Cayden's house was a mansion.

It was much bigger than the Meleri's estate even if you combined their estate twice—it still wouldn't do Cayden's house any justice. It looked brand new and I couldn't tell if that was just a stylistic choice, or if it had been newly redone on the outside. It was massive—possibly three stories—with a gate out front. I could tell just by looking at the property that this was the tip of the iceberg. There was definitely more to see.

Cayden had not fully prepared me for the magnitude of her upbringing. I knew bits and pieces and I also knew that Sebastian was connected and wealthy, but I didn't realize how truly wealthy Cayden was. I should've been able to guess from the way she lived in New York, but I also thought maybe she slowly funded her singular wealth herself, but maybe she did have somewhat of a helping hand from her parents when growing her business.

It was clear that was the case. Her parents most likely had never had to save up for anything—investing in her business was probably just pocket change to them.

We got out of the Uber and I still couldn't believe what we were looking at. Somewhere in my mind, I knew that her father was an NFL coach. I remembered her saying it—it was a hard detail to forget and not fixate on at times. It all seemed so strange and so... glamorous in some ways. I had no idea what that entailed outside of obscene amounts of wealth.

And sure enough, Cayden clearly had obscene amounts of wealth.

The Uber driver kindly helped us get our bags out of the car and then drove off, leaving us in front of the giant gate. Cayden, like it was the most normal thing in the world, walked over and opened the gate for us.

I adjusted my duffle bag on my shoulder while Cayden rolled our suitcases up to the front. We followed a brick pathway up to a circular driveway, where we got a full view of the beachfront house.

I tried to keep my fawning to a minimum so I didn't completely embarrass myself, but this was a bit further up on the ladder than my upbringing. I'd grown up relatively connected and wealthy—we took nice family vacations frequently and I was able to afford college and a comfortable monthly allowance from my parents without working. But this was unlike anything I'd ever seen.

Cayden dug her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the front door. "Mom?" she called out. Her voice echoed through the halls and off of the gorgeous tan marble floors. It looked more like a museum than an actual home.

She pulled out her phone, stopping us in the entryway briefly. "I don't think my parents are here," Cayden said and turned to me. She clicked around on her phone a little bit more. "Yeah, unless we're suddenly in fucking Cabo, they're definitely not home."

"Your parents are in... Cabo?"

"I'm sure it's some sort of friend get-together," Cayden said and then grimaced. "Sorry, that sounds like a dick thing to say. I don't mean to sound dismissive of the trip. I'm more dismissive of my parents."

I smiled a little bit, even if I felt completely out of my element. It was like the feeling I got when I stayed at Sebastian's house but tripled. "Sure," I said.

"We can drop our stuff off and I'll show you around," Cayden offered. We carried our bags up giant, beautiful stairs and down a hallway. The house seemed to go every which way and I knew I would inevitably be getting lost throughout the first week or so that I was here.

She stopped in front of one door and pushed it open. This room was completely different from the entire rest of the house—it was obvious that it was Cayden's. It was still carefully designed—Cayden had definitely recreated the style of her room at her condo—which was full of character and color. Compared to what I've seen of the rest of the house, her room looked more lived in.

"This is the most perfectly made bed I have ever seen," I said, running my hands over her tightly pulled comforter. "It's like a hotel."

"The cleaning crew," Cayden explained.

It was hard not to feel like I'd entered some kind of alternate dimension. I knew it didn't change Cayden at all, but I was stunned by the money and atmosphere. Seeing her in this space was weirdly jarring, but also felt somewhat right. She looked... comfortable—like she belonged here.

It was hard to believe this was the home she'd partially grown up in. I knew she had moved from place to place, but it was hard to picture someone living here, studying here... being a real person here. It felt too beautiful. I had no idea how I was going to fit in. I already struggled at the Meleri's and their estate was nothing compared to this. I'm pretty sure they didn't even have a cleaning crew, chefs, or anything else that came with assistance.

"This is our room," Cayden said, and it set something off in my chest, making my heart race. Our room. I loved how she always included me in the things she said. It felt really special to me. It was never her room or her condo, even if it actually was. She would invite me in with open arms. We were a we. It never got old hearing her say it.

It was especially special since Sebastian had never really been someone who said things like that. The only time we were ever really a we was when he was making some kind of demand—we should have sex. It never felt like he saw us as a unit, but in fairness, I guess I didn't either.

"This is really beautiful, Cayden," I said. I wandered around the room, eyeing up her furniture and art and pictures. I spotted one with a tiny Cayden, some of her teeth missing as she grinned for a photo with a man I assumed was her father. "I love your room. And your house."

"I'm glad," Cayden said. She sat down on the edge of the bed and I walked over to her. We linked our hands together and I stepped in between her legs. She leaned forward and rested her head on my chest, pulling me in for a hug. She looked at me. "We're in this together, right?"

"Yeah, of course," I said. "I wouldn't want it any other way. I wouldn't have come if I didn't see us as a unit."

"Okay," Cayden said, seemingly a little bit more soothed.

I smiled at her. Even though our touches and our conversation were innocent, something about being alone in the house, alone on her bed, made my body go haywire. I wanted her.

Cayden suddenly stood up. "Do you want a tour?"

"Oh, yeah," I said, blinking at her, a little surprised. We had an entire house to ourselves and she was being weirdly hesitant about sex, which wasn't like her. Normally, just the two of us on a bed would almost immediately lead to some kind of comment from her.

But I also knew we were in a completely new setting. I had never been to Cayden's house before, I had no idea how long it had been since Cayden was here. It made sense that maybe she was feeling a little hesitant.

She walked me over toward a door, which lead to an en suite bathroom. It was beautiful, probably even bigger than the full bathroom at my parents' house or one that I had seen at the Meleri estate. It practically sparkled—it reminded me of the bathroom at Cayden's condo just much bigger.

"Just so you know that this is here," Cayden said and then stepped further in. She opened a few cabinet doors. "I have some shampoo, body wash, stuff like that. But we can go shopping and get you things for yourself, since these are just all my favorites."

"Okay," I said and smiled a little bit. I eyed the shower and that suddenly seemed like the best idea in the world.

Cayden, seemingly catching that I was staring at the shower, looked at me. "Did you want to shower? We can take it slow, maybe order dinner. Flights usually take it out of me."

I stopped and studied her face, looking at her genuine, sweet expression. She was so good to me. There wasn't anyone in the world as nice to me as she was and I knew that with absolute certainty.

I pulled my shirt over my head, revealing my bare breasts. I loved going braless around Cayden—I would catch her checking me out sometimes, like I was just some hot girl passing on the street and not the girl she got to bring home every night.

Cayden's jaw went slack. I walked over to her, pressing my hand to her upper chest. I reached out for her shirt and she raised her arms, patiently waiting for me to pull it over her head. I dropped it to the floor and then kicked off my shoes. We silently communicated so much with each other, knowing exactly what the other person was thinking and feeling.

I leaned into Cayden's ear. "I want you to shower with me."