After a perfect date with Cayden, the next night we had a double date with Griffin and Evan. I was really excited to meet Evan, especially because he managed to get Griffin to settle down and get serious about someone—which definitely meant that Evan was something special.

I was really proud of Griffin for really putting himself out there. He always would say how scared he was to go all in with someone since it could all be for nothing—or that he feared he'd get rejected. I understand his doubts and fears, but it was nice to see him taking the risk regardless.

"Hi beautiful," Cayden said, causing me to look up from my phone. Cayden looked incredible as always. She was wearing a loose black long-sleeved shirt tucked into light wash ripped jeans with her dark hair slicked back into a low bun. She wore shiny black loafers and a long black trench coat that remained open.

I walked over to her, kissing her lips briefly. "Hi Cay," I greeted.

Cayden had been at work all day while I chilled at home and did some school supplies shopping since the term was starting early next week. I felt oddly sad the entire time I was away from her, especially getting ready for dinner alone. Cayden and I normally got ready together, but I knew I'd adjust to this new dynamic. I needed to anyways, given that I'll be busy with school soon and her busy with work.

Last night was insane, especially since Cayden communicated her true thoughts and feelings. I know we promised to do so, but it still caught me off guard. She genuinely seemed like she was all in. Like she really wanted all of this and more with me, but still admitting that there would be bumps in the road on her end due to how foreign this all was. I'm more than okay with her still adjusting to the seriousness of a relationship and everything that comes with it, it's only normal, but what helped is that she communicated that and told me up front that there might be some issues on her end.

Cayden's eyes raked over my body, taking in my deep plunging burgundy blouse tucked into my short black skirt. Her stare lingered on my black stockings and shiny black stiletto ankle boots before looking back up at me—admiring my face covered in natural makeup and my long brown hair that was pulled up into a high bun with a few stray hairs hanging out.

"You look absolutely breathtaking," she said, gently pulling me into her, her spiced cologne wrapping around me like a warm hug. I smiled at her genuine compliment. She always managed to say the right things without even trying.

"As do you," I said, wrapping my arms around her neck. "How was work?"

This entire ordeal felt more serious than it should. Cayden coming home to me... and me asking how her day at work was. Is this how it would be from now on? I wouldn't be complaining if it was.

Cayden shrugged. "The usual—much better now that I'm here with you."

I smiled, kissing her lips briefly before pulling back from her. I grabbed my black coat from the chair and pulled it on. "Ready to leave for dinner?"

"Only if you are," she said, gently grabbing my hand and interlacing our fingers.

I nodded with a smile, causing Cayden to guide us both out of the condo and down to the parking garage. The drive to the popular restaurant named Atomic was fairly short since it was in midtown. Cayden kept her hand on my thigh the entire ride while we talked about our day in deep detail.

When we made it to the rooftop restaurant, Cayden parked in the parking garage before we both headed up to the top floor of the tall shiny skyscraper. The restaurant was decently packed, but not enough to where we couldn't make out Evan and Griffin sitting among the crowd.

The blonde-haired man with light blue eyes and a cleanly shaved face sat next to Griffin, engrossed in some kind of conversation—one that was making them both smile uncontrollably.

I smiled at the happy pair, gently squeezing Cayden's hand and pointing them out to her. We walked over to the table that sat right at the large glass wall, taking a seat in front of the two.

"Vin—Cayden," Griffin greeted, smiling. "Glad to see you made it. How are you guys?"

"We're good," I said, smiling as Cayden and I got situated at the table.

"That's good to hear—this is Evan," Griffin introduced the blonde man, earning smiles from both Cayden and me.

"Nice to meet you, Evan. I'm Vina," I said, introducing myself fully.

"And I'm Cayden," Cayden said from beside me, resting her hand on my thigh underneath the table.

Evan gave us both a warm expression, "I've heard so much about the two of you."

I looked at Griffin, a teasing expression on my face. "Hopefully not too much."

Griffin laughed. "Like I'd torture him to that point."

"Very funny Griffin," Cayden said, shaking her head with a smile before redirecting her attention to Evan. "So how did you two meet?"

Griffin and I immediately locked eyes, both of us tensing at the topic. The irony is that they met on the night when Griffin and I split up—him with Evan and me with Kori—and that would definitely ensure that the rest of the night would be awkward. It's not like Cayden had a right to be mad about it and she's admitted that, but it would still be weird to discuss currently.

Almost as if Griffin could read my thoughts he put a gentle hand on Evan's hand resting on the table.

"Oh, we don't have to get into those details," Griffin said, waving Cayden off with a tight smile.

Evan gave him a skeptical look with a growing smile, "Fin we definitely need to spill the details," he said, not picking up on Griffin's underlying body language. Evan redirected his attention to Cayden, "It was the night that we went to that one rooftop bar, which happens to be nearby. Griffin sought me out with his sexy eyes while Vina went lone wolf, which I assume was to meet you."

Great. We're only ten minutes into dinner and this gets brought up.

Cayden cleared her throat, her dark eyes briefly glancing at me. "That's really cute how you guys met," she said, purposefully avoiding the last statement that Evan said. I could easily hear the awkwardness in her tone, but I knew she wasn't mad or upset, given that she didn't move her hand from my thigh.

"Yes... so great. On another note, what are we ordering?" Griffin asked, his smile still tight and his dark eyes still on me—like he was asking for a little help with changing the topic.

"Oh, I don't know..." I trailed off, looking down to the glossy menu to help contribute to his topic change.

Evan squeezed Griffin's hand gently, "If it wasn't for Vina being gone the whole night, I would've never gotten to break through Griffin's tough shell, so thank you guys."

I officially want to bang my head against the table until I pass out.

Cayden sucked in a slight breath, blinking a few times. "Sure...?" she said, but it came out as more of a question, which I knew wasn't intentional.

Griffin and I locked eyes again, and my eyes practically widened out of my skull. A clear sign directed at Griffin to fully change the subject, no matter what it takes.

"How about we go grab a bottle of champagne from the bar?" Griffin asked motioning his head toward the bar before standing up from his chair. "Accompany me Ev?"

"Fin, y'know there should be someone over here soon to get us a bottle?" Evan asked, confusion written all over his face.

"But I was hoping to have some now," Griffin said, his smile still tight.

We need to teach Evan how to take a clear hint—and possibly give him some background information. Now I'm wishing Griffin gave him more details about Cayden and me.

"Okay, whatever you like," he said, rising from the chair.

"Get a round of tequila shots while you're at it," I said, knowing I'll need something much stronger to relieve this growing tension.

Griffin nodded, "On it, Vin," he said before walking over to the bar with Evan.

Once they were out of earshot, I turned to Cayden, whose eyes wouldn't meet mine. I felt cold when she briefly removed her hand from my thigh to slide off of her jacket. I couldn't tell if the action was an excuse to not touch me or if she genuinely wanted her jacket off.

After a very brief silence that felt like years, Cayden finally said, "I didn't realize you two spent the entire night together."

I pursed my lips, not exactly sure about what to say. I couldn't tell if she was upset in any way, or if she was just stating that she wasn't aware.

"Are you upset?" I said, finally asking what I wanted to know.

"No..." Cayden said, trailing off, and I felt my stomach sink at the hesitation in her tone. It wasn't even just her tone, it was the underlying fact that she wouldn't look at me.

"You seem like you are."

"I..." Cayden trailed off, letting out a sigh. "I am, but not necessarily with you. Maybe with myself? Or with the entire situation? I don't know."

I frowned, "Don't do this. Seriously it's all in the past, Cay."

Her dark eyes finally met mine, a slight frown on her lips. "It doesn't feel like it."

I furrowed my brows—once again, I didn't know what to say. Or maybe it was that I didn't know what to say that would be considered right. I didn't want to completely ignore her feelings, but I also couldn't do anything now to change what happened—change what she caused in the first place.

I gently grabbed her hand that was now resting in her lap, "What is it that you want me to do?"

Cayden sighed, shaking her head. "Nothing—nothing, it's seriously not your fault. I'm not upset with you, Vi," she said, squeezing my hand. "But the situation is still shitty. I shouldn't have pushed you away like I did."

I shook my head. "Cayden... I already said I was past it—that we're past it."

"I know... I just want you to know that I still feel sorry about it," she said, her low tone much lower than it normally is. "I hate imagining you with someone else—moving on and doing things that we should be doing together."

I frowned at her confession. I hate that she felt this way, even if it was partially her fault, she can still regret it and she can still feel bad. Her feelings are completely valid.

"But look at us. We're doing things that we should be doing together rather than me doing them with someone else. Everything worked out in the end even if we had to go through many obstacles to get here," I said, a small smile growing on my lips.

Cayden nodded slightly, "Yeah, you're right," she said before leaning in to kiss my lips briefly. "I really hate that it all happened that way, but I'm still thankful that we ended up together."

My smile grew as I admired her face. I didn't realize that she still felt so deeply about the entire situation. It made me feel nauseous thinking about her being so upset over something. I felt somewhat better now that we've discussed this fully and I was able to reassure her—I just really hope it doesn't keep weighing her down, considering its just dead weight from the past.

"We got shots!" Griffin announced sitting down the four fully filled shot glasses.

"And champagne!" Evan added, sitting the ice bucket down with the expensive champagne resting in it. I furrowed my brows when Evan leaned slightly into me, "Sorry about bringing up the whole topic. Griffin filled me in and now I feel so bad," he whispered in my ear, before pulling away.

I smiled at him, shaking my head as if to say it was all okay, which it was. Evan had no idea what happened, and the last thing I want him to think is that he messed anything up.

When Evan sat down, I gently grabbed his hand, "Seriously, I'm so happy you and Griffin found each other. I can tell that you really make him happy."

Evan grinned, his body relaxing slightly while Griffin's expression grew shy. "You really mean that?" Evan asked.

I didn't hesitate to nod, matching Evan's grin. "Totally."

Evan nodded thoughtfully before pouring our champagne into the glass flutes. I looked over to Cayden, whose dark eyes were already pinned on me. The smile on her lips grew as she continued to rest her hand on my thigh—I wasn't quite sure when she initially put it there again, but I wasn't complaining.

"Let the night officially begin," Griffin said, picking up his shot glass.

We all followed suit, lightly clinking our glasses together before throwing the burning liquid back. I knew tonight would still turn out good—if better, given that Cayden and I discussed a resurfacing topic. Even if it was hard and unexpected, we surprisingly needed to. And I can tell she feels the exact same way, by the way, she keeps looking at me—squeezing my thigh gently as her leg brushes against mine. I couldn't help but smile, thankful for our dynamic and how much it's grown.

How did you guys feel about Cayden's feelings toward Vina and Kori? Did you think they were valid? Let me know your thoughts:)

Weekendlustt