“How are you liking it?” I asked him.
“At least if you are going to invite anyone, you invited people that we both liked, so I guess I can’t really complain,” he said.
I laughed. “Just thank me for elevating your social life. I think that’s what you really want to do.”
“Missy James, thank you for elevating and improving yet another part of my life. What would I do without you?” he said, indulging me, topping it off with a kiss on my cheek. With the amount of time that we spent together, you would think that I lived here with him, but I didn’t. I was very fond of my townhouse rental, and I liked that it was so close to Eddy and Brenna’s places. That said, however, we hadn’t been spending quite as much time together as we had in the past, the one, possibly only drawback of having a boyfriend. Since all of us were attached, our get-togethers were that much more important. They were already familiar with Easton, but the two of us as a unit was a little newer. Throwing events like this made sure neither of them ever complained that I had forgotten about them since Easton came along.
“You’re welcome,” I said smugly. It wasn’t just his social life that I had elevated, he was right. It was every last thing about him, from his wardrobe to his interior decorating. The loft had been elevated from a trashy bachelor pad to a stylish and comfortable home with plenty of space to entertain. His look, which had been my first challenge had been maintained. He grew his hair out slightly longer, but still polished and professional, and these days I let him get away with a shadow of ten-day scruff.
We brought the plates out to the table. Eddy and Brenna were in attendance with their husbands, Niall and Charles. Toby, Easy’s partner was there too and he had brought a date along, a beautiful brunette who had introduced herself as Alyssa. Maggie was there as well, sans date but still hopefully having a good time. After topping off everyone’s wine glasses, we sat down ourselves to the meal.
“Oh my god, Missy, this salmon is delicious,” Eddy said.
“Thanks, I bought it,” I said. Everyone laughed.
“She can do everything, except cook,” Brenna quipped.
“Who said that I couldn’t cook?” I asked.
“No, you’re right, she can't cook,” Easy said, exposing me. More laughter around the table.
“Well, I paid for the food, that means it’s mine,” I said. The compliments on the food kept coming and I accepted them as if I was the chef. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Alyssa pushing her polenta around her plate instead of eating it.
“Alyssa, is everything okay with the food?” I asked her. She looked up and gave me a small smile.
“Yeah, totally. I just don't really eat carbs,” she said. Why was I not surprised. The moment she had walked in with Toby, I knew exactly the kind of woman she was. I had been close to her type at one point in my life. The scene in New York was full of them. They were the young socialites and models who fed the dating lives of the rich and powerful men, sometimes already married, who had influence and money in the city. There was no way she was older than twenty-five, and that was probably also the number of inches around her waist. She was really pretty, but the last time I had seen Toby, he was with a Vietnamese woman named Vanessa. Same type, model, or influencer, but that sometimes meant sugar baby or escort. The time before that, it had been another girl Lisa, or Laura, something like that. There had been so many that I was losing track.
He wasn't doing anything wrong necessarily, I mean, he was single and he was a powerful and rich man in New York City. That meant he had access to a beautiful woman, several in fact. Optics were a little off and something felt fishy about it. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, but it didn't seem right. I made a mental note to ask Easton about it later.
“Well, you're missing out,” Eddy told Alyssa. Alyssa smiled sheepishly and took a small bite of her salmon.
“You have to tell me the name of your caterer,” Brenna said, steering the conversation away from Alyssa. She was the newest one in the group, no need to make her feel uncomfortable, even though this was probably going to be the last time that any of us saw her. Our meal continued. As we ate, I felt Easton’s hand on my thigh, squeezing. I looked over at him.
“Hm?” I asked.
“You okay?” he asked. I nodded. I was fine. He had a habit of doing that though. Whenever we were out together or surrounded by other people, he would make sure to check in with me and be sure that I was doing okay. I loved it. He was so attentive and caring. I knew that if I said I wasn’t, he would stand and kick everyone out of the house, no questions asked. A little over the top but that was his style. It was a little much, but it came from a good place. I didn’t want to change that about him. The final course was creme brulee, likely something else that Alyssa didn’t eat. Easton and I stood in the kitchen again, preparing everyone’s servings.
“Hey, can I ask you something?” I asked quietly.
“Sure, what?” he said.
“Alyssa and Toby?” I said.
Easton shrugged. “This is the first I’m hearing of her. You know the way he is.”
“I know the way he is but why is he like that?” I asked.
“Mostly because he can be, I think. I mean, there’s a bunch of women begging to be associated with him, so he lets them.”
“Is that it?” I asked. That might have been the case, but it still felt a little off. Whenever I had seen him with a new woman, he was completely cold towards her. He would barely engage them in conversation, wasn’t particularly physically affectionate, and didn’t seem to pick up cues when they were uncomfortable, like at the table before.
“Maybe. I think he could be hiding something, but he never wants to talk about it, so I never push him. If he wants to open up, I’m all ears but I know I won't get anywhere trying to force it out of him.” He was right. It was more than just my nosiness getting in the way tonight, but I tamped it down. Tonight was the first night everyone was at Easton’s house for a get-together and I wasn’t going to ruin it.
We plated up the dessert and everyone tucked in. As everyone's plates slowly emptied, I noticed Easton stirring beside me.
“Can I have your attention please?” Easton asked, tapping his fork on the side of his glass.
“Oh, wow, are we about to get a speech?” Toby asked.