Cadence’s eyebrows perked up. “That’s not a bad idea. He did say something about us being worried about him just made it worse.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to her. Can’t hurt.”
She nodded, hoping that would fix things, at least temporarily. She had a feeling, though, until Holland was gone, none of it would matter.
“You need to get some sleep, kid. I know how you are when you’re cranky. Jamie might end up sticking that needle right into your jugular to shut you up.”
Knowing he was teasing she forced out a chuckle. “Thanks. Okay.”
He grabbed the beer can off of the coffee table and chugged down the rest of it. “Man, it’s quiet up here. You should come down to my place. Never a dull moment.” He stood, crushing the can, and carrying it to the kitchen.
“Do you want us to find Brandon another apartment?” she yelled after him. There was an empty one not too far from Elliott’s, a few doors down, though she thought it might need renovated.
He came back into the living room. “Nah, it’s okay. I don’t mind it so much. They usually disperse around midnight.”
“Hmmm. I wonder if Cass knows what she’s missing out on.”
“She does. She complains about it a lot. I know she wouldn’t be here if your parents weren’t, but I think she could do without having them watching her so closely. And by them, I mean your mom ‘cause I think your dad gets it.”
Cadence nodded, but that was a problem for another day. Her sister would be seventeen in the fall, and then with one more year of high school, she’d be on her own soon enough. Cadence knew now how fast time could fly by. She brought herself to her feet and crossed the room, meeting Elliott at the door. Her arms barely fit around him, and she snuggled her head into his chest. “Thanks for coming by.”
“Sure. Wish I could be of more help.” His arms were around her, too, and it felt nice to know she wasn’t alone.
Cadence took in a deep breath, expecting to smell the same thing she always did when she hugged him, but instead of just leather and his signature cologne, she smelled something else. Perfume. And it was also familiar. She looked up at him, her face puckered. “Why do you smell like Aurora?”
Elliott’s eyebrows shot up. “I do not know what you are talking about.” His tone was almost comical, it was so overly fake.
“Bullshit,” Cadence declared backing up a bit and letting him go. “I saw you two at the gym today. I saw you looking at each other across the table at the meeting, too. Are you two dating?”
“No!” His answer was emphatic as he put his hands up between them. “We are definitely not dating.”
“No?” she questioned. “Well, something is going on. Don’t lie to me, mister. I may not be the truth detector I live with, but I can tell when you’re pulling the wool over my eyes.”
“The wool over your eyes? Since when do you talk like that? You been hangin’ out with Hamilton?”
“Don’t you try to change the topic on me or sparkle me with your green eyes of untruth. What’s going on with you and Roar?”
“Okay, okay!” Elliott took a step back and put his hands on his hips. “Listen, it’s really not a big deal. It’s just… neither one of us really has time to date or anything like that. We’re both adults who happen to like each other just fine. So….”
Cadence stared up at her best friend with her mouth hanging open for a long moment, not able to believe what she was hearing. “So… you’re just….” She couldn’t finish.
He shrugged and shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. “We’re meeting each other’s needs, I guess you could say.”
Dumbfounded, Cadence still could not finish the sentence that she’d started before he spoke again. She realized she shouldn’t be so shocked—people did stuff like that, didn’t they? Weren’t there even movies about it?
“Look, it was her idea,” he said with another shrug. “Anywho, the kids don’t know, so I’d appreciate it if you kept your mouth closed.” Since her mouth was still hanging open, he gently reached over and closed it. “Like that.”
A giggle escaped her, and she didn’t even know where it had originated since nothing about the topic at hand seemed particularly funny. But she realized it was none of her business, and if they made each other happy, so be it. “I guess, I’m just surprised no one told me, that’s all.”
“Yeah, well, we didn’t intend to tell anyone. And I guess I didn’t take you for a super sleuth. And I didn’t know I’d end up smelling like her. If my kid asks, I’m telling him it’s cause I hugged you.”
“Your kid can probably tell the difference between what I smell like and what Roar smells like, but unless he gets super close to you for some reason, you should be fine.”
“Good to know.” He smirked at her, like a kid who’d been caught doing something mischievous. “Sorry to load your plate with one more thing.”
“No, it’s okay,” she assured him. “It’s a good thing. I just… I’m surprised.”
“I’m sure you are. I can’t blame you. There are worse things in the world to be surprised about. Like someone you haven’t seen in eight months showin’ up and reminding you you’re dead.” He winked at her, and Cadence smiled. Again, it wasn’t funny, but the way he put it made it sound like it was no big deal. “I’ll see you bright and early, sunshine. Make sure you get some sleep. Aaron’ll be all right until this is all over with.”
“Okay.” She watched him open the door and step out into the hallway, still smiling reassuringly at her, like he somehow knew everything would be fine, but as he disappeared, the assurance did as well, and Cadence felt just as lost as she had before he showed up. There had to be something she could do to alleviate some of the stress Aaron was under, but she didn’t have any idea what it might be.
Picking up her water bottle, she headed into the bedroom, still pondering the notion that Elliott and Aurora were friends with benefits and hoping that didn’t take a bad turn. She loved both of them dearly and would hate to have to choose. She knew more than anyone that sometimes life was full of hard choices, and sometimes her own decisions caused a whole lot of trouble for other people. She hoped somehow she’d find a way to fix this problem before the man she loved completely came undone.
