Adult Supervision Required: A romantic comedy

by Sarah Peis

  There was another crash and a few shouts.

  “Let him go,” Blade said, sounding like he was on a Sunday brunch date instead of in an office in a strip club. Guess it made sense for Sebastian’s boss or president or whatever he was to be there as well.

  I suppressed the gasp that wanted to escape. Jim’s betrayal didn’t hurt. It was an annoyance I could do without. What caused a stabbing pain to shoot through my chest was the thought of Sebastian using me to get to my ex.

  I stepped back, running into one of the bouncers coming out of the storeroom. “Oh, sorry,” I mumbled, ready to go home.

  I adjusted the strap of my bag and shot the guy a tight smile. I didn’t know his name, but he was part of the regular rotation. He nodded at me and turned back to the main area when the door behind me opened.

  Sebastian came out, looking like a bull ready to charge. He stopped, his face going soft when he saw me. “Nora. You finished already?”

  Bastard. How dare he talk to me like nothing happened. And he made me swear on top of lying to me. Double bastard.

  “Just on my way out,” I replied, my voice wavering.

  I couldn’t seem to take a proper breath; the only thing on my mind was putting as much space between us as I could.

  “Let’s go,” he said, taking a step forward.

  My hand shot up, and he frowned. “That’s okay. You look like you’re busy. I’ll call a cab.”

  “You’re not taking a taxi,” he said, not giving me a chance to reply before taking my hand and leading me outside.

  I found myself on the back of his bike before I could protest. He put a helmet on my head and untangled a strand of hair that had gotten caught up in the strap. His fingers whispered across my cheek, the gentle caress making my chest feel like it would cave under the pressure of my emotions.

  And I hated him a little in that moment. How dare he make me fall for him and then turn out to be my biggest downfall?

  We drove back to the compound, and I jumped off the bike as soon as he’d come to a stop, the engine still running.

  I was halfway to the front door when he caught up with me. “Nora, wait.”

  There was no way I could pretend everything was okay. I wore my emotions on my face like a billboard advert.

  “What?” I asked, my voice low, not turning around.

  “Something happened,” he said. It wasn’t a question but a statement.

  No shit, Sherlock.

  I clenched my jaw to hold in the sob working its way up my throat. “It’s nothing. I’m fine. Just tired.”

  “Hey,” he said, his voice raspy. “Talk to me.”

  I struggled to get the next words out. “There’s nothing to talk about. Now can I please go to bed?”

  He stiffened as if I’d told him his bike had a scratch. His hand dropped from my arm, and I shivered at the sudden loss.

  “This conversation isn’t over,” he said, never taking his eyes off me. “But there’s something I have to take care of. If I could stay, I would.”

  With one last glance at me, he got back on the bike. “We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”

  I didn’t respond, and he didn’t wait around. Instead, he started his bike back up and left.

  I went inside, dragging my feet. The temptation to lie down on one of the couches downstairs instead of hauling myself up to bed was great.

  “Sweetheart,” Grim greeted me as soon as I took the first step inside.

  “Hey, Grim,” I said, taking a seat on the barstool next to him. The baby monitor was in front of him, the image showing my sleeping babies. “What are you still doing up?”

  “I don’t sleep much. Usually don’t go to bed before five,” he said.

  The room was still busy, everyone except Grim glassy-eyed and most of them swaying on their feet. I guess everyone but me had had a good night.

  “Thanks so much for watching the kids,” I said, getting back up. “You’re the best.”

  “Anytime. And I mean it.”

  He tilted his head, our eyes meeting.

  “Whatever happened, happened. You can only move forward,” he said, making an accurate interpretation of my defeated expression.

  “If only it was that easy,” I said and yawned.

  He got up and opened the giant tree limbs he called arms. I didn’t even pretend to think about it before I fell into him, winding my arms around his big body. He held me close, and I felt like I was in a biker cocoon. He smelled of leather and oil, and I took a big breath.

  “If you ever need anything, you know where to find me,” he said, pressing a kiss to my head.

  I nodded into his chest and let go, deciding that was as much of a pity party as I would throw for myself. “Thank you. Again.”

  I gave him one last half-hearted smile and went to Sebastian’s room. Even though I could barely walk because I was so tired, I went into the bathroom to shower the smell of Pepper’s from my skin, slathering myself with soap and shampoo.

  My pajamas were an old ratty T-shirt and sweatpants. I didn’t bother drying my hair since that required turning on the hair dryer, which would in turn wake the kids.

  And I needed at least a few hours of sleep before I could function.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Let’s wait for Sebastian to get back before you make any rash decisions,” Gears said for the third time in as many minutes.

  I was packing my suitcases while he stood in the doorway, his eyes following my every move.

  “I’m going home. Unless I’m a prisoner, there’s nothing you can do about it,” I said, stuffing the last of our clothes in the bag.

  Sebastian still hadn’t gotten back, and I was sick of waiting around for him. It would be much easier to do this without him here anyway, so I decided to move out while the moving was good.

  Gears looked from me to the suitcase and back, conflicted. Well, he could be as conflicted as he wanted to be, but I was going home. I wouldn’t spend another minute living in the same building Sebastian was in.

  Since they’d arrested Clive, I didn’t get cold sweats anymore at the thought of going home. I was 99.4 percent sure I would be safe there.

  “But Sebastian said—”

  I ignored him and kept looking under the bed and couch, making sure we didn’t leave anything behind. Luca and Lena were busy turning the tap in the bathroom on and off, getting soaked in the process. But I had no time to lose, so I let them go crazy until we were ready to leave.

  “You want me to put them in the car?” Grim asked, pushing past Gears and pointing at my bags.

  “You have impeccable timing,” I said.

  He grinned and grabbed my three bags with ease.

  “What the fuck are you doing, man?” Gears whined when Grim pushed past him.

  “Letting her go home. Which is what she wants and what she’ll get.”

  And that was that, apparently.

  Grim put all my bags in the car and then helped me with the kids while Gears looked like he was about to pass out. Not sure how he survived being part of a motorcycle club with the way he was wringing his hands.

  He needed to relax. I was leaving their compound, not stealing their silver.

  “Whatever happens, you remember to call me if you need anything,” Grim said, stopping me from getting into the car.

  I put my arms around him for a short but tight hug and nodded. “I know.”

  He closed my door for me once I was safely buckled in, and I started the car. The motor purred to life, and there wasn’t a single warning light flashing at me.

  I checked the dashboard, wondering if maybe the lights broke as well. And where was the angry beeping? I wound my window down, and Grim leaned in.

  “Did you do something to my car?” I asked.

  “I can’t believe you were driving that health hazard,” he said. “Sebastian fixed it.”

  I stared at him, giving him my best impression of an owl. “He fixed it? All of it?”

  “The guys
helped since there was quite a bit to do. Can’t believe the thing was still running.”

  “Wow, thanks so much,” I said, words not adequate to describe how grateful I was. Buying a new car would have been impossible. Someone fixing my rust bucket meant everything to me, even if it was Sebastian who’d done it.

  “That was all Sebastian,” he said with a wink. “Don’t be a stranger.”

  I rolled the window back up and waved to him on my way out of the compound.

  When we drove through the gates and hit the road, I didn’t feel free like I thought I would. There was no weight off my chest, no happy dance. Instead, I felt like I’d left a piece of me at the compound.

  I drove straight home, leaving our bags in the car and only taking the blankies and stuffed animals out that couldn’t be left there for the night. The kids were happy to be home and went straight into the backyard.

  Luca let out a shriek as soon as he was through the door, and I raced after them. There was a fence around the backyard, and there wasn’t much in it except a few trees and a small sandbox. I wondered if he’d tripped.

  “Mom, look,” Luca shrieked, racing Lena to a swing set that wasn’t there when we’d left.

  Something else that hadn’t been there was the playhouse nestled underneath the big oak tree.

  “A swing,” Luca called out, doing his best to help Lena.

  “Swing, swing, swing,” Lena chanted, hanging off the seat with one leg, Luca pushing her up.

  I blinked a few times, making sure I wasn’t having a mental breakdown and hallucinating. After the ninth blink, everything was still there, and I followed the happy shrieks to help my kids.

  We spent the next hour outside, exploring the additions to our yard. I had no explanation for where they’d come from. I couldn’t afford anything this big and shiny. And everything was brand-new, putting it further out of my reach.

  I had some investigating to do and started with Stella since she liked grand gestures. This would be right up her alley.

  She picked up right away, her phone an extension of her arm.

  “You guys back home yet?” she asked.

  I’d only told her that we were spending a few days with Sebastian. She thought we were together anyway and didn’t need an explanation.

  “Got back an hour ago,” I replied, watching Luca open and close the shutters on the playhouse three million times. Lena was busy rearranging the fully stocked interior that included a kitchen, chairs, a table, and a shelf with papers and pens.

  “You working tonight?” Stella asked.

  “No, but I have to go in tomorrow. I know it’s short notice, but can you watch the kids by any chance?”

  “Of course I can. Mason has now decided that he needs to finish the house within the next few months, so I have plenty of time. I barely see him anymore.”

  Oh no, that didn’t sound like the bubbly Stella I knew. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing. I’m just being a big baby. Since Mason has a full-time job, renovating a house this big on top of it takes a while and a lot of his time. And I know I shouldn’t complain because he’s doing it for us, but I just don’t understand what the rush is. Ever since we came back from our trip, he’s been on a mission.”

  “He won’t be tied up with the house forever. Have you tried helping him?”

  Stella had a big heart but no real life skills. She grew up with a butler and maid, and sometimes it showed.

  “Of course I did. I might be spoiled, but I’m not lazy. The stubborn mule won’t even let me touch a paintbrush. Apparently he doesn’t trust me because last time I tried to help, I set the house on fire.”

  “While you used a paintbrush?” I asked, wondering how she managed to start a fire with paint.

  “No, while I was making dinner. I burned the eggs.”

  Luca had now moved on to taking everything Lena threw out the window back inside the playhouse. He was getting more and more agitated when she wouldn’t stop, and I knew I had only about thirty seconds left before they would start fighting.

  “How do you start a fire when you burn eggs?”

  “Forgot they were on the stove and they burned to a crisp. Then the pan got really hot and started catching fire.”

  Wow. I had nothing. Absolutely nothing. “I’m impressed. That’s quite the feat.”

  “Mason didn’t think so. And now I’m not allowed to do anything anymore.”

  “Maybe that’s for the best,” I said, snickering.

  “Shut up. Some friend you are.”

  I remembered why I called and asked, “You didn’t happen to leave a few things in my yard, did you?”

  “I haven’t been there since I watched the kids last time. Why?”

  “Nothing, all good.”

  Luca was shouting at Lena to stop messing up his house, and I made my way over. “Honey, I have to go. But we’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”

  “See you then,” she said.

  “Bye,” I said and took the small pot off Luca, who was lifting it to throw at his sister.

  I herded the kids back inside, our progress resembling a zigzag rather than the straight line I was hoping for. “Let’s see what we can find for dinner.”

  When Lena started wailing whenever Luca got too close to her, I knew I needed a distraction while I made dinner.

  “How about you guys hide, and I’ll find you,” I said, pulling pasta out of the cupboard.

  The kids ran off to hide, and I counted to forty before I looked for them. It gave me enough time to put the water on and start the sauce.

  It only took four times of hiding before dinner was almost ready. As long as I continued counting, they usually stayed hidden. Not my finest parenting moment, but it worked.

  Dinner was quiet compared to how we’d spent the last two nights. How could I miss the guys after only having met them a few days ago?

  The kids kept asking why the guys weren’t eating dinner with us. When they were finally in bed, I went to the kitchen, ready to take some time and wallow in self-pity. Tomorrow I’d pick myself back up and pretend I was fine. But I’d allow myself one night of ice cream and chocolate liqueur debauchery.

  I decided tonight was a four-scoop-and-five-shots kind of emergency situation. After adding bits of crushed chocolate to my boozy dessert, I jumped up to sit on the counter and dig in.

  I was only three spoonfuls into my pity parade when a key turned in the front door and it opened.

  Sebastian appeared in the entry to the kitchen, looking like an angry god with his stormy eyes and wild hair. “Is this how you’re going to play this? Have your fun, take a walk on the wild side, and then disappear without a word once you got what you wanted?”

  “How dare you say that to me, you… you… you banana-sucking turd,” I said, my voice barely controlled, my body shaking. I wasn’t the one who’d done something wrong.

  I took measured breaths in and out, willing my hands to stop shaking and my heart rate to return to normal. I braced my hands on the sink and hung my head.

  “Why did you leave without a word?” he asked, his big boots appearing in my line of sight.

  I didn’t lift my head, worried I’d do something embarrassing if I looked at him, like drizzle him in the rest of my chocolate liqueur and then slowly lick it off.

  “Was everything a lie?” I asked his shoes.

  He shifted his weight but didn’t step closer. “What do you mean?”

  His voice was hesitant, all the earlier anger gone.

  “Did I ever mean anything more to you than a way to get closer to Jim?” I asked, my voice steady despite my inner turmoil.

  “Baby, what happened between the time I left you last night to this morning?” he said, his voice soft.

  It took everything in me to lift my head and meet his eyes. The intensity of all that was Sebastian hit me and sucked all the anger out of me, leaving only devastation behind. A fist took hold of my heart and squeezed.

  I sucked in a breath a
nd studied his masculine features, drinking them in like it would be the last time I’d ever look at him. “It’s okay, you don’t have to answer the question. I know I was only a means to an end.”

  His hand came around my neck and turned me around so we were facing each other. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”

  I shook him off and put space between us. “I heard you.”

  His face blanched. “What do you mean?”

  Not wanting to go back and forth, I tried a different line. “You lied to me.”

  One of his hands went to his hip, and he looked down at the ground before focusing his attention back at me. “I never lied. I might not have told you everything, but I never lied.”

  The fist around my heart tightened. “Lying by omission is as bad as the actual lie. You made me believe you liked me.” My voice broke, and I studied my nails. I’d painted them a dark maroon last night, a color I usually loved but right now couldn’t stand to look at. “I heard you at Pepper’s.”

  “Let me explain. Please,” Sebastian said, his tone wavering. For the first time since I’d met him, he sounded unsure. “I don’t know what you think you heard, but you got it all wrong.”

  “There’s nothing to explain. I got the message loud and clear,” I said, then turned on my heel and ran. A strangled shout for me to stop sounded from behind, but I didn’t stop until I was in my bedroom with the door shut.

  We never even had the chance to become anything before it all fell apart.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “You look like shit,” Malena said, sweeping her eyes over my face. “Please tell me that’s not actual shit on your brow.”

  I glanced at my reflection in the hallway mirror and swiped a finger across my eyebrow. A closer look confirmed it was only applesauce.

  “Not poo, just the food Lena threw at me this morning,” I said.

  After washing my hands, I joined Malena at the kitchen table. Lena was currently asleep, and Malena was spending her lunch break at my house.

  Sebastian had been gone when I got up this morning, avoiding any awkward encounters. Gears was back in his post across the street, and things were as they were before.