Page 67 of Renegade

Look everyone, Mike’s the girl now.

The redhead had turned me into a stage five clinger. Me. The guy who couldn’t commit. Suddenly, I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else being with her, and walking away? Yeah, that wasn’t going to fucking happen.

What the fuck was I doing?

Had I agreed to monogamy?

I began gathering condom boxes by the armload, earning me a judgmental look from a woman buying tampons.

“Safety first,” I joked.

She rolled her eyes and walked away.

There was a tap on my left shoulder. “Hey, I got it. We can go.”

I turned and Lauren gave me a shy smile while holding up a small white paper bag. Her eyes widened when she saw what I had in my arms.

“Do you really need all those?” She whispered.

I nodded. “This should get us through the next week and then I’ll see if I can order them in bulk online.”

She giggled and headed for the front. “Whatever you say, Tex.”

As I paid for everything, I couldn’t help but recall David’s words to me on his wedding day. I’d been giving him a hard time about giving up being a bachelor to sleep with only one woman the rest of his life and he’d laughed before telling me,“Mike, there’s going to be a day when a woman comes along and throws your entire fucking life upside down and you won’t want it to go back to the way it was before. And when that day comes, I will laugh my ass off and tell you that I told you so.”

Then, the bastard had reiterated the same damn advice after Lauren and I had reconnected on their anniversary. It was like he had nothing else to offer in the way of advice.

Thinking about it made me want to pay him a visit and punch him right in his smug face.

Not that he was right. No, this was just us seeing where things went. No crazy long-term commitments.

“Hey, do you have plans for the fourth?”

Lauren froze with her hamburger halfway to her mouth. “No—why?”

Her t-shirt slipped down her arm and I leaned over and kissed her shoulder. “Because I wanna do something with you.”

After the trip to the pharmacy, we’d spent the afternoon watching movies on the couch. I wanted to be inside her again, but I was content with taking it slow. That was something I never thought I’d say.

She took a bite and chewed it slowly, narrowing her gaze, before answering, “You sure you won’t be tired of me by then?”

See, that was Lauren—completely unassuming. “Well, it’s only next weekend. I probably won’t try to get rid of you for at least a couple of weeks.”

She slugged me playfully in the arm. “You’re such an ass.”

“Your ass. Remember that. Come over…I’ll cook for you again. We can sit on the porch and watch the fireworks.”

Jesus. What was she doing to me?

I couldn’t even just sit next to her and watch television. I was hyperaware of the closeness of her body and it wreaked havoc in my head.

Lauren shook her head. “No.” It felt like my stomach had just dropped through the carpet and into the apartment below. Seeing my expression, she clarified, “I’ll come, but I want to cook for you.”

“Deal. Come here,” I pulled her into my lap and twisted a strand of red hair around my finger. She shifted forward and then her eyes widened when she felt my hard-on. I shook my head. “We can wait. It’s okay.”

She regarded me thoughtfully. “Am I supposed to wait? We have protection.”

And with that, all rational thought left the building. I pulled her oversized t-shirt off with a growl as her hands pawed at my belt, trying to get it undone.

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