Strings Attached

“Bed partners. You’re so old. I can’t believe you just said that.”

“You know what I mean.”

Ross nodded. “I know. If I don’t say this often enough, I love you. You’re the best dad a guy could ask for. And I want you to be happy, the same way you always want me to be happy. You always told me you would support me in anything in life, and that you wanted me to always be true to who I am. I just… Well, I want you to know I support you too. No matter what.”

I was so damn lucky to have him as my son. Everything about him filled me with pride. “Thank you. I hear you, but no strings. It’s not serious.”

“I’m just sayin’… I mean, I’ve never seen him with the same person more than once either.”

“Convenience.” But part of me wanted to beat my hands against my chest. Zander had told me as much about his sex habits, but hearing it from someone else reinforced it, made the feeling of winning a prize I’d never known I wanted spread through me.

“Ross?” another voice said. My eyes snapped toward the hallway as a woman walked down it from Ross’s room. “Oh crap. I’m sorry. I thought we were alone. Is this Zander?”

“No, this is my dad. Trina, this is Harrison. Dad, this is Trina.”

She had on a long shirt that went to her knees, and it was clear she was there to spend the night.

“Nice to meet you, Trina. I’ll let the two of you go. I was just…well, I was just,” I said, not wanting to explain myself to someone else. “Call me tomorrow, Ross.” I raised a brow, Ross nodded, and then I was on my way.

I made sure to set my alarm so I could call and confirm Zander got up on time in the morning.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Zander

I missed running every morning.

It was something I’d done since I was a kid. It hadn’t been about getting into shape, but about having a schedule, having something to focus on to work through some of my energy. It hadn’t taken me long to fall in love with jogging. It made me feel accomplished, and it gave me alone time. It didn’t cost money, and it made me feel good about myself, but between school, the coffeehouse, and grading and planning lessons, I simply didn’t have the time, and when I did, I was too exhausted.

It had been three weeks since school started, and while I was finding my groove, it was overwhelming. I’d already lost track of time more than once, talking too long, so I didn’t get my lesson finished. I loved my time in the classroom with the kids, but there was also all this worry always bearing down on me—wondering if I was doing a good job, if I was going to screw this up, how I would keep two jobs going, and if not, how I would be able to pay all my bills and help Mom, who Molly said had been in a lot of pain lately. Surgery was an option, but she was afraid to go that route. It seemed like back surgery often made people worse, but she also had to limit pain meds because of the worry of addiction. That meant she just suffered a lot of the time.

The guilt was always there too, that I should be at home, living with them.

So I just pushed through because what the hell else could I do?

Fucking Harrison helped. That was something I couldn’t deny. Even though we’d only had sex two more times in the past few weeks. One of them, I’d just called him over specifically to fuck me, and he’d come to do it. Ross hadn’t been home. He was seeing this girl, and they’d been spending a lot of time together. I was stressed out after getting off the phone with Mom, and I’d texted Harrison. I didn’t tell him why I was overwhelmed. Sometimes random things sneaked out with him, but I was working hard to keep that from happening. I’d just told him I was horny and wanted to get off. He invited me over, but I didn’t want to go to his place. I didn’t want to see it—it would only remind me how different we were—so I asked if he could come to Ross’s condo, and that easily, he’d done it.

Sex with Harrison was the perfect distraction because it was always more than just that. We talked. He asked about my day and the students, and I told him more about Ariel, who was definitely my favorite student, even if we weren’t supposed to have one. Harrison, in turn, would tell me about things going on with the dealerships and how happy he was when Ross had given away cars to those in need. It was crazy that they were able to do that. They gave cars to people…well, people like me or my mom.