Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Delaney
Iget out of the passenger seat and meet Tank at the front of my car. He takes my hand, and we start walking toward the store.
Something about it feels very normal. Right.
Almost our entire relationship has happened behind closed doors. In the privacy of my own home. Then this morning happened. I woke up with Tank holding me, spooning me from behind.
At first, we spoke quietly back and forth. I told him that I had errands to run, and he offered to come with. Turning him down never even crossed my mind. We got up, showered, then went out for breakfast.
The server asked us how long we had been together, and before I could formulate a reply, Tank answered her. He told her that we had been together for a couple of months. When she winked and told me I was lucky, I responded by telling her I know.
Which I do.
Everything with Tank feels easy and right. Like this is how a relationship is supposed to be.
“You okay?” he asks, shaking my hand lightly.
“I am. I was actually just thinking about how nice this is.”
He looks down at me and smiles brightly. “Yeah? You think so?”
“I do.”
“Me too.” He smiles.
When we step inside, he drops my hand, making me miss his touch instantly. He grabs a cart and begins to push.
“Do you have a list?” he asks.
“Yeah.” I pull out my phone and open the app I use to track things. “Let’s start at the back of the store.”
“What’s first on the list?”
“Toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and tin foil.”
Nodding, he pushes the cart. When we hit the toilet paper aisle, he turns toward me.
“What brand do you like?” he asks.
“I’m a Charmin girl. What about you? Do you have a preference?”
He shrugs. “Not really. I just buy whatever I see first typically.”
I shake my head as I grab a package and drop it in the cart. “That’s crazy talk. Everyone has a preferred brand.”
When we get over to the cleaning supplies, I quiz him again.
“Okay, what scent do you like?”
Confusion fills his face. “Scent?”
I nod slowly. “Yeah, a lot of cleaning supplies come in citrusy smells like lemon and orange. Others use more herbal ones, like lavender. Some companies even do woodsy scents or like fresh linen, which, if you ask me, doesn’t have a smell. Which do you like?”
“Damn, who knew this shit was so complicated?” he mutters quietly.
I tip my head back and laugh.
“Such a guy,” I tease.
“I’m all man and you love it.” He smirks, making my cheeks heat.
“Pick a scent,” I demand.
Seriousness crosses his face. “Probably citrus. I’m not big on flowery shit. It makes me want to sneeze. If I wanted to smell like grass or trees, I would spend more time outside.”
“I’m big on citrus too.” I smile as I grab what I need.
The rest of the shopping trip goes the same. I ask him if he prefers a brand and discover that he really doesn’t have a preference on much. Which is nice. It means that I don’t have to change anything to accommodate his likes.
Not on this at least.
“Anything else?” he asks once the cart is loaded down with supplies.
I bite my lip as I run through my list. “Everything is checked off.”
“But…”
I look up at him and bat my eyes. “But I would love to go look at the candles if you aren’t in a rush.”
“Let’s go.” He starts pushing the cart toward that side of the store without skipping a beat.
For a second, I hang back and watch him with a smile on my face.
This man.
I already knew he was the opposite of Blaine in every way, but it’s moments like this that remind me of that fact.
Blaine would have never come to the store with me.
Not without protest at least. He didn’t like cleaners with any smell at all.
He would throw a fit if I bought anything that wasn’t name brand because he thought it made us look cheap and he was massively against candles.
Again, he didn’t like things that smelled.
Blaine just wanted a sad beige kind of life.
Meanwhile, Tank is game for whatever I want.
He realizes I’m not next to him and stops. He looks over his shoulder and raises a brow.
“Are we looking at candles or what?” he asks.
Smiling, I walk toward him. When I come up next to him, I pop up on my toes, kissing his jaw. He let’s go of the cart and holds onto my hip. He dips down and steals a kiss, and I can’t help but make a small sound.
“Don’t look,” someone mutters, breaking us apart.
We watch as a mother walks by us, glaring as she covers her child’s eyes.
“We were just kissing,” Tank mutters under his breath, making me giggle.
“She’s probably divorced or bitterly single and jealous that we are so happy,” I tease.
Tank smiles so wide the corners of his eyes crinkle. “We are happy, aren’t we?”
“I think so.”
“Me too,” he murmurs, still smiling.
“Come on, we’re standing in the middle of the aisle blocking traffic.”
We head to the candle aisle, and I instantly start browsing them.
“So candles, I’m assuming you don’t have any preference,” I joke.
Tank chuckles. “Not really, no, but Jane, who works in the office at the shop, just put a candle in the bathroom that smells like apples. It’s fucking awesome.”
Immediately, I start browsing the apple ones, taking the lids off, smelling them one by one before I hand them over to him.
“This one,” he says, holding up a candle.
I look at the label and smile. “I love apple fritter. It’s a solid choice. I usually burn it in the fall.”
Tank frowns, still holding the candle. “Does that mean we shouldn’t get it?”
I shake my head. “No, we can absolutely get it. I just change up candles often.”
He sets the candle in the cart as he nods. “Makes sense.”
Turning back to the display, I grab one that’s labeled “sugar cookie.” I can’t help but moan as I smell it.
“Try this one.”
Instead of taking the candle from me, he leans over and smells it.
“Get that and we will always be hungry for something sweet,” he grunts.
“That doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me,” I quip as I set it into the cart.
Before I can reach for another candle, someone calls out behind us.
“Tank?”
Turning, my stomach sours as I watch two women smile at my man.
Who the fuck are they?
Tank
“Tank?”
I turn at the sound of a woman’s voice and smile when I see Kelly and Jane standing side by side.
“Hey, what are you two doing here?” I ask as I step forward, giving them both a hug.
“Emily’s allergies are acting up, so we stopped by to grab some meds,” Jane says, holding up a box.
“That, and I really wanted a big bag of those pickle chips,” Kelly says, making us laugh.
“You and those damn chips,” I tease.
“What are you two doing?” Kelly asks, eyes darting between Delaney and me.
“Shopping. She needed groceries and got sucked in by the candles.” I smirk.
Kelly winks at Delaney. “Girl after my own heart. After doing adulting like grocery shopping, you deserve a little reward.”
“Introduce us, please,” Jane asks, eyes wide.
“Oh shit.” I turn around and reach for Delaney. “Delaney, this is my president Smoke’s old lady, Kelly, and this is my buddy Mac’s old lady, Jane.”
It doesn’t escape my notice that my girl looks as angry as a hornet. But in real time I watch Delaney’s body relax into me, and a smile takes over her face when she figures out who they are.
Is it fucked up that it makes my cock twitch in excitement that she got jealous over them coming up to me?
Let it be known: I have never looked twice at either woman or even thought about them in a romantic way, but I fucking love that meeting them made her possessive side come out.
A side that she typically only displays in the bedroom.
Shit, I expect her to make me pay later for not introducing them right away and for letting them touch what’s hers.
Again, my cock twitches at the idea.
Down, boy. Now is not the time.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she says to both women.
“We’ve heard so much about you. When we spotted a woman with Tank, we couldn’t help ourselves and had to walk over,” Kelly says. “He’s been hiding you.”
Delaney laughs softly. “Trust me, I get it.”
“Tank said you’re a teacher. I believe I’ve seen you before at my kids’ school,” Jane says.
Delaney studies her for a moment. “Do you have a daughter named Emily?”
Jane smiles. “I do, and a son too.”
“I think I’ve seen you before.” Delaney nods.
“Probably.” Jane shrugs.
“You’ve probably seen her old man then too,” I point out.
I don’t know why it had never crossed my mind before that Delaney could know of Mac and Jane.
I’m a fucking idiot.
“You’re probably right.” Delaney nods.
“So do you guys have any big plans for the rest of the weekend?” Kelly asks.
I look down at my girl who shrugs.
“Just hanging out when this one’s not busy,” Delaney says, pointing at me.
Kelly smiles deviously at me. “You should bring her tomorrow night.”
Delaney looks up at me, face full of confusion. “Is something going on tomorrow night?”
“We are having a get-together at the club. The guys bring their families. We eat and drink. Someone’s bound to start a fight. It’s fun,” I tell her.
“You should come. We could really get to know you better, and you could meet Sloane and the guys,” Jane adds.
Delaney chews on the inside of her cheek and looks up at me. “Do you want me to go?”
“I planned on asking you myself, but these two beat me to it.”
It’s not exactly the truth. To be honest, I forgot about the party as a whole. Now that the girls mentioned it, though, I want to take her. I want to show Delaney off and let her meet the people who mean the most to me. Integrate her into this part of my life.
She must see the sincerity on my face because she nods before turning to the girls. “I would love to. Is there anything we should bring?”
Kelly elbows Jane. “Did you hear that? She asked if they could bring anything.”
Smiling, Jane rolls her eyes. “I heard her, and how many times do I have to tell you to keep those sharp elbows away from me?”
Kelly ignores her and turns back to Delaney. “We have everything covered. From food to alcohol, we have it. All you have to do is bring yourself, well, and Tank. If you try to get in without him, the guys might look at you a little funny.”
Delaney laughs. “Got it. Bring Tank. I think I can do that.”
Kelly’s phone buzzes.
“I bet that’s your husband wondering what’s taking you so long,” I tease.
“You aren’t wrong. He said he had plans for us this evening, so he’s probably a little antsy,” she says.
I cringe. “Go away. I don’t want to hear about what you two do.”
“Bye,” Kelly and Jane say, laughing as they go.
When they step out of view, Delaney turns toward me. “They seem nice.”
“They are.”
She looks up at me with worry on her face. “Are you sure that you want me to go tomorrow night? They kind of railroaded you into inviting me.”
Reaching forward, I rub my hands up and down her arms. “Trust me, Delaney, I want you to go with me. Like I said, I just hadn’t gotten around to asking you yet. I want you to meet my friends, and they want to meet you.”
“I’d like that,” she says softly.
“Me too. Now are there any more candles you want before we check out?” I ask.
Neither of us mention that this was only supposed to be a fling but has obviously turned into something more. I want to tell her that I want to make her my old lady. I want to make this permanent, but I keep my mouth closed. She calls the shots, not me.
When she’s ready to admit that this is more, that what we have is real, I’ll be ready.
In the meantime, though, I’ll just be here waiting for her to realize that everything she wants is right in front of her.
I mean, shit, her inviting me this morning to spend the day with her doing something as simple as shopping is proof that things are changing and I fucking love it.
Still, she needs more time. Or at least I think she does. I can be patient. When I have to be, at least.