned to Drea.
“Just a water for now, thanks.” Drea passed her a warm smile.
“Alrighty.”
Sam rubbed her forehead. “Okay, I’m going to need you to tell me what’s going on here. You’re not drinking and you’re dating now? Did I die? Is this like a twisted version of heaven?” Her eyes widened. “Oh god, is this hell?”
“I hope hell has margaritas. That would be awesome.”
Sam’s concerned expression killed the laughter in Drea’s voice. Drea thought for a moment, not really sure where to begin.
“So, remember when Cassie was really down at work?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it’s because her sister, Molly, had broken up with her partner. They’d been together like twenty years or something. And Molly moved in with Cassie and was really struggling so Cassie started helping her plan some weddings because that’s what she does for a living.”
Sam’s brow furrowed as she tried to follow. “Okay.”
“But Cassie was really sad, so I asked her what was up and she told me, blah blah blah, so I started helping her with the weddings.”
Sam’s brows raised in surprise. “You hate weddings.”
“I know. And, you know—one thing led to another and I, um, kinda fell in love with her.” She waved her hands in the air again. “Surprise.”
Sam short-circuited again.
“Here you are.” The waitress slid the massive margarita in front of Sam, whose eyes never left Drea’s, then passed Drea a questioning look as she placed a glass of water in front of her.
Drea gave a thumbs-up and the waitress nodded.
“Let me know if you need anything else,” she said as she headed toward the bar.
Drea moved the margarita closer to Sam. “Here, drink this.”
Sam took a sip, seeming to take a moment with her words. “Drea, you haven’t expressed real interest in anyone since . . . AJ.” Drea and Sam said the name at the same time.
It was funny how something so long ago could stick with somebody.
But things that scar tend to have that effect.
Drea remembered how hard she had fallen for the star soccer player in high school, how giddy she had felt back then, and how she had worked up the courage to tell her and come out at senior prom even though Sam had concerns.
Sam had been humiliated by her crew of bullies that night and all Drea had told her after the anguish of that incident died down was that she had been right, AJ wasn’t gay.
Drea never mentioned the part where AJ and her friends had laughed at her.
Or how her heart had been broken. She had vowed to herself then never to let anyone close enough to hurt her again.
Of course, she heard that AJ did come out a few years later. Her gaydar always had been spot-on.
Drea shrugged. “I know. But don’t worry. I ended it. It’s a little raw right now, but she’ll be okay.”
“That explains earlier then,” Sam said.
“Earlier?” Drea asked.
“Yeah, Cassie seemed upset after the party and the butterfly present.” She shook her head with a solemn expression. “I didn’t know there was more going on between you when I asked for your help finding her a gift.”
Drea’s heart sank. She hated that something she thought would bring joy to Cassie ended up upsetting her.
“And what about you?” Sam asked. “Will you be okay?” Sam’s eyes held such sincerity it sent a ball of emotion to Drea’s throat, but she shrugged it off.
“You know me,” Drea said with a forced smile and took a sip of water to swallow down the emotion.
“Why did you end it?”
“I thought you’d be happy to hear that.”
“No, I’d like to know.”
“You know me.” She tried to smile, but she couldn’t do it. Not anymore. “I couldn’t stand the thought of disappointing another person. I’m great for a short time. I can do the best impression of a happy, fun-loving person. But when someone sticks around, there’s nowhere to hide the real me.”
“You’ve never disappointed me, or Jake. I’ve stuck around a long time, and I think you’re the most incredible person I’ve ever known.”
“That’s because you’ve always had this crazy idea that I’m great, and I’ve worked my ass off to keep it that way. There’s stuff I’ve never told you because I don’t want you to ever look at me the way my parents do. That would kill me.”
“I’m sure there are things I don’t know about you. That’s true of everyone, no matter how close you are. But . . .” She laughed. “I don’t think you’re as good at hiding things as you think. I’ve known you since middle school.”
“Sam, there’s a darkness to me that you haven’t seen.”