Chapter 22

Rebecca stopped in her tracks,inhaling deeply.

"Oh, now I understand what you meant about the drooling." Rebecca sniffed the air again, trying not to actually drool. "I think this is what heaven smells like." She looked up at Cass, catching her scent as well. This was definitely Rebecca's heaven.

Cass grinned down at Rebecca. She caught the spark in Rebecca's eye and knew it had nothing to do with Ellie's pies. No, Cass had seen that look before. It was one she missed desperately.

"C'mon," Cass murmured. "This place fills up around this time, so we'd better get a table." Out of habit — and the urgent need to touch Rebecca — Cass placed her hand at the small of Rebecca's back, guiding her to the booth they used often. Intrigued, she watched as Rebecca glanced around, that small space between her eyebrows puckered in concentration. Cass wished she could read Rebecca's mind. Did anything ring a bell in Rebecca's memory, or was this as new to her as… well, Cass?

"My aunt mentioned an Ellie," Rebecca began, distracted by her surroundings and aromas. "Is this who she was talking about?"

"Yep."

Finally, Rebecca's attention came back to Cass. "Are they friends?"

Cass nodded. "Ellie is a… family friend."

Before Rebecca could ask Cass to elaborate, a beautiful woman walked up to the table with a glass of chocolate milk and a mug in her hands. Then Rebecca was graced with a smile that caused her to feel inexplicably calm.

"Hello, you two! I was hoping I'd see you today." Ellie placed the chocolate milk in front of Cass, giving her a conspiratorial wink. She then set the mug in front of Rebecca. "Green jasmine tea with a splash of honey."

Rebecca's eyebrows shot up in surprise. That was her favorite, especially when she was feeling particularly stressed. All the new sights and sensations were definitely contributing to her anxiety. Not to mention, she wasn't sure she liked the familiarity between this woman and Cass.

"I — thank you. How?" Rebecca blinked in an effort to clear her mind of the hundreds of questions and focus on one. "I'm so sorry. Obviously, you know me if you know the way I drink tea. But I don't… remember."

Ellie laid a calming hand on Rebecca's shoulder. "I know, it's okay."

"Cass told you?"

Ellie's eyes flickered to Cass with sympathy. Oh, how it must hurt to hear Rebecca call her Cass. Again, she turned on the pleasant smile for Rebecca, not wanting to admit how much it hurt that Rebecca didn't know her either. "My wife is your doctor, Rebecca," she explained delicately. "And we're all very close."

Rebecca rubbed her temple. She didn't want a fucking headache, she wanted answers. She needed to remember. "My doctor?"

"Yes. I'm Ellie Vale. Dr. Vale is my wife."

Rebecca frowned, concentrating on remembering the doctors who were in the room with her when she woke up. "Tall. Dark hair. Piercing blue eyes. Nice bedside manner."

Ellie's smile grew. "That's her."

"Wait, you're Ellie? As in…" Rebecca gestured at the diner as a whole.

"That's me."

"You were not what I was expecting." Rebecca sucked in her lips, a blush of embarrassment creeping up her neck. "I… that's… that was rude, I'm so sorry."

Ellie chuckled. "I'm used to it. Most people think I'm a white-haired, little old lady." She shrugged. "It's fun seeing the reaction when they realize I'm not."

Rebecca shook her head. "This is all so… weird. Have you ever felt like you're missing out on life even though you're standing right in it?"

"Girl," Ellie scoffed. "I know very well what that's like, but I believe your memory will return sooner rather than later." She leaned closer, her eyes focused on Rebecca's. "This too shall pass," she said with a wink.

"You sound like a guru," Rebecca laughed. Oddly enough, she believed Ellie. But when would it pass? It felt like it's been a lifetime already.

"Ellie is like a yoga master," Cass chimed in. She had been happy — and intrigued — just listening to the two's conversation.

"I teach yoga," Ellie corrected.

"That explains why you have a calming presence," Rebecca laughed. "But if you could tell it to pass a little faster, that'd be great. Thanks."

"I'll work on that during my next meditation," Ellie joked. "Now, do you want to see the menu or…?"

"Do I have a ‘usual,'" Rebecca asked curiously.

"You do."

"I'll take that, then. It'll be interesting to see what it is."

"Coming up. Also, don't look now, but…" Ellie placed her hands on the table and leaned even closer, lowering her voice to barely above a whisper. "Joslyn Cohan is over in the corner. Writing!"

"Did you ask what she was writing?" Cass asked, matching Ellie's silly stage whisper.

"Of course not! I don't want to interrupt her. All I'm doing is making sure her iced coffee is never empty."

Cass peeked around Ellie. Sure enough, their favorite author was huddled in the corner of the diner, typing away on her laptop. Cass squinted but couldn't make anything out on the screen. "Tell me you're getting a little look-see on what she's writing when you're doing the refills."

"I would never!" Ellie looked at Cass indignantly, then grinned. "I'll tell you later. Don't go over there!" With that, she was off to get the couple their food.

"Like I'd go over there and intrude," Cass puffed out a whoosh of air. She turned to look over her shoulder and saw Ellie staring back at her, doing the ‘I'm watching you' thing with her hand. Cass held up her hands innocently and laughed.

"She seems nice. And funny." Rebecca sipped her tea. It was perfectly made, solidifying the fact that Ellie knew her very well. ‘We're all very close.' Rebecca had never had close friends before. Not even growing up. "I wish I could remember."

"Don't worry, babe… uh, Becca. You will."

"Everyone seems very confident about that. I wish I were." Of course, Rebecca didn't miss the ‘babe' slip-up. How could she? It made her insides all… tingly. She watched Cass over the rim of her mug, curious about the chocolate milk. Rebecca couldn't remember when she last had chocolate milk. Not that that was saying much these days. "How old are you, Cass?" she asked suddenly.

"Nope." Cass stirred her chocolate milk with a straw. She always loved getting chocolate milk from here because Ellie made it with a milk chocolate bar instead of the powder. It was always topped with chocolate shavings, too, which was an added bonus.

"Excuse me?"

The words only held a fraction of Mistress's strength. Even so, Cass was happy to hear the bit of heat coming from Rebecca. It made her backside itch to be spanked, but they'd get there again. Hopefully.

"The age thing? We've been there before. You tried to use it as an excuse not to date me." Cass smirked. "I won. I ain't giving you a second chance to overturn the win!"

Well, if they'd had this discussion before, it would have meant Cass was way younger than Rebecca. That was a first for her. Samantha was older and more experienced, which was what Rebecca was used to. Then again, maybe that was why this relationship with Cass worked. At least Rebecca assumed it was working.

"Aunt Wills wouldn't tell me either. That in itself is telling."

Cass pushed her chocolate milk aside and leaned her elbows on the table. "I don't like saying age is just a number. I've kinda come to the understanding that saying that negates what everyone has been through. But think of it this way. In your mind, you're what? In your twenties now? You feel that age because you think you're that age. So, I guess to me, age isn't the issue. Your mindset is. My age doesn't matter, Becca. What matters is we're two consenting adults who enjoy each other." Quite a bit.

Rebecca sipped her tea as she contemplated Cass's outlook on things. She supposed it was true enough. "Fine. No more about age."

"Thank you!" Cass laughed.

"They looklike they're having fun. Rebecca is laughing." Ellie stood on her tiptoes and peered out the small window of the door that separated the kitchen from the dining area.

"Did she remember you?" Blaise positioned a rose into the arrangement she was trying to perfect.

"No. I'm not going to lie; it stung." Ellie smiled when she saw Rebecca's reaction to eating her lunch. "She still likes my food."

"She has amnesia, El, not… whatever it's called when you can't taste food."

"Ageusia," Ellie provided.

"How in the hell do you know that?"

"I'm married to a doctor. Ooo, I'm going to insist Rebecca has a piece of my banana cream pie. Gotta go!"

"Wait! Don't forget to scoot them my way when they're done there. I have a special arrangement just for Rebecca."

"Got it. See ya, sweets!"

"That wasthe most incredible food I've ever eaten." Rebecca patted her belly, sure that if she tried to put one more morsel in her mouth, she'd explode. She wasn't lying. The food at Ellie's Diner was to die for! Was that the silver lining of having amnesia? The ability to have that ‘first impression' once again? Would she remember this when — or if— she regained her memory?

Rebecca was beginning to feel the same way about her time with Cass, too. She couldn't remember how or where they met. Hell, she couldn't remember how she felt when they went out on their first date. Had she felt the same butterflies in her belly? The same thrill when Cass touched her? She must have. This was simply another chance to feel all of that again. It was the only good thing Rebecca could attribute to this god-awful amnesia shit. The one thing she could hold onto when her hope started to wane. Or when the headaches began to creep in and ruin her day.

"Your head hurt?" Cass asked softly.

"A little."

"Do you want me to take you home?"

Rebecca looked up at Cass, touched by the genuine concern in her eyes. "No, you promised me a walk. And after everything I just ate, I need it," she grinned.

Cass nodded with a smile. "You're right. But hey, I have some of your meds," she patted her pocket. "You tell me if you need them, yeah?"

"You're going to trust me?" Rebecca squinted her eyes suspiciously. Obviously, Aunt Wills gave Cass the medication because she didn't trust Rebecca to take them if needed.

Cass shrugged. "Why wouldn't I? You know what you're feeling better than I do. I also know you hate taking medication, so you'll wait until the pain is unbearable. Just do me a favor, Becca, please? Don't let it get unbearable. And don't let me keep you out if you're not up for it. Trust me enough to take care of you when you need it."

Rebecca couldn't resist touching Cass on the arm. "You are very sweet. And whatever my memory is or isn't, I do trust you. I think I have since the moment you showed up at my aunt's house."

Pride swelled in Cass's heart. That meant a lot, and it renewed her hope that Rebecca would remember her. She had to. "Good." Cass jutted her elbow out and waited for Rebecca to slip her hand through the crook of her arm. "Are you up for a couple of stops?"

Rebecca inhaled deeply, willing the headache to subside. She didn't want to take any medicine- not now. The pills made her sleepy, and she wanted more time with Cass.

"Are we going to see more people I should know?"

Cass glanced at Blaise's flower shop. Before they left the diner, Ellie ‘casually' suggested they stop by next door, insisting Rebecca would love the flowers. Ellie wasn't wrong. Rebecca always loved the beautiful bouquets Blaise created. But if Rebecca wasn't up for seeing anyone, Cass had no choice but to skip it.

"Probably," Cass answered truthfully. "If you would rather not…"

"No, it's okay. Do they all know about…" Rebecca swirled her hands around her head.

"Yeah. They were there during your surgery. And when Hunter… Dr. Vale told me about the amnesia."

Rebecca loved how Cass didn't hesitate to tell her the truth. "So when Ellie said we were all very close, how many is all?"

"Uh." Cass closed one eye in concentration, counting her fingers as she muttered names to herself.

"That many!" It was difficult for Rebecca to comprehend having so many friends.

"Well, our group is growing, but our core… is about seven strong. Then we get into the kids, the strays, and the occasional supermodels…"

Rebecca's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "Supermodels?" She shook her head and took another breath. "Okay, let's tackle one thing at a time. Knight in Bloom, that's where Ellie said to go?"

"Yep. That's Blaise's place."

"One of our ‘core,' as you called it?"

Cass nodded. "She's Ellie's bff. They started the whole girls' night thing."

"Girls' night," Rebecca repeated. That was probably something else she should know, but nothing came to her. It was another thing she never imagined herself doing. Girls' night with a bunch of other women? Samantha would never allow that.

"Sorry, I'm bombarding you with information." Cass could kick herself for going too fast with the info. Rebecca already had a headache, and Cass was just making it worse. She was about to suggest taking Rebecca home again when Rebecca chuckled.

"It's not too much information, Cass. It's more of what the information is. I've never had friends before, so this is all very… odd." She tugged on Cass's arm. "Come on. Let's go meet Blaise."