32. Cassidy
Chapter thirty-two
Cassidy
Four weeks later
T om and I are in New York. We tried to keep it as a surprise from Jack until we arrived, but couldn’t do it.
The weight has been lifted. Yes, it was tough dropping Jack off at Heathrow, knowing it would be another month before we saw him. Tom and I had gone straight back to my place and found a deal for four nights in NYC. Then realised it would be disappointing to not all fly back to the UK together. Which is when we’d realised we had to let Jack in on our plans. With the excitement of our upcoming trip, Jack’s return to the UK, and my book release, the last few weeks have sped by.
And now we are here, drinking in the sights of New York City and bringing our Jack home. It’s Jack’s last day on his project today. He has leaving drinks with the team at 4 pm and then we are all spending one more night here in a fancy hotel before flying back to the UK tomorrow. Tom and I are invited along to drinks, but we decided to pop in just at the end, giving Jack time to spend with his team socially before he heads home.
Brad, his boss, was sad that Jack was unable to stay another nine months, so they’ve come up with a plan. He didn’t have to hand in his notice and will be working mostly from the UK. He’ll need to head to New York every couple of months for a week to spend time with the rest of the team. I’m so glad it worked out. It seems to be the best of both worlds. He gets to live with Tom and me, but also gets the opportunity to keep working with this team and keep building on his original project.
We’ve not done anything about finding a new place yet. But I have told my landlord I’m not extending my lease. I can squeeze into Jack's place for now, and once we are all back on British ground, our search can begin.
I’m sitting at the dressing table in our massive hotel room. I’ve been doing my makeup, ready to meet Jack and his team. I reach across to grab my hairbrush, trying to work out what to do with my hair when Tom steps up behind me. He’s wearing just a towel, his chest damp from the shower. As our eyes meet in the mirror’s reflection, he steals the hairbrush away.
Fuck, my boyfriend’s hot. And so is the other one, too. I can’t stop the giggle that comes out. Tom quirks an eyebrow, lifting his chin slightly, waiting to be let in on the joke.
“Just realising what a lucky girl I am.”
He chuckles. “Mac, if anyone is lucky in this situation, it’s me. You look stunning.”
“You charmer. You know you’re already guaranteed to get some tonight, right?”
“I do indeed.” His eyes sparkle with erotic promise. “What are the chances of me getting some before we walk out the door?”
“I think we should wait,” I tell him, watching in the mirror for his reaction. “Until it’s all three of us”.
He nods. “Okay, baby girl, let’s get ready and head out then before I try to ravish you.”
We’re dressed to the nines.
Tom looks smart in his grey slacks, loafers, and a pale blue button up shirt under a dark grey woollen coat. He turns me in a spin and the tassels on the hem of my silver dress tickle my legs, making me laugh.
“Beautiful,” Tom says as he slows me to a stop, reaching forward to press our lips together. “Jack’s gonna love it—you look like a disco ball.”
“Shame I have to cover it up, right?” I grab the ‘pièce de résistance’—my dark grey mackintosh jacket and put it on, wrapping the belt around my waist.
“Is that what I think it is?” He stares at the coat intently.
I nod, a cheeky smile on my face. “Yep, the original. Back from when I first met you. I knew I needed a coat and I couldn’t resist bringing this one.”
“Shit, Mac. if I hadn’t seen that sparkly dress with my own eyes, I’d be convinced you were naked under that.”
“That’s the idea, baby.” I give him a gleeful grin. “Let’s see if we can convince Jack I’m naked underneath.”
Tom shakes his head ruefully at my devious plan. “Shameless,” he whispers in my ear and I very much appreciate his low husky groan as I cup him through his trousers.
We head out of the hotel, walking ten minutes to meet Jack and his colleagues. The bar is packed with bodies; office workers trying to wind down after their working week. We press ourselves through the throng, Tom keeping a steady hand on mine as he tugs me through the crowd towards the bar. I try to catch sight of Jack but it’s so hard with all the people everywhere.
Tom makes it to the bar, pulling me in front of him, in the circle of his arms. We wait patiently for the very busy bar staff to make their way over to us and I order a cocktail for me and a beer for Tom. He texted Jack when we arrived and it finally dings with a response.
Jack: Look up *up arrow emoji*
I frown before looking up to find Jack standing at the top of the stairs. The light slants over his cheekbones and jawline. Someone really needs to carve him in marble. We squeeze our way through the crowd towards him. It’s easier as we are headed away from the bar this time. Tom places a hand low across my back as we walk up the stairs side by side. I concentrate on each step to keep my balance in my high-heeled shoes. We reach the top and he’s right there in front of us. He opens his arms out wide, gathering us both in a hug. I giggle as he kisses first my cheek and then Tom’s.
“Hey, you found it okay?” I nod. “I should have said, there’s a bar up here in the private room, save you fighting for a place down there.”
“Ah well, we’ve got drinks now.” Tom raises his bottle of beer to his lips, taking a gulp.
“Ready to meet everyone?” Jack asks.
My nerves build. Jack told us when we arrived that he’s been open with his colleagues about us and why he’s returning to the UK. I’m intrigued to see how everyone reacts when they meet us. Being told something is one thing, but seeing three people in a relationship is another. And while I have every confidence that this relationship is just right for us, I know that it’s still considered unusual to most people.
I’m not convinced I’m ready, but we have to start doing this. I take a deep breath in, giving Jack a small smile and a nod. I’m keen to meet the colleagues who have kept Jack busy over the last three months. And put faces to the names from the stories that Jack has been sharing with us.
“You want me to take your coats? There’s some hooks by the door where I can hang them.” Tom removes his coat and hands it to Jack and they both turn to me, looking expectant. I hold my belt in my hands and bite down on my bottom lip. Jack tilts his head as he looks at me.
“You’re up to mischief,” he tells me with a suspicious frown.
“How well do you want your colleagues to know me, Jack?” I say with a grin. “Should I bare all?” I go to loosen the belt on my coat and his hand reaches out to still me.
“Are you wearing anything under that, doll?”
“Why don’t we find out?”
He doesn’t stop me from undoing the belt this time. I take my time, doing my best to make it look like an exotic strip. I think I’m failing though, if the snorting laugh from Tom’s direction is anything to go by. I shimmy the coat so that it sits off one shoulder and Jack clocks the thin silver strap on my shoulder.
“You better be wearing clothes under there, Cass, and not just lingerie,” Jack growls. It’s hilarious because he usually likes me in lingerie, but I guess he doesn’t necessarily want to introduce me to his work colleagues in my undies.
I put him out of his misery, shimmying fully out of the coat. The overhead lights make my dress sparkle and I can’t hold back a wiggle as I see the effect it has on my dress.
“You are fucking stunning.” He tugs me close to plant a kiss on my lips.
“Told you he’d like it,” Tom tells me with a wink. I grin, feeling grateful that this silly bit of fun has somewhat calmed my nerves.
We head through the doors into the private room. It’s a decent sized room with a small bar on the back wall. There’s a long table along the side with some platters of food. It’s not super busy, with about thirty people huddled in smaller groups around the room.
Jack leads us from group to group, introducing us as his boyfriend and girlfriend. People are friendly and I lose track of how many times I tell people what sights Tom and I have seen the last few days since we arrived.
Tara, who Jack has mentioned multiple times, is super friendly and welcoming. She’s standing with Duncan, who hooked Jack up with the job. They spend some time with us, asking about our work back in the UK and our plans for when we get home. We are interrupted by a tall guy with some designer stubble who introduces himself as Brad, Jack’s boss in New York.
I was worried about meeting him—knowing that he wanted Jack to stay for longer and that we were the reason he wasn’t. But Brad’s friendly and tells us what an amazing job Jack has been doing. “We are sad, of course, that he can’t stay full time, but really pleased we reached an agreement so we could continue working together.”
I look over at Jack, who appears to be blushing. Which is very un-Jack-like. I’ll have to ask him about that later.
I am exhausted from all the introductions and small talk after a while. And my stomach is now rumbling.
I look over at the food table longingly and Tom must clock what I’m doing because he leans closer and whispers in my ear, “I’m ravenous. Guessing you are too?”
I nod. “Do you think we can help ourselves to the food or it’s just for the staff?” I don’t want to be rude. But I really do need to eat, especially as I’m on my third drink since we arrived because people keep offering to buy us a round.
“Surely they can’t begrudge us a snack or two. Especially when we are attached to the wonder boy.” Tom herds me towards the table and we leave Jack chatting with some of his colleagues.
“So, what do you think?” I ask.
“Of what?” he asks after swallowing down a fancy-looking canape.
“Of being introduced to all these people as one third of a throuple?”
“It feels good. I know that it’s not considered conventional, but it feels good to be open about it. Screw what everyone thinks, as long as we’re happy.” His response makes me grin before I reach up on my tiptoes and plant a kiss on his cheek. It makes me so happy to see him feeling comfortable with this. For so long, he held back his love, not wanting to scare Jack away. If I stop to think about that, it makes me so sad. I’m so grateful that Jack and I have convinced him he deserves love by the bucket-load and shower him with it at every opportunity.
We stuff our faces a little longer and then Jack heads over to us.
“I think I’m ready if you guys are?”
We both nod.
“Have you eaten, Jack?”
“I had some of the snacks. Do you want to go for dinner?”
I bite my lip for a moment. “I know it’s our last night and all, but can we just go back to the hotel and order room service?”
“Best idea ever,” Tom says, grabbing me and pulling me close. Jack looks at each of us before smiling with a nod.
“Sure thing, let’s go.”
He grabs our coats and gives a wave as we make our way out down the stairs.
We order room service on the way through reception. I’m ready to get my pyjamas on and tuck down for the night, but the boys have other ideas. They approach me from both sides, wrestling me out from the mackintosh. My dress is pulled over my head and my bra and panties removed before the coat is put back on me. I’m still wearing my heels.
“This is how you need to answer the door when the food arrives,” Tom tells me in a husky tone.
And just like that, I’m not as tired as I was and I wonder what the guys have planned once we’ve eaten.