Free Sweet Charity by Lauren Dane

them in adult sizes now and since you knew, I guess it’s not that big a secret.”
    He looked at her, his eyes widening in horror until she burst out laughing and then he socked her in the arm.
    “I’m sorry, I had to! It is a sex thing yes, but it’s not particularly weird and certainly not in the realm of diapers. I worry about your exposure to public schools, Jason, if this is what you’re thinking about all day. Does Gina like this sort of stuff?”
    “You suck. I’ll get you for that. And for your information, Gina and I broke up.”
    “Oh no! Because of the whatsherface thing?”
    “No. Mom was right. But don’t tell her that. She and I just weren’t right for each other although the sex, the non-diaper sex, was great, there was nothing else. I want to settle down too. I’m knocking on thirty years old in just a few months, I want a family of my own. She wasn’t ready.” He shrugged.
    They walked back into the house, laughing, and she felt a lot better.
     
    He’d wanted her to stay until he had to get up to work but hadn’t asked. He knew he’d hurt her but he was desperate to keep distance between them. Especially after the way she’d been with him, so beautifully open and accepting, so sexual and exciting…he lay there in his bed and found himself falling for her in a way he’d never expected. The power of that scared the hell out of him.
    She hadn’t called or shown up that whole day. He knew her shop was open until one on Sundays so she could have come by any time after that. Of course, he could call her or drop by. They were friends. He’d done it before.
    He made up his mind and headed to his truck, only to stop at his parents’ house when he caught sight of her car out front.
    “Hey, fancy seeing you here,” Charity said calmly as he entered his mother’s kitchen. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she had on an apron. She stood at the table with his mom and sister, kneading bread and laughing.
    “I think that’s my line.” It came out sharper than he’d intended and she physically reacted, her eyes meeting his and he didn’t fail to catch the flash of hurt there.
    Slowly, she stepped back and wiped her hands.
    “I’m going to get going now. Just let my mom know when you’re done with the trays and Jason will come by to get them.”
    His mother looked at him but couldn’t make him feel any worse than he already did.
    “Charity, wait. I didn’t mean it the way it came out,” he said, following her as she tossed the apron on a chair and headed outside with her coat and purse clutched against her body like a shield.
    She moved pretty fast but he had her blocked in.
    He caught up to her at her car. “Wait, damn it. I’m sorry.”
    “I want to go.”
    He heard the tears in her voice and gently, he tipped her chin up so he could see into her face. A face so familiar to him he wouldn’t know what to do if it wasn’t part of his life.
    “I didn’t mean for that to come out that way. I was on my way to your house when I saw your car here. I’m sorry.” Not able to do anything else, he brushed his mouth over the curve of her bottom lip. “Don’t look that way, baby. I didn’t mean to make you sad. Will you let me take you to dinner? To make up for it?”
    She nodded and he pulled her close, happy when she hugged him back.
    At the little Thai place near the campus, she sat across from him at a rickety table and he was suddenly aware of just how many people stared at her. She didn’t have a lot of makeup on and she wore a pair of jeans and a black sweater but still, something about her drew a man’s eye.
    “You were really on your way to my house or did you just say that because you thought I might cry?” she asked, using chopsticks like a pro while he’d already given up and began using his fork.
    “I really was on my way to your house. I hadn’t seen you all day. I thought I’d see if you wanted to grab some dinner. I hadn’t expected to see you kneading