Page 45 of Below The Surface
CASEY
He got me a cupcake. After I said I like them. It’s perfect with beautiful swirls of pink icing and white sprinkles.
I almost feel bad for getting sidetracked when someone was being mean to a kitten right outside of Hayden’s apartment building and I chased that someone and found their stash of dead animals. They joined the stinking pile of death. So, yeah, it took a bit of extra time since I was dealing with someone that hurt innocent animals.
He got me a cupcake.
There’s a soft touch to my shoulder. “Kay?”
“I’m okay.” I pick my cupcake up and push back to my full height.
I can’t meet Dallas’s eyes. I’ve embarrassed myself too much now and Ineverget embarrassed.
I hold up a finger. “Just one sec.” I scurry back to the bathroom and shut myself in. It’s just a toilet and a sink, and I squat in the corner clutching the cupcake. I grab my phone and call Kendra.
“He got me a cupcake,” I whisper.
“What?”
“He asked me to go exclusive and got me a cupcake. He wantsromance, not just sex.”
I flip the top of the cupcake box and slide my finger lightly through the icing. Then rub my finger against my gums. Mother fucking delicious buttercream. My eyes flutter back and I fight off a moan. “Are you still there?” I ask.
“Yeah. I’m just... What the fuckisromance?”
Neither of us has ever experienced it. I’m not sure that I’d even wanted it before now.
“Apparently, cupcakes? I don’t know, but I do know he’s not getting in the way of our Friday night entertainment. That’s my therapy.” I drop my head to the tiled wall.
My heart pounds. I want this. I want Dallas to think I’m worthy of someone to call his partner, but I’ve never allowed myself to even think about it since we ran from the cult.
When we were younger, Dorian said he wanted to marry me, but I was his servant and he was my divine. There’d be no marriage. I wasn’t worthy of it, but I also didn’t love him in the way he loved me. Wasn’t allowed to dream of anything other than taking care of him. That was Kendra’s and my job. Take care of our divine. Our Dorian. In the Servants of the Divine cult, you were either a servant or a divine and Charles was our god.
Until he wasn’t.
“Casey?” Kendra’s voice slices through my thoughts. “I’m happy for you. One of us has someone that wants to be more than just a booty call.”
“It’s fucking weird.” I push to my feet to pace the tiny space. “What do I do?”
“Stop freaking out, for one. It’s a new experience. You love those.”
“I really do.”
“Enjoy it. This doesn’t have to last forever.”
“I told him we could give it until Influencer Con, then he can get rid of me if he wants.”
Kendra snorts. “That sounds exactly like something you’d say.”
“He’s addictive,” I whisper. If he doesn’t watch it, I’ll want to sew him into my skin. Or slice a finger off so I have a piece of him with me always. Okay, not really.
There’s a knock at the door. “Kay?”
“Gotta go,” I whisper.
Before opening the door, I grab my cupcake from the floor and swipe my tongue through the icing.
Dallas’s eyes go wide when I open the door and tug him to me. He makes a funny littleoafnoise when I slam him into the doorframe and press our lips together.
