New Man

I don't know why I felt the need to dress up for parent-teacher conferences. It used to be an unspoken rule between my ex-wife Tina and myself, that we'd dress to the nines for these things, like we had to show off our best selves or something. I kept it simple, a long-sleeved black button down, gray slacks, and my best leather loafers, a pair I don't think I wore since the days when Tina and I were still going on date nights, so... yeesh. Half a decade, at least.

To that, I added my best dress watch, a Lilienthal Berlin a client gave me after I helped hook his daughter up with new waist-level, wheelchair-friendly electrical free of charge. I didn't know it at the time, but the watch cost more than what he would have paid in labor, and the gesture's always stuck with me.

I strapped on the watch, decided on a dab of rich aftershave, and checked my teeth for what had to be the third time since I stepped into the bathroom. When I emerged, I was already cutting it close, and I hurried downstairs. My son Isaac and his babysitter, the college-aged half-Japanese stunner Jessica, glanced up from a game of rummy at the kitchen table.

"You look good, Lionel," Jessica said, showing off her small, sparkling white teeth with her wide smile. Unlike damn near every other available woman within a hundred miles of me, I had yet to sleep with her. I wasn't entirely sure I was going to, either. My five - yeah, five - girlfriends weren't fond of sharing me outside our circle, and I respected that. Mostly. There was one woman who held my interest as much as they did, but Morgan was taboo, the sister of my ex-wife, and a married woman, at that. I mean, true, her husband Douglas is a grade-A, high-octane asshole, but still, married is a ballpark I won't play in.

Isaac nodded enthusiastically. "You really do, Dad."

"Thanks," I said to both of them.

I came in to kiss him on the top of his head, and he groaned, "Daaaad."

Oops, I forgot. No acting sweet around any of our gorgeous friends. I squeezed his shoulder, grinning at Jessica over his head. "Deal with it," I said, and he twisted to pinch my arm. I jumped out of the way, and glanced at my watch. "I really need to run."

But when I was outside headed for the truck, Isaac caught up to me, barefoot despite the cold. "Hey, um... is Ms. Vega, um, is she... are you going to be talking about when I got so mad?"

The incident he was referring to happened a few weeks before, when he lost his temper and traded punches with a kid in class. It had been his fault, or... well, mine and my ex-wife's, I guess. Isaac went through a lot of changes in his life pretty rapidly, and something like it was bound to happen. Thankfully he wasn't much of a fighter, and neither was the other kid. It amounted to a couple of bruises and that was it. They'd even spent the night at each other's houses afterwards in that weird way kids have of bonding over high emotions. But the incident brought out a need in him to talk to someone, and his aunt Morgan became something of a pillar of support for him when Tina wouldn't step in and help. It was a mess, to be sure. But Isaac was doing really well since then.

"I think it'll probably come up," I said, opting for honesty as I usually tried to do when I didn't know what else to say to him. "Don't think I'm saying you should go around beating more kids up, bubba, but if it's the worst that's happening, I think Ms. Vega's going to speak pretty highly of you."

He nodded, not quite looking at me but more at the truck. "Okay," he said quietly. "I just... I really like her class."

I came to him and hugged him tight. "You've been trying, Isaac. That's what matters most. Tell you what. I'll text you the minute I know what she says about you. Okay? That way you don't have to wait until tomorrow."

Ms. Vega had scheduled the meeting at the very tail end of her schedule that night, and since I was having dinner and drinks with a pair of my girlfriends afterwards, I wouldn't be home until after he went to bed.

"Okay," Isaac said listlessly, and pulled away from me. Despite the crunch for time, I walked him back into the house. Before he went back inside, I told him one more time I was sure everything would be fine. Sometimes kids are afraid of the oddest things, but I got it with this one. He belonged in that school. In that class. Belonging for him wasn't easy right now.

* * *

Along the way, my phone rang. Despite my frustration with Tina lately, I felt no urge to change her ring tone back from a few notes from "our" song. Even during the worst of our relationship, the few weeks when we'd separated before deciding on a divorce, I never really hated her enough to forget the good times. But we moved on. That happens.

"Hey, Tina, what's up?" I asked.

"Just taking a walk, thought I'd call and check in. Is it a good time?"

"I'm on my way to a parent-teacher thing."

"This late?"

"Yeah. She's a good teacher. I imagine she's taking plenty of time with all the parents."

"Ms. Vega, right?" Tina asked, sniffing.

I wondered if that sniff was for Isaac and myself, or if something up there had happened. Then I immediately felt sort of awful about that. She was reaching out. That was... well, it was something. "Yeah."

"That's... that's good, it's good you're doing that."

I flung the first olive branch her way I could think of. "Isaac's scared as hell about what she'll say."

Tina laughed, and sniffed again. "He worries too much."

"Got that from me, I think." I winced, realizing how that would be taken. She had to think I meant that she didn't worry about us. Which... yeah, okay, it was sort of true at times, but it was still an asshole thing to imply. "Sorry, I... sorry."

"You're allowed a few points scored on me now and then," Tina said. I expected brittle, the way she got when we were fighting. But she sounded sad and distant. "Hey, I was actually, um..."

"Yeah?"

"Two things. Are you... are you okay?"

"Honestly? Never better. Why?"

"That's good. I just... I saw some pictures online. You, with a... with a few women. Very beautiful women."

"Yeah," I said. "I'm, uh, doing pretty well dating."

"That's good, that's good. I don't mean to judge. I talked to Morgan, and she filled me in that you and your lady friends are, um... all okay with each other."

"Tina..." I started, and sighed. "Just say to me what it is you want to say. Please. Can we do that for each other?"

"All right. Is Isaac safe?"

I wanted to snap at her about her suddenly caring, about her opting not to take a stance when he got into his fight. But she was still his mother, and in her situation, I'd be asking the same damn question. "Yes. He's very fond of all of them. One of them is... short term. Jenna doesn't want to be a mother to him, so we're just having a bit of fun for the time being. But she's very sweet to Isaac. The rest, they adore him. And no, before you ask, we're not having massive orgies in the living room or anything."

"Okay. I trust you. I just... I just worry."

"I know."

"Two of them are sisters."

I couldn't help a grin. Dakota and London weren't just sisters, but identical twins. We'd gone on a few dates one on one since the pair of crazy nights when I not only fucked them for the first time, but took their asses and helped start a pair of sapphic orgies. It was a weird, weird week. "Yeah, they are."

"Pervert." Tina laughed and sniffed. "Okay. Well... I'm happy you're getting back out there too. There's something else. Um. I'm flying back home. For Thanksgiving. I heard from Morgan you guys are too."

"Yeah."

"I was hoping... maybe I could see Isaac? I know we talked about him staying with you for Thanksgiving and coming up here for Christmas, but so long as we're both in the city-"

"Stop," I said, choking up and not entirely sure why. "Yeah. Of course you can see him. I don't want to drive a wedge between you two. That's not ever been the point, Tina."

"I know. I... I kinda did that myself."

I let out a long, slow breath. "If we're being honest... yes. That doesn't matter, though. He'll want to see you. Hell, I want to see you. But I want him around for my big family meal. That part's not going to change."

"I wouldn't expect it to," she said, and there was the brittleness. "But that works out. You eat with your family, then when you're ready, I'll be at my folks'. Okay?"

"How long will you be in town for?"

"The weekend. I... um... I'm bringing home Rupert."

Silence, then I choked out, "Rupert? His name is Rupert?"

"Shut up!" But Tina giggled. I had to admit, I kinda missed that giggle. She didn't use it often in the last five or six years we were married. "He's really a good guy."

"I'm glad you're getting out there too." Fuck it. I threw out yet another olive branch. Seemed like there was a fire sale on the suckers. "Morgan wants a day or two with Isaac too. If you're going to be around that long, how about you two take him and we'll drive together to the airport to see you off? We fly back Monday. Three hundred bucks cheaper that day. That work?"

"Yes. Yes, absolutely." She sniffed, and lower, she said, "I do miss him, you know. You might not think I do-"

"Tina, no, I..." I had no good response beyond that. She was right.

"-but I do. I'm... I'm really glad you're okay with this."

"So long as Isaac is, yeah. I am." I paused. "I hope you're happy, Tina."

"You too, Lionel. And geez Louise, it certainly looks like you are."

I laughed, and we said our goodbyes.

* * *

I've mentioned before Victoria Vega was a beautiful woman, if a bit understated thanks to the necessities of her position. But that night, she was extraordinarily fetching in a silky red blouse and a floor-length skirt that emphasized the nice, gentle swell of her hips. It was her eyes, I thought, I liked the most, or her long black hair.

When I came into her classroom, she was seated behind her desk, a novel in hand. When she saw me, she smiled and set down the book, rising to shake my hand.

"Lionel, thank you for coming in," she said. I liked the red lipstick. It nearly matched the shade of her blouse.

"Glad it's under better circumstances this time," I said. "Pleasure to see you again."

She opened a desk drawer and withdrew a few sheets of paper. "First, I wanted to give you this. We talked a bit about Isaac being enrolled in our gifted program, and I was very serious about that. I think he'd be a great candidate."

I accepted the paperwork and sat on an adult-sized plastic chair in front of her desk. "Is he bored?" I asked. "I know he can get distracted sometimes."

"We do have to have occasional talks about him getting up and helping the other students," Ms. Vega said, chuckling as she came around her desk and leaned against it. "But really, apart from his incident with Mark, he's a wonderful student. I think the gifted program will help challenge him creatively. That seems to be his best area. The stories he writes are so imaginative."

"Agreed," I said. "He builds these complex dioramas at home, these big scenes with his action figures and some of his other toys, and the way he acts it out, it's... well, I'm obviously biased, but I think it's pretty incredible." I held up the paperwork. "If you think this will be good for him, I'll sign him up tonight, if you have a pen."

She fished one out for me. I filled out the paperwork while she talked about his grades. My mind drifted some, thinking about Tina, about how annoyed she used to get at Isaac's house-spanning toy battles. And her irritation too at me helping him set up zip lines for his figures, or testing parachutes we made ourselves, me standing on the ladder, Isaac down below, laughing. Good memories. I hadn't thought about that in a while.

When there was a natural break in the conversation, I told Victoria about Isaac's fears about me coming in here, and she shook her head. "I see hints sometimes of his temper, especially when someone else is getting teased. But he's not lashed out or given us any red flags to worry about."

Someone's footsteps echoed down the hallway, drawing close, and Victoria held up one finger to me. A balding man in a sweater vest poked his head in. "Hey, Vicky, my last one just left. You want me to stick around, or...?"

"I'll be fine with Lionel here," Victoria said. "Go ahead and lock up.:

"Okay. Have a great night."

As he walked away again, Victoria asked, "Has there been anything at home troubling him?"

"No. At least I don't think so."

"Good," she said. "Adapting to the new city okay?"

"Yup. We have a couple nice parks nearby, and the neighborhood's full of kids. I think that helps."

The halls reverberated with the outer doors closing, and Victoria smiled. "Well, I think that gets us up to speed on Isaac. He's a sweet boy. I'm very lucky to have him in my class."

"He's very lucky to have you. We both are."

I stood up and pulled out my phone to text Isaac. I told him everything went great, and I'd be home in a while. He texted me back a thumbs-up, and when I glanced up, Victoria was at her classroom door. I thought she meant for us to leave, but instead, she started to pull it closed.

"Was there something else?" I asked.

"Yes," she said, and turned for me, cheeks bright flaming red. "I... are the code words really necessary?"

"The... what now?"

"Oh my God, Yvonne really was pranking me, wasn't she?"

"Yvonne? Wait, you know Yvonne?"

"Yes," Victoria said, coming towards me. Her hands played at her skirt, picking at it as she studied my chest, not my face. "She said... she told me..." She laughed and shook her head. "Never mind. I... this may have been a misunderstanding."

I stepped towards her, and Victoria stared up at me, her smile evaporating. I took her trembling hands and lifted them one by one to my lips. "Wet pussies..."

"...need... need c-c..." Victoria started cracking up, and that got me started. She laughed so hard she snorted, and that got her laughing even harder until she had her face buried against my chest. I held her against me, arms wrapped around her delicate shoulders, Oh, Yvonne, what did you do, you sexy, wonderful woman?

When she finally settled down, Victoria stared up at me, eyes gleaming with good cheer. "We go to the same gym. When she found out I was a teacher and where I worked, we put together some pieces pretty quickly. She mentioned you two were dating, and I maybe let it slip I thought you were pretty handsome. I think you can figure out the rest."

Oh, fuck me, I wanted her. The code phrase she'd given me - "wet pusses need creaming cocks" - was originally passed around my five girlfriends as a code to tell me they had been tested for STDs and were on the pill, so we were free to pursue whatever debaucherous delights we wanted. Someone somewhere down the line, I think Yvonne or Jenna, had mentioned that I couldn't sleep with anyone outside of the group unless they gave me that phrase, something I'd blindly agreed to without thinking it would actually happen.

But this, this was veering into some dangerous territory. If Victoria wanted a relationship, I had to say no. Isaac would be in her class for something like seven months yet, and I wasn't going to compromise that. Much as my hardening dick shouted at me otherwise, I held her shoulders and pulled back.

"Victoria, I want you. I really do. But my son is my everything."

"Yvonne told me you'd say something like that," Victoria said. She traced my chest all the way down to my abs with her fingernails, licking her lips. "Lionel, I'm an adult. You're clearly a man who has himself together. I don't do messy or clingy. I'm certainly not going to let things affect your son or my job."

I ran my hands to the sides of her breasts, and she subconsciously straightened, pushing them out towards me. Fucking hell, I knew I was going to do it anyways, but I had to say the words. "I'm okay with fooling around now and then. But if it's going to be more than that, it has to be when Isaac's done with your class. Seven months is a long time."

"I'm perfectly okay with keeping things casual if you are. I really don't want to have to think about competing with Yvonne and four other women. Was she joking about that?"

"No," I said. "That's the truth."

"Good God, you must go through tubs of vitamins," Victoria said, pulling me in for a soft kiss.

"Vats," I agreed, pushing her back towards the desk. For the first time, I noticed how bare the surface was. My hands slid down to her tight ass and I hoisted her up there as she lit me up with a breathy sigh. More than anything else, I wanted to touch that glossy hair. It was as silky as it appeared to be, and I took real pleasure in running my hands through it. "You're one hell of a beautiful woman, Victoria."

Her head tilted back as my lips dropped to her neck and her chin. I was content for a moment to simply work my fingers through her hair while she drank in the moment. But soon her small fingers deftly plucked at the buttons on my shirt, and before it was completely off, she had her hand inside, running up and down my taut gut.

"Good God, did you stuff anvils in there?" she asked. I snickered against her neck and brought my lips to hers.

"Wait till you find out what's lower," I said. She raised an eyebrow and I added, "Because my toes are gorgeous."

She burst out laughing, her forehead dropping against my shoulder. I used the opportunity to unhook her bra through her shirt. She pulled back and her eyes twinkled. "Thank you for making this... less awkward. I've never done this with the parent of one of my kids."

"I can't say as I go around chasing many of Isaac's teachers, either, but Mrs. Lykowski did have amazing taste in muumuus for a sixty-year-old."

"So buy muumuus, got it. Now shut up and kiss me."

"Yes, teacher," I said. We dropped our shirts somewhere in our general vicinity, leaving her tits cupped in a plunging mesh bra. That waved bye-bye too, and I leaned her back against the desk's surface to suck one of her brown nipples. She tasted like cherry blossoms and I loved it. That had always been one of my favorite scents and tastes on a woman. I could have spent hours licking and kissing every inch of her, but I did have another engagement that night.

I slipped my hands under her ass for a seam I'd felt earlier, and ran my hands up until I found the closure. Veronica lifted her butt for me and I unhooked the skirt and slid the zipper down, peeling the fabric off her slowly. She had amazing thighs, like a goddamn athlete, and I whistled softly staring at them and her long legs. The mesh panties were sexy, sure, but they were almost an afterthought.

"Holy hell, I need to taste you," I murmured. "Those are some sexy goddamn legs and thighs." I shook my head. "I sound like an advertisement for KFC's."

She laughed again, but it was throatier this time, and she brought the panties down, butt rising again. Unlike my five other women, Veronica trimmed instead of going completely bare. I made that the first stop on my grand tour, kissing and nuzzling her black patch. I lifted her legs and slung them over my shoulders, but not before I kissed along the inside of each thighs to the backs of her knees. Both of those points drew out shivers of pleasure from her, so that's where I kept my hands at first, rubbing the soft backside of her knees while I leaned down and began to lick her slim, narrow-lipped pussy.

Victoria liked that. In fact, she liked it so much she accidentally hit me. I'm thinking she meant to reach down and grab my hair, but instead, she whapped the top of my skull like she was banging a drum.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she gasped.

I laughed against her folds and waggled my tongue back and forth before saying, "Usually I take a girl out a few times before we get to the rough stuff."