swept around the room seeking out familiar faces, namely our boyfriends. As it was Cassie’s boyfriend’s birthday, I’d assumed it would be a younger crowd. Instead, the guests were mixed in age.
“It’s a swanky affair, isn’t it?” I whispered.
“Yeah. It’s lavish. I wouldn’t expect anything but.” She smiled. “This is the first time I’ve been here. Shit, I didn’t realize Marcus was so loaded.” She expressed a quiet chuckle. “I’ll have to marry him now.”
Knowing what I knew about Cassie’s near lack of passion toward her newish boyfriend, I asked, “What about love?” Just as Cassie was about to launch into one of her lectures about marrying for security, almost word perfect to one of my mother’s rants, Marcus and Justin headed our way.
Wearing a glazy-eyed expression, my boyfriend looked as though he’d already had his fill of alcohol, which made me cringe. As he swaggered over, I had to admit he cut a fine figure in a tux, reminding me of why I’d been attracted to him in the first place.
He grabbed me by the waist and planted a wet kiss on my lips, after which I pulled away to look at him. “And hello to you, too.”
“You look fucking good enough to eat,” Justin boomed.
Noticing the guests staring at me, I whispered, “Shh… tell the whole world, why don’t you.”
Justin drew me in close again. “I will. You…”
I blocked his mouth with my hand. “You’ve been hard at it already, I see.” I looked into his hazel eyes, which were coated in just enough cute mischief for me to forgive him.
He opened his hands in defense. “Hey… Only a few after work. And the bourbon here’s pretty nice.” He swept his arms about. “Nice house, eh?”
I rocked my head slowly. “Mm… not my kind of thing. It’s a bit too eighties glitz and chintz for me.”
He pushed back his head. “Come on. It’s perfect.”
Cassie interrupted. “I agree. It’s a gorgeous house.” She stroked Marcus’s cheek, who responded with one of those sweet, loving smiles. One could almost see the stars in his eyes as he gazed at Cassie. Always polite, Marcus cast his attention to me and held out his hand. “Hey, Ava, thanks for coming.” He leaned in close and whispered, “I agree. I hate this house. I preferred our home back in Brooklyn.”
Just as I was about to comment, a blonde woman tottered over. Her heels were so high I imagined she wasn’t much taller than five feet. I almost experienced vertigo just looking at her shoes. As she flashed a smile that was so bright I needed sunglasses, I trained my focus on her smooth, doll-like face. But then my eyes, with a mind of their own, landed on the mass of pouting flesh pouring out of a low cut, slinky red gown. She was so top heavy with those ballooning bosoms that she needed to hold onto something in order not to topple over. Or so it seemed.
Marcus said, “This is Candy, my dad’s new wife.” His cool tone betrayed a dislike for his new young stepmom, who was about his age.
I smiled. “Pleased to meet you.”
Cassie held out her hand with a matching bright smile. “I’m Cassandra.”
“Oh, Marcus’s girl.” Candy wore such long, thick lashes it looked as though her eyes struggled to remain open. “Pleased to meet you, and welcome to my home.”
Candy turned her attention to Justin and flicked a flirtatious smile, which wasn’t lost on me, given that I’d already noticed Justin leering at her boobs. Despite them being hard to miss, I still felt my skin crawl at that unsubtle gesture.
“Come and get a drink,” she said with a high-pitched, excitable tone. “There’s plenty of yummy food. It’s catered by Pierre Cheri.” Her face brimmed with pride. Not that I’d ever heard of him.
Justin clasped my hand as we followed Candy, whose peachy ass swayed along shamelessly.
“Marcus’s stepmom is young,” I said.
Justin replied, “Yeah. That’s why he hates her.”
Cassie, who was on my other side, said, “I’m going for a glass of champagne. Do you want one?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I think I better. The brightness of this room is giving me a headache. Why have four chandeliers when you can have six?”
“I think they suit the room. I love it. It’s so Dynasty.”
Cassie and I may have been seriously close, but our tastes diverged somewhere after the seventies. While I went for natural fabrics and classic lines in art and architecture, Cassie loved big hair, Las Vegas, and polyester.
“Mm…