Cassie went back to her room despondent but also deep in thought. Joe was jealous too , what did this mean for them?. She had so much regret about her actions the previous night , she had wanted and needed comfort and had done that from a place of pain. Perhaps she should just pack her bags and go home , give them some space to let it all sink in. A little tap on her door broke her thoughts , she opened it so see Jey " Hey C you alright?". She blushed, ashamed at what had happened . "No need to get upset or embarrassed here , we like family, all of us have bad nights,trust me. You and Joe will figure this out. Y'all are too involved to let this ruin things. Come on , get ready and let's go for lunch". She looked back at the case she had been about to pack " Uh-uh nobody is leaving , I expect to see you in the lobby in 15 minutes".
In the room next door Jimmy was trying to reason with Joe " She ain't the first to fuck up and she ain't gonna be the last, cut her some slack Uce. You know she feeling really bad right now. ". Joe was alternating between wanting to cuss her out and wanting to hug her tightly. " She just went off man, no call or text. Gone. Do you know what could have happened?". Jimmy laid a hand on his shoulder " Nothing did , ok. Let it go Uce , otherwise she will be gone and you will be even more miserable than you are right now. Get dressed , we goin for lunch. All of us". Joe sighed " OK fine"
Cassie stepped off the elevator, she wore dark sunglasses , her eyes were still red from crying. She has thrown on a blue shift dress and pulled her hair up into a high pony , the waves in her hair creating extra bounce. She felt like shit, though she tried to smile through with bravado at the group who to their credit, greeted her with hugs and kisses. "So where are we going then?". "Just waiting on Joe , there he is now". Cassie couldn't even turn around, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach continuing to bother her. He walked up to the group " OK where to?" he asked, his tone a little clipped. Jimmy led the charge. Right to a bar on the strip. " Seriously?" Cassie asked , almost vomiting from the smell of tequila. " Yes , this is Vegas y'all and I ain't spending a day missing out on some serious drinking Time. We got one rule , no fighting ..that means you and Joe. Good vibes only. Got it?". Cassie shrugged her shoulders , " Fuck it , I'll have a Cosmo please" she said to the waitress. The group cheered this decision. Joe was next " A beer please ...and a shot of Patron". More cheers.
They ordered some appetisers to nibble on , even though Joe and Cassie were sat opposite each other they made no move to Interact. Girls stuck with girls and the boys drank a lot. Joe wasn't matching his cousins round for round though , he was holding back a little. For her part Cassie was forcing the alcohol down, her hangover in full effect. When she ordered a glass of water, Jey glared at her disapprovingly. "Oh please, In my defence I think I drank every bar on the strip dry last night". Jey eyes lit up in amusement "Well it sounds like you drank enough for two people then cause while you was drinking , Joe was burning calories from all the moaning and bitching he was doing". It could have went one way or the other and there was silence for a moment before Jimmy started to laugh, Takeshia joined in, and next to Cassie Trinity was shaking with laughter at the look on Joe's face. It was priceless, so much so that Cassie had to bite her lip to stop from giggling. Joe looked at them all " Y'all got jokes huh?" but from the corners of his mouth he had a little smile. He was definitely starting to come around.
They must have been drinking for a number of hours because a band started to play and the tension began to ease. Jimmy was a bit drunk and seemed hell bent to make his cousins laugh " So Cassie , tell us how was your night then with that dude". He didn't mean any harm and she suspected he just wanted to get the conversation over and done with. Cassie knew how to play this one though " I've had better" she said . The boys peeled with laughter at her response , the girls shrieked and Joe couldn't help himself and grinned. Jimmy sat next to her and put his chin in his hands " So tell me girl, when you say you have had better, would that be anyone we know?". Cassie was playing along now just glad to see the smile on Joe's face. She leaned back towards Jimmy and also put her chin in her hands. " Oh yes you know the guy, and when I say way better . I mean WAY better". Joe laughed he couldn't help himself , looking at Jimmy's face and Cassie complimenting him. He felt relief that she was saying this, and that the guy last night obviously wasn't anything he needed to worry about. They were all waiting on his reaction " What can I say Uce , we know how to put it down. Now get the waitress , we need another round of shots".
Cassie was overjoyed to see him smile , and she hadn't been lying , from what she could remember the sex had been OK with that guy the previous night, but nothing like it was with Joe , memories of the way Joe looked after her in bed came flooding back and she could feel herself getting turned on just thinking about it . She took a sideways glance at him as he took another sip of beer, cool and in control , she had to admit he knew how to drive her wild . This whole thing was fucked up, between him and her . But even if it was just as friends she didn't want Joe to ever walk out of her life. Last night had been a test , and one she wasn't sure if she passed yet. "Yo Trin let's dance" , Jimmy said calling his wife who obliged , Takeshia looked at Jey who shook his head , " Alright Cass , let's go". The girls made their way to the dance floor but to a Spot where the guys could see them . " So you and Cassie seem to be in a bit of a better place then. Seems that dude last night was nothing to worry about". Joe was pensive " Yeah , when we are together man , honestly there is nothing in the world like it.". Jey was an understanding person " I got you Uce. Y'all got a lot to figure out , just know I am here for you . I saw how last night went, you care about her a lot". Joe couldn't deny what Jey was saying " I don't know how I kept my cool at that guy in the bed". Jey laughed " Uce , the brother was gone when he saw you roll up". The cousins exchanged smiles, Joe looked for her again and watched for a moment while her and Takeshia grinded to the music. Even now dressed casually that blue dresa she looked sexy , the material skimming her thighs at just the right length, he thought about how much he would love to just run his hands over that body. He had spent 6 months pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, never allowing them to fester for too long . As he watched her , he noticed another guy was doing the same. He felt a flare of jealousy that he quickly swallowed down. Last night she had made a choice , he wanted to see how this would go , so he turned back to Jey , pretending not to notice.
On the dance floor Cassie moved away from the guy who was clearly taking a shine to her. She knew Joe was watching even when he was pretending not to be. Takeshia looked at Cassie " Are you OK?". An idea came to Cassie " I think its time for Play 2" she said with a smirk. Joe's phone beeped on the table , he read the message and his face turned into a smile. " OK I gotta run play 2". Jey called after him "thats the jealous one right?". The guy was facing Cassie now and Joe watched as he said something into her ear. Before he could do anything else Joe walked up behind Cassie and wrapped his two arms around her waist and pulled her body back to him. He looked at the guy with a stern face before kissing Cassie on the cheek " Everything OK here baby?". The guy took one look at Joe before apologising quickly and leaving the scene. When he went away Joe still had his arms around Cassie and she thoroughly enjoyed feeling his embrace. Takeshia had left them to it . " Want to dance?" Joe whispered in her ear as the bars of Genuines song My Pony began to play. Cassie turned to look at him " I thought you didnt dance?". His hands remained on her waist " No I said I busted it out when the time is right. I think this is one of them times". She didn't say a word , and began to sway her hips slightly to the song. " of all the songs in the world you want to choose the one from Magic Mike to dance to, you trying to tell me something Joe?". She was half joking. He looked her dead in the eyes " Lets not think too much about this or anything long term , just dance with me". " Well in that case" she said before turning around and properly grinding on him , her ass was doing things he had never seen before , and his hands were firmly on her hips holding her in place as his body responded to the music and everything else. At first she was grinding to the side of him not wanting to be all up on him, as the song progressed and they got into it , their bodies became one . His hands roamed all of her hips, ass , back and stomach as well as in her hair at one point . No one else existed as they moved together. Off the dancefloor Jimmy said to the group " They practically fucking on the dancefloor, I can't make these two out at all". Trinity smiled at her husband " Baby , no body dances like that with their friends , they just gotta figure it out" . They all picked up their bags and left the bar discreetly , wanting to give the two of them their space , Jey shooting Joe a text saying they were tired and heading back to the hotel.
Cassie and Joe danced together for a lot of songs, grinding, laughing and touching each other all over. When the DJ changed to something with a bit more of a dance beat they came to a natural stop. " So your an RnB girl then" Joe said with a smile. " How could you tell?" , Cassie was a little embarrassed that she and Joe had been so into the dancing that they had forgotten where they were " lets go back and get a drink" she suggested . He agreed , flashing her a reassuring smile. They found the table empty, the others had clearly left them to it . Joe ordered some shots for them both before taking out his phone " Yeah they went back to the hotel". "Looks like we uh put on a bit of a show" Cassie said , her cheeks beginning to grow a little pink. The waitress placed two shots of tequila in front of them as well as a cocktail for her and a bourbon on ice for Joe. He knew her so well that he didn't even have to ask what she would like. Joe pulled his chair up closer to her so they were shoulder to shoulder. He picked up a shot and handed it to her , before taking his own up and looking at her " Cheers to doing what the fuck we like tonight" , she clicked her glass to his and felt the alcohol burn her throat. " I like that , whatever the fuck we want. So what do you want then Joe?". She tossed her hair over her shoulder, and took the straw of her cocktail into her mouth and sipped. " Well if we are doing whatever we want tonight then first I want this" he pulled her onto his lap with one quick move and she gasped. His hand began to stroke her bare thigh. " Now what do you want babygirl?". " A kiss" she said simply. She dipped her head in and met his soft lips, they caressed hers , she could taste the tequila on his tongue as it slipped from his mouth to hers. The kiss was urgent, but sweet . It had been so long since they had kissed Cassie realised she didn't want it to stop. His hands were stroking her neck tenderly , this felt so good and so right she was thinking. " Get a room" someone yelled as they walked by them and Joe couldn't help but laugh , this breaking the kiss. He leaned his forehead against hers " thats not a bad idea". They drained their drinks quickly and walked back towards the strip. Joe looked for a place to call a cab "Lets walk Joe, its not far". As they turned to the hotel she put her hand in his and their fingers interlocked. " This feels nice" she said to him , he squeezed her hand . It was a humid night and the warm breeze was refreshing on her face. Standing there and holding Joe's hand and walking together down the street filled her with happiness. " What are you smiling about?". She stopped walking and he turned back to her " This, you and me , walking here hand in hand and just doing what we want. It's nice". He was studying her now his eyes piercing hers " Cassie...I", his phone starting to ring ruining whatever it was he was about to say. He looked at it and frowned " Sorry one second". He took the call and walked away leaving her standing there . She watched his back and knew immediately something was wrong , she could tell by his body language. He came back to her with a grim face . " Cass, it's Paul .He's had an accident".