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Luke was cleaning up from his latest evening of poker with the guys. It was late. He picked up stray poker chips that fell to the floor during their rambunctious games of poker and put them back into the case sitting on the table. Their poker nights were a way for Luke and his friends to unwind. Most of the time they discussed sports and entertainment. But occasionally someone would bring up a more serious topic. The focus of this particular game night was on Kyle, a friend of Luke's, and how he was ready to settle down. When Kyle first brought up marriage, his friends laughed in disbelief. He was the one person in their group they thought would remain single for the rest of his life. But apparently the woman Kyle was dating changed his mind.

When Luke realized Kyle was serious, he withdrew into himself. Luke thought his life would be different then it was. He thought he would be married and maybe have children. That was who Luke was, an aspiring family man. But after losing his fiancé and finally getting sober, he managed to bury himself in work. And now, there was Cassie.

Luke was not quite sure what to make of what happened the week before. When he called, Cassie did not pick up her phone. It was obvious she was avoiding him. He could understand why. Even if Cassie answered her phone or returned his calls, Luke was unsure what he would say. He and Cassie were good friends, and Luke liked having her around to talk to.

The apartment was almost back to an acceptable state. Luke picked up the last empty beer bottles and put them in the recycling bin. He was going through his apartment turning out all of the lights when there was a knock on his door. Luke looked down at his watch. His friends left an hour earlier; it was unlikely one of them was coming back to pick up something they left. He looked through the peep hole. Cassie was standing on the other side. Luke unlocked and opened his door.

"Hi." Cassie said.

"It's late." Luke said.

"I'm sorry. You weren't sleep were you?" Cassie asked. "I didn't wake you up?"

"No, I was just cleaning." Luke said.

Cassie nodded her head. She found it strange that he was cleaning so late, but she did not voice her thoughts. "Can I come in?"

Luke stepped to the side and allowed Cassie to pass. She walked a few feet into the apartment before turning around. With her hands in her pocket, Cassie began to slightly rock on her feet. Luke closed the door and faced her.

"I think we need to talk." Cassie stated.

"I tried calling you."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just didn't know what to say, or what I thought." Cassie stopped rocking.

Luke sighed. He understood how she was feeling. "Maybe we should sit down."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Cassie sat in the chair and Luke settled down on the sofa.

It was not until he sat down that Luke noticed Cassie's clothes. From what he could see, he assumed underneath the black leather jacket Cassie was wearing a black dress. The bottom of it stopped mid-thigh when she sat in the chair. Instead of her usual bun of curls, her hair was straight and fell just past her shoulders.

"Where were you?" Luke asked. He was curious. In the time they spent together, Luke learned a lot about Cassie and how she dressed—first comfort, style second. He also knew she was not one to go out.

"I was at a party. Jade insisted I go." Cassie said.

"Oh." Luke said.

"Why are you still up?" Cassie asked.

"Poker night. I was cleaning up from the night's events."

"Right. I forgot about that."

"Did you win?" Cassie asked

"Why are you here Cassie? You said we need to talk, but I feel like we are avoiding the conversation." Luke said. He was tired and wanted to go to bed. But he knew he and Cassie needed to figure things out.

"I was thinking about the other night, and it was good right?" Cassie asked. She did not give Luke time to respond before she started to speak again. "I mean I thought it was good. It was fun and much needed." The words seemed to just fall out of Cassie's mouth. "And I was thinking yes we're friends, but we're also adults. We're both adults with needs. I know I haven't had sex in a very long time, and no offense, but I know you're not getting any on a regular basis either. So maybe we could just…I'm not sure how to put this but…service each other." Cassie finished. She could not look Luke in the eye, so she hung her head and allowed her hair to shroud her face. She played with a ring on her finger while Luke contemplated what she said.

Luke was dumbfounded. He did not know what to say to Cassie's proposal. He stared at Cassie. When he did not say anything, Cassie looked up and used both hands to tuck her hair behind her ears. "Luke, can you say something."

"I don't know what to say." Luke said.

"Luke I don't want this to be awkward."

"How can this not be awkward?" Luke scoffed. "You're my friend, and we had sex. You ignore me for a week. Then you show up at my door, unannounced, and now you want to continue having sex?" Luke said. "Do I have that right? Did I miss anything?"

"No, you didn't miss anything. Luke I just…I'm a woman with needs and last week was… I'm not asking that we start dating; I don't want a romantic relationship; I don't want to be exclusive. I just want sex, no attachments." Cassie said. She was hoping he would just say yes and they could stop talking about it.

"How would this even work?" Luke asked.

"Plenty of people do it, friends with benefits, fuck buddies."

"And it usually doesn't end well."

"We're two mature adults. I think we can make this work." Cassie said.

Luke was silent. If he was honest with himself, he would just say no. If he was honest, he would realize that he wanted more with Cassie than just a casual relationship. But it was rare any man was ever honest with himself. Against his own better judgment, Luke nodded his head in affirmation. "Okay. We'll see how this goes." Luke said.

Cassie smiled. She was not ready for a relationship, or so she told herself on a daily basis, but she wanted sex. Having sex with her friend was a much better proposition, Cassie believed, than turning to an escort service. It was a legal option already proven to produce satisfactory results, good sex.

"So how will this work?" Luke interrupted Cassie's thoughts.

"I'm not sure exactly, but we'll work it out. We are competent adults."

"Of course we are." Luke said under his breath. He watched Cassie stand from where she was sitting hoping she was not expecting to start this new facet of their friendship tonight.

"I should go." Cassie said.

Luke looked visibly relieved. He stood up and walked with Cassie to the door. He opened it for her. Cassie stepped over the threshold.

"Good night Luke. I'll see you later." Cassie said.

"Right. Have a good evening Cassie, and let me know when you get home." Luke said.

"Alright." Cassie turned and walked down the hallway to the elevator. She turned back. Luke was still standing in his doorway; he waved. Cassie smiled and stepped into the elevator.

Luke went back inside his apartment and closed his door. He turned the two deadbolts securing his home for the evening. It was not until he climbed into bed that he really understood to what it was he had agreed.

 


The following morning Cassie awoke to her phone vibrating on her night stand. She groaned when she felt the sun creep into her eyes. Whoever was on the other side calling her, Cassie wanted to kill or maim—either was a better option than waking up early on a Sunday morning—them. Cassie cracked one eye and quickly closed it shut. She pulled the comforter over her head trying to block out the sunlight and hoping it would drown out the sound of the phone vibrating against the wood of the nightstand. When it finally stopped, Cassie let out a sigh of relief. She removed the comforter from its position over her head and tried to go back to sleep. However, someone else had a different plan.

The phone began to vibrate again. Annoyed, Cassie picked up the phone and answered it.

"Hello!"

"Hey, Cassie. What's up with you?"

"Jade why are you calling me so early?" Cassie asked rubbing her eyes.

"I just got back from my run with Sean. I wanted to know why you left the party early." Jade said.

Cassie groaned. "I showed up. You didn't say how long I had to stay."

"I know I didn't specify how long you were to stay, but more than an hour would have been nice." Jade said.

"I did stay longer than that. I was there for an hour and fifteen minutes before I left."

"Did you go straight home?" Jade asked.

Cassie did not immediately respond to the question.

"Are you still there Cassie?" Jade asked.

"Yes."

"Yes you went home?"

"No. Yes I'm still here." Cassie said.

"So you stopped somewhere before you went home then." Jade said.

"I went to Luke's."

"What did you say?"

Once again, Cassie remained silent. She did not want to inform Jade of the new situation with Luke. But she knew sooner—as in within the next few minutes—rather than later Jade would find out.

"Cassie you need to stop going all nonverbal on me." Jade demanded. "What did you say?"

"I proposed that we change the terms of our friendship." Cassie said.

"In what way exactly?" Jade asked.

"I suggested we should be fuck buddies." Cassie said.

"Cassandra Grace Mitchell you did what?!" In over ten years of knowing Cassie, Jade never would have thought her best friend would agree to such an arrangement, let alone be the one to suggest it. Cassie was not the casual sex type. She was a romantic. At least she used to be. Jade wondered how she jumped from not wanting to complicate her relationship with Luke to thinking that a friends with benefits set up was a viable option.

"Do not use my full name." Cassie said. "This is not a full name kind of thing. It was a logical decision. I liked having sex with Luke; I want to do it again; and I don't want the whole romantic attachment thing."

Jade sighed. "This doesn't sound like you Cassie."

Cassie shrugged her shoulders. "It's logical."

Jade did not know how to respond to her friend's choices. Instead of continuing to go back and forth about it, Jade decided it was best to end the conversation. "If it's what you want Cassie. I just don't want to see you get hurt. You know these things never go as planned."

"I'll be fine Jade. I'm a big girl. You don't need to worry." Cassie said. "Now I'm hanging up because I'm going back to sleep."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." Cassie ended the call and put her phone back on her nightstand.

I know what I'm doing. Right?

 


Luke stood in front of Alex and Dani's door. As much time as he spent at his friends' apartment, sometimes it felt like he lived there. His late night visitor threw him for a loop. After she consistently ignored his calls for a week, Luke was not expecting to hear from Cassie—let alone have her show up in front of his door after midnight.

Now that Luke had some time to think he was even more unsure about the new arrangement Cassie devised. He knew what Dani would say if he told her, which was why he was hoping to avoid the subject of Cassie completely while he was at their home.

Luke knocked on the door and waited for one of his friends to let him inside. The door opened and Dani stood in the doorway holding a fidgety AJ. When the toddler saw Luke, he immediately reached out to be held.

"Good morning, come on in." Dani said.

Luke stepped through the doorway and took AJ from Dani's arms. "Hey." He directed at Dani. "And hey to you too." Luke said bouncing the smiling boy in his arms.

"I heard you did very well last night." Dani said. She was walking down the hallway to the living room.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked. He followed Dani.

"Alex said you cleaned everyone out during the poker game." Dani picked up a brightly colored plane off the sofa and placed it on the side table before sitting down.

Luke sat down too and released AJ on the ground. AJ waddled around the coffee table heading for the toy plane, which now sat on the side table. AJ picked up the plastic toy and began to bang it on the carpeted floor.

"Yeah it was a pretty good night for me. I usually use the winnings to by food for the next poker night so everyone wins. Where's your husband?" Luke asked.

"He is getting dressed. He'll be ready to go in a few."

Occasionally, Alex, Dani, and Luke went out to brunch on Sundays. It was one of those Sundays.

"I don't understand why we didn't just meet at the restaurant." Luke said.

"Just deal with it Luke. The place is right down the block so it's not a long walk." Dani said.

"I know that. It just seems a little more efficient to meet there."

AJ made his way over to Luke plane in hand. He stopped in front of Luke's chair and unsuccessfully tried to climb on Luke's lap. The plane hindered his ability. Luke reached down and placed AJ on his knee and began to lightly bounce it up and down. AJ giggled at the movement.

"Well, if we met at the restaurant you wouldn't be able to bond with your godson like you are doing now." Dani pointed out.

Alex walked into the room and picked his keys up from the sofa table. "Hey Luke. You guys ready?" Alex asked.

"We were waiting for you babe." Dani said as she stood.

Luke stood and placed AJ on his hip. The three friends left the apartment and began the short trek to the eatery. Shortly after they arrived, Dani went to the restroom. Alex took the opportunity to talk to Luke privately.

"Have you heard from Cassie?" Alex asked. The night before he did not have a chance to discuss things with Luke. He was curious to see where things between Luke and Cassie would lead.

"Yeah, she came over late last night. We talked."

"And?" Alex asked.

"And she wants a casual relationship. Sex with no attachments."

"Oh."

"Exactly." Luke said.

"Did you agree?"

"Friends with benefits, it's every man's dream right?" Luke said sarcastically.

"What about friends with benefits?" Dani asked sitting down.

Neither Luke nor Alex noticed her return.

"Nothing." Alex said. Even though he knew Luke thought he would, Alex did not tell Dani about what transpired between Cassie and Luke the previous week.

"If it's nothing, then why bring it up?" Dani asked. She was suspicious, not of her husband—she knew he was a well satisfied man—but of Luke. When she met with Cassie to discuss planning for the fundraiser, the other woman seemed a bit off. There was something she was trying to hide.

"She'll get it out of you eventually Alex." Luke said.

"I'm hurt you don't trust me."

Luke rolled his eyes at Alex's mock disappointment. "Cassie and I are thinking of engaging in an arrangement." Luke said.

Dani laughed. "Please tell me this is a joke."

Neither of the men at the table said anything. Dani stopped laughing.

"It's not a joke? Okay. How did that conversation come up?" Dani asked.

"She stopped by last night after the guys left. It was her solution to what happened last week." Luke said.

"What happened last week?" Dani asked looking from her husband to her best friend. She felt like she was out of the loop.

"Alex didn't tell you?"

"He didn't tell me what?" Dani asked.

"I can keep some things a secret." Alex said.

"I slept with Cassie." Luke said.

"What the hell possessed you to do that?"

"It just happened Dani."

"And you thought it would be a good idea to continue sleeping with your friend—for whom you obviously have feelings! Unbelievable." Dani said.

"I do not have feelings for Cassie. She's just a friend."

"That's bull and you know it." Dani said.

Alex sat quietly deciding it was best for him not to get involved. No one said anything. There was an eerie silence over the table only broken by AJ's occasional banging of his sippy cup on the table.

A waitress came by and took everyone's order and left before anything else was said.

"You know what Luke, you're a grown man and can make your own stupid decisions—because this is a stupid decision. But I guarantee something is going to go wrong, and one of you—I'm about ninety percent sure it's going to be you—is going to get hurt. These things never seem to go quite like they should." Dani said. "That's all I will say about the matter."

Luke felt like a teenager who had just disappointed his mom. He knew Dani meant well, and he knew she was probably right. But people rarely listen to their better judgment.












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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.