Menace

by Laramie Briscoe

  “What else, Karina? What else has he opened up inside of you that you never thought about.”

  “He cares so much about Caleb.” I keep talking. “So many of our conversations when we’re texting are about him. It’s obvious Mason is so proud of his son.”

  “We all are,” she interjects. “He’s come a long way from being the annoying little shit he was a few months ago. He’s grown up a lot in that time. I was afraid at one point of what would happen to him. Would we find him wrapped around a telephone pole? Would we find him dead at a barn party? Would he finally piss Mason off enough to where he’d actually do something detrimental to his son’s future? Luckily Caleb pulled it together.”

  “I’m still waiting for Mason to tell me what happened between them, like what prompted the change, and how all of that came about. I’m sure I can ask other people in Laurel Springs, but I want that to come from his mouth.”

  As we put our fingers under the dryer, Violet glances at me again. “What else has been going on with the two of you?”

  I can tell by the smile on her face, she knows we did the deed even though I never technically admitted to it when we met for coffee. Truth be told, I need a girlfriend sometimes. I need someone I can gossip with, talk about womanly things with. “We did the deed in the backseat of his Jeep. Hands down the best sex of my life,” I giggle as I make the admission.

  “There is something about Mason,” Violet lets slip as she crosses her legs. “It’s that daddy look he has.”

  “He told me that’s why he asked me out.” I laugh so hard I snort. “Because I didn’t ask him to be my daddy on the dating app. So many women asked him to punish them. Oh my God, he showed me the messages.” I laugh.

  “I’m just saying, any man who has the look of concentration he does, can totally spank me anytime.” She gives me a sly grin.

  “Maybe that’s something you can talk to Anthony about.”

  “Maybe so,” she snickers.

  When we leave the nail salon, I have a smile on my face and a spring in my step that wasn’t there before. When I came to Laurel Springs, it was to get away from a past I didn’t want to face. It was to escape the literally most embarrassing moments of my life. Now, I can’t imagine living my life anywhere else. In the short time I’ve been here, this place has become ingrained in my body, a piece of me, and as I walk into one of the boutiques on the main square, I realize there’s no other place I’d rather be.

  My phone buzzes in the back pocket of my jeans, and when I see Mason’s smiling face, I automatically unlock it, reading the text message like a junkie needing a hit.

  M: Important question here. Coke or Pepsi?

  A grin plays against my lips, as I quickly text out an answer.

  K: Pepsi, is there any other brand?

  M: Nooooo!!! You were the perfect woman, but our regional differences strike. There’s no other brand than Coke.

  K: Screw you, buddy, I’m still perfect. Truth be told, give me a Dr. Pepper any day.

  I grin as I fire off the text.

  M: Nice, a rebel. That’s fuckin’ hot.

  K: That’s me, big guy. A rebel, totally hot for you.

  Glancing around to make sure no one’s watching, I lift my phone up, and take a selfie with puckered lips.

  M: Back at ya, babe.

  He sends me an answering text with him and Holden giving me a thumbs up, big smiles on their faces. When I make it to my car, I have the biggest smile on my face, and the warmest spot in my heart. Laurel Springs is the best place to be.

  Menace

  “You’re sure you’re okay with Karina coming with us tomorrow?” I ask one more time as Caleb and I sit in front of the TV that night, watching a TV show we both like on Netflix.

  “Yes, Dad, I’m fine with it. How many times do I have to tell you?”

  I can tell he’s getting irritated, but I’ve never pushed a woman on him before, and this is making me slightly nervous. He’s never really seen me around a woman before, either. I kept all of my booty calls (as few of them as there were) far away from him, and the two women I’d seen in the past, we’d done minimal things together as a family. Something tells me, I won’t be able to keep my hands off of Rina, and I don’t want to embarrass him, me, or her.

  I watch as he lifts his cell phone up, frowning as he starts furiously texting the other person on the other end of the phone. “Just checking.” I watch as he continues to punch with unnecessary force. “Is something wrong?”

  He continues texting, and then throws his phone on the table in front of him. “Jess is at a party with a friend. You know that’s not my scene, especially not anymore. I didn’t want her to go, but it’s her friend’s birthday. Now she’s telling me she’s not feeling comfortable there.”

  “Why not?” I’m immediately on alert. “What do you not want to tell me?”

  “They’ve got moonshine,” he whispers as he looks up at me. “I don’t want you to go in there guns blazing, arresting everyone in the place. I don’t need that on my conscience.” He runs a hand over his stubbled face. “But I don’t want her to stay there either. She wants to leave.”

  It takes everything I have to trust my son, to utter these words I hope like hell I don’t end up regretting. “Then go get her.”

  “What? Dad are you sure? Her mom isn’t home, and she doesn’t want to stay by herself, that’s one of the reasons she went out with them tonight. I don’t want to take her home alone to an empty house. It sucks,” he mumbles.

  There’s a pain in my chest at that mumble. I’ve left him alone more times than I care to count. I’ve had to let him take care of himself for a lot of years, not just because it was hard to find childcare, but also because the job I’ve been able to do as an officer offered us a lot more than a factory job would have. It killed me in certain circumstances to leave him by himself and for me to go do what I had to do, but it’s the way the world has worked for us.

  “Go get her and bring her back here. She can go with us tomorrow too, if you want.”

  He stares at me like I’ve grown an alien head, or like I spoke to him in a different language.

  “What?”

  “Who are you and what have you done with my dad?”

  I don’t miss the fact he’s already getting up and walking toward his room. When he comes back he’s wearing a pair of jeans, a hoodie, and he’s going to the door to grab his shoes.

  “I haven’t done anything with your dad, I’m trying to make the best decision I can with the circumstances that have been laid out for us. If going to get her and bringing her back here is what needs to be done, then do it. I’m trusting you though, Caleb. Don’t you have sex with that girl in this house.” He gives me a shit-eating grin as I point to him. “I’m serious.”

  “Not even a little fuckin’ around?” His smile is huge as he continues to needle at me.

  “I swear to God, Caleb. I’ll make you sleep on the couch, and I’ll sleep on the floor in your bedroom while she sleeps in the bed. I’m not playing with you.”

  “Yes, sir.” He stands up after putting on his shoes and grabs his truck keys. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “Be careful, and if you need help, don’t hesitate to call me. I know there are things you like to take care of on your own, since you’re an adult and all, but you’re my son. I’ll severely injure anyone who touches you.”

  His look is serious as he walks across the living room, leaning down to give me a hug. “I know you will, that’s why you’re a great dad. Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  I watch his taillights in the drive until I can’t see them anymore, before I pull out my cell phone and text Karina.

  M: I think we’re gonna have someone join us for the outing to Birmingham tomorrow.

  It doesn’t take her long to respond, which makes me smile. Maybe she was sitting by her phone, waiting to hear from me.

  K: Oh really? Boy or girl?

  M: Girl. Caleb’s b
een seeing this cheerleader named Jess. She’s at some party that he didn’t’ want to go to, and I guess it’s gotten out of hand for her. She’s coming back here to spend the night.

  K: You’re letting two teenagers spend the night together in your house? I know Jess, she’s cute.

  M: I trust him.

  It’s hard for me to explain to someone who hasn’t lived the life I have, why I trust him and why I give him so much freedom. Getting up as I wait for her to text me back, I switch out laundry, before going to clean up the kitchen.

  M: The reason I snuck around as a kid was because no one trusted me. Had I been able to see his mom, we probably wouldn’t have been sneaking around having sex in the fifteen minutes between the time we got home from school and the time her parents got home from work.

  K: Fifteen minutes, big guy? Good thing your stamina has improved since then.

  I love her sense of humor, love that she can take something so serious and lighten the mood. I wipe my hands on a towel before texting her back, and then going back to finish loading the dishwasher.

  M: We can put my stamina to the test anytime you’d like to.

  K: Hmmmmm. There’s an offer I’ll never be able to refuse. Next week we’ll have to see what we can do.

  M: We really need to talk about schedules, Rina. I hate not knowing when we’ll actually get to see each other.

  K: I agree. Maybe we can do that tomorrow?

  I hear Caleb’s truck coming up the drive and quickly end the conversation.

  M: We will. Caleb’s home, so I’ll see you tomorrow.

  K: Can’t wait, big guy. Be nice to them!

  I can’t make any promises so I say nothing instead. As the two of them make their way from his truck to the front door, I can hear Caleb giving her a lecture.

  “Jess, I told you this was a bad idea. Babe, you know I didn’t want you to go without me, but you also know I can’t be around that anymore.”

  “Caleb, please don’t be mad at me. I asked you, but you didn’t want to go. That was your decision, and I stood by you with it. I thought you were being paranoid, but now…” She has tears in her voice. “I get it. Thank you for not making me go home to an empty house.”

  When I can hear them kissing, I plop my ass down on the couch to give them some privacy. Three minutes later they come through the door. Introductions are made, and Jess thanks me for letting her stay. As they make their way back to Caleb’s bedroom, I yell out.

  “Remember what I said Caleb. I may be old, but my back can still take it.”

  He chuckles. “Got it, Dad. Good night.”

  And with trust in my child, I go to bed, sleeping so deep I don’t wake up until the next morning, excited to spend a day with all the people I care about.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Karina

  K: How’d you sleep last night with two teenagers under your roof?

  I can’t help but give Mason a hard time. Caleb’s a good kid, I know that from having him in my class, but he’s also a teenage boy, almost a man, with teenage hormones.

  M: Slept like a baby, Rina. Told you I trust Caleb. Now had it been me and you’d been here? No doubt about it, there’s no way I would have kept my hands off you last night.

  I’m trying to think of what my reply will be when another message comes through; a picture of Mason’s head against what I assume is his pillow. His eyes are heavy with sleep, his smile lazy, and his stubble is grown in more, adding to the beard on his face. Looking farther down, I can see his chest on full display. Immediately I wonder what he sleeps in.

  K: You look cozy and fine as hell. What do you sleep in, Mase?

  M: Last night? I slept in these.

  The next thing I know, I get a picture angled a little further down, showing a flat stomach with light hair, leading to the waistband of what appear to be boxers. I’d have to be blind not to notice the bulge just below his waist. It makes me wonder what it would be like to wake up next to him, put my leg around his waist, feel his hardness, and bury my head in his neck, while we lay together. The outside world could wait while the two of us woke up and whispered quietly. I never even thought about these things with Braxton, my ex-fiancé. Can’t even remember the last time I’d wanted to lounge around with him. Maybe the writing had been on the wall for us way before I found out he was sleeping with my best friend. The sound of another text coming through brings me out of my thoughts.

  M: Usually I sleep in something a little different but with Jess here I didn’t feel comfortable.

  Dear Lord. This man…I have a feeling I know what he’s suggesting.

  K: Are you saying you usually sleep naked?

  M: Wouldn’t you like to know?

  I love the way he teases me, the easy way in which we talk with one another.

  K: Maybe one day I’ll find out for sure. ::wink::

  M: Fuck, I hope so! Hopefully sooner than we think. Let me get up and see if the kids are moving. Either way, we’ll be there to get you in about an hour. That good for you, Rina?

  K: Can’t wait, big guy. See ya then.

  With a squeal, I hop out of bed and run around trying to figure out just what the fuck I’m gonna wear.

  Menace

  I throw my phone down beside me on the bed, scrubbing my hands over my face and eyes. For all my talking to Caleb about not having teenage hormones, my dick sure is sporting morning wood. Karina gets me hard, no matter what she’s doing. Just thinking about her is enough. I wonder if this is what people meant when they said there were honeymoon stages of relationships? With Caleb’s mom, it really was the fact that I was a teenager, an errant wind could have gotten me hard. Now that I’m older, I honestly can’t remember a woman I’ve had a reaction to like this.

  Quickly, I take a shower, before getting dressed and cautiously walking into the kitchen. Last thing I want to do is interrupt a moment or some shit.

  “Morning, Dad,” Caleb talks around a mouthful of oatmeal. “Coffee’s made, and your fave cup is over there.” He gives me a huge, over-exaggerated smile.

  I stare at him for a moment, but let it go as I get my coffee. “Morning to you two.”

  “Thanks for letting me stay here last night, Mr. Harrison. My mom texted me and told me that you’d sent her a message. I really appreciate it. Thanks for not telling her know where I really was.”

  Because of the job I have, I’d struggled with the decision as to what to tell Jess’ mom, but in the end, I didn’t want to worry another parent when things ended up being fine. After the way Caleb shared his disappointment, I have a feeling she won’t be doing it again. Turning around, I stir the coffee I have with my sugar.

  “It’s no problem, I’m just glad you’re okay, and please call me Mason, anything else makes me feel old as hell.”

  “You are old as hell,” Caleb interjects.

  “My mom is forty-five,” Jess argues, as she takes a bite of her own oatmeal. “You’re lucky to have a dad young enough to do cool stuff with.” She puts her hand on Caleb’s forearm.

  The way they look at each other, I wonder if they did keep it PG last night, but as I told Rina, I trust my son. He’s an adult, and accusing him of something he may or may not have done won’t get me anywhere. I want us to enjoy the time we have left together. “Yeah Caleb, you’re lucky to have a young dad who’s awesome.”

  He coughs around the spoonful of oatmeal he’s just put in his mouth. “I’m lucky to have you, but thirty-four seems so old.”

  It had seemed old to me too when I was his age, but now I’m coming to the realization that a new stage of my life is about to begin. At Christmas I’d been dreading Caleb going off to school, I’d been worried about how lonely I would be. Now? Now I’m kind of looking forward to seeing what happens, how I handle it, how Karina and I spend our time together. Instead of dreading summer, I’m looking at it with a realization that it might not be as bad as I had assumed.

  “And eighteen seems so young,” I throw back at him. “I’ve bee
n old a long time; I had to grow up fast because of you.” I tip my coffee cup at Caleb. “But I wouldn’t change it, bud. Not at all.”

  “Yeah.” He nods, finishing his bowl of oatmeal. “I’m not sure what I’d do if my dad was forty-five. Pretty sure your mom doesn’t let you talk to her the way he lets me talk to him.”

  Jess laughs, looking between the two of us. “Not at all, but your relationship is different, and that’s okay.”

  Finishing up my coffee, I put the cup in the sink, clapping my hands. “You two ready? Rina will be waiting on us.”

  “Dad’s dating Ms. Holland.” Caleb stands up, stretching as Jess looks over at me, eyes wide.

  “She’s the prettiest teacher we have, and you’re way hotter than Mr. Cartwright.” She clamps her hand over her mouth after the words escape.

  “Who’s Mr. Cartwright?” I ask, feeling jealousy like I haven’t felt possibly ever.

  “Science teacher who’s asked her out a few times.” Jess keeps talking, even though I have a feeling she doesn’t mean to. “Honestly, he’s a bit creepy, a lot of us girls think so. I’m glad Ms. Holland didn’t go out with him. I’m sure the two of you have a lot more in common. His room is the one that the dog went into when we had the lockdown at school.”

  Immediately I’ve got my cop hat on. “Why does he make you feel creepy?”

  Her eyes meet Caleb’s and it looks like she doesn’t want to speak, but he stares at her in the same way I do.

  “Just the way he looks at us.” She pushes her oatmeal away. “When we have practice, he’s usually still at school, which is odd. By the time we leave, most teachers are gone. But he’s hanging out by the locker rooms. He tells us it’s because he wants to make sure we get out okay, since it’s dark when we leave. I don’t buy it.”