Rumors: Megan & Vinnie

by Rachael Brownell

  He wanted to come visit his friends. His family. The Dixon brothers.

  It was his first chance at freedom and his first stop was a visit to Michigan. It didn’t turn out the way he imagined. I’m not sure what he thought would come of Ryder seeing us in bed together, but knowing Jared, he probably assumed they would crack open a few beers and have a good laugh.

  The joke was on him.

  And me.

  As far as I know, Ryder has disowned him. I’m not surprised, and he shouldn’t be either. Things may have turned out differently if we hadn’t actually slept together. If we had stuck to the plan. If he hadn’t taken the opportunity to slip inside me as I was pulling the sheets over us.

  Do I blame him? A little, but I’ve come to accept my role in all of this. I’m as much at fault as he is.

  That was the biggest slap in the face. I wanted to blame him for all of it, for everything that was happening, but I couldn’t, and I think that’s what actually helped me accept my fate.

  I would move to the beach house. Ryder and I would share custody of Amara. Life as I knew it was changing.

  No more social life.

  No dating.

  No sex.

  God, I missed sex. Not just scheduled, because we’re married and it’s been a few weeks sex, but real gritty, pull your hair and get hot and sweaty sex.

  It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced that.

  Yet here I am.

  Sitting in Vinnie’s car.

  He’s dangling the option in front of me like a twenty-dollar bill in front of a stripper. I want to take it, but that would make me a stripper. A slut. Whore.

  The rumors would be true.

  Another Dixon friend. Another scandal for people to talk about.

  Unless…

  Ryder has Amara this week. He’s picking her up from his parents’ house tomorrow. I’m a free woman for the next six days. No one has to know. No one will find out.

  Vinnie’s staring at me, waiting for me to answer. He’s given me options. We don’t have to have sex. We can just talk. Get to know each other better.

  What’s the fun in that?

  I’ve been celibate for nine months. Contrary to popular belief, I haven’t even kissed a man. Maybe that’s where we should start.

  With a kiss.

  If there’s nothing there, no harm, no foul. Right?

  I can do that. I can stop after one kiss.

  There’s no saying this tension I feel is actually chemistry. It might just be my hormones running wild because it’s been so long.

  Yeah, that has to be it.

  “Only two options, huh?” I ask, teasing him.

  “You’re welcome to counter my offer.”

  Unfastening my seat belt, I turn in my seat and face him.

  “What’s your offer?”

  “Walk me to the door. Kiss me goodnight. If there’s nothing there, I’ll thank you for the ride and you leave.”

  “And if we burn down the porch?”

  God, he’s full of himself. I kind of like it.

  “Then I’ll invite you inside.”

  Nodding, Vinnie hastily exits the car and rushes around to open my door for me. Guiding me to the porch with his hand on the small of my back, he spins me around and crushes his mouth to mine as my foot hits the top step.

  Reaching out, I take his face in my hands. His beard is soft just as I imagined. I like being right, and it makes me want to explore the rest of his body. You know, just to see how accurate my assessment was.

  When he finally pulls back, we’re standing nose to nose, breathing heavily. Staring into my eyes, he waits for me to tell him what he already knows.

  There’s no denying what I felt. The spark was there. An electric current is still pumping through my veins.

  I’m in over my head, and there’s no going back now. I’m not sure I want to.

  Chapter Four

  Talking was an idea of the past.

  As soon as I invited Vinnie in, it was a race to see who could get naked first. Our lips never left each other’s as he kicked the front door closed. My purse fell to the floor somewhere in the living room followed by my shoes and dress. By the time we reached the kitchen, we were both naked and ready to explode.

  That didn’t stop him from taking his time with me, exploring every inch of my body.

  Of course I returned the favor. I traced every muscle with the tips of my finger, my lips, or my tongue, eliciting groans from him that came from somewhere deep inside him.

  Round one came to an end only for round two to begin.

  The cycle continued until the glow of daylight broke through the curtains of my bedroom. It was then we both passed out from exhaustion. My legs were sore. My body ached.

  I loved every minute of it.

  Vinnie woke me by sliding into me. Oh, God. That’s the best way to wake up. If only he could do that every damn day. I would die the happiest woman on the planet.

  That’s when it all hit me.

  The repercussions of what we were doing.

  The fact that this wasn’t built to last.

  It was a one time, or rather one night, thing. He was going to leave eventually. Sooner rather than later. As far as I knew, he was only in town for the wedding. I’m sure he has a job and a life to get back to.

  Pushing all the issues and doubt from my mind, I focused on the here and now. The present. Because my future more than likely doesn’t involve Vinnie, why bother speculating about it?

  Sunday was spent in bed. We got up once, to eat leftover Chinese food, but when Vinnie tried to feed me, that led us right back to bed, where we stayed the rest of the day.

  It wasn’t all sex, thankfully.

  We talked. I learned a lot about him. He works for a tech company, traveling the world. Global marketing, to be exact. It sounds a lot like what Ryder does only on a larger scale. And there’s a lot of travel involved. He also sounds like he hates his job.

  As Sunday night approached, I considered the fact that he had to leave. That he should leave. Our one night together was over, and as much as I didn’t want it to end, it was time.

  I’m fairly certain he knew what I was thinking. Why? Because he took my hand and led me to the couch, popped in a chick flick and made us popcorn. It was his way of letting me know that it wasn’t all about the sex. He was here for more than just sex.

  The chick flick led to sex, though. They always do. There’s that one hot scene that gets your blood pumping and makes you wish you had something like the main characters.

  Yeah, so back to bed we went.

  And he stayed.

  He made us breakfast. We talked about his antics with Tyler in college. Who knew Ty had such a wild side? Then came the time for me to tell him about what happened with Ryder. The whole story.

  He had shared his story with me, and it seemed fair. I’d been skirting around the topic all weekend, changing the subject whenever it felt like it would pop up.

  I spent my afternoon staring into a cup of Earl Grey, avoiding eye contact with Vinnie, as I told him every detail of what went down last year. Tears threatened to fall multiple times. Reliving some of the worst moments of my existence will never be easy, but six months ago, I would have been curled in a ball in bed crying over it if I had to think about it. Now, I’ve come to terms with my mistake and accepted the consequences.

  After I finished, I chanced a glance at Vinnie to find him watching me. I expected to see anger or hatred in his eyes. Even disgust would have been acceptable. All I saw was kindness and understanding. There was no judgment and no pity.

  He’s been there.

  He’s made mistakes and accepted his consequences. People like us, cheaters, we aren’t proud of the decisions we made, but we own up to them and move forward with life. Hopefully learning from our past so we don’t repeat the same mistakes in the future.

  Would I ever cheat on another man? No. As much as it hurt Ryder, it hurt me just as much in the end.
/>
  Would I ever want to be cheated on? Never. The anguish in Ryder’s eyes when I tried to apologize was what shattered my heart.

  Would I ever date a cheater?

  Looking into Vinnie’s eyes, I want to say yes. Only because I can see how much it hurt his soul to be on both sides of the coin, and I’m confident he’d never do it again.

  I hope he can see the same in mine.

  They say once a cheater, always a cheater. I think whoever said that was wrong. If you have a heart, make a mistake and cheat, you’ll only make that mistake once. It’s the heartless who repeat their mistakes.

  I’m not heartless, and I can see he’s not either. In fact, we both seem to have an emotional shield up at all times. It’s the reason I didn’t allow myself to cry and the reason he was emotionless when he told me about his ex.

  “Do you want me to leave?” he finally asked.

  “No, I don’t,” I confessed, wanting nothing more than for him to take me to bed and hold me right now. It’s been a long time since anyone has held me just because.

  The decision was made. He promised to tell me if he wanted to leave, and I promised to kick him out once I was done using him for mind-blowing sex. His words, not mine. So, I let him order pizza, and I jumped in the shower while we waited. I contemplated asking him to leave, breaking the cycle now before things got complicated. But what could one meal together hurt, right? It was only food after all. It wasn’t like he was going to eat pizza off my naked body.

  Well, that could be a thing, but I doubted it.

  What I didn’t expect was to exit the bathroom and hear my ex-husband’s voice coming from the next room. From our daughter’s room.

  If I was planning on keeping this a secret, I don’t have that option now.

  Would I have told Ally? Probably. Anyone else? Nope. No one. Ryder? Definitely not. I don’t need to give him a reason to hate me more than he already does.

  He’s the reason I fought this to begin with. Him and the stigma people will place on my head.

  “Look, Megan’s at it again, whoring herself out.”

  Fuck them. Fuck him.

  I don’t care what anyone thinks anymore. Maybe it’s the sex high I’m still riding or the fact I know, once Ryder leaves, there is more sex to be had. Either way, screw it. All of it.

  I made a poor choice. A bad decision. One that I will forever be sorry for.

  We all make mistakes. That doesn’t mean I’m a horrible person. At the end of the day, I deserve to be happy. It might be with Vinnie right now for a few days, or it might be in ten years with someone I haven’t met yet. I’ll find someone who makes me happy eventually.

  Still, I hide in the bathroom until I’m certain Ryder’s gone. When I emerge, he’s nowhere to be found and Vinnie is on the couch eating pizza and watching the news.

  “Hey. You just missed Ryder.”

  “Didn’t miss him,” I grumble, taking the seat next to him. “What did he want?”

  Treading with caution, I attempt to sound unaffected by his announcement. My voice fails me, cracking before I can finish my question.

  “He needed something for Amara.”

  At least one of us doesn’t sound affected by Ryder’s unannounced visit.

  “And.”

  “And what?”

  “Did he ask what you were doing here?” I practically scream at Vinnie, the anticipation of his answer causing my hands to shake.

  What did they talk about?

  Did he ask where I was?

  Did it seem to bother him that Vinnie was in the house we once shared?

  “Nope, but I’m pretty sure the fact that I was shirtless and you were in the shower were all the clues he needed.”

  He’s acting too casually about this. I’m freaking out, and he’s stuffing pizza in his face like he’s never eaten before. Why? This should concern him. Ryder is supposed to be his friend, and I’m his ex-wife!

  “Look,” he says between bites. “I know you care what people say about you, but I don’t. People are always going to talk, and nothing is more interesting than a scandal. I know he’s your ex and he’s my friend, but if this is going to be a thing, I’m not going to hide it from him. I don’t need or want his blessing, but I’m also not going to keep it from him. I’m not going to lie to anyone. They can think what they want, I don’t give a shit. I’m not sure what we’re doing or if this is going to go anywhere beyond your bedroom, but for now, I’m here. I’m staying unless you kick me out. Plus, he already knows, so there’s no sense in trying to cover it up.”

  Infuriating is the word that comes to mind. He’s also right. If I try and hide from this, people will only find it more interesting to talk about. I’d be feeding the fire or, rather, the rumor mill that is Dixon Advertising.

  Plus, as much of an asshole as Ryder can be from time to time, he doesn’t generally listen to the gossip around the office. It’s ‘unproductive,’ according to him, and a distraction. He’s even called Ally a gossip-whore more than once, assuming she’s the one spreading all the lies.

  Or in this case, partial truths.

  I mean, this is casual right now. Right? I can be casual. I’d also love to know how long this is going to last or what his idea of casual is.

  “So,” I start, reaching for a piece of pizza before he devours it all. “What are we doing? What is this?”

  Yep, casual. Nothing wrong with asking a few direct questions.

  “This is whatever you want it to be right now. I don’t know how long I’ll be in town, but I do know that while I’m here, I’d like to see you. As much as I can.”

  “And after you leave?”

  “Long-distance relationships should never be a thing. We both have needs. A long-distance relationship sets us up for failure. One of us will cheat, and I think we’ve both been down that road and prefer not to travel it again.”

  No, I’d rather not.

  “Fun for now, then. I can deal with that.”

  Removing the pizza box from in between us, Vinnie sets it on the coffee table before snagging my half-eaten slice and tossing it in the box. Reaching out, he pulls me into his arms, and I go willingly.

  “Can you? Because I’m starting to get addicted to you. To the way you smell. The sounds you make when I make you cum. More than anything, I love the way you feel in my arms. We fit together perfectly, like two pieces of a puzzle.”

  God, he’s good with words. Almost too good. He says all the right things at the right times. He makes sure I feel his words, enunciating the most important parts of each sentence to get his point across.

  “I like you too,” I reply, snuggling further into his arms and allowing my body to melt into his.

  “Are you still hungry?” he asks a few minutes later.

  Am I? I had three bites of pizza, and I feel satisfied. I feel full.

  “No, why?”

  “Because I’m ready for dessert,” he announces, sliding out from behind me. Standing to his full height, a devious grin on his face, Vinnie bends down, reaches his arm under my legs, and picks me up. “And you’re on the menu.”

  Good Lord! This man is insatiable. He’s lucky I plan on trying to satisfy his every need while he’s here. And my own.

  Chapter Five

  Vinnie wasn’t joking when he said he wasn’t planning on leaving unless I ask him to. It’s been a week since he parked in front of the house. A week since I invited him inside.

  I’d love to say that it’s been all hearts and flowers, but that would be a lie. We’ve talked, gotten to know each other better, and had amazing sex, multiple times a day. We’ve left the house twice. Once for him to get clean clothes and once to stock up on condoms. That was last night.

  We have yet to open the box.

  As soon as we got back to the house, we got in a fight over money.

  Every time we’ve order food, he’s paid. As nice as that is, it also isn’t necessary. But when I tried to pay the delivery man for our order, he freaked ou
t on me.

  At first, I assumed he was joking. Then I found him shoving money in my purse.

  That’s when I went off.

  The food was left uneaten on the kitchen counter, and I went to bed alone for the first time since meeting him. He slept on the couch.

  Why he didn’t leave, I’m not sure. It’s not like he doesn’t have a house to himself right now. Angela and Tyler won’t be home until late tonight.

  The only reason I can come up with is that I didn’t ask him to.

  So as I stare at him, fast asleep on my couch, still wearing his jeans, I allow myself a moment to think this through.

  Do I ask him to leave? End things right now?

  I have to pick up Amara tonight, so it’s not like he can stay over this week. He still hasn’t told me when he’s leaving town. It would suck to end things on a shitty note, but maybe that’s better.

  On the flip side, I could wake him up, try and talk to him, and see where he stands. See what he wants, if he still wants something from me. That would give us the afternoon together before I pick up my daughter.

  “Are you planning on staring at me all day, or is there something else on your mind?” he jokes as he opens his eyes. They’re the clearest sky blue I’ve ever seen this morning.

  “I wasn’t staring,” I protest, the lie falling easily from my lips.

  “Sure you weren’t. Look, before you say anything, I’m sorry about last night.”

  Thank God. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to apologize first. I said some things I regret, and I’m sure he did too.

  “Me, too. I still want to make sure you understand that I don’t expect you to pay for everything, or anything, for that matter. I can take care of myself.”

  “I get that. You’re a strong woman, that’s not in question here. I just thought since I ate all the rest of your food, I could at least pay for takeout. Not to mention I’ve been staying here.”

  “You’re a guest in my home.”

  Sitting up, he nods and pats the seat next to him on the couch. The cushion is warm beneath my bare legs when I sit down.

  “So… we’re good, then?” he asks, wrapping his arms around my shoulder and pulling me into his side.