Page 40 of John Wilder Gets Schooled
Hadn’t for my parents, though.
“Something on your mind?” Steve asked me one day as he joined me on a roof.
“Nope,” I lied. “Just glad to be working again.”
“You and me both, kid.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “You and me both.”
We weren’t as busy as we’d been before that asshole Morris had started stealing work from us, but we had enough jobs that Steve didn’t have to let any of the crew go. It was a hell of a relief. I was stripping at Easy Rider every other Friday now, and that helped prop up my bank balance. I’d been getting more Saturday gigs as well, and I’d actually started to save a little bit. I didn’t ever want to be in the position of not being able to make rent.
We worked for another couple of hours and I did my best to focus on the job at hand, but my mind kept drifting back to Avery and his offer. He hadn’t mentioned it again and neither had I—it wasn’t exactly the kind of thing you could bring up when you were doing the school run—but it buzzed away in the back of my brain, fueled by both attraction and curiosity.
The alarm on my phone sounded. I’d taken to setting it so I wouldn’t be late picking up Gracie, and I shot a glance at Steve. “Yeah, yeah, go get your kid,” he said with a wave of his hand.
I was halfway down the ladder when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I waited until I’d reached the ground to fish it out. There was a message from Candii.
Free Saturday at 2? Got a booking if you want it.
I definitely wanted it. Gracie was going to visit the Moores, so I wouldn’t even have to ask the guys to watch her, and I wasn’t going to turn down the money. My thumbs flew over the screen.
Sure thing. Send me details?
Candii sent another text with all the information and I saved it to my calendar and tucked my phone away. Then I hoisted my toolbox onto the back of my truck and booked it out of there. If there wasn’t too much traffic, I might even get to the school early, and Avery would give me one of his pleased little smiles, the ones that made me feel like I’d earned his approval, and maybe a gold star.
Or a kiss.
And there it was again, the memory of Avery’s lips against mine and his hands running through my hair, of how kissing him had felt good—no, not just good.Right.
I turned his offer over in my mind as I drove. Part of me really wanted to take him up on it, but it wasn’t that simple. First off, it was kind of intimidating, okay? There was a world of difference between being attracted to someone and getting naked with them, and even though part of me really wanted to see Avery naked, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that. Plus I was already juggling a whole lot of balls right now. I wasn’t sure I could add any more without dropping them all—no matter how tempting Avery’s balls were.
But still, the idea tugged at me, and I found myself wondering what Avery’s reaction would be if I was ever brave enough to take him up on it. Maybe I wasn’tquitethere yet, but I could admit that I was getting closer by the day.
I pulled into the parking lot at the school and was relieved to see there were plenty of cars there, which meant I was on time. I got out of the truck and went and waited outside the classroom, and when the bell rang Gracie came bouncing out the door, stretching her arms up. I scooped her up and she clung to me, and shit, was there any better feeling than a full-body hug from a five-year-old? I closed my eyes and let myself soak up the unconditional acceptance for a minute before setting Gracie back down. “Get your backpack, sweet pea. You’re going to Grandma’s tonight, remember?”
Her eyes widened, and she shouted “Disney!”at the top of herlungs and scrambled to get her bag out of her cubby. And call me petty, but I got some satisfaction that she was more interested in a streaming service than her grandparents.
It was controlled chaos as seventeen parents and their kids got their shit together, and I didn’t get a chance to talk to Avery, but I wasn’t sure what I would have said to him anyway—did you know you’re living rent free in my head and I’m kinda curious about your dick?—so I just gave him a wave as we left, and he flashed me a quick smile amid the bedlam.
We stopped off at home to get Gracie’s overnight bag and have a snack. Then I took her to her grandparents’ place, where she was greeted with smiles and I was greeted with a narrow look. So business as usual, really. I gave Gracie one last hug and got out of there before they could judge me any harder.
I made the most of my kid-free afternoon by picking up groceries. I was working at the bar tonight and now I had a gig tomorrow in the afternoon, which meant I could put a few extra things in my cart without worrying too much about the total. Since I had a coupon, I grabbed some Lucky Charms. We always pretended they were for Gracie, but they were totally for Cash.
Shopping took longer than I thought, so then it was a rush to eat something, shower, and get to Easy Rider for my Friday night set. I’d just started my first number when the lights from the stage reflected on something in the crowd, and when I followed the light to its source, I saw Avery grinning up at me from where he was sitting at a table with a couple of his teacher friends, the stage lights bouncing off his glasses like my own personal Bat-signal. My insides fluttered in—what, exactly? Arousal? Nervousness? Pleasure? Who could tell? All I knew was that I had a sudden urge to show off a little more than usual. I’d already figured out Avery had a thing for my hair when it was loose, so it was a no-brainer to toss my head from side to side, letting the blond strands fall in messy waves around my shoulders. Avery stared, his mouth hanging open, and I dropped him a wink, just to let him know I’d noticed him, and proceeded to up my game.
I prowled around the stage, moving like a big cat—if big cats wore body glitter—and then stepped down into the audience, shimmying my way between the tables in time to the music. I draped myself across the lap of a tipsy, giggling blonde, making her blush as I rolled my hips and shook my ass like my life depended on it. The crowd hooted and cheered, and when the number ended, I had a shitload of dollar bills tucked into my thong and a whispered invitation from the blonde to hook up. I turned her down with a shake of my head and a rueful smile and strutted back up onto the stage to finish my set.
I danced my ass off, aware of Avery watching my every move, and by the time I was done for the night, my hairline was damp with sweat, my thong had worked its way up the crack of my ass—and I’d made bank. I might have been showing off for Avery, but if my tips were anything to go by, the audience had appreciated it. I smoothed out a pile of crumpled ones and fives and rolled them up into a tidy bundle, then changed into my sweats and headed home. I was tired as hell, but there was a buzzing under my skin, a restlessness that wouldn’t go away.
I jumped in the shower when I got home, and as I stood under the water soaping myself up and rinsing away the sweat and glitter, I replayed the way Avery’s gaze had traveled over my body as I’d danced and fantasized that it had been him who’d offered to take me home. And then it struck me all over again as I remembered with a jolt—hehad. And there were those butterflies swooping in my gut again, except this time I recognized it for what it was— arousal.
Want ran through me, and when I wrapped a soapy hand around my dick, I was already hard. I closed my eyes and tipped my head back, working my length in short, urgent strokes, imagining it was Avery who was touching me and that was his smooth palm jerking me off instead of my own calloused one. Sparks crackled along my spine, heat pooled in my belly, and my balls drew up tight, every stroke bringing me closer to the edge, but itwas the memory of Avery’s mouth against mine that had me spurting all over the tiles as I came.
I slumped forward, resting my forehead against the shower wall as I came back to myself, panting and letting the water run down my body, and tried to process what had just happened. But it wasn’t until later, when I was lying in my bed with thoughts swirling in my head like jizz circling a drain, that I figured it out.
The rest of me might not have been sure I was ready for more with Avery, but my dick wassuperon board with the idea.
And sure, everyone knew that letting your dick make decisions for you was a bad call.
But maybe just this once, it knew better than me.
