Alive With You (Real Love #1) (9 page)

CHAPTER 15

Claire

I was on the way to drop Miles at school and Winston called.

"How's my favorite wedding planner doing?"

"I'm good, except I feel like I traded my dick in for a vagina because this is all making me want to get married one day," Winston groused.

"Don't say that in front of Tyler or there's gonna be a double wedding," I warned.

"There may be a double wedding anyway; Dylan won't shut up about Tara."

"Aww, that's so cool. I hope he gave her some; the girl hasn't had a man in years."

"As far as I've heard, your girl doesn't want it. He said he tried, but she stopped him when he tried to go under the clothes. Dylan's not used to that. Girls literally throw themselves at him. That's why he doesn't do the girlfriend thing; he's usually one and done. He's got Tara programmed in his real phone, and she has her own ring tone. Not many girls even know his actual phone number. No girl has ever been programmed in, and the only ones with their own ringtones are his mom and two sisters. Her ringtone is "Smile" by Uncle Kracker. You may be responsible for introducing him to the only woman who can put a collar on his ass."

"Tara Cross does have a nice ring to it," I mused.

"Well, I think she's clipped his balls already, and he hasn't even gotten to third base. I never thought I'd see the day. Anyway, where are you?"

"Driving Miles to school."

"I'm close; I'm going to meet you there."

I walked out of the school after taking Miles in, and Winston was leaning on my car. He gave me a hug, kissed my cheek, and waved at someone. I turned and saw Sasha giving me a dirty look.

"Friend of yours?"

"Hardly. That's the tramp who tried to steal Gavin from me."

"Yeah, well, I'm not sure even Miss America could do that. You seem to have that dude pretty well wrapped around your finger."

She rolled her eyes at me and flipped me off; she must have heard me call her a tramp. I have to admit it's a rush being friends with Winston and Dylan, especially in front of people like Sasha. I wondered if he knew about the threesome. He and Tyler aren't an official thing, so technically, she didn't do anything wrong, but it might piss him off enough to be done with her.

"I'm taking you to breakfast; put this on." He handed me his helmet, and I hopped onto his bike. It was sweet, a cobalt blue Harley Davidson Fat Boy. I wanted a bike so badly. Maybe one day I'd do more than ride bitch. As liberating as it feels being on the back holding onto a sexy, alpha male type, I want the power. We pulled into Ace's and got ourselves seated.

"So what's the occasion? I figured you were calling to talk about the barbecue place for the wedding."

"No occasion, just two friends enjoying a meal and some coffee. We also have a few things to talk about. Don't worry, nothing bad!"

"These waitresses are getting wet panties staring at you. It's kind of annoying. How do you get used to not being able to eat in peace?"

"I'll let you know once I get there." He paused and turned serious. "Claire, I know about the threesome. Tyler felt like it would be wrong to keep it from me. She didn't want to hide anything just in case this thing we have going on ends up being something." He gave me a reassuring smile. "It's okay; we aren't a couple. I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't extremely jealous that he got you both and I didn't, but that's just my dick talking."

I had to blush a little. "I was hoping you wouldn't push her away because of it. It won't happen again, I promise. I'd like to know how much she told you."

"Everything, that's why I'm jealous. It had to be a real power trip to watch two incredibly gorgeous women make out with a mouthful of your cum; that's some porn star shit. She did love it; that's why she felt the need to tell me. I'm glad she did, it made me think about a lot of things. I've only been hanging out with her for a little over a week now, and I feel like I know her better than any woman I've been with. She's the real deal. She's funny, sweet, beautiful inside and out, and she's honest. Never once have I felt like she wanted to spend time with me because of my job or money."

"She's not that kind of girl. All she ever wanted was to own her own coffee shop. She'd draw layouts and write ideas in the back of her notebooks in high school. She waitressed for years until she had the money to do it. My girl is a self-made, independent woman. She's as real as they come, although she can be a bit stubborn, but it's part of who she is."

"The thing is, she told me over the phone. I didn't know what to say so I told her I'd call her back, and I didn't. I want to ask her to commit to me. I want this to be official. Hopefully, she doesn't think I'm nuts. It just feels right. If she says yes, it's hands off for Gavin." He lifted my chin and looked in my eyes. "Did you catch the
Gavin
part of that statement? Tyler told me how you two are, that she could never give you up permanently. She said it's not something that happens too often, but if it does, she can't say no. It's okay; I'll share her, but only with you. I don't expect us to have threesomes, but if something happens with you two, I want to know about it, that's all I ask."

"Why are you so okay with it?"

"She was honest with me. She told me how much she loves you, and I respect that. I won't be okay with another man touching her, though, or even watching without me there to see it. How about we get out of here and go get me a girlfriend!"

We got my car from the school and went to the Java Spot. When I walked in with Winston, Tyler looked kind of worried. "It's all good, hun. Nothing's changed with us."

She looked at Winston. "Huh?"

"I told Claire I was okay sharing you with her because of your honesty about your relationship. Gavin, as well as anybody else, is hands off, and you tell me if and when you two hook up." He rubbed his thumb down the side of her face. "That is, if you want to be my girl."

"Why? It hasn't even been two weeks yet. Is it because of what happened with Gavin, like a territorial thing? I told you already, it won't happen again."

"It just feels right. I can't explain it. I look at you and I see someone who sees me, not Vincent Elliot or a wallet. I see a woman who's going to put me in my place when I fuck up and be honest when she does. Tyler, I feel closer to you than I've ever felt to any woman. Sometimes people just know when they've found the one, and that's what this is. You're the one, doll. You're my person."

She wiped the tears that were starting to well in her eyes. "I don't know what to say."

"Well, at the risk of getting shot down a second time, can I call my mom and tell her I finally have someone I want her to meet?" She ran over to him and jumped into his arms.

"Take her out of here. I have this place handled until the next shift."

"Oh, my God, Claire, I love you."

CHAPTER 16

Claire

I had forgotten how frustrating working at the coffee shop was. I knew what I was doing, but the nonstop flow and uptight customers who came in around this hour were a pain in the ass. Bartending is nonstop, but the drunk customers are fun, and when I work at my shop, it's more of a hobby than a job. It was for my girl though, and she needed it. I shot Gavin a text telling him where I was if he wanted to stop by after he grabbed Miles from school.

In between customers, I thought about how insane the past few days had been. I'd done things I'd never imagined myself doing, or even wanted to do. Gavin took me to a place I now know that I love. I feel a sexual freedom that I never knew existed. He's my other half, my best friend, my lover, and in a week, he'll be my husband.

As if things weren't interesting enough already, in walked Sammie, the girl from KC's and the dog park. "Hi again."

She gave me a dirty look and rolled her eyes, nothing like the other day. "So what? Do you own the whole strip of stores?"

Not sure if it was sarcasm or just her being a bitch, I let out a little laugh, "No, just helping my best friend out. This is her place, and she had to leave early. I only own the two you know about."

"Must be nice."

I felt really uncomfortable, so I switched subjects. "What can I get for you?"

"Well, I was going to the tattoo shop to talk to you, but I saw you in here. I had an appointment scheduled for my tattoo next Saturday, but I got a voicemail saying I needed to reschedule because the shop will be closed. I'm just going to get it done earlier in the week. Why are you guys closing?"

"I'm getting married. It's the best spur-of-the-moment decision I've ever made."

"That's nice. Who's the lucky guy?"

"His name is Gavin. He's actually my one of my best friends, but you can't fight love. I'm gaining an absolutely adorable son along with him."

"Yeah, well, I'm going to go reschedule." She stormed out in a huff.

Shortly afterward, Gavin and Miles showed up. "Hey, look, it's my boys!"

"Hey, doll face, I was going to take us all to dinner. How long are you here for?"

"Two people are coming in at 5, and one is a key holder; as soon as she gets here, I'm out! Where do you want to go?"

He kissed my forehead and sat on one of the stools at the bakery bar. "That's up to you. Think about it. How has your day been?"

"It started great. I had breakfast with Winston. He wanted to talk about what happened the other day. Ty told him she liked it so much that she felt guilty. He just wanted to tell me he wasn't mad at her or anything. He said he was jealous of you though, and watching 'the kiss' must have been a big power trip."

"He's not trying to get you, is he? I'm the only one who touches my baby girl, with the exception of Ty every once in a while."

"No, he's not. He specifically said he didn't want me to think he wanted threesomes, but he's willing to share Ty on occasion as long as he's told about it."

"Fair enough, it looks like we're all on the same page. Anything else interesting happen?"

"This wacky chick came in asking why she had to reschedule her tattoo. I saw her in the shop when she was booking the appointment, and she was grilling me hard. I ran into her again while I was walking Calvin, and she was kinda nice in a fake sort of way, but today she was a nasty bitch."

"Multiple personalities sound almost as fun as the spoiled little prep school brats. I did catch this couple arguing in the hallway; they're juniors. The poor kid was pissed because the girl was talking to the rest of the cheerleaders about how hot Mr. Price was. Apparently, the cheerleaders are hot for teacher."

"I'll come to that high school and whup some teenage ass!"

"Well, considering I'm not a dirtbag, you have nothing to worry about."

"Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

"I think I have a pretty good idea, but I love you more! Can I leave Miles here while I go shower and change?"

"Of course. I might put him to work. We'll meet you at home when I'm out of here."

He kissed me goodbye and left. Miles played with my iPad until it was time to go. I wanted to stop and check on things at the shop before we left, so we headed next door. When I walked in, Beth was doing a tattoo, and Tara sterilizing her stuff. I introduced Miles to the new kid I had working at the comic shop. He was a senior in high school and had come in asking for an after school job. The kid knew his stuff, so I hired him on the spot.

"Miles this is Luke; he works for Mommy now."

Luke shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you little man. Hope I see ya around here a bunch. I'll teach you all you need to know about the world of comics."

"Mr. Monster is in the house!" Beth smiled and blew him a kiss. "Hey, boss lady!"

He saw Tara and jumped up onto her. She's his favorite, and he's told Gavin he wants to marry her. "Hey, buddy!" She gave him a big kiss then looked at me. "This boy may have some competition thanks to you, Claire. Dylan is awesome; thanks for the intro."

"I'm glad you two clicked "

"Well, so far so good. He's a total sweetheart, fun and kind of quirky. And let's not forget totally gorgeous."

"I wanted to ask you about a customer. She came in to reschedule her tattoo today; her name is Sammie."

Beth stopped and gave her customer a break. "She's got an infinity symbol on her back. She's getting it thicker with her son's name on it. His name is Miles, too.

"She's a bit of a weirdo, at least toward me, so I don't want to be here when she's getting it done.

Tara checked the books. "Four o'clock Tuesday."

"Good to know. I'm headed home now. Just wanted to check in. Oh, Tara, only a few more days until the show!"

"I hope you don't mind, but I want to bring Dylan."

"Why would I mind? Gavin's coming, and I put Tyler and Winston on the list. I'm off to meet my honey now. He's taking me and the munchkin out for dinner."

I walked into the house and there was a path of rose petals leading to the back porch. The note on the sliding glass door said to send Miles down to the den for pizza with Tyler and Winston. The round table on the porch had place settings and lit candles with more scattered rose petals. I couldn't help smiling ear to ear as I stepped onto the porch. I didn't see Gavin, so I turned to go back in the house to find him, but he was in the doorway, holding a bouquet of tiger lilies. Tears of happiness rolled down my cheeks; I couldn't believe he was doing all this just because.

"Tears? I hope they're happy tears. I know that tiger lilies are your favorite. The roses were for romantic effect, although, I loose points for the candlelight dinner being pizza; I was pressed for time!"

"This is so perfect. Pizza by candlelight sounds wonderful."

"It's safe to say you've turned me into a hopeless romantic, baby girl." He stepped forward and kissed my forehead. "Sweeter than a thousand, my beautiful future wife!"