Foxe Hunt by Haley Walsh Read Free Book Online Page B

high school, and Sidney quirked a grin at Skyler. “Someone’s walking funny,” she said.
    “Shut up.”
    “Seriously, Skyler. You are glowing . She’s going to want to know what’s up. Wouldn’t this be a good time to tell her?”
    They made it to the steps and climbed to the covered porch.
    “Tell her that her only son sucks cock with the same mouth he kisses her with?” he whispered. “That he takes it up the ass? I don’t think so.”
    “Skyler, you—”
    The door swung open and Cynthia Foxe stood in the doorway. “Sidney! Skyler! Right on time.” She kissed them both on the cheek. Skyler handed his mother a bouquet of orange chrysanthemums and Asiatic lilies, but he couldn’t stop thinking of the flowers Keith brought him. “This will be perfect for the table! Thank you, Skyler.”
    Cynthia wore a pair of tan slacks that hugged a figure still toned from a daily routine at the gym. She adjusted her lavender sweater over her hips and cocked her head at her son, smiling with the Dior “Rose Panorama” lipstick she always wore.
    “Sidney dear,” she said. “You are looking lovelier all the time.”
    Skyler turned his head to look at his friend. And he noticed…
    that she was. Her face was long and angular with a thin, straight 42 Haley Walsh
    nose and shapely lips. Her make-up was subtle—just a bronzer for her cheeks, a dark, natural tone for her lips, and a little liner for her eyes. Her dark hair hung in corkscrewed locks just to her shoulders. If he had been straight, he would definitely have made a move—and then that thought gave him pause. One day, his Sidney wouldn’t be his anymore. A pang of jealousy warmed his chest. Silly really. She’d always be his Sidney. She’d just belong to some other guy, too.
    “And Skyler.” His mother cupped his cheek. “Sweetie. You look positively radiant.”
    “Must be someone he’s seeing,” said Sidney.
    Skyler shot her a murderous glance.
    Cynthia Foxe broke into a smile. “Skyler! You’re seeing someone? You should have brought her.”
    “I…we…only went out once.”
    “What’s her name?”
    “I don’t know if this will turn into anything. No sense in getting your hopes up.” He retreated through the dining room and pushed open the kitchen door. Footsteps followed him.
    Cynthia was there when he closed the refrigerator door.
    “So who is she?”
    “Just…someone.”
    “A fellow teacher,” Sidney interjected.
    He was going to kill her so much! He gripped the iced tea pitcher hard and set it down, afraid it would shatter. He reached into the cupboard for a glass and set it beside the pitcher.
    “Oh, a teacher.” She folded her arms. “Is that wise dating someone from work? Do they allow that?”
    “The district frowns on it but it isn’t disallowed.” He poured the liquid into his glass and gulped it down. Mmm. No one made it like his mother. “Anyway, who knows? Can we talk about something else?”
    “Well, I just don’t want to be too old for grandchildren.”
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    She had no idea how comments like that made his heart hurt.
    What could he possibly say to her? You’ll never get grandchildren, Mom. It’s just not ever going to happen. He couldn’t say it.
    “Do you have anything stronger than iced tea, Mom?”
    § § §
    “It’s just that you never brought home any girlfriends.”
    It was turning into a nightmare, what with Sidney’s sly innuendos and his mother’s complaining, the night was stretching longer and longer with no end in sight.
    He spooned more pasta onto his plate. “I don’t have girlfriends. I don’t really date.”
    Cynthia Foxe shook her head. “I’m no prude, you know.” She always said that right before she launched into a prude-ridden diatribe. “But with all the diseases out there a young man your age shouldn’t be hopping into bed all the time.”
    “Mom!”
    “I’m just saying it isn’t safe. And I don’t think it’s good for your psyche. You’re twenty-five, Skyler.