What Deceit Looks Like | ✓

02: cassidy

 "What did Noah say when you told him about the dress?" Jupiter asks wiping down her end of the counter while I wipe the opposite side.

I shrug thinking about the blank check Maddox gave me that's sitting at the bottom of my underwear drawer. It'd been there for four days and I know I should have just cashed it with the rest of them but it didn't feel right after how nice he was to me. "I didn't tell Noah. I kept some of the money I got to pay for it and gave him the rest for rent."

She whistles lowly, "I just don't understand how you spilled the wine on it in the first place? You're not a clumsy person."

"It's not like I let the person bump into me and well if they hadn't bumped into me then I wouldn't have collided with Maddox and..." I trail off forgetting that I hadn't said anything about him to anyone. Especially not after googling who he was. It certainly explained how he was able to give me a blank check so easily. There was plenty more where it came from but it felt weird so I closed the tab after learning his full name.

"Maddox? You never mentioned meeting anyone," She presses lightly and I roll my eyes.

"He's no one, I meet lots of people at the events, there was just nothing particularly interesting about him."

Except everything was interesting especially his blind faith in humanity. It just didn't make sense to me to look for the good in people when the bad always has a way of coming out. "Well give me some details and I'm sure I can find something interesting about him," Jupiter teases and I roll my eyes grabbing the disinfecting spray again.

"I'm not sure what you expect me to say?" I turn away from her hoping that maybe she'll just drop it.

"His full name?"

I shrug again resisting the urge to let his name roll off my tongue because I shouldn't care, "I just got his first name. Besides it's not like I'm ever going to see him again so it's fine." And I'm not going to try. Instead, I'm going to focus on making this counter shiny enough that I can see my reflection in it.

"All jokes aside, are you okay?" Jupiter asks pulling on my arm to get me to face her.

"Why wouldn't CJ be okay?" Noah asks from the other side of the counter and I instantly smile at the sound of his voice. His mood instantly got brighter after I got home the other night and I know that getting the checks helped relieve all the stress he was under. I step onto one of the shelves underneath the counter and he meets me halfway to give me a kiss, "Well that's some hello."

Noah's hazel eyes squint as he smiles at me and all thoughts of Maddox are gone. "Maybe it's just because I missed you. Shouldn't you be at work right now?" I ask setting my rag down as Jupiter finally picks up the pace on her washing.

He hesitates for a moment, "I just started my lunch break and thought I would come to see how much more fun you're having at work than I am."

"Can I get you a drink?" I offer even though my hand is already resting on a bottle of beer knowing that he's going to say yes. He's predictable and a good bartender knows how to quench the thirst of the predictable.

"Sure, uh a Boule-" He doesn't even get to finish saying what brand because I've already set it in front of him on the freshly cleaned countertop. "Thanks, babe."

"Of course."

I pull my hair up into a messy ponytail to keep it out of my face and I catch the look Jupiter gives me because she doesn't like Noah when he drinks. She doesn't even entirely know how he gets. "So Jupiter, what did you mean when you asked CJ if she was okay?" He inquires and I have no idea what's going to come out of her mouth because she knows that I didn't tell him about the dress. As far as he knows I took it back to the store when in reality it's hanging in Jupiter's closet.