Adult Supervision Required: A romantic comedy Read online

  I used to get away with wearing sneakers and clothes that mostly covered me, but since the club changed ownership, that was a big no-no. Smitty, the new manager, ran a tight ship and didn’t give handouts.

  He also didn’t give sick days or days off. And since I couldn’t really afford to take either, I didn’t complain.

  Besides, none of us were here because we loved our jobs, so we just kept our heads down and moved on.

  I burst into the empty dressing room, kicking my shoes off. I stopped in the door as soon as I noticed the quiet. Being by yourself was not a good idea in this place. Especially not since I had acquired my personal stalker.

  Guess it was a good thing Sebastian was teaching me self-defense. One day I’d be able to kick Clive’s butt. That day was not today though. I backed out of the room, taking a deep inhale when I made it without anyone jumping me.

  At least I thought I made it until my back collided with another body and I felt my blood rush from my face. I jerked back and my elbow collided with something soft. There was a loud groan, and I whipped around.

  Sebastian was doubled over, cursing.

  I covered my mouth in horror and gawked at my handiwork.

  “You must really enjoy beating me up,” he coughed and straightened back up. “Why are you so jumpy?”

  I moved back. “I’m not jumpy. You just surprised me.”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose before pinning me with his gaze. “I know when you’re lying, Nora.”

  I threw my hands up and stepped back into the dressing room. “This place would make anyone jumpy.”

  I slammed the door behind me, then realized I’d left my shoes outside. I stuck my head out again, and Sebastian held the shoes up to me. I snatched them back and clutched them to my chest.

  “Will you wait out here?” I asked, my voice wavering.

  He gave me a chin lift, and I disappeared back inside.

  Changing back into my jeans settled my nerves, and once I’d pulled my hoodie over my head, I almost felt human again.

  Sebastian was leaning against the wall, watching the crowd, when I came back out. He looked up when he heard me, and his eyes traveled from the top of my head all the way to the sneakers on my feet.

  I suddenly felt like I wasn’t wearing any clothes at all. But where I usually got the urge to douse myself in bleach when customers gave me the once-over, this time my body heated, my pulse beat faster, and I didn’t move.

  Our eyes met, and I suddenly found myself unable to look away. Then one of the security guys came up to him, breaking our connection. Sebastian turned his head to speak to the guy, and I looked at my feet, shuffling uncomfortably. I hoped Sebastian would never find out the power he had over me, because rude turd or not, I couldn’t fight the attraction I felt for him.

  He didn’t say a word to me for the rest of the night, not when we walked to his bike and not when we got home. I fell into bed, exhausted from another blipper of a day. Sleep came slowly, my thoughts stuck on the giant currently living with me.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “No,” I yelled, scrolling through my phone. “No. No. No. No.”

  My chant went on like that as I looked through my closet, finding all my savings gone. How was that possible? And why hadn’t I deposited my tip money into my bank account instead of in a shoe box?

  Where had the money gone? How could it just disappear?

  “Banana sucker,” I yelled, running my hands through my hair. What am I going to do?

  “What happened?” Sebastian growled from the doorway.

  “I’m fucked,” I whispered and tunneled my shaky fingers through my hair.

  There was only one person who could have possibly taken my money. And I had no idea how to find him. I couldn’t even wish that I’d never met Jim, because then I wouldn’t have Luca and Lena. And they were my everything.

  “Nora,” Sebastian said, reminding me he was still there.

  “All my savings are gone,” I said. It took all my strength to keep my voice even. “All this shit for nothing.”

  I sank to the floor, my feet unable to hold me up any longer. This really was rock bottom. I’d worked so hard to save up that money. And it was all gone. I didn’t even care that I’d just told Sebastian that I had money saved up.

  Didn’t matter now anyway since it was gone.

  He crouched down next to me, putting a hand on my knee.

  “You don’t—” he started but was cut off by Luca running into the room.

  “Mommy, why is you on the floor?”

  “Why are you on the floor,” I corrected him automatically. “I was looking for an earring that I lost.”

  “Need help?” he asked, getting down on his knees next to me.

  “It’s okay, I’ll look for it later. We don’t want to be late for preschool,” I said and turned to my little human. “You ready to go?”

  He grinned and plonked down on his butt, holding his feet up. “I puts on my own shoes.”

  There was so much pride in his voice that I was reluctant to let him know they were on the wrong feet. And if we’d only gone to the playground across the street, I wouldn’t have worried. But I didn’t want the teachers to think I didn’t pay attention.

  “Well done, Sötnos. You did a really good job. The thing is just that your shoes are on the wrong feet.”

  He creased his brow and looked at his shoes, then at me. “But they’re the only feets I got.”

  A smile tugged on my lips, and I was reminded once again why I would do just about anything for my kids. “Good point.” I tapped his shoes. “But I meant your shoes are mixed up. We need to switch them to the other foot.”

  “I’ll do it,” he said, and I watched him change his shoes, my fingers twitching every time he struggled. But he was determined to do it himself. His lips puckered in concentration, and I didn’t want to interfere.

  Once he set his mind to something he wouldn’t stop until he’d figured it out. He used to have a speech problem and slight stutter, but with speech therapy, you couldn’t even tell anymore.

  His eyes were bright and his voice animated when he did it all by himself.

  “Finished,” he declared, clapping his hands.

  “Where’s Lena?” I asked. Usually she was glued to Luca, hardly ever leaving his side.

  “I’ve got her,” Sebastian’s deep baritone sounded from behind me.

  I got up and turned, my jaw slipping at the sight in front of me. Sebastian was holding a relaxed Lena on his hip like this was a normal occurrence. She was fully dressed, one of her hands resting on his cheek, her other one holding on to the fabric of his T-shirt.

  “I’ll take her,” I said, walking up to them.

  “No,” Lena declared when she saw my outstretched hands.

  “It’s okay, I’ll carry her,” Sebastian said and walked out.

  I followed, holding Luca’s hand. We dropped him off, Lena never moving from her comfortable perch.

  When we got home, I put a snack together for Lena so she’d be busy when I made a phone call I didn’t want to make. Nausea churned in my stomach at the thought of what I was about to do. But I was out of options. And I just had to get over myself.

  Things could always be worse. I could have no money left at all. But since I still had a bank account where my wages were paid into, I’d be okay. Just not for too long. And I needed to earn more money or forever live paycheck to paycheck. Jim taking my meager savings showed me how shaky my situation was. I had to make changes.

  One wrong move and it would all blow over like a house of cards. I owed it to my kids to try harder, and that started with finding a job that earned more money.

  I got Lena settled and walked into the living room. I could still see her sitting at the table, but she wouldn’t be able to hear my phone call. Not that she’d understand or care anyway, but it didn’t feel right to have this conversation in front of her.

  Sebastian watched me pull out my phone. “I have to go o
ut. A prospect is watching the house, but don’t go anywhere without me.”

  I didn’t even care about him telling me what to do. I had a ton of work to do. And of course there was the call I was about to make.

  “Wasn’t planning on going anywhere today.”

  He studied me for another few seconds before lifting his chin and walking out.

  When I heard the front door click shut, I found the number for Pepper’s.

  Smitty picked up on the third ring. “Yeah?”

  “Smitty, it’s Nora.”

  He grunted. “If you’re calling in sick, don’t bother coming back at all.”

  “I’m not. I just wanted to find out if you’re still short a girl,” I said, sweat beading on my brows.

  “Are you telling me you’re interested in the position?”

  I took a deep breath. “I am.”

  “It’s yours,” he said without hesitation.

  “But you don’t even know if I can dance.”

  “Don’t need to. With your body and all that hair, it doesn’t matter. The customers will love you.”

  I unsuccessfully tried to control my breathing, hoping I wouldn’t pass out before I finished the call. “When do I start?”

  “Monday. But come in early before your next shift so Tia can show you the ropes and help you with your routine.”

  Monday was only four days away. Which meant four days to get a routine right. Four days to psych myself up to take my clothes off in front of strangers.

  “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Don’t be late.”

  He hung up, and I ran to the toilet and threw up. I’d had a lot of bad ideas in my lifetime, but this one was probably the worst so far. But I couldn’t go back to an empty bank account. If I just did this for a few months, I should be able to build up a small emergency fund.

  I had little hope in getting the money back from Jim. It wasn’t a lot, but it was most of my savings. And him taking it was only the icing on my disaster cake. How did I not see how selfish he was when we first met?

  Once my stomach calmed down, I brushed my teeth and went back to the kitchen. Lena was still eating her dry cereal, something that usually kept her busy for a while.

  I pulled out my computer and got to work. Lena had a good day, and I finally managed to work through my to-do list. The last thing I wanted was to lose the job I actually liked.

  Late afternoon, my phone pinged with a message from Malena.

  Malena: When are you going to invite me over for that dinner you promised me?

  Me: How about this Saturday?

  I was in desperate need of my friend.

  Malena: It’s a date. Will hunkalicious be there? That would make the night even better.

  Me: Hunkalicious? Really? How old are you?

  Malena: Shut up.

  Malena: What would you call him? Wet dream? Walking, talking porn?

  Me: How about Sebastian?

  Malena: Boring.

  Me: Come over any time. We’ll be home most of the day. Gotta go.

  Malena: K. XX

  Me: Is that code for something?

  Malena: HOW OLD ARE YOU? I said okay and then sent you kisses.

  Me: K. XX

  I received no response to my last message and put my phone back down. I hadn’t seen Sebastian all day, but my latest guard was sitting in front of my house like the well-trained lapdog he was.

  I finished up with work, and there was still no sign of Sebastian by the time I had to pick up Luca, so I got Lena ready and left.

  The guy jumped up when he saw me walk down the sidewalk.

  “Hey,” he called out and sprinted after us. “You’re not supposed to leave the house.”

  I continued walking. “I have to pick up my son.”

  “You can’t go anywhere without an escort.”

  I huffed and still didn’t stop. “Good thing you’re here, then. You get to escort us to preschool.”

  He caught up and put his hand on my arm. “Ace said you need to stay inside.”

  I pulled my arm free and kept walking. “He knows I have to pick up my son. If he’s so worried about me going anywhere without him, he should have been here.”

  “Something came up that he had to take care of,” the guy explained but didn’t try to stop me again.

  “I don’t know how you think Jim is just going to show up here with you guys around. He might be a loser, but he’s not stupid.”

  “Ace has a plan.”

  “Of course he does,” I muttered and picked up Lena, who’d decided it was a great idea to rip flowers out of someone else’s front yard.

  “Can you at least wait outside while I get my son?” I asked when we made it to the preschool.

  “Sorry, can’t do that. Ace said—”

  I turned and walked into the building, not hearing what else he was saying. I was getting sick of being watched. Of being told what to do. Of being made to feel like I was guilty for something I had no hand in.

  Luca came flying across the playground as soon as he saw me.

  “Where’s Seb?” he asked, looking around my shoulder.

  I took his hand, and we walked inside to get his bag. “He’s busy.”

  “Did he forgets to pick me up?”

  I stopped in front of Luca’s classroom and set Lena down before kneeling in front of him. “He didn’t forget. But sometimes plans change. And Sebastian had an important meeting. Otherwise I’m sure he would have been here.”

  Sebastian had been in our lives for only a short amount of time, yet both kids were already used to him. Just thinking about the aftermath of him leaving made me want to hide in a closet. And I wasn’t sure that it was a good thing my kids were getting attached to a guy who was part of a motorcycle club.

  I didn’t really know what the club did, but if they lent money to Jim, it couldn’t be all above board. My ex had been involved in a whole lot of stuff that wasn’t exactly legal.

  I just wished I hadn’t been so oblivious when we first met. The signs were all there, but I’d ignored them. He used to disappear at random times, day or night. He never made a call when I was in the room, and when he answered his phone, he always went far enough away so I couldn’t hear him.

  And there was always a lot of cash stuffed in random drawers and closets around the house. How did I never think that was weird? When they say love makes you blind, they really were speaking the truth. I was just glad I woke up, even if it was late.

  Now the one thing I’d always been scared of had happened. Jim’s screwups were affecting our kids and putting their lives in danger. But I was determined to survive this latest bump in the road with only minor scratches.

  Besides, if I could survive Lena’s poop explosions, I could handle anything.

  Our escort walked us back home, and I started on dinner. The night went on as usual. The kids ate some of their food and threw the rest at each other. They flooded the bathroom, and I lost my patience and yelled at them for not listening. But at the end of the night, when we cuddled up under the blanket in Luca’s room and I read to them, I hardly remembered why I’d been angry.

  “Okay, kidlets, lights out,” I said after the third book as Lena’s eyes were closing.

  Since they shared a room, bedtime could be a challenge. But usually Lena was tired enough to fall asleep after humming a few songs. Luca sometimes stayed up for a little while and played with his toys. But since he was quiet enough to not wake Lena, I didn’t mind.

  I was living in a tiny one–bedroom apartment when I became friends with Stella. When she offered up this place, I was desperate enough to accept, even though I knew they wouldn’t be making as much money with it as they could. I didn’t know what I would have done without them.

  All my friends had done so much for me, there was no way I would ask anyone for money. I was a grown woman, and I needed to stand on my own two feet. What kind of example would I set for my kids if I let someone else bail me out all the tim
e?

  After dragging myself around the living area, picking up a few toys, I collapsed on the couch. At least all the small stuff was gone so nobody would step on anything. I wouldn’t lie and say the thought of leaving a few strategically placed Lego around the place didn’t cross my mind, but I doubted a few Lego injuries would deter Sebastian from staying on my couch.

  I turned on the TV, noticing I’d made it just in time for my favorite show. Shake That Cake was a reality show about pastry chefs who were in competition to create the best instant cake mixes. The winner would get one hundred thousand dollars, and three of their recipes would be made into cake mixes and sold in supermarkets across the country.

  One of the participants was a local baker, Rayna. She owned Sweet Dreams and made the best pastries in the state, and I hoped she would win. So far she’d made it to round three, and I loved every minute of watching her fight it out with the other contestants.

  And there were a lot of disagreements. It was the perfect entertainment for my usually dull life. And once I started watching, it was impossible to stop.

  Rayna told one of the participants not to call her creation a “cake shake.” Not knowing why she was offended, I was busy asking the Internet what in the world it was when Sebastian walked in.

  My eyes went wide, and I choked on my own spit when I read the definition. First takeaway: I really have been living under a rock. Second takeaway: don’t ever miss Sebastian invading your space when he’s mad at you.

  “I told you not to leave the house without me,” he thundered, taking up space in front of me.

  I dropped my phone in my lap with a squeak and looked up, taking in his worn jeans that fit him just right, his thermal that was a little snug around the chest, the leather vest he was wearing over it, and finally his stubbled square jaw.

  His usually full lips were now pressed into a tight line, and a muscle pulsed in his jaw. When I made it to his eyes—which I usually loved looking at—they pierced me with a glare.