Hardcore Vanilla

by Golden Angel

  That was true. On the other hand... "She judged me, too."

  "She did. Does that make you feel better about how you behaved?" Olivia asked matter-of-factly.

  Dammit. He was starting to understand some of the offhand comments the other guys had made about Olivia and their relationships. She was almost too on point with her observations. Thankfully she couldn’t actually see him; he was pretty sure he’d be squirming with discomfort if she could.

  He sighed. "Maybe I shouldn't have insisted on being her date."

  "Don't say that," Lexie argued immediately. "You'd have been moping and angry all weekend if she was there with Brian."

  "All of this was bound to come up eventually anyway," Patrick chimed in. "Better sooner than later, especially if you can't work through it."

  "Do you want to work through it?" Lexie asked.

  Jake rubbed his hand over his face.

  He didn't like one of the sides of Sharon that he'd seen today. Andrew had said she needed looking after because she was too independent to ask for help. Was there something he could have done to make today easier for her?

  Nothing immediately came to mind. Because he didn't know her family or how to deal with them. Olivia was right that he shouldn't have jumped to conclusions about how she dealt with them.

  Yeah, he'd sympathized with her parents, because that was exactly how Sharon had treated him for months, but maybe her parents did deserve it. He didn't know what they had done to make her go immediately on the offensive with them.

  While he might empathize with her parents, it was because she’d done the same thing to him, not because it was the same situation. There had been no real reason for her not to give him a chance. For all he knew, her parents had run out of chances.

  He’d been worried that family wasn’t important to Sharon, but it was clear after tonight that it was. Maybe not every member equally, but she’d been there for her cousins. Jake sighed.

  “Yes, I want to work through it.” As long as she didn’t continue to paint him with the same brush she used for her parents. That wasn’t fair to him. “Luke’s been pretty quiet. What does he think about all this?”

  He asked the question more to lighten his mood than anything.

  “You got this, man.”

  Jake couldn’t help but chuckle. “Thanks, boss.”

  Although he considered knocking on Sharon’s door after he got off the phone, he decided against it. A night for both of them to cool down wasn’t going to do either of them any harm and might even do them some good.

  ******

  To Sharon’s surprise, Kate wasn’t quite as sympathetic as she’d thought her bestie would be. After Sharon managed to stifle her initial tears and was done pouring out everything that had happened and the fight she and Jake had on the ride home, her best friend hesitated before responding.

  “Do you want the supportive bestie or the tough love right now, sweetie?”

  The fact that there was even an option made Sharon feel defensive.

  “I want the supportive bestie.” She was going to ask what Kate meant by the tough love eventually, and they both knew it, because she wouldn’t be able to contain her curiosity, but Sharon didn’t want to hear it right now.

  “I love you, Jake was a total asshat, and he sucks big balls.” There was total sincerity in Kate’s voice, but Sharon had to ask.

  “What’s the tough love version?”

  “You were also a royal bitch.” It was said sympathetically, but also matter-of-factly.

  “I kind of was, wasn’t I?” Sharon asked morosely.

  That was the truth she hadn’t wanted to face in the car. Jake had made several good points about how she’d treated him tonight.

  “You know I love you, but you do have a tendency to react poorly if people do anything other than accept you immediately. I get why it pushes your buttons, but you tend to go on the offensive when you feel at all defensive.”

  “I did what I had to with Aunt Lorraine but...” Sharon sighed. “I didn’t need to drag Jake into it. I did that because he pissed me off in the moment.”

  She made a face and got up from where she’d been laying on the bed, starting to undress so she could be more comfortable while she and Kate talked. Pajama pants and a soft tank top first and then she started on taking the pins out of her hair.

  “Granted, he could be a lot more sympathetic to your position,” Kate said. “But you could be a lot more sympathetic to his too. He’s meeting your family for the first time, wants to make a good impression, and you... Well, you were intentionally being obnoxious. It makes sense that he found you so too.”

  “Ugh. Why do you have to go and bring logic into this?” Sharon asked irritably.

  But she was honestly already feeling a little better. Maybe crying had helped her vent her feelings a little – and holy crap she needed to take care of her makeup situation, she realized as she glanced in the mirror over her vanity – or because she was on the phone with her bestie, but she didn’t feel like she was about to explode with emotions anymore. She tended to be an emotional person and she was fine with herself that way, but sometimes she did need someone to help ground her.

  Kate was a grounded person. So was Jake for that matter.

  “Someone needs to,” Kate teased.

  “So, what do I do now?” Sharon asked, a little plaintively.

  For the first time, she really felt like she was at sea. She wanted to apologize... but only if he apologized too. She also wasn’t used to making the first step in things like this. While she was plenty good at being confrontational, she wasn’t great at trying to smooth things over. At least, not when she was one of the parties that needed things smoothed. She could do it for other people just fine.

  “Get some sleep,” Kate ordered. “It’s late. You need to rest. Tomorrow you’ll hopefully both be in a better frame of mind to actually talk.”

  “What if I apologize and he doesn’t?”

  “Then he really is a big jerk and you won’t have to feel bad about kicking his ass to the curb. But that’s not the kind of guy I think he is.”

  That wasn’t the kind of guy Sharon thought he was either.

  Okay, now she did want to go and knock on his door just to get it over with... But Kate was right. She should wait. For one, she needed to wash off the eyeliner and mascara that had run when she was crying. She also didn’t want to see him with puffy eyes and a red nose just in case he wasn’t the kind of guy she thought he was.

  “Thank you for the coddling and the tough love, Barbie-Girl.”

  Kate laughed. “Any time, Little Italy, you know that. Love you.”

  “Love you too. Night.”

  Hanging up the phone, Sharon looked over at her door, ears straining. Maybe Jake would make her life easier and come and apologize first. Then she wouldn’t have any hesitation about saying she was sorry too. But there was nothing but silence in the hallway between them.

  This was not how she’d seen the night going.

  Ugh.

  Tomorrow was going to be so awkward.

  Chapter 15

  He woke up early, restless and with an overabundance of nervous energy.

  Since he had a feeling it was far too early for Sharon to be awake, Jake started off his morning by working out in the bedroom. It wasn’t as good as going for a run, but since the room was freaking huge there was plenty he could do in the empty space.

  Push-ups. Sit-ups. Crunches. Lunges. Burpees. Etc., etc., etc.

  He did more reps than he normally would since he didn’t have any weights with him. He’d worked up a pretty good sweat when there was a soft knock on his door, startling him. He’d never seen Sharon awake before nine on the weekends.

  “Jake?” Her voice was quiet and slightly muffled, but it was her. Which was a relief. For one wild moment he’d thought maybe it was one of her parents, or that she’d sent the butler to kick him out of the house or something.

  Pushing himself up off the fl
oor where he'd been in a reclining position, he hurried over to yank the door open. The fact that he was shirtless and sweaty didn't even occur to him until he was chest to face with her and she was staring at his bare skin with a very familiar expression. A little smile tweaked the corners of her mouth as she lifted her gaze to his. She liked what she saw. For a moment it felt like everything was completely normal between them.

  "Early morning workout?"

  "I didn't think you'd be up yet," he admitted, stepping back so she could come inside. As soon as she did, the awkwardness hit them both again.

  Sharon was still in her pajamas - purple pants covered with little pink hearts and a purple tank top - and he was only wearing his sweatpants. Normally they'd already be jumping on each other. Instead, Sharon stood in front of him, not quite meeting his eyes, shifting her weight back and forth uncomfortably.

  He wasn't much better off. Rubbing his palms against his sweatpants, he cleared his throat.

  "I'm sorry."

  Both of them spoke at once, blurting out the words. Their gazes met, and Jake gave her a rueful smile which she returned.

  "Go ahead," she said, gesturing to him.

  "Sure you don't want to do ladies first?" he asked, teasing her. Some of the tension in his back was already dissipating.

  "No, no, I insist." The little smile on her face grew a little larger.

  Taking a deep breath, Jake let it out with a sigh. "I'm sorry about last night. I lost my temper and said some things I shouldn't have - and some things that I might have been justified in saying, I said in a manner I shouldn't have. And I am incredibly sorry about calling you a bitch."

  "I called you an asshole first," she said, shrugging and tipping her head slightly to the side as she looked up at him. "I'm sorry too. Being around my family... Well, I'm not the best version of myself, but I shouldn't have pulled you into it without talking to you first. And you're right. When I feel like you're judging me, I tend to go on the offensive. I don't know that I can change my knee jerk reaction, but I will try."

  "I'll try to be more understanding," he said. "I don't know how your family is and I shouldn't make assumptions about how they'd react to what you do."

  "I have tried in the past," she said, looking a little miserable. "The whole 'give an inch, they'll take a mile' thing? Yeah, that's my parents. The more I give in, the more they try to bulldoze me. It's better just to go in blazing and then it's clear where we all stand. Plus, I'd rather piss them off than have them piss me off. I'm sorry I did that to you, too."

  Jake hesitated for a moment, but the question had been in the back of his brain since last night, and he had to ask. "Would you have done the same thing if I was a Dom? Like, if you knew you were going to be punished for it, would that have changed things?"

  ******

  Blinking in surprise, Sharon turned the question over in her mind as she studied his expression. She was trying to keep her focus on his face and not on his bare chest or the little drop of sweat that was currently sliding down it and how freaking hot he looked right now.

  "I don't think so," she admitted. “I don’t deal well when I feel like someone is being judgmental about me and knowing I had a spanking coming, or any other kind of punishment, wouldn’t stop me from changing how I deal with my parents.”

  "You would have thrown Brian under the bus too?"

  There was something about Jake's expression and tone of voice that made it seem like he was insecure or something. Which was not how she'd meant to make him feel and she was a little horrified to realize that she'd done so.

  She was also touched by his sincere, thorough apology. It seemed like both of them had really had a chance to think through where they'd gone wrong last night. She and Kate had been right. He was a good guy.

  "Probably not, but only because he wouldn't have cared that I was making a scene," she said, feeling a little bad that it sounded like she was blaming Jake for her actions. "Not that that's an acceptable reason for me to have done that to you, and I realize that."

  "So, it's not because he would have spanked you afterwards, or that you respect him more because he's a Dom?" Jake's expression was closed, almost nonchalant, as if he was trying to look like he didn't care about the answer.

  Aw crap. That was so, so, so not how she'd ever meant to make him feel. She stepped forward, reaching up to put her hand on his chest. His skin was warm underneath her hand.

  "Definitely not," she said firmly. "For starters, there's no way he would have spanked me afterward. We don't have that kind of relationship anymore."

  He raised a dark eyebrow at her, something sparking in his blue eyes. "Do we?"

  "I don't know. Do we?" she asked, a little uncertainly. She wasn't really sure she wanted a relationship that involved punishment spankings... Although if it was going to happen, she preferred not to have to do a ton of negotiating first. That was what she struggled the most with in the lifestyle, and why she liked that Jake was take-charge without being a Dom in the traditional sense.

  "I feel kind of weird about it, but if you wanted it... I could try." He didn't look entirely convinced, and Sharon ended up giggling.

  His expression shifted, becoming more rueful. "Well that's not the reaction I was going for."

  "Sorry, it's just... You obviously aren't really into it."

  "I'm not saying I don't want to spank you sometimes, I do, but... in a fun way mostly," he said, shrugging uncomfortably. "I don't know about the whole lecture and punishment thing."

  "Honestly, that's not really my thing either. I like things more spontaneous. That's why I have so much trouble with the Doms. They're too kinky for me in a lot of ways, and vanilla guys are too vanilla."

  "So, you're what, Goldicocks and I'm just right?" Jake's eyes flashed with mirth and Sharon slapped her hand over her mouth as she practically screamed with laughter.

  Holy fuck, that was the last thing she'd expected him to say. He chuckled as she got her giggles under control. "Um... sort of? You're like, vanilla ice cream with a little something extra to go with it. Like sprinkles. Or hot fudge. A root beer float."

  "I can live with that," Jake said, stepping forward and placing his hands on her hips. Sharon's breath caught in her throat as her body flared to life in anticipation. "So... does that mean we can just jump straight to the make-up sex?"

  Just as she was about to say yes, a bell chimed in the room, and she groaned, her head falling forward to rest on Jake's bare chest in disappointment.

  "What was that?" he asked, and she didn't need to look up to know he was looking around, trying to figure out where the sound had come from.

  "That's the warning bell for breakfast. We have half an hour to get ready."

  "What happens if we don't come down for breakfast in half an hour?"

  "Thomas comes up to get us." Sighing, Sharon stepped back, pushing his chest gently so that his hands fell away from her hips. "I need to get dressed, you need to shower. So... later."

  "Definitely later," he said, watching her go.

  Sharon put a little extra shimmy in her step for him to enjoy.

  ******

  The promised make-up sex was going to be much later.

  They'd had breakfast with her parents, which had been uncomfortable. Sharon was trying to behave to make him feel more comfortable, but her parents did exactly what she'd told him they would and seemed to take that as an invitation to try and force their opinions on her. They basically ignored Jake while talking about how Sharon should really be concentrating on making better connections, how her job wasn't the 'right kind' of job to accomplish that, and practically gushing over some son of her father's business associate that they wanted her to meet.

  By the end of the meal - which had lasted a whole hour as her parents served it in courses - Jake was tempted to start making a scene himself, just to make them stop.

  Sharon kept sneaking peeks at him, smirking as if to say 'I told you so' and just generally enjoying his pain.

>   Now he was in the mood to spank her.

  Unfortunately, they hadn't had time. Melinda had called, begging Sharon to come to the hotel early so she could get ready with her and the bridesmaids. Of course, Sharon had said yes.

  "It's for the bride," she solemnly told Jake.

  How could he argue with that? He couldn't.

  They checked into the hotel early and he was left to his own devices while Sharon joined Melinda and the bridal party in the bridal suite. Since he didn't know anyone else there, Jake stayed in the room and just watched some television, trying to veg out and relax before the wedding.

  In the middle of the afternoon he got a text from Andrew.

  Did you and Sharon make up?

  Rolling his eyes, Jake responded.

  Yes.

  A few minutes later his phone buzzed again.

  Good.

  Sharon had told him that she'd talked to Kate and he'd admitted to calling Patrick, so they knew their friends were aware of what was going on. Although he was sure Kate had gone into more detail with Andrew than she had with any of their other friends. Chances were, everyone knew that he and Sharon had had a fight, but not much more than that.

  It did make him realize that he should update Patrick and Lexie as well - he figured they'd pass the message along to Olivia and Luke - and he shot off a quick text letting them know that he and Sharon had both apologized, made up, and he was looking forward to the wedding. That last part wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't entirely false either...

  According to Sharon, Melinda and Mark had been able to plan the wedding they wanted, which was why it was being held in a hotel at all. Something her aunt wasn't happy about for some reason.

  Maybe it wasn't fancy enough?

  Jake had no idea and he wasn't about to get caught up trying to understand Sharon's family right now. At least, not the older generation. Her generation seemed more reasonable.