The Laws of Love

by Belle Winters

  I wanted to argue, I swear I did, but the prospect of more sleep was too good to pass up. So instead of doing what I normally did I nodded and let sleep claim me.

  Drayden

  She was out before she could fully agree with me. She must be feeling really shitty to be this compliable. I moved her so that her head was on the pillows and she was covered up with the blanket again. I filled up a bucket and put it on the floor next to the bed.

  I’m not used to taking care of people. Hell the most I’ve done was help my mom out with my sister when I was younger. I barely got sick myself, and I never spend much time with people outside of family to give a shit. It was weird and comforting at the same time.

  I booted up my computer and got to work. Two hours flew past like nothing and I was so engrossed in my work, I didn’t hear the door open or the heels clacking against my hardwood floor.

  “There you are big brother. Playing hooky?”

  I looked up to see Shelly standing in the entryway to the living room. I glared at her and she smiled.

  “I am not playing hooky; I’m working from home.” I said gesturing to the computer and papers surrounding me.

  She rolled her eyes and came into the living room. “I already know that you and Reno went out last night…” she raised an eyebrow in question. When I only continued to stare at her, she huffed and plopped down on the seat next to me. “What are you nursing a hangover? Come on and spill. Who was his chick for the night? You know my life is dull I need to live through you guys.” She pouted.

  I rolled my eyes. “Yea, he found someone. She was hot, not at all his normal type. She didn’t look like a pinup Barbie or a model. She looked more like a rocker or something, but she wore the look well.”

  Her eyes brightened. “Seriously? Please tell me you got a picture!”

  I laughed. “Really? Why would I take random creepy snapshots of Reno and his chick for the night?”

  She looked at me thoughtfully. “He needs a woman in his life to calm his ass down. Put a leash on him.”

  I scoffed. “Have you met your cousin? If you did, you wouldn’t even suggest that.” I told her honestly.

  “Well he did seem to have a thing for Cass. She might be just the person, and she sure seems his type. He was practically drooling over her since he saw her. I guess she’s more of the model or pinup type.” He stated casually with a shrug.

  I felt a tug in my chest and my anger went up a notch. I couldn’t determine the cause of my reaction I just knew it was there. “No. he cannot have her.” I stated.

  Sheila smirked at me. “Why not? You don’t think she could be a model?”

  I shook my head. “No. They’re mostly airheads and are way too fucking thin. She’s beautiful.”

  Shelly’s eyebrows hit her hairline. “Wait a fucking minute. Did you, my brother Ayde, just refer to a female as beautiful?” she asked.

  I shrugged. “So. I’ve used it before.”

  She let out a humorless laugh. “Yea, when it came to like the most beautiful woman in the world that you idolized and have absolutely no chance with. Never with a normal woman that was actually in your life in any type of way. The most I got is she’s hot or fuckable.”

  I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Stop being so dramatic Shell.”

  She watched my every movement but didn’t say anything. I wanted to be done with this conversation so I returned my attention to my work. I was watching Shell out the corner of my eye because I could feel her gaze burning a hole in my head. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off.

  “That was the best sleep ever.”

  I turned in my chair and saw Shelly staring behind the couch with her mouth gaping open. I turned too and saw Cassie walking into the living room with my t-shirt and basketball shorts on. She went through my stuff?

  It was obvious Cassie hadn’t seen my sister yet. From the way we were sitting only I was visible in the living room from where she was coming from by the stairs. I looked at Shelly and she was watching me like the cat that ate the canary. I cursed internally and turned back to Cassie.

  “Feeling better?” I asked.

  She nodded as she walked into the living room. “I am, now where’s my work.”

  When she was fully in the living room she caught sight of Shelly and instantly went red. I chuckled under my breath and gave her a full smile. “Oh Cassie, Shelly’s here.”

  Cassie rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. “Nice Drayden. You could’ve come to tell me that before I came down here. Or you know woke me up like a normal person.”

  I frowned. “And the difference would’ve been…?” I asked.

  She thought about for a second and then blew out a frustrated breath. “You get on my nerves you know that?”

  I nodded. “I do. And you’re a pain in my ass but do you hear me complaining?” I asked.

  She growled and stomped over towards Shelly. On the way she picked up a pillow from the recliner and smacked me upside the head with it on her way. When she plopped down on the other side of Shelly I chugged one at her head. Her head whipped to the side and she shot me the deadliest glare in history.

  Before she could say who knows what to me Shelly turned to her. “Are you playing hooky too? Did you stay here?” She asked as curiously as always.

  Cassie shrugged sheepishly. “It’s a long story…” she began.

  Shelia collapsed into the sofa. “I have all day.” She reassured her.

  Not knowing what Cassie would tell her I interjected. “Don’t you have work to do?”

  She smiled. “Yes, but dad wanted me to check on you. He was looking for you earlier and a little birdy said you weren’t in. I was sent to make sure you were breathing. We both knew you were with Reno and that either you were both in here half dead or you were alone half dead or messing with Reno… dead. It was concern for your well-being. That comes first bestest brother. I have a couple of hours left to use for my visit so go on and be a good boy. Pretend to do the work you were so busy on when I came.”

  Without waiting for a response she turned back to Cassie. “So… details. And don’t pull any punches, I already told you how I feel about him.”

  Cassie chuckled and I raised an eyebrow. What the fuck did she tell Cassie about me? She’s lucky she doesn’t play with dolls anymore or they would’ve all been in danger of a horrible death. I couldn’t get further into my thoughts because Cassie started speaking and my attention zeroed in on her.

  “Well, where do I start… so we were at work and he was being his normal asshole self. I suddenly got sick so went home. It was like a miracle and I was suddenly feeling better and decided to go out with my friends. Low and behold I was sitting at a table and this beast of a guy comes up and screams at me. I was like a deer in the headlights and the next thing I knew he threw me over his shoulder and bought me here. I went to sleep and when I woke up he said ‘we’re not going to work I’m too drunk. He said he was sleeping it off so I decided to take a little nap and I wake up and here we are now.”

  My eyes widened in disbelief as Shelly collapsed in laughter. Cassie followed suit and when she met my eyes, she stuck her tongue out at me behind Shelly’s head.

  “What really happened was were at work and Cassie came into my office – “

  “And you were your asshole self…” Cassie interjected with a fierce look. I got it, she didn’t want my sister to know about what happened in my office and neither did I.

  “And started trouble with me like she usually does. Then she faked being sick so she could run home and go get drunk with her friends. She was at the same place that me and Reno went to and she was so drunk I had to act like her DD and get her home safe. I had a couple of drinks so I couldn’t drive and I deposited her on the floor by the door. How she ended up in a bed I would never know.”

  “Oh please! You were just as sloshed as me. We barely made it here because you were stumbling over your feet. You admitted you almost dropped me.” Cass
ie argued.

  I rolled my eyes. “I wanted to. And like I said I did drop you. Right on the floor when we came in the door.”

  Cassie’s eyes narrowed in challenge. “From the way I remember it, you tossed me on your bed!”

  I laughed. “You were dreaming alright.”

  Shelly threw a hand up to stop us. “Ok I get the point. Now, how did this happen?” she asked gesturing to Cassie’s wardrobe.

  She shrugged. “I got sick this morning and well… I went back to sleep. I just threw this on so I wasn’t in my underclothes.”

  I groaned. That was a slipup that Shells was not going to miss. “So you were in your underclothes?” Shelly asked. See? I told you so.

  Cassie shook her head. “It wasn’t like that. The truth? We were both super wasted. When we got back we both shed our clothes and just went to sleep as is. That’s how we woke up. The only thing is I was still super drunk and sick so I went back to sleep.”

  Shelly nodded slowly as she absorbed that information. “So nothing happened?” she asked.

  Cassie sighed. “Nothing happened. Scouts honor.”

  Shelly dropped back down on the sofa and pouted. “You guys suck. I thought for sure when I saw you there was a story there.”

  Cassie smiled. “Don’t worry Shells. One day I’m going to do something epic to your brother and I’ll have a story for you.”

  “Epic? Like what?”

  Cassie moved her head side to side as she thought about it. “Honestly, I haven’t decided yet. I might push him down some stairs but that’s a little too easy, you know? Maybe I’ll sneak in here and put some pink hair dye in the shampoo and cut the tit area out of all his shirts.”

  Shelly chuckled. “You totally got that shirt idea from Mean Girls.”

  Cassie shrugged. “I knew I’ve seen it somewhere, now that you mention it though… I definitely got it from there. Anyway those ideas weren’t epic. I’m sure something will come to me when he least expects it then BOOM! Your brother is walking around looking like a giant smurf.”

  I sighed. “This conversation is interesting and all but some of us have work to do. If you two don’t mind…” I trailed off leaving the hint hanging.

  Shelly sighed. “Fine, I’m leaving.”

  I nodded. Cassie stood up and stretched. “I’m fixing coffee then I’ll be back out.”

  They left the room together. A moment later I heard the front door closing and Cassie riffling through my kitchen. She sure didn’t seem to have any qualms about making herself at home here. She welcomed herself into my dresser and clothes, then now she was currently going through my kitchen.

  I have rules when it comes to women. Don’t bring them home, don’t let them leave their shit, and once the deed is over they need to leave. I laughed to myself, I guess that’s why this whole thing with Cassie wasn’t awkward. We weren’t having sex and every time she’s been in any of my homes it was because she was invited as a guest. Not as a playmate. It was definitely a first for me, sharing a bed with a girl for strictly platonic reason… mostly.

  She came back in with a large steaming cup. She sat next to me and after taking an exaggerated sip looked at me. “I don’t suppose you have an extra computer just laying around.”

  I smiled. “I do actually. I have a desktop in the office, and a spare laptop.”

  “who the hell has a spare laptop?” she asked.

  “Well initially I wanted to have them linked. I wanted one for on the go and one for home. You never know when you may lose or break one right? Then by having them linked I could always use the one I had at home to wipe the travel one clean. I just barely work from home so it kind of never really served a purpose.” I told her with a shrug.

  “Alright, so where is this super special computer?” she asked.

  “In my office.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Right. And where might that be?” she asked sarcastically.

  “Why don’t I just go get it for you?” I suggested.

  She sat back in the chair and pulled her legs up so she was comfortable. She took a sip of coffee and raised an eyebrow. “Took you long enough.”

  I held back the comment on the tip of my tongue and went to grab the laptop for her. When I came back down she was in the same position staring off into space. I took a moment to take in her features and how at home she looked here. Strangely enough, she didn’t look out of place. I kind of liked the look of her in my living room.

  I shook my head to clear those strange thoughts and went over to her dropping the laptop on the couch beside her. “Get to work Richards.”

  She saluted me. “Yes sir.” One day I’m going to rip her damn tongue out.

  Chapter 6

  Cassie

  We spent the rest of the day nose deep into work. At one point I excused myself and welcomed myself to his shower and things. He thankfully had kept the toothbrush I used the last time in his bathroom. After I showered I rummaged through his stuff again for something to wear. When he saw me in yet another one of his outfits his eyebrows raised but he didn’t say anything surprisingly. I was sure I was going to get a lecture about going through his stuff without his permission. Honestly, I did it to piss him off but it didn’t seem to work. He had to of known about the shower because I smelled like him and my hair was wet.

  He drove me home around 9:00 that night once again in his clothes. I seriously need to remember to ask him to gather my crap. I didn’t have a lot of clothes and needed to hold onto the few I did have. I passed out almost immediately, I was still really tired.

  My alarm went off and I rolled over energized. I don’t remember the last time I woke up in the morning feeling good. I showered and put on one of my best dresses. It was a navy blue dress that I splurged on once. It fit me well and I loved it, so much so that I barely ever wore it.

  I made my way to work and arrived at 6:15. That was definitely a first, I usually bordered on being late. I dove right into work and like clockwork Drayden appeared at 6:30. On his way to his office he swiped my coffee and made sure to lock me out. I pulled up the IM. So this is how he wants to start the day?

  Cassie R: You’re dead.

  Drayden M: I’m breathing perfectly fine right now actually.

  Cassie R: You touched my coffee. This means war.

  Drayden M: Bring it.

  Cassie R: Don’t worry. I will.

  When he didn’t respond I went back to work. It was only about an hour later when my cell phone started to go off. I took it out of my pocket to see Ma lighting up the screen. I slid my finger across the phone to accept the call.

  “Hey ma.”

  “Hi darling. How are things out there in New York City?” she asked. This is how she always started her conversations.

  “Things are great. I’m enjoying myself and the City.” The same answer I always gave her.

  “Are you sure?” Always the worry wart.

  “Yes mom. I’m positive.”

  “Cassie.” I heard from behind me. I spun in my seat and held up my finger to quiet Drayden. He came to my desk and leaned against it.

  “Are you busy honey? Is it a bad time?” my mother asked.

  “No, no. don’t worry about it, that was no one important.” I reassured her watching Drayden. His eyebrow arched but he didn’t say anything.

  “Oh ok, well I was calling because I wanted to discuss thanksgiving. You are coming home aren’t you?” she asked.

  I looked at the calendar and groaned. How the hell did I forget about thanksgiving? It was in a week! I barely had two dimes to rub together, there was no way in hell I would be able to afford tickets to go home in time.

  I sighed. “Well the thing is I’m super busy here at work. I’d have to take off more time than just the day to come back home. I’ll let you know if that changes but I’m sorry looks like I’m going to have to miss the holiday. But there’s always Christmas.”

  The line was silent for a beat before my mom spoke again. I could instantly hear the
sadness in her voice. “Oh right, I forget how busy it is out there. Don’t worry about it, it was really a silly question. But you’ll at least call right? You know when you have time?”

  My shoulders slumped and I felt like a complete and total asshole. I lied to my mom… well constantly since I’ve moved here. I don’t want her to worry and she sure as hell didn’t need to know how broke I was or how I was living. If she did, I worried that they wouldn’t accept my help but they needed it. As far as my parents were concerned I had a nice one-bedroom apartment overlooking the park. I was eating great and healthy and was constantly dining out and experiencing this amazing life in the City. They also thought I was a real lawyer. At least I didn’t lie about where I worked. I did work for a law firm; I just didn’t say I was an assistant.

  “Of course ma. I’ll call you guys on thanksgiving.”

  “Love you.” My mom said.

  “Love you too.” With that I disconnected.

  I could feel Drayden watching me and I decided to bite the bullet. I met his eyes and he nodded towards my phone. “The folks?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Yea, they were calling about the holiday.”

  He frowned. “I’m not that bad, you could take a few days off to go home.”

  I shook my head. There was no way I was going to tell him about my financial issues either. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it…” I went to change the subject. “You needed something?” I asked.

  He stood up straight. “Yes. I spent a lot of time thinking about what you said. You know, about going to talk to people. We finally have a lead, that Fisher guy. I was thinking of me reaching out to him to setup a meeting to discuss business opportunities and use that to try to do some digging. So your job, my sweet assistant is to get into contact with his assistant and set something up.”

  I nodded. “I think I can handle that. I’ll get on it right away.”

  He gave me a nod and stood there staring at me. After a couple of minutes went by and he didn’t say anything I arched a brow. “What?”