The Player Next Door: A Novel

by K. A. Tucker

  Are you dating my dad now?

  But Cody seems to take the lengthy silence as an excuse to pull his phone from his pocket and text someone.

  I don’t attempt to interrupt him, happy to let Shane field his son’s questions about his dating life.

  Cody barely waits for Shane to park before he darts out from the back seat and scuttles to the front door. He punches his code into the keyless lock system and disappears inside, leaving Shane and me alone to talk.

  “Are you okay?” I ask. Shane’s been quiet since storming out of Penelope’s house thirty minutes after going in. He did his best to engage Cody in conversation, but there was an edge in his voice that soured the mood.

  He releases a loud groan-sigh and slides his grip around the steering wheel before letting his hands drop to his lap. “How did someone so fucking bitter and vindictive produce a kid like Cody?”

  “He is half his father,” I remind him, reaching out to give his shoulder a squeeze. “What did she say?”

  “A bunch of bullshit.”

  “Like?” I prod.

  He shakes his head, his jaw tensing. He doesn’t want to tell me.

  “Shane, I know that was about me. I’ll have to deal with her sooner or later, so I’m better off being armed with as much information as possible. Don’t you think?”

  “No, that was about her and all her fucking issues with jealousy and sharing Cody,” he says, his tone harsh. “I just …” He shakes his head. “First, she was pissed that I brought you there, to their house. So, I explained why. Then, she demanded to know if we were together. At this point, denying it would make me an asshole.”

  “So, Penelope knows we’re together.” Wendy’s words of caution stir in my mind.

  “Then she chewed me out for not informing her of our relationship before introducing you to Cody. I pointed out how fucking stupid that is, seeing as you’re not some strange woman. You’re Cody’s teacher. He already knows you. And that’s when she started ranting about ethics.”

  “We’re not breaking any rules.” I repeat the standard line, because it’s all I have to cling to. I know it’s not appropriate to date my student’s father. I can see why a mother—not just Penelope—might have an issue with this. If it were anyone other than Shane, I wouldn’t have entertained it until the school year was over.

  “She thinks it should be a rule.”

  “Luckily, she doesn’t get a say in that.” I reach out and stroke his forearm, the tension in his body cording his muscles. “Is her issue with you dating any woman? Or is this about me in particular?” Because of our sordid past, courtesy of her father and my mother’s affair.

  Shane purses his lips, as if considering how he should answer. “Both. And Cody is her entire life.”

  “He should be. She’s his mother.” I often think about what that would feel like, to be more than Dottie’s byproduct that she felt obligated to feed and clothe but not necessarily put ahead of her own needs.

  “Of course. But it’s more with Pen. She’s possessive of him. She’s constantly complaining that Cody loves me more than her, and accusing me of trying to turn him against her. She’s one of the reasons I’ve never introduced Cody to any woman I’ve dated. I was never serious enough about any of them to earn myself that headache. She’ll never welcome anyone with open arms.”

  That’s not comforting to hear. “And if you were to tell her you wanted to reconcile, would she consider it?” Is this just about her love for Cody?

  “I don’t know. It’s not important because it’s never happening,” he mumbles, in a way that makes me think he does know she still harbors feelings for him, or at the least regrets, and he just doesn’t want to acknowledge it. “She has always acted like she’s more Cody’s parent than I am, and that she should have more say in his life than I do.”

  “Yeah, I noticed at the orientation session.”

  “I don’t fight when she starts up like that. All it’ll do is put Cody in the middle of a tug-of-war that he doesn’t deserve. As long as he’s taken care of and we have fifty-fifty shared custody, she can live under whatever delusion she wants.”

  “But now I’m in the picture, and somehow her dad screwing my mother is my fault. Right? Has she acknowledged that her father could be to blame for part of it?”

  “She’s got plenty of issues with her dad, trust me. Her mom’s no angel, either. Melissa is … ” His words trail on a humorless chuckle. “Well, she’s a real piece of work. And she may have taken Peter back, but she hasn’t let him forget about the affair for a single day, trust me.”

  I never met Melissa Rhodes, though as the mayor’s wife her pretty face graced the Polson Falls Tribune enough times that I could identify her in a crowd years later. I always thought she looked sour.

  He opens his mouth to speak, but hesitates. “Pen is adamant that your mother stay away from Cody.”

  I snort derisively. “That’s one thing she doesn’t have to worry about.” Dottie won’t be in a rush to play grandma to her old lover’s grandson. She hasn’t even been by to visit my house yet.

  “But Pen doesn’t get any fucking say in it.” His tone is sharp, his eyes almost golden, they’re so vibrant. It’s a rare sight to see Shane angry.

  The need to feel him is overwhelming. I reach out to toy with a strand of his hair. “You know, you’re kind of hot right now.”

  His left eyebrow arches. “You like seeing me mad?”

  “Not at me, but when you’re mad at other people …” My gaze rakes over his neck, his shoulders, his arms. “Your body gets all tense.” It reminds me of years ago, on the field against opposing teams, when testosterone and competitiveness would clash, leaving players shouting and pacing and shoving their opponents. Even from my spot in the stands, I could sense the energy vibrating from Shane.

  He reaches over to grip my thigh, his fingertips slipping into the warmth between them. “You want to help me release some of it?”

  His sudden honeyed voice and touch causes heat to flood my core. Something tells me Shane would be fuck-me-against-the-wall aggressive tonight. “If only I could.” If Cody weren’t here, we’d already be tangled in bedsheets.

  But Cody is here, and he is Shane’s priority, a reality that makes Shane even more attractive. I’ve heard of these men—these dedicated, loving fathers with their shit together. This is my first time seeing one up close and personal, though.

  With a heavy sigh, Shane’s focus shifts to his bay window. A light blinks in the darkened room. I’m guessing Cody has parked himself to play his games. If he’s not spying on his father and teacher, that is. “I should go in and talk to him. He always gets rattled when he sees his mom like that.”

  “Any idea what the fight was about?” Not that I care. I’m just curious. And Travis’s comment when he saw me in the truck makes me a little wary.

  “No, but I’ll get it out of Cody soon enough. It’s usually money. That, or me.”

  “You? They fight about you?”

  He shrugs. “They used to, anyway. Travis would accuse her of caring too much about what’s going on in my life.”

  “He might not be wrong.” Shane is her son’s father, though. What’s happening in Shane’s life affects Cody. But that only further lends itself to my theory that, even after all these years, Penelope still harbors feelings for her high school sweetheart.

  “Maybe it was about Melissa again. They’ve been fighting a lot about her lately too. She likes to stick her nose in where it doesn’t belong. Travis hates her guts.”

  “He definitely seemed pissed off.”

  “And fed up,” Shane agrees. His expression is a mixture of annoyance and worry. “He may not be my favorite person, but she’s been more reasonable since they hooked up. Tolerable. So, for everyone’s sake, I hope they can work their shit out.”

  I check my watch. It’s almost 9:00 p.m. What to do with my weekend, now that it has unexpectedly freed up? “So, I guess I’ll see you … Monday?” I struggle t
o hide the disappointment from my tone.

  Shane chews his lip, his face pensive as he studies his bay window again. “Or you could just come in and hang out with us. Throw a movie in or something.”

  “With you and Cody?”

  “Yeah,” he says on a heavy exhale. “He’s probably going to hear about us from Penelope anyway. I’d rather he heard it from me instead of the negative spin she’ll put on it.”

  I try to gauge Shane’s tone. Is that reluctance I hear? Is he feeling forced?

  “I’m not sure damage control is a good reason for us to introduce our relationship to your son,” I say slowly, unable to hide the twinge of hurt that comes with this.

  “That’s not what I mean.” He turns to face me. Sincerity shines in his eyes. “I’ve actually been thinking a lot lately about telling him. It’s time he knows how important you are to me.” He reaches for my hand and pulls my knuckles to his lips for a tender kiss.

  My heart hammers. There have been plenty of whispers exchanged in the heat of the moment, expressions of how much pleasure we bring to each other, but we have yet to have a serious, clothed conversation about commitment.

  “How important am I to you?” I hear myself ask. Shane said he wouldn’t introduce a woman into his son’s life unless he was serious about her. Has his perspective changed?

  Or is this his way of making his feelings known to me?

  He chuckles softly. God, how I love that sound. “You want me to say it out loud?”

  My heart beats like a steady, thunderous drum. Yes.

  His Adam’s apple bobs. “Important enough that my son should get used to you being in his life because I see you being in it for a long time.” He hesitates, his brow tightening. “Unless you’re not feeling the same way, in which case you should probably tell me now—”

  “I feel the same way.” A rush of adrenaline surges through me as a new path ahead comes into clearer focus. One where I’m becoming a stepmother to an eleven-year-old boy. Not just a boy. Shane’s son, with Penelope Rhodes, the woman who terrorized me for years because of our parents’ mistake. Never would I have foreseen this for myself, that day in June when I took a casual drive along Hickory Street. Never would I have wished it. It’s funny, how drastically perspectives can change when your heart gets involved.

  “So, that’s a yes to tonight?” he asks.

  I picture myself standing in front of the class, with Cody staring back at me from his desk with eyes that match his father’s, only innocent. Will he tell his classmates that his dad is banging the teacher? Will my relationship with Cody’s father become the topic of teasing and gossip among my students?

  Or will Cody be embarrassed and hide it from them?

  I guess we’re going to find out.

  I take a deep breath. “What’s the snack situation like at your place?”

  Fifteen minutes later, I find myself on Shane’s porch, my blood pounding in my ears as nervousness swells.

  Shane opens the door before I can knock, as if he were waiting for me. His eyebrows arch at the plastic bags dangling from my grip. “Did you run out to the store?”

  “Just the convenience store around the corner.” Where I spent half of next week’s grocery budget in the candy and chip aisle, loading up on junk to win over an eleven-year-old boy.

  His eyes are smiling as he collects the weighty bags. He leads me into his house. We stall at the threshold to the living room where Cody is sprawled across the couch, his attention glued to the TV screen, his thumbs flying over his game controller.

  “Hey, bud. Pick out a movie for us while we get ready. And no horrors. Scarlet gets scared easily.”

  Scarlet. I’m no longer Ms. Reed to Cody outside of the classroom. Of course, I shouldn’t be. Still, it’s momentarily jarring to hear Shane use my name with his son for the first time.

  Cody spares a second to glance at me. “Okay,” he says, before turning back to his game.

  Shane leads me into the kitchen.

  “What did he say?” I whisper, as Shane sets the bags on the counter and begins rooting through the cupboard.

  “He said ‘cool.’”

  I frown. “Cool? That’s it?”

  He tears open the Doritos with a smirk. “That’s it.”

  “Huh.” And here I was, worried about his psychological state upon finding out his dad is dating his teacher. “So, he’s fine with it?”

  “Seems to be.” He grins. “But I’m sure he’d be fine with you still trying to bribe him to like you with all this junk.”

  I laugh, my cheeks heating. “Am I that obvious?”

  “Oh, yeah. He’s a smart kid. He’ll see right through you.” He plucks a chip from the bag and shoves it into his mouth. “But it’s adorable.”

  “So are you.” I reach up to wipe Dorito cheese powder off Shane’s lip with the pad of my thumb.

  He catches my thumb in his mouth, sucking it in while he pulls me into his body, his mood light and infectious. “You don’t need to bribe that kid. Trust me, he won’t be able to resist you.” He leans in to lay a quick Dorito-flavored kiss on my lips. “Just like his dad couldn’t.”

  Twenty-Five

  The end of day bell chimes over the PA system. “Make sure your name is at the top of the page and leave it here on your way out!” I holler over the clamber of rising bodies, patting the corner of my desk.

  Math tests land on my desk in a frantic pile as students scramble to pack up for home. As am I. I steal a glance out my classroom window to the dreary November weather that has rolled in. I don’t mind walking in that, though, because Shane is home, waiting for me. His lewd text earlier promised a date with his bed, after three long nights apart.

  The anticipation of that has had me watching the clock all afternoon.

  “Umm … Ms. Reed?” Cody stands by my desk, the only student remaining.

  Now that we’ve been on a first-name basis for a few weeks outside of class, hearing him refer to me formally sounds odd. I smile. “Yes, Cody?”

  He stalls, glancing at the door as a group of kids rush past, their laughter swelling. Shane warned him of what would likely happen should he start telling kids that his father is dating their teacher. The teasing and ridicule. When they’ve passed, he brushes his hand across his forehead to push his hair aside. It’s a nervous tic, I’m learning. It makes me smile every time. “Do you know what my dad’s doing this weekend?”

  Besides me?

  I stuff that thought into the drawer of deeply inappropriate thoughts I should never have when Cody’s around. “Let’s see … Nothing big tonight, now that the Panthers season is over. Tomorrow he’s helping his friend Dean move some furniture in the morning.”

  “Oh. Cool.” He bites his lip, like he has more to say but isn’t sure if he should.

  “What do you have planned for this weekend?” I ask lightly.

  He shrugs, his mood darkening a touch. “Nothing. Travis is going away so it’s just me and my mom.”

  I hesitate. Cody divulged to Shane that the cataclysmic fight a few weeks ago stemmed from something Melissa said to belittle Travis and it quickly escalated to Penelope accusing Travis of an affair with a coworker, with plenty of shrieking, name-calling, and a few dishes smashed for effect. But I’m not supposed to know any of that, so I play dumb. “Have things settled down a bit over there?”

  He shrugs a second time. Classic eleven-year-old communication with my boys, it seems.

  I want to ask Cody what he thinks about his mother’s boyfriend, but I bite my tongue. I’d be asking not as Cody’s concerned teacher but as his father’s nosy girlfriend.

  But I’m suspecting his reluctance to be in Dover this weekend has less to do with Travis and more to do with the fact that Cody idolizes his father. Maybe Penelope is justified with her jealousy in that regard. Cody vibrates with energy when he arrives at his father’s house and drags his feet sullenly when he leaves. He knows his father’s football stats as if they were his own. When he’s
not engrossed in his PlayStation, he’s harping on Shane to toss a ball with him because he wants to pick up the mantle of quarterback. He’s had Shane repeat fire station stories, clinging to his every word.

  If Cody had to choose one home to live in, I’d bet money he’d choose Shane’s.

  And watching the two of them together makes me think crazy thoughts. Thoughts I never really entertained with any real dimension. Like, what would it be like to have a baby with this man?

  Cody still lingers. What’s on his mind?

  “You know, your dad loves hearing from you.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Cody says flippantly, but it’s followed by a small, thoughtful smirk.

  “You should call him when you get home.” I check the clock. “Not that I don’t love hanging out with you, but shouldn’t you be getting on your bus now? I don’t want you to miss it.” On days with Penelope, Cody takes the school bus to her parents’ after school to wait for her to finish work.

  He shakes his head. “I’m getting a ride with my mom today. She had a meeting with Mrs. Redwood, so she told me to go to the office after school.”

  My stomach drops. Penelope is meeting with Wendy?

  I clear the apprehension from my voice. “She’ll be wondering where you are, then.”

  He nods and takes a step toward the door, but then he stalls again. “Are you and my dad allowed to date?”

  I struggle to not gnash my teeth. There’s only one person who would have put that thought in his head. And she just met with my boss.

  “Our relationship doesn’t break any rules with the school board,” I say evenly. “But I think you and your dad should talk about it some more, okay?” Let Shane contradict whatever lies and poison Penelope is filling their son’s head with.

  “Oh, okay. Good. I don’t want you to get in trouble.” He grins, oblivious to the tension ricocheting through my body. “See ya, Scar.” He trots off, leaving me stewing in this odd mixture of rage and worry even while I smile. At some point, Cody has adopted his father’s nickname for me.