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“Right. Well, he’s back. He was up on the stage, and holy shit, Cass, you wouldn’t believe his voice, he’s incredible.”
“That’s awesome, wonder if we can catch him playing again sometime.”
“I don’t know, I can ask him tomorrow if he’s gonna be playing anywhere else anytime soon. He kind of just does it for fun, from what he was telling me.”
“Wait, tomorrow? What’s going on tomorrow?” Cassidy asks.
“Well, he kind of asked me on a date,” I explain.
There’s a long silence over the phone. “Cass? You there?”
“Yeah, I’m still here. I mean, I’m happy for you and all, Mars, but won’t that be weird with everything you’ve got going on with Corey and Andrei?”
A lump forms in my throat. “They’re keeping their distance right now anyway, they’ve got other stuff going on,” I say, trying to sound casual and hide my hurt feelings, “And besides, we’re just friends, we laid all that out from the beginning.”
“Sure seemed more than just friendly. You were practically living with them last week.”
“It is what it is, Cass,” I reply, a little more sharply than I intend, “They aren’t my boyfriends, I’m free to date whoever I want.”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
I sigh. “It’s not you, Cass, it’s just…I don’t know, I’m starting to think I should have listened to you about all of this. I still want this baby, don’t get me wrong, but maybe I shouldn’t have gone about it this way.”
“I mean, maybe if you’d gone about it your way, it would have been easy-peasy,” Cassidy says, “I mean, you weren’t planning to sleep with them from the start.”
She’s got a point, and it does make me feel a tiny bit better. “Maybe it’s better this way,” I say, even as a crack starts to form in my heart, “We get a little distance, maybe things can just go back to normal.”
“If that’s what you want to do,” Cassidy says, “I support you.”
We talk a little while longer before hanging up, and I finally start the car. I keep telling myself that this is the right move, that going out with Todd tomorrow is the healthiest thing I can do for all of us.
Corey and Andrei have each other, they won’t care if I go out with someone else.
Even if part of me wishes that they did.
Chapter Eight
Corey
Click. Click. Click. Images flash across the screen as I flip through channels. Nothing catches my interest, not that it comes as much of a surprise. The last few days, it’s been hard to muster any interest in much of anything.
Ever since Andrei and I talked about stepping back from things with Marlene, I’ve been in a funk I can’t shake. It doesn’t help that it seems to be hitting Andrei, too, and he’s been withdrawn, leaving me to sulk in solitude.
I miss her like crazy. Of course, I’m only human and part of me misses the fun in the bedroom, but more than that, I just miss her presence. Things had felt different here with her around. She’s always been amazing to have around, but once we’d had her in our bedroom, it almost felt like she was the girl we’d been looking for every time we brought someone into our bed.
I keep reminding myself over and over that this was just a temporary thing, that we’d all promised not to let it come between us, but my heart doesn’t seem to give a fuck. In spite of Andrei and I agreeing to put some distance between us for now, I’ve reached for the phone a dozen times to call her.
When I find myself reaching for it again, I decide to make a different call, this time to Cassidy. Beyond being Marlene’s best friend, Cass has always been close with us. While I’m not sure how much Marlene has told her of the situation, I have no doubt she’s in on at least part of it, and maybe I can get her insight or something.
The phone rings a few times before she picks up. “Hey, Corey, what’s up?”
“Hey, you busy? I know you’re at that conference thing.”
“Ugh, it’s a drag, you’re rescuing me from mingling at some stupid company cocktail party, please, talk away.”
I chuckle. “Listen…I don’t really know who else to talk to, but you and I have been friends for a long time, and I know you’re not going to judge me, at least not too harshly.”
Her casual tone drops to one more solemn and concerned. “You can tell me anything, Corey, what’s going on?”
