“I’m doing alright. Just trying to get settled here in Blanco Springs with Mia,” I replied, my eyes still on my daughter as she flopped down on the sofa in our living room.
“Listen, I’ve got an opportunity for you. I’m starting up a new landscaping company in Dallas, and I could really use a guy with your skills and experience to manage the crew. What do you say? Want to come back and work with me?”
Oh, yes. For a moment, I imagined being back home, as if I could smell the dirt under my fingers. It was tempting—a steady paycheck and the chance to do the work I loved.
It was almost too good to resist.
Mia’s laughter pealed from the living room, her smile outshining the afternoon sun. No, I wasn’t going to take this away from her. “Carlos, I appreciate the offer. I really do. But I can’t uproot Mia again, not now. She just started school here, and she’s so happy…” I hesitated, conflicting emotions battling below the surface.
The lure of returning to Dallas, the life and work I once loved, was strong. I could almost feel the sun warming my back as I worked the soil, smell the fresh-cut grass.
But Mia’s laughter rang in my ears, and the memory of her joyous face at school with her new friends was unforgettable. This move was for her, for both our futures. I couldn’t let anything jeopardize that.
“I get it, man. Family comes first. But if you change your mind, the offer stands. We can talk again in the summer, see where things are at?”
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “Yeah, maybe. Thanks for thinking of me, Carlos. It means a lot.”
“Anytime, Marc. You take care of yourself and that little girl, you hear?”
“I will. Thanks again.”
As I ended the call, Mia bounded over to me, her eyes wide with curiosity. “Who was that, Papi?” she asked, her small hand tugging at my shirt.
I smiled down at her, my beautiful girl. “Just an old friend.” I picked her up and kissed the side of her head. “So, you had a good day today?”
She grinned up at me, her joy infectious. “The best day. I like it here.”
I pulled her into a hug, my arms tight around her. “Me too, Mia. Me too.”
Chapter Three
Ken
“Five little monkeys swinging in the tree,” I sang, the children’s voices repeating alongside mine. The familiar tune filled the classroom with an energetic hum. As I moved to the window, my gaze drifted outside. There stood Marc Mendez, shirtless, the afternoon sun highlighting every contour of his muscular frame.
I blinked—what was he doing there?My breath caught in my chest, until a sound caught my attention, and I turned back at my students.
Little eyes stared back, expectant, innocent. “Mr. Parker?” one kid asked, snapping me back to reality.
I glanced outside again. Marc was stripping now, his movements slow and deliberate, his eyes locked on mine as he unbuckled his belt and slid his pants slowly down his legs. His hand palmed the bulge outlining his cock, his head hanging back as his fingers dipped inside the waistband of his briefs.
My breath hitched, and the classroom seemed to narrow, the innocent chatter of the children fading into the background.
“Kendall, what are you doing?” My father’s voice cut through the dream like a knife. I turned around. There he was, in adark gray business suit, standing at my desk in the front of the classroom. His face twisted in disgust as he stared at my computer screen. “How could you watch this filth?”
How could you?The words hung in the air. Panic surged through me, and I woke with a start, my sheets tangled around my legs.
I sat up and took several deep breaths. The dream clung to me like a second skin, leaving me shaken and uneasy. What if someone found out about Marc’s website? What if they found out that I knew about it?
I had to unsubscribe. I had to focus on Mia and my job.
Yet here I was, Mia’s teacher, still indulging in her father’s videos. Hell, just last night I lay in bed, pleasuring myself to an old favorite video of mine—Magic Marco, stretched out on a leather sofa, stroking himself to completion with an earth-shattering roar.
Shame churned in my gut, a constant reminder of the thin line I was walking, and a sense of hypocrisy filled me.
The very man I needed to forget was the one I couldn’t stop thinking about.
The one who I couldn’t get away from.
