14
Landon
“Jesus fuck! Cass!” I caught her before she hit the ground. “Cass, honey, wake up,” I said, fanning her face.
Jeannie ran over. “What the fuck did you do, asshole?”
“She fainted, Jeannie.”
“Jesus Christ. Just— here sit her up so I can loosen her laces.”
I propped her up against me and made eye contact with a guy in a banana suit. “Get some water and something sugary,” I said.
Jeannie went to work on the corset. “Apparently it’s the seventeenth century tonight,” she mumbled as banana man brought back water and some Halloween candy.
“Mmm, wha... what happened?” Cass asked as her eyes fluttered open.
“You laced the corset too tight, silly. You passed out.” Jeannie said and handed her the cup of water.
“Are you feeling better?” I asked. She nodded and nibbled on a piece of candy corn.
“Alright, nothing to see here. Everyone go back to the party,” Jeannie said clearing away the crowd and giving me a knowing look.
“You wanna get out of here?” I asked.
Cass nodded and let me help her off the ground. We left the party, if you could even call it that and stood rather awkwardly outside.
“I—”
“Listen—” we said simultaneously.
“Go ahead,” I said.
“No, you go on,” she insisted.
“Look, I don’t know what you think happened or what you’ve heard about me but honestly, it doesn’t matter.” Cass cocked an eyebrow at me. “I’m not that person anymore and I haven’t been for quite some time. In fact, I’ve been celibate the past year. That night with you was the first time in a year I’d been with anyone and the first time I’d ever wanted to spend more than just the night with anyone.”
Cass rubbed her arms and shivered. “Well, thank you for saying as much. That does a lot for my peace of mind.”
I took off my jacket and put it around her.
“Thank you,” she said, hugging the fabric close. “But honestly, my life is packed full of deadlines and responsibilities. That doesn’t leave much room for a long distance relationship.”
I smiled my best smile at her. “The house in Vermont was my grandfather’s. I was there getting it ready to be sold. I live here, in Manhattan.”
Cass nodded. “I know. Jeannie said as much. I just, I don’t think we should...”
“Don’t. Don’t do that, Cass. Don’t look for reasons not to at least see if this could be something. Don’t over think this. I’m just a guy who really wants to get to know you. That’s all.”
Cass sighed. “There’s just, there’s not a lot of room in my life for...”
“There’s room for what you make room for.” I took her hand. “Tell me you don’t want to be with me. Say those words and mean them and I’ll drop this right now.”
Cass’s gaze dropped to her lap.
“You can’t say it because it’s not true.”
“You’re right.”
“Then what’s the issue?” I asked softly.
Cass sighed and met my eyes, her big, dark eyes welling up. “It scares me how much I want you.”
A single tear fell to her cheek. I brushed it away and pulled her close. “There’s nothing to be scared of,” I whispered in her ear. “Hey,” I said, pulling away to look at her. “You wanna get out of here and go to a real Halloween party?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“Danny,” I said as I lowered the partition between us. “Take us to Red Yellow, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Red Yellow? Isn’t that the super exclusive, secret-invite-only club that opened a few months ago?”
“Yup, and I know the owners. I’ve got a standing invitation.”
Cass smiled at me. “What kind of name is Red Yellow for a club anyway?”
I gave her a loaded look. “You know what it means.”
“Oh, OH! It’s that kind of club?”
“Are you okay with that?” I asked.
She took a minute and looked as though she truly thought about it. “Yes,” she said definitively.
Forty minutes later we arrived at the uptown club. Despite Red Yellow’s strict invitation-only policy, be-costumed people still lined up all the way around the block hoping to get in. I escorted Cass passed the velvet rope held up by a masked bouncer and into the club.
“Welcome to Red Yellow, I’m your hostess, Belle. Have you two been here before?” she asked directly to Cass.
“No, I haven’t.”
“Well,” Belle said, ushering Cass under her arm. “We have a strict consent-first policy. No one will even speak to you without asking your permission, so you can relax, feel safe and enjoy the various rooms and toys we have to offer.”
“Oh... okay.”
“And if you find a room to your liking, be aware they all lock from the inside and are equipped with black-out curtains if aren’t feeling the exhibitionist vibe.”
“Good to know,” Cass said.
“Above all, have fun, be safe and don’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable. Okay?”
“Got it.”
“Love the costume by the way.” Belle winked at her and headed back to the front to greet the next guests.
“Well, she’s fantastic,” Cass said when I took her arm again.
“Yeah, that’s one of the owners. She makes all the gadgets and toys you’ll see here tonight.”
Cass looked around the open front room. “Well, are you gonna show me around or what?”
“Absolutely. This level is devoted to the refreshment area. Any kind of food or non-alcoholic drink you can think of, they have it here.”
“Non-alcoholic?”
I nodded. “Belle was serious about consent being a priority. No alcohol means no blurred lines.”
“Okay. What’s up there?” Cass pointed to the wrought iron spiral staircase in the middle of the room.
“I was hoping you’d ask. Come on, it’s easier to show you.”