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my resume.
Pierce: Have fun sending him a million versions of the new logo and the other promo materials!
Me: Thanks 4 looking everything over and 4 networking for me.
Pierce: Ur online portfolio spoke for itself. TTYL.
I wasn’t going to tell Pierce that Mona had come here with his sister and a guy through a text message. Considering that Mona didn’t make any real effort to interact with Beth or Bri when he’d brought her to the beach, I think she was still on his shit list. It might change tomorrow. But I wanted to tell him in person, if Rylan didn’t get around to it first.
“Hello.” My eyes closed for a very short time and I met Cassidy’s pale blue eyes. She had on a white blouse, a blazer, a short skirt, and shoes, like she was some schoolgirl. The guy with her was oblivious to how much she wasn’t welcome and him, too, because he was with her. Mona and the guy she was with remained at the opposite side of the bar.
“Cassidy,” Joel addressed her dryly.
No one else said anything, but her eyes were fixed on me and I didn’t miss that Beth had kept her lips firmly pressed together since Cassidy had materialized at our table.
“Don’t sound too happy to see me,” Cassidy teased, and we collectively sighed. “Beth.”
“It’s Bethany to you,” Beth corrected without any inflection in her voice, and braced her arm around my shoulder.
The dude with her looked uncomfortable, and after some minutes had passed, he turned away from her, trotting back to the table where Mona and her date were chatting with Emilio.
“Guess he gets that you’re more trouble than you’re worth,” Bri remarked.
“Most guys here hadn’t been saying that when we were horizontal,” she shot back, her eyes trained on Beth.
“But they woke up,” Beth told her.
“For real,” Joel said, sounding contrite. “As my dad had told me time and time again: sometimes it’s best to go without the pussy,” he added with a sneer.
Cassidy scanned the bar; there was a group of much older, unkempt men by the counter who had taken a glimpse of her.
“What I don’t get is why Miss Prim and Proper would put herself on blast like this?” Rylan said casually.
Joel folded his arms, his copper hair down to his ears already. “Because she’s never had to beg for it.” His grimace conveyed that he’d been at Cassidy’s mercy when they’d hooked up years ago. “Now, run along to one of those men, why don’t you? I don’t think they’re real selective.”
We began digging into our meals and I didn’t catch when Cassidy returned to Mona and their dates.
***
“Stay with me tonight, or I should say, for the morning,” I told Beth as I drove into the intersection that led into two different directions—where the Pruitts resided and Bri and Gavin’s house.
Beth’s face heated. “I don’t have—”
“I’ve got extra toiletries for you. Chase knows where they are,” Bri said in a chipper tone that made Beth redden uncontrollably. “And you can wash your clothes and hang them in the backyard. They’ll be dry in no time.”
Beth surveyed Bri through the mirror. “Sleep over,” Bri insisted.
For the rest of the ride to Gavin and Bri’s house, we listened to songs on the radio. Bri had dosed off and I helped her get to the front of the house. With droopy eyes, Bri walked inside, headed up the steps, and told us to have a good night with a knowing quirk playing on her lips.
By the time we made it to my guestroom, Beth had loosened her hair and dabbed off the little makeup she had on. She glanced around the room and then her gaze settled on me. “I’d like to shower,” she said in a quiet voice.
We slowly walked into the bathroom and I pushed the door open.
***
Bethany
Chase shut the door behind him as I put the water on. I opened the cabinet next to the door and I took a bar of soap, as well as a big towel. He shed his shirt and his pants in a relaxed manner. Liquid warmth pooled between my legs.
