Page 25 of Hardcore Vanilla
Put all together, it was more than a little intimidating. He glanced at the coffee maker, but it looked like he'd need a manual to figure out how to work it, so he just passed it by.
He could get coffee at his apartment... which was half the size of her place. Maybe less than half the size.
Cut it out, don't be an ass.
Intellectually he knew there was nothing wrong with a woman having more money than a man. Heck, his mom had made more than his dad before she’d retired. It still felt odd to realize exactly how much wealthier Sharon was than him.
At least he knew she was using him for his body and not for anything else he could give her. His mouth twitched. If anything, she was probably the one on that side of the equation most of the time. A second later, he frowned, not liking the idea of a guy using Sharon for her money. There was a lot more to her than that.
Like how cute she was when she was sassy, the way she made him laugh, the adorably teasing expression she got on her face when she wanted to be naughty, the surprising sweetness that she tried to keep hidden...
Running his hand over his face, he groaned as he went down the elevator and headed out to his car.
He didn't need to dwell on what Sharon had to offer in a relationship.
It was already hard enough keeping his emotions separate.
******
"Come on in, it's safe," Leigh said, opening the door wide and speaking in a normal voice. "Melody is awake and feeding right now."
"Oh good," Sharon said with relief as she stepped into Adam and Angel's house. She'd texted Leigh and gone through the garage rather than ringing the doorbell. Waking up a sleeping newborn was a big no-no. Holding a whole chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and pie that she'd picked up on her way over, she headed into the kitchen. "I've got dinner and dessert for them here, and there should be plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow too. What else do we have going on today?"
Everyone was chipping in to help Angel and Adam with their new delivery. This week Leigh and Angel's mom were taking turns staying overnight to help the couple with day-to-day things - Adam's mom and stepfather would be in town next week for the same reason and his father and stepmom the week after that - but the rest of the Stronghold gang had signed up to stop by and help as well. That way Angel and Adam had constant food coming in as well as extra hands on deck for whatever they needed.
This was Sharon's first time over since they'd brought Melody home and she was eager to do whatever she could to help out. Plus, it was a good distraction from how deliciously sore she was, and it would keep her from giving in to her impulse to text Jake. Waking up without him this morning had been a bit disappointing - which was not good as far as keeping things casual was concerned.
"Not much other than sleep," Leigh said, laughing softly as she followed Sharon into the kitchen. "The house is clean, I've got a load of laundry in the machine, and Adam is currently napping so that he can take over baby care for a few hours when Melody is done feeding."
"Do they need anything from the store?" Sharon asked in a low voice. "The bassinet is working out okay? Do they need more diapers? Nipple balm?"
She was pretty sure Angel was well equipped after the shower, but she wanted to make sure. One of the nice things about having money was being able to make sure that the people she cared about were well provided for. Sharon liked to spoil her friends. Especially because these friends didn'texpectto be spoiled and frequently tried to dissuade her from doing so. It was kind of fun to be sneaky about it.
"They've got everything," Leigh said, looking amused as she opened the fridge door so Sharon could put the food she'd brought in there. Not that there was a ton of room. Leigh smirked. "We could use some help eating some of the food."
"Apparently. I already ate today, but maybe later." That was, if she stayed long enough to get hungry. If they didn't need her, she didn't want to intrude.
"Come on." Leigh headed toward the hallway, waving her hand over her shoulder. "What Angel says she really wants is social interaction."
"Yes please!" Angel called from the front room, responding to Leigh's statement. As Sharon got closer, she could hear the sound of the television as well. "I demand adult conversation so I don't feel so much like my only purpose in life is as a milk machine."
"But you're so good at it," Leigh said teasingly.
"See why I need someone else to talk to?" Angel joked as Sharon stepped into the room. "She's so mean to me."
Sitting in the cushy armchair by the unlit fireplace, Angel looked both tired and content with Melody in her arms. The tiny baby was completely oblivious to everything going on around her as she fed. Looking down at her, Angel smiled, and then yawned. Both she and Leigh were still dressed in pajamas - Sharon was assuming pajama pants for Angel. A throw blanket covered her lower half, but since Leigh was wearing pajama pants, it only made sense that Angel was too.
"What do you want to talk about?" Sharon asked, grinning as she sat down.
"What's going on with you? I feel like when I'm awake I've been stuck either in this chair or on the couch ever since we brought Melody home. There must be something good going on. I need to live vicariously, woman." Even as she spoke, she yawned again.
"Uh... not much really." Sharon shrugged. "Same old, same old. Work, Stronghold, trying to figure out who I'm going to bring as a date to my cousin's wedding."
"I heard you were at Stronghold last night and Jake was a dick but ran out after you to apologize... and then never came back," Leigh said, her tone innocent.
Sharon narrowed her eyes at her as Angel sat up a little bit straighter, hazel eyes alight with interest.
"Oh yeah? What's going on with you and Jake?"
