by Walker Cole
“No, actually we haven’t met yet.” I reach out my hand, praying that my boss doesn’t notice that it's shaking slightly, as I go to shake Shane’s hand. He squeezes my hand tightly, grazing my palm slightly with his thumb. Is he fucking with me? Did he know I was going to be here? That’s not possible; he’s just the kinda guy to make light of a situation like this.
It’s weird, because I would have thought I'd be more pissed off at him than I am. But somehow knowing that he’s Max's father makes it harder for me to stay angry at him. Also, he looks hotter than ever here in this conference room. His muscles are easily visible through the tight black sweater he’s wearing and his eyes somehow look darker and more mysterious than before. To be honest, he’s fucking stunning. I can’t help but wonder what he’s thinking right now, even though I know he’s here for his son, not me.
Nice to meet you,” Shane says. “You look familiar, have we met before?” he asks with a cocky smirk on his lips. His lips look so full, so pink, and so warm. I feel myself throbbing in my underwear at the memory of what he did to me down below.
I press my lips into a subtle, hard line, one that I’m sure only he can see. “No, not that I know of,” I say.
“That’s exactly my point, nobody from Max’s life knows who you are,” Mrs. Hart says.
Shane doesn’t flinch, despite how hard his ex-wife just took a stab at him. “I think we’re here to try to help Max, not compare notes. Am I right?” Shane says, looking directly at Colby. My boss Colby rolls up his sleeves, as though he knows he’s in for a long battle.
“Playing the blame game right now isn’t going to help my godson, and personally, I don’t have time for it,” my boss says. “I have a school to run here. Now let’s figure out how to help my nephew,” he adds.
Jesus, this is a nightmare.
“Chris, why don’t we hear from you,” my boss says. “You’re his classroom teacher; you’re the expert in this setting.”
I swallow heavily. I look at both parents, Mrs. Hart first, then Shane. “Well, the good news is that Max is really, really bright. Despite the drop in his grades, he has plenty of ability to catch up pretty quickly if we can figure some things out for him.”
I can’t believe I’m the center of the stage right now, with all eyes on me. I just want to go home, hide under my bed, and make believe none of this ever happened.
“How can we help our son?” Shane asks. Shit, he’s being so sensitive. He looks so vulnerable, so sincere. This doesn’t look like the same Shane who did what he did to me back in his place. Now I’m really confused, not that it matters because Shane and I aren’t in a relationship.
“What do you think, Chris? How can these two help out their son?” my boss says.
I scrunch up my nose slightly. “Honestly, and I don’t know if it’s my place to say this, but the best thing you can do to help Max is to put your differences aside when it comes to him. In terms of children struggling from a divorce, the number one factor to help them succeed despite the major loss they feel is the working relationship between parents.”
I hope I didn’t say too much, but it’s the truth. And these two, Mrs. Hart in particular, look like they need to hear this right now. I have no idea what kind of a dad Shane has been, but it doesn’t really matter when it comes to this sort of thing. All that matters is that the two of them put forth their best effort to get along when it comes to helping solve this kind of problem for their child.
“He’s right, Sarah. We have to work together now, even if you hate my guts,” Shane says. Damn, he looks even sexier and cuter when he tries to be a good father. For all I know he’s been the worst father ever, but I don’t give a fuck right now. He’s so goddamn hot I can hardly sit in my seat.
Sarah Hart shakes her head from side to side. “No, I’m not going to sit here and listen to this bullshit. Since the day my son was born, I’ve done everything, and you’ve done nothing, Shane. And now you’re going to play this supportive dad role in front of your brother and Max's teacher? I don't think so," she says.
“Calm down, Sarah. Your attitude isn’t helping right now,” my boss, Colby adds.
“Shut up, Colby. You would take your brother’s side if he had blood on his hands, a dead body at his feet, and video surveillance footage showing that he put the knife in the victim's chest. You’re not very helpful right now,” she says.
I find myself standing up from my chair and reaching out for Max’s mother’s hand. She looks at me suspiciously but then takes it. A tear starts to roll down her cheek. “Mrs. Hart, look… I have no idea what you’ve been through, but I know you’re a great mother. What I’m trying to tell you right now is that Max needs to believe you and his father are on the same team, even if you despise each other. It’s not really about liking each other when it comes to what’s in the best interest of Max, Mrs. Hart. It’s about working well together, despite your emotions. I promise you that I will help your son do better in school, and feel less anxious here, if you do your part.”
My boss slides a box of tissues towards her. She grabs one and wipes the tears off her cheeks. Shane is looking down at the table, expressionless.
I lower my voice even more as I say to her, “Trust me, your son is going to be fine. I wouldn’t lie to you. I care a lot about Max too. I want him to do well too, and more importantly, I want him to be happy."
Out of the corner of my eye, I swear I see Shane well up slightly.
Colby clears his throat, not a good sign coming from him. "If you'll excuse me, I have another meeting to attend to. I'm confident we're moving in the right direction now."
As Colby leaves, Mrs. Hart stands up from her seat too. She collects a few of her belongings - a pen, a small pad of paper, her phone - and puts them back in her pocketbook. She looks disheveled, but she also looks like she’s going to be okay. I think my speech worked, probably because I meant it from the bottom of my heart.
No pun intended.
Both Sarah and my boss leave the conference room. Shane is seated perfectly still, with his hands clasped together and rested on the table. As the door to the conference room shuts behind them, the two of us are alone in silence.
Shane lets out a deep sigh. He looks up at me and locks eyes with mine. “Well…” his voice trails off. I never thought I’d see a man like him at a loss for words.
“Are you okay?” I find myself asking him. Why do I care about him? He left me in the dust, and his ex-wife is probably right about him. He probably wasn’t there for his son.
Slow down, Chris, I tell myself. I don’t really know the story. And just because he ditched me after a random hook up, that doesn’t mean he’s a bad father.
“I’m sorry about the other day. I shouldn’t have left without saying goodbye.”
I study his eyes carefully and can tell that one thing is clear - he’s being sincere right now. Fuck, this guy is impossible to stay mad at.
“You didn’t owe me anything,” I say.
He shakes his head. “No, I didn’t. But still, that was kind of shitty and I’m sorry.”
I stare at him blankly, not expecting a full apology like this from a man like Shane Hart. “Well, it doesn’t really matter but I guess I forgive you.”
“You were amazing just now,” he says. That’s a big compliment coming from a man like him. But then again, it doesn’t matter how much money someone makes, how good-looking you are, or how many things you own when it comes to being a good parent.
“I care about your son, that’s all. He really has been suffering lately and I want to help him.” Shane's eyes look stressed suddenly. I have no idea what kind of dad he’s been, but I can tell pretty easily that he loves his son to death.
“Shit, now I feel like I really owe you. First, I acted like an asshole to you the other night, and now you go and help out my son like this. I knew you were complicated from the moment I set my eyes on you in my bar.”
“I’m the one who�
��s complicated?” I say lightheartedly. “You’re one of the most complicated men I’ve ever met.” I look around the room suspiciously as if I need to double check that we're alone. “I can’t believe your brother is my fucking boss.”
Shane raises both of his eyebrows and nods his head up and down. “Small world, isn’t it? Who would've thought that shit?"
I let out a small chuckle. This situation is so ridiculous I can’t help but laugh about it. “Not me, that’s for sure.” He looks out the window of the conference room, and I can’t help but seize the opportunity to look at his body one last time. He is so tight, so slick, so muscular… I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I am semi-hard in my pants right now just from sitting across the table and looking at him.
“Yeah well, regardless, I want to pay you back for this," he says.
I get up from my seat and shake my head. “I told you that you didn’t owe me anything, plus you already apologized. For a guy like you, I think you’ve done enough in one day.”
Shane reaches across the table and grabs my hand, completely catching me off guard and nearly hijacking my breath from my throat. His voice is lower, deeper than it was just moments before. “Please, Chris, let me make it up to you.”
I swallow hard and look down at his hand on my wrist. It feels so good, so secure, and so warm. Fuck, why does this man have to have this much of an effect on me? Life isn’t fair.
I don’t know what his intentions are, but it really doesn’t matter at this point. I just can’t be messing around with a man like Shane Hart. I’m sure he feels bad about what he did to me, but I can’t take that chance again. And besides, if his son didn't happen to belong to my school, I never would've seen him again. In other words, if it wasn’t for one big giant coincidence, he never would’ve apologized, and he’d never be trying to make it up to me.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to be mixing with a parent of one of my students,’ I say.
“Really? I’m pretty sure it’s not against the law to grab a cup of coffee with a parent. Plus, I know your boss pretty well, so if there are any problems with it, I’m confident I can get you off the hook.” He lets go of my wrist with his hand, and I immediately feel a longing in that part of my arm where his hand just was.
Fuck.
“Just coffee?” I ask.
He nods once in agreement, almost disappointing me that he didn’t react more strongly with a look or a body movement. “Just coffee, Chris.”
I scratch the top of my head and think for a moment. I can’t afford to make any big mistakes in my life right now. And Shane Hart, he looks like the biggest mistake possible. But I can’t say no to him either, even though I know it’s exactly what I should say to him.
“You really did act like an asshole the other day,” I say.
“I’m pretty sure I already apologized for that, but if you need me to do something else to make it up to you besides just coffee then just say the word,” he adds.
“No, just coffee will be fine.”
“Sure, Chris, whatever you say.”
“Great, then we’re in agreement. Just coffee.”
“Absolutely. Can you get to my house at 8 o’clock tonight?” he asks.
I narrow my eyes at him. “You want to have coffee at 8 o’clock at night?”
“Don’t get so hung up on the details, Chris,” he says. We both make our way towards the door to leave the conference room. As I reach for the doorknob, I feel a hand on my lower back, and I freeze completely. I press my head up against the door. His hand slides down my ass and his other hand slides over the front of my belt. I’m instantly half-hard.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I say softly.
His lips rush to my ear. “Like I said, you were amazing in that meeting. I can’t help the fact that you just turned me on by how well you just took control in there.” He takes his hands off me abruptly.
I let out a deep breath. I wasn’t ready for that, not that I didn’t enjoy it.
“See you tonight,” he says quietly from behind my ear.
I take a deep breath, open the door and leave.
“See you tonight,” I whisper to myself.
I somehow make my way through the workday, hit the gym to pound out a few reps on my way home, and then crash on my apartment couch. Milo's in the background chirping away on his phone with one of his friends about the Democratic debate last night. But that didn’t stop me from passing out cold, given how exhausted I am from all the recent events in my life.
I wake up from my nap and decide to take a quick shower. I let the hot water run across my body, and I can’t help but fantasize about taking a shower with Shane. I can’t stop myself from picturing the water pounding his chest, shoulders and abs. And I can’t help myself from thinking about dragging my tongue along his clean, wet skin. I look down and see that I’m fully hard in the shower.
I rub one out quick, the whole time imagining Shane's lips around my cock as I stroke myself. I brace myself on the tile shower wall as I close my eyes and blow my whole load onto the shower floor. I watch as my cum gets carried down the drain, and I let out a deep breath.
I feel better now. I hop out of the shower, throw on some clean underwear, a pair of jeans, and a simple white T-shirt.
I can’t believe I’m going to see Shane tonight. I never thought I would see that man again. But that’s life for you; you never know what direction it’s going to take you in until you get there.
Normally I would ride my bike, even to Shane’s house. But I don’t want to work up a sweat, or get grease from the chain of my bike on my jeans. I hate that I’m acting like a little bitch right now, but I want to look and smell good for this man.
Even though we’re just getting together for a cup of coffee.
Yeah, right.
Milo was kind enough to give me a ride to Shane’s house. I know I won’t hear the end of it when he sees his place from the outside, but I don’t have much of a choice. I’m pretty short on cash these days, seeing as though I’ve been sending money home to my mom to try to help her deal with her bum tenants.
Milo pulls up his beat-up Subaru in front of Shane’s front entrance. I look over and see Milo’s job agape. “You sexy sandbagger you!” Milo says.
I jab him in his arm with my elbow. “Relax, it’s just coffee.”
He laughs out loud. “Bullshit, you can’t fool me, Chris. You’re finally going to get some cock in that ass of yours,” he says.
I shake my head, feigning disgust. “ You’re fucked up my brother, but I love you anyways.” I get out of his car and head up to the front door. What am I getting myself into?
The door opens, and Shane is wearing a shit-eating grin already. He’s fresh out of the shower, with only a white towel wrapped around his waist. I look down at his V-shaped torso and follow it down until it gets lost beneath his towel.
Fuck me. I think I just made a giant mistake.
* * *
Shane
Chris looks amazing, better than I remember him looking even though I just saw him earlier this morning. I honestly didn’t mean to answer the door wearing only my towel, but I was running late. I had to deal with some more shit from Sarah’s lawyer. I may not have been perfect with Max, but I’m determined to get split physical custody of him. I love that kid, and I would do anything to get him the life he needs and to be the dad he needs me to be.
“Come on in. There’s something in the kitchen I have for you.”
“Freshly brewed free-trade coffee?” Chris says. He smiles, revealing a beautiful set of white teeth, clear, crystal blue eyes, and cheeks so inviting but I can barely keep my thumb from running across them.
“Yes, there’s coffee. I promised you that much. But there’s something else I want to show you too.” I grab my jeans and underwear off the stairs. I drop my towel and put my underwear on, catching Chris staring at me out of the corner of my eye. Okay, maybe I’m fucking w
ith him a little bit. But why not? A man’s got to have fun, right? I button my jeans and gesture for Chris to head in towards the kitchen.
Aside from seeing my son being born, watching Chris’s face right now is one of the best things I’ve ever seen.
“You… You got me that?” he asks.
I look over at the touring bike I got for him. “I thought you needed an upgrade; you deserve it.”
Chris shakes his head. “I… I can’t take that from you. It’s too much. This is a GT World Cup bike. These things are like two grand!” he says.
“More like four, but that’s beside the point. You need a new bike Chris, and I owed you an apology. A real one.”
Chris walks over and runs his fingers along the slick, painted finish of the bombproof bike frame. I chime in, "Alloy frame and the best Shimano brakes I could buy you. I want your ass to be safe and comfortable if you’re going to ride that thing everywhere around the city.”
“It’s fucking beautiful, Shane.”
“So are you,” I say, immediately wishing I hadn’t.
Chris turns to face me. “So far this is a lot more than just coffee. Are you sure we should be doing any of this?”
To be honest, no, I’m not sure. But I’m not going to let him know that. Truth is, I’ve never felt these types of feelings for another man until I met Chris. And to be clear, I’m not so sure I’m comfortable with them. It’s weird, almost like I want to settle down with him for longer than anyone else I’ve ever been with. I didn’t want to leave so abruptly the other morning, but I was terrified.
“We’re still just having coffee. Plus this I threw in this apology gift, and a simple compliment,” I say.
He folds his arms across his chest. “You call telling me that I’m beautiful a simple compliment?”
I walk closer towards him. I want to rip his fucking clothes off right now. I want to put my cock in his mouth, and I want to put his cock in mine. Fuck, the things I need to do to him. But I have to keep my hands to myself tonight. I have to be a good boy around Chris to prove to him that I’m not just trying to get in his pants.
