Page 12 of Baby Me

“Nah, just wondering what kind of future you dream about, sweetheart. This life doesn’t feel like a fit for you. Not as a club girl, anyway.”

My heart ticked up a beat as hope pinged stupidly from the useless organ in my chest. My heart thought maybe he wanted me as his old lady, but my brain knew better.

“I had a shitty upbringing like most of the girls here. The club saved me when I needed saving and I’m here to do whatever I can to return the favor.”

“You’re not indebted to us, Vina. You know that right? You’re free to go find whatever happiness you can at any time.”

I nodded, but kept my face turned away from Tripp. No, there definitely wouldn’t be ink and a patch in my future from him. He was all but pushing me out the door to go find someone outside the club.

“I’m a little confused. Do you not want me here?” I finally asked while trying to hide the hurt in my voice.

Tripp squeezed my hip and pulled me back into his body before wrapping me up in his arms again. “Nah, sweetheart. You always seem a little lost out there, like your head is anywhere but here. I wonder from time-to-time what you’re thinking and if you wish you could be somewhere else.”

“I’m perfectly content right here, right now,” I told him. There was no way for him to know that I meant that in the most literal sense. It would remain my secret because Tripp wasn’t like the other guys. He had an old lady once and knew how important it was to have a good woman at his side.

There was no way the club president would think having a club whore as his old lady would ever be a good idea, especially since I was only a few years older than his own kids. Maybe my age was why he was suddenly curious about my future plans.

I’d already tipped over the big three-oh and didn’t miss the fact that most of the club girls were five to ten years younger than me. It made sense that people would start wondering about what my plans were. If we all blinked too long, I’d end up ringing in the big four-oh as a washed-up club girl as well. If nothing else came from this little tryst with the club president, it was the notion that I needed to start preparing for a different future because it was going to come for me sooner than later. And there was no way that the future I hoped for would come to pass, with me at the president’s side.

It wasn’t just about him being the president either. I was the furthest thing from a patch chaser you could get. Tripp did it for me. It was in his kind and thoughtful nature. He could be a vicious son of a bitch when crossed, but for those he cared about, he went the extra mile. I’d be a fool not to want someone like that who would respect our relationship, care for me, protect what’s his, and do it all while looking dead sexy.

It was hard to shake those thoughts off as Tripp turned me to face him and leaned forward to nibble my bottom lip playfully.

“You were thinking too hard over there.”

“Sorry.”

He chuckled. “Don’t apologize. If you don’t want to share your future plans, you don’t have to. It’s not a requirement that you tell me all about how you’re going to dominate in the world one day.”

It was my turn to laugh. “You think a little too highly of me.”

“If not taking over the world, what is your biggest goal?”

“Honestly?”

“Yeah, of course. No point in lying about what you want.”

“I want a family.”

“A family?” He questioned as his finger traced over my slightly furrowed brow. “That’s it?”

“That’s everything. I want a family who can count on me and who I can count on right back. I want to love and be loved and raise happy, healthy, well-adjusted children who will one day give me grandbabies to spoil.” I shrugged my shoulders as if to brush off the serious wish with a bit of indifference. “That’s been my dream since I was a little girl and it never changed.”

“Well, hell, sweetheart, it doesn’t take much to please you, does it?”

“I guess not, but to me it is everything. Maybe to someone else it doesn’t sound like much,” I argued in a much quieter voice.

“Aw, I didn’t mean to offend you. Of course it’s everything. Not enough people want to focus on family anymore. It’s tough when most families need two incomes to make it. I was lucky that Kim was home with our kids most of their young lives until she was taken from us. They turned out pretty decent because their mom was always there for them. Don’t think I’m making light of your dream. It was just shocking to hear.”

“Because I’m a club girl?”

“Nah, just haven’t heard someone share that dream in a really long time.”

He didn’t give me a chance to respond as his lips came down on mine. Something changed in the way he kissed me. It wasn’t rough and needy like before. There was a gentler ease to the way he possessed my mouth, caressed my body, and then took me that second time. If I didn’t know any better, I’d describe what Tripp and I did then as making love. It was sensual, slow, and full of beautiful touches and sweet kisses.

Every time our eyes met, I would have sworn he was feeling the connection between us too. People couldn’t just fake the intensity that brewed between us. Then again, when I woke the next morning, I was alone. There weren’t any sweet notes telling me to wait for him to come back with breakfast and coffee. There weren’t any texts or phone messages about needing to handle club business. He was simply gone, and I was left to go back to my life as a club whore. Only now, I’d had a taste of what being with a man who wasn’t completely selfish felt like and it would be damn hard to go back to living the lie that I was happy as a club girl. The truth was, I was safe, and that lent to a certain feeling of contentment. I was far from happy though.

Thankfully, our conversation made me realize it was time to start saving for the future instead of squandering what I had.

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