A few nights after her encounter with Erica and Payne, Jennifer went to visit Vaughn at the Ascot. She enjoyed the experience they shared, but she decided she was more comfortable with a one-on-one situation.
Although she did figure Vaughn was a free spirit like she was. Dating around, trying new things. He did date a stripper after all, the wife of a billionaire. So he was a risk-taker, and Jennifer liked that.
And there he was, flirting with a last call, lonely girl, hanging on her every word. She was mesmerized like all the rest, and Vaughn was the perfect choice for a drunken one-night stand. The girl was cute, but not in Jennifer’s league. It would be easy to oust her.
Vaughn switched from ‘come home with me’ mode to welcome recognition when he saw Jennifer approaching the bar.
Jennifer had come for last call, so she and Vaughn could go for a coffee. Not a booty call. Not even a date, really. Jennifer wanted a long talk with a kindred spirit.
“Hey, Vaugn.” Jennifer was standing at the opposite end of the bar from where Miss Lonely Hearts was sitting.
Vaughn gave her a ‘just a moment’ hand signal and got rid of the girl. Vaughn had no shame. That’s what Jennifer liked about him.
The girl shot Jennifer a go-fuck-yourself look and left.
Vaughn ran his towel playfully along the bar as he walked towards Jennifer.
“What brings you here at last call, young lady? I’d figure you’d be in bed by now.” Vaughn was grinning ear-to-ear.
“I thought you’d be long gone with that skank before I got here,” Jennifer teased.
“You would be right, but here you are instead, a much more attractive proposition.”
“You’re such a womanizer.”
“Can I get you a drink?” There was that infectious grin again.
“No. I wanted to know what you were doing after work. We can maybe grab a coffee?”
“Sounds serious. Is everything okay?”
“Totally. I just wanted someone who understands how playing the field works.”
“Playing the field? You came to the right place. Will this lead to something more? Is your roommate out of town?”
“Be serious,” Jennifer said. “I just want to talk.”
“Then a cup of java it is,” Vaughn said. “Just give me fifteen minutes to close up.”
Vaughn went about the business of closing the bar, and Jennifer sat at a table to wait.
Another girl wandered over to talk to Vaughn, only to get a sharp, “Bar’s closed.” Jennifer got a wink and a nod. “Oh, boy,” Jennifer thought.
About ten minutes later, Vaughn clocked out and escorted Jennifer out of the local hotspot for hooking up, The Ascot.
Since it was a nice June night, Vaughn and Jennifer walked a few blocks to an all-night coffee shop. It was half-empty, some people sobering up before going home. A few night owls.
Vaughn got the coffee. “Two large iced coffees with oat milk and two pumps of vanilla syrup, please.”
Jennifer grabbed a table by the open window. She wanted plenty of distractions in case she had to avoid eye contact with Vaughn during their little talk.
“So, what’s up?” Vaughn sat down and handed Jennifer her coffee.
She looked down at her mug, then looked Vaughn straight in the eye.
“How do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Go from girl to girl and not care?”
“Wait a minute. Did you bring me here to give me a lecture?” Vaughn was all of a sudden defensive.
“Calm down. I’m not here to question your dating habits. I think I’m becoming more open-minded when it comes to sex, and I wanted a guy’s perspective.”
“You mean the perspective of a ladies' man. A jerk.”
“No. Don’t put it like that. I meant a guy who doesn’t get attached to just one person. Someone who likes to play the field. Someone who doesn’t want to settle down.”
“Has someone hurt you? ” Vaughn’s face went serious.
“No. Nothing like that. I had an experience the other night, and you are the only one I know who might understand.”
“Really?” Vaughn was grinning ear-to-ear. Again. He did that a lot.
“Grow up. I’m being serious.”
Vaughn put on his mock serious face.
“You’re such a clown. Stop it.”
“All right, what was this ‘experience’?” Vaughn made the ‘air quotes’ gesture.
“I need you to be serious.” Jennifer looked out the window and sighed. She watched a few revelers stumbling home, clowning around.
She turned to Vaughn and said, “I had a three-way the other night.”
Vaughn’s eyes widened. The color drained from his face. “You what?”
“I had a three-way the other night. Don’t look so surprised.”
“Where is this coming from?” Vaghn was somewhere between coughing and choking. A few people glance over to their table.
Jennifer looked down at her hands, waiting for Vaughn to get over his shock.
He took a few moments to recover.
“Oh. You’re being serious.”
“Very.”
“Why come to me?”
“You dated Hope. She’s a stripper. I thought you might be able to give me some pointers about risky sex.”
“Pointers?” Vaughn was quiet. “Is that what you think of me? That I have risky sex?”
The conversation was going all wrong.
“No.” A tear rolled down Jennifer’s cheek. “I’m having thoughts of kinky sex and then acting on it. I thought I could talk to you about it, and now I’ve insulted you.” Jennifer put both hands over her face.
“C’mon now,” Vaughn said. He pulled Jennifer’s hand away from her face. “We can talk about it.”
Vaughn and Jennifer took a moment to let their emotions settle.
Vaghn spoke first. “Wait a minute. How did you know about Hope?”
“It’s all in Ian Henshaw’s file at the psychiatrist's office where I work. I wasn’t supposed to look, but when I saw Hope running out of here that one night, I put two and two together.”
Vaughn was stunned. “Ian Henshaw goes to a shrink? And you work in that office? You’ve got to be kidding me! So you know all about Hope and me, and Ian? Wow…”
“Don’t be upset. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”
“Actually. That explains a lot.” Vaughn started to smile. “He almost kicked my ass when he found out I was banging his wife. Fuck. Now it all makes sense.”
“So you’re not mad at me?”
“Mad?” Vaughn said. “I’m grateful. That stupid bitch wanted to run away with me. I was trying to figure out how to dump her. Ian could have beaten my ass when he walked in on us, but he didn’t, thank God. You did me a favor. I never thought I was ever going to see her go.”
“So you’re really not mad at me?”
Vaughn laughed. “I guess I’m not.”
“Do you see why I wanted to talk to you about odd sexual situations?”
“I do.”
“So you’ll talk me through it?”
“I will,” Vaughn said. He took a cup of his coffee and studied Jennifer. Not like she was a conquest. But rather as a fellow traveler asking him directions to the next stop on the tour.
“But I need to know what you’re really asking.”
Jennifer hesitated. “I don’t know if I’m built for attachment,” she said. “Or if I’ve just never been allowed to explore who I am without being judged. The three-way wasn’t about sex, not really. It was about curiosity. About feeling expanded.”
“That makes sense,” Vaughn said. People think threesomes are about being wild or European. Most of the time, it’s about freedom to experiment.”
“But then what?” Jennifer asked. “How do you not get tangled up afterward?”
Vaughn smiled, but it wasn’t smug this time. “Just chill. The other people aren’t all up about it, so why should you be? You’re in flux right now. Go with it. I do, and I don’t care.”
“So you never get jealous?”
“Oh, I do,” Vaughn said easily. “A man always wants to be king of the jungle. But jealousy comes with the territory of fooling around. Someone always has a better situation than you. And women come and go. I go with the flow and don’t worry about it.”
“Sounds like you know what you are talking about,” Jennifer said.
“I date strippers,” Vaughn replied. “You pick things up.”
Jennifer got a picture in her mind of Vaughn and Hope. She chuckled.
“And about Hope,” Vaughn continued. “She lives for chaos, she’s miserable with her life, and she wants some man to fix it.”
Jennifer took a long sip of her coffee. “Really?”
“Yeah. If you’re going to fool around, do it for fun. Not because you want to gain something from it. That’s who Hope is. She is all about the drama, but you don’t have to be.”
Jennifer met his eyes. “I know, but I think I’m looking for a means to an end through sex. Isn’t that the same as Hope?”
“No,” Vaughn said. “I think you’re trying to find yourself. That’s different.”
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, the hum of the coffee shop filling the space around them.
“Thank you,” Jennifer said quietly. “For not making this weird.”
Vaughn smirked. “Oh, it’s still weird. Just the good kind.”
“Thanks, Vaughn.”
“For what now?”
“For understanding.”
Jennifer was quiet.
“So,” Vaughn said, breaking the silence, “are you freaked out? Or oddly calm?”
“Both,” Jennifer admitted. “I keep waiting for the guilt to show up. Or the shame. Everyone says it’s supposed to.”
“And?” he prompted.
“And it hasn’t,” she said. “What scares me is that I’m relieved.”
“Why?”
“Because this isn’t normal.”
“No one is normal, Jennifer. You should know that better than anyone.”
“I should feel guilty.”
“For doing something true to yourself? ” he replied. “Guilt usually comes from borrowed rules. Family rules. Society rules. Somebody else’s expectations.”
Jennifer agreed. “What you say makes sense. I work in a psychiatrist’s office. I schedule sessions all day for people trying to untangle their lives. And here I am, untangling mine in a coffee shop at two in the morning.”
Vaughn smiled. “You came to the right place.”
She looked up at him. “You make it sound so simple.”
“It’s not,” Vaughn said. “I just make it look that way. The truth? Playing the field isn’t about not caring. It’s about not lying, especially to yourself. The minute you start pretending you’re fine when you’re not, that’s when people get hurt.”
“Hope hurt you,” Jennifer said gently.
Vaughn exhaled. “Hope hurt herself. I just happened to be nearby.”
“That bad?”
“She wanted saving,” he said. “And nobody can survive being someone else’s life raft forever.”
“I don’t want to be saved anymore,” Jennifer said. “But I used Garson the same way Hope used you.”
“But you found yourself and ended it. Hope was begging me to take her away to the point where she wanted Ian and me to have a physical confrontation. You didn’t do that.”
“How so? I did the same thing to you with Garson at the Ascot.”
“Oh yeah, you did. That’s where the guilt lies.” Vaughn realized something. “Jesus, I went through two jealous boyfriends in two weeks. That must be some record.”
“I'm sorry I did that to you, Vaughn. You didn’t deserve that. Will you forgive me?”
“Of course I will, my little lost lamb.” He tilted his head back and laughed.
“In my defense, though, I did walk away from my life of using people,” Jennifer said. “I have you to thank for that. ”
“Speaking of walking away from something, how’s that boyfriend of yours doing?”
“We broke up. I dumped him. Wasn’t sure why at the time, but I know now.”
“So,” Vaughn said, lighter now, “does this conversation end with me walking you home like a gentleman, or is this where you interrogate me about every bad dating decision I’ve ever made?”
Jennifer laughed. “Definitely the second one. But you can walk me home after.”
“Deal,” Vaughn said, raising his coffee in a mock toast. “To curiosity without self-destruction.”
Jennifer clinked her cup against his. “And not pretending we’re saints.”