The next morning, she awoke confused. She wasn’t sure where she was or how she’d gotten there at first, but within a few seconds, everything came rushing back to her, and without stopping to put on anything other than the long T-shirt and panties she threw on after her shower, she went flying out of the bedroom in a blur, afraid she’d dreamt the whole thing.
Cadence heard his voice before she saw his face, but as soon as she came around the corner, the entire room froze, looking up at her, eyes wide. Elliott and Cale were not alone, and several other members of the Reno team were sitting around his coffee table, apparently listening to Elliott tell a story. Beyond embarrassed, Cadence pulled the hem of her shirt down and backed away as quickly as she’d come, yelling over her shoulder, “Just checking,” before she flung herself back inside of the guest room and slammed the door. Leaning back against it, she melted to the floor, hoping no one had actually seen her underwear.
As she buried her face in her hands, she heard heavy footsteps in the hallway behind her, and a few seconds later, a rapping on the door. “Cadence?” Elliott half-whispered. “Are you all right?”
“Yep, just fine,” she said, her voice muffled by her hands that were still over her face.
She could tell he was trying not to laugh at her. “I’m pretty sure no one saw anything they shouldn’t have.”
“Oh, really?” she asked, scooting away from the door enough so that he could crack it. “Just call me Em!”
“Em?”
“Yeah. Em Bare Assed. Party of one,” she replied, peeking up at him through the sliver.
That was enough to cause him to break into a fit of laughter, and it took him a few moments to regain his composure. “No one saw your bare ass,” he finally got out. “What were you doing anyway?”
Cadence banged her head against the doorjamb. “I just had to make sure you were still alive.”
“While I appreciate the concern, why not get dressed first?”
“I don’t know,” she lamented. “I was super sleepy last night, and I was afraid I’d dreamt you. So… I just jumped out of bed without thinking. I usually sleep in more clothes when I’m not at my apartment.”
“Which begs the question of what you sleep in while you’re at your apartment.”
“Hey!” she scolded, pointing at him sharply. “Nunya.”
“You’re right. Definitely none of my business, and I don’t really want to know. I’m just saying, it’s not that big of a deal. You were basically a blur. And there are only a few Reno peeps hanging out in there. I’m sure it’s fine.”
She wasn’t so sure. “Well, you saw me.”
“True. But I didn’t see much. It’s not a big deal. Just put some clothes on and come out.”
“You sure?” she asked, still peering at him through the crack in the door.
“Yep. No one cares,” he assured her.
Cadence wasn’t convinced, but she said, “Okay,” and pushed the door shut, locking it just to make sure no one took her expedition as an invitation and went off to the bathroom to get dressed and take care of other various necessities.
She was brushing her teeth when she realized Aaron was attempting to get ahold of her through the IAC. Though she was a bit reluctant considering she wasn’t sure if he was still angry or if he’d had a few hours to get over it, she gave him access. Forcing as chipper a tone as possible, she said, “Hey, what’s up?”
“Good morning,” he said, his voice a little flat and nearly impossible to read. “How’s it going?”
“Fine,” Cadence shrugged. “Just got up.”
“How’s Elliott?”
“Still alive,” she assured him, spitting into the sink. “I guess we’ll head back there in a few hours.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” he replied, and Cadence could tell by his tone that something was up. “How would you feel about flying back instead of driving?”
“What about my bike?” she asked as she finished running a brush through her hair and tying it back in a ponytail.
“I think that will take too long. I may need you back here faster than that.”
She could tell there was something he wasn’t saying, and that always made her nervous. “I guess,” she replied cautiously. “Can you send something big enough to load my motorcycle though?”
“Sure,” he agreed. “Can the two of you be at the airport in about an hour?”
“That’s fast,” she said. “What can you send that will get here that quickly?”
“The plane that left two hours ago.”
Cadence bit her tongue. So it wasn’t actually a question after all. “Why do you do that?” she asked, knowing there would be no answer. “Fine. What’s going on?”
“Not sure yet, but you need to get back here.”
She knew he wouldn’t tell her more, so she repeated. “Fine.”
“All right. I love you,” he offered, a bit of an olive branch.
“I love you, too,” she replied, meaning it despite her aggravation.
“Oh, and Cadence,” he interjected right before she clicked him off.
“Yes?”
“This time, before you leave, put on some pants.”
“Those jerks!” she exclaimed, wondering who had already told him when it hadn’t even been fifteen minutes. Clearly, Elliott had been trying to spare her feelings and others had also noticed her state of undress. She wanted to murder all of them before they could send this information to anyone else or post a picture somewhere equally as embarrassing. Shaking her head and double-checking her outfit, she made her way out of the restroom, determined to keep her head held high as she exited the guest room. It would only bother her if she let it. “They have no power over me,” she muttered to herself, reflecting on a line from one of her favorite movies, as she gathered her things and went out to figure out who the culprit might be. Someone was getting their head slammed into a wall before she left the building.
