Page 11 of Irrevocably Mine

“Seriously, dude, did you think I didn’t know about this? I figured it out two seconds after you filed it away in that drawer of yours. As soon as you told me Chuck was on it but you never mentioned it again, I knew.” Dax accepted the folder but made his way back to its original location.

“Let me guess, you’re afraid of invading her privacy? Well, I can tell you from experience, not knowing, especially when the answers are right there, will kill you. I had the opportunity for months, and by the time I fucking grew a pair and just read the goddamned folder, I had already missed so much.”

Dax whirled around after re-filing the envelope. “That’s apples to oranges, my friend, and you know it. That information was provided for you willingly, this was not. You know Stacy, how do you think she would feel if I knew all the details? I can tell you for sure, it will not endear me to her.”

“I know, man, I just don’t want to see you lose her, especially now that you’ve made some headway. I can’t imagine you with someone else. Since the day I met her, I thought she’d be the one to fucking keep your big ass in check.”

Dax clapped him on the back. “Me too, brother, me too.”

Talkabout a fucking day from Hell, Stacy thought as she left the pizza joint with the boxes on the passenger seat, headed for Gus’ place. But then again, what did she expect after waking up on the wrong side of the bed. Well, not the wrong side, so much as the wrong fucking bed. She’d left Dax’s in the wee hours of the morning and headed home. The whole drive just felt wrong somehow. The few winks of shut eye she got at her own place only drove that point home. Why had she not stayed with Dax? Why not let him see her topless? Why not…just everything? If any man could be trusted with her heart, it was Dax.

Managing to get through her hearings, client meetings, and a paperwork marathon, was nothing short of a miracle. Her raging case of Mush Brain was at peak fever and she didn’t see a cure in the near future. This was the part that both thrilled her and terrified the pants off of her—getting lost in a man.But is it really getting lost, if you know where you stand going in?“Shut up,Puppies.” Her voice cut through the silence on the car.

While her mouth said shut up, every voice in her head spoke up at that time. They were deafening, arguing for and against a relationship with Dax. While intently listening in and nodding at points made and arguments deflected, she noted two things. One, she was in Gus’ drive, and two, she was a little fucked in the head apparently. Shutting down the engine, she grabbed the warm, white boxes. As she made her was to the door, she realized how bat crap crazy she truly was. “Who the fuck eavesdrops on the voices in her head as they have a heated debate? Crazy bitches, that’s who.”

“Excuse me?” Gus asked as she relieved Stacy of her burden. She hadn’t even realized she was on the porch or that Gus had opened the door until the pizza got lighter and Gus’ sweet voice cut off her own.

“Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself, you know how it is.” Gus turned and Stacy followed her in. The pregnant lady wasted no time shoving a slice in her face as soon as the boxes touched down on the marble. Catching an escaping piece of tofu with her hand, Gus’ face turned sheepish.

“Sorry, but I couldn’t wait,” Gus explained around a mouth full of pizza. Most people would look like asses with a mouth load of crust, but Gus wore the girl next door vibe well. You know the type, cute as fuck but friend zones every guy in the neighborhood, yet they all still want to hang out with her because she is cool as shit.

Gus stopped devouring pizza long enough to grab the paper towels and a couple of drinks—juice for her, beer for Stacy. She motioned to the couch and they moved their pizza party for two to the living room. Gus tucked one bare foot under her thigh and folded herself down onto the fabric with a groan, while sticking her other foot out onto the coffee table. Taking her cue from that, Stacy shed her suit jacket and shoes, tucking herself into the couch, too.

“Would you look at that?” Gus nodded to her foot on the table. “Barely preggers and my feet already look like cocktail weenies stitched to water balloons.”

Stacy choked on her pizza.

“Wow, you have a way with words.” Her unrelated descriptive combos rivaled Dax’s. At that thought, there was a moment of doubt that tried to worm its way into Stacy’s mind.Maybe Gus is better suited for Dax.But she shut it down, not just for her own designs, but for John’s.Gus is perfect for John.That is, if she proved she could love him with an intensity Stacy was sure her brother would the cute, little fairy lady by her side.

Gus shrugged her shoulders in a dismissive manner and spoke again as soon as she swallowed. “I call it like I see it, speaking of which…”

Here it comes, Stacy thought, wondering if Gus would start off with John or Dax. Funny how Stacy was the one who initially wanted to talk to Gus about John and yet she clammed up as soon as she arrived. If the other person wants to talk, let ‘em. That’s her philosophy. You tend to get a more honest dialogue when you don’t make an effort to fill in the silence and let people just ramble on. If she wanted to know what Gus really thought of John, she would stuff pizza in her mouth during every lull and find out. Then, and only then, would she impart her wisdom on how to handle her brother if she thought Gus was sincere.

“When will you and Dax stop dancing around each other and do the dirty?”

Stacy grabbed her beer and chugged in an effort to get the pizza lodged in her throat down.What the fuck?Gus was supposed to talk about John or her lack of interest in Dax, thinking she was giving the green light to Stacy, but not bring out the big guns. Stacy chanced a glance her way, and caught a sparkle in Gus’ eyes before she masked it with innocence.Oh, well played, Pixie, well played.Stacy was sure Gus wanted to throw her for a loop, catch her off guard, turn the tables and ensure honest and open answers from Stacy. She should have known. With her therapy mojo, Gus would have read Stacy as quickly as a bodice ripper romance novel from the ninety-nine cent bin. Stacy hated to be on this end, but her estimation of Gus rose significantly.Mad respect.

Well, what the hell.Stacy decided to join the club, do girl time, and spill. If for no other reason than knowing that Gus would respond to her honesty and reciprocate about John. “We didchica, catch up already.” She said it with a whole hell of a lot more cool and calm than she felt. Stacy rose for more pizza in an attempt to steady herself.I can’t believe I actually said it out loud.

Now it was Gus’ turn to chug her drink in an attempt to cover her shock. Stacy chuckled and patted her on the back. “You okay there, slugger?”

After wiping her mouth and depositing both her food and drink on the coffee table, Gus turned her way with intensity and shock. Stacy enjoyed a moment of smug satisfaction before terror set in.Ha, wasn’t expecting that, were you, Pixie Pants? Oh, shit, maybe you kind of were.Stacy studied Gus with a bit more focus. Blinking, she employed her five-second flash assessment.Oh, shit, you might not have been expecting that we already did the horizontal bop, but you were expecting me to open up. I’ll be damned; your mojo is authentic as fuck.

“To be honest, no…yes…maybe? I mean...it was inevitable. I just…wait, last night? Holy crapballs, you had sex with Dax last night. It had to be. Nothing else makes sense. Wow, so, yeah, I guess I wasn’t expecting all of that, but do you want to chat about it? I know you’re not the type, but if you ever wanted to give it a try, I’m willing.”

Stacy decided,fuck it. I need advice anyway, and who better than Gus?She was sure Gus wouldn’t judge or even share with anyone else, so why not give this whole being in a circle thing a try. It may even help Stacy find the answers she needed. “Sure, why not. So, we did the old in and out and well, it was a hell of a lot more than in and out, if you know what I mean.” Stacy was nervous as hell, as evidenced by her need to humorize it. But shit, if she was going to go all estrogen bonded, she might as well be serious. “I mean, besides the obvious I meant by that poor attempt at humor, I felt…stuff.”

“That’s a good thing, don’t you think? I mean, average sex is just that, average and nothing to write home about. No one wants a relationship where the sex is just eh.”

“No, you don’t understand.” A long silence followed that statement. Gus was content to let Stacy work it out in her head. Stacy turned toward Gus, wanting to get a read on her. “First thing’s first. If I give in to this ovarian-required slumber-party-type conversation, will you reciprocate where John and his potential place in your life is concerned?”

One nod, and a wealth of information was Stacy’s. A fucking storm kicked up in Augusta’s eyes and the ultimate answer Stacy needed was there. Gus’ feelings for John were deep, indeed, and if her open face could be believed, she would move Heaven and Earth to have him in her life.

“When I say I felt something, I don’t mean just happy-fun-time with my lady bits, I mean here.” Stacy placed her hand against her left breast. “I mean, shit Pixie, I don’t know what I mean.” Another chug emptied her amber bottle and she went for a replacement.

Gus’ voice followed her to the fridge. “Did you just call me Pixie?”

“Sorry about that,” Stacy mumbled around the mouth of the bottle of her dark, brewed courage. “I’ve always called you that in my head, and well, when I’m freaking out inside, I guess my filter doesn’t work so great.” She drank down the bottle in her right hand before ever making it out of the kitchen. Grabbing another, she tossed the cap on the counter and returned to her place on the couch. Pizza forgotten, she continued, “No offense, but you look like a pixie and well…why are you laughing?”

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