Read Deuce's Dancer for Free Online Page A

abrupt way he'd ended it with Eddie's mother. "So, how has baseball practice been?"
    "Good. I got a home run yesterday!"
    "I'll bet that's what you were calling to tell me about."
    "Yeah! Mom said you'd want to know."
    Of course she did. Stacy took any opportunity to keep her finger on Deuce's pulse, even if it meant using her son. "I'm proud of you."
    "Just like a real daddy would be?"
    "I'm sure your real daddy is proud of you, too, Eddie."
    "I dunno. He hardly ever answers his phone."
    "Be persistent. He calls you back eventually." Don Armintier was an asshole. Don and Stacy had broken up when Eddie was two years old after being together for six years, and Don had hardly looked back to see what he left behind. He talked to Eddie, so long as Eddie initiated the calls, and he was responsible with his child support payments. Apparently, that's all he could manage to do. He was an emotional deadbeat.
    Of course, Stacy had her issues, too, so he could understand how Armintier might want to put some distance between himself and his ex-wife. But Deuce couldn't countenance how the man could also distance himself from his son so harshly.
    "Can you come to my baseball game on Friday? We're playing the Barracudas."
    He had a full schedule on Friday, and a speaking engagement on Friday night. "No, kiddo, I can't. Is your mom going to take you to the Astros game on Saturday?"
    "No. She's getting her nails waxed."
    Deuce chuckled. "Okay. How about if you ask her if it's okay for me to take you to the game? We'll use those season tickets I gave you for your birthday."
    "Can't. Mom sold 'em."
    He had to take a deep breath. Stacy didn't need the money that bad. She was a successful dietician. She'd likely done it in order to create some reason for Deuce to confront her. She didn't seem to care if their encounters were positive or negative, so long as they had them. But none of that was Eddie's fault and the boy deserved better than to be put in the middle. "Okay, bud. I'll try to score us some tickets. Ask your mom if you can go."
    "Can you ask her?"
    Eddie was a good kid, a really good kid. But he naturally had a child's simplistic way of viewing the world. To his young mind, if Deuce spent time with Stacy, even the time it took to have a conversation on the phone, they might get back together. It played right into Stacy's hands. "Yeah, okay. Put her on."
    "Okay." There was some shuffling and Deuce could hear Eddie calling for his mother. The boy was running; Deuce heard his feet slapping the wood floors. More shuffling, and Stacy came on the line.
    "Hi, Deuce." Her voice was a purr. It had once made Deuce feel like she'd caressed him with sound, but no more.
    "Stacy. What happened with the Astros tickets?"
    "Oh, I got into a little fender-bender and needed to have repairs done. It was so expensive!"
    "I see." He could have checked up on her, but it wasn't worth the trouble. If she was lying to him, it would be far from the first time. "Are you going to make it up to Eddie?"
    "He understands."
    Deuce's blood began to boil. How could a seven-year-old understand something like that? "You really are a bitch, Stacy."
    She laughed. "So, maybe you'd like to come spank me and teach me a lesson?"
    "I'm taking Eddie to the Astros game on Saturday. Have him ready by eleven."
    "Can I come, too?"
    "No."
    "Aww, Deuce. You're so mean to me. You know how much I love fun and games."
    The innuendo dripped from the phone, like so much mucilage. "Get your mind back on track, Stacy."
    "Oh, it's on track. Believe me."
    "Eddie. Saturday. Eleven. Got it?"
    "I've got it. Will you stay for dinner afterwards? Eddie would like that so much. I would, too."
    "Is he standing there listening to you?"
    "Aha."
    Deuce thought of about ten different epithets he'd like to throw at her, but he refrained. His father hadn't raised a barbarian, no matter the provocation. "I'll take Eddie for pizza. You can fend for yourself."
    There was a pause. He knew she was trying to think