Venturing into the bathroom again, I took a quick shower since I’d just had one last night, and I dressed for work quickly enough. Out into the main room, I walked with my suit jacket in hand and laid it over the back of the couch before setting a pot of coffee to brew.
I was used to going without sleep. Having a stake in so many companies and putting extra time into the tattoo shop whenever I could, I spent a lot of extra hours awake. But this was different. Because I was sleepy and sexually frustrated, and I may have been proficient in the first, but I wasn’t a frequent victim of the last. Getting off often was the tension release I needed to keep me moving, and I knew all that frustration, combined with the memory of Cassie’s body, was going to make this workday one of the longest in my history.
As the time to leave approached, I went back into the bedroom and rounded the bed to Cassie’s side. I settled a hip into the crook of hers and wiped a clump of untamed hair from her face.
“Cassie,” I whispered, shaking her hip. “Wake up, honey.”
She didn’t move until I shook harder, and when she did, it wasn’t nice and easy.
A right hook came for my head that I just barely dodged, and then up and out of the bed she jumped until her wild eyes found mine.
“You don’t do anything easy, huh?” I asked with a laugh.
Her eyes pinched together as she looked around, but it must have all come back to her quick enough. She strolled to my dresser, yanked out a T-shirt, and pulled it over her head without a word.
“Is there coffee?” she asked, pointing out the door in the direction of the kitchen.
“Yeah,” I answered and followed her as she walked down the hall. “Sorry to wake you up, but I have to leave for work.”
“No worries,” she said with a wave as she poured the fresh brew into her cup.
I smiled and started to open my mouth, but as soon as she was finished pouring, she turned on her foot and headed back toward my room.
I followed again, expecting to find her gathering her clothes, but she climbed into the bed and pulled the down comforter and her cup up to her nose.
“I, uh…” I started. “I have to leave for work.”
“I know,” she confirmed with a nod. “Have a good day.”
What the…?
“Oh—okay. I’ll, uh, see you later?” I said with the lilt of a question.
“Yeah, sure thing,” she agreed, gulping down a slurp of coffee and reaching to the nightstand for my remote.
“Do you get the Bravo network?”
“I…” I shook my head. “What?”
“I missed the latest episode of Vanderpump Rules, and Georgie’s got me hooked on that shit.”
“Yeah,” I agreed without being able to understand why. “I’m pretty sure I get all the channels there are to get.”
“Fucking excellent.”
I tried my hardest to understand what was happening again. “So…I’m leaving for work now. You’re gonna hang out for a little while?”
“Yep,” she said with a smile and wave. “You have any food? I’m dying for some breakfast.”
I tried my hardest to wrap my brain around what she was asking. I knew mornings were rough for her, so maybe she just needed a little extra time.
“Yeah, I think there are some eggs in there. Maybe some bacon.”
“Ooh, bacon,” she hummed. “Have any lettuce and tomato?”
I thought about it. “Yeah.”
“Fantastic. I love BLTs for lunch.”
“Lunch?”
She nodded and shushed me. The playback of her show was starting, and she snuggled even deeper into my covers.
“So. Bye?” I said with uncertainty.
She smiled impatiently. “See ya. Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
I turned and left my room, walked down the hall, grabbed my jacket, wallet, and keys, and stepped out the door.
Only when it shut behind me did I let all of my manic, unorganized thoughts channel themselves into one burning question. “What the ever-loving fuck is going on?”
My focus today had been almost nonexistent. The night. The morning. All of it together had my brain sprinting all out around one fucked-up loop. I’d barely been able to do any work, and if I remembered the highlights from any of my meetings, it’d be a miracle.
Normally, I worked efficiently from one task to the next. Today, I couldn’t even find the surface of my desk.
Paralyzed by the unknown, I’d fired off an experimental text to Cassie in an attempt to push her until she broke. All it had done was perplex me more. She’d been overzealously responsive—to the tune of nearly a dozen texts—and so comfortable with her banter that I would have sworn we chatted all the time.
I grabbed my phone and stared down at the text conversation in question.
Me: Can you run the dishwasher?
Cassie: I can’t right now. I’m trying to figure out your DVR. I don’t want to miss this Lifetime movie that’s on at 2.
Me: What are you doing at 2? And you realize it takes all of two seconds and a press of a button to run the dishwasher, right? I know you can multitask, honey. I’ve seen you play with your tits while riding my cock.
Cassie: But that was for an orgasm. Your dishes aren’t that much fun. Anyway, I’m very