𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔫

CLAIRE BEAR flashed across the screen of Massie Block's iPhone, and her thumb immediately stabbed at the green button to accept the call before it could start blaring the Taylor Swift ringtone specifically chosen for her blonde friend. She was perched on the mint-green ottoman in her hotel room, scantily clad in a complimentary robe swiped from the bathroom, and a pair of lace underwear. Her breast was threatening to fall free from the confines of the soft fabric, and she quickly adjusted to tightening it around her body as she pressed the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" Massie whispered into the receiver, side-eyeing the lump buried under the satin on the bed behind her.

"Did I wake you?" Claire mumbled, the soft tone wound with emotion.

"No," she said, "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

It wasn't like Claire to call her so early in the morning, especially not after a wild night—it was the morning after Skye Hamilton's engagement party. Everyone had retired to a hotel room at some point or another, not wanting to pose a risk in getting a DUI or accidentally killing somebody while on the road. As far as Massie was concerned, Claire had stayed down longer than she had, and it was a surprise that Claire could even function properly, let alone know what daylight looks like without screaming from the sun.

"I... uh... Mass... Can—can we go look for the complimentary breakfast?" Claire's voice was shaking now, and Massie's chest immediately tightened. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Her mind flickered to this movie they'd watched years ago, about a bachelor party gone awry; not The Hangover, the title of the movie completely skipped out on her thoughts, but Massie remembered distinctly that somebody ended up dead. And she prayed it wasn't this kind of scenario about to play out.

"Sure, give me a few."

Not even ten minutes later Massie was dressed in black leggings and an off-the-shoulder sweater from TopShop, a pair of gray boots laced up her to her knees. Her unruly chestnut hair had been tamed into a sexy bun on top of her head with a few strands framing her heart-shaped face; thanks to the rosewater soap in the bathroom she'd been able to clean her face free of crusty makeup leftover from the party. Claire showed up not too long after she did, similarly dressed but she had on Keds rather than boots; Massie had honestly thought she'd seen the last of those damn sneakers back in eighth grade but decided not to comment. Her blonde hair hung limp and tangled around her face; she seemed to have definitely woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

"Hey," Massie said, but Claire didn't respond—they stepped inside the elevator in silence; Massie pressed the lobby button and the elevator jerked into motion, bringing them down the shaft. Claire stared straight ahead at her reflection in the polished silver doors, her normally bright blue eyes were rimmed red and her lips were chapped. Massie noted that she also looked a little pale but concluded that was because she'd been wearing foundation the night before.

It wasn't until they reached the lobby, veering left and weaving their way towards where the complimentary breakfast was set up for guests, that Massie broke the silence by asking if she was gonna be bringing a plate back up to Cam, or if he was going to have to fend for himself. Claire made a disgruntled noise at the back of her throat, but didn't vocalize her answer. Rather, her hand found Massie's wrist, squeezing three times. "Massie, promise me this stays between us..."

Massie didn't even realize she'd been holding her breath she let out a sharp exhale, filled with the sudden awareness of exactly what was going to be coming out of her friend's mouth—that Cam was either not the person asleep in her hotel room, or she'd woken up in somebody else's, because there was no other possible explanation as to why Claire would look so disheveled and be so quiet, why she was afraid to talk over the phone, why she needed to isolate Massie in order to talk to her.

For all that is mighty and powerful, Massie prayed that she was wrong.

"Pinky swear."

𝔫𝔬𝔴

"Good morning, beautiful." Josh Hotz chimed huskily in the ear of his girlfriend from behind, one arm wrapped around her lithe waist while his opposite hand extended forward to show her the bouquet of red roses he'd bought that morning while picking up dinner for the evening. Alicia blushed furiously, turning her head to plant a kiss on his cheek, and accepted the flowers to graciously bring them up to her pert nose, inhaling not just the floral aroma but a surprising concoction that involved the spicy chocolate scent of her perfume. "I also may have bought you more Angel, I wasn't sure if you were running low. It's in the cabinet upstairs, but I wanted to spritz these for you, because I know that sometimes you get headaches from the smell of flowers after a while."

"Josh, you're so sweet, thank you."

It was date night for the lovely couple but neither of them wanted to go out, so they'd devised a plan to make everything just as special within the confines of Josh's loft. Josh was in charge of food, and Alicia decided to turn the spacious area into a romantic getaway as much as she possibly could—there wasn't a flat surface in the entire loft that wasn't holding a candle, she'd set the table in the living room with a white linen cloth and his finest china, strung up the Christmas lights Josh kept tucked in the back of his closet around the posts of his king size bed, and one of Alicia's playlists was softly crooning from his stereo system. The current song was Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack.

"Hope you're hungry," Josh grinned, unloading the takeout bag in the kitchen to separate the orders. For him he'd gotten a medium-cooked filet mignon and Asian stir-fry vegetables, and for Alicia he'd picked up a plate of California rolls, a small garden salad with oil and vinegar, grilled chicken marinated with rosemary and garlic, and lemon-dipped asparagus sautéed with hollandaise. She grabbed two glasses from the cabinet above the sink as well as the Old Vine Zinfandel in the one next to it, and poured them a drink.

They sat across from each other, illuminated by the flickering candles and the warm orange glow crackling in the fireplace. Everything was absolutely perfect, Alicia thought as Josh placed the bouquet of roses in a crystal vase in the center of the table. His fingers intertwined with hers, and he smiled at her like he was the luckiest guy in the world to be spending such an evening with a girl as beautiful as Alicia Rivera. If she were honest, she always knew she'd be sitting right here, with Josh Hotz, from the day she met him at her cousin Nina's welcome party when they were twelve. He had captivated her the moment she laid eyes on him, and while it took some time for him to come around, they were a match made in heaven. Everyone could see it, even strangers that came up to them in the streets for autographs—more Josh than herself because he was the face of Ralph Lauren's newest campaign, but she didn't mind, she was still getting her feet wet in the dancing society after putting on the performance of a life time a couple years ago that launched her into stardom.

"I love you," Josh said around a mouthful of vegetables, but it came out sounding more like "I 'uff oo" until he swallowed what was in his mouth and tried again, grinning sheepishly at his girlfriend.

"I love you too," Alicia said before taking a few small sips of her wine.

"Do you know how beautiful you are?" He asked, and she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. But Josh didn't elaborate after she nodded, instead he continued with, "I'm so lucky to call you mine, Leesh. I don't even know …. life without you, it would suck. I never want to be away from you. I never want to know what it's like to not be with you, you're such a huge part of my life. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm not around as much, or I get distant, but just know that I really love you."

Alicia's heart tripled in speed, and her palms were getting clammy. Was it finally happening? She wondered. She watched as Josh shifted in his seat, and pull a hand out from his pocket, presenting a small Robin's egg-colored blue velvet box that fit perfectly in his palm. With his thumb he popped the lid, and smiled expectantly at his girlfriend, who peered over to look at the glamorous—what the hell? Unexpected disappointment flooded through Alicia; she gingerly took the box from Josh to get a closer look, and lifted out the diamond heart-shaped pendant in rose gold that Josh had bought from Tiffany & Co. She hated herself for feeling ungrateful, the necklace had probably cost more than a thousand dollars and she was silently seething that it wasn't an engagement ring instead.

"It's beautiful," Alicia whispered softly, afraid that if she spoke any louder, he'd heard the disappointment in her voice. "I love it, thank you, Josh."

Her boyfriend beamed with pride, "I knew you would."

Alicia smiled genuinely as she brought the necklace to her throat and clasped it around her neck, allowing the heart to fall just above the valley of her breasts. She downed the rest of her wine and in a desperate attempt to keep things moving, not wanting to let her put a damper on their evening, she casually leaned across the table so he could get a view down her shirt, and whispered, "Want to move this upstairs?"

In response, Josh grinned at her sheepishly, and both of them stood up. She grabbed her boyfriend's hand to lead him up to the bedroom, she thoughtfully had changed the boring white sheets to the crimson red silk ones he kept in the linen closet just so they could really have a special night together. The room was lit only by the lights tangled around the four posts of his bed and a single cinnamon-scented candle perched up on the TV stand; a silver dish of strawberries and an unopened bottle of pomegranate champagne was on the nightstand. Along with a bottle of chocolate syrup and a can of whipped cream. Josh's brown eyes widened then darkened with a hunger Alicia recognized had nothing to do with food, and her breath hitched in her throat.

His hands were suddenly gripping behind her thighs and she was lifted off the ground; her legs locked around his waist. Josh laid her down on the bed, his hand now cupping at her breast, and his mouth ravaging her breasts and neck, while grinding his hips into hers. She let out a moan, throwing her head back against the mattress, and smiled to herself—she once again found herself unable to believe that this man belonged only to her, wanted to be with her forever, and then that little nagging voice popped into her head and she inwardly cursed as she found herself wondering, not for the first time, if he's so in love with you, why won't he ask you to marry him?

.

It was one of the rare nights that Derrick chose to stay behind the bar rather than work in the kitchen, business was a somewhere in between for being both busy and slow for the restaurant. He was chatting with the usual customers that came in on a Friday night, pouring them drinks and catching up on the latest, when his phone started buzzing in his pocket. He gave a soft sorry to Allie-Rose Singer, one of his regulars, and excused himself to step out from behind the bar so he could answer the phone.

"Hello?" He asked as soon as the phone was at his ear.

"Are you closing tonight?" a voice whispered, sounding so familiar, so enchanting, and yet he couldn't place it right away. But Derrick wasn't about to admit that—instead he told the caller that he was closing up, and he'd be working the bar for the night. "Good, see you soon."

The call disconnected.

Derrick narrowed his eyes suspiciously, then shrugged. He returned the phone to his pocket and resumed his post behind the bar, conversing with Allie-Rose as if he'd never been interrupted. There was something about the girl that always had Derrick enjoying her company, he had never really paid attention or noticed her until they were in high school, when she fully grew into herself. Her eyes were bright green like a cat, her hair was shiny and dark, hanging straight down to the middle of her back. She dressed like she belonged in the Pretty Committee back in the day but according to Kristen, she was too tall and that deemed her fabulous wardrobe useless. It wasn't something he understood but never bothered to question because he started hanging out with her, got to know her, and she turned out to be really interesting. Their loss, he would think on occasion.

Every so often Derrick would break away from Allie-Rose to tend to the other customers but he would always make his way back to her in the spare moments. It was only a few years ago that Derrick had worked up the nerve to take things a step further with Allie-Rose, he took her out on a date to see if they could possibly be something more, and then they slept together—this was something that neither of them expected, because the date hadn't gone right at all, but somehow Allie-Rose still woke up next to a naked Derrick Harrington the following morning. They decided they were more physically compatible than emotionally, and stuck to being friends that had a lot of sex. Dylan didn't know about his tryst with Allie-Rose, not that it was any of her business anyway, but he had no intentions of telling her about it because after she tried prying about the fact that he talked to Massie one time at the party a few days ago, he had a feeling she wasn't gonna be too happy that he was dicking around with Allie-Rose. That was the one thing about Dylan, though. She acted as if she had a claim on him, that she could sleep with whoever she wants but Derrick had to stick to only her when convenient, and while she never said it aloud he knew that's what was probably going through her mind a majority of the time.

"Mind if I join you?" a velvety voice inquired from behind Allie-Rose, and Derrick nearly choked on his own saliva when his eyes flickered over to the newcomer. There she was. Looking so gorgeous but so simple in a white lace crop top, black high-waisted skinny jeans with rips in the knees, and suede gray boots that pulled over the knee. Her chestnut hair looked glossy under the dim lighting of the restaurant and from where he stood it didn't even look like she was wearing that much makeup, if any at all.

"OMG, hi! Come sit." Allie-Rose eagerly knocked her bag off the stool next to her, allowing Massie Block to take a seat. "I haven't seen you since your mom's party! You look so good, what brings you out this way?"

"I just got done interviewing," Massie replied, and then said to Derrick, "Cranberry vodka, please."

Derrick nodded as the two girls started talking; he had no idea they'd even had a conversation before since Massie left for London. From the sound of it, and the look in Massie's eyes, there was no real connection between the girls, it was just a filler because they were both there at the same time. He handed Massie her drink, then pretended to be interested in wiping down the counter while he eavesdropped on the meaningless chat between them until another customer grabbed his attention to have another drink. When he returned, he noticed that Massie was sitting alone, with no sign of Allie-Rose anywhere in sight.

"Where'd she go?" Derrick mumbled.

Massie shrugged. "I don't know, were you in the middle of something?"

"No," But it sounded more like a question. Derrick cleared his throat, "So, how did the interviewing go?"

"It went alright, I was just talking to some of the models, but I didn't want Allie-Rose to think I was doing something major or whatever." Massie said. It reminded Derrick of what she'd said the night of the party, her reason for being back in New York—she had finished an internship with some magazine back in California and landed a job working at VOGUE, he wasn't entirely clear on her status within the fine print or whatever, but he understood enough to know that Massie was really excited about this. He also remembered that she had double-majored and had two degrees under her belt, one for Journalism and the other was business, something he felt could've had to do with William Block, who happened to not be at the party. It surprised him that she didn't get involved directly with the whole fashion thing—the Massie he knew from middle school was obsessed with clothes, but he also didn't take her as the type to be sewing stuff together. Maybe this was more suitable for her, after all? But then again, what did he know about this stuff?

"Are they cute?" He grinned sheepishly.

"Go away," Massie playfully rolled her eyes at him and sipped at her cranberry vodka.

"Were you in the area, or did you just really want to see me?" Derrick couldn't help asking, it was something that had toyed in his mind as soon as he saw her standing behind Allie-Rose. He vaguely recalled telling her that he worked at Rousseau's on the weekends, varying between chef duty and playing bartender, and she seemed genuinely interested to hear more.

"A little bit of both," she admitted.

An awkward silence fell between them and Derrick took this time to check on his other customers, not wanting them to think he was letting all his attention be monopolized by the beautiful girl in front of him. He also took this time to think over what he wanted to say next—he was dying to know if she'd give him a chance, to see if they still had that chemistry between them from all those years ago. It was a curiosity of his, he still thought she was breathtakingly beautiful, liked the sound of her voice and could stare into her amber eyes all day. He'd been stupid back in seventh grade to let go of somebody like her, after he'd just started to really get to know Massie Block, but both of them were immature then. Something could definitely be salvaged out of this, now that they were adults, if she was willing to go out with him again. He flipped a coin over and over again in his mind, heavily debating if now was the right time, as he poured drinks for his eager regulars.

Luckily, Massie was exactly where he left her after he finished up. She perked up as soon as she saw him inch his way back over and smiled from behind her nearly empty glass—without asking Derrick took the glass, allowing his fingers to brush over hers, and gave her a refill.

"Hey, Massie?" he swallowed thickly, raising his hand to cup at the back of his neck and lightly scratch even though the spot wasn't itchy. She responded with a flicker of her eyes, those bright lion-colored orbs lined in black, and the small, sly curve of her lips encouraged him to continue, "If you're not doing anything tomorrow night, I was … well, I was hoping I could take you out to dinner."

"Really?" She didn't seem surprised, and he wasn't sure if the tone of her voice was flattering. His heart picked up a few beats nervously as he waited. "I was hoping you could make me something tonight, after everything's closed down..." She trailed off with a small, barely audible sigh that he swore sounded hopeful, like she really wanted that to happen. How could he deny?

"How about both?"

Closing seemed to be hours away from the moment they agreed to both days of having dinner together; Massie stayed in her seat at the bar and Derrick pushed through the drag by praying for more customers to show up, tending to the ones that were already there, and eventually deciding to close up a half hour early for "maintenance". Derrick locked up the front entrance, did a quick inventory check of what needed to be ordered or restocked for the following morning, and set up a table specially for his guest in the middle of the restaurant directly beneath the dimmed light fixtures. He poured her a glass of top-shelf wine before starting to head back towards the kitchen, when he suddenly felt Massie's presence hurrying behind him.

"I want to watch the master in action," she whispered, her lips as close to his ear as possible while they walked together.

"As you wish," Derrick murmured back.

He grabbed an apron off the hook in the back, tying it around his neck and waist, and washed his hands thoroughly. She twisted her hair into a bun at the nape of her neck, lingering at his side, as he started grabbing things vicariously throughout the kitchen to prepare her meal. The oven was set to 450. A slab of fresh salmon was pulled from the freezer, Derrick placed it on a metal defrosting tray and let the hot water run on it for a few seconds before letting it sit out on the counter to thaw. His next idea carried him over to the vegetable fridge, where he pulled out the broccoli, corn stalks, and potatoes. He seared the pan with butter and some flecks of cheddar cheese before setting it on the stove, cutting up the broccoli into smaller pieces before tossing it in. With the corn, he pealed away the greenery and started sawing at it with a sharp knife, collecting all the fallen pieces into a bowl of melted butter. Once he finished off two stalks of corn he placed the bowl and a small cup of butter inside the microwave, and moved on to the potatoes, skinning three of them and placing them in another bowl, beating them with a masher until they were soft and smooth. A few tabs of butter, some rosemary, and a few cloves of garlic were added to the potatoes before he popped them into the second microwave.

Derrick took the salmon off the counter, popping it into the oven once it dinged with preheat, and turning to face Massie, who looked absolutely awestruck from where she was now perched on one of the counters nearby. Her glass of wine was next to her, untouched from the time he first poured it. He closed the distance between them, until he stood directly between her legs, with both hands pressed firmly into the counter on either side of her—careful not to knock over her glass, of course.

"What do you think so far?" Derrick asked softly.

"You are incredible," she told him earnestly, tilting her head slightly to the left with a cocky half-smile. Both of their minds seemed to be in the same place. Derrick leaned in, breathing in the floral scent of her perfume, and pressed his lips to her neck. He peppered kisses along the soft skin, nipping and suckling where he saw fit. One hand moved to gripping at her thigh, his thumb dangerously close to being able to toy with the buttons on her jeans the further it moved along. With deft fingers he started doing exactly that, going down the line of four until he could slide his hand inside, and gingerly rub his thumb at her most sensitive area. He grinned against her neck when he felt her jump at his sudden touch, then immediately relax to melting against him, one of her hands digging into the fabric of his shirt to pull him against her—he took this as a sign to go further, moving her underwear aside.

This wasn't how he planned their evening to go, but he definitely wasn't complaining, and neither was Massie.

He had her pants completely off, her underwear coming a close second, and she'd rucked his shirt up off his torso, by the time the automatic timers had let Derrick know all of the food was done. Flushed, Massie crossed one leg over the other when Derrick pulled away to gather her plate. The salmon got drizzled in a special sauce recipe, parsley, and lemon juice, before being presented to the half-naked girl he had the gut feeling wasn't just in this for the sex like Dylan seemed to be. He couldn't even remember the last time she wanted him to cook for her.

"This looks so delicious," Massie said. He watched in awe of his own as she devoured the food on her plate, yet somehow savoring the zesty taste and promise of his carefully selected meal. He chuckled when he saw that she got a little bit of potato stuck to the corner of her lips, and crushed his mouth to hers, flicking his tongue to get the potato off and making an 'mmm' sound. She laughed softly as she retuned his kiss, placing the plate down and wrapping her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss so they could pick up right where they left off.

.

Dylan Marvil laid diagonally across her mattress, staring up at the white tiled ceiling and listening to the sound of her TV playing an old episode of Riverdale via Netflix. Kristen was currently in the bathroom taking a shower and Claire was supposedly on her way over, claiming she'd be there as soon as she found somebody to watch Shay until Cam came home from work. It could be considered Dylan's fault since she'd asked him to follow up with a few things back at the studio, but she wasn't in the mood to admit that, personally. Right now she was wallowing in the fact that she hadn't spoken to Derrick since their little rendezvous two days ago, which wasn't unusual, but she found herself wanting his company more than ever. He hadn't answered her texts all day, though she knew it was because he was closing down at one of the restaurants that night, so he was extra busy. This wasn't typical Dylan, she didn't know what it was about Derrick that made her crave his touch more than anything, want his attention solely on her. He was sweet, sure, but that didn't mean much these days. Neither of them wanted a real relationship, so they settled on sex at the beckoning.

"Hey, Dyl?" Kristen's voice floated from the en suite bathroom following the squeaking of her pipes as the water was shut off. "Alicia just texted me, she's on her way over. Picked up Claire along the way."

"Kay!" she hollered back to the closed door.

Kristen emerged a few seconds later, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and towel drying her hair. "What's on your mind?" she asked right away—one look at Dylan and she could just tell that something was bothering her, that's just how their friendship worked.

"Derrick," she mumbled, finding no point in lying because Kristen would just call her out on it anyway.

"I thought things were just casual between you?" Kristen raised an eyebrow, taking a seat on the edge of Dylan's bed.

"They are... but..."

"Dylan, is this about Massie? In all honesty?" the blonde blurted out, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Dylan was silent, she had to ponder over that, because really she wasn't sure if it was about Derrick, or Massie returning to New York. Was this really about her friendship with Derrick, or was she worried now that her former alpha was back, she was going to be tossed on the backburner? It was more than just sex for them, Derrick was her only other confidant. He knew an entirely different side of her than the Pretty Committee, a more vulnerable side than she allowed the girls to see. Her insecurities, her fears, her dreams of being a designer finally coming true now that she was getting a job with a magazine that exclusively wanted to feature her name and brand to get herself out there as more than just Merri-Lee Marvil's daughter.

"I don't know," she replied truthfully. "I like this thing I've got going on with Derrick, but... nobody can deny that he's really been in love with her all these years."

Kristen shrugged, she didn't know him well enough to come to that conclusion, though she did know that 'Massington' had been an epic seven months back when they were in middle school. She rooted for them, but of course switched to Dylan's side when the couple went public in eighth grade. Derrick claimed he didn't like Massie that way anymore, after they'd first broken up, but according to Cam that was just a bunch of bullshit. So Kristen didn't know what to think of it, even now.

"Have you tried talking to him about it?" She asked.

"Yeah, the other day, and he asked if I really wanted to talk about Massie." Dylan sighed—granted that had been horrible timing, but still. It kind of bothered her a little that they never actually got around to having that conversation.

Kristen frowned. "Oh."

It was silent in Dylan's room, save for Archie Andrews talking on the screen. Dylan wasn't sure what to say next, Kristen didn't know how to pry more information out of her friend—thankfully the sound of heels clicking against the high gloss finish wooden steps got them to shake out of that groove, acting as if nothing had ever happened when Alicia and Claire burst into the bedroom, lugging shopping bags and their overnights. Despite being adults, it was still tradition for them to have a sleepover every Friday, with or without Massie Block, and at least half of them wouldn't have it any other way.

author's note: i'm a bit proud that this was longer than the last chapter, I hoped I shared a little bit of insight - but I do have a question for you: what do you think is Claire's secret?