Chapter 3
Chapter Three
CASSIA
"Wow, this place is fancy," I mumble to myself as I step into the resort restaurant.
The setting sun sends bright rays of light filtering in through large windows at the front of the room.
A massive live edge wood bar wraps around the back of the room, expensive bottles of alcohol neatly displayed on wooden shelves behind it.
Combined with the vintage-style lighting hanging from above and the log walls, the entire restaurant exudes peace and relaxation…
exactly like the rest of the resort. I should have suggested this place way before now.
"Back here!" Paige says. Her hand shoots into the air to wave even though there's no way I'd miss her crazy blonde curls. She and the girls are tucked into a booth in the back corner. They're the only group of all women here.
I giggle and head toward them. I'm not sure if everyone else had a productive day, but they're all smiles. Probably because they don't have a grumpy cowboy giving them dirty sex dreams.
"Sorry I'm late. I got lost." I scrunch my nose up. "Did you know this place has two gyms? It's vacation. Who needs one gym, let alone two?"
"I ordered you a shot," Emmy says, smiling at me when I slip into the empty seat on the bench beside her.
"A shot?" I quirk a brow, looking skeptically at the tiny glass of clear liquid in front of me. Last time I had shots, I didn't even make it to three before I ended up on the floor. I'm not very graceful. "Of what?"
"Liquid courage," Emmy mutters, making Mina laugh. "We're talking about sex."
Emmy sits with her legs crossed at an awkward angle, one hip higher than the other. She avoids my gaze, but her cheeks are pink, and I wonder if we should slow her down. If she keeps knocking back shots, who knows what else we'll find out about her?
Yesterday, she confessed that she's a virgin like me and Clover.
Paige and I caught her right after she had an awkward encounter with the maintenance guy who came to fix something in her cabin.
Apparently, she talked him into helping her work out the mechanics of a sexy scene.
Though, I doubt it took much convincing to get him to agree.
Emmy is beautiful. Any man would be lucky to have her.
Like me, Emmy tends to avoid men though.
But I'm pretty sure she has a thing for the maintenance man.
She slides the shot glass toward me and turns her attention to Paige.
"Not yet we're not." Mina waggles her brows suggestively, making everyone laugh. "All I said was I want the inside scoop on how the four of you"—she points to me, Emmy, Clover, and Zoey—"write dirty hot sex when you still have your V-Cards."
"I've wondered that as well," Paige says. "I mean, I've never been to medieval England, but I have been to England and seen medieval artifacts at museums, so that's kinda close."
I flap a hand in the air, trying to end this conversation quickly. I don't want to talk about sex things when I'm being haunted every night by an annoyingly hot cowboy. Seriously. Why does he have to be all sexy and grumpy? The jerk. "I have a rose and Javier. And porn."
"Not the rose," Paige groans, making Emmy laugh hysterically.
"The rose?" Clover looks between the three of us in question.
"We almost had to stage an intervention over the rose," Emmy says.
"Seriously, she went missing for days. I was ready to call the police," Paige says. Then she laughs. "When we finally got her back online and she told us where she'd been, well, let's just say, I ordered a rose for myself that afternoon."
"It was for research purposes," I sniff. It's the truth. I was researching how many orgasms you can have before you can't take anymore. Turns out…not very many with that thing. It's like magic.
"Who is Javier?" Zoey asks.
"Oh, uh, he's my battery-operated boyfriend." I blush, darting a quick glance around to make sure no one can hear me. "I thought he needed a name."
"Do you scream it?" Clover asks, making everyone laugh.
"I named mine Paul," Paige says.
"Mine is just Oh God, Oh God," Mina says.
We all crack up. God, I love our annual retreats. They're good for the soul.
A bubbly waitress approaches the table to take our orders. I quickly look over a menu and order a steak and asparagus and a pitcher of Sangria. Zoey orders a second pitcher. We're going to be wasted before the end of the night.
"Take your shot," Emmy demands, pointing at the glass once the waitress heads to the kitchen to put our order in.
I groan and then reluctantly pick it up. Everyone watches attentively until I quickly toss it back. The alcohol burns its way down my throat.
"Blech, I hate vodka," I say, shuddering. I steal Paige's glass of water and take a big gulp, trying to wash the taste of the vodka out of my mouth.
"I have a proposition," Mina says, a wicked glint in her eye that spells trouble.
She jumps up out of her seat and rubs her hands together with glee.
Everyone's attention is focused on her. She narrows her eyes, places both hands firmly on her hips, and all I can think is how much she resembles a beautiful little troublemaker right now.
I don't like it. She always talks me into doing crazy things when we're drinking!
"I dare the four of you to lose your V-Cards this week."
An image of Cord pops into my mind, sweat running in rivulets down his sun-darkened skin, his severe expression blazing with heat, teeth sunk into his bottom lip as he writhes in bliss.
I choke on Paige's water, my face turning red.
"Oh my gosh, yes, that's brilliant, Mina! This is a perfect thing for this retreat. Y'all lose your V-cards and then you can report back to us. I'm sure we'll be at the bar," Paige says with another laugh.
Emmy chokes back a cough and smacks her chest with her palm a few times.
She squirms in her chair, crossing and uncrossing her legs.
Poor thing looks rattled. Knowing her, she probably wishes she hadn't said anything at all about being a virgin.
She's vivacious and bubbly, but she can be guarded and intensely private too.
"Huh?" she says, sitting up a little straighter. Her hair falls across her eyes, but when she blows it away, it comes out sounding like she blew a raspberry.
"Yes!" Mina says, clapping her hands together with delight. "That, my friends, is the sound of relief you'll feel when you get rid of your cherries."
"No, thank you," I say, shaking my head.
There's no way I'm giving it up to some random man on a dare.
When I give it up, it'll be because the man in question means something.
Maybe I'm naive or silly, but I don't want the fleeting kind of love my mom jumps into and out of every week.
I want the forever kind of love I write about.
I know it exists. One day, I'll be brave enough to chase it.
"I agree," Clover says, tipping back the shot glass she's been holding in her hand. "The last thing I want is some one-night stand to remember the day I lost my virginity."
"Yeah, this doesn't sound like a good idea to me either," Zoey chimes in.
"I mean it," Mina says. "This retreat is the perfect opportunity for all of you, but especially you," she says, pointing a finger at Emmy.
Poor Emmy looks like she wants the earth to open beneath her feet and swallow her, but Mina's on a mission.
"Stop looking at me like you don't know who I mean. The guy who fixed your porch light."
"Cabin door," Emmy groans.
"Door, light, sink, who cares?" Mina laughs. "Same difference."
"I'm sure he could fix your plumbing too," Paige says with a snort.
I grab Paige's wine glass, sliding it away from her.
"My point is, the guy is hot, and you like him. He's here and so are you. You'll never see him again, so do the math."
"Who's that?" Paige nudges me to get my attention as a curvy brunette peeks her head into the restaurant and then marches in our direction.
She's pretty, and something about her feels familiar.
It's her eyes, I think. Initially, I think they're gray like Cord's, but clearly, that highhanded cowboy is just stuck in my brain because this woman's eyes are a pale green.
"I don't know," I murmur.
"She works for the Sheriff," Zoey says, her voice soft. "I think her name is Cleary."
Cleary draws to a stop in front of our table.
"Hi," she says, smiling brightly at us. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, but I heard through the grapevine that you guys were staying here this week, and I couldn't resist gatecrashing to meet you. I love your books so much!"
"Aww," everyone says at the same time.
"I'm Cleary, and I brought some books." She motions to the weighed down tote bag hanging from her shoulder. "Wow, I feel like an ass ambushing you this way, but we've never had actual authors here before. At least any that write books that I care about."
"Don't be silly," Paige says. "We love to meet readers. Why don't you join us?"
We all scoot over to make room for her. She seems like a sweet girl.
Cleary's eyes widen and she smiles. "Seriously?" She scoots into the booth next to us.
"We'd be happy to sign. Sorry if I'm the token spokesperson," Paige says. "Most writers are introverts and actually pretty shy around people. I have two younger brothers so I can't afford to be shy." She rolls her big blue eyes.
The younger woman starts to pull books out of her bag, and sure enough, she has copies of all our books.
"Oh, this is one of my favorites!" I say, holding up a copy of one of Zoey's books. "I loved it so much."
"Me too!" Cleary gushes, excitement firing in her eyes.
"So you're from around here," Paige says. "Would you be able to help me find somewhere I could camp? I'm doing research for an upcoming book, and I just need a small patch of land where I can set up a little tent. I like to truly experience the things my characters would experience."