by S. E. Law
“Right?” Kane agrees. “I’m going to have to take you home with me.”
I almost drop my fork as I stare at him.
“So you can cook for me,” he finishes his statement, holding back his laughter.
I can hear Chastity also holding back her laughter.
“Wow, the snow is really coming down out there,” Dad says, looking out the window.
“Good thing we live right next door,” Chastity remarks, “or else we might have to shack up here.”
Dad smiles. “If there’s a snowpocolypse, Chastity, you’re welcome to bunk here if you don’t want to trek across the street.”
I look between my father and my best friend. Sometimes, I can’t tell if they’re awkwardly trying to flirt with each other. Chastity is always so nervous around Daddy, and he’s not exactly suave, so I’m not sure what their dorky comments are supposed to mean.
I spend the rest of dinner pondering if my father would ever have an affair with a younger woman, or more specifically, a girl my age. Or, to be blatant, would he be interested in my best friend?
I always knew about Chastity’s crush on Daddy, but it wasn’t until my affair with Kane that I ever wondered if Chastity’s crush could turn into more, like mine did with Kane.
Chastity does seem a little more talkative around my father now. Maybe my situation with Kane has inspired her in some way. Ew! The thought of my dad and my best friend getting it on is not something I want to think about. I wouldn’t be upset at them, but I don’t want to have any visualizations running through my brain either.
After dinner, Chastity and I clean up the kitchen. We told everyone else we would take care of it. To my surprise, Kane comes into the kitchen.
“You need something?” I wonder.
He winks. “Maybe. I figured you could use an extra hand.”
“You know what, I have to tell my mom something. I’ll be right back,” Chastity makes an excuse to leave us alone, closing the swinging door in the kitchen behind her.
Kane walks over to me and puts his hands on my hips. I wrap my arms around his neck before he leans down and kisses me. I get lost in his arms, pulling him tighter against me as his fingers dig into my hips.
“It’s really hard to be around you and pretend I don’t want to do this,” Kane says once our mouths separate.
“I know,” I sigh, looking up at him lovingly.
“Oh, Colt,” Chastity yells loudly. “Did you catch the Rangers game?”
Kane and I look at each other funny before realizing Chastity is trying to signal us that Daddy is coming. We quickly pull apart, and I grab a dish from the sink and begin washing it. Kane starts covering up leftovers just as Dad walks in.
“Hey, man,” he addresses Kane. “I was thinking – you should just crash here tonight. I know you don’t live far, but the snow looks pretty bad. Besides, you’re coming back here tomorrow anyway.”
“Alright, thanks, Colt,” Kane says.
“Renee?”
I turn around. “Hm?”
“Since when is Chastity a hockey fan?”
I can’t help but chuckle.
“I think she’s trying to find more things to talk to you about, Dad,” I tell him, wondering if he’ll catch my drift.
“What do you mean?”
“Colt, you really are clueless, buddy,” Kane laughs and so do I.
“Now I know how Chastity’s mom feels. Something about this kitchen makes people have private jokes.”
“It wouldn’t be a private joke if you’d figure it out,” I roll my eyes.
“Just tell me.”
“I can’t do that.”
Hinting around about Chastity’s crush on my father is one thing, but outright telling him about it is another.
The Coopers stay until ten p.m. before trudging home in the snow storm. The wind has picked up and can be heard ramming against the windows and the house. Every time the house rattles, I grin at Dad and Kane.
“Why are you such a weird girl?” Dad asks. “Most girls love Disney and mushy romances, not comic books and storms.”
“I like mushy romances and Disney, too,” I shrug my shoulders.
“Renee likes pretty things, and she likes to kick ass,” Kane chimes in. “Nothing wrong with that.”
“Thank you, Kane.”
“Just don’t get a paper cut around her,” he concludes with a wink.
I roll my eyes as Dad and Kane laugh at my expense. The three of us clean up any remaining dishes before I announce I’m heading to bed. I hug my father good night before giving Kane a kiss on the cheek. The wind whistles violently and whips against the window in the kitchen, causing Dad and Kane to look alarmed.
“If you guys get scared of the storm tonight, I’ll be just a couple of doors away from you,” I taunt them.
I go through my nightly ritual of washing my face and brushing my teeth. Changing into a t-shirt, I leave my panties off and quickly get under the warmth of my comforter.
I must have drifted off to sleep because a faint knocking at the door jolts me awake. I shuffle to the door and open it to see Kane standing in the hallway.
“I got scared of the storm,” he whispers with a mischievous smirk.
I step out of the way so that he can enter the room while I rub my arms.
“Did I wake you?”
“I just took a little nap,” I wave him off, locking the door before kissing him.
“Have you opened your present yet?”
“No, I wanted to exchange our gifts together,” I say, running to my closet and pulling out the wrapped painting.
“Rey, I hope you didn’t spend money on me. You didn’t have to get me anything, you know?”
“I didn’t spend a lot. I just wanted to give you something special,” I tell him.
“Grab your present,” he tells me, and I reach into my nightstand for the small box.
“On the count of three?”
Kane nods, and I count it off before we both tear open our gifts. I lift off the top of the gift box to see a gorgeous bangle bracelet with a charm dangling from it. It’s an artist’s palette!
“Oh, Kane, I love it!” I grin at him, only to see him staring at the painting I’d made for him. “Is it too much?” I ask nervously. “When I sat down to paint, I couldn’t stop myself from creating us.”
Kane simply stares in silence.
“You don’t have to hang it up or even keep it…” I turn away to put the bracelet down.
Suddenly, I’m spun back around, and Kane has scooped me up before placing me down on the bed with him on top of me. He’s staring into my eyes as he softly rubs his thumb over my cheek.
“That’s the best present I’ve ever gotten. You’re so talented; I’m going to hang it above my bed.”
I bite my lip. “What if you have some other girl over?”
“Do you see me having any other girls over anytime soon?”
Kane captures my lips in a soft kiss, and I feel like I could melt into him. Our kiss escalates, and it isn’t long before Kane is inside of me, softly pumping his hips against mine, as I bite his shoulder to keep from screaming too loudly.
We lie together for a short while before he gets dressed, kisses me good night, and sneaks back to the guest room while Dad sleeps down the hall.
18
Kane
The holidays go by in a rush. Christmas felt different this year… better. For the first time since my parents died, the holiday had magic to it again. I have to credit it all to Renee. Getting involved with her has been the only difference in my life. She adds excitement and happiness to everything, and I find myself wanting to be around her more and more.
After the New Year, work becomes extremely busy, making it difficult to sneak around with Renee as often as I would like. My company has signed onto several new deals upstate, even up to Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Renee and I try to make the best of our time together, which has become limited to one day a wee
k, if that. She has managed to come with me to see some more colleges where I have projects going on. Colt is so happy she’s taking the initiative every time she suggests she see a new college; he hasn’t figured out the real reason behind her sudden school interest.
To be fair, Renee has been putting in more effort school-wise to at least be open about college, but so far, she hasn’t found a single one she likes.
I continue to try to get through to Colt that maybe college isn’t the answer for her. He’s still being stubborn as hell, saying he doesn’t want her to get a shitty job and fall for some asshole to support her, who would leave her in the end.
Obviously, Colt is projecting his situation with Renee’s mother on her. Before Colt was involved in real estate, he worked as a telemarketer and hated every second of it. Even with his degree in business and sales, it had taken him a while to find a decent job. I tried to remind him of that. His response? “Yeah, imagine how much harder and longer it would have taken if I hadn’t had a degree.”
With just a few weeks before Renee graduates, I’ve decided to do my own research for her, and I’ve invited her to lunch to discuss her options.
At twelve-fifteen, I head over to the diner across the street. Renee hasn’t arrived yet, but I sit down anyway at an open booth and place a stack of brochures on the table.
“Hey, Kane,” Kayla, the waitress, smiles as she walks over. “Just you today?”
“No, I’m meeting someone.”
“Andy?” she asks, looking less than thrilled.
“No,” I laugh. “Not a fan, huh?”
“I just feel like I should be wearing a garbage bag around him is all,” she rolls her eyes.
“Sorry about that, Kayla.”
“Not your fault,” she smiles.
Just then, as if we’d summoned him, Andy walks into the diner.
“Don’t look now, but your biggest fan is here,” I let her know regretfully.
“I think I have to check on an order in the back,” she winks.
“Good idea,” I chuckle.
“Hi, Kayla,” Andy says, looking her over as she walks past him. “Hey, Kane.”
“What’s up, Andy?” I ask as he walks over.
“Nothing, just grabbing some lunch. I looked for you at the office, but you were already gone,” he says, sitting down across from me.
“I’m actually meeting someone. Do you mind?”
“Oh no, I’ll move over…”
“Andy,” I snarl.
“Is this a date?” he asks, surprised.
“No. Just having lunch with my goddaughter,” I downplay it.
“I don’t do well with kids,” Andy says, getting up immediately.
I look down at the menu even though I know it by heart, trying to disengage from any conversation with Andy.
“Hey, Kayla, can I get a cheeseburger and fries to go?”
“Coming right up, Andy,” I hear Kayla reply, knowing she’s relieved he won’t be staying.
“Would you check out the knockers on this one?” Andy mutters, smacking my shoulder.
I look up to see Renee walking inside the diner, wearing her school uniform.
“Fuck, she’s got an ass on her, too… She’s probably jailbait, right?”
“She’s my goddaughter,” I growl. “Get your fucking eyes off of her.”
“That’s your goddaughter?” Andy asks, still staring at Renee as she waves at me and comes walking over.
“Sorry I’m late. The bus took forever.”
“I would have picked you up, but I had a meeting,” I say, feeling bad she was stuck taking the bus.
I’ve been talking to Colt about going in together on a car for her graduation present.
“It’s okay,” she smiles and looks at Andy, who’s still ogling her. “Hi, I’m Renee.”
“Andy. I work with Kane,” he says, shaking her hand.
“Andy was just leaving. Goodbye, Andy,” I grit my teeth at him.
“I’m waiting for my food.”
“Wait at the bar.” I flash a warning glare at him, and he finally takes the hint.
Renee sits down across from me as Andy walks away.
“Hey, gorgeous,” I say, lightly touching her fingertips.
She bites her bottom lip. “I miss you.”
“Miss you, too. I have one more thing to wrap up at work after lunch. If you wait around, I can give you a ride home,” I wink.
“That would be nice,” she says, lacing her fingers through mine.
Just then, Kayla comes over to take our order, and we immediately pull our hands apart. After ordering our food, I pull over the pile of brochures.
“I’ve been doing some research on schools with good art programs,” I explain.
Renee tucks her hair behind her ear as she looks from the brochures to my face.
“When did you have time to do this?”
“I always make time for you.”
She bats her eyes at me as she blushes and pulls the brochures over to her. As she skims through them, she frowns.
“What’s wrong?”
“Most of these schools are halfway across the country.”
“So?”
“So? You want me to go away?” She looks hurt, so I take her hand in mine, not caring if anyone sees at that moment.
“No, but… maybe it would be good for you. To get away from Tarrytown. You always complain about this small town. Besides, I know how much you worry about your father. I think it would be good for the both of you if you gained some independence from each other.”
I don’t add that I think it would be better for her if she was far away from me, too, but that’s part of it. Renee deserves a full life, one where she can fall in love with a boy her own age, and they can get married and have kids. I don’t want to hold her back from anything.
“These are also four-year colleges,” she sighs. “And require a ton of academic credits.”
“Rey, I’m trying to please you and your father here… I’m trying to help.”
“I know that, and I appreciate it, but no one asks what I really want. And if they do, they don’t like my answer.”
“What do you really want, Rey? To get a job illustrating for Marvel Comics right out of high school? You need to be realistic.”
Letting out a groan, she looks up at the ceiling.
“Those graphic novels are just for fun. I don’t even know what area of art I want to go into! I’m not ready to make these decisions for my future. I’m only eighteen,” she says, exasperated.
I look into her worried eyes and realize I can’t keep doing this with her. She has too much on her plate with graduation and college, and I’m only adding to her stress. Besides, what kind of real relationship could we ever have? Are we going to sneak around for the rest of our lives? Telling Colt is not an option—we’d both lose him.
I know I have to end things with Renee soon. I’m just not ready to let her go yet.
I get up and move to the other side of the booth, skooching next to Renee. Rubbing her back soothingly, I push the brochures away from her.
“Look, I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I just want you to weigh all of your options,” I tell her as she looks at me with frustrated brown eyes.
“I know. I just feel so much pressure from Dad… and you.”
“Sweetie, I never meant to add to the pressure.”
“It’s not your fault, Kane,” she says. “I don’t want you to be disappointed in me, that’s all.”
“Rey, I could never be disappointed in you, whether you go to college or not. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”
A blushing smile comes over her face, and I can tell she wants to kiss me. I become well-aware of where we are, though, and I quickly move back to the other side of the table. Kayla and some of the other wait staff are looking on curiously. Renee sighs, and I give her an apologetic smile.
Kayla comes over to take our order, smiling at us.
“Who is
this pretty young lady?” she asks in a patronizing tone.
“This is my goddaughter, Renee. Renee, this is Kayla,” I introduce them.
“Hello,” Renee says blandly.
“How sweet that you guys have lunch together. How old are you, Renee? Sixteen?” Kayla asks, shooting a side glance to me like she knows something is going on between Renee and me.
“I’m eighteen, actually,” Renee says, sitting up taller. “Can we order now? I’m pretty hungry.”
“I’ll bet you are,” Kayla says. “You’re a growing girl.”
“You know, Rey, the food here kind of sucks. Want to go someplace else?” I ask.
“That sounds good,” Renee smiles at me.
“Thanks, but no thanks, Kayla,” I say, standing up and giving her a dirty look.
I lead Renee out to the car. Once we’re inside, I apologize to her quickly.
“What was that all about?” she wonders.
“I think a few different things were going on back there,” I sigh.
“Kayla has a thing for you, huh?” She rolls her eyes. “I wanted to slap her teeth out.”
I laugh, “I’ve suspected she’s had a crush on me for some time, but I’ve never been interested.”
Renee smiles before she leans over to kiss me, but I push her back gently.
“We have to put some distance between us, Renee.”
“What do you mean?” she asks.
“If we’re not careful, people are going to start to talk. Did you notice how everyone in that diner was looking at us?”
“I don’t care what anyone thinks, Kane.”
“Rey, this town is small. Talk spreads really fast. I’m an older guy with a younger girl… and you have a father who will be crushed if he knows what’s been going on between us.”
Renee sighs. “What are you saying, Kane?”
“I’m saying this can’t go on forever. That’s why I want you to go away to school… because if you’re here, I can’t stay away from you,” I explain.
She smiles wickedly at that. “Good to know.”
“You’re really incorrigible, you know that?”
“I like to think of it as one of my better qualities,” she winks at me.
I can’t help but laugh at her attitude about the situation, even though I’m terrified this will all end badly somehow. Someone is going to get hurt, or most likely, all of us will.