“That the sun shines out of,” I remind him.
“Yeah, we should check that out later.”
“The sun shining out of my ass?”
“Mmhmm. For scientific purposes, of course.” His hand finds his way to my butt, giving it a squeeze.
“Scientific purposes? Sure, West.” I laugh. “Well, check away, buddy, but there’ll be no sticking of anything in my sun-shining ass.”
“Spoilsport.” He sighs dramatically, making me laugh again.
We both climb in the car and buckle up.
“You want some music on?” he asks me when he fires up the engine.
“What have you got?”
“There are some CDs in the glove box,” he tells me as he puts the car in drive.
I open it up and pull out a CD case. I start flicking through it. “I didn’t know you liked Nirvana,” I say, coming across Nevermind in his CDs.
“The question should be, who doesn’t like Nirvana?”
“Right?” I smile. “Nick doesn’t like their music.”
“And you’re friends with him why?” He takes his eyes off the road for a second to look at me, giving a teasing smile.
My stomach fills with warmth. I love that we both love Nirvana.
“It was a bone of contention in the beginning of our friendship, but because he understood my love of clothes, I decided to overlook it.” I twist in my seat, bringing my knees up, so I can look at him. “Which is your favorite song?”
“‘Lithium,’” he states. “Yours?”
“I’m always torn between ‘Come As You Are’ and ‘Heart-Shaped Box.’”
“Both are great,” he says.
“What do you think of the Foo Fighters?”
“That they’re life.”
I smile, agreeing. “Dave Grohl’s kinda hot, too,” I admit.
“Nah, he’s not my type.” He glances at me, smiling. “I like ’em cute and blonde. Oh, yeah, and female.”
“With pink and lilac highlights.”
“Of course.” He reaches over and tugs on a lock of my hair. “There should be a couple of Foo Fighters albums in there as well,” he tells me.
“We’ll listen to them on the way back. I kinda want to listen to Nirvana now.” I pull the CD from the case and insert it into the CD player. I put the case back in the glove box just as “Smells Like Teen Spirit” starts to play.
I relax back in my seat and reach over to rest my hand on Vaughn’s thigh, squeezing it. He takes ahold of my hand, linking our fingers together, and he doesn’t let go for the rest of the journey.
Charly
Vaughn pulls into a parking lot. There are hardly any cars here. He parks the farthest away from the other cars and turns the engine off.
He takes his hat from my head and pulls it on. “Come on, gorgeous,” he says to me.
We climb out of the car. He gets the picnic basket and blanket from the backseat.
I meet him around the back of the car. I take the blanket from him, leaving him with the picnic basket.
Taking my hand, Vaughn leads me off, and we start to walk up the road together.
“We’ll take one of the trails up to the picnic area,” he tells me.
“Cool.”
We venture off the main road and onto one of the trails, which gives me a view of the lake.
“Holy shit.” I come to a stop, tugging on his arm.
“Amazing, right?”
“It’s stunning.” And it is. It’s a beautiful huge hole in the earth filled with the bluest water I’ve ever seen. The forestry surrounding it is spectacular.
“Come on.” He tugs on my arm. “You’ll be able to get a better view when we get to the picnic spot. It’s just a little further up.”
We walk for a little while longer and then come to a clearing. He wasn’t kidding; the view is spectacular.
“I have to take a picture.” I go to my pocket to get my phone, and then I realize it’s still in the trunk of Vaughn’s car.
Weird that I haven’t felt the urge to use it until now.
“Crap, it’s still in your car,” I tell him.
“Do you want me to go get it?”
“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry.”
I set the blanket out on the grass, and Vaughn puts the basket on it.
I step a little closer to the edge. “What’s that in the middle? An island?” I ask him.
He comes up behind me and slides his hands around my waist. “That’s Wizard Island. And that tiny one over there…” He points a finger, and my eyes follow the direction.
“Where?” I squint.
“Right over there.” He gestures with his finger again.
My eyes pick up on something, but it’s not very clear. “I can just about see it,” I tell him.
“That’s Phantom Ship.”
“Sounds spooky,” I say.
Then, I make a ghost noise, and he chuckles. I feel it rumble against my back.
“Why’s it called that?” I ask.
“Because people say it resembles a ghost ship.”
I slide my hands over his, linking our fingers, and lean my head back onto his shoulder. I turn my face to him and press a kiss to his neck.
“Are you happy?” he asks me, staring down into my eyes.
“Very. Are you?”
“I’ve got the hottest girl in the world in my arms, and her ass is currently pressed up against my cock. I’d say I’m extremely happy.”
“You’re such a charmer.” I giggle.
“And don’t you just know it?” He laughs, kissing my forehead. “Come on, let’s eat. I’m starving.”
I kick my flip-flops off and sit down. Vaughn sits beside me, opens the basket, and gets the sandwiches out that we made earlier—turkey and mayo.
Yum.
Then, he pulls out a bottle of wine and a plastic glass from the side of the basket.
“When did you sneak that in?” I ask.
“I put it in when you were in the bathroom. I just forgot to tell you. Thought you might like a drink.”
“Aren’t you having one?”
“I’m driving.” He gives me a duh look.
“I know you’re driving, smart-ass, but you can have a glass, can’t you?”
“I only brought the one glass.”
“Then, I’ll share mine with you.”
He pours the wine out, and I take a sip and then hand it to him.
“Thanks for bringing me here,” I say before taking a bite of my sandwich. “It really is beautiful. And kind of romantic if you think about it.”
“I’m a romantic kind of guy.” He grins.
“Can you ever be serious for just a minute?” I nudge his thigh with my foot.
He stares right into my eyes. “Like I told you, I’m serious about you.”
Butterflies swoop into my stomach, going nuts. “I’m kind of serious about you, too, West.”
We eat and drink—well, I do most of the drinking—and we talk about everything and laugh. I laugh so much when I’m with him.
I think humor is such an attractive quality in a man, and Vaughn has it in spades. That, and a gorgeous face and smoking-hot body.
I’m a lucky, lucky girl.
I’m just nibbling on a strawberry when I remember something that I’ve always wanted to ask him. “West, can I ask you something?”
“Is it dirty or kinky?”
“No.” I giggle.
“Sounds boring to me, but go on then. I’m listening.”
I shake my head at him, my lips curved into a smile. “Why didn’t you have me fired when I stabbed you?”
He furrows his brow. “Why would I have?”
“Because you had Millie fired for incompetency. I stabbed you in one of your balls. Seems kind of worse than being incompetent. Even though she is incompetent.”
“Who’s Millie?”
“The girl who did the job before me.” I put the rest of the strawberry in my mouth and chew.
&nb
sp; “Oh, her. I had her fired because she kept hitting on me.”
“Oh.” I swallow it down. “Well, it makes sense. She always did seem to like the men I did.” Even if she did see Vaughn first, it doesn’t count because I don’t like her.
“Do I smell a history there between you two?”
“I just don’t like her. She’s crap at her job. And she slept with my ex after I dumped him.”
“Ah. Well, Pins, I wouldn’t have fired you for an accident even if it hurt like a motherfucker. And you intrigued me. I liked your fire. And you made me a cock warmer, so…”
“Oh my God! It wasn’t a cock warmer! It was—”
He cuts my words off with a soft kiss.
His lips part from mine, his thumb brushing gently over my mouth. My eyes flutter open to his warm stare on mine.
“It wasn’t a cock warmer,” I utter softly.
“Sure it wasn’t, Pins.” He winks.
“Kind of ironic that you fired her for hitting on you, and then you ended up sleeping with me.”
“It’s different.”
“How?”
“Because, first off, she was seriously inappropriate. You never behaved that way with me.”
“True.”
“And, secondly, I wanted to fuck you the moment I laid eyes on you.”
I hold back a smile. “You were quite standoffish when I first met you.”
“Because I wanted to fuck you, and I knew I couldn’t, hence the hard-on when you stabbed me.”
“I knew you had an erection!” I exclaim. “And you were all, ‘I didn’t have a boner. You’re not my type,’” I say, mimicking his voice.
“What was I supposed to say? Oh, yeah, I got a boner while you were on your knees in front of me because I couldn’t stop imagining you sucking my cock. I’m sure that would have gone down really well.”
I laugh. “You said I wasn’t your type.”
“I lied. You’re more than my type.”
“You seemed very convincing.”
“I’m an actor, Pins. I’m paid to be convincing.”
“So, how will I actually know when you’re telling me the truth or lying?” I’m teasing, but his face instantly turns serious, surprising me.
“Because I would never lie to you. You’re far too important to me for me to ever do anything to fuck this up.”
My own secret thumps me hard in the chest. I swallow, my mouth suddenly dry. “I know,” I whisper. “I was just teasing.”
“Sorry.” He grabs ahold of my hand and tugs on it. “I just…after what happened with Cain…I just…I would never do that to you.”
“I know you wouldn’t. And I would never cheat on you. You know that, right?”
He looks at me for a long moment. “I know, babe. I trust you.”
I take a sip of wine.
Vaughn gets a strawberry and puts it in his mouth, biting into it. Some of the juice runs down his lip. He catches it with his tongue. “So, tell me about this ex-boyfriend.”
“Huh?”
“The ex who Millie slept with.”
“Oh, Michael.”
“Sounds like a prick.”
I laugh. “He is. A prick who was a drug dealer, which I found out about after six months of dating him. The second I found out, I dumped his sorry ass.”
“How did you find out that he was dealing?”
“I was working on a show, and an actor told me to thank Michael for the coke and that it was good shit, that’d he be telling all his buddies about him.”
“Sounds like a charmer.”
“Oh, yeah, a real charmer.”
“You’ve really gone up in the world with me, Pins.”
I glance at him, and he’s grinning.
“I know, right? But then there wasn’t exactly anywhere for me to go but up after Michael.”
His brow furrows. “I don’t know if that was actually a compliment or not.”
“It was. Well…a backhanded compliment—argh!”
I squeal as he dives on me. Taking me to my back, he pins my hands over my head.
“Your smart mouth is going to get you in trouble one of these days, Charlotte Michaels. Hey, do you realize you’ve got the same surname as your douche ex’s first name?”
“Of course I realized.” I laugh.
“If you’d married him, you could’ve made him change his surname to yours, so he’d have been called Michael Michaels.”
“You’re a fucking comedian, West. And why exactly are you talking about me marrying another man? My ex, to be precise.”
“I have no clue.” He frowns. “The thought actually makes me want to punch a hole in that tree over there.”
“You’d have to be pretty strong to punch a hole in a tree. Like Hulk strong.”
“You’re killing the romantic in my words.”
“Sorry.” I bite the smile on my lips, but I can’t stop the laugh that comes out.
“You suck.” He frowns, climbing off me, sitting down.
I sit up next to him. “I do suck. Very well, according to you.”
He slides a grin at me. “You do have a mouth like a vacuum.”
“Was that another one of your romantic statements?”
“Yep.”
“Uh, well, thanks.”
He laughs. “You’re welcome.”
We’re quiet for a moment as we stare out over the view. Vaughn brings his knees up and links his arms around them.
“Can I ask you something?” I say.
He turns his head, resting his chin on his shoulder. “Shoot.”
“Does it, um, bother you that I dated someone who was a drug dealer?” I’m asking to test the water now that he knows. I want to know what he’s willing to tolerate. “I mean, if we went public and the press were to find out, would it bother you?”
“Not at all.”
“What about my past? My father murdering my mom. My father being in prison. If the press found out, they would have a field day.”
“The only thing I would be worried about is you.” He drops his arms and turns around to face me, putting his legs on either side of me. He cups my cheek, turning my face to him. “Is that why you want to still keep us a secret?”
I glance away, looking down.
Maybe. Partly. Not really.
Tell him the truth, Charly.
He slides his fingers under my chin, lifting, forcing my eyes up. “Pins, what happened…you had no control over. You were a kid. I don’t care what the press has to say about it. Nothing about you could ever embarrass me. You’re amazing. I’m crazy about you.”
I stare back at him, my heart beating with love and fear and everything else that I feel for him.
I lean forward and press my lips to his. He moans a sound that hits me straight between my legs. His hand moves from my face to cup the nape of my neck. He shifts in closer, deepening the kiss, taking control.
And, as it always does with Vaughn and me, things get heated fast, and I’m straddling his lap, pressing myself up against him.
And I tell myself that I don’t need to tell him now, that there’s no rush. And Sasha’s wedding is tomorrow. I don’t want to do anything to spoil it for him. He might be okay with what I have to tell him, but just to be sure, I’ll wait.
I’ll tell him when we get back to Vegas.
Vaughn
“You having fun?” I ask Charly.
“So much fun. Thank you for bringing me with you.”
“Yeah, well, it was between you and Doris, who cleans my trailer, but Doris was busy today, so you lucked out.”
“You jerk.” She chuckles, and I grin.
“I’m glad I asked you, too, Pins,” I say in a lower voice.
I kiss the tip of her nose as we dance to an acoustic version of Lady Gaga’s “The Edge of Glory” being played by the band my sister hired for her wedding.
The day has been awesome. My mom and sister did an amazing job with putting the whole thing together. The ceremony went of
f without a hitch. They got married under the willow tree by my parents’ house. The tree had lights hanging from it. An altar was just beneath it, covered in white flowers. It looked really cool.
Sasha looks beautiful. Greg even cried when he saw her walking up the aisle, which he is going to get so much shit for but not today. Today, I’ll let it slide. I’ll just mock him tomorrow. And for the rest of his life.
We’ve done the sit-down, had our meal in the tent, and laughed at my dad’s bad jokes during his speech. And, now, we’re partying until the night is over.
But, for me, the best part of today has been Charly. She looks totally fuckable in her dress—a long, floaty dark gray number that is fitted over her breasts, making them look magnificent. Her hair is down and curled, and I desperately want to get my hands all tangled up in it. And her lips are tease-me red. It’s been killing me all day because all I’ve wanted to do is kiss that lipstick right off her mouth and then carry her back to my house and fuck her all night long.
She’s been glowing all day. Like she’s lit up from the inside out. And, the moment when my sister thanked her in her speech for saving the day by fixing her dress…I honestly thought she was going to cry.
Being here with her has been amazing. Being free to be with her, I never want it to end. I don’t want to go back to Vegas tomorrow and go back to pretending that we’re not together in front of people.
I just don’t know how to ask her again. I don’t want to push. But I want it. I want her.
I feel a tug on my pants and look down to see Nora.
“Hey.” I smile at her.
“Uncle Vaughn, will you dance with me? My brothers won’t dance with me.”
“Course I will, beauty. You don’t mind, do you, Charly?”
“No, of course not. I need to use the little girls’ room anyway.”
I pick up Nora in my arms and start to dance with her as Charly makes her way through the dance floor that is filled with my family and friends whom I’ve known all my life.
That’s another thing. She fits in so effortlessly with my family. They all love her. She couldn’t be more perfect for me.
The more I think about this, the more determined I become about wanting to go public. I just need to figure out how to get her on board.