Virtually Sterling (Chapter 2)
Jun. 17th, 2016 01:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sidhe_faerieChapter 2
Cass went to the ladies’ room and took her phone out of her purse. She dialed Gail’s number and waited for her to pick up.
“Cass?” Gail sounded surprised. “What are calling me for? Aren’t you out with Mr. Kinky?”
“Mr. Kinky turned out to be Ford Masters. Remember him?” Cass asked. “He was the captain of the football team in high school.”
“No shit! His wife just had a baby. My mom went to her shower. What’s he doing there with you? Cheating asshole.”
“He said he was divorced and he didn’t have any kids. He told me that they filed the divorce papers.”
“Hold on. This is why your best friend is a paralegal. Let me check the filings for divorce court.” There was the clatter of typing for a few minutes. “Nope. No divorce here… and nothing pending for Ford Masters in any court. Lock those knees! He’s lying!”
“Thank god for back doors in bars.” Cass left the ladies room and spotted the exit door and went outside. “I’m going to ditch him here. I’ll block him on chat when I get home.”
“That’s my girl! Text me when you get home. I’ll bring some ice cream.”
“Thanks Gail. You’re the best.” Cass hung up and got into her car. She was out of the parking lot and on her way home as fast as she could get out of there.
When she got home, Cass picked up her laptop from the sofa as she sat down. When she opened it there was a message from Ford waiting for her.
“Where did you go? I was looking forward to our hook up.”
Cass typed an answer. “I know you have a kid and you’re not divorced. Lose my name. ASSHOLE!!!”
Cass closed the chat app before he could respond. She shut the laptop and put it on the floor. “What the hell was I thinking? I wasn’t thinking that’s the problem.”
Cass kicked off her shoes and pulled the red silk scarf from around her neck and flung it on the floor. “No more online dating sites for me! I will always be alone and horny.”
Suddenly, someone was pounding on her front door. Cass got up and looked through the peephole. Gail was standing there holding up a carton of rocky road ice cream. Cass smiled and opened the door.
“Wow! I didn’t think this rated a rocky road night.” Cass laughed as Gail rushed into her apartment and headed for the kitchen. “How did you know I was home? I haven’t even sent you a text yet.”
“I know how long it takes to get to your place from Winston’s and yes, you need rocky road.” Gail looked like she felt sorry for Cass. “This was the first date you’ve went on in forever and you get a lying cheating asshole for your trouble. Yeah. That’s rocky road worthy.”
“I learned my lesson. No more on line dating sites and no more Mr. Kinky’s.” Cass took bowls out of the cupboard and put them on the counter. She opened a drawer and handed Gail the ice cream scoop before she grabbed two spoons.
“So you are going to die here alone next to a pile of batteries and broken vibrators?” Gail shook the scoop at her. “No. You need a man that’s going to be good to you. Really good to you.”
“When you find out where they are all hiding, let me know.” Gail sighed.
“Hmph! You expect me to do all the hunting? Don’t you have access to some of the richest men in the art world?” Gail grinned. “Show one of them your boobs.”
“They’ll just want to paint me.” Cass laughed. “Most of them aren’t interested in petite redheads with broken vibrators and piles of batteries. Come to think of it, they would just want to paint that too.”
“Here eat! Dr. Gail will make it all better.” Gail handed her a bowl. “Maybe Jonas has a friend for you.”
“Great! Now, I’m a charity project.” Cass took the bowl and plopped down on the sofa.
“Jonas has a lot of friends. At least get your itch scratched.” Gail sat on the other end of the sofa. “When was the last time you had your itch scratched?”
Cass stared out into space. She couldn’t tell Gail about the last time she had sex. If Gail knew who it was, she would blow it out of proportion. She was beginning to see the problem with her love life. She loved a man she couldn’t have. She loved Paul Golden.
“Oh! See? Now, if you can’t remember the last time you had sex it’s been too long. I’ll talk to Jonas tomorrow.” Gail dipped her spoon in her ice cream.
“Don’t. I think I’m just going to think about things for a while before I do anything.” Cass took a bite of ice cream. “This is perfect. Is this from the artisan place?”
“Yeah. It’s from Cone Heads on Fourth and Briar. They do a banana split that will make your toes curl. Jonas is addicted to it. Good thing he works out or he’d be big as a moose.” Gail giggled.
“Gail, he’s already big as a moose.” Cass laughed.
Gail laughed. “And just as cute.”
“You are one strange woman.” Cass laughed. “A moose for a boyfriend and a nun for a best friend.”
“You are not a nun.” Gail pointed her spoon at Cass. “I saw what you wrote in that chat. You are a special kind of naughty.”
“Ha. Ha. I’m just a very creative person.” Cass grinned.
“You better be flexible too. Some of that stuff is really bendy.” Gail laughed.
Cass laughed. “I’m very flexible, Thank you very much.”
Gail arched an eyebrow at her.
Gail left Cass a little while later so Cass could go to bed. Gail sat in her car to make a phone call before she started to drive home. She scrolled down her contact list. She hit dial and waited for an answer.
“Tiger Lily? Is that you?”
“Yes Paul. It’s me Gail.” Gail hesitated a moment. “I’m calling about Cass.”
“What has our Silver gotten herself into now?”
“She has a profile on a dating site. I’ll send you the info but I think she could use a little confidence building. Would you mind chatting with her on line?”
“You know all she has to do is stop being so damned stubborn. I have loved her since art school.”
“That was a long time ago Paul. You two were just a fling, right?”
“No. Not for me. Send me the info and I’ll see if she will talk to me.”
“Thanks Paul. I hope she doesn’t kill me for this.”
“Like I said all she has to do is stop being stubborn and I would take her back in a heartbeat. Thanks for calling me, Tiger Lily.”
“Goodnight Paul.” Gail disconnected the call and sent Paul a text with the name of the site and Cass’s username.
Gail looked at her phone and knew she probably shouldn’t have done that but Paul was the only man Cass had been in a long term relationship with. The only reason they broke up was that Cass left for Paris to study.
It was too late now to worry. Gail just hoped that Paul wouldn’t rat her out.
It was two days before Cass opened the chat window on her laptop. Her first instinct was to delete her profile and uninstall the chat app but curiosity got the better of her. Just because she had one bad experience, she wasn’t ready to give up quite yet.
There were a few messages from Ford. He was asking for a second chance. Cass deleted them and blocked him. She didn’t need to deal with him and his dishonesty.
Cass looked through the rest of the messages. There was someone with the username goldenboy121 who had left multiple messages. He seemed very determined to get her attention.
Cass checked out his profile. She got excited when she saw that he listed his occupation as artist. Finally there was someone that she could relate to.
Cass responded to his message and was surprised that he answered her quickly. He must have been waiting online for her to answer his messages.
Cass sat up with him all night that first night. They talked about everything: food, places they had been, and even movies. They never talked dirty to each other. Before Cass logged off, she told him to meet her on line again the next night.
This went on for two weeks before Cass suggested that they meet at Winston’s. Her mystery man was very willing to meet her. Cass told him to look for the woman in the black dress and the red silk scarf.
Cass wondered if he was married too because he was a little too eager to meet. It would be just her luck that she would end up with another man who wanted to cheat on his wife.
On the day, they were going to meet she couldn’t concentrate at work. She couldn’t think of anything else and she began to doubt her sanity.
Cass got there early and sat at the bar. She couldn’t believe she was doing this again. She must be crazy to meet another guy from online chat. She swirled the red wine in the glass. This time she needed some liquid courage. Cass had a feeling that it was going to end just as badly as the first time.
Cass looked up and saw the last person she ever expected in the world. Paul Golden was standing at the door with a big grin on his face and a red handkerchief in his suit jacket pocket. The tall blonde blue eyed man spotted her at the bar and his grin grew into a big smile.
“Oh no!” Cass started to get up from the barstool but it was too late. Paul was right beside her. “What are you doing here?”
“I have a date with a very sexy woman.” Paul sat down on the barstool next to her.
“You have a date and you’re meeting her in this bar? You have to be kidding.” Cass didn’t believe him.
“Yes. I have a date with a woman that I met on line. I’ve been chatting with her for weeks.” Paul waved the bartender over. “I want a vodka rocks.”
“So what is this lucky girl’s name?” Cass smirked.
“She goes by redpaint25 and she was supposed to be wearing a red scarf.” Paul reached over and picked up the end of the red scarf that she was wearing. “This is a red scarf. Chinese silk?”
Cass took the scarf out of his hand. “Yes. You should know. You bought it for me. I can’t believe that you have been the one I have been chatting with for the last two weeks.”
“It was very informative.” Paul turned to face her. “I had no idea you liked strawberry jam on your waffles. We may have to stop at the market I believe I’m fresh out.”
“Oh my god! Do you think I’m going to go home with you? Have you lost your mind?” Cass hissed at him. “We broke up years ago. I don’t think we want to do that again.”
“We broke up because you wanted to study abroad. That was the only reason.” Paul took a drink then looked at her. “I hear nothing from you for years then I accidently run into you at the beach resort. You gave me hope then you just disappeared again. Tiger Lily doesn’t know about that, does she? She would have said something if she did.”
“No. I didn’t say anything to Gail about seeing you at the beach. She would have made a big deal out of it. Especially, if she knew what we did when I was there.” Cass sipped her wine. She frowned suddenly. “Wait! Have you been talking to Gail? Of course you have or else you wouldn’t have known my username or what site I was on.”
“I’m going to plead the fifth on that.” Paul smirked at her. He rolled his eyes. “Silver, she was worried about you. What are you doing on one of those sites anyway? Perverts and ax murderers use those sites. You could have gotten more than you bargained for.”
“Yeah. I got you.” Cass took a sip from her glass. “Paul, why play with me? Why not just tell me who you were?”
“I wasn’t playing with you. I’m sorry if you thought so. I just want you back or at least a chance.” Paul reached out and took her hand. “We were good together, Silver. We made great sculpture.”
“Sculpture isn’t everything.” Cass pulled her hand away and waved over the bartender. “Another please.”
“Put it on my tab. Paul tapped his glass on the bar. “I’ll take another too. I think we are going to be here a while.”
“You don’t need to buy my drinks.” Cass glared at him. “I can afford to pay for them. I’m not a starving artist.”
“Actually, I have sold a few paintings recently. My agent calls me an ‘up and coming star’. I have an exhibit planned at the Green Museum later this month.” Paul grinned.
“You have an exhibit where I work?” Cass was stunned. “What the hell, Paul? Couldn’t you pick somewhere else to show your paintings? Please tell me you aren’t going to show the ‘Currency’ Series. You can’t! What if they recognize me?”
“Don’t worry. They will never know that it’s you.” Paul laughed. “To be honest, I didn’t set it up my agent did. Although, I can’t help but be pleased about it. Are you going to the opening?”
“I have to. It’s part of my job.” Cass sighed. “I’m going to hate every minute of it.”
“Come with me as my date. It could be a lot of fun.” Paul leaned closer. “Just think of everyone looking at you on my arm and wondering if you were the model for the ‘Currency’ series.”
Cass grabbed his hand. “Paul I’m not kidding. You are not going to show those. I’m naked in those. Everybody will know it’s me as soon as they see me with you.”
“I don’t think so.” Paul shook his head. “There’s no way they can figure that out. You have the only one that shows your face. I sent it to you at the museum. Where is it now?”
“It’s in my closet at home, still in the wrapping.” Cass pulled her hand away and looked at her drink. “Those were different times. We were young and crazy.”
“Silver. Please. We are good together. We were really good together at the beach, weren’t we?” Paul waited for her to answer.
“Paul…” Cass just shook her head.
Paul moved closer to her. “Silver, why don’t we be good now?”
Cass glared at him. “What do you mean?”
“I have a room upstairs.” Paul pulled a key card out of his pocket. “We can order some champagne and you can take off those ridiculous shoes. We can talk …or make some sculpture.”
“You don’t give up, do you?” Cass took a drink from her glass.
“You know you want to. I can tell by the way your swinging your foot. It’s your tell.” Paul whispered in her ear.
Cass turned to him and looked into his eyes. It would be so easy to give in to him, to let him have her. To be honest, she wanted him but she didn’t know how to erase all those years that she had purposefully avoided him. Right now, she couldn’t remember why she had avoided him for all that time.
Paul leaned forward and kissed her. It was soft and quick but it broke what little resolve Cass had.
“Okay but we are keeping our clothes on.” Cass couldn’t believe she was giving in to him again. “Pay the tab.”
Paul waved the bartender over and signed the check with his room number. He helped Cass off the bar stool and offered her his arm.
“I know I’m going to regret this.” Cass said as they walked out of the bar.
(Chapter 3)
Cass went to the ladies’ room and took her phone out of her purse. She dialed Gail’s number and waited for her to pick up.
“Cass?” Gail sounded surprised. “What are calling me for? Aren’t you out with Mr. Kinky?”
“Mr. Kinky turned out to be Ford Masters. Remember him?” Cass asked. “He was the captain of the football team in high school.”
“No shit! His wife just had a baby. My mom went to her shower. What’s he doing there with you? Cheating asshole.”
“He said he was divorced and he didn’t have any kids. He told me that they filed the divorce papers.”
“Hold on. This is why your best friend is a paralegal. Let me check the filings for divorce court.” There was the clatter of typing for a few minutes. “Nope. No divorce here… and nothing pending for Ford Masters in any court. Lock those knees! He’s lying!”
“Thank god for back doors in bars.” Cass left the ladies room and spotted the exit door and went outside. “I’m going to ditch him here. I’ll block him on chat when I get home.”
“That’s my girl! Text me when you get home. I’ll bring some ice cream.”
“Thanks Gail. You’re the best.” Cass hung up and got into her car. She was out of the parking lot and on her way home as fast as she could get out of there.
When she got home, Cass picked up her laptop from the sofa as she sat down. When she opened it there was a message from Ford waiting for her.
“Where did you go? I was looking forward to our hook up.”
Cass typed an answer. “I know you have a kid and you’re not divorced. Lose my name. ASSHOLE!!!”
Cass closed the chat app before he could respond. She shut the laptop and put it on the floor. “What the hell was I thinking? I wasn’t thinking that’s the problem.”
Cass kicked off her shoes and pulled the red silk scarf from around her neck and flung it on the floor. “No more online dating sites for me! I will always be alone and horny.”
Suddenly, someone was pounding on her front door. Cass got up and looked through the peephole. Gail was standing there holding up a carton of rocky road ice cream. Cass smiled and opened the door.
“Wow! I didn’t think this rated a rocky road night.” Cass laughed as Gail rushed into her apartment and headed for the kitchen. “How did you know I was home? I haven’t even sent you a text yet.”
“I know how long it takes to get to your place from Winston’s and yes, you need rocky road.” Gail looked like she felt sorry for Cass. “This was the first date you’ve went on in forever and you get a lying cheating asshole for your trouble. Yeah. That’s rocky road worthy.”
“I learned my lesson. No more on line dating sites and no more Mr. Kinky’s.” Cass took bowls out of the cupboard and put them on the counter. She opened a drawer and handed Gail the ice cream scoop before she grabbed two spoons.
“So you are going to die here alone next to a pile of batteries and broken vibrators?” Gail shook the scoop at her. “No. You need a man that’s going to be good to you. Really good to you.”
“When you find out where they are all hiding, let me know.” Gail sighed.
“Hmph! You expect me to do all the hunting? Don’t you have access to some of the richest men in the art world?” Gail grinned. “Show one of them your boobs.”
“They’ll just want to paint me.” Cass laughed. “Most of them aren’t interested in petite redheads with broken vibrators and piles of batteries. Come to think of it, they would just want to paint that too.”
“Here eat! Dr. Gail will make it all better.” Gail handed her a bowl. “Maybe Jonas has a friend for you.”
“Great! Now, I’m a charity project.” Cass took the bowl and plopped down on the sofa.
“Jonas has a lot of friends. At least get your itch scratched.” Gail sat on the other end of the sofa. “When was the last time you had your itch scratched?”
Cass stared out into space. She couldn’t tell Gail about the last time she had sex. If Gail knew who it was, she would blow it out of proportion. She was beginning to see the problem with her love life. She loved a man she couldn’t have. She loved Paul Golden.
“Oh! See? Now, if you can’t remember the last time you had sex it’s been too long. I’ll talk to Jonas tomorrow.” Gail dipped her spoon in her ice cream.
“Don’t. I think I’m just going to think about things for a while before I do anything.” Cass took a bite of ice cream. “This is perfect. Is this from the artisan place?”
“Yeah. It’s from Cone Heads on Fourth and Briar. They do a banana split that will make your toes curl. Jonas is addicted to it. Good thing he works out or he’d be big as a moose.” Gail giggled.
“Gail, he’s already big as a moose.” Cass laughed.
Gail laughed. “And just as cute.”
“You are one strange woman.” Cass laughed. “A moose for a boyfriend and a nun for a best friend.”
“You are not a nun.” Gail pointed her spoon at Cass. “I saw what you wrote in that chat. You are a special kind of naughty.”
“Ha. Ha. I’m just a very creative person.” Cass grinned.
“You better be flexible too. Some of that stuff is really bendy.” Gail laughed.
Cass laughed. “I’m very flexible, Thank you very much.”
Gail arched an eyebrow at her.
Gail left Cass a little while later so Cass could go to bed. Gail sat in her car to make a phone call before she started to drive home. She scrolled down her contact list. She hit dial and waited for an answer.
“Tiger Lily? Is that you?”
“Yes Paul. It’s me Gail.” Gail hesitated a moment. “I’m calling about Cass.”
“What has our Silver gotten herself into now?”
“She has a profile on a dating site. I’ll send you the info but I think she could use a little confidence building. Would you mind chatting with her on line?”
“You know all she has to do is stop being so damned stubborn. I have loved her since art school.”
“That was a long time ago Paul. You two were just a fling, right?”
“No. Not for me. Send me the info and I’ll see if she will talk to me.”
“Thanks Paul. I hope she doesn’t kill me for this.”
“Like I said all she has to do is stop being stubborn and I would take her back in a heartbeat. Thanks for calling me, Tiger Lily.”
“Goodnight Paul.” Gail disconnected the call and sent Paul a text with the name of the site and Cass’s username.
Gail looked at her phone and knew she probably shouldn’t have done that but Paul was the only man Cass had been in a long term relationship with. The only reason they broke up was that Cass left for Paris to study.
It was too late now to worry. Gail just hoped that Paul wouldn’t rat her out.
It was two days before Cass opened the chat window on her laptop. Her first instinct was to delete her profile and uninstall the chat app but curiosity got the better of her. Just because she had one bad experience, she wasn’t ready to give up quite yet.
There were a few messages from Ford. He was asking for a second chance. Cass deleted them and blocked him. She didn’t need to deal with him and his dishonesty.
Cass looked through the rest of the messages. There was someone with the username goldenboy121 who had left multiple messages. He seemed very determined to get her attention.
Cass checked out his profile. She got excited when she saw that he listed his occupation as artist. Finally there was someone that she could relate to.
Cass responded to his message and was surprised that he answered her quickly. He must have been waiting online for her to answer his messages.
Cass sat up with him all night that first night. They talked about everything: food, places they had been, and even movies. They never talked dirty to each other. Before Cass logged off, she told him to meet her on line again the next night.
This went on for two weeks before Cass suggested that they meet at Winston’s. Her mystery man was very willing to meet her. Cass told him to look for the woman in the black dress and the red silk scarf.
Cass wondered if he was married too because he was a little too eager to meet. It would be just her luck that she would end up with another man who wanted to cheat on his wife.
On the day, they were going to meet she couldn’t concentrate at work. She couldn’t think of anything else and she began to doubt her sanity.
Cass got there early and sat at the bar. She couldn’t believe she was doing this again. She must be crazy to meet another guy from online chat. She swirled the red wine in the glass. This time she needed some liquid courage. Cass had a feeling that it was going to end just as badly as the first time.
Cass looked up and saw the last person she ever expected in the world. Paul Golden was standing at the door with a big grin on his face and a red handkerchief in his suit jacket pocket. The tall blonde blue eyed man spotted her at the bar and his grin grew into a big smile.
“Oh no!” Cass started to get up from the barstool but it was too late. Paul was right beside her. “What are you doing here?”
“I have a date with a very sexy woman.” Paul sat down on the barstool next to her.
“You have a date and you’re meeting her in this bar? You have to be kidding.” Cass didn’t believe him.
“Yes. I have a date with a woman that I met on line. I’ve been chatting with her for weeks.” Paul waved the bartender over. “I want a vodka rocks.”
“So what is this lucky girl’s name?” Cass smirked.
“She goes by redpaint25 and she was supposed to be wearing a red scarf.” Paul reached over and picked up the end of the red scarf that she was wearing. “This is a red scarf. Chinese silk?”
Cass took the scarf out of his hand. “Yes. You should know. You bought it for me. I can’t believe that you have been the one I have been chatting with for the last two weeks.”
“It was very informative.” Paul turned to face her. “I had no idea you liked strawberry jam on your waffles. We may have to stop at the market I believe I’m fresh out.”
“Oh my god! Do you think I’m going to go home with you? Have you lost your mind?” Cass hissed at him. “We broke up years ago. I don’t think we want to do that again.”
“We broke up because you wanted to study abroad. That was the only reason.” Paul took a drink then looked at her. “I hear nothing from you for years then I accidently run into you at the beach resort. You gave me hope then you just disappeared again. Tiger Lily doesn’t know about that, does she? She would have said something if she did.”
“No. I didn’t say anything to Gail about seeing you at the beach. She would have made a big deal out of it. Especially, if she knew what we did when I was there.” Cass sipped her wine. She frowned suddenly. “Wait! Have you been talking to Gail? Of course you have or else you wouldn’t have known my username or what site I was on.”
“I’m going to plead the fifth on that.” Paul smirked at her. He rolled his eyes. “Silver, she was worried about you. What are you doing on one of those sites anyway? Perverts and ax murderers use those sites. You could have gotten more than you bargained for.”
“Yeah. I got you.” Cass took a sip from her glass. “Paul, why play with me? Why not just tell me who you were?”
“I wasn’t playing with you. I’m sorry if you thought so. I just want you back or at least a chance.” Paul reached out and took her hand. “We were good together, Silver. We made great sculpture.”
“Sculpture isn’t everything.” Cass pulled her hand away and waved over the bartender. “Another please.”
“Put it on my tab. Paul tapped his glass on the bar. “I’ll take another too. I think we are going to be here a while.”
“You don’t need to buy my drinks.” Cass glared at him. “I can afford to pay for them. I’m not a starving artist.”
“Actually, I have sold a few paintings recently. My agent calls me an ‘up and coming star’. I have an exhibit planned at the Green Museum later this month.” Paul grinned.
“You have an exhibit where I work?” Cass was stunned. “What the hell, Paul? Couldn’t you pick somewhere else to show your paintings? Please tell me you aren’t going to show the ‘Currency’ Series. You can’t! What if they recognize me?”
“Don’t worry. They will never know that it’s you.” Paul laughed. “To be honest, I didn’t set it up my agent did. Although, I can’t help but be pleased about it. Are you going to the opening?”
“I have to. It’s part of my job.” Cass sighed. “I’m going to hate every minute of it.”
“Come with me as my date. It could be a lot of fun.” Paul leaned closer. “Just think of everyone looking at you on my arm and wondering if you were the model for the ‘Currency’ series.”
Cass grabbed his hand. “Paul I’m not kidding. You are not going to show those. I’m naked in those. Everybody will know it’s me as soon as they see me with you.”
“I don’t think so.” Paul shook his head. “There’s no way they can figure that out. You have the only one that shows your face. I sent it to you at the museum. Where is it now?”
“It’s in my closet at home, still in the wrapping.” Cass pulled her hand away and looked at her drink. “Those were different times. We were young and crazy.”
“Silver. Please. We are good together. We were really good together at the beach, weren’t we?” Paul waited for her to answer.
“Paul…” Cass just shook her head.
Paul moved closer to her. “Silver, why don’t we be good now?”
Cass glared at him. “What do you mean?”
“I have a room upstairs.” Paul pulled a key card out of his pocket. “We can order some champagne and you can take off those ridiculous shoes. We can talk …or make some sculpture.”
“You don’t give up, do you?” Cass took a drink from her glass.
“You know you want to. I can tell by the way your swinging your foot. It’s your tell.” Paul whispered in her ear.
Cass turned to him and looked into his eyes. It would be so easy to give in to him, to let him have her. To be honest, she wanted him but she didn’t know how to erase all those years that she had purposefully avoided him. Right now, she couldn’t remember why she had avoided him for all that time.
Paul leaned forward and kissed her. It was soft and quick but it broke what little resolve Cass had.
“Okay but we are keeping our clothes on.” Cass couldn’t believe she was giving in to him again. “Pay the tab.”
Paul waved the bartender over and signed the check with his room number. He helped Cass off the bar stool and offered her his arm.
“I know I’m going to regret this.” Cass said as they walked out of the bar.
(Chapter 3)