19. Aidan

CHAPTER 19

Aidan

“How did you get into pinup modeling?” I ask Elise as I watch her sort through the racks of scarves and hats in the vintage clothing shop she pulled me into.

She looks up with a smile. “It kind of started with things like hats, actually.”

“Tell me.”

I love just watching her and listening to her. I haven’t been able to pick up on a favorite color or specific style she gravitates to yet. She likes an eclectic assortment of things. Kind of a ‘when she sees it, she knows’ vibe.

And it makes me smile. It’s like her taste in men. The three she was with last night are pretty different from one another, but she clearly likes us all. And maybe that’s why. We all bring something different to the table.

Blake is intense and bossy, and when he’s attentive or sweet it probably feels extra special.

Simon is over the top in romancing her and making her feel like a queen. But he’s great at sharing. He wants everyone to be happy.

Then there’s me. I fall in between, I suppose. I’m definitely open to sharing thoughts and feelings and want her to feel worshiped in the bedroom, but I’m practical. I’m happy eating sandwiches and shopping for things she likes. I don’t need to buy out a restaurant. As for sharing, I’m good with it as long as Elise is. But if that changes for her, it changes for me.

“My mom,” she says, moving to another table and running her fingers over the beads of the necklaces displayed. “My dad was…particular. I didn’t realize it until later because I was focused on myself and how I was never good enough for him, but after they divorced I started thinking about my mom too and I realized that he was always picking at her too. In different ways, but one of the ways she escaped was to do community theater.”

I follow her around the table, watching her pick up earrings and examine them before putting them back. We shopped for a couple of hours before stopping for lunch at one of my favorite sub shops. I do know now that she doesn’t like mayo and does like pickles, and I’ve filed even that little bit of information away.

She’s already bought fabric. And two new pairs of shoes. She told me two bolts of fabric were for a special order that had come in the past week for someone else, but that two of them were for dresses for herself. She seems sheepish about buying things for herself, and I want nothing more than to take everything out of her arms, lay it down on the counter, and buy it all for her. I want her to go crazy. I want her to have everything she wants.

Okay, so maybe I’m not totally practical when it comes to her. I would be more over-the-top maybe if I had a black diamond credit card like Simon does. But I grin. Between Simon and me, we could spoil this girl exactly the way she deserves.

He’d want to buy her real diamonds while I know she prefers costume jewelry, but he’d be able to buy out the entire thrift shop for her.

My mind goes to the third man who was a part of spoiling her in bed last night.

Yeah, okay, all three of us could spoil her right. I think Blake Wilder has more feelings for Elise than he even realizes.

Fortunately, I only have to deal with one man who isn’t good at emotions. Simon is an open book. He’s extremely easy to read, but is also very forthcoming with his thoughts and feelings. He was nearly giddy this morning having both Elise and me still in his bed, then being able to have coffee with me while she slept in.

It would be very easy to fall for that guy.

I have to keep reminding myself that he’s leaving. Chicago is not his full-time home. It sounds like he comes back often, which could be fun. If Elise and I keep dating, maybe we can see Simon whenever he’s in town.

Still, it’s very important for both Elise and me to remember that there is an expiration date on this foursome.

“I loved being with her backstage for the plays she did,” Elise goes on as she plops another hat on her head, looks in the mirror, then turns and gives me a smile.

She looks adorable in it. But I’ve thought everything she’s tried on has looked great. And I’m very aware that it’s about the woman and not the accessories.

“It was amazing how she could transform from my mom into a completely new person. I asked her how she did it and she said that the makeup and hair and clothes helped. That when she dressed differently, she felt different.”

“That makes sense,” I say. “When a call comes in and we all get into our gear, it’s like a switch flips. We go from just guys and girls to firefighters. Our gear is obviously functional, keeping us safe, but being in it also helps with focus and mindset.”

Elise’s eyes sparkle a little when she looks at me. “Exactly. When I was in high school, I discovered the pinup look because of a show my mom did. It just hit me. It was absolutely my style. It was the first thing I really felt good in. So I started trying to create the look myself at thrift stores and using what I had. Then I got into making pieces. And as I got further into design and making my own, I discovered the modeling circuit. I met amazing people, and I got a huge confidence boost.” She smiles. “There’s nothing like the feeling of being up on stage and showing off something you’ve created.”

As she talks, her entire face lights up. She is passionate and animated and I wish I could take a picture and capture the moment.

“Here,” I say, handing her a gorgeous red dress I noticed as soon as we walked into the shop. “Try this on. I want to buy it for you.”

“I can make this for a fraction of the cost,” she laughs, fingering the tag.

“I’m sure. But this way you can wear it to dinner tonight.”

Her eyes widen. “Where are we going for dinner? This is a little overkill.”

“I’ll send a photo to Simon and tell him to match up the venue with how you look. I guarantee he’s going to want you in the dress. Dinner will be a very secondary concern.”

She blushes prettily, but I can tell that the compliments matter. I hope she knows every one of them is genuine.

“Try it on,” I urge. I might not have a credit card with a limit like Armstrong’s, but I can splurge on this girl.

She shakes her head. “You are not buying me this dress.”

“I am.”

“Aidan, you don’t have to.”

I step closer to her. “Would you let Simon buy it?”

“I would protest.”

“But it would be easier to let him buy it.”

She sighs. “Yes.”

“Would you let Blake buy it?”

She pauses, then nods. “Probably. Mostly because he wouldn’t ask, he’d just do it.”

“Then you have to let me buy it. I am going to get just as turned on looking at you in it, imagining stripping you out of it,” I tell her, lifting my hand and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “And if I buy it for you, that means I get to be the one to undress you. And take the first taste of everything that’s underneath.”

She takes a shaky breath. “That only seems fair, I guess.”

“Please do this for me . Don’t let those guys have an unfair advantage when it comes to dressing and undressing you.”

She laughs softly, breathlessly. “Is that the rule?”

“If you let me buy this dress it is,” I say. I love teasing her. I love making her blush. I love making sure she knows that she is the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen.

“Well, if it’s a favor to you….”

“Exactly. And this dress is really hot, isn’t it?”

She looks down at it. “It’s fire engine red hot.”

“It sure fucking is.”

She presses it against her chest, then lifts up on tiptoe and presses a kiss against the corner of my mouth. Then she turns and heads for the dressing rooms.

I’m smiling as I wander through the store waiting for her. Until I find something that I absolutely must have. Yes, she’ll be wearing it, but it will be for me . Okay, us . The guys. I’ll share. But she has to have this too.

I grab it and head for the dressing room. I knock softly. “Elise, this too.”

She cracks the door, peeking through. She sees what I’m holding and her eyebrows arch. “Oh, really?”

“I’m begging you,” I tell her honestly.

She reaches through and plucks the black garter belt and sheer stockings from my fingers. “Begging. I like the sound of that.”

She shuts the door again, and I lean back against the wall. “Let me know if you need help with a zipper or anything,” I say.

“Oh, I’m fine,” she tells me.

A couple of minutes later, she opens the door and comes back out. In what she was wearing before.

I straighten from the wall with a frown. “You’re not getting it?”

She gives me a smile. “I’m definitely getting it. And the stockings.”

“I don’t get to see you try it on?”

She shakes her head. “You’ll see it tonight. It’ll be a surprise.”

“You want to see me spontaneously combust the first time I see it?”

She grins. “Exactly.”

I fall just a little bit more in love with her.

“Brat.”

She laughs. “And I was wondering if you’ll take me somewhere that I’ve always wanted to go but have never been.”

“Over and over,” I say huskily.

She gives me that half-surprised-half-delighted smile again. “I mean an actual place, but that was a really good answer.”

“I’ll take you anywhere, El,” I tell her sincerely. If I need to sell my truck or start bartending on my days off to afford a trip, I’ll do it.

“So you’ll give me a tour of the fire house?”

I stare at her. That’s all? “You want to tour the firehouse?” I was definitely not expecting that.

“Of course. I’d love to see where you work. You spend so much time there and I know it’s really important to you. Your job isn’t just a job. It’s really something you have to believe in. I’d love to know more about it.” She looks around the shop. “You’ve taken an interest in my life.” Then she looks up at me again. “I want to know about yours, too. And that way I can imagine where you are when you’re not with us.”

It’s like she reached right into my chest and squeezed my heart like a sponge.

She thinks about me when we’re not together and she wants to see the place where I spend so much of my life.

And she used the word ‘us’ so easily.

“And,” she adds, giving me a flirtatious little grin. “Firefighters are extremely sexy in case you didn’t know.”

I move in closer, sliding one of my hands to her ass and giving it a little smack. “You have to behave if I do. I’m the only firefighter you have eyes for.”

“Well, I can’t promise that,” she says. “But I promise to only misbehave with you.”

I grin. “Good answer.”

I wonder if Simon and Blake are feeling as tightly wound around her finger as I already am.

“Of course I’ll take you to the firehouse,” I tell her. “I would love to show my gorgeous new girlfriend off to my crew.”

She gives me a surprised, but very pleased, smile at my use of the term girlfriend. Is it fast? Maybe. But what the hell else would I call her? I love being with her. I intend to keep fucking her. I want to spend all my free time with her, I can’t wait to introduce her to my family, and I want to know everything about her.

If that’s not a girlfriend, I don’t know what is.