Chapter 20
Derek had completely forgotten about that late-night call he'd made to Cassie sometime last week. It was after another day of dealing with sexual frustration from being so close to Rachel but not being able to touch her or tell her how he felt. He'd arrived at his home and rung his supermodel on again and off again girlfriend but she'd turned down his invitation because she was mad at him for not informing her before leaving town.
Now here she was out of the blue, just when he had finally succeeded in being honest with Rachel about his feelings and winning her trust.
Why was fate messing with him this way? How was he going to explain Cassie's visit to Rachel without looking like a liar?
“Listen, Cassie, you have to leave now," said Derek in a low voice.
He couldn't hide the urgency in his tone because he needed this stubborn woman to comply with him and get out of his house right now.
"Why?" Asked Cassie with a frown. "Weren't you the one who invited me here?"
"Yes, but that was last week. You should have at least called me before coming."
Cassie scoffed. "You are the most ungrateful person I have ever met in my life. I left an influencing gig to fly down here because I thought you needed me, and this is the kind of gratitude I receive from you?" Derek glanced toward the kitchen and then back at Cassie.
"I apologize for being so ungrateful," he said impatiently. "Thank you for coming to check in on me. I'll reimburse you for the trip and any other expenses you incurred in the course of coming here."
"What is wrong with you?" she asked, squinting. "Why are you acting weird? Aren't you even going to show me around your house?"
"I'll do that next time you come around," he said and began to gently nudge her toward the front door.
"What do you mean? Do you want me to return to New York right now?" she asked in surprise.
"I'll find you an Air BnB for the night," he said, walking her back to the front door. "But you have to leave right now."
"Why?" Her voice rose a few decibels, indicating how infuriated she was.
"Do you have another woman stashed inside your house? Were you planning another surprise threesome or is it a twosome you are after this time?"
"Hush!" He said urgently, hoping that Cassie's shrill voice didn't carry to the kitchen where Rachel was waiting for him.
"Don't tell me to hush. You, hush!" Cassies snapped angrily.
"You know what? I have had it with you treating me like a piece of garbage," she continued furiously. "You act as if I'm some kind of dog that you'd whistle for and I'd come running to you. I have had enough of your disrespect, Derek!" "Damn," he swore under his breath.
There was no way to hide this livid woman any longer. Rachel would have definitely heard her voice by now with this screaming tantrum that Cassie was putting up.
"Where is she?" Asked Cassie.
"Where's who?" Derek replied, feigning ignorance.
"The woman you're hiding. Where is she? Is she waiting upstairs in the bedroom? Is she already naked or is she waiting for us to get there first?"
"Stop this nonsense, Cassie," said Derek through clenched teeth. "I need you to leave right now."
"And I need you to get out of my way now," she said sternly and pushed past him. Once inside the house, she ran up the stairs before he could stop her.
******
When Rachel first heard a woman's voice in the hall, she assumed it was one of the neighbors stopping by for a friendly chat with him. But when the voice began to get louder and sound angry, she knew something was wrong. What she didn't know was whether she should remain in the safety of the kitchen or go out to the hall to see what the hullabaloo was all about.
"Derek, is everything ok?" She called out tentatively.
She heard Derek telling his visitor to leave, followed by the rapid footsteps of someone running up the stairs. Unable to endure the suspense any longer, Rachel finally left the kitchen to find out what was going on. She found him at the foot of the stairs, looking up with a stupefied expression on his face.
Lost in the world of this story? Make sure you're on Ne5s.org to catch every twist and turn. The next chapter awaits, exclusively on our site. Dive in now!
"What is it, Derek? Who was yelling?" she asked him.
"Rachel, I - "the rest of his words were cut off when Cassie came down the stairs with eyes blazing like a heated furnace.
"So, this is the mysterious woman you wanted to kick me out for?"
Rachel looked up and when she saw the stunningly beautiful, blonde woman descending the steps, her mouth hung open in disbelief. The woman's slim body was encased in a short fuchsia pink bodycon dress that clung to her like a second skin and showed off her long shapely legs.
The woman gave Rachel a thorough once over with a look of disgust on her face before she burst out laughing.
"Seriously, Derek. Is this the best you can do?" Cassie asked while struggling to stop laughing. "This is the reason you wanted me to go back to New York today? This?"
"Don't talk about her like that," said Derek heatedly, trying not to lose his temper.
"Who is this?" Rachel asked him.
"His girlfriend," Cassie answered with a smug look. "Who are you?"
"She's not my girlfriend," said Derek quickly. "Not really."
Rachel sighed and shook her head slowly. "What is the meaning of this, Derek? Only a few minutes ago, you were telling me how you wanted us to start over, and now this? Really?"
"Wait, wait, wait. Start over? What does that mean?" Cassie asked in confusion. "Who's this woman? I've never seen her before and she doesn't look like your type either."
"You are right," said Rachel. "I'm not his type."
She began to make her way to the front door but Derek stopped her with a hand on her arm. She jerked away from him, glowering at him.
"Don't touch me!"
"Rachel, please, if you give me just one minute, I can explain this," said Derek.
Lost in the world of this story? Make sure you're on Ñe5s.org to catch every twist and turn. The next chapter awaits, exclusively on our site. Dive in now!
His eyes were pleading with her to hold on and hear him out but she wasn't interested in listening to him right now.
"There is nothing to explain Derek," said Rachel. "I can't believe I let you humiliate me twice. I can't believe I let my guard down like that when I should have known better. I am so stupid." "No, Rachel. You're not stupid. I am the stupid one here," said Derek regretfully.
"Oh for fuck's sake. Can you two stop with the sappiness already?" Cassie groaned and rolled her eyes theatrically.
"Are you leaving or staying? Make up your mind already," she said to Rachel.
"Stay out of this, Cassie," said Derek.
"She's right, Derek, I should be leaving now. Don't let me stop you two from enjoying yourselves," said Rachel and she walked out of the house hastily before Derek could stop her again. "Bye," she heard Cassie call out before the front door closed behind her.
"Gosh, I'm so stupid," she said to herself as she walked back to her apartment. "I'm so, so stupid!"
As she closed the remaining distance between Derek's house and her place, she promised herself that this would be the last time that she would allow Derek to make a fool of her.
She should have listened to that tiny voice in her head that was warning her this morning. Instead, she'd blindly believed Derek's lies and thought that he could ever truly be genuinely interested in her. He'd probably indulged her interest in him because he was bored while waiting for his girlfriend to arrive from New York.
All that talk about him coming to Atlanta to be in Zoe's life and hers too were just lies. Maybe he'd forgotten that his girlfriend was arriving today, otherwise, he wouldn't have invited her over. Well, that would be the last time she set foot inside his house. She has suffered enough humiliation from Derek to last her a lifetime.