"Uhhh…."
"Oh, silly me! I'm Karen, and this is my husband, Rick!" Rick, on the other hand, had the typical dad bod. I found myself smiling at his warm brown eyes, stubble, and khaki pants. I was guessing he was in the insurance business. Maybe an optometrist. His brown curly hair was cut close, and he was tall. Almost six-and-a-half feet.
"Kara." They stared at me for a moment, until I realized they were waiting for an invitation inside. "You want to come in?" I pulled the door open and stepped back.
"Oh! We'd love to!" Cake-laden Karen stepped inside and whistled. "Oh my God. I am sooo jelly of your floors! Ours are tile. Marble. Venetian. Easier to keep clean, and they don't scratch, but they cost a fortune!"
"I can only imagine."
Rick shot me an apologetic look for his overexuberant wife. "So, what brings you to Bickering?"
"My kids picked it out on a map."
They both started laughing. "You have kids?"
I got that reaction a lot. I was sixty human years old, but most people mistook me for a college student. Even my kids were wondering why I wasn't getting older. I was hoping their powers would manifest before I had to sit down with them and have the talk. The one where I told them about what their mother was, not the one about dicks and hoo-has. I gave that one to them already. They were both eleven, and curious, when I'd sat them down. "Yeah, two."
"Wait, you're serious?"
"Of course. Can I take that from you?" I motioned at the cake in her hands.
"They must be babies…" She handed it to me, and I led them toward the kitchen.
"Fifteen."
"You must have been a baby! Wait… They're both fifteen? Twins?"
"Yep." I paused a moment at the bottom of the stairs. "Kids! Come meet the neighbors!" Whether they came down or not, I didn't really care. I was just being polite and didn't give a crap if Karen believed me or not. "I wasn't a baby, though. Got pregnant when I was twenty-five."
I heard Karen skid to a stop behind me. "You're fourty?"
No, sixty. "Yep." I turned and gave her a smile over my shoulder. At least that I could prove. My driver's license had my fake age on it.
"Wow. You keep in great shape…"
"I had to. Used to be an exotic dancer."
You could have cut the silence in the hallway with a chainsaw. I flicked on the kitchen light and set the cake down on the granite countertop. Whoever had owned the house before I bought it had completely redone the kitchen. At least I wouldn't have to worry about the stove blowing up in case I needed to reheat a pizza or something.
"Exotic dancer?"
"Yeah. Stripper." I grinned at her, waiting for the explosion. It usually happened when I told people what I used to do for a living. I wasn't shy, and I wouldn't lie. People just sucked.
"Oh my God!"
Here it comes… Meltdown in 3…2…1…
"My girlfriends and I have been trying to take a pole dancing class for-ev-er. Do you think you can teach us?"
Huh? Wait… "What?"
"Yeah! There's a ton of studios with classes in Boston, and there was one in town, but they closed a year ago. We've been trying to get one of the larger ones in Boston to open a studio here, but so far, we haven't had any luck! Do you think you could teach us?"
"Uh…sure." What the fuck?
She fucking squealed and grabbed my hands, jumping up and down. "You have to come over for dinner tomorrow! I'll introduce you to the girls!"
"Okay."
"Bring your kids! We'll introduce them to ours, even if mine are a little younger. We have a boy who is thirteen and our daughter is fourteen!"
"Can't wait." I managed a weak smile and to keep the Taco Bell we'd had for lunch down. We'd lived in our old house for thirteen years. I'd waved at our neighbor twice. Never did learn her name.
The kids skidded to a stop in the kitchen, their socks sliding over the hardwood. "What was that noise? Oh. Hi," Karl said, and smiled at the neighbors.
"Kids, this is Karen and Rick from next door. Say hi."
Ever polite, a trait that they picked up from Ryan, not me, Karl shook both their hands and introduced himself. Ryn did the same, but a little less exuberantly.
"We'll introduce you guys to Billy and Madison tomorrow!"
My kids stopped in their tracks and turned to stare at me. I shrugged. "They were nice enough to invite us over for dinner. And give us cake. Want a piece?"
"I'd love one, but we should probably wait for the plates and silverware to show up, Mom."
"Oh. Right. Good call."
The doorbell went off, and I fervently hoped it was the movers and not more neighbors. "So, what school are you going to go to? Have you enrolled yet?"
Karen wasted no time grilling the kids for info as I walked over to the door and opened it. "Howdy, neighbor."
The guy standing alone in my doorway was six feet of sexy. No dad bod, dark brown hair with eyes to match, stubbled beard. He was dressed in khaki pants, too, but he wore them a hundred times better than Rick. I nearly drooled. It wasn't that I was interested, but… Never hurt to start hunting my next meal. If I didn't feast soon, I was going to start having problems controlling my powers. Demon bodies had ways of ensuring our survival. It wasn't always pretty or survivable to everyone around us. Better to get over the funk I'd been in. Ryan would have wanted it that way. "Hi."
"Did I see Karen and Rick come in?"
"Yeah. They're in the kitchen."
"I'm sorry," he whispered, and gave me a little smile. "I'm Daniel, your other neighbor." He reached out his hand, and I took it in mine, letting his energy wash over me as I took a little sip. It wasn't enough to feed me, but it might keep the dreams at bay for a day or two.
"Would you like to come in?" Me, I finished the sentence in my head. I gave a little gasp at the thought. Maybe I was losing my mind. Or maybe I was just hungrier than I thought. Either way, it was the first sexual thought I'd had about another person besides Ryan in a very long time. Maybe it was time. He wasn't coming back.
The familiar pain gripped my heart, and I let it. It would always be there, that I knew. But how I let it affect me, that was something I could control.
"Maybe some other time. When you have furniture." He chuckled.
I looked over my shoulder and then back at Daniel. "Good point."
"I'm just teasing. I'll let you guys get settled in. I'm assuming that was your younger brother and sister with you?"
"You spying on your neighbors, Daniel?"
"Just the extraordinarily cute ones." He leaned against the door frame. "I'm kidding. I was watering the flowers when you pulled in."
"Most people pee inside."
"I was using a hose…"
"I'm impressed." I laughed a little. At his expense, I admit, but it had been so long since I'd had a meaningful, flirty conversation.
"Oh, I have a feeling the neighborhood is about to get a lot more fun… Glad to have you."
"You haven't. Yet…" I tucked my bottom lip under my teeth and turned away. "When we get settled in. I'll have you over for…dinner."
"I'd like that."
"You say that now. You haven't had my cooking." I panicked a little inside. Maybe I should have Ryn cook. She can make eggs. Roasted meat and vegetables shouldn't be much harder.
"I'd like that. I'll bring dessert."
"No need. I'm sure we can find you something sweet to munch on."
He blushed and blew out a puff of air as he tried to wrap his mind around my innuendo. "And will your uh…husband be joining us?"
And then he had to go and ruin the moment. "No." I shook my head.
"Sorry. Divorced?"
"No. He was in an accident. A year ago."
He frowned. "I'm sorry."
I held up my hand. Not really wanting to hear it. I'd been having such a good time. "Getting past it. Part of the move."
"Gotcha. Took me a while just to get over my divorce. And I hated her. Sleeping alone…sucks."
&
nbsp; I nodded. "That it does. Goodnight, Daniel." I smiled and slowly shut the door, giving him ample opportunity to move out of the way.
"Goodnight, Kara."
"Was that Daniel?" Karen chirped behind me.
Plastering a smile on my face, I turned to her. "Yes. He stopped by to introduce himself."
She leaned a little closer. "That boy is primo. All the divorcées are after him and his landscaping tools, if you know what I mean!" She giggled conspiratorially.
"His cock?"
She sputtered and blushed beet red.
"What?"
"Nothing! Yes. That's what I meant," she answered defeatedly.
"He was attractive." I took one more glance at the door, vaguely wishing he had stayed.
"Oooh. Somebody has a crush!"
"Crush? No. I just found him attractive and wouldn't mind fucking him."
When I turned back to Karen, she was as white as a ghost and her mouth was hanging open.
"Are you okay?"
"You sure do know how to speak your mind…"
"Saves time." I tilted my head, hearing the sound of airbrakes outside the house. "Finally. The movers are here. Would you like me to see if I can find the coffee maker?"
"No! We'll let you get to work. Are your kids going to school tomorrow?"
"Yes. I have a meeting with the administrators tomorrow about their enrollment. And I have to pay their tuition." After researching the school system…a private academy sounded like the much better option.
"It's expensive, I know. But totally worth it!"
"Your children attend Brentworth?"
"Yes! Most of the neighborhood kids do."
"Isn't that convenient..."
"It is! Especially since it's so close. I'm president of the PTA!"
"Of course, you are."
She nodded. "Tell you what, I'll meet you outside in the morning. I take the kids to school. You guys can hitch a ride with us, and I'll introduce you to Mr. Marshall. The principal."
"That would be great," I said with about as much enthusiasm as I could possibly fake.
"We'll see you then! Rick! We're leaving."
"Yes, dear. Night, kids."
"Night, Mr. James."
"Your husband's name is Rick James?"
"Yes?"
"That's super freaky." I giggled at my own joke. If I had a thousand hands, I still couldn't count the number of times I'd danced to that song on my fingers.
"What is?" Karen seemed genuinely confused.
Sighing and counting to ten severed heads, I found my smile. "It's a song. By Rick James. Never mind." I was saved by the sound of the doorbell. For the third time. In one night. Maybe it wasn't too late to move back to Florida.
Chapter 3
"You're uh…wearing that. To meet the principal?"
I looked down at the silk shorts and matching top I had slept in. "Yes? Why?"
"You might want to put something else on. Longer," Ryn said with a giggle.
"Why?"
"Because. That's um…very clingy."
"Too sexy?"
"Mom! You can see your…"
"Hoo-ha?"
"Uh huh."
"Fine." I trudged upstairs and found a pair of jean shorts in the same box I'd pulled out my sleepwear. It was going to take us a month to unpack everything, and I was already exhausted. The juice I'd managed to drain from Daniel was long gone. We were up until one in the morning just getting everything in the house.
I took the stairs down two at a time. Rick and Karen were probably out front already, and I had a feeling if we were late, that would be tantamount to murder.
"Better?"
Ryn closed her eyes and lifted her eyebrows, shaking her head. "A little."
"What's wrong with these?"
"Those aren't shorts, it's a belt with leg holes. Never mind. Come on." She turned and walked out the front door.
"Where's your brother?"
"Out here already."
I slipped on my flipflops and walked outside. And froze my fucking nipples off. When you spend sixty years living near the equator, mornings in the north can be a little different. Even if it was August. The door slammed shut behind me, and it would have taken me ten minutes to dig out a jacket anyway. I crossed my arms over my chest and walked down the driveway.
Karen and her two kids were parked in the street at the end of the drive, waiting impatiently.
"Sorry," I heard Karl mumble to Karen as he climbed in the back of her maroon minivan.
"Shit. I forgot my coffee."
"There's coffee at the school! Come on, lazy bones. The kids are going to be late!"
She was so fucking chipper, I wanted to rip the mailbox out of the ground and stab her in the face with the pointy end.
"My goodness! Don't you have a jacket?"
"Still packed," I grumbled, and walked around the van, getting in the front seat next to her.
"Oh, sweetie. You're gonna freeze!"
"Tell me about it," I managed to stutter through chattering teeth.
She reached over and punched a few buttons on the dash, and I was rewarded with a stream of warm air blowing on my face. "Better?"
"M-m-m-much."
She giggled and put the van into gear, gunning it and speeding toward the front gate. I nearly ripped the 'oh shit' bar off in a fit of panic as she rounded the corner. Luckily, the school was only a few blocks away, and Karen skidded the yuppy-wagon into a spot right in the front of the school. "Just in time!"
"You can say that again. I was just about to pee."
"You should have gone before you left the house!"
Ignoring the crackhead behind the wheel, I opened the door and spilled out of the Toyota Sarcophagus, grateful for the chill of the ground against my hands to calm my nerves. I rose from the ground just as Karl got out of the van and gave me a sympathetic grin. "That was fun."
"I'm having you tested for drugs, boy child."
"High on life, Mother." He chuckled and slung his bag over his shoulder, heading for the front door.
"You two, get to class. I'm going to show Kara and the kids to the front office."
"Yes, Mother." The slightly younger children waved goodbye to us and headed inside. Karl opened the door for them and waited for us. It looked warm, if vaguely smelly, inside. I wrinkled my nose as I started walking toward the yellow glow of the halls of Brentworth Academy.
"I know," I heard Ryn whisper to Karen.
"Know what?" I asked over my shoulder.
"Your shorts…" Karen sounded almost apologetic.
"What's wrong with my shorts?" I looked behind me at my butt.
"Kara… I can see your buttocks."
Ryn started snickering.
"So?"
"You're meeting the principal of your children's school. You should have dressed up."
"You should have seen what she was wearing." My daughter was such a helpful little imp.
I shrugged and headed for the door. Ryn mentioned something about a bra, but I wasn't really paying attention. I wanted nothing more than this morning to be over with, so I could go back to bed and dream. I'd woken up shaking, and not in a good way. I was at my limit, and the stress of the move didn't help in the least.
The receptionist behind the glass window gave me one look from what she could see above the counter to the top of my head and frowned. "Can I help you?"
"Yes. Enrolling my offspring."
"Offspring?"
"Yes. It means children."
"Are you sure you have the right school?" She sneered until she saw Karen walk in behind me and stand next to me.
"Good morning, Margaret. She's here to see Mr. Marshall."
"You know this woman?"
"Know her? She's my neighbor. We're practically sisters."
I practically vomited in my mouth.
"Name?" She grabbed the handset from the black phone on her desk.
"Yours? I believe it's Margaret."
"Your na
me. What is your name?"
"Kara Dell. Mr. Marshall should be expecting me." He better damn well be for the amount of money I was about to hand him. I had the folded-up check in my shirt pocket. Looking down to make sure, I laughed. The check was covering one extraordinarily hard nipple. The other one was tenting the silk shirt I was wearing. I looked like a fucking unicorn. At least I figured out why my child and neighbor were discussing bras as we walked in.
"Mr. Marshall, I have a Kara Dell here to see you." There was a pause as she listened to whatever he had to say. "Mrs. Stanton and Mr. Blake. Got it. I'll send her in." She hung up the phone and wrote something down on two scraps of papers, handing one to each of the offspring. "These are your homerooms. I'll have the runner show you where they are." She stood up from her desk and looked at somebody inside the office. "Mr. Hansen, show the new students to their classes and then get to yours."
"Yes, Miss Steinger." The door to the office opened, and a boy, probably the same age as mine, motioned with his head for the kids to follow him.
"Bye, Mom," they said, and gave me a small smile before following the skinny kid.
"Remember having to walk them to their classes on the first day? I miss them being that little."
"No."
"You didn't?"
"My husband was a teacher at the children's school. He took them to and from. Raised them, too. He wanted kids so bad."
"You divorced now? I'm surprised he didn't fight for partial custody."
"He's dead."
"Oh my God, Kara! I'm sorry."
I held up my hand, not wanting any sympathy from anyone. "It's okay. I don't like to talk about it. Car accident."
"I understand," she said quietly, and didn't say another word. We stood there awkwardly until the sound of a door inside the office broke the silence. A moment later, a balding head poked out.
"Mrs. Dell?"
"Morning," I grumbled.
He gave me a once over, and I swear his eyebrows twitched. "Please come in," he said, and held the door open. His face fell when he saw Karen. "Morning, Karen. What can I do for you?"
Succubus Soccer Mom: A Reverse Harem Tale Page 3
