by Nora Blake
Stacey walked over. “Everything okay?” she asked, touching my shoulder.
I shrugged Stacey off.
“He has to go through Melany when he makes decisions that have to do with the kids. They agreed to make decisions together when it came to them, and that’s what they will continue to do. Right now, you need to keep your distance.”
I tilted my head to the side a little and pictured myself punching her in the face.
“Excuse me, but it appears you’re making my employee very uncomfortable right now. I need to ask you to leave the store,” Stacey said in a bit of a growl.
Melany’s mother narrowed her eyes at me. “Do we have an understanding?”
“That you’re a controlling bitch?”
Her eyes narrowed more, if that were even possible. “Excuse me?”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from saying more. The last thing I wanted to do was scrap with some lady in Stacey and Dirk’s store. I looked at Stacey for help.
Stacey nodded and looked at her. “If you’re not here to purchase anything, please leave. I have the right to refuse service, and I will call the cops if you don’t go willingly.”
She left.
“Okay. What the hell was that?” Stacey asked as she watched her drive out of the parking lot.
I stood there in shock and shrugged. Did that really just happen?
“Sarah, call Aaron.”
I shook my head and walked back to the counter. “No. It’ll only stress him out. I’m just gonna forget about it.”
“He will find out.”
“And if he does, then I’ll talk to him about it.” I started walking around the store, cleaning up the shelves. I wanted to just pretend that never happened.
“He’ll be upset that he didn’t hear it from you first,” she said as she followed me.
“Then he’ll just have to be upset. I’m not ruining his day over this.”
She gave me one of her disapproving looks then walked back toward the front desk.
I sat on the tailgate of Aaron’s truck scrolling through pictures on my camera while Nick and he worked on putting the 309 Vapors decal on his car. I almost mentioned what happened today with Melany’s mom, but decided against it. We were all having too good of a time grilling and hanging out.
Aaron whispered something to Nick before smiling and walking over to me. “I have a surprise for you.”
I set my camera on my lap and looked up at him. "What's that?" I wrapped my legs around his, pulling him closer to me.
He chuckled and kissed me. “I can’t show you your surprise if you keep me hostage like this.”
I laughed and unwrapped my legs. He held his hand out to me. I took it and slid off the tailgate. He moved me in front of him and covered my eyes. He laughed as he had to help me walk a little bit and move me in the right direction. When he turned me around, he removed his hands, and I saw a decal. Not just 309 Vapors, or all the others from the sponsors he had put on, but it was my business decal. Sarah Stone Photography.
“Black and pink. Your favorites.” Aaron was beaming.
I turned in his arms. "Nick, you may want to leave because I'm about to make out with your brother." I was grinning so hard my cheeks began to burn.
Nick laughed. "As long as no one is dropping their pants, I’m good."
I set myself up for that one. Instead of getting embarrassed, I looked at Nick over my shoulder. “I can’t promise anything. I’m seriously considering taking him right here. Right now.”
Nick looked at me like he didn’t know whether I was serious or not.
I burst into laughter.
Nick laughed and looked at Aaron. “I’ll leave if I need to.”
I shook my head and looked up at Aaron. “You guys finish the car. I have photos to edit.”
Aaron kissed my forehead. “Later?”
I nodded. "I mean, if you’re lucky,” I teased.
He smirked and kissed me.
“And thank you again. You putting that on the car means the world to me." I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
“You mean the world to me.”
Nick cleared his throat. "Okay, as badly as I want my brother to get laid before the week is over, I really need help, so I don't fuck this up.” He was trying to position a decal on the car. “Oh, and someone go flip the burgers before they burn."
I moved out of Aaron's arms. "I'll go flip the burgers. I forgot they were even on the grill."
And this is why I didn't mention Melany's mom cornering me at work today. Tonight was too perfect to screw up. I made it to the grill on the back deck. I could see the guys in the driveway working on the car. Aaron had pulled it out of the garage so they had more room to move around and place the decals in the perfect places. I opened the grill and grabbed the metal spatula that hung on a hook on the side. I flipped the burgers and closed the lid before heading back over to the car.
I made a full circle around the car. "This looks amazing, guys."
“Yeah, Nick knows what he’s doing most of the time.”
“All the time,” Nick said, correcting Aaron.
I went and got my camera off the tailgate and snapped some photos of the guys working together. Aaron laughed as Nick whispered something I couldn’t hear. I kept snapping until I was caught.
"Did you get my good side?" Nick asked.
“You’d have to have a good side for her to catch,” Aaron teased.
Nick stuck his tongue out at him before wiping his hands on a towel. “How are the burgers, Sarah?”
“I think they have a little longer. You might want to check, though. I’m not the best at grilling.”
Nick nodded and started walking toward the deck.
I set my camera back down and walked over to Aaron. “It really does look amazing. I really like how you have the focal point on your number twenty-four. It’s perfect.”
“Nick’s idea.” He put his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. We both turned when we heard Nick.
"I think they're about ready," Nick announced.
I looked at Aaron. "I can go get the table set while you two get cleaned up."
He kissed me. “Thank you. You’re the best.”
He kissed me again before I headed inside to get everything ready. I went to the fridge to grab the ketchup and mayo when I heard his phone vibrating from the counter. I looked at it, with zero intentions of being nosey, but when I saw my name, I couldn’t look away.
Melany: My mom went and warned your little girlfriend, Sarah, about being around the boys. Don’t make this a bigger war than it already is.
Dammit. This is what I didn’t want to happen. I just wanted to let it go. I dropped the ketchup and mayo when I heard Aaron’s voice behind me.
“You okay?” he asked, picking up the ketchup and mayo.
I backed up to the counter, blocking his phone. "Yup."
He looked at me oddly. “Something’s wrong. You have that ‘look’.”
Sometimes I forgot I had a hard time controlling my face.
"Do me a favor and don't look at your phone until after you eat." I chewed nervously on my bottom lip. "And I swear I wasn’t snooping on your phone. A message popped up, and I just happened to see it."
Nick came into the kitchen with the burgers. He set the plate on the bar. "What's going on?"
Aaron shrugged at Nick and looked at me. “Okay. You can look at whatever you want on my phone.”
I nodded. "Great, just don't look at it until later. Maybe never."
He smiled a little at me. “I have to look at my phone at some point.” He cupped the side of my face. “What’s going on?”
"Everything is fine on my end. I swear. And no you don't. People used to survive without phones."
Nick walked over and started grabbing plates in the cabinet next to me. "I'm gonna finish setting the table while you two work out whatever’s going on."
I reached behind me and grabbed the phone. Aaron
went to reach for it, and I quickly stuck it in my bra. I took the mayo and ketchup from him and followed Nick to the table.
“I’m not scared to get it!” Aaron said from the kitchen area, chuckling loudly.
Nick look at me oddly as he put down a plate.
“His phone is in my bra.”
He laughed. “Gotcha.”
Aaron came into the dining room carrying cups. “I’m curious now. What the hell are you hiding? What’d you do?”
I set the ketchup and mayo in the middle of the table. “I didn’t do anything.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek. Well, I did call Melany’s mom a bitch, but she pushed my limits.
“We’ll talk about this later,” Aaron stated firmly, leaving little room for debate.
“Okay,” I agreed, before heading back to the kitchen to grab chips.
I took his phone out of my shirt and set it on the counter where it was to begin with. I hated making a big deal out of it, but I hated seeing Aaron pissed. He and Melany just had a fight, and I knew this wouldn’t help in the least bit.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Aaron
After dinner, Nick cut out, leaving Sarah and me alone. Sarah and I were washing the dishes in silence. I hadn’t looked at my phone yet.
“Do you want to tell me before I look at the message?”
She shrugged. “I guess. You’re gonna be mad, though.”
I turned off the water. “Probably.”
She leaned back against the counter after starting the dishwasher. “Melany's mom came to my work today."
I frowned. “She did what?”
I raised both brows. “Came to my work.” She picked up my phone from the counter and handed it to me. "She told me to stay away from Keeton and Kallon."
I looked down at the text, and my frown deepened. What right did she have to corner my Sarah?
“What exactly did that woman say?” I asked in a bit of growl.
"That with you getting a lawyer involved, the last thing the kids needed was to be confused by a new woman in your life. Then she said Melany was their mom and they didn't need another mom. I told her I wasn't trying to be, but before things could escalate, Stacey made her leave."
She grabbed my hand when I started to text Melany. “Don’t, Aaron. Let it go. They are just trying to get you upset, and it’s working. Don’t let them win.”
“Sarah, don’t tell me how to handle this.” My jaw tensed, and I felt bad the way I said that when she slowly took her hand off mine and looked away from me. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong. I’m just saying, let me handle them. I’m not letting them get away with this kind of shit. They can’t just show up to your work and treat you like that. I’ll be dammed if anyone treats you like that.”
“I just want to keep peace. Not cause more drama like they probably want. They’re probably trying to get you to say something wrong or step out of line so they can use it against you.”
I set my phone down. She was right. “I’m not letting this go, but for tonight, I will leave it alone until I can think of how I will handle it.”
"Maybe I should stay away from the kids, then. At least for now until all this shit gets settled. I don't want to make things harder."
“No. They like being around you, and I’m honest with them about everything. They’ll be curious about why you’re not around.” I brushed some hair out of her face. “I’ll discuss this with a lawyer and not make any hot-headed decisions on my own. Can we just forget about all of this for tonight?”
Tears filled her eyes. “That’s all I wanted to do. I didn’t even want you finding out. Promise me we’ll be okay and you’re not gonna get scared and leave me.” She wiped her eyes and cursed. “Forget I said that. It came out before I could stop myself.”
“Look at me, baby.” I cupped her face with my hands and rubbed her cheeks gently with my thumbs.
She opened her eyes and looked at me. “I was wrong for saying that because I can’t ask you to promise me anything. At the end of the day, your boys come first and what’s best for them.”
“I love you, Sarah. I will make this work. That, I can promise you.” I kissed her with everything in me. “You and my boys are my world.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
“I’ll set up an appointment to talk to my divorce attorney.” I kissed her forehead, then lips. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” She smiled a little. “See? This is why I didn’t want to tell you. It ruined the night.”
“Nothing could ever ruin any night I’m with you.”
She nodded slightly. “We should go lock up the garage.”
“Nick was going to on his way out.” I pulled her until she was sitting on my lap. “Can I ask you a question?” I asked before kissing the side of her neck.
“What?” she asked with a giggle when I rubbed my beard against her cheek.
I laughed, then looked at her seriously. “Stay with me tonight. Please? You have a look like you’re about to run. I really, really don’t want you to worry about any of this stuff between my ex and I.”
She shook her head. “I’m not running. I’m fine. I swear.” She smiled brightly. “I have a confession.”
“What?”
“I have a bag packed in my car just in case I ended up staying. That way I don’t have to leave early to get ready for work.”
I grinned. “I like how you think.”
“I’m gonna go get my camera and my stuff.” She kissed my cheek, then got off my lap.
“We can watch a movie in bed if you want.”
“That sounds perfect.” She headed out the door.
I went into my bedroom and changed into something I could sleep in. I was just pulling back the covers when Sarah walked in carrying her bags. She set them in the floor by the dresser. I watched as she took her camera from around her neck and put it carefully in her camera bag.
She looked at me as she stood all the way up. “What?” she asked with a small laugh. “You’re staring.” She kicked off her hot pink Converse and nudged them closer to her bag with her foot.
“I just love watching your every move.” I chuckled. “I didn’t mean that as creepy as it sounded.”
She smiled as she picked up her bag. “It’s not creepy, babe. It’s sweet. I’m gonna go change.” She went into the bathroom and shut the door.
When the bathroom door opened, my heart sped up. Sarah was so fucking sexy in her gray pajama bottoms, black Hogwarts t-shirt, and pink socks with little cats on them. She didn’t even have to try, she just was. At dinner, while she was eating her cheeseburger—sexy. Right now, her putting her contact case on the dresser—sexy. The adorable little pout she was making as she fought with a zipper on her bag—sexy. It was astonishing the effect she had on me.
She came over to the bed and set her phone on the nightstand by her side of the bed. She climbed under the covers and scooted until she was snuggled against my side. She huffed, and I looked at her as I played with her hair.
“What is it?”
“Okay, this is weird, but I have to sleep with one sock on and one sock off. It’s the perfect balance.” She pulled the covers off her and took off her left sock and threw it into the floor.
I chuckled and kissed her forehead after she got comfortable again. My God she smelled amazing, but she always did. “Why do you smell so good?” I whispered as I pressed my lips softly against her forehead again.
She laughed quietly as her fingers played with the front of my t-shirt. “What do I smell like?”
“Like when chocolate chip cookies are baking.”
She laughed again. “It’s probably the lotion I use. It’s vanilla sugar or something like that from Bath and Body Works.”
“Oh, well keep buying it.”
She moved her head on the pillow so she could look at me. “Aaron?”
I almost didn’t hear her, I was so focused on her mouth. I moved my hand out of her hair and ran my thumb across her lips. Her eyes c
losed at the touch, and she bit at my thumb playfully.
She giggled.“I’m trying to talk to you.”
“I’m trying to listen … but you’re so fucking sexy I can hardly stand it. You … in my bed … It’s distracting.”
“I know what you mean, but real fast, let me say something.”
I smirked. “Okay, talk to me.”
“It’s actually about sex,” she said, her cheeks flushed a little. I could tell she was getting nervous. Hell, I was nervous, too.
I grinned playfully. “Now, I’m really listening.”
She laughed against my chest. “I’m sure you are.”
“What is it? You know we can talk about anything.”
“I just want you to know I’m a virgin. I’ve had chances … I’ve done … stuff, but the moments never felt right and never got that far. I always wanted to feel confident about it, not doubtful or scared. So, I never let it happen. I don’t feel scared with you, Aaron.”
Knowing I’d be her first, whenever that happened, made me feel like I was on top of the world. Not because of the reasons most would think, but the fact that she just said she wasn’t scared with me was saying she wanted to give that part of her to me. She’d never have any idea just how much that meant to me.
“When you’re ready, Sarah. I won’t lie, I think about it a lot, and every time you’re around me I struggle to keep my hands to myself. I know things have moved really fast for us, but this is something we don’t have to rush.”
She shook her head, keeping her eyes locked on mine. “Maybe I’m not being clear. I’m ready. Actually, more than ready. I don’t want you to keep your hands to yourself or feel like you have to hold back with me. I want to experience everything with you. If I’m scared or worried about anything, it’s that it’ll hurt. I’ve heard horror stories about the first time.”
I kissed her. “I will be so careful with you, love. I’ll talk you through the whole thing if that’s what you want. I’ll be honest, the first time isn’t the greatest, but I can assure you it gets better and better.”
She laughed. “Well, it’d have to get better or there would be no more babies in the world.”
