Page 23 of Hooking

Natasha: It’s a date.

Not a date, I think to myself. What a shit show this is. And how do I tell Cassidy about this? Do I even tell her?

Yes, you idiot. Of course, you tell her.

“There you are,” Cassidy says, breaking me from my inner turmoil. “Everything okay?” she asks as she leans her back against the railing overlooking the beach.

Tell her, you idiot.

“Yeah,” I say, wrapping my arms under her thighs, lifting her so she’s sitting on the railing. “Just had to take a phone call from the team.”

I press a kiss to her lips before trailing my way down her neck. Her back arches into my chest as she thrusts her hands into the hair at the base of my neck. Tell her. Now would be the time to tell her, but I can’t bring myself to do it. To destroy the last few moments of bliss with her.

“I can’t believe we’re leaving today,” she says, as she presses her forehead to mine.

“Back to reality,” I say, as if it pains me.

She pulls back to look me in the eye, a question furrowing her brow. “Let’s get packing. We have to leave for the airport soon,” I say, distracting her from my indifference.

“Leaving paradise and back to reality,” she says, with a sigh.

A reality I was certain she’d be in, but now, I’m not so sure.

Chapter 9

Cassidy

Cassidy: Chinese or Thai?

Isend off a text to Channing, asking what his dinner preference would be. We returned from Cabo a few hours ago and had made plans for a late dinner, or so I thought.

I watch the message go from delivered to read, but nothing comes back in return. I try not to read too much into it, so I busy myself with unpacking. Yet, I can’t help this nagging feeling that something’s wrong.

Is he getting cold feet? Was Cabo really a one-week type of thing even after he claimed it wasn’t.

God, I’m going to drive myself crazy.

Pulling my phone from my pocket, I dial Hayley, calling for some of her wisdom to put my mind at ease.

“Please tell me you’re not calling from a post-orgasm haze.”

Of course, that’s where her mind would go. She was practically salivating when I told her we were going to give it a try. “Unfortunately, not. Channing hasn’t been responding to my messages,” I say, plopping down on my couch with two unopened containers of Thai food. “Has Brooks heard from him tonight?”

“Let me ask.” I hear her shuffle around “Have you heard from Channing?” I hear her whisper through the phone, followed by a demanding urge to hand the phone over.

“Cass?” Brooks’ voice books through the phone. “What did that asshole do now?”

For someone who’s best friends with Channing, you would think there’d be less hostility, yet I know how protective Brooks can be. Regardless of whether it’s his friend or not.

“Calm down. He didn’t do anything.” Besides giving me some life-changing orgasms, then ghost me. “He was supposed to come over tonight after he dropped his stuff off at his place. Yet, I texted him, and I haven’t heard back from him.”

There is a beat of silence before a grunt of frustration. “Bastard’s running.” I hear him grumble under his breath. “I’m sorry, Cass. This is just what he does.”

“What do you mean?”

“He has commitment issues. He talks a good game, but when he has to commit, he runs.”

“But we agreed to take things slow,” I say, on the verge of tears. This is all my fault… I pushed, and he ran. But not before taking what he needed and more.

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