I glance at him, but he’s too busy giving his sisters the evil eye across the table.
“He used to make us watch it with him all the time,” Sasha tells me.
“It is a great film,” I say. “Maybe being an actor was in your blood all along, not just a happenstance.” I nudge his elbow with mine, and he smiles warmly at me.
“Yeah, but not only did he used to watch it daily, he also used to get us to watch it with him. We’d have to dress up like the characters and perform the musical routines,” Meg adds.
“Aw, I bet you made a cute Bugsy,” I say.
“Not Bugsy!” Sasha laughs.
“I’ll feed your wedding dress to Jester,” he says to Sasha. “And I’ll make sure it’s not fixable this time.”
“Ha!” Sasha laughs. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me.” He narrows his gaze at her.
“Children,” his mom chastises.
“Well, I have nothing to lose,” Meg says quickly. “Vaughn didn’t dress up as Bugsy. No, he insisted on being Tallulah every time! He used to get Mom’s dresses and shoes and put them on! He even wore lipstick!”
“Oh my God!” I laugh.
Vaughn picks up a roasted potato off his plate and throws it at Meg. She ducks, and it misses her.
“You’re such a see you next Tuesday.” He frowns at her, but I can see that he’s also fighting a smile.
“Mama, why is Uncle Vaughn saying he’s going to see Aunt Meg next Tuesday? He’s seeing her right now,” Nora asks innocently.
“Yeah, Tallulah, why are you going to see me next Tuesday?” Meg teases him.
Vaughn scratches his forehead with his middle finger. Meg sticks her tongue out at him.
I swear, he and his sister act like kids around one another. It’s funny to watch. And it makes me wish that I’d had a sibling growing up. But I have Nick, and that’s all that matters.
“Uncle Vaughn’s just being silly,” Sasha explains to her daughter, giving Vaughn a dirty look.
He just smirks at her.
“We have some photos of Vaughn dressed up as Tallulah,” his mom says.
“No, we don’t. I burned them,” Vaughn says.
“Don’t tell lies, Vaughn. You never burned them. I know exactly where they are.” His mom gets up from the table. “I’ll go get them now before we have dessert, so Charly can have a look. I’ll get your baby photos, too.”
Dessert? Good God, I might die from overfeeding.
“Jesus Christ,” he complains. “Can’t you stop her, Dad?”
“I wish I could, son. But this is the first time you’ve brought a girl home. Your mom and sisters have been waiting years for this.”
He looks at me with a help-me expression on his face. He looks so adorable, I can’t help but smile.
“Sorry, West. But I really want to see your baby pictures. And, of course, the ones of you dressed as Tallulah.”
“Traitor,” he grumbles.
I can see a smile teasing the corner of his lips.
I tug on his bottom lip, and that smile finally makes an appearance. His eyes soften on me, and he takes hold of my hand and kisses it.
When I turn back to the table, his sisters are looking at us like we’re magic.
Honestly, I feel like magic when I’m with him. This whole thing with Vaughn feels like magic. Not real. I keep expecting to wake up at any moment.
Being here is so wonderful. I did worry that being in a family environment like this would be weird for me. It’s not something I’m used to, so I wasn’t sure if I would know how to act around his family, but they make it easy. They’re so warm and friendly. I feel lucky to be a part of this even if for a short time.
“Got them!” Vaughn’s mom comes bustling back into the dining room with a stack of photo albums in her arms. She hands them to Meg, who gives a wicked grin to Vaughn.
“Oh God,” Vaughn grumbles.
“Girls, why don’t you take Charly into the living room to look through these? The men and kids can help me clear the table. And we’ll have dessert in there.”
“Can I go with Mommy, Charly, and Aunt Meg to look at the pictures?” Nora asks.
“Sure you can, baby.”
“That’s not fair!” Parker complains.
“Life ain’t fair sometimes, kiddo.” She ruffles his hair.
I get up from the table, pressing a kiss to the side of Vaughn’s head.
He catches my hand. “Whatever you see in that living room stays in that room, Pins. I never want to hear of it again.”
I grin. “Sure thing, Tallulah.”
I head off toward the living room with his sisters and Nora, who catches hold of my hand, surprising me.
Jester jumps up from his spot in the hallway. Vaughn’s mom put him out here, as he wouldn’t leave me alone at dinner. He kept trying to climb onto my lap.
I felt so bad for him. He’s so cute.
He comes trotting over to me, tail wagging.
“Hey, Jester.” I lean down, patting his head.
“Jester likes you a lot,” Nora says.
“Yeah. I like him, too.”
“And I think Uncle Vaughn likes you a lot,” she whispers to me. “I’ve never seen him with a girl before.”
I smile down at her. “I’m glad ’cause I like him a lot, too.”
I take a seat on the floor where Sasha and Meg have set up camp with the photo albums. Nora sits down beside me. Jester climbs into my lap. I give his ear a scratch.
“Okay”—Meg gleefully rubs her hands—“let’s get this show of embarrassing my brother on the road.”
She opens a photo album, and the first picture is of a glammed up Tallulah-looking Vaughn. Oversized dress, too-big high heels, and bright red lips.
“How old was he here?” I ask.
“Eight. Wasn’t he such a pretty boy?” Sasha says.
And we all burst out laughing.
Vaughn
“You made such a pretty Tallulah,” Charly murmurs, sounding sleepy, her arm linked through mine, head resting against my shoulder, as we walk the short distance back to my house.
We’ve got Jester with us. He’s trotting on up ahead, sniffing every blade of grass possible. He was at the door, following us out when we were leaving, so I said to my mom that he could stay at mine. He wouldn’t leave Charly alone all night. He’s obsessed with her. As it turns out, I am, too.
And wasn’t that revelation earlier just a little shocker?
Since realizing how I felt about her, I kept sneaking looks at her all night to see if she looked different to me. But she just looks the same, and it makes me wonder if I’ve been in love with her all along.
“I thought we talked about this, Pins,” I say in a mock-annoyed voice. “What you saw in my parents’ living room stays in my parents’ living room.”
She giggles softly. “Sorry, West.”
“You’re forgiven. Just don’t do it again.” I kiss the top of her head, breathing in her raspberry and vanilla scent.
I don’t really care about the embarrassing story and photographs because I saw how much fun she had while hearing them and seeing the pictures. I loved making her laugh. I want to make her happy.
And, honestly, this is what I love about being home. Here, I’m just me. My sisters’ kid brother who they take the piss out of.
That’s why I made the decision to build my house here and keep Oregon as my permanent home. When you live in a place like LA, a place where people call you special, tell you that you’re a star, that you’re important, it’s easy to believe it. It’s easy to forget that you’re the same kid who dressed up as Tallulah and acted out Bugsy Malone with your older sisters. It’s easy to believe your own hype. It’s easy to forget who you really are in Hollywood.
And it’s not that I’m ungrateful for the opportunities that my profession affords me.
But the person I want to be is the person this place keeps me being.
I have a great family who tre
ats me the same as they always have. They are the reason my feet stay firmly on the ground, where they belong.
And, despite the shit I endured a few months ago, I’ve always thought of myself as a happy guy. But I didn’t know happiness until I met Charly.
And I’ve never been more myself than I am with her.
We reach my house, and I let us in. Jester shouldn’t need to pee. He took about twenty pisses on our way over here.
Charly kicks her flip-flops off. “Mind if I go straight up?” she asks. “I’m super tired after all that food.”
“Yeah, sure, babe. I’ll just get Jester settled for the night, and I’ll be up.”
She starts up the stairs, and Jester follows her.
“Jester,” I call after him.
He stops on the stairs.
“Back down here, buddy. You know the rules.”
“Sorry, Jester,” Charly says to him. “Not my house, not my rules. But, if it were my house, I’d totally let you upstairs.”
“You’re not helping,” I tell her.
She smiles at me and then crouches down on the stairs. “Night, Jester. See you in the morning, cutie.” She kisses the top of his head and then gets to her feet, turns, and goes upstairs.
Jester sighs and then comes back down. I swear to God, he gives me a dirty look.
Jester trots into the living room, hopping up onto the sofa.
“Don’t make yourself comfy there either. You’re in the kitchen,” I tell him as I head into the kitchen, through to the utility room to get out his bed and water bowl that I keep here for him.
I set them up for him and go back into the living room to get him. “Jester,” I call.
No sign of him.
I instantly know where he is.
“Little shit,” I mutter to myself. I jog upstairs and walk into my bedroom, stopping in the doorway.
Charly is passed out on my bed, fast asleep. She didn’t even get undressed. And Jester, the sneaky little bastard, is snuggled up beside her, his head on her shoulder.
Honestly, in this moment, I wish I had my cell phone, so I could take a picture.
“You,” I whisper, pointing at Jester, “downstairs.”
Fucking dog just ignores me.
I go over to pick him up, and Charly rouses.
“Can he stay?” she mumbles sleepily, hugging Jester to her.
I stare down at Jester, giving him the evil eye. He just smugly stares back.
“Sure thing, Pins. But let’s get you undressed.”
I lift her dress up her body, and she moves, helping me get it over her head. Jester grumbles because he has to move. I actually chuckle at the cheek of the dog.
My cock hardens at the sight of her in just her pale pink lacy underwear, but it looks like he’s not getting any action tonight.
“Where are your pajamas?” I ask her.
“Bag,” she mumbles.
I dig out a pair of shorts and a tank that she’s worn to bed before. I slip the shorts up her legs, and she lifts her butt, helping me get them on her. Then, I lift her head, slipping the tank over her.
“Bra,” she says. Then, she lazily undoes it and pulls it off, giving me a great view of her fantastic tits, making my dick painfully harder.
I’m considering tugging one out when I go in the bathroom.
I help her slip her arms through the armholes, and she’s done.
I pull the duvet down from underneath her and cover her. Jester is just about to get in with her.
“You. Floor.” I point in the direction of the floor.
Jester stares at me and then slowly gets off the bed, lying down on the floor at Charly’s side of the bed. He lets out a loud sigh.
“Fucking dog.” I chuckle to myself, hitting the light, plunging us into darkness.
I make a quick trip to the bathroom, take a piss, brush my teeth, and then come back into the bedroom. I strip my clothes off, leaving just my boxers on, and I climb into bed.
I reach over for Charly to pull her into my arms, and instead, I get a furry dog.
“For fuck’s sake, Jester,” I grumble.
“Sorry,” Charly mumbles sleepily. “He got in when you were in the bathroom. Shall I move him?”
“No, it’s fine, babe.” I throw daggers at Jester in the dark, realizing I’m not winning this battle tonight.
I’ve been edged out by a fucking dog.
I lean over and press a soft kiss to her lips. “Night, babe.”
“Mmhmm. Love you,” she mumbles.
I freeze.
She loves me.
My heart starts to pound in my chest.
Does she realize what she just said?
Even still, I can’t resist saying it back, testing it out loud. I guess I’ll know if she means it when I tell her that I love her, too. That I’m crazy about her. She’s all I think about. She’s all I want.
From the minute I saw her dancing around, twerking her cute ass like she was Nicki Minaj, I knew she was going to be different. I just didn’t know how different.
Now, she’s everything.
I brush my fingers over her forehead, sweeping her hair back, my heart beating so fast, as I whisper, “I love you, too, Pins.”
I wait a second, but she doesn’t respond, and when she starts to snore softly, I know she’s asleep.
The disappointment I feel is surprising. But I guess this just wasn’t meant to be the moment to say how we feel.
I’ll tell Charly how I feel about her when the right moment arises. And I pray to God I won’t scare her away. Hopefully, she really does feel the same way I do, and she’s not just speaking meaningless words in her sleep.
Charly
I had this dream last night where I told Vaughn I loved him.
Thank God it was just a dream; otherwise, that would have been embarrassing.
But I do love him. I’m crazy in love with him.
It’s just not the time to be telling him. Especially when he doesn’t know everything about me.
He’s taking me to a place called Crater Lake today. He said it was this really huge lake that came from a volcano that had collapsed thousands of years ago. He said it was a really beautiful place. I’m looking forward to seeing it. We’ve packed up a picnic with some of the food that Vaughn’s mom had stocked his fridge and cupboards up with.
We’re dropping Jester back at his mom and dad’s. I think Vaughn’s had enough of Jester monopolizing my time. I think he’s feeling a little jealous and left out, which is seriously cute. Also, it’s an hour’s drive there, so Jester might get bored in the car for that length of time.
Vaughn also wants to check if his mom needs us to do anything for the wedding before we head out. I can’t believe the wedding is only hours away. I bet Sasha is getting so excited.
I can’t wait to see the look on Greg’s face when he sees Sasha in her dress. She looks stunning in it.
Vaughn puts the picnic basket along with a picnic blanket in the backseat. I sit in the front with Jester on my lap.
I’m dressed sensibly today. Well, as sensible as I can. I didn’t bring any sneakers with me, not that I have any, so I’m wearing my flip-flops, knowing that we’ll be walking a bit. And I’m wearing jean shorts and a tank, as it’s really warm today. I’ve put on sunscreen as well, as I don’t want to burn. Vaughn is wearing khaki shorts, a tank, and sneakers. He looks hot, like usual. He’s also wearing his ball cap, and he has sunglasses on.
I tug his cap off and put it on my head. “You worried about people recognizing you when we’re out?” I ask him, referring to the cap. I know he wears it as a disguise of sorts.
“We shouldn’t run into anyone. It’s a big place, and I’m taking you to one of the quieter areas, but you never know.” He shrugs, putting the car in drive.
I can’t imagine how it is for him, always having to worry about being recognized.
We stop at Vaughn’s parents’ house. I get out, carrying Jester in my arms.
“He
can walk, you know,” Vaughn teases as we head over to the house.
“I know, but he’s so cute, like a little baby.” I snuggle Jester and get a lick on my face in return.
I wish I could have a dog. But it’s not feasible, as I travel a lot for work, and even though Nick is always home, it’d be stuck inside while he was at work all day. That, and we live in a small apartment, which isn’t really practical for a dog.
“It’s us,” Vaughn calls as he walks through the front door.
Is it silly that I get all glowy when I hear him say that? Us. I’ve never been part of an us before. Except with Nick, but that’s different.
“Hey.” His mom comes out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a dish towel. “Has he been okay?” She gestures to Jester.
“No trouble at all.” I smile at her.
“Except for hogging the fucking bed all night.”
“Ignore Vaughn.” I shake my head. “He’s been a little gem.”
“Maybe for you,” he grumbles. “Jester thinks the sun shines out of your ass.”
“You saying it doesn’t?” I tease, checking my behind.
Vaughn’s mom chuckles and takes Jester from my arms.
“We’re just heading up to Crater Lake.”
“Have you ever been, Charly?” she asks me.
“No.” I shake my head.
“You’ll love it. Such a pretty place. Do you need any food to take with you?” she asks.
“No, we’re good. We packed a picnic. Before we go, I just wanted to check if there’s anything you need us to do or to pick up before the wedding?”
“Nope. All taken care of,” she tells us. “Go have fun.”
“Okay. We’ll see you later.” He kisses the side of her head.
“Bye,” I say. “Bye, Jester.”
I wave at him, and he whines and wriggles in Vaughn’s mom’s arms. I feel mean, leaving him behind.
I follow Vaughn out the door.
“That dog fucking loves you,” he says as we walk over to his car.
“I’m very lovable.” I give a comedic flick of my hair, sashaying my hips as I walk.
“That, you are,” he says. There’s something different in his voice. He doesn’t sound as light as he did a second ago.
I glance at him, but whatever expression he was wearing is gone, and his face is schooled. “And, of course, you have a hot ass,” he adds with a grin.
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