Freshman Flirt Pt. 04: Romancing

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading parts 1 through 3. This is the conclusion of the story, with Part 4 and a brief epilogue. Hope you enjoy!

_____________________

Part 4: Romancing the Freshman Flirt

Even before that first gentle experiment, I'd come to feel that Mandy and I might have a future together. Afterward, we became even more comfortable with each other and we played several more times during the week, agreeing on a "position" to start and then taking it from there.

I had a couple of concerns, though. Thinking of an embarrassing time long before when someone had overheard me with Liz, I was worried about the kids overhearing any sounds from Mandy's bedroom, but when I questioned it without mentioning why I'd thought about it, she assured me that her door was locked, her fan was on high, and her TV was on to mask any unexpected, tell-tale noises.

The bigger concern was whether Mandy was ready to move into a new relationship so soon after the ink on her final divorce papers was dry. I asked her one night as we "cuddled," long-distance style, after we played.

"Barry, it's been four weeks since the papers were signed, but I put all of this in motion over a year ago, as soon as I had the evidence of Teddy's cheating. Yes, legally, I've been free for less than a month, but in my mind, I've been free of him for over a year, though I've been careful not to act on that. When we reconnected, I thought I'd want to have some time to be free, you know, maybe sow some wild oats, but sometimes you find something unexpected, something much better, growing close to home. Or maybe that's up in Signal Mountain?"

I smiled to myself. "As long as you're good with it, Mandy, so am I. I like you a lot and I look forward to talking to you every night and to seeing you as much as I can."

"Hmm, after what we just did, I can't imagine why," she said with a giggle. "But me, too."

Our play didn't happen on Thursday night, though, because that was when I visited Nathan, gave him several more Ben Franklins, and brought home little Ryder, the name selected by the kids. We set up a video call sometime after we arrived, with the kids extremely excited, Ryder being the dutifully playful pup, and Luke looking confused as hell about why I'd have made such an error as to bring home the little pest.

Mandy and I weren't on camera very much, but when we were, we were smiling.

Her smile, I was realizing more and more, made me smile.

However, my smile faded soon after the call went black when I was reminded how much work puppies are. I worked with him throughout the rest of the evening, listening to his insistent protests over his crate, and took him out several times during the night as he tried to acclimate to it. The effort continued on Friday since I'd taken the day off for the purpose. I did a conference call with the Larters and Liz that evening, where they grilled me on what was happening with Mandy and laughed at me as I tried to keep Ryder in line as we talked.

Liz stayed on the line for a moment after Sonny and Rosalie signed off.

"Barry, you know I never could stand that girl but I'm sure hoping it works out for the best for you now." She chuckled. "Whether that's together or as far apart as possible, I have no idea."

"Thanks, Liz," I said sarcastically.

"I want you to be happy, even if you are on the wrong side of the fence on most issues," she teased.

"Okay, now," I warned, and she laughed, with each of us knowing this was why we hadn't married each other fifteen or twenty years earlier.

"Seriously, Barry, you're a great guy and deserve to find a great partner," she said. "Oh, and Paul said to tell you hello and that reunion's only a few months away."

"Thanks. Tell Paul I said hello, too. Looking forward to seeing you guys there. Talk to you again soon."

***

"Ryder!" I exclaimed when we stopped yet again on Saturday morning. "You can hold it for more than 45 minutes." I cleaned him up, again while Luke watched with what I think was a smug, doggy grin.

While I usually parked on the street in front of Mandy's house, we'd agreed that I should pull into the driveway this time, and it's probably good that I did since Tad and Ceilly came barrelling out of the house, just barely giving me time to stop and put on the parking brake before they were swarming around the rear lift gate. Tad carried the small carrier with the puppy to the back yard while I got Luke out on his leash. Mandy came up close.

"You ready for this?" I asked.

"Now's a fine time to be asking," she laughed. "Here, let me help you--"

I pulled her into my arms and kissed her, right in front of her house in the sunlight, where anyone in the neighborhood could see. I didn't care, and from the way she was kissing me back, I don't think she did either.

***

We had a fun evening, playing and working with a very tired puppy, with Luke finally trying to lead by example when he saw that I was no longer the one fawning over Ryder. He was a smart dog and seemed to understand that he didn't have to worry about being displaced, at our house anyway.

Mandy and I took Luke for a walk after the puppy was asleep and the kids were ready for bed. We stopped by the garage for a pre-walk kiss, and then went down the driveway arm-in-arm, with me trying to calm a little disturbance up front.

"Barry, thank you. The kids love the puppy. I know you didn't get it for free, so how much do I owe you?"

"Not a cent. Consider him a housewarming present. And a house sprinkling present. And probably a house pooping present, too."

"I think someone's going to have to come help with the training, and maybe with the floor cleaning, too."

"That can be arranged," I said, pulling her close and kissing the side of her head.

"Ahem...I had fun with you this week, Barry, but..."

"What's wrong?" I asked, my heart racing, hoping she wasn't going to say something that would send me packing for good. I was holding my breath as I waited for her reply.

"It was a lot of fun, but...it...it wasn't the real thing. Do you think, maybe...we could...do it for real? Like soon? Barry, I like you a lot and I want you so much I could scream."

She was grinning, that old Goldie look that I'd long recalled, and I breathed and laughed and pulled her into my arms, all at the same time, practically delirious with happiness. Then I was kissing her and kissing her and not wanting to let her go.

Someone approaching with another dog forced us to move, though, and we were soon on our way back to the house. Reality had set back in and we realized, as much as we'd like to do more that evening, it couldn't happen with the kids in the house. It would be another lonely evening, in separate beds just feet apart but with that wall between us.

We stopped again out by the garage, in the shadows and out of sight of the front door, where we kissed and groped like teenagers for a couple of minutes. Or maybe ten; neither of us looked at our phone, so I don't know.

After the kids were in bed, Mandy and I gave a polite kiss and hug before retreating into our respective bedrooms. I could just hear the TV playing in Mandy's room, though I couldn't make out what she was watching. Not caring to watch anything, I decided to try to go to sleep. I'd just climbed into bed when my phone vibrated with an incoming message.

Mandy: Turn ur ringer off, put earpiece in, turn TV to cable chan 1095.

I did as she instructed and some soft jazz music began playing on the TV. I typed Done and pressed send.

My phone vibrated again a moment later with Mandy's call. "Hey, mister. Whatcha wearing?"

"Nothing," I breathed, reaching for the TV remote to adjust the volume.

"Good," she replied. "Me, too."

***

I extended the invitation to Mandy and the kids to visit my house sometime soon, but we decided to wait until Ryder was a little bigger and house trained a little better. We didn't want to mess up his routine or stress him on the trip, so I was back in Hoover the following weekend, following up on Ryder's training and doing some more things Mandy needed done around the house. She sat with me while I replaced her under-sink garbage disposal.

"Barry, I feel bad that you come here and do chores and repairs for me, but maybe I can make it up to you next weekend."

I looked up at her, brushing my head on the cabinet opening in the process. I winced at the close call. "Why? What's happening next weekend?"

"Well, if Teddy does what he promised, which is by no means a guarantee, mind you, he's going to meet me about halfway on Saturday morning to take the kids for a whole week. He realized the kids will be starting at their new schools right after they get back and that he won't have spent a single minute with them this whole summer and that they'll miss him. He's an ass and a cheater but he's not a complete idiot. I'm thinking of taking Monday off from work if you'd like to do the same and do an adult Saturday-Sunday-Monday house-camping-slash-puppy training session with me?"

"Do it! I'd love to do adult house-camping-slash puppy-training with you," I replied, smiling when I repeated it right (I think). "And tell you what, I'll raise you your Monday to a Tuesday."

"Good!" she said, running her hand up my calf and then up the inside of my thigh, causing me to bump my head on the cabinet opening for real this time.

"Ow!" I backed out of the cabinet, wincing.

She kissed my back and then up my neck several times, but kissed nowhere near the bump. When she got close, she whispered, "Bring snacks and appropriate accouterments. If it's up to me, we may not get out of bed all weekend except when we're puppy training."

I sat up, cross-legged, in front of the cabinet rubbing my head. It didn't hurt that much, but I thought the little hint might attract more loving, but she turned and leaned into me, leading me to put my arm around her. Something looked off.

"What's wrong, Sweetheart?"

"I'm worried. We've been seeing each other for six weeks, and I'm worried about next weekend. Teddy will have the kids for a whole week and there's no telling what he'll put in their heads...or get out of them."

"You're worried about custody, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Teddy could have asked for joint custody just to screw me over, but I think he wanted his freedom. When he finds out we're seeing each other and that you've been staying here, he may raise a fuss and take me back to court, just to...to fuck me one last time."

"Mandy, I'll swear out an affidavit, or even swear in court, if necessary, that we haven't been physically intimate while the kids were around."

"No, it's not that...at least, it's not all that. The main thing is to be able to get me back to Atlanta into court again, to cause me trouble and make me look bad. Us having a physical relationship now is nothing compared to Teddy's cheating and he knows he wouldn't win over it--I have all the pictures and proof I need, if it comes to it, though I was trying to spare him and, potentially the kids in the long run. Now, it's the hassle he can cause me. Make me miss a day or two of work, pay for a hotel room, and drag me and the attorney, which I'd have to pay, into court, and then say, 'Never mind!' I swear, he'd do it just to spite me like that."

"Well, if you think it's best, I'll stay home next weekend and we can swear that we haven't been physically intimate when they were around and haven't been when they weren't around either."

She twisted around and glared up at me. "Not on your life!"

"Good," I said, and kissed her.

***

The following Saturday morning, I unlocked the door to Mandy's house with her spare key and took Ryder out from his crate to go outside to do his business. Afterward, he and Luke played for a bit, and then I played fetch with them, with Luke mostly taking turns.

Back in the house, I carried a bag into Mandy's bedroom, worked for a bit, and then went out to wait on her. She pulled into her driveway just after noon. Luke, Ryder, and I went out to meet her.

She petted both puppies, my grown one and her actual one, for a second as they swarmed around her before stepping into my arms. Her eyes looked red, as if she'd been crying.

"Are you okay, Mandy?"

"Barry, I feel like I'm living a country music song. You know, that I-20 ride song?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," I said, thinking of the Zac Brown song that had come out a few years earlier, "but they'll be coming back to you for a long time in a week."

"I've never been away from them for so long. Even when they were at their grandparents' house."

She cried and I held her for a while, rocking gently, trying to soothe her. She calmed down a bit and then looked at me.

"I've missed you so much, and seeing Teddy again made me appreciate you even more. Do you think he'd have climbed under my kitchen sink and changed that garbage disposal? Not a chance! That asshole!"

From sadness to anger, her switch was surprising, so I asked, "What happened? Did he give you a hard time when you dropped off the kids?"

"No, not really, but he brought his 'girlfriend' with him; she can't be more than 23 or 24, if that--probably not even out of college. I told the kids to stay in the car while I went and talked to Teddy. Miriam, or something like that, walks up wearing one of those tiny little tank tops with the 'built-in' shelf bra."

When I nodded, maybe a touch too enthusiastically, she frowned at me and gave me a little punch. "Barry, I swear, it was so tight I could see her nipples and barbells. It's like she thought every man alive should want her. I looked at her and caught her eyes, glanced down to try to get her to do something, but she just smiled at me, glancing down like she was as proud of them as anything she'd ever done in her life."

"She probably was."

"Yeah. When she didn't take the hint, I told Teddy that my children weren't going to get in the car with the half-dressed hussy. If he wanted to see them--the kids, not her tits--he better tell her to cover herself and she better not parade around like that in front of them while they were at his house." Mandy's eyes were practically flashing with anger.

"What happened?"

"He told her to put something over it, she got pissed, and they went over and argued for a couple of minutes. He finally took off his polo shirt--he had a tank on under it--and had her put it on. She got in the front seat, all huffy, and I told the kids to get out of my car where I could tell them bye and to call me if there were any problems or anything that made them feel uncomfortable. They gave Teddy a hug, and it was sweet, looking like family in the old days for a second, before he told them to get in the car. He whispered to me that his girlfriend would behave herself, but the hussy made it a point to look straight ahead, avoiding looking in my eyes because she knew if she had my glare would have probably killed her."

"Wow. Are you okay now?"

"I think so, but at the time, after they took off, I sat there and cried, praying that they'd be okay while they're with him. Barry, I was with him for all those years but it's like I never really knew him. I can't believe he'd let her do that."

"Mandy, times are a little different, and girls get away with a little more now, maybe even a lot more, but I used to know someone who pushed the limits sometimes. She flirted with just about everyone she met, and every guy who met her wanted her. It's a lot like how Teddy's girlfriend sees herself."

She slumped as she realized my meaning. "Damn, I really was a lot like that, wasn't I?"

"Somewhat," I agreed, "but I think you understood age categories and circumstances better than Teddy's little friend. But, yeah, every guy who saw you running around in your little tank top and short shorts back in the day wanted you--every single one--and you seemed like you were enjoying it, every single second."

She thought about that for a few seconds before she slowly nodded. "Oahhh, I'll admit that I was...ahem...something of a flirt--"

I chuckled at how she was justifying and downplaying the behavior she'd admitted to when confronted by Teddy's new girlfriend doing it on a new level. I probably shouldn't have, but I interjected, "Something?"

Her face red, she replied, "Okay, buster, a flirt, an out-and-out cock-tease just like that guy said, and, yeah, at the time, I have to admit that I enjoyed every second of it. Eventually, though, I grew up and now it seems I'm paying for the sins of my misspent youth."

"Mandy, don't get me wrong. I didn't say there was anything misspent about it. You were pretty and sexy and dynamic, exciting, practically electrifying. There were guys who looked forward to your nightly visits downstairs, even though they knew they'd never have a chance with you. Just the thrill of your passing was enough of a visual for a nice jerk off session later in the evening for some."

She gave me a skeptical look before laughing. "You're funny."

"I'm serious," I replied, turning away.

"Wait!" she exclaimed before grabbing my arm. "Barry, did you ever...?"

Grinning, I said, "I'll never tell."

***

With the house to ourselves and the unfortunate excitement of Mandy's meeting with Teddy over, we were surprisingly relaxed as we played with Luke and Ryder, and worked on Ryder's training. I think we'd both figured we'd have been in bed most of the afternoon, but we found spending time together talking, holding hands, and seeing Ryder making little steps of progress were rewarding, too.

When Ryder got tired, we went inside and I caught Mandy looking at me. There was something about that look, so I asked, "What?"

She led me to the kitchen table and motioned for me to sit down at the end. She took the seat at the corner next to me, and leaned close, our hands touching.

"Barry, tell me, why have you never married? You're a very nice, good looking guy who's smart enough you could have found someone if you wanted to. There are a lot of girls out there who'd have been quite happy with you if you'd taken the step. What is it Barry? Are you hiding something from me?"

"Mandy, I'll answer, but what's wrong?" I had a bad feeling; something was going on. Was Jynx's prophetic statement coming true?

"Barry, I like you a lot, but I just don't want to find skeletons in the closet down the road that I could have found and dealt with in advance."

A light went on in my mind. "Your meeting with Teddy this morning?"

She nodded slowly. "I met him, I fell in love with him, and I rushed headlong into the relationship, thinking that things would work out, but I didn't look deep enough and I got burned, really bad, as a result. I wouldn't say I wasted all of those years since I have Tad and Ceilly out of them, but there was a lot of hurt, a lot of anger, and a lot of unhappiness."

"I'm sorry. I know that couldn't have been easy."

"No, it wasn't, but that's the past. You and I were friends once and now have become friends again, but I don't want to go into this with you and find out I missed a stupid, unanswered question and risk it all happening again."

Her concern was spelled out in her words and written on her face. I squeezed her hand for a moment and caressed her with my thumb before trying to answer her concerns.

"Mandy, I never married because I never found the one person that I truly loved and who loved me back equally. I've had lovers, a number over the years, and even fallen in love a couple of times after Evie. I had someone in love with me a couple of times, too, but it takes two people in love and willing to make a real commitment to make it work. Something's always been missing in my relationships, whether it's the love for one or the other of us or the willingness to commit from one, the other, or both. In all that time, though, I've never cheated on anyone or deliberately hurt someone I cared about. I promise you, I'll never do that to you either, whether we have a relationship or not."