Dante

by J. S. Cooper

  “Yeah.” She nodded as she pushed the pram.

  “So, do you prefer blond men then?”

  “Huh?” She looked at me and then she shook her head quickly. “No, no, I don’t prefer blond men. I like all men.” She laughed then. “Well, you know what I mean? Any guy that I’m attracted to and I’ve been attracted to many different looking sort of guys.”

  “I see.” I paused. “So do you talk to the kids dad a lot?”

  “No.” She shook her head and then she licked her lips, somewhat nervously. “I really need to tell you something.”

  “Oh?”

  “Maybe not right now, but later?” She said as Dylan ran into an older looking woman that was now giving us a dirty look. “Dylan, get back here.” She called out and sighed. “Now.” She screeched as he ignored her.

  “Having kids is tough huh?”

  “Yeah, I used to think I wanted a large family, but after dealing with these guys, I’m not so sure.” She laughed.

  “Don’t you consider four kids a large family?” I asked her slightly confused. To me anything over two kids was a lot.

  “Oh yeah, yeah.” She said as her face reddened. “I meant, like if I had ten kids or something.”

  “Do you want more kids?” I asked her, once again trying to be casual. My ears awaited her answer almost anxiously.

  “If I met the right guy and we were in love, sure.” She said as she gazed at me. “And if I thought he’d make a good dad. That’s important.”

  “That makes sense.” I said, pleased at her answer. I wasn’t sure why I cared.

  “Do you like kids?” She asked me as we made our way into the cafe. She parked the pram next to a table and I pulled up two extra chairs for the boys to sit on.

  “I’ve never really been around kids.” I admitted. “I never really thought about it. I’m not really in a place in my life where I’m interested in having a family, you know?” I lowered my voice as I spoke, a part of me not really sure if that was true anymore.

  “Yeah, you’re a playboy, just looking to have fun.” She said and then she grinned, her brown eyes sparkling. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to judge you on that. I appreciate the honesty. Sometimes, I think it would be nice to just have a meaningless relationship.”

  “A meaningless relationship?” I frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know,” She said. “Maybe someone to go on dates with and have some fun, but with no expectations.”

  “Like a friends with benefits?”

  “Nooo. Not quite.” She shook her head and then sighed. “I don’t really know. Relationships are weird.”

  “Yes, yes they are.” I wanted to ask her more questions about what she was looking for, but the three boys were now staring at us expectantly and I knew that this wasn’t the right time or place to be having this conversation.

  “This is strange.” She said finally. “If you would have told me yesterday that we’d be here, sitting in a museum talking about relationships I would have told you you were crazy.”

  “Well, I think we just got off on the wrong foot.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” She laughed. “Though, I’m not sure there was a right foot. You were a pretty big asshole the first time we met.”

  “And the second time.” I said. I stared at her for a few seconds and then smiled. “There’s something about you that really turns me on.” I watched as her face grew red and then I remembered the kids. “And this is why, I’m single and don’t date single moms.” I jumped up quickly. “Okay boys, who wants to help me with the ice creams?”

  “Me.” Dylan jumped up. “I’m the oldest, so I get to help.”

  “Come on then Dylan. Ask your brothers what they want.” I then looked over at Sadie and watched she rocked the baby back and forth in her arms. A piece of my heart melted as I stared at her and then, without warning a streak of jealousy hit me. Sadie I didn’t know why and I didn’t know what it meant, but all I knew was that it had been a mistake to come to the museum with her today. Things were going to get messy and the last thing I needed in my life right now was messy.

  “You just dropped your phone.” I said as Sadie bent down and wiped Brody’s mouth clean. “Let me grab it for you.” I picked it up and I couldn’t help but notice that the screen had some notifications on it. I saw that the top notification was from, “Dating on the Edge,” and I froze. Sadie was a member of “Dating on the Edge?” I couldn’t believe it. She didn’t strike me as someone who would have joined the site that I knew very very well.

  “Dylan, stop that.” Sadie said as Dylan jumped up and down. “Please just sit still, okay. We will go home soon.”

  “Here you go.” I handed Sadie her phone and pondered asking her what her screen name was on the site.

  “Hey sorry, can you hold it one second please?” She said as she gave me an impish smile. “Hands full right now.”

  “No worries.” I said and then her phone beeped. “Ooh, it looks like you just got a text message from Cara.”

  “Oh, what did she say?” She asked me.

  “Your phone is locked. I can’t read it.” I said with a quick shake of my head.

  “The password is 9185.” She said without hesitation and I typed it into the phone, wanting to lecture her on being too trusting. I opened her text messages and read the message out-loud, “How’s it going at the museum? How are the boys behaving? I hope Lisa isn’t too much work. You’re a doll.” I reread the message internally and frowned. This was a weird text message for Cara to be sending.

  “Aw, she’s sweet.” Sadie said. “Tell her that everything is going well and that the boys have been good.” She grinned at me. “We don’t need to tell her the whole truth.”

  “Okay,” I typed the response into her phone for her, wondering why Cara was so invested in Sadie and her family, but then I reasoned that they were best friends and most probably Cara felt a certain responsibility to Sadie. It did seem like Sadie had a lot on her plate at the moment. I was about to close out the phone when it struck me that I could look at Sadie’s “Dating on the Edge” profile quickly and see her username. I knew that it was an invasion of her privacy, but I just couldn’t stop myself. I opened the app really quickly and headed to the settings page to find out her username. Kiwi. My heart thudded as I looked back up from the screen.

  “Okay, you can give me my phone now.” Sadie said with a brief smile and then she noticed my face. “What is it?”

  “Something struck me just now.” I said quickly, not wanting her to know I’d looked at her dating profile.

  “Oh?”

  “Why does Cara want to know so much about your kids and why does she seem so invested in everything that goes on with them? I know she’s your best friend, but it seems a bit, well overbearing.”

  “Huh...” Sadie made a face as she looked at me and then she sighed. “Yeah, about that.”

  “Hmmm?” Something in her voice made me pay attention. “Yes?”

  “Boys, you need to all sit here and wait for us, okay?” Sadie spoke to the boys, but they were busy playing with some toy cars they’d brought with them. “Do you hear me?” Sadie said in a stern voice and they all looked at her. “I’m going to take Lisa into the family bathroom and change her.”

  “Yes, Sadie.” They chorused and I just looked at her in aghast at their words. They were calling her Sadie now? Instead of mom? That struck me as fairly unusual, but Sadie didn’t even blink.

  “Will you come with me, Dante?” She asked with a small smile. “I think I need some help.”

  “Sure,” I said surprised. What help could I possibly give her that she couldn’t just do on her own. “I’m not sure what sort of help I’ll be though?”

  “You’ll be a help.” She said then stopped. “Actually, I’m not sure it’s smart to leave the boys alone. Will you watch them while I go and change Lisa.”

  “Yeah, sure.” I said, feeling utterly confused. “What’s going on, Sadie?”

&
nbsp; “I didn’t really want to say in front of the boys.” She said with a deep sigh. “But I’ve been feeling super guilty and since you apologized, I’ve felt like continuing this charade is really immature and I don’t want to keep it up anymore.”

  “What charade?” I blinked.

  “I’m not their mom.” She wrinkled her nose at me. “The reason Cara cares so much about the boys is because they’re her sons, not mine. And Lisa has red hair and looks nothing me because she isn’t my daughter either. She’s actually Cara’s friends kid, but both of them got called into work and because my job is a bit more flexible, I said I would look after them.”

  “You what?” My jaw dropped and I just stared at her. They weren’t her kids. How could this be? I mean she’d told me they were her kids when we’d very first met. Why had she done that? And then I froze. She had never actually said they were her kids, had she? I’d just made that assumption. “Not your kids?”

  “Don’t hate me.” She made a face. “You were just so horrible and then you called me a bad mom and I was like I’m not going to correct him and then well, then I didn’t really know or want to tell you the truth, but seeing as you came and apologized and helped me today, well, I thought that perhaps I shouldn’t keep up the lie.”

  “So that’s why they don’t look like you.” I said as everything started adding up. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize this in the beginning.” I shook my head, feeling like a bit of a fool. “So you have no kids.”

  “Nope, not a one.”

  “I see.” I said and then I smiled slowly. This changed everything. I had no inhibitions about wanting to get to know Sadie better now. “So then, maybe you’ll allow me to take you on a proper date?”

  “Well, I guess...” Her voice trailed off as she looked at me. “I don’t know that we’re that compatible.”

  “Really? We seemed very compatible the other night.” I said and I licked my lips slowly. I could see a bright red staining her cheeks as she remembered what we’d done in the office. “I think we got on well enough to try another date.”

  “On one condition.” She said impishly, a wide smile on her face.

  “Hmm, what’s that?” My brows furrowed as I wondered what she was going to ask me.

  “You have to babysit the boys one night and let me and Cara go out for a night on the town.”

  “What?” That wasn’t what I had expected her to say at all. “You want me to babysit?”

  “Yes!” She grinned. “You ruined our night out the other night and we had to go home early. This time you can come over, look after the boys and we’ll go out. The boys love you and know you now. It will be great.”

  “I’m not sure I’d make a good babysitter.” I made a face.

  “Do you want another date with me?”

  “Well yes, but what else would I get?” I said with a sly smile.

  “Maybe I’d let you stay the night.” She grinned and winked at me and I could feel my cock shifting in my pants as I looked at her pink lips. Man, she was sexy as hell.

  “Fine, you just let me know the day and the time and I’ll be your babysitter. But only for one night.” I looked over at the three boys who were still playing with their cars. They were good kids and I just hoped that the night I spent with them would go smoothly. “I went to law school, not nanny school.”

  “There is no nanny school, Dante.” She rolled her eyes at me. “And I never went to nanny school either.”

  “Trust me, that I would believe.” I grinned as she gave me a look. “I’m sorry, but you’re not the best mom out there.”

  “You’re one to talk.” She said quickly and then she laughed. “Who am I kidding? I’m not the best disciplinarian.” She shrugged. “When I have my own kids I’ll be better, I’m sure.”

  “Planning on having your own kids soon?” I asked lightly.

  “No, don’t worry.” She said as she stood held Lisa to her. “But I need to change Lisa. Stay here and I’ll be back.”

  “Okay.” I said and I watched as she walked away, suddenly feeling happier than I had in a really long time.

  15

  Dante

  To: Sadiepeters@gmail.com

  From: Dantevanderbilt@Vanderbilt&Sanders.com

  Subject: The Real You

  Sadie,

  Thank you for letting me spend the day with you and the kids. And thanks for letting me know the truth. I feel that I hardly know you now. Please let me know what night works best for your night out with Cara. I’ll have to let my fellow partners know that I might have a new career as a manny. Who knew?

  Dante Vanderbilt, J. D.

  NOTICE: The information contained in this message is proprietary and/or confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, you are hereby notified to: (i) delete the message and all copies; (ii) do not disclose, distribute or use the message in any manner; and (iii) notify the sender immediately.

  To: Dantevanderbilt@Vanderbilt&Sanders.com

  From: Sadiepeters@gmail.com

  Re: The Real You

  Hey Manny Dante,

  I’m glad I finally got to tell you the kids weren’t mine. I was debating in my mind if I should. I’m glad you weren’t your normal offensive self and didn’t say I was a bad Godmother for making the kids lie to you. :)

  What would you like to know about me? I feel like we’re kinda doing this all backwards? Haha. Thanks for helping with the kids at the museum the other day. I’m not sure what I was thinking by taking them all. I should have just told my boss that I was sick or something. She didn’t even like the report I gave her, but that’s another story.

  Okay, here are some brief facts about me. Brown hair, brown eyes, about 5”8. Haha. Okay, I’ll be serious. I like reading, I like going to concerts. My dream trip would be to go to Paris. I speak a little French and would love to try my skills in France. I also love cheese and baguettes, so if you’re trying to think about where to take me on our date, a place with cheese is always good.

  Your turn now, tell me more about you.

  Sadie

  P.S. Can you babysit this Friday night?

  To: Sadiepeters@gmail.com

  From: Dantevanderbilt@Vanderbilt&Sanders.com

  Re: The Real You

  Hey Sadie “I’m glad you’re not really a mom” Peters,

  I didn’t know you spoke French. I would love to hear your accent. Maybe you can do it for me some time? It might be really sexy in bed (Too much, too soon?). I have been thinking about our date and thanks for the ideas. Cheese and baguettes sound good. You seem like you’ll be a cheap date. :)

  I’m sorry to hear your boss didn’t like your report, but how good could a report be from a museum that an exhibit that contained an old paint container and some dirty rags on the floor? They should see my Nana’s garage. She’d be the Picasso of modern art.

  Before I forget, yes, I can babysit this Friday night, as long as you promise your Saturday and Sunday to me for our date. Yes, I’m requesting both days! :)

  Let’s see, I have brown hair, hazel green eyes. I’m quite tall, I like walks on the beach and making love in the sand. Does that help? This is starting to feel like the sort of chat one has on a dating app. Talking of dating apps, are you on any?

  Dante Vanderbilt, J. D.

  NOTICE: The information contained in this message is proprietary and/or confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, you are hereby notified to: (i) delete the message and all copies; (ii) do not disclose, distribute or use the message in any manner; and (iii) notify the sender immediately.

  To: Dantevanderbilt@Vanderbilt&Sanders.com

  From: Sadiepeters@gmail.com

  Re: The Real You

  Manny Dante,

  I will tell Cara that Friday night we will be able to paint the town red. I will save Saturday and Sunday for you. This is going to be quite the date. You will have to get a lot of baguettes to fee
d me! :)

  I didn’t realize you had brown hair! I thought it was blond, all this time! Can you dye it back for me? What are your interests? What type of law do you practice?

  I’m on a dating app, yes. What about you? I haven’t met anyone yet, though.

  Sadie

  To: Sadiepeters@gmail.com

  From: Dantevanderbilt@Vanderbilt&Sanders.com

  Re: The Real You

  Sadie “Dating App Queen” Peters,

  What dating apps are you on? Why haven’t you met anyone as yet. Though as I type these things, I do realize that perhaps these are questions we can save for our first real date. And I will answer your questions then as well.

  I’m looking forward to Friday night. Not for the babysitting, but the part afterwards. When I get to spend the night. And taste you again. I miss your sweetness.

  Dante Vanderbilt, J. D.

  NOTICE: The information contained in this message is proprietary and/or confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, you are hereby notified to: (i) delete the message and all copies; (ii) do not disclose, distribute or use the message in any manner; and (iii) notify the sender immediately.

  To: Dantevanderbilt@Vanderbilt&Sanders.com

  From: Sadiepeters@gmail.com

  Re: The Real You

  Dante!

  Should you be typing such things from your work email? Naughty naughty! :P

  I’m also looking forward to Friday night. Though I think this time I shall have a few surprises up my sleeve! :)

  Looking forward to seeing if you taste salty or sweet!

  Sadie

  I stared at the screen and adjusted myself as I sat there. My cock was rock-hard. She wanted to know if I was salty or sweet, huh? I grinned as I thought about her mouth on my cock, taking me in and sucking me dry. I wondered if she would swallow, but I would know soon enough. She hadn’t wanted to tell me about being on “Dating on the Edge,” though. I supposed she wanted to keep it secret that she had a naughty side to her, though that had been pretty obvious given the fact that we’d hooked up at the club. I wondered what she would think when I told her the truth about my own involvement with “Dating on the Edge?” I had a huge secret in store for her and a little test. The more I got to know Sadie, the more I wanted to know and I knew now that I didn’t really know anything at all. I opened another tab on my laptop screen and stared at the messages between Kiwi and Jonas. I reread all of the words that Sadie had written and I could feel myself becoming more and more turned on. This was a woman that wanted to explore her sexuality and I knew that I was the man for the job.