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"The good stuff?" I asked, surprising her into a startle.
"Mills, you scared me shitless." Patting her heart to calm it down, she waved me to follow her. "Tony keeps the top shelf wines down in the cellar, feeding me the cheap shit in the cooler up here. I mean, their cheap shit is better than our fancy, but I also want to see what's down there to sample."
Disappearing, she wandered down into the darkness like she could embrace it. Hurrying my steps, I rushed to follow her to keep her from getting into too much trouble. "Kasey!"
"Come on, goodie two shoes. It's time you learn the better meaning of corruption that doesn't involve two hotdogs between your set of buns."
Blushing, I hadn't even told her about the recent activity I had with them in the dining room. The woman had grown up crass, so I should be used to it, but she often unnerved me without warning. She knew my softer side was never used to this, but she did it anyway.
"How do you know about that?" I hissed as I followed her down the dark and spiraling boards. My hand stayed against the wall to make sure I didn't die with the next step. Kasey got to the bottom and found the light switch, luminating the area around us to see line after line of shelves in the cellar. There was even dirt as the wooden brackets sat on it. So many were filled with wines laying on their sides in small gaps sat between each metal X that heled them to see through each shelf.
"Sweetie, you were so loud, the whole house has been in an uproar about it. All the maids kept whispering about how jealous they are. Now, shush. I'm on the hunt for some good shit!" Kasey began moving and letting her hands touch a few bottles as she meandered down the aisles. The coolness of the lower level felt nice compared to the main area, so I appreciated the change. The dirt also smelled earthy enough to ground me. Its richness held qualities I hadn't been prepared for as I followed my friend.
"Jealous? Why would they be jealous?" I couldn't help the question that formed.
"You're too kind sometimes." Kasey kept moving on, pausing to read a few labels. "Women in this world want to trap a man like Draven and Tony. They use their bodies to throw themselves at them like their vagina is magical enough to do it, but they just join the tally of whores they've been with. Plus, you snagged two of their rich men. You've got a small target on your back because you're an American stealing their stock."
"But they forced me to come here!" I argued in vain.
"And you chose to stay." Kasey dangled a bottle in front of me. "Good choice still. And don't worry about any of them because they can't hurt you at all. They'd forfeit their own life by trying to hurt you. You just gotta remember that they'll want to be the side pieces for your guys and will seduce them behind your back."
My stomach soured. "Do you think they'll sleep with other women while with me?"
"Sweetie, I'm the wrong woman to ask that to. I'd love to say your love for them is enough, but I have more of a cynical personality that asks when does that become not enough? I've seen too much shit with men living lifestyles like theirs." Kasey shrugged and pulled a wine opener out of her back pocket. Popping it, a small gush spilled, telling us this bottle had a slight fizz to it. "Now, embrace the good happening and get drunk with your best friend. It'll make you feel better."
"How?" I squawked.
"Being drunk just means everything becomes funny. It's why I love the life of it too much. It's easier to be a boss bitch when I don't have to deal with my own grief." Taking a few gulps, she handed me the bottle.
Now that my stomach soured completely, I took to the bottle like a newborn babe to its mother's bosom. Anxiety riddled me with questions I didn't want to obsess about while they were away. We could talk when they came back, and I'd add the condition of not being okay with them sleeping with other women. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought about that until Kasey mentioned it.
"Woah, girl." Kasey took the bottle back. "You're already a lightweight."
"But now I want to be happy. Now I fear the shit you just put into my brain on top of knowing we're having dinner with Antonio's mother." Swirling my fingers by the sides of my head, I let her know more than one screw was loose.
"Jesus, Mills. You just gotta live in the moment. Maybe these boys will be like your dad. He's still faithful to your mom. Though, she wasn't as bitter as the hag who flew in from the Wicked West." Drinking a big swig, she handed the bottle back to me. "You know, he's the only man I've seen love a woman right, and you got to see that level of healthy all the time. That's your normal."
"You got to see it too. You got to see how much they loved each other."
"Not my point. I'm still wondering how you put up with anything but that for so long. I mean, Tim was the epitome of the worst boyfriend, abusive without swinging. Then you wind up in the arms of two men who are so obsessed with you they didn't kill your ex to spare your feelings." We kept handing the bottle back and forth until we finished it off and she reached for another that sat nearest to her.
"You don't think they'd..."
"Kill Tim? Oh, they wanted to. When Costas abducted you, it took all his strength not to beat Tim into a bloody pulp. He feels guilty about being the one who sent the strip club gift card, but he needed Tim to leave the house to see what kind of person you were."
"He's the one who sent Tim that email?" I gasped, feeling more down than I had.
"Yup," she popped her lips. "But don't kill him for that. He thought Tim would go for a simple lap dance and a few drinks. It's also why I saw him that night buying it at the counter. He was the mysterious man I told you about."
"Wow," I breathed out. "And how do you know all of this?"
"I asked," she snorted. "Oddly enough, they share plenty with me because they think it'll go a long way with you."
"Does it?" I questioned more for myself.
"Men being honest? That's a diamond in the rough. It should hold a lot of merit if they're doing it without trying to gain something." We drank more, enjoying a small silence for me to process her words.
"You know, for someone so cynical, you keep pushing me toward them."
