Chapter Twenty-Eight
Serena
“Oh, honey,” Gus says, one hand on his popped-out hip. “No!” he cries out dramatically.
I shake my head laughing. “What?” We’re a month into the semester, and I have never had a teaching assistant like Gus before. He’s whip smart, but he’s also funny and makes my life easier, which is a huge plus. He has been helping lead some of the research labs, and we’ve been going over some upcoming activities. We’re almost done for the day, and I had just mentioned that I was planning to head home to clean the house since I had the rest of the afternoon to myself when Gus had made a noise of horror.
“For real, how often do you get an afternoon all to yourself? You can tell me, we’re just girlfriends here,” he says as he sits down across from me and leans forward.
“It’s not often,” I admit, “but I like cleaning. It’s calming.”
“How about you come with me? I’m meeting Tommy at our favorite wine bar.”
“It’s not even two in the afternoon!”
“So? It’s five o’clock somewhere. Come on, Serena, it’ll be fun. Besides, I want to get you drunk so you can tell me all about how you know that hunk of man meat, Cade Thomas.”
“How do you know who Cade is?”
“Um, hello, spandex pants. Also, my sister is a huge Condors fan and made me watch every Sunday growing up. As it should turn out, I kind of like football, and I still watch every Sunday. So, are you coming or what?”
“One drink,” I give in.
***
One drink turns into three glasses of wine and lots of gossiping with Gus and Tommy, and it ends up being the best possible way to spend my free afternoon. I don’t normally socialize with my teaching assistants, but Gus is someone I also mentor and expect one day soon to be a colleague, so I make the exception for him. Plus, his boyfriend is a total sweetheart.
Gus and Tommy both are easy to get along with, and we laugh nearly the entire time we are out. Tommy is also a student at USC and working on his Masters of Landscape Architecture. He’s a few inches shorter than Gus and olive skinned with dark hair and dark eyes, whereas Gus is fair skinned, blue-eyed, and has the most gorgeous strawberry blond hair. Tommy is incredibly witty and shoots back at every one of Gus’s one liners with comebacks of his own. Just listening to them is kind of fantastic on its own.
“So, tell us about Cade. How did you meet?” Gus asks.
“He’s just a friend,” I reply dismissively.
“Who is Cade?” Tommy asks.
“Cade Thomas, the football player,” Gus answers.
“You know I don’t pay any attention when you watch football. That’s when I do my best landscape planning.”
Gus pulls out his phone and after several minutes, flips his phone around, showing him pictures of Cade from google. “That is Cade Thomas, and Serena knows him.”
“You know him?” Tommy whispers, taking the phone from Gus and zooming in on one of the shirtless pictures.
“He’s a friend,” I repeat.
“She’s evasive, which means they are so more than just friends,” Gus adds giving me a knowing glance. “He used to date Josephine Lowell.”
Tommy rolls his eyes. “She is so fake. That wide-eyed innocent act isn’t fooling anybody. That girl is a straight up diva. And not the Celine Dion kind, either. Is it serious?”
Both men peer at me, waiting for my answer, and I sigh, giving into their looks. “Yes, it’s serious,” I tell them. Gus gasps as both he and Tommy lean forward expectantly. “We met a few years ago, but it was extremely short lived. I had no idea at the time who he even was. And then, last semester, he showed up in one of my lectures after he saw me on TV doing an interview and decided to seek me out. I had figured out who he was about two months after we met, so when he showed up last year, I didn’t really trust him, and I certainly didn’t think he was looking for anything other than a notch in his bedpost. But he swore he had only good intentions and I agreed to dinner and it’s gone from there.”
“Has he met Alan?” Gus inquires.
“Who is Alan?” Tommy asks.
“My three-year-old son,” I tell him. “And yes, Cade has met him. He’s great with kids. Sometimes just he and I go out, but other times it’s the three of us.”
“That is so sweet!” Gus gushes with a smile.
“And, he’s this spectacular looking in real life?” Tommy asks, gesturing towards the phone.
“Better,” I smirk.
Gus laughs and lifts his glass. “To Cade Thomas and his spectacular everything,” he offers.
“Cheers,” Tommy and I laugh along with him as we dissolve into giggles.
***
When I get home from my afternoon with Tommy and Gus, I change into an old t-shirt and sweatpants and pull my hair into a messy pony tail to tackle a few projects around the house. Ashley is picking Alan up from daycare for their monthly “date” night, so I have a few more hours to myself. Ash teaches a kid’s art class at her studio and after, she and Alan grab dinner before she brings him home.
I decide to tackle the kitchen first, which is in desperate of a good scrubbing. I’ve been home for maybe a half hour when there is a pounding at my front door, so I set down my sponge and take off my gloves as I head to answer the door.
When I pull the door open, I am stunned at the sight of Josephine Lowell on my doorstep. She is perfectly made up with her long blonde hair falling in waves around her shoulders. What are obviously expensive designer jeans leave little to the imagination and an equally expensive-looking top matches the sky-high heels on her perfectly manicured feet.
Josephine looks me up and down with disdain, and I become incredibly self-conscious about my ratty clothes. She walks past me without an invitation, and I turn to gawk at her as she looks around my house. I look outside where a town car and a driver sit in my driveway before shutting the front door.
“Um, can I get you anything, water, tea, coffee?” I ask politely.
“No, I won’t be staying long,” she replied icily.
“Okay then, how can I help you?”
“Do you know who I am?” she demands.
I remember what Tommy said earlier about her being a diva so the next words out of my mouth are a lie. “No, I’m sorry, I don’t.”
I am not surprised when her face contorts angrily and her face reddens. “I am Josephine Lowell, the love of Cade’s life.”
I try to contain the laughter that bubbles up inside me, but a snort escapes, and Josephine glares at me. “I’m so sorry,” I apologize. “You were saying?”
She steps towards me. “You need to stay the hell away from Cade.”
I tilt my head and make a face like I’m thinking about her suggestion, then I simply look her in the eyes and say, “No.”
“No?!” she shrieks.
“No,” I repeat. “Cade is an adult who is capable of his own decisions, and while you may think he is the love of your life, he certainly does not think you are the love of his life.”
“Oh, and you think you are?” Her disdain for me is palpable, and I know Tommy is right. Despite the good girl, innocent act she puts on, Josephine is a diva and definitely not the Celine Dion kind.
“I’m not saying that at all. What I am saying is that he’s a big boy and he makes his own decisions. If he doesn’t want to see me anymore, then he can tell me that himself.”
“Cade doesn’t know what he wants; that’s why he’s been slumming it with you. I know what he needs and he needs me, so you need to back off.”
“No,” I tell her again. “If anyone needs to back off, it’s you, Josephine.”
“Do you see where you live? Now compare that to Cade’s house. Look at how you’re dressed and then look at me. You’re not even in the same league, honey. I’m an A-list celebrity. Everyone knows my name. You’re just, ugh, you.”
“Just me seems like more than enough for Cade.”
“He’ll get bored and come back to me, he always does.”
“Not this time.”
She laughs in my face. “You’re not even that pretty. Cade needs a beautiful woman on his arm. That’s me.”
“I don’t need your validation. Personally, I don’t see what Hollywood sees in you. You’re ugly on the inside, and it shows on the outside.”
She screams and rushes toward me, but I move to the left and she stumbles. She catches herself and straightens, turning to face me again with venom in her eyes. “You are not good enough for him. You will never be good enough for him. This is a fantasy and the sooner you realize that and dump him, the better off you’ll be.”
“I will say this again since you clearly can’t seem to comprehend simple words. Cade is an adult, Josephine, and he’s adult enough to make his own choices. He chose me. It’s not my fault that he didn’t choose you. That’s on you.”
She takes two steps toward me and attempts to level me with her stare. “I will ruin your life if you don’t leave him. I will not warn you again. If you don’t dump him tonight, I will make sure you regret it. Do you understand me?”
I smile. “I hear your words, but you need to understand this: I will not break up with Cade because you’re butt hurt he dumped you. So, you can take your delusions and get the hell out of my house. Now.” I push past her and swing open the front door. She stomps her foot and lets out a growl of frustration before charging out the door. The driver hurries out of the car to open her door, and she looks back at me.
“Last chance,” she says to me. “Forget about him or regret it.”
I paste a big, fake smile on my face and wave. “Nice talking to you! Hope I never see you again!” I call out before slamming the door shut.
I lean back against the closed door and notice my heart racing, adrenaline coursing through me. Who does she think she is, the Queen of freakin’ England? I can’t believe her nerve. When my breathing and pulse return to normal, I head back to the kitchen, grab my phone, and try to call Cade. No answer, so I send a quick text to Cade asking if he’s free to stop by tonight. After I send, I dial a different number.
“You are not going to believe what just happened,” I start when Gus answers the phone. “Put me on speaker and grab Tommy.”