32 - Haley
32
Haley
I packed my suitcase the next morning, stuffing way too many outfits for just a three-day trip. I knew I was overpacking, but I had the room in my luggage, and I would rather have too many outfit options rather than not enough. It was my first conference, after all. I didn’t know what to expect.
“The interview is Monday afternoon,” I told Sara, who was sitting on the edge of my bed while I packed. “I’m so glad I bought Bran that suit two months ago!”
“Wasn’t that for a funeral?” Sara asked.
“Cousin Jessy’s great-grandpa,” I confirmed. “I guess I shouldn’t be happy about it.”
“He lived to be a hundred. Can’t ask for more than that,” Sara said. “Do you know what Shay wrote in the reference letter?”
“I haven’t asked him yet. I’ll text him when I’m at the conference. I’m sure I’ll have downtime sitting in my hotel.”
Sara giggled.
“What?” I demanded. “You’re not going to suggest I send him a lewd text while I’m in my hotel room, are you?”
“No. I was just thinking about how you’re accidentally sleeping your son into a better school. Bran’s entire life might be on a better path, and it’s all thanks to your proficiency in bed!”
I smiled at my sister. “We weren’t in bed. We were standing up against the glass in a seven-figure condo.”
She giggled again. “You see? This is why I stole your phone and nudged you in the direction of a threesome. I wanted to live vicariously through your sexual escapades. And yes, now I do think you should thank Shay with a sexy photo while you’re bored in your hotel room.”
I paused in my closet, then took down a hanger with black lingerie on it. “I don’t even know if I can still fit into this. I bought it in college.”
Sara took it out of my hand and forcefully placed it in my suitcase. “Stop being modest. You lost all your baby weight before Bran was crawling.”
That wasn’t exactly true, but I was excited by the idea of trying it on for someone, so I let the lingerie stay in the suitcase. “You don’t think it’s immoral? Sleeping with a guy, and then allowing him to help my son get into a better school?”
“You’re just a mother doing her best to take care of her son,” Sara said. “That’s not immoral at all. Besides, it’s not like you had sex with him because he was going to do this. You had no idea.”
“True. Besides, he hasn’t gotten in yet. It’s just an interview. Honestly, I still don’t think Bran will get in. But it feels good to have a chance!” I sighed down at my suitcase. “Maybe I shouldn’t go on this trip.”
“Stop it,” Sara snapped. “I’ll be fine. Bran will be fine. But you won’t be fine if you miss your flight, and we need to leave in ten minutes.”
I finished packing without any other waffling. My sister was good at talking sense into me in a way that nobody else could.
The four of us piled into the minivan, with Harper acting as chauffeur since it was getting harder for Sara to drive in her state. We dropped Bran off at Kindergarten first, and I got out and hugged him tightly.
“Coach Jordy is going to take you to practice today and tomorrow,” I said.
“YAY!” Bran said happily. “I wish he could take me to practice every day.”
“I’ll miss you too,” I muttered as he ran into the school.
“It’s a good thing,” Sara said while we drove to the airport. “Most boys his age would bawl their eyes out if their mom left for two days.”
“I kind of wish he bawled when I left,” I muttered.
The flight to Las Vegas was smooth, as was the cab ride to the hotel. Our group was staying at Circus Circus, which was right across the street from the convention center where the real estate conference was being hosted. The hotel was shaped like a series of massive tents, full of flashing lights and circus noises. I couldn’t help but think about how much Bran would have enjoyed the experience.
I had dinner with some of the other conference members that night, then went to bed early since we had conference classes first thing in the morning. It was strange to sleep alone, without my son in the next room or my sister a short walk away. Part of my brain was used to always being on alert in case Bran needed something in the middle of the night. As I settled into the mountain of pillows on the bed, I felt that part of my mind relax.
I missed Bran terribly already… but it was kind of nice.
The next day was a whirlwind of classes, presentations, and discussions. I absorbed all the information like a sponge, taking notes and saving every piece of paper that was handed out. It reminded me of how much I loved college, back before I’d gotten pregnant. I liked learning new things, especially when it related to my job.
I was exhausted by the time I returned to my hotel room that evening. I took a shower, then opened up a bottle of wine from the mini fridge. It was rare that I got a chance to splurge on myself, so I was going to take advantage of the opportunity.
After a glass of wine, I remembered something I had forgotten to do. I pulled out my phone and typed quickly.
Me : Hey, I meant to text you yesterday but I was traveling. I wanted to thank you for submitting a reference letter to the Worthington Academy! We have an interview with their admissions person on Monday, and I’m pretty sure it’s thanks to you.
Shay : Happy to do it. My old firm has worked for the Academy, so I know a few people in positions of importance.
Me : Still, I can’t thank you enough.
Shay : No thanks required!
I wasn’t satisfied with that, so I gulped down some more wine and changed into my lingerie. After spending way too much time analyzing myself in the mirror, I snapped a few photos and then sent the best one to Shay.
Me : How’s this for a thank you?
Me : [Photo attached]
Shay : Oh my.
Shay : Okay, you’re welcome to thank me in that manner as much as you want.
Me : That’s why you submitted the reference, huh? To see me naked more often?
Shay : That’s definitely not why I did it. However, if you send me another photo from a different angle, I just might walk into that school and arrange a sit-in until they admit your son.
Me : Ask and ye shall receive!
Me : [Photo attached]
Shay : Fuck.
Me : Oh? Not what you wanted?
Shay : That’s EXACTLY what I wanted. I love how your ass practically swallows that thong.
Me : Good :-) Let me know how the sit-in goes. I’ll expect an admission letter from the school within the week.
Shay : I can’t stop thinking about the showing the other day. I loved how you dropped to your knees like it was part of your job.
Me : And I loved how you pushed me up against the glass and fucked the wits out of me.
Shay : Want to Facetime? I’m sitting in bed, thinking about you, and it would be a lot more fun with video…
Me : Tempting, but I need to get to sleep. You’ll just have to wait until I’m back in town.
Shay : I hate waiting.
Me : Too bad. Good night :-)
Shay : Teasing me like that and then going to bed is actually illegal.
Shay : Trust me: I’m a lawyer.
Shay : Night, Haley
I smiled while rereading the text thread. Oh, it was so tempting to jump on a video call and have phone sex. But I was having fun making him wait, dragging it out.
It would make it that much more satisfying when we did hook up after I was back in Vancouver.
I thought about Shay and the guys the next day while I was at the convention. They were permanent fixtures in my mind, always there when I stared off and daydreamed. That was a new phenomenon. I’d been raising Bran by myself since he was born. Sure, I had Sara helping a lot of the time, but that wasn’t the same thing as having another parent.
For the past five years, I’d basically been doing it alone.
But that wasn’t true anymore. With Jordan teaching him baseball and Shay pulling strings to get him into a good school, I felt like I had an entire team backing me up. It was nice to have a real support system.
Beyond that, I actually missed the three men in my life. In fact, I wasn’t sure which of them I missed the most—Lucas, Jordan, or Shay. Each of them created a different bloom of joy in my mind when I thought about seeing them next. I had always wondered if I would have enough room for love if I started dating seriously again, or if Bran would take up all of that emotional energy.
Now I knew that wasn’t the case. If anything, the feelings I had for these three men bolstered my love for Bran, supporting it like the flying buttresses on a cathedral roof.
There was just one problem.
I liked all three of them.
A lot .
What was I going to do? It was now undeniable that our foursome at Lucas’s apartment wasn’t just a single night of meaningless sex. I liked each of these guys on a much deeper level. All of them were, for lack of a better term, husband material .
That question tormented me for the remainder of the conference, and on my flight home on Friday. I collected my suitcase from baggage claim, then walked through the newly-renovated Portland Airport to where Sara said she would meet me.
But when I reached the meeting area, it was Lucas who was sitting on a bench with my son.
“Mommy!” Bran said through the microphone of his toy speaker, amplifying his voice across the terminal. “We’re over here!” Mommy!”
Filled with a mother’s love for a son she hadn’t seen in three days, I rushed across the open space. Bran jumped up and slammed into my leg hard enough to nearly make me lose my balance. “I missed you! I missed you!”
“I missed you too,” I said, crouching down to hug him tightly. I never knew I could love something this much before Bran was born, yet our reunion brought tears to my eyes, even after only a few days.
When Lucas approached, I rose and said, “Where’s Sara? I was expecting her to pick me up.”
Lucas didn’t smile. “Don’t freak out… but she’s in the hospital.”