Page 48 of Hot Four Teacher (The Lawson’s #4)

Chapter forty-seven

Human Wheelbarrow

Dane

D o you know how nice it is to be able to go out with Michelle and not worry about anyone catching us? It seems like such a small thing–to be able to go out and hold my girlfriend’s hand, but it’s wonderful.

I’d give anything to be able to do this every single day.

Maybe it sounds like a stupid macho guy thing, but having Michelle on my arm for the whole world to see makes me puff out my chest with pride. She’s fucking beautiful, and I want everyone to know she’s mine.

Last night, we went to an amazing dinner before coming back to the hotel room and falling into bed together.

This morning, we had a room service breakfast before getting out for a while. Now, we’re on the way to do something special. Well, it’s special to me. I hope it’s special to her.

As we’re driving through the streets of Portland, Michelle says, “Are you really not going to tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope.”

“That’s just mean,” she pouts.

“I’ll make it up to you later when my head is between your thighs.”

I love saying dirty things to her and watching her squirm in her seat.

“You need to stop saying things like that, or I’m going to make you pull over, so we can get a head start–emphasis on the head part.”

I laugh. “You’re something else, baby.”

Soon enough, we are pulling into the parking lot.

Michelle looks at the building and then back at me. “Shady Oaks? What are we doing here?”

I clear my throat. “This is where my father lives.”

“Your–”

“I’d like him to meet the woman I’m crazy about.”

It occurs to me that maybe I should have checked with her about this beforehand.

“Is this weird?” I ask. “I just thought–”

She leans over to kiss me. “Calm down, honey. I think it’s nice. It just took me by surprise.”

I get out of the truck and help her out before walking hand-in-hand inside.

On the way to my dad’s apartment, we run into Darlene.

“Hey, sugar,” she greets with a smile.

“Hi, Darlene.”

“Who do you have with you?” she asks, looking at Michelle.

“This is my girlfriend, Michelle.” I love being able to call her that freely.

Darlene smiles again. “Well, well, well. Good for you, sugar.” She turns to Michelle. “You’ve got yourself a good one here.”

Michelle looks at me. “I think so, too.”

“How’s Dad doing today?”

“Onery. But what else is new? The real talk of the town around here is your sister.”

My stomach churns. “What did Jenny do?”

“First, she came in here all worked up that she walked in and saw your dad and his lady friend playing human wheelbarrow. She wanted us to separate them like they were kids.”

“Did you?” I ask.

She narrows her eyes at me and purses her lips. “This is not a daycare. Our residents are full grown adults. After that, she took it upon herself to bring in bowls of condoms to leave in all the public areas.”

“You’re kidding?”

She walks over to pick up a bowl behind the counter. Sure as shit, it’s full of condoms.

“I’m so sorry,” I say. “I’ll talk to her.”

“Oh, it’s alright. She’s harmless. Maybe just get her a hobby or something. I think she could do with some human wheelbarrow of her own.”

“Gross,” I mutter only loud enough for Michelle to hear.

We start to head for Dad’s apartment, but Darlene says, “He’s not in there, sugar. You’ll find him over in the atrium, playing cards.”

“Thanks, Darlene.”

As we walk away, Michelle says, “Man, you have some stories to tell me later. You’ve been holding out on me.”

“Be warned, it’s a bit like a soap opera.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Even better.”

When we get to the atrium, we walk in and see my dad sitting at a table with two of his friends. There’s a pile of cash and coins sitting in front of him. I’m not surprised. The man has an excellent poker face.

I hold Michelle’s hand as we approach him.

“Hi, Dad,” I greet.

He looks up at me quickly before looking back at his cards. “One second, son. I’m about to finish taking these guys’ money.”

We watch as they lay down their cards, and of course, Dad wins with a full house.

“It’s been fun, guys, but I’m going to need some time with my son. We’ll pick this up later.”

They stand from the table and walk away while Dad stands up to give me a quick hug. “How are you doing, son?”

“Good. There's someone I want you to meet. This is Michelle, my girlfriend.”

Much to my surprise, he gives her a hug too. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Miller,” she says.

“Oh, please. Call me Dennis.” He looks between the two of us. “How did you bag such a pretty girl?”

“I’m a lucky son of a bitch.”

Michelle smiles, “I think I’m the lucky one.”

“Come on, let’s sit down.”

Dad picks up the cards and starts shuffling. “Do you play?”

“Oh, a little,” she replies. “But I’m not very good.”

Dad splits the pot of cash between the two of them.

No, thanks. I didn’t want to play.

While he shuffles, Michelle asks, “So, is this where you grill me to see if I’m good enough for your son?”

Dad chuckles. “Oh, no. I’m not going to pepper you with questions. Dane is a grown ass man. I assume he can make his own decisions about who he dates.”

Michelle smiles. “I wish I had that kind of faith in the decisions of my teenage daughter.”

“Oh, girls are different. My daughter’s husband? I grilled the shit out of him, and I’m still not convinced I like him.”

He deals the cards, and Michelle looks to see what she has. The look on her face shows that she doesn’t have anything good.

“How many do you want?” Dad asks.

“Uhm, give me two, I guess.”

When she looks at the new cards, her expression is even worse than before. Dad is about to wipe the floor with her, and I now regret the decision to bring her here. I should’ve known he wouldn’t be nice.

Dad pushes his pile of money into the middle, and Michelle thinks for a moment before doing it too.

He goes to grab the winnings out of the middle, but Michelle lays her cards down. “Four of a kind. Aces.”

Dad sits back in his chair and laughs. “You’re a shark, aren’t you?”

Michelle grins while pulling the pile back toward her. “Something like that.”

“You have a hell of a poker face.”

Michelle says, “I grew up with four siblings. I got really good at it.”

Dad looks at me. “I like her.”

“Yeah, me too,” I agree.

“She’s much better than that bitch, Cassie.”

I throw my hands up in the air. “Did everyone hate my ex-wife? Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

He shrugs his shoulders. “I told you I trusted you to make your own decisions about your love life. That was just a bad one.”

We spend the next couple hours hanging out with my dad and laughing. Michelle amazes me with how wonderful she is, and I can tell my father genuinely likes her too.

When it’s time to head out, Dad walks us to the front door, and we see it’s raining. He says, “Dane, why don’t you go ahead and bring the truck around, so Michelle doesn’t have to get wet. I’ll keep her company while she waits.”

I think there’s probably something more to his plan, but I have no idea what.

I get back with the truck, and we say our goodbyes.

When we are situated inside, I say, “So, beautiful, what do you want to do now?”

She grins. “I think I’m ready to go back to the hotel. Maybe play some human wheelbarrow.”

I smile. “Sounds like a plan.”