“Did I scare you?” he asks with a laugh.
“No, no...I’m fine.” I glance toward the stairs to make sure the woman hasn’t returned. “I just didn’t see you come in.”
“Got here late,” Cree says. “You aren’t going to believe this, but Kas and I had dinner with Casey and Rocco before we headed here.”
“I thought Casey hated you.” I narrow my eyes a little, and then the full impact of what Cree just said hits me. “Wait a minute. Rocco went out for dinner, like, on a date—a double date?”
“Yeah, he did.”
I whistle loudly.
“I had no idea.”
“They hooked up last weekend,” Cree says. “I was a little concerned at first. I mean, we’re talking about Rocco here, but it seems like it worked out really well.”
“Wow!”
“Amazing, huh?” Cree is all smiles, and I wonder if he didn’t have something to do with it. “Casey seems to be really good for him, and I think he’s softening her up as well.”
“Sorry, I’m still reeling a little.” I shake my head as if to clear it. “So, are they dating? Like, really dating? Did he fuck her and everything?”
“I think she fucked him, but yeah. If you had been here, you would have seen it firsthand. Where were you last Saturday?”
“Vanilla date.” I get a bad taste in my mouth just thinking about it. “Not a good one either. You’d think I’d have learned my lesson about those, but whatever. Doesn’t matter now.” I look at Cree and shake my head again, still in shock. “I can’t believe Casey agreed to go on a double date with you. Where is Kas anyway?”
“She’s not here tonight,” Cree says. “She’s helping clean up the library from the flood, and Bill asked me to help out as an extra monitor tonight since there’s a photographer and all. Sometimes they forget about limits.”
“Right. That’s why I’m here, too. Are Casey and Rocco here?”
“No, they went back to his place.”
“His place?” I whistle again. “I’ve never even been to his room.”
“Well, like I said, I think she’s good for him.”
“And she’s trying to get along with you as well?”
The music starts up, and we have to talk a lot louder to hear each other. The photographer is nearby, speaking with two young women. They’re all smiles as they start to take off their clothes and pose with floggers. Normally, I’d be focused on the show but not tonight.
“It’s going to take some time,” Cree says. “I’m not sure we’ll ever be friends, but I have a better understanding of her feelings now.”
“Why’s that?” I yell above the noise.
“Just some information she’s shared.” Cree shrugs and shoves his hands into his pockets.
“Oh...you found out, then.” I nod to myself.
“Found out?” Cree stares at me, obviously confused.
“About her past.” I lower my voice as much as I can and still be heard. “About her father.”
“You knew?” Cree’s eyes widen, and he grabs me by the arm, pulling me away from the crowd coming up the stairs for open dungeon night. “I can’t believe you never told me.”
“You’re the one always saying I should keep people’s confidences and whatever.”
“Yeah, but you rarely listen to my advice. How did you find out?”
“She grew up in the small town right next to mine, bro. It was all over the news when that little girl got kidnapped. She went to the public school near my house, and everyone knew about the guy who went down for it. Cops found her in the house with him and everything. I was pretty sure I knew who Casey was the first day I met her. I recognized the first name even if she did change her last name. All I had to do was a quick online search to confirm it was her. That was a couple years ago. Didn’t give it a lot of thought since then. I figured it wasn’t something she’d want to talk about, and it’s not like we were ever friends.”