Page 107 of Them Bones

“Miss…?” he started.

“Just Nancy."

“Nancy,” Shane said, “all of this is Dustin’s call. Whatever he wants to do, we’ll support. But… I have to be straight with you. Parental consent will be an issue, if required.”

“Your mother signed the paperwork for the school, did she not? I’d think that the possibility of paid work would be an easy sell?”

“My older brother is our legal guardian, now,” Laney said, her voice thick with venom. “He doesn’t like Dustin coming here. Doesn’t believe in the whole… art thing.”

Nancy bit her lip. “Dustin… is this something you would like to consider?”

Dustin blushed, but he nodded, drawing a spiral on the floor with the toe of his shoe. Nancy stared at him for a long time. Finally, she turned back to Shane.

“I can sign on his behalf, as a representative of the school. But Dustin, I have to warn you, if we do it this way, you won’t be paid. We’d have to do it as a school project… treat the whole thing like… an extended field trip.”

Dustin nodded eagerly, and Nancy squeezed his shoulder again.

“Well, alright then!” she crooned, her voice like a lullaby. “Let’s get Mildra back over here before she slits my throat with that clipboard for making her wait!”

Dustin laughed out loud, looking up at Nancy with a smile.

She had blue eyes.

SHANE

Cary was effectively paying Shane to stay away from his sister.

He didn’t actually mind the job, although he didn’t like being around so many drugs after having spent the winter sobering up, more or less. But he enjoyed working on the rigs, keeping his mind busy and his body fit.

Laney kept telling him he looked like a body builder from all the heavy lifting, not that she got much opportunity to see him without a shirt these days. They were lucky to see each other in person once a week, and it was almost always chaperoned by Cary.

They spoke on the phone for hours every night. They talked, and laughed, and Laney read out loud to him. But the distance was eating at them both.

“God I wish we had air conditioning,” Laney complained into the phone, thewhoomp whoomp whoompof her ceiling fan in the background.

“Ugh, me too. And it’s not even July yet,” he said.

They giggled, and Shane stared up at his ceiling, wishing he could taste her sweat-soaked skin, run his fingers down her damp back.

“What are you wearing?” she asked him. Shane shifted on the bed, cradling the cordless against his ear with his shoulder.

“Um… pajamas,” he said, his pulse speeding up.

“Liar,” she breathed.

“Boxers,” he chuckled, looking down at his tight black Calvin Kleins.

“Mm…” she said, and he heard a shifting noise like she was getting more comfortable. He was silent, trying to ignore his hardening dick. “Are you going to askmewhat I’m wearing?”

He closed his eyes and swallowed.This girl is going to kill me.

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” he choked out.

“You don’t thinkanythingis a good idea,” Laney laughed. “I’m wearing a Black Sabbath t-shirt…”Oh, okay… I can handle that…“…with no panties.”

His cock twitched, his pulse picking up to warp-speed. “Laney…” he warned.

“Should I take it off?” she taunted. “It’s just so damnedhotin here…”

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