My Five Night Fling by Maci Dillon

 

 

KASSIDY

 

Flicking through my small closet of clothes, I can’t decide what to wear to Maximum tonight. I should’ve been packing for an early flight out in the morning, but my world is tilted, and my mind is skewed.

After I shower and apply my makeup, I opt for the royal blue wrap dress to show off my curves. And, you guessed it, my stiletto boots.

Tomorrow I’ll go shopping for more of everything once I move apartments. My love of boots is almost equal to my penchant for scarves, but unfortunately, when you’re traveling light, one pair of boots is the limit.

That’s another pro for my list right there. I can buy all the boots my heart desires and don’t have to worry about shipping them home.

Not for a while, anyway.

This gets me thinking about what I’d want to collect or have packed up at home and shipped over to me. Most of my wardrobe will be inappropriate for London weather. My rather large lingerie collection would be nice to have, but the starting bonus will be more than enough to cater for a new lingerie collection here.

Apart from some personal mementos I’d love to have with me but wouldn’t want to risk shipping in case they break or are lost in transit, I’m confident I can survive a year without it all. They’d be safer at home waiting for my return.

Dressed and ready to celebrate, I have thirty minutes before I’m due to leave to reach the subway in time. At the table, pen in hand, I begin a new list of all the things I have to organize.

It’s funny, this morning, I was picturing the long flight home after saying a difficult goodbye to Jarett. I was excited about seeing my girls and starting back at the office on Wednesday.

Now, everything has changed.

Admittedly, excitement is building quickly, especially now I’ve made the most important calls. Tomorrow, after I spring the news on Sophia and Jarett tonight, I’ll post on social media and move on with my new life in London.

A knock at the door startles me out of my dream-like state. I open the door to find Jarett, his brilliant smile and sparkling eyes staring at me, a small bag in his hand. “God, Kassidy, you look brilliant in blue. As you do in everything, but that dress is...” His words stall, but his expression says it all. “May I?” he asks, gesturing inside.

“Of course.” I step aside to let him in. “I thought I was meeting you at the subway.”

“Sophia will meet us there. I wanted to stop by quickly to give you a going-away gift. I didn’t think you’d want to carry it with you all night.” He holds the bag out, and I take it, peeking inside

“You didn’t have to,” I say, pulling out a gorgeous satin scarf with a bohemian style pattern with brilliant purples and teals. I’m absolutely in love. I rub the satin over my chest, not wanting to get makeup on it. “So beautiful, Jarett, thank you so much.”

I move in to kiss his lips. Prolonging it a little, I squeeze his denim-clad ass cheeks, and he smiles, pulling me closer to him. “That’s the best thank you, I could’ve hoped for.”

Separating, Jarett continues, “I know how much you love scarves. Actually, I saw this particular one in a store window moments after I left here the day we met. Look at the label…” He has no idea I bought a bunch of them this morning, but a girl can never have too many. ‘Kassidy Lane’ is the brand on the label. It couldn’t be more fitting. “I wanted to get you a thick woolen one in a deep teal that reminded me of you, but I figured you would have little use for it in Australia.”

I cringe at his words. “Yeah, about that…” I take his hand and guide him to the oversized one-person sofa. Our knees touch as I sit and turn to him, his hand still in mine.

“There have been some developments today.” I’m nervously tapping my toes on the floor, and Jarett steadies my leg with his hand. I have a habit of bouncing when I’m anxious.

“What sort of developments, exactly?” He narrows his eyes and cocks his head in question. I can’t tell if he’s simply interested or concerned about what I’m about to say.

“It turns out a client has contracted our firm…” I point at my chest with my thumb, “… aka moi, to assist with the design and roll-out of a new hotel chain in London.”

I barely get the words out before Jarett is smiling like a Cheshire cat. “You’re staying?” he asks, not hesitating a second.

“At this stage, yes.”

He frowns and takes his hand from mine. “At this stage,” he repeats the words slowly.

“I have a meeting and initial consult next weekend, so I’ll know more after that. They’ve already sent the contract and secured me as their hands-on consultant, but it’s the finer details that are a little vague. As in, I don’t even know when this is due to begin. All I know is, I’ll be moving to an apartment tomorrow, paid for by my company, and once I meet with the client, he’ll be handing over keys to my new apartment in Shoreditch for the next twelve months.”

All the words flow out in a hurry, leaving me breathless toward the end. Meanwhile, Jarett stares at me, wide-eyed and incredibly happy with this new development. I can’t say I’m surprised by his reaction, but it doesn’t help my situation.

“An apartment in Shoreditch? Twelve months?”

I nod slowly, a smile spreading across my lips. His excitement is contagious.

“So, you’re relocating?”

“For the period of the contract, I guess. Yeah.”

He glances around the room. “An apartment in Shoreditch is going to seem like a mansion compared to this room. You know you might get lost?”

I laugh out loud, grateful for the joke. “Well, I have an interim apartment for next week. I should have those details by the time I’m expected to vacate in the morning.”

Jarett bounces off the sofa and tucks his hands in his pocket before turning to me, where I’m still stationed awkwardly on the edge of the cushion. “You know what this means, right?”

My heart hammers in my chest. I can’t deal with any further propositions today.

With anticipation, I wait for him to speak and burst out laughing when he says, “I need to go buy that woolen teal scarf.”

Pulling me to him, we stare silently at one another for a beat too long. Unspoken words hang between us in the silence. My heart hammers in my chest as he pushes my hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. Goosebumps scatter over my exposed skin as his fingers softly trace the curve of my neck. 

Slowly, Jarett guides my chin up with his fingers and caresses my lips with his in an excruciatingly beautiful kiss—sensual and full of promise. A kiss has never before held so much power over my body. This kiss is filled with all the words left unsaid and all the moments leading up to this very second. The passion is all-consuming, and I can’t pull myself away.

Even if I wanted to.

When Jarett finally breaks our kiss, his erection is pressing hard against my torso, and his eyes are heavy with lust.

“We should get going, or we’ll miss our ride,” he whispers croakily.

His forehead rests comfortably on mine for a beat as we both struggle to gain control.

 

 

“I was starting to think you two stopped for a quickie somewhere, leaving me stranded and alone,” Sophia jokes as we arrive with seconds to spare on the subway platform.

“What am I, fucking invisible?” Roman stirs from beside her, reaching out to shake Jarett’s hand before taking mine and gifting it another sweet kiss.

“Wonderful to see you again, Kassidy.” Roman and Jarett share a subtle exchange as we jump on the subway and settle in for our short trip.

We discuss their Wednesday and Sunday rituals at the speakeasy and the fact Roman mostly only tags along on Sundays because Monday is his one day off from Café Zest.

“I’ll have you know I had planned to stop by there tomorrow morning on the way to the airport to say goodbye as I promised when we met.” Roman gives me an endearing smile and informs me he’ll be devastated if he misses me saying goodbye.

Sophia shoots me a hopeful glance, but Jarett begins to rile Roman up about his on-again-off-again attraction to Maxine before she can ask what’s on her mind. I feign shock at this information about Roman and Maxine as if it weren’t easy to spot the first time I saw them together. Roman ignores us as we laugh and joke about his obsession.

“Honestly, though…” I add seriously, “… you two seem perfect together.”

Sophia and Jarett look at me like I’ve emerged from a sewer.

“What?”

Roman lets out a hearty laugh that catches the attention of nearby passengers on the tube.

I’m oblivious to their inside joke until Sophia speaks up, “Maxine and Roman had a thing quite some years ago. You know Maxine has been part of our family since we were kids since our parents and hers were remarkably close. Roman used to always say he’d marry Maxine, and he even proposed to her in third grade.” Sophia laughs as she squeezes Roman’s leg in jest.

“I believe she nut-sacked him for that proposal and each one after that,” Jarett adds. Roman scowls, and the three of us erupt in another fit of laughter.

“There was more than one proposal?” His eyes soften when they reach mine, and slowly his scowl turns into a smile, followed by a lighthearted chuckle.

“Bastards.”

Sophia nudges me as Roman and Jarett continue their brother banter. “You said you had planned to stop at Zest tomorrow...” she burrows closer into my side and whispers, her eyes darting between her brothers. “Does that mean you’re not leaving tomorrow?”

Happiness bubbles from within until I can no longer conceal my smile. As happy as a kid in a candy store, I clasp her hands with mine and whisper, “Nope, I’ll be here for your birthday.”

Cue the squeals.

Jarett and Roman spin in our direction, alarmed by the noisy commotion. “Kassidy is staying for my birthday party! This is the best birthday present ever, isn’t it?”

Sophia’s energy is outrageously contagious. I foresee spending a lot of time with her over the coming year.

Jarett laughs quietly and squeezes my knee. “Yes, it’s the best news I’ve ever heard.”

“You told him before me?” Sophia pretends to be hurt, and both brothers shake their heads at her.

“How did you manage that mere hours before you were due to fly out?”

Coyly, I shrug in Roman’s direction. “Some things just fall into place when you want them to, I guess.”

Sophia fills them in on how she begged me to reconsider leaving. She has no idea everything was already set in motion before her invitation, but I don’t want to take away her sense of importance.

Jarett, however, insists on giving all the details. “But did she tell you the best part, sis?”

Her eyes fly open. Sitting forward in her seat, her eyes flash between all of us. “There’s more?”

Subtle movements, I was learning, aren’t Sophia’s strong suit. She claps her hands together loudly and bounces in her seat like an oversized child. “OMG, are you moving here?”

I can’t help but giggle. What a great guest-imator she is. “For twelve months, yes, I’ll be living and working here.”

She throws herself at me, her arms wrapping tight around my shoulders. “How in the fuck did you pull that one off so swiftly? Girl, do you have your boss eating out of your hand or what?”

I fill them in on the details, the basics of what I know, anyway.

“Depending on where you’ll be stationed for work, that will mean we’re all working in Central London and living in Shoreditch.”

Right now, I’m not quite as excited as the rest of them. Ending things with Jarett could potentially ruin more than just our friendship. I’ve grown fond of Sophia over the past few days, and Jarett, well, the words which come to mind for him terrify me, if I’m honest. And Roman, who I’ve only seen on two occasions, I can tell he’s fun, honest, and good company.

My own little UK family.

Who am I to ruin a good thing because I want to progress with my career? Ugh.

On the upside, I don’t have to make any decisions tonight. Until I do, I’m going to give myself the go-ahead to live it up.

No questions asked.

No, what-ifs or maybes.

 

 

“I believe we have something well worth toasting tonight, folks,” Jarett announces, holding his glass high in the center of the table. Maxine has Sundays off from the bar, so she’s joined the group.

Roman and Maxine share a strange vibe, a kind of comfortable awkwardness if you can call it that. Sitting directly opposite each other, they badly attempt to avoid eye contact unless they think nobody is watching.

“To Kassidy, welcome to London and congratulations on the new contract. I know you’ll do an outstanding job, and I’m happier than a pig in shit that you’ll be gracing us all with your presence for the next year.”

We toast, and I thank everyone for their kindness before I relax and enjoy my mad-as-fuck cocktail which has steam flowing from the edges of the glass. I love this speakeasy and feel right at home here.

“Just don’t ruin it for us, bro,” Sophia jokes, and I almost spit up my drink.

Jarett hands me a napkin without meeting my eyes. “I don’t plan on ruining a thing. Friendships will not be handled harshly.”

As I look at him, I see the meaning in his words. He doesn’t want me to feel compelled or for this fling to feel like it’s automatically more than it is because I’m staying.

I lean in and kiss him. “Thank you,” I whisper.

“I’ve got you, sweetheart. Anyway, you’ll let me, but I’ll be devastated if a friendship as good as this is ever off the cards for us.”

I bring his lips to mine again, my hands clasped around his face. “As would I,” I confide in him between kisses.

“Enough already, you have plenty of time for that now. Tonight, let’s drink.” Sophia’s outburst is well received, and drink is exactly what we do.

Until the early hours of Monday morning.