The Laws of Love

by Belle Winters

  Ayde came over, pried Reno’s hands from me, and pulled me into his side. “You’re feeling pretty good huh?” he asked.

  I just smiled and nodded. Reno walked over to Laura and gripped her waist. “Hey Reno, you can’t just go touching on my friends.” I shouted at him.

  He looked at me over his shoulder and winked. “I am very familiar with your friend over here.”

  I frowned but my muddled drunk mind knew this didn’t make sense. Amy started laughing and pointed a finger their way. “Is this the guy that you met that night at the bar?” she asked.

  Reno spun around and leaned against the wall pulling Laura flush against him standing between his spread legs. She sunk into him and he wrapped an arm around her… interesting. “Been talking about me have you darling?” he asked.

  “Shut up.” She muttered.

  Ayde leaned down and kissed my cheek. “You ready to go to my place?” he asked.

  I nodded and he grabbed my hand. Before he could get me out the door I remembered my purse. I went back for it and saw Amy laying on the couch arm over her eyes and Reno trailing kisses on Laura’s neck.

  “Hey Reno, you going to Sunday dinner tomorrow?” I asked.

  He paused what he was doing and looked up at me. “Yea, you?”

  I nodded. “Two words, carrot cake.”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “Bring Laura.” I told him and he smiled in acknowledgment. When that was done, I went to the door but Ayde backtracked this time.

  He tapped Amy on the shoulder and she peered up at him. “Want a ride?” he asked.

  She looked over to where things seemed to be heating up with Reno and Laura and nodded. She grabbed her stuff and made her way out with us. Almost as soon as we were in the car, I was out for the count.

  I woke up the next morning with a cotton mouth, the only sign of my drinking last night. There was a glass of orange juice and two Advil’s on the nightstand by the bed. He was a god. I popped them both and washed them down with the whole glass of juice. I lounged in Ayde’s bed while the rest of my body woke up before throwing on his t-shirt and heading downstairs.

  When I got to the kitchen he was there in pajama pants and a t-shirt, once again at the stove cooking breakfast but Amy was there with him and they were chatting. I remember she left with us for a ride home but I never woke up once I crashed. I assume that Ayde carried me upstairs to his bed and took off my clothes. I know we didn’t do anything because that I would’ve remembered for sure.

  “Morning peeps.” I greeted putting my empty cup in the sink and snatching up Aydes mug of coffee, the taste of my favorite French vanilla creamer filling my mouth. There was no sugar in here that was for sure, and not nearly as much creamer as I liked but he’d been drinking it although I knew he loved his coffee black.

  “Hey sweetheart.” He greeted me with a soft kiss.

  “Morning bedhead” Amy said and I laughed.

  The most I did was relieve myself and brush my teeth. I hadn’t even bothered to look in the mirror, might be regretting that choice soon.

  “I see you didn’t make it home last night.” I said taking a seat.

  She laughed. “I heard you snoring before your door was closed and I was right behind you. Drayden woke me up when we got here and we tried waking you but there was no use. The poor guy ended up having to carry all 500 pounds of you upstairs.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I do not snore.”

  Ayde’s eyebrows flew up. “You do when your drunk. Both of you crashed on me and I had no idea where she lived and it was late. I just bought you both here. Thankfully she woke up or else I would’ve had to carry you both in.”

  I crossed my arms. “Are you calling us fat or something?” I asked.

  He gave me an innocent face that I wasn’t buying. “I would never do that. I was only calling you fat and you almost killed me last night.”

  I picked a napkin up off the table and threw it at him. It only fluttered in the air not even getting close to him. He laughed and picked it up off the floor. “Anyway, I was asking Amy if she wanted to go over to my parents with us today. Your other friend is going to be there and everyone is in town so it’ll be a full house. Since it’s cold out we’ll be staying in so it’ll make my mom ecstatic. The more, the merrier and all that shit.”

  I nodded. “Cool.” I turned to Amy, “you have a change of clothes and all that right since you were supposed to stay at hers?” I asked.

  “Yea, I have it with me.” She confirmed.

  “Today should be fun.” I hopped off my seat and made my way to the fridge where I know he kept all my favorite fruits. I took out a handful on strawberries and put them on the counter next to Ayde.

  He looked at them then at me and arched an eyebrow. “What’s that?” he asked pointing a fork to the strawberries.

  “For my pancakes of course.”

  He barked out a hard laugh and didn’t stop. I waited until he could form complete words before I spoke again. “What’s so funny?”

  “I’m flattered baby, really I am. But, that’s taking it a tad bit too far baby girl. Feel free to make breakfast tomorrow though. I’m sure I’d love eating your strawberries…” shit why did that sound so fucking seductive. I was instantly hot and wet. “Pancakes.” He finished while he gave me that look. You know the one I’m talking about… the one that tells you he’s thinking all things naughty.

  I walked up to him and stood on my tip toes for a kiss. He met me halfway and slapped me playfully on the ass. “You two better be hungry because the food is ready.”

  Drayden

  After breakfast, I left Cass with her friend to have some girl time. I could hear them chatting and laughing in the house as I did my own thing. It was about an hour and a half until we needed to be at my parents so I went to seek Cassie out.

  I stopped at her friend’s room but she informed me that she wasn’t in there. I thanked her and closed the door behind me. I entered my room to find Cass on the phone pacing like a mad man. I swear she was about to burn a hole in my carpet. Her anxiety instantly made me worry. Had someone contacted her directly to threaten her off the case?

  “… Oh no mom of course I want you guys to visit and spend Christmas together.” She continued to pace as she listened to the response on the other end. I closed the door softly but she still heard the click and spun around to face me. “Can you hold on for one second mom?” she asked.

  She clicked a button I’m assuming was mute and stared at me with wide eyes. “What am I going to do? My parents want to come visit for a couple of weeks for Christmas. I can’t take them to my place, they’ll know I’ve been lying and won’t take my money anymore.” She said worriedly.

  I thought about it for only a minute and I had a few ideas in mind. “Tell them they can book the flights; we’ll work it out.”

  She looked at me confused and I don’t blame her. She searched my eyes and she looked doubtful, I was sure she was going to try to lie her way out of this one. “Hey mom, as a matter of fact come. I’m sure Drayden and I can work on my schedule to sort things out.” She waited a beat and then said, “I’m sure seriously. You guys come I would love to show you the City.”

  She looked back at me and whatever she heard bought out a brilliant smile and she laughed. It sounded almost angelic. “Actually he’s standing here right now and he’s just as excited to see you again…”

  She chuckled and I couldn’t help but smile. She was on the phone with her mother and they were joking about me. Like they both knew me and they’ve had a million conversations about me. The fact it made her smile made something twist inside of me. I didn’t want to look too deep into it though.

  “I am not telling him that!” she said.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Tell me what?” I asked.

  She put her finger over her mouth as if to shh me but I guess it was too late. She sighed and shook her head the smile still plastered on her face as she passed me the phone.

  “Hello?�
��

  “Drayden dear how are you?”

  “I’m well Irene, how have you been?”

  “Oh I’m good, I’m good. Cassie said it was ok with you if we came to visit.”

  “Of course it is, but I may have one condition…” I trailed off.

  I heard her barely contained laugh. “And what is that condition Ayde.”

  Holy shit. I wonder if her mother is a dominatrix or some shit. She has this super motherly vibe that reminds me of my mom but she is so no bullshit. I see where Cass gets her backbone from. Nothing against her father because although he was cool as shit shooting the breeze with me, I could tell he was a fucking hellion. Had it not been for his sickness, I could’ve seen him treating me like his daughters first date or some shit pulling out a shotgun and everything. I don’t think he picked up on the vibe between us the way her mom had.

  “Do you promise to make the stuffed French toast again?” I asked and felt like a five-year-old.

  She laughed. “Yes dear, although you could have Cass make it for you…”

  I smiled, she was digging. What the fuck, we wouldn’t be able to hide it from her and she’s already known. “She never cooks me breakfast, I always have to cook in the mornings.” Her full on belly laugh proved me right. “As a matter of fact, she never cooks for me! Not even dinner can you believe that?” I asked.

  “I certainly can. You better do something about that. What man let’s his woman get away with not cooking when he’s certain she can?” she asked.

  I noticed how she referred to Cassie as my woman. Shit, damn right my fucking woman. “I don’t know but I’ll be working on that immediately.” I told her.

  She still hasn’t stopped laughing when she told me farewell and I handed the phone back to Cass. Whatever her mother said had her cheeks flaming red so I excused myself to the bathroom to give her privacy to say what she needed to her mom.

  I showered and made my way back into my room. Cassie had hung up the phone and was sitting there lost in thought. “You ok?” I asked.

  She nodded slowly. “Yea, I’m just trying to wrap my head around the fact that my parents are coming and they’re going to know I’ve been lying to them for a very long time.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I have another place that I don’t use anymore and it fits the mold of what you told them. Move in there…” I suggested. It felt weird to offer her my old whore house, that’s essentially what it was but I haven’t used in a pretty long while and I’m certain I wont have a need for it in the near future. Also, it made me feel a hell of a lot better to know she’d be staying there instead of where she was now. I know she was a proud woman but I’ve thought about her living conditions since I found out. That was not a place for her to be.

  She frowned. “Why do you have another home?” she asked.

  I shrugged. It’s not really a home per say. There’s some furniture or whatnot but I don’t have anything personal there.” She continued looking at me expecting more details. I sighed and took a seat next to her on the bed. “Ok, so here’s the thing… I love my home. This home and I don’t have just anybody in here. Really besides family no one comes here. I use that place to handle business and to entertain.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You mean that’s where you take your girls to…”

  I nodded slowly. “Yes, that too. I never bring them here. The meetings you setup for me that take place at my residence is done there. It’s a penthouse apartment that’s pretty cold. The type of place people would expect for me to live. It serves its purpose and I’m able to come home at night and leave all that shit behind me.”

  “When is the last time you uh… entertained there?” I asked.

  “Honestly? Around the time you started working for me and before you ask I haven’t had sex with anyone else since before the first time I touched you… and I mean from back at my parents’ house.” She blushed at the mention of that encounter although I had barely touched her.

  “Um, ok. I’ll think about it, thanks. Let me get ready for my cake.” She was smiling again and got up to hit the bathroom. As she went to walk past me I reached out and grabbed her hand pulling her into me.

  I gripped her butt and bent down, “give me some sugar.” I told her.

  She smiled and kissed me like I wanted her to. My cock jumped and her hand slid down to grab me. “Someone’s excited huh?” she asked.

  I grinned. “Hell yea. So either strip and get your ass on that bed or take your ass in the bathroom to get ready.”

  She moved her head back and forth like she was considering her options then shrugged. “I’ll take the bathroom for 100 Alex. I like my cake more.” And she skipped to the bathroom. She stuck her tongue out at me just before she closed the door and I shook my head. She was a damn handful for sure.

  We made our way to my parents’ house and everyone was already there. I could sense Cassie’s nervousness, probably to how my parents were going to react. I’d thought about it too, but I couldn’t care less. What they thought wasn’t going to make me stop seeing her so I brushed it off. I got out of the car and opened the doors for both Amy and Cassie. Cass instantly slipped her hand in mine and I could feel her sweaty palm. I smiled because I don’t even think she realized she was reaching out to me for support.

  We walked up to the door and I let us in. The first thing I heard was Reno’s big mouth. “She loves me, she’s just in denial.”

  Charlies laughter followed. “Right bro, whatever you say.”

  We made our way into the family room where we found everyone already seated. I made introductions for Amy and she took a seat next to Laura. The only seat left was the recliner so I sat down there pulling Cassie down to sit on my lap. She tried to get up, but I gripped her around the waist tighter holding her in place. “Relax baby.” I whispered.

  She turned her head to look at me. “Don’t call me that.”

  “Well you two certainly look… different.” Kevin spoke first.

  Cass blushed and I nodded. “What did you expect? I’m irresistible it was only a matter of time." I said and chuckles followed.

  “More like a pain, but hey…” Cassie said with a shrug.

  “How are you dear?” my mom asked Cassie.

  “I’m well. My parents are going to be coming up to stay for Christmas.” She offered.

  My mother’s face lit up. “That’s wonderful! Will they be staying through the New Year? We throw a party every year and I expect you to be there. I would love for them to come too.”

  She shrugged. “We haven’t discussed the exact dates yet. I’m expecting my mother to call me in a couple of days with all the details.”

  My mom nodded. “Just let me know. I would love for them to come over.”

  “Trying to meet the in-laws already huh?” Shelly mused and I felt my entire body freeze. In-laws? We weren’t nowhere near anything like that, hell I wasn’t ready for anything like that. I’ve been barely able to swallow the fact that I was sort of in a relationship.

  My mom laughed and waved her off. “No, no. I just would like to meet her parents is all. And while they’re here they have someone else to hang out with or what not while she’s working.” That’s what my mom said but the look in her eyes told me that it wasn’t that clear cut. I didn’t want to know so I didn’t ask.

  The rest of dinner consisted of banter, jokes, and laughs. The girls together were a riot and my sister had two new friends by the end of the night. I realized that I was having a bit of a hard time keeping my hands to myself. As long as Cass was in reaching distance I had my hands on her. I would follow behind her when she was headed towards an area that would give us a little privacy so I could grope her. I noticed my parents and sister keeping their eyes on us but not commenting. The first time I pulled Cassie into a small corner I kissed her and felt her up. When we went back into the main room she blushed furiously and checked her clothes giving us away. All in all, it was a good time and everyone received an open door invitation from m
y parents.

  Cassie

  They hadn’t managed to get Aydes office back in order yet, so we were still working from his home. My mother had called me yesterday to say they would be coming for a few weeks and had booked a ticket for the next weekend. I accepted Ayde’s offer to move in to his other home although I felt a little weird about that situation. This is where he basically came to fuck other women. We would be moving me in before my parent’s arrival.

  We were getting close to identifying the guys who work for Mavorik and are responsible for submitting the bids. I’ve been a bit on edge ever since I found the letter but surprisingly that seemed to be the end of it. I haven’t heard a peep since, and I wonder if they figured wiping my computer would end it. In any event, I was happy that they’d seemed to back off. Drayden had been compiling everything we’ve found so far as was putting together one hell of a strong case. It was all coming together nicely, but we needed to move faster. They would be back in the courts in only a matter of time and our goal was to get to the bottom of this before they got too deep into the case.

  It was time to move before I knew it and Drayden along with Laura, Amy, and Reno helped me out. I didn’t have much to move and it was pretty well furnished so I didn’t think we needed all that much help. When we got to the new place with my stuff I looked around shocked. He had shown me the place before but now there were bags on the floor filled with knick knacks and new sheets and things. I can see why he thought we’d need help. Everyone immediately got to work. Drayden and I went about unpacking my things, while everyone worked on other things.

  When we had all my clothes unpacked and the items I had of his I noticed him staring at all the bare space. He’d left his clothes here saying that he needed his change of clothes for when he stayed over but I didn’t like the way he eyed my things. He’d been to my place before so he knows that I didn’t have much space or things, nor spare money for that matter so I don’t know why he would be surprised. It was almost like he pitied me and my situation and I didn’t like that.

  I tried to joke it away. “Well I have more things; they just seem to be spread across your homes.” I forced a laugh.