In fact, I may send my plastic surgeon a thank you card tomorrow, because Xavier has never looked at me like this…like he thinks I’m an attractive woman.
Growing up together, we’ve been friends since before girls liked boys and boys liked girls. It didn’t take long for me to develop a crush on him, though. But there was never even a hint of interest in his dark eyes for me.
Until now.
Knowing Xavier, now that he’s divorced, he’s probably gone back to his womanizing ways, sleeping with every female who walks by him. That’s what he did in high school. And in college. Then in law school, until his final year when he met the gold-digging bitch who wrapped him around her finger.
I wouldn’t possibly consider ruining twenty years of friendship for a one-night stand with him.
Okay, I would consider it, but no, in the end, I couldn’t actually do it. Xavier may have been living on the other side of the country for the last three years, but we’ve always kept in touch. The best part is that no matter how much time goes by, I can pick up the phone, call him, and we’re right back to where we left off.
Sometimes he would ask to call me right back, and I knew he was making an excuse to leave the house, most likely because Camilla didn’t like when he talked to me. She made her opinion of me clear after their wedding when she pulled me aside and waved her wedding band in my face.
“Xavier’s mine now, Cassidy. Let him go, or I will make your life a living hell,” she had warned.
“You may have married him ten seconds ago, but it’ll take more than a threat from a stuck-up cunt to end seventeen YEARS of friendship.”
She had scoffed and walked off without another word. And thankfully, she didn’t nag Xavier to keep him from staying in touch. Of course, we talked less than before, but that’s expected since he had a new life and a new wife in another state far, far away from me.
Damn, I’ve missed him.
When he called and told me a few months ago that he left her, I had to put the phone on mute so that I could jump up and down and shout in celebration. Good thing we weren’t on video chat, because I wouldn’t have been able to hide my reaction.
Now he’s here where I can see all of him and touch him…
And I don’t know if I can keep my hands to myself.
No, no, no. I have to! Friendship is way more important than a hot, sweaty night rolling around in bed naked with the sexiest man in the universe.
This is what vibrators were made for, right? To fulfill fantasies that will never come to fruition. It’s just that I’ve never used one when the object of my desire was sleeping right down the hall…
Not that I’ve been using my vibrator often lately thanks to Eddie and Mike, my fuck buddies. Eddie, I met at the gym. He’s a narcissistic bodybuilder with a huge ego and no plans for a long-term relationship. The same goes for Mike, a rock-climbing enthusiast. Which is fine with me, for now at least. I’ve fooled around with both guys a few times a week, no strings attached, no feelings, no exclusivity, just dinner sometimes before good old-fashioned sweaty romps in the sheets. Mike has agreed to go with me to our high school reunion on Saturday, but I only asked him because I didn’t want to be the loser who showed up ten years after graduation still single and alone.
If I had known Xavier was coming, I would’ve suggested he and I go together instead, but that’s probably a bad idea based on the naughty thoughts I’m already having about him. Dirty, dirty urges that I’ve never had about any other man, neither Mike nor Eddie, like taking a bite out of Xavier’s big, juicy ass and filling my mouth with his hard cock.
Needing to cool down my hormones and my flushed face, I open my freezer door and stick my entire head inside.
“You need any help?”
Startling when I hear his voice, I slam the freezer door shut on the side of my face before turning around and coming nose to nose with Xavier. We’re so close I can drown in the sexy sandalwood and ocean scent of his rich boy cologne. God, it’s worth every single penny.
“No. No, I’m good,” I say in a rush. “Are you? Do you need anything? A beer? Root beer?”
“Sure,” he says. “A beer would be great.”
Turning back around, I open the fridge and pull a can out. “Here you go.”
“Thanks, Cass,” Xavier says as he pops the top and takes a sip. “Not just for the beer but for everything. I love my folks, but they always ask a million questions about my life and then put a guilt trip on me about not visiting enough.”
“Now that I can agree with them on,” I tell him. “You do need to visit more.”
“I know,” he agrees. “Works just been…busy. I thought I was going to have to get on my knees and beg for this week off.”
Don’t picture him on his knees, Cassidy. Do. Not. Do. It.
Too late.
“Are you, um, still with the same firm?” I ask since we don’t usually talk about his work. Not that I haven’t tried, but Xavier usually changes the subject. Anything to stop thinking about him on his knees…
“Uh-huh,” he says between sips of beer. “How’s the store?”
“The store is great –”
“Cassidy!” John yells from the living room. “We’re ready to start the third round!”
“Coming!” I call back as I straighten. “Duty calls.”
“Right,” Xavier says.
“You’re bored out of your mind with all this football talk, aren’t you?” I ask him with a wince.
“It’s not that bad,” he replies. “Although, I will be glad when it’s over so it’s just me and you.”
“Me too,” I agree, even though being alone with Xavier, wanting him even though I know I can’t have him, is a form of torture I’ve grown accustomed to over the years.
Chapter Three
Xavier
“So, tough guy, did you play football in high school?” one of Cassidy’s “friends” comes up and asks me where I’m holding up the wall, trying to stay out of the way.
“No, I wrestled and boxed,” I answer. “Never really got into football.”
“Huh,” he mutters while sipping his can of beer. “Hard to believe Cass would be friends with someone who doesn’t like her favorite sport.”
“Well, she makes an exception for me,” I tell him with a shit-eating grin.
“Huh,” he huffs again like he’s not impressed with me or our friendship.
“Chuck, it’s your pick!” Cass calls out from where she’s playing Vanna White at the enormous white board, writing each person’s choice of player.
“Oh shit,” the man next to me says as he hurries over to her. He says something to Cass that I can’t hear, making her laugh so hard she snorts and slaps his shoulder. She’s totally flirting with him. In fact, she’s been flirting with all of these men she considers ‘just friends’ for hours, making me feel like I’m not all that special. I used to think Cass had a thing for me, but maybe this is just how she is with the opposite sex, fun and sexy, and I never noticed because she was too shy back in high school.