Page 41 of Exposed

Simon and I went shopping for her today, and I hope she’s not angry about it. She has a hard time accepting people doing nice things for her.

Side note: while we were at the store, I bought a potty chair. After Simon can sit up by himself, I’m going to sit him on it and see if anything happens.

I clear my throat, then tell Pepper, “I’ve got something to tell you, and I don’t want you to be mad.”

“That is a scary opening statement,” she shudders.

I stand and pick Simon up. She can’t be mad if I’m holding my adorable son, yeah?

“There’s a bag of clothes for you on your bed. You don’t owe me anything, but you may as well not have to do laundry so much while you’re here.” That’s a crappy excuse to buy her stuff, but it’s better than admitting I want to spoil her.

“You can't do that,” she scoffs.

“Already did. Simon helped. We guessed your size. If something doesn’t fit, we can exchange it.”

“You can’t waltz around, paying for everything for me,” she snaps.

She’s mad. Oh well. She’ll have to get over it. I like showing her kindness.

“Actually, I can use my money however I want,” I grin.

“Huh. Good point, but that doesn’t mean I have to wear it,” she sasses.

I step closer to her. “We’ve had this conversation before. If I want to help, let me. It’s not much, but I wanted you tohave workout clothes and tennis shoes. Everyone likes choices when they get up in the morning.”

“Not everyone has choices, Matt.”

“Well, now you do,” I bop her on the nose, and she swats my hand away.

“Whatever. Fine.”

“You could say ‘thank you.’”

She sighs, then her face softens. “Thanks, Matt.”

Judging from how she acts, it’s hard for her to accept help from others.

“You bet, Pepper.” I squeeze her shoulder, because I’m craving physical touch from her. She lets her hair out of her ponytail and rolls her neck from side to side as her short hair swishes around.

How does she make simple things look so sexy?

“How was your day with Simon?” She asks.

Simon starts fussing. “Come on, little dude. You know it was good. Let’s show Pepper how strong you are.”

I lay Simon on his tummy on his blue truck blanket. Then, I lift up two corners of the blanket and bend my knees as I gently pull Simon around on the blanket. He’s treated to a smooth ride while he tries to lift his head.

“Taking him for a ride distracts him,” I whisper conspiratorially, like I don’t want Simon to hear.

Pepper’s face is filled with admiration when I sneak a glance at her. “Wow, that’s brilliant,” she smiles.

Fuck, yes. I don’t feel confident in this parenting deal, but this little trick makes me feel like I’m doing something right by my son.

“Simon reminds me of Aladdin when he went on a magic carpet ride,” Pepper giggles.

I watch Simon working to hold his little head up in wonder as he takes in his surroundings.

“This is good for his core. He has to work to hold his head up while moving,” I add.

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