ELI

“I thought you said you weren’t interested,” Cass said, eyes trained on me like he was calling bullshit in a poker hand.

I took a slow sip of my drink before answering. “Well, a man’s allowed to change his mind.”

Cass leaned back in his chair, that trademark smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You sure you’re going to be okay with this? You know she’ll eventually choose me.”

Cocky bastard. He couldn’t help himself.

I didn’t respond immediately. Just watched the foam slide down the inside of my glass. If I said what I really thought, it would sound petty. If I said what I felt… well, that wasn’t an option.

Kara had caught me off guard. First, asking to see me again. I’d figured we’d shared a few laughs, maybe struck a spark of chemistry, but nothing serious. Then came the twist—she wanted to keep seeing me and Cass.

She’d said, “A woman’s allowed to change her mind.”

So I’d stolen her line when Cass called me out. Fitting.

Seeing his smugness now almost made me want to actually pursue her—actively, intentionally—just to rattle him. But that wasn’t why I was here.

My heart? That had always lived in a different time zone. And in the quiet hours when no one was looking, it still did.

But Cass… Cass needed this. Needed someone like Kara to shake him up. Maybe it wasn’t going exactly how I planned, but the end result still felt possible: Cass falling for someone who wouldn’t let him run, wouldn’t worship him blindly, wouldn’t be another notch in his ego’s belt.

Kara was the kind of woman who didn’t bend. She challenged. And Cass, for all his charm and bravado, was a moth to that kind of flame.

Even if it scorched him.

So yeah, I’d play the game. I’d show up for the group hangs, laugh at her jokes, maybe even make her laugh back. But not because I thought I’d win.

No—this wasn’t about winning.

It was about making sure Cass didn’t lose the one woman who might finally be worth breaking his rules for.

And if I had to make it harder for him?

Well, some lessons are only learned when you’re playing for something you might actually lose.