"She wants to meet Cayden?" Griffin asked, laughing as he finished his bicep curl reps.

I nodded, sitting my weights down. "I think it's too soon."

"Definitely. But you could still discuss it with Cayden and see when would be the best time for her to meet her." Griffin said, setting his weights down as I drank some of my water. "Besides, I think your number one priority should be repairing your friendship with Jade first."

I swallowed my water, "Oh yeah, for sure."

Griffin sighed, "At least things went well, and she's not like Jaci." he said. "I know you were really anxious about it."

I sat down on the bench, feeling somewhat content with everything. Finally, after numerous things going wrong, it felt like everything was going right. Although, there was one more thing I was still worried about.

"Yeah. I'm just..." I sighed. "I'm still worried about my parents. What if they don't come around?"

"They should, but if they don't then just let it go. You'll be better off without them and their negativeness compared to if you conformed to their standards." Griffin said, picking his weights back up.

I know I'd be better off without them if they keep acting this way, but it doesn't make it any easier. It's also hard when I've usually conformed to what they want, so this is all new territory for me. Part of me thinks they have to come around—I'm their only daughter, and I didn't even do anything wrong. But another part of me thinks that they might be too prideful or stubborn to admit their wrongs and make amends with me.

Worrying about it won't do anything though, if anything, it'll just make it harder on me in the end. I need to let go of any expectations or hopes. I need to let go of the situation in general and move on fully.

"Everything will work out Vina," Griffin said, sitting his weights back down.

"Yeah, I just need to work past it."

Griffin sipped some of his water, before speaking again, "On another note, would you and Cayden be up for a double date with me and Evan?"

My brows raised, a squeal unintentionally leaving my parted lips. I didn't realize Griffin was still seeing Evan—the blonde guy from the rooftop bar in Midtown—It was a first for him, as far as I knew, he didn't do commitment.

"I would fucking love to—we would fucking love to," I said, referring to Cayden and me as a unit. It was so nice to be able to call us a we. It put things into perspective every time I referred to us as a unit. Cayden is mine and I'm Cayden's.

Griffin rolled his eyes playfully, "You're dragging it."

I gasped dramatically, "Dragging it? Griffy, you've never gotten this serious with anyone before!"

"You're right... but he's just so different."

I grinned at him, admiring his love struck state. "Are you guys dating?"

Griffin gave me a skeptical look. "If you must know..." he trailed off dramatically. "Yes we are."

I stood up from the workout bench, pulling Griffin into a big sweaty hug.

Griffin cringed. "Now Vin, that could've waited until after we both were showered and clean," he said, laughing slightly as we broke apart.

I was genuinely happy for Griffin. He deserved this. He deserved to be with someone who understood him, and most importantly, cared for him. I knew it was hard for him to commit to someone, especially since he struggled with the trust factor, but I was proud that he put himself out there like that.

"Seriously Griffin. I'm happy for you—from the bottom of my heart."

Griffin smiled, putting our weights up. "Thank you Vin," he said. "How about we grab a smoothie or something? Since you already went to Yolei's without me."

I chuckled catching onto his dramatically sour tone. "Don't tell me you're mad."

"I'm not, but only if you don't do it again," he said, shrugging.

-

I stared at myself in the full-body mirror. The black long-sleeve jumpsuit clung to my body, showing off all of my curves. The neck line plunged at my chest which easily showed my cleavage. My brown hair was straightened and down in a middle part while neutral makeup covered my face. After deciding I looked good, I slid on my warm platform Ugg slippers before spraying myself with my usual sweet perfume.

"Wow," Cayden said, adjusting her tan turtleneck so it was tucked perfectly into her black leather pants. Her dark hair was slicked up into a high bun while her face remained bare with her black ful-vue glasses resting on her nose. She looked so attractive. Drool-worthy. "Maybe dinner can wait."

I rolled my eyes playfully, walking over to her. "I don't know... I'm kind of excited to see what you have planned."

"Oh?" Cayden asked, her tone light and playful. "So your expectations are high?"

"Very high."

"Hm I wonder who made them like that..." she said, trailing off as she pulled me closer to her by my waist. I admired her face, and now that I was closer up—she looked even more beautiful. I honestly questioned how someone this attractive existed.

I raised a brow, deciding to joke with her further. "Well, I've been talking to this person on the side—"

"Stop playing with me Vi," Cayden said, her tone still light but her facial expression neutral. I noticed her voice grow lower with raspiness, which more or less indicated that she wasn't trying to joke any more.

"Oh? Playing with you?" I asked, deciding to push the joke further. "I'm not playing Cay... That's who I was with earlier—"

"Avina, seriously," Cayden said. I could tell her tone was now fully serious, especially since she used my full name. I could tell she was over the joke completely

I laughed. "I'm kidding baby," I said, kissing her soft lips briefly.

Cayden shook her head, pulling me closer to her. Her dark eyes stared down at me as she leaned in further to me, her nose barely brushing mine. "What are you?"

"Yours," I answered with no hesitation.

She smirked slightly, approval written all over her face. "All mine," she said, briefly pressing her warm lips to mine before pulling away slightly. "Are you ready? We should probably get going."

I nodded, eager to see what she has planned. "Where are we going?" I asked, even though I had already asked a hundred times already, her telling me the same answer—It's a surprise.

Cayden raised a brow. "I already told you Ms. Cabassi... It's a surprise," she said. My stomach did a flip at the name. Ms. Cabassi. It sounded so sexy coming from her lips. Honestly, everything sounded sexy coming from her lips, especially with how low her voice always was with the raspiness undertone.

Fuck dinner, I want her.

"Okay... let's go," I said, knowing that if we didn't leave within the next five minutes, I'd end up ripping Cayden's clothes off of her. Even if her clothes looked so good on, they looked just as good off.

Cayden and I ended up taking her G-Wagon to wherever she had planned for us to have dinner. The cold New York air was brutal, but Cayden made sure to keep the heat on along with our seat warmers. Her hand rested on my upper thigh the entire ride while I leaned into her arm. Soft r&b music played softly in the background, setting a calm mood.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you. Griffin wanted us to do a double date with him and Evan," I said as Cayden pulled into some type of underground parking garage.

Cayden smiled, showing off her accessorized teeth. "Oh for sure. What day were you guys thinking?"

"Probably tomorrow night..." I said, trailing off as I decided whether or not to tell her about Jade wanting to meet her formally. I told Cayden about everything else that occurred during Jade and I's meet-up, but I left that little detail out, unsure of how she felt about it.

Cayden raised a brow as she stopped the car in front of one of the security guards waiting at the parking garage entrance. "What is it?" she asked her attention diverting to me fully. She put her hand up to the guard who stood at her window, indicating for him to give us a moment.

I sucked in a breath, "Jade uh wanted to meet you? Formally that is... if that's okay?"

Cayden smiled slightly, "Jesus you scared me, I thought you had something worse to say," she said, laughing softly. "Of course, we can do that—just on your time, Vi."

I nodded, my nervousness fading. "Okay... You're sure?" I asked. "I thought you hated her honestly."

Cayden shrugged. "When I thought she sided with Jaci—yes. But she didn't, and even if it took you guys a while to meet up and talk—and for her to reach out in general—apologies were made, and explanations were said, so I'm good as long as you are," she said, motioning the security guard back over, before rolling her window down.

"Ms. Dela Cruz," the tall muscular man greeted with a neutral face. "Everything is ready when you are, just pull through to your usual parking."

I furrowed my brows, completely confused about what exactly Cayden had planned. All of a sudden this date seemed serious—then again, she always seemed to go above and beyond for me in some way.

Cayden nodded, smiling warmly at the man. "Thanks, Lucas," she said, rolling her window up and driving forward past the security guard booth as the black metal gate slid open automatically. She pulled further into the parking garage as I sat there growing more confused. I would've asked what she had planned or where we were, but I knew I would receive the same answer.

She pulled into the open parking spot directly in front of the large gold elevators, illuminated by led lighting above. Once the car was in park, she turned it off and opened her door, telling me to stay where I was at. I smiled to myself as she walked to my side of the car, opening my door for me.

"So chivalrous Ms. Dela Cruz," I teased her, exiting the roomy SUV.

"Always." Cayden smiled at me, closing my door and leading us to the shiny elevators. She pressed the button, causing it to light up with a white glow. I was surprised when the elevator opened not even thirty seconds later, causing us to enter it.

My confusion was slightly cleared up when I entered the elevator, the name of the building written above the panel of buttons with a large range of floor levels. I turned to Cayden, knowing I was grinning like never before. I can't believe she took me here.

Authors Note

I seriously love all of your comments & reading them all! Thank you for the support, it encourages me to write even more:) Now I wanna know some of your thoughts... Where do you think Cayden took Vina? What do you think about the double date Griffin wants to have? How do you feel about Jade meeting Cayden formally? Comment your opinions

Love you all,

Weekendlustt