Seated in Matt's apartment now, Candace pressed her lips as she sat still while he went to get her a glass of water.
How was she to tell him that she who had given the rule not to let the others find out about their affair had been the first to blow it?
"So, what happened earlier? What was with the phone call?" Matt asked curiously as he brought the glass of water she had requested to her and sat down on the couch beside her.
Candace took a sip and then without meeting his gaze said, "It may have slipped that I was coming to see you."
"Slipped? From whom? To who?" Matt asked with curious amusement.
Candace didn't meet his gaze as she explained what had happened, and Matt tried to keep a serious face as he listened even though he was dying of laughter inside.
When she was done he raised a brow, "So, what now? Since one of your rules for our arrangement has been broken by YOU, do you want to end it?" Matt asked and Candace frowned.
"They're all too nosy and…"
"What now, Candace?" Matt asked as he took the glass from her and set it aside.
Candace felt her pulse jump at his touch, "Would I be here despite after being caught if I wanted to stop seeing you?" Candace asked, and her heart skipped a beat when Matt brushed his thumb over her wrist.
"Good. Cause I warned you that I wasn't going to let you back off," Matt said, and she swallowed.
"We agreed we would end things when either of us wanted to," Candace said without looking into his eyes.
"Yes. But it's too soon to end things else you're going to make me feel like you used me and I don't like feeling used," Matt said and Candace met his gaze.
"Yet you hang around and even have sex with someone who used you," she said with a scowl and Matt groaned.
"Can you please let that go and forget I told you anything about having sex with her?" Matt pleaded.
"No, I can't. I won't. I want you to always remember that I'm going to bitch this way whenever you think of cheating on me," Candace said, and Matt raised a brow.
"Isn't the term cheating supposed to be used when it's a relationship?" Matt asked and she snorted.
"What's the difference between this and that? Or did you really think I agreed to this arrangement without knowing your intention?" She asked, and Matt chuckled.
"And what do you assume my intention is?" Matt asked and she eyed him.
"I believe you don't expect a response to that," Candace said as she withdrew her hand from his and rose from her seat.
"Let's get down to it, I have to leave soon," Candace said as she reached for the zipper of her dress to undress.
"Have you had something to eat?" Matt asked, and she paused and raised a brow.
"No! You're not wasting my time with any silly unnecessary cooking," she said with a glare and he chuckled.
"I cooked already. I'd rather you eat before I eat you," Matt said making butterflies flutter in her belly.
"I'm not hungry," Candace said and he looked at her for a moment.
"You will be after we are done. You're not leaving without eating," Matt said and she rose a brow.
"Why? Did you put something in the meal?" Candace asked making him chuckle as he took her hand and tugged her down so she fell on him.
"If you know my intention as you claim then you should know why," Matt said as she straddled him.
"Let's not get into that," Candace said as she held his face and tried to kiss him.
"Is sex really all you want from this?" Matt asked as he squeezed her ass gently.
"Maybe. For now," Candace said in a husky voice as she nibbled on his lower lip and Matt raised a brow.
"And in the future?" Matt asked and she shrugged.
"We could consider other options," she said and without saying a word, Matt took her lips in a passionate kiss.
If sex was what she wanted right now then he would make sure she had more than her fill of it until she wanted something more.
Two hours later, all four of them, Lucy, Sonia, Jade, and Candace met at the same club Jade had gone to the last time.
"Hello! You're here early. Is your uncle coming today?" The Barman who had attended to Jade the last time (Chapter 294) greeted as they stopped by the bar so she could give him their orders.
"Your uncle?" Sonia asked curiously.
"You frequent here a lot?" Candace asked when Jade smiled at him.
"He's not my uncle. He's my boy friend," Jade said, and the barman raised a brow.
"Recent development I suppose? He said you weren't his girlfriend the last time," the barman said, and Jade raised a brow.
"Do you remember the face of everyone who comes in here?" Jade asked with interest.
"You caused quite a stir with your dancing skill on the stage so it's hard not to remember you or the person who came to get you," he explained.
"You danced on stage?" Lucy asked in disbelief.
"I'll tell you about it after we settle on what to drink," Jade said and then instructed the barman on the drinks she wanted them to serve and to make sure new shots were brought to their table every twenty minutes.
"Every twenty minutes?" Candace asked as Jade led them to the same spot she had sat with Harry the last time since it was private enough and gave them view of the bar.
"Yeah. That way we can have progressive conversations as we also progress from tipsy to drunk," Jade said with wink.
"I still can't believe I'm in a club but can't even take alcohol," Sonia said as she scowled down at her mock-tail.
"Don't worry, I will drink for two," Lucy assured her.
"Welcome to the world of motherhood. It's a world of self deprivation. You have to put another being before yourself and think of their well-being before yours," Candace said at the same time, and Lucy winced at that.
"That's not a very encouraging thing to say," Lucy complained.
"Why not? Can't think of putting someone else's well-being above yours? Especially someone who can't cater for themselves?" Jade asked matter of factly.
"Well, if you can't then you shouldn't consider having kids so you don't turn out to be an awful mother who abandons one kid and sells off the other. Not everyone deserves to be mothers anyway," Candace said harshly and then winced the moment the words left her lips.
"I'm sorry," she said when she noticed the stricken look on Lucy's face, and Sonia patted Lucy's hand.
"Self deprivation isn't such a bad thing if you think about it. I'm positive there are things you deprive yourself of for Tom's sake or my sake or even the sake of Lucas and your parents. I believe it's even more worth it to do so for your kids. There's joy and satisfaction that come from seeing those little human happy. Right, Candace?" Sonia asked and Candace nodded.
"Sure. For instance not taking alcohol during pregnancy is for the overall well-being of your baby. Would you rather drink it or keep your baby safe? Or would you rather enjoy your sleep than attend to your crying baby?" Candace asked reasonably while Jade texted back Aurora who had texted to find out where they were.
"So, if Jamal was visiting you and had a nightmare, would you rather comfort him or go back to sleep and leave him to take care of himself?" Sonia asked, and Lucy shrugged.
"Those are minor and necessary," Lucy said.
Candace shrugged, "Motherhood is beautiful. I would deprive myself of everything if I need to for Jamal's sake," Candace said passionately.
"Ladies! Ladies! Ladies! We are at a club for Christ's sake! Motherhood is not something single ladies should be talking about in a club," Jade cut in with a groan.
"What should we be talking about then?" Lucy asked with an amused smile. It was funny that Jade was the youngest amongst them yet she often acted like she was the oldest.
"Sex. The men in our lives. Sex again. Talk more about our men and more about sex," Jade said making them laugh.
"Why don't you start by telling us how you ended up dancing on the stage the last time you were here?" Lucy asked with interest and Jade went on to tell them about it and how Harry had shown up to take her home.
While Jade was speaking, their first round of shots were served and she paused and counted to three for all three of them to take the shot while Sonia watched them enviously.
Jade told them how she had tricked him into kissing her even though she had told Sonia about it in the past and when she was done she scowled, "I think Harry used to be a monk or something in his past life," Jade announced irritably as she dropped her glass on the table and the others giggled.
"Why do you think that? Don't tell us he hadn't touched you yet?" Sonia asked with a curious smile.
"Touch me? Oh, he touched me so well. It's his level of self control in not doing more than touching me that I find so annoying," Jade hissed in frustration while Lucy watched, both amazed and amused that Jade was having this conversation with them knowing fully well that Harry's twin sister was seated there.
She couldn't imagine discussing her sex life with Tom in front of Jade. That would just be too awkward.
Candace on the other hand had a smug smile as she watched Jade. Like the other day, she had spent hours in bed with Matt and felt like she had more than made up for the past couple of years of not having any bed action.
"Well, did you try to seduce him?" Candace asked with a smirk.
"I was completely nude for crying out loud and wanted to return the favor. And guess what that pigheaded twin brother of yours did after looking at me? He chuckled!" Jade said incredulously, and Sonia's jaw dropped in disbelief while Candace doubled over with laughter.
"You're kidding, right?" Sonia asked in disbelief.
"He chuckled? Your body must have looked really funny. I should see it too," Candace said amidst her laughter and Jade glared at her.
"Shouldn't you be impressed? I mean, that tells you he wouldn't easily fall for the seduction of other women," Lucy said reasonably.
"Impressed? How impressed would you be if Tom finds your body amusing rather than sexy? If I didn't know for a fact that he was okay down there I would be worried," Jade said with a scowl.
"I can't tell. He has never laughed after looking at my body…" Lucy trailed off and rolled her eyes, "This discussion is ridiculous. But I think the fact that you know for a fact that he is okay down there should tell you he DOES find you sexy. Maybe he's waiting for a more special moment to do it," Lucy said with a shrug.
"You always defend Harry even more than his own twin sister. Perhaps we need another DNA test?" Jade asked and they all laughed as Aurora joined them.
"Sorry, I'm late. I was busy," Aurora said with a suggestive smile.
"While some are getting some action in the bedroom, others are not. I suppose you are more interested in talking about sex because you're not getting it," Candace said dryly and Jade shot her a glare.
"Don't make fun of me or we might just talk about those of us who are getting it secretly. At least Aurora isn't sneaking around to get it," Jade threatened and Sonia looked at Candace suspiciously.
"You're getting it?" Sonia asked and Candace shook her head at Jade.
"For a lawyer you have such a big mouth," she hissed at her.
"You started it, didn't you?" Jade retorted.
"Alright. I had sex with Matt. So, what? It was just sex!" Candace said, but from the look on Lucy's and Sonia's faces as they exchanged a look they didn't agree it was just sex.
"When? Tell us about it," Sonia said excitedly.
"What's there to tell? Unlike Jade who was only touched, I was touched, licked, sucked, eaten, and fucked, and I returned all the favor," Candace said smugly and Sonia clapped excitedly.
"That doesn't sound like just sex to me," Aurora said and Sonia nodded in agreement.
"I guess it wasn't a quickie at the party. By the way, why didn't you both come together? Aren't you coming from Harry's?" Sonia asked Jade curiously.
"Yeah, I am. But Candace left to meet up with Matt because they had some important business they needed to discuss. And you should know she lied to them she was going to see me but I showed up to see Harry unfortunately for her," Jade said making Candace decide there and then to never ever confide in Jade.
"So, you both resolved things last night?" Sonia asked curiously.
"Why did you have to lie about it?" Aurora asked at the same time.
"Because I obviously didn't want anyone to know I was fucking Matt, but thanks to Jade here, everyone knows now. So can we move on from my private business now?" Candace asked sweetly and then looked at Lucy.
"How come you don't ask much personal questions?" Candace asked Lucy who she noticed always did more listening than talking.
"I figured that if I don't ask you personal questions you wouldn't expect me to answer your personal questions. I'd rather respect your privacy so you can respect mine," Lucy said with a shrug, and Candace smiled.
"Perhaps you can teach Jade a thing or two on how to mind her business. She can be so infuriating," Candace said and Jade scowled at her while Lucy laughed softly.
Lucy took out her phone from her handbag when it vibrated, and she frowned when she saw it was an Instagram message notification from Kimberly.
[I'm sorry I reached out to you. I only wanted to get acquainted with you. I won't do so anymore.]
"Phones are not allowed, Lucy!" Jade chided when she saw Lucy on her phone.
"What is wrong?" Sonia asked when she noticed the frown on Lucy's face and she moved closer so she could see what Lucy was staring at.
"Did something happen?" Sonia asked and Lucy shook her head.
"I have no idea. Maybe Tom confronted her?" Lucy murmured thoughtfully but for Sonia's ears alone since Sonia was seated very close to her.
"Maybe," Sonia said with a sigh.
"What do you think I should do?" Lucy asked and Sonia took the phone from her.
"Nothing for now. Relax and have fun. You can talk to Tom about it later and maybe respond to the text after you've seen the DNA result if Tom says he's okay with you communicating with her," Sonia said as she dropped the phone into her handbag.
Lucy sighed as she tried to focus on what Jade and the others were discussing.
She was becoming worried that she might end up making an enemy out of Kimberly who might actually and genuinely be trying to be friends with her.