AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You don’t have a job during school hours to occupy your time?”
“I’m a freelancer,” I said, side-eyeing Finley, who was introducing herself to another little girl. Good, she was talking to a real human being. Once I saw that she was still doing okay, I turned back to Kendall, who was already staring at me. The paper in my hand had gone limp, and with a smooth flick of my wrist, I made it taut again as I said, “I’ve got all the time in the world, baby.”
Kendall blinked rapidly, and I could tell she was at a complete loss for words. I probably shouldn’t have said “baby” just then, but it sort of slipped out. It had caught me off guard just as much as it had shocked her.
Finley skipped over toward us and slipped her hand in mine. “Daddy, can you show me the lunchroom now?”
“Sure. Tell Ms. Devin goodbye,” I said, not taking my eyes off of Kendall.
“I’ll see you next Monday, Finley,” Kendall said, smiling down at her. And then she turned toward me, straightening a little. “It was nice meeting you both. Any and all communication with me from here on out should probably be initiated through e-mail or the classroom portal.”
I understood exactly what she was implying with those words. She wanted the sexting to cease immediately, and that made perfect sense. I could respect that. And our date was off. That was a no-brainer.
Though it was a monumental disappointment, there was something about the twinkle in her eyes and the slight upturn at the corners of her mouth that gave me all the courage I needed to lean in close and say just loud enough for her to hear, “I could definitely handle it, by the way.”
I was referring, of course, to her last text message—the one about her ass—but the statement was ambiguous enough that it might have seemed I was talking about the Room Parent gig.
Judging from the look of astonishment on her face, she understood exactly what I’d meant.
It was a real shame I’d never get to see that woman naked in person.
chapter five
kendall
“It was the most humiliating moment of my entire life.”
I was hovering over the kitchen sink with a plate of reheated chicken lo mein in my hands, devouring it like—well, like someone who hadn’t eaten in seven hours. I reached for the red wine with my free hand, taking a huge swig directly from the bottle. I didn’t have time for a glass.
Behind me, Jamie and Daya were absolutely losing it at the kitchen table. And I couldn’t blame them—what a sight I must have been. My curls had gone flat, my eye make-up was smeared, and I didn’t care a single bit that I was slurping my noodles like a toddler. “He’s even hotter in person, you guys,” I said with my mouth full. “And seeing him interact with his daughter just about made my ovaries explode.”
Jamie let out a dramatic sigh. “But you’ll never get to touch his hammer.”
“I’m not worthy,” I said, shoveling more noodles into my mouth.
“Oh my god—did she just make a Thor reference?” Daya asked my sister, laughing even harder. “I’m so proud.”
“If he actually signs up to volunteer in my classroom, I’ll just die. I’m pretty sure he was just messing with me, but what if he follows through?” I set the plate down on the counter, picking up the wine bottle and turning to face the two of them. I wished there was something stronger to drink in this house, but we’d pretty much cleaned out the liquor cabinet the weekend after I moved in.
“If you guys hooked up, would you get fired?” Jamie asked as I took the seat across from her at our messy kitchen table. “Like, all awkwardness aside, what if you guys still boinked?”
“‘Boinking’ Mason would most assuredly get me fired if that got out,” I told her, taking another long swig of the wine. “The policy very clearly forbids dating parents.” I covered my eyes with my hand. “I can’t believe one of my students’ dads has my nudes. What if his daughter picks up his phone and sees them?”
“Oof, yikes,” Daya said, giving Jamie a sideways glance. They both laughed at me again.
I shook my head, thinking some more about this. I couldn’t risk Finley coming across those photos. Not only would they scar that poor child for life, it would be very difficult to explain. “He has to delete them,” I said, reaching for my phone.
“You know he could just say he deleted them but secretly keep them in his special spank bank,” Jamie said.
“Shut up,” I told her, typing out my message.
Kendall: Would you mind deleting the photos I’ve sent you so they don’t fall into the wrong hands? And never mention them to anyone else.
Kendall: Please.
Mason: You got it. You can check my phone next week at drop-off if you want. Also, I’m not that kind of guy. My lips are sealed.
Kendall: Thanks.
