Title: Affection Multiplier App: The Boyfriend
By: BreaktheBar
Chapter 189
I held Cassidy for a little bit longer until she felt ready to talk. During the quiet process I found myself battling my own little internal demons—I knew why she was feeling this way, and I knew why she needed comforting. I could even see the strings leading back to her depressive states. Intellectually, I understood it. But that petty little part of me that I hadn’t ever really had before the ride to Lake Powell was still there, still angry and frustrated.
Cassidy caused this. Why should she be the one getting consoled?
I squashed that feeling as hard as I could and felt gross at myself for even feeling it, but there wasn’t any getting rid of the residue and it made loving Cassidy feel just a little bit more like work instead of the natural flow that I’d always found it before that week. And that made me sad.
“I don’t know what to do,” she whimpered quietly. It was a heartbreaking tone of voice.
“About what?” I asked.
“I don’t even know anymore,” she said. “Everything before. How I keep messing up now, using the App. I just… I keep telling myself the thing I’m doing is for you, or that one time for Wanda, and I just barge ahead and do it without telling you.”
I wanted to tell her that she could just stop using it, but that wouldn’t have been helpful. She tried that and it brought us here. Not to mention the serious questions I had about the App’s power and possible intelligence, or potential displeasure at being ignored. Instead I decided to distract her for at least a moment so we could reset the conversation and the feelings baked into it.
“Tell me about Terra,” I said. “How is she this morning?”
Cassidy sighed softly and rested her forehead on my shoulder. She knew exactly what I was doing, but after a moment she allowed it to happen. “She’s still pretty mad at JC,” she said. “I think the more she thinks about it, the more she’s seeing orange flags in their relationship. Not red ones, but enough there to be warning signs.”
“What’s he been doing?” I asked.
“He’s just sort of a manchild,” Cassidy said. “Endearing, and happy, and energetic. That’s what Terra likes about him. But also just… he hasn’t grown out of being a college frat boy. Not that he was one, but it’s just the state he’s in. She has to remind him to do basic chores, and does his taxes for him, and reminds him when he has trips booked for work. His whole life at home is his rec leagues, working out, playing video games and watching sports if he isn’t working. And she’s realizing she wants more than that out of him.”
“Mmm,” I hummed, nodding softly. All of that was pretty understandable from what I’d learned about JC and Terra. “So where does that leave her now?”
“She isn’t sure. I have a feeling this Diamond Dogs meeting isn’t going to end up being just about Wanda.”
I had to smirk a little. “Please tell me you’ll find a different name for it.”
“Oh, I already did,” Cassidy said. “Well, it fits most of us anyways.”
“What is it?”
“Robbie’s Girls,” Cassidy said.
I sighed. “Cass.”
“I know, I know, I’m just joking,” Cassidy said. “Mostly. And I won’t suggest it because that wouldn’t be fair to Terra or Heels.”
“Or Wanda,” I said. “She’s still married, Cass. The ‘owning’ game with her is hot and fun, but it needs to stop for now.”
“I know,” Cassidy said. “And she does, too”
“And I don’t want us to be a rebound thing for her either,” I said. “I- That wouldn’t be good for anyone.”
“Oh, Tiger,” Cassidy said, running her hand across my chest. “You aren’t a rebound for her.”
“We,” I corrected her.
“You,” Cassidy said, then took out her phone and opened it. It looked like she opened Instagram, but I knew she must have been looking at the App. “76 Affection, 49 Love, 32 Lust,” she read off. “Wanda loves you, Tiger. I’m a great friend to her, and she likes playing with me sexually because you’re there too. But her feelings are for you.”
I had to take a moment and breathe deeply. “Are you sure this is OK?”
“More than OK,” Cassidy said and shifted under the covers so that she was laying on top of me and snuggling her face into the pillow at the crook of my neck, whispering quietly. “You deserve Wanda and Becca loving you. And Ami. And I know you don’t want to say it, but I will. You deserve Leia and Cattie and Terra, too. And they deserve you.”
“Cass,” I said softly.
“Shhhh,” she shushed me. “I won’t say it again, Tiger. I just- I want you to stop second-guessing yourself. I’m the problem, not you.”
“Radical honesty,” I said.
“Anything,” she promised.
“Other than the Wanda one, have you bought any perks for any of the girls on this trip?”
Cassidy shook her head. “Just Wanda.”
“What about JC?” I asked.
“No, baby,” she said, her voice cracking at the accusation baked into the question. “I’m not sabotaging him.”
“Do I know about all of the perks you’ve ever bought me?” I asked.
She hesitated, then rolled to my side and brought up her phone again. “The second one I ever got you was the No Sickness one. The first one was back in high school and it’s called ‘Perfect Vision.’ It just makes it so your eyes never degrade, or feel itchy or scratchy. I got it for you when you were having that problem with the chlorine in the different pools at swimming competitions—and I promise it didn’t change anything else about your swimming, it just made it so you wouldn’t get red and grainy eyes.”
I exhaled through my nose and nodded. “OK, that’s not a big deal I guess. And nice to know I won’t ever need glasses.”
“That was one of the first perks I ever got. After that, I never really used it on you until before this week, and you know all of the traits I got you,” she said.
“OK,” I said.
“That’s really it, Robbie,” Cassidy said, not as an accusation but as a plea, searching my face and hoping I believed her.
“I trust you,” I said, kissing her cheek.
“Thank you,” she whispered. We sat holding each other for a little bit longer, and then her chest heaved slightly as she snorted softly.
‘What?” I asked.
“We could call the group the ‘Pussy Pack,’” she said, and I could hear the grin on her lips.
“Oh, God,” I groaned, which made her laugh more.
* * *