Page 48 of Her Forbidden Teacher
Having Savvy so close has been a godsend. She entertains me when Theo is at work. Plus, between her and Abby, I get to see what mothering looks like up close and firsthand, which encourages me on my own journey.
“Oh great,” Savvy grumbles. “What is that idiot doing? Why is he coming this way?”
Kevin, or one half of “the beer bros” who live between me and Savvy, is sauntering over to us. When he gets close, he waves at us. I motion for him to come on in, as Savvy flips him off. Mindy cracks up laughing. A few seconds later, Kevin, with his obnoxious cologne, enters the townhouse. I’m grateful I’m past the phase of every smell making me sick.
“Hey, beautiful neighbors,” he says, amping up the charm. “Is it going to bother you if me and my brother have a few pals over for some beers tonight?”
“Yes,” Savvy says at the same time I say, “No.”
Mindy giggles some more.
Kevin, never losing his perpetual smirk, grins at Mindy. “You’re new. I’m Kevin. Wanna party?”
Mindy shoots me a look and I shrug. The guys seem pretty harmless despite Savvy’s grumbling. Their yard is a mess, and they can be loud, but they bring peace offerings. Last weekend, they brought Theo pot brownies “for getting a little rowdy” to which he promptly threw in the trash. I even heard they try to pay the landlord in beer.
“Sure,” Mindy says to Kevin. “I’ll come. What should I wear?”
He waggles his brows. “For you, I’d say nothing.”
Savvy smacks him for that comment.
“Kidding,” he says quickly. “You’re perfect the way you are. See you at nine tonight.”
After playfully saluting Savvy and then winking at me, he saunters back over to his townhouse.
“I’m proud of you,” I tell Mindy. “You really have gotten braver since I’ve known you.”
She beams at me. “I’m trying to put myself out there. And Kevin is hot.”
“Kevin is not hot,” Savvy argues. “He’s a dude bro.”
“I beg to differ,” I say in Mindy’s defense. “He really is cute and sweet, too.”
Savvy shakes her head in annoyance, but she’s smiling. “On that note, I’m going home. I’ll see you two crazies later.”
Once she’s gone, Mindy refreshes our hot tea, and we make our way to the living room to get cozy. Savvy has a lot going on with being a new mom and having two lovers, so I try not to bugher with deep stuff. Mindy is my ride or die when Theo’s not around.
“So,” Mindy says once she’s dragged the blanket over her lap. “How are you doing since Lucy got out?”
I’m a bit unnerved, but I don’t think she’ll come after me now. To be safe, and to accommodate my pregnancy, I enrolled in online school last week.
“Fine,” I say and mean it. “If she violates the restraining order, she’ll just make more trouble for herself.”
“At least, here, you have a lot of friends and neighbors to keep an eye on you. Moving here was smart. One day I’ll get a man like Theo.” She sighs dreamily. “Maybe that man will be Kevin.”
We both crack up laughing and then spend the rest of the afternoon planning Mindy’s imaginary wedding. By the time Theo gets home from work, my friend cup is filled for the day and I’m aching to spend time with my man. Once she’s gone, Theo kicks off his shoes and then curls up on the couch with me.
“How are my two favorite people?” he murmurs as his hand caresses my growing belly.
“Better now that you’re here.”
“Oh,” he says as his palm inches up under my shirt to find my breast over my bra. “My attorney called.”
I frown at him. “Mary Ellen up to her crazy shit again?”
Not long after she tried to get him arrested, he learned the paternity results. He wasn’t the father just as he claimed. She then went on to harass the actual baby daddy, Richard, even following him to another state.
“Just to tell me he checked up on her as he does from time to time. She spent the night in jail for vandalizing Richard’s car. Now she has a restraining order placed against her from him too.” Theo shakes his head. “So glad I got away from that psycho.”
