Page 5 of Vaughn

Which is funny because I don't trust myself with her either. "You can always trust yourself with me, Val. There aren't many things I've done in this life that are good, but what I can tell you is that the people I care about, I fuckin' care about. The minute I walked into Get Baked and saw you standing behind the counter, I wanted to get to know you."

Her cheeks pink as she gazes at me. "I wanted to get to know you too, and I promise I'll reveal more about myself soon."

"I don't need you to reveal the heavy stuff, Val. I just need to know..." I point to the fruits. "Are you a honey crisp or granny smith kinda gal?"

She tilts her head to the side, seeming to think about it. "Depends on if I'm having a pie or not. If it's a pie, definitely granny smith. Anything else, honey crisp. What about you?"

Somehow I'm worried this answer will change everything between us, but I have to be honest. She's trusting me with this. "Red delicious."

Her eyebrows raise, a sexy smirk quirking up the edge of her lips. "The most basic of basic apples, Vaughn? Really?"

I don't expect the joke from her, especially with it having a connotation of basic. I laugh hard, throwing my head back. "Yeah, really. Come the fuck on, you're on my nerves." I roll my eyes and put my hand in front of me, palm up. "After you, gorgeous."

She cocks her head to the side, and moves to the front of the cart. With a glance over her shoulder, she puts one finger up and makes a come hither motion. "C'mon Vaughn. Let's see how well we mesh with our groceries."

As I follow her, I can't help but think this is some sort of litmus test. Like it'll base the rest of our relationship on whatever this proves. I don't think I've ever been more nervous, but here we are. Watching her as she carefully picks out a few processed meals, but keeps close to whole foods. There must be a reason for it, but I don't want to push her. I keep this in my back pocket to ask her later, especially when she gives me shit for the Hamburger Helper I toss in the basket.

"Please tell me you're going to add spinach to that, or a real tomato, orsomething,Vaughn."

A grimace spreads across my lips. "I don't. Should I be?"

She sighs. "Yes, you need a little something that is whole and good. Mostly because you have such a physically demanding job. I'm sure you expend a lot of energy, so you should replace that." She pushes her hair back behind her ears.

I shrug. "Can't say I've ever cared."

"Let me cook you dinner then." She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. "Show you what you can do with somethinglike this, as well as a few fresh ingredients. It'd let me thank you for bringing me today, too."

"You don't have to thank me. I'm happy to hang out with you."

"Please?"

Those eyes of hers are so hopeful. "Alright. I can't tonight. I'm meeting the guys at Monroe's, but tomorrow. Does that work for you?"

"Yes." She smiles brightly. "I'll make it worth your while."

I know she doesn't mean this sexually, but my cock tightens and takes notice. Being alone in her space with her is going to be very interesting.

CHAPTER FIVE

Val

Peeking out the back window of my apartment, I watch as Barrett and Gabby run to his truck. She squeals as he lifts her up into the passenger seat. And while I know I shouldn't keep spying, I do. He leans in, pressing himself between her spread thighs. For a split second I think about glancing away, but I can't. I'm too interested to see how two people in a normal relationship act when no one should be intruding.

I've never seen it before. My parents were an arranged marriage, and while my mother always had a smile on her face, she was never comfortable with him. Not even after eighteen children. The day I left, when he came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, they bunched with tension, and the look on her face? It wasn't contentment; it was dread. I've watched over the years as they showed what was supposed to be public displays of affection, but she never smiled the way I've seen Daisy, Kara, Alexis, and Gabby do. She never leaned into my dad and let him take her weight, as if she trusted him.

Not once.

As I watch what's unfolding in front of me, I can notice the differences. The way Barrett leans in, and puts his hands onGabby's face, it's reverent, the way he stares at her, tilting his head. Her lips move, and in the dim light, his lips curve into a grin before leaning in and pressing hers with a kiss. Her thighs widen further for him and she allows him to run his hands up her thighs. He steps onto the running board, and they shift so that her neck is stretched and he's resting the middle of his body against hers.

God, I want this. I want to know what this feels like, how a kiss against my lips will make the rest of my body react. They break away from one another. I shiver when I watch Barrett reach up and cup Gabby's breast in his hand, and ‌simultaneously he wipes at her lips with his thumb.

Swallowing hard, I feel a tug between my thighs. What would all of this be like?

He steps down from the running board, shuts the door, reaches down, adjusting his privates. I've seen a man aroused before. Only once or twice, and never without clothes on. I want to see it, but it's just never been proper for me too.

My mind goes to Vaughn. What does he look like? Probably like a Greek statue made of marble. His body is so strong. Full of what it takes to do the job he does. I've stood beside him, and when he put his arm around me at the grocery store, I noticed he was impossibly muscular, as if he could do anything physical that anyone asks him to. He wouldn't struggle to provide the way my father did. He wouldn't be too proud to ask for help, and he sure wouldn't force his wife to have too many kids that he couldn't provide for.

Sex would not be a way to lord over her, it wouldn't be a way for him to make her prove her godliness. It would be because they physically craved each other with the emotional needs of a man who loves a woman, not a man who sees a woman as his property. They'll come together because they want to, not because they have to in order to keep their family growing.

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