Warning for some lewd language below. The rating for this story will be changing to M soon.
Parents day. Duncan had been somewhat dreading this. He didn't mind an excuse to take off early from work though. Even if he liked his job, which was something he never thought he would. The idea of being a working adult had always rubbed him the wrong way. Duncan never wanted to conform to societies expectations. He had grown up putting together bikes and taking them apart and it was something that he was naturally good at. It turned out that fixing cars was something that was just an extension of that. Soon enough he was working as a car mechanic full time. It suited him.
What didn't suit him? Having to deal with a bunch of parents who thought their kid was best finger painter on the planet. So although he loved his own kid, Parents Day wasn't exactly his idea of a good time. Duncan wasn't the most conventional looking parent and people were so quick to judge. Courtney on the other hand, had been a parent her whole life. Even as a teenager she was always telling people what to do and what's best for them. There were only those rare occasions where he had seen her let loose and act her age. She always had to be responsible and do things by the book. They were opposites but somehow their arrangement with their children had been working out for the past few weeks.
Both parents were sitting at a small table while the girls were showing them some of the arts and crafts projects that they had made. He wouldn't let Courtney know it, but Duncan was glad that Vanessa had a woman in her life. He had dated a few girls over the years, but none of them were deemed good enough to be around his daughter. It was hard for her to grow up without a mother, but he wasn't going to let just anyone into her life. Courtney on the other hand just kinda popped up without warning and became a big part of his life again. As he looked on at the drawings and collages covered with glitter, he heard a conversation stand out to him from the background noise.
"Did you see her ass?" Duncan didn't look in the direction of where the voices were coming from. As soon as he heard the male's hushed words he became intrigued and began eavesdropping.
"I was too busy looking at her rack." Another man responded.
"Damn. I wonder if she's seeing anyone?"
"You're married!"
"So are you!"
"Doesn't mean I can't look! My wife says she's a lawyer." Uh oh. Duncan's first thought was that they were talking about Courtney, then again, she couldn't be the only lawyer in the room.
"Yeah?"
"Oh yeah, I bet she's feisty."
"I bet she's crazy in bed. The conservative ones always are." Duncan's jaw immediately tightened as he felt the rest of his body tense as well.
"Apparently she just got divorced, maybe she's looking for a rebound."
The pair of men chuckled at their remarks. Now Duncan was positive they were talking about Courtney, which pissed him off. Weren't they supposed to be there for their kids, not to check out women?
"She's one mother I'd like to fu-" One of the men was about to seal his fate, because Duncan was a second away from punching this guy in the face; but the creep had paused when he saw his wife walking towards them with their son in tow. Good. That should make him shut his mouth.
"Are you okay Daddy? You look angry, do you need to count to ten?" Vanessa asked with concern from her spot on Courtney's lap. Courtney giggled at Vanessa's innocent question.
"Yeah Duncan, do you need to count to ten?" She mocked him in a too sweet voice. He glared back at her, not wanting to give a response but instead put his arm around the back of her chair. She looked at the appendage then back at him.
"What?" He challenged her to say something.
"Nothing."
"Mommy, look how good I colored in the lines." Addison gestured to a picture she had drawn.
"It's 'how well' honey, and you did an great job." Duncan sat there still silently fuming while Courtney pretended she didn't know what was pissing him off.
The sun was starting to set by the time Parents Day was over and everyone was walking back to their respective cars. It had been chance that Courtney and Duncan were parked next to each other but it worked to Courtney's advantage since there was something that she wanted to bring up to him.
"Do you wanna order pizza or something?" Duncan suggested as he buckled Vanessa into her car seat and closed the car door.
"Sure," She replied closing her own backseat door. "if you tell me why you put your arm around me earlier."
"I didn't put my arm around you, I put it on your chair."
"It's the same thing."
"No it's not."
"Are you sure it didn't have anything to do with why you were in a bad mood?"
"I wasn't in a bad mood! If anything you're putting me in a bad mood right now."
"You wouldn't have to be so defensive if you weren't lying, Duncan."
"I'm being defensive because you're annoying me, Courtney." They were in a stare down and with both of their stubborn attitudes, they could be there for a while.
"You're so infuriating!" Courtney was the first to give in.
"Right back at ya!"
"Just for that, you're buying the pizza." She turned on her heel and stalked over to the drivers side of her car.
"Fine, but we're going to your house!" Duncan yelled after her.
"Fine!" She slammed the car door with another slam being heard soon after, leaving Vanessa and Addison to look at each other through the car windows with confused expressions.
He drove her crazy. Her made her blood boil. No one else in this world made Courtney angry as fast and easily as Duncan could. She held the steering wheel in a death grip on the drive home. She swerved in and out of traffic more erratically than she ever had. For some reason that exchange they had in the parking lot really got to her. It was stupid and childish but every time she could see his truck in her rearview mirror she would change lanes. Then he would change lanes, as if just to anger her further. Courtney swore if she got a ticket for the way she was driving, she was going to make Duncan pay it.
She made a sharp turn down her street and tried to take calming breaths, reminding herself that she had her young daughter in the car and that whatever spat she and Duncan were having was not worth it. Then she saw him again in her rearview mirror wearing some shit eating grin. He had the nerve to wink at her. Courtney scoffed, she was done playing his little game. She wasn't going to stoop to his level anymore. She almost passed her house but the gray siding with the white shutters caught her eye in time. What she failed to notice was the red convertible in her driveway and had to jam on the breaks so that she didn't rear end the shiny bumper of the car. When her heart stopped racing from the almost collision, it started racing for a different reason entirely.
"Stay in the car okay?" Courtney turned towards the backseat as she undid her seatbelt.
"Why?" Addison had already begun to fuss with the restraints of the carseat.
"Just wait, please." Courtney stepped out of the car and stormed up to the red convertible, which alerted the driver to get out of his car.
"What are you doing here? More importantly, how did you find me?" The driver of the car was a tall man in his mid thirties with blond hair and hazel eyes. He wore an expensive looking black suit that matched his overall upscale air.
"No hello, Courtney? Even for your husband?"