The Last Time (5 page)

“I know,” she whispered. “But, like I said, I’m not your problem anymore.” She turned away then walked to the couch.

Javi came back. “Everything is set up.”

“Thanks,” I said, being Monnique’s voice.

“No problem.”

Monnique’s voice was dead, but she still pushed through. “We need to make the arrangements.”

“Yeah,” Javi said sadly. “I’ve called all the relatives and told them the funeral will be in about a day. They are all packing and flying out.”

She nodded. “We should go to the cemetery and get everything ready.”

I hated this. I hated knowing Monnique was in pain.

“Let’s go,” he said. “We need to do this fast.”

“How much did he leave in life insurance?” Monnique asked.

He shrugged. “Not much. I suspect it will only pay for half of the funeral.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “I have some money saved.”

“And I can help,” I added.

Monnique finally looked at me then turned away. “It’s okay, Cortland. But thank you.”

The more she pushed me away, the more I wanted her. She’d really given up on me. She didn’t even want me around. I hated seeing her life without me. I hated seeing my life without her. It was too damn hard.

We left for the cemetery then met with the director. I never knew funerals were so expensive but they were. When we had to select a casket, Monnique and Javi discussed it like they were picking out furniture. Suddenly, Monnique burst into tears and left the room, the weight of the reality settling on her.

I ran after her then wrapped my arms around her, letting her cry into my shoulder.

“I can’t do this…”

“Yes, you can,” I said. “I’m here. You aren’t alone.”

“I’m so alone…my parents are both gone.”

I couldn’t imagine how she must feel. Both of my parents were healthy and well.  “You aren’t alone,” I said firmly. “You have a family who loves you. And I love you.” I knew I shouldn’t keep saying that but it was the truth. I did love her, more than anything.

“I’m too young to go through this. My parents should die when I’m old, not before I’m thirty.” She stepped away and turned her back to me. “I’ve taken so much for granted. I never appreciate what I have until it’s gone.” She fell to her knees and sobbed into her hands. I knew she was mourning me as well, and that made me feel like shit.

I came behind her and pulled her into my chest, getting on the ground. I let her cry, keeping her face away from me. My hand hooked around her waist and held her steady. I wanted to say something to make this better, but I was at a loss of words.

Minutes later, Javi came back. He stared at us on the ground, saying nothing.

I stood up then pulled Monnique to her feet. “She just needed a minute.”

“I took care of everything,” he said sadly. “The funeral will be tomorrow. The director took care of the food and the transportation too. The plot has been already paid for since Dad will be buried with Mom.”

Monnique nodded, unable to speak.

Javi gripped her shoulder and held her steady. “This is hard for me too, Monnique. You aren’t alone.”

“I know.” She sniffed. “I’m sorry I’m not being stronger.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said gently. “You aren’t weak. We just express our emotions differently.”

I grabbed Monnique
’s hand and rubbed my thumb over the knuckles.

“Let’s go home and get some rest before tomorrow,” Javi said. “We have a long day ahead of us.”

She nodded then let me pull her away.

6

Mike

When Scarlet invited everyone over, I didn’t think it was for any reason in particular, just dinner and game night. But I was wrong.

“Her dad passed away?” Cassandra clutched her chest while she listened to Scarlet.

Scarlet nodded sadly. “That’s why she’s in Seattle. Cortland went with her.”

Now I felt like shit. “I feel so bad for her.”

“What should we do?” Sean asked. “Should we fly out there?”

“I don’t know,” Scarlet said. “It didn’t sound like she wanted us there.”

“Why are you telling us now?” Mike asked. “Why not a few days ago?”

Scarlet shrugged. “You and Sean had enough on your plate with your mom. I didn’t want to make it worse.”

“At least Cortland went with her,” Sean said. “That’s a relief.”

“Yeah,” Scarlet said. “I hope this puts them back together. It doesn’t feel right when they aren’t together, like something is off.”

“Yeah,” Cassandra said in agreement.

The front door opened and Ryan walked inside. But he didn’t look happy.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

He came into the room with Janice behind him. “We need to talk.”

“What?” Scarlet looked panicked.

Ryan plopped down into a chair and Janice sat beside him. “Hazel came to my apartment last night. She and Flynn broke up.”

Everyone was shocked.

“What?” Scarlet’s eyes were wide. “Why?”

“They were so cute together,” Cassandra said.

Ryan had a dark look on his face. “He cheated.”

Sean raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“That doesn’t sound like Flynn,” I added.

Ryan nodded. “She showed me the text. Apparently, he texted Hazel instead of his ex, saying he had a great time in bed. When Hazel walked into their bedroom, women’s underwear was on the bed and the sheets were unmade.”

Now I was speechless. “That’s pretty incriminating.”

Sean wasn’t convinced so easily. “But it doesn’t sound like him. I know he used to be a playboy but I just can’t see him doing that to Hazel. They just moved in together.”

“I’m having a hard time believing it too,” Scarlet said.

Ryan shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s a difficult accusation to fight.”

“Is she staying with you?” I asked.

“Yeah. Cortland hasn’t been answering his phone and she had nowhere else to go,” Ryan said.

“She can stay with us if it’s too cramped,” Scarlet offered.

“Yeah,” Sean said. “We have room.”

Ryan shook his head. “We don’t mind having her. She’s not a problem. Besides, she works long hours in the city. It would be a pain for her to commute.”

“Poor Hazel,” I said.

“She asked if we could go with her to the apartment so she can get the rest of her things,” Ryan said. “I said yes, obviously.”

“I think we should break a few of his bones to teach him a lesson,” I said darkly.

“I think we should talk to him first,” Sean said. “Flynn and I aren’t exactly close, but he doesn’t strike me as the cheating type.”

Ryan shook his head slightly. “It would be easier to believe he’s innocent, but…I really don’t think he is. There’s not a single explanation I can think of to explain everything.”

Scarlet gave him a firm look. “Don’t hurt him, Ryan.”

“I’ll do what I want,” he snapped. “No one hurts my friend and gets away with it. And since she’s so important to Cortland, I have to step up and protect Hazel. Cortland isn’t here, but I’ll do right by him.”

No one had an argument against that.

“How’s she doing?” I asked.

“She cried for a while when she first got to the apartment, but she’s been pretty quiet ever since. I invited her over but she didn’t want to come, saying she wanted to be alone,” Ryan said.

“Has Flynn come by?” I asked.

“No,” Ryan said. “He’d be stupid not
to.”

A quiet sadness fell on the room. Now we were all even more depressed than we used to be.

“This sucks,” Sean said bluntly. “First, Monnique, and now Hazel. Can we just have a day in our lives when there’s no drama?”

Scarlet shook her head. “Never going to happen.”

“I hate to be insensitive to both Monnique and Hazel, but Mike’s getting married in a little over a week and we really need to have the bachelor party,” Ryan said.

I couldn’t believe my wedding day was so soon. Cassandra and the girls worked their
asses off to throw it together as soon as possible. It was quite an accomplishment. “I really don’t need one. There’s more important things going on right now.”

“There’s nothing you can do for Monnique,” Scarlet said gently. “But I suspect Cortland won’t be able to make it, which is understandable. And there’s nothing you can do for Hazel either.”

Cassandra rubbed my arm. “I want you to have a good time. This is your only bachelor party. Well—it better be the only one.” She gave me a playful look.

I smirked then kissed her on the forehead. “It will be.”

“Then it needs to happen this Saturday. We’ll hit the Rainbow Room and play poker at the plaza,” Sean said.

“What about Cortland?” I asked.

Sean shrugged. “We’ll have to do it without him. He’ll understand.”

It still didn’t feel right without him here.

Silence fell as no one spoke. I had the perfect life and the perfect girl on my arm. She was pregnant and carrying my child. Everything was going well, and my mom had a good chance of a successful surgery. Now I felt bad for Hazel and Monnique, who were both going through the most difficult times of their lives.

Cassandra and I lay on the couch while we watched TV. Her body was hooked around mine and her face rested on my chest. Even when she was pregnant with my kid, she was still so small.

The TV was on, but I wasn’t really watching it. Instead, I was thinking about my two friends. Just the idea of losing one of my parents was enough to make me go into a depression. I loved them both so much. But to lose both…
.within a year. That was rough. And I felt bad for Hazel too. She was strong and secure on the outside, but I knew Flynn’s betrayal was eating her alive.

“Mike?” Cassandra whispered.

“Hmm?” My hand moved down her back, feeling the steep curve I loved.

“Do you…have any doubts?”

My hand stilled. “About what?”

“Me…”

I turned my head and looked at her. Her face was concealed underneath her hair. I had a feeling she did it on purpose. “No. Not a single one. Why?”

“I just…I don’t know.”

“You do know. Tell me.”

She rested her hand on my stomach. “You’ve been single your entire life, and now you’re getting married with a kid on the way. Doesn’t that…scare you?”

“No.” Not one bit.

“Are you sure?”

Where was this coming from? “Does it scare you?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Mike,” she said firmly.

“I don’t have a doubt in my mind, Cassandra. You’re my soul mate. All I want is you.”

“But…”

“There is no but,” I interrupted her. “If anyone should have doubts, it’s you. I don’t deserve you. You’re marrying down and I’m marrying up. That’s just how it is.”

“Not at all.”

“Shows how much you know.”

She hooked her arm around her waist. “I guess I get scared that you’ll take off when everything
hits you. That you’ll want to go back to your bachelor life.”

I was hurt. “I’m insulted you would even think that.”

“I’m sorry…”

“I’ve been around and I know what’s out there. I want a marriage in this house, with kids and birthday parties. I want a wife and a happy life. Believe me, my time before you was shitty. I used to tease Sean for his commitment to Scarlet, but in reality, I was just jealous. And now everyone is jealous of me.”

Cassandra fell silent. Her hand stopped moving.

“Do you feel better?”

“I think so.”

I turned off the TV then cradled her into my arms. Still holding her, I checked all the locks and lights then set the alarm.

“We don’t need an alarm,” she said as she hooked her arms around my neck.

“We don’t?”

“Not when I have a huge caveman to protect me.”

I smirked then carried her up the stairs. After I lay her on the bed, I pulled my clothes off and got into bed.

Her hands caressed my chest. “Bullets would bounce off of this.”

I smirked again. “Are you trying to butter me up?”

“Maybe,” she said playfully.

“You’re doing a good job of it.”

“What more do I have to say to get you on top of me?”

Her bluntness turned me on. “Not another word.” I moved over her then separated her legs with my knees.

Once I was inside her, I moved into her slowly. I was never in a hurry with Cassandra. I liked it nice and slow. I knew she did too. Her nails dug into my back while she moaned underneath me, loving everything I was doing to her.

My eyes were connected to hers,
feeling my heart swell like it usually did. “I can’t wait to make love to you as your husband.”

Her eyes softened and a louder moan escaped her lips.

I dove into the moment with her, head first. With her, I was invincible. With her, I was whole. With her, I was the man I always wanted to be.