Page 21 of Finding Us
“You might want to put some clothes on, Maloney … I can’t take you seriously when you’re dressed like that.”
“You like what you see, Cass?” Connor asks, puffing out his chest.
Cassandra dips her face, but I don’t miss the tinge of pink forming on her cheeks. I’ve never seen her blush before.
My eyes move back and forth between them, and when Cassie looks up, she juts out her chin, saying, “I’ve seen better.”
“Considering the number of men who’ve been through you, that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.” Although there is venom laced in his words, he actually looks hurt by Cassie’s comment.
“What’s wrong, Maloney … are you jealous?”
“Sloppy seconds aren’t my style.” Ouch!
When we were younger, I used to worry about these two, but it was around the age of sixteen that Cassandra started to spiral, so any kind of feelings my brother may or may not have had for my best friend, quickly turned to disdain. He hated me hanging around with her after that.
A part of me was relieved because I’ve had countless girls try to friend me over the years, in an attempt to get closer to Connor. My brother has never been with anyone long term, so if they had hooked up, it could’ve ruined our friendship. We had made a pact early on, that she happily agreed to, that he was off-limits.
Connor walks further into the room, coming to a stop beside my bed. Resting both of his hands on the mattress, he leans in and places a kiss on the top of my head. “Happy Birthday, little sis.”
“Thanks, Con.”
“Gag,” Cassie mumbles from beside us. Her comment is purely for Connor’s benefit because I know she’s envious of our relationship. She’s voiced many times that she wishes she had a sibling of her own. Maybe then she wouldn’t feel so alone.
“What’s that?” Connor picks up the box sitting beside me, and when he flips it over and see’s the image of a silicon dildo on the front, he quickly drops it back onto the bed. “You bought my sister a fake dick for her birthday?” he snaps, narrowing his eyes.
Cassandra fakes a yawn as she holds out her hand, staring down at her perfectly manicured fingernails, like she’s bored with this conversation. “She’s not a little girl anymore, Connor … she’s twenty-one.”
“I don’t care how old she is, the last thing she needs is to be influenced by the likes of you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she retorts with a huff.
“From what I hear, you’re rarely off your back.”
“Right! Like your revolving door of women? That’s a little hypocritical don’t you think?”
He just shrugs his shoulders. “I just call it how I see it.”
Abruptly standing, she storms towards the door. “Fuck you, Connor.”
“Cass,” I call out.
She holds up her hand without turning around. “It’s okay, Jaz … I just need a minute.”
That escalated quickly. I tilt my head towards the ceiling and groan. I hate confrontation at the best of times, especially with two people I care so much about.
“That was mean,” I say to Connor once she leaves.
“I’m sorry, okay. For some reason she presses all my buttons.”
“She’s had a shit life; I wish you could be more compassionate.” He stands to his full height and turns without acknowledging what I said. “Where are you going?”
“To bleach my brain. The last thing I need is images of you with that thing,” he says, pointing to the vibrator on my lap.
Chapter8
Mason
“Do you want to take this?” I ask Blake, holding up the plush dinosaur. Although he’s been discreet about it, I’ve found it buried under his sheets the past few weeks when I’ve gone in to make his bed in the mornings, so I know he’s been sleeping with it.
