Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Silva
Islept in my own bed last night, but Syrus pulled one of his hoodies over my head since I forgot a jacket.
I’ll never admit this, but I really wanted his need to take care of me to push him to give away an article of clothing.
I fell asleep naked in it, and I only had one little nightmare instead of being plagued with them.
Yawning widely, I sit up and toss off my sheets. I know Syrus wanted to ask me to spend the night, but I don’t want him to know how much I struggle to sleep. There’s no guarantee that I wouldn’t wake up screaming if I slept with him.
Sighing, I get up to start my day. The town rec center asked me to help out with their toddler time. I’m not sure why I’m the one who’s called for this stuff, but I suspect that it’s because I tend to work nights.
I’ll have to watch my mouth, but it’s really a bunch of kids running around a toddler sized gymnasium with some supervision.
I’ve helped out before, even though it makes me think about tiny people who might look like me.
That’s never been in the cards for me before, and it’s still too early to be thinking like that.
Dragging myself to the shower, I go through my routine, get dressed in a pair of leggings, a short sleeved shirt, and tennis shoes.
I wrap Syrus’ hoodie around my waist because Colorado weather is a rollercoaster throughout the day, and jog downstairs to make myself coffee and a bagel with cream cheese.
My phone rings as I finish, and I answer it as I walk to the sink to clean my dishes. It’s almost ten in the morning, which means I need to get moving.
“Hello?” I ask.
“Are you still coming today?” Carrie, the community center director, asks.
“Yes,” I drawl. “Am I going to have help, or am I recruiting parents to help me wrangle rug rats?”
“Tara went into heat this morning, and Lyra is out with the stomach flu,” she says, sounding frazzled.
“Eh, it’s good for parents to be involved in this stuff, right?” I joke.
Usually, there will be parents watching their kids, and the community center staff is there to make sure no one is being unsafe. I’ll just have to add in a few more things so that the kids aren’t as wild. Just how I want to spend my Tuesday morning.
“Ummm yeah. Good luck, Silva. We have twenty kids set up for this class,” she says, hanging up right after.
Nope. Making sure I take care of my dishes, I grab my bag and head over to knock on Lexi’s door. I need reinforcements so that I won’t make children cry today. I’m not above bribing her.
Locking up behind me, I walk down my porch stairs, across my lawn and stomp up onto Lexi’s porch to knock loudly on her door. I wait exactly five seconds before using my keys to crack open the door.
“Hello?” I yell. Listen, I need to make sure it’s just her. I wouldn’t be surprised to find her and Emmett getting freaky in the kitchen. Again. “In the kitchen!” Lexi yells back.
Grinning, I hustle inside, and cross the house.
“Name your price to help me wrangle tiny humans,” I say in greeting as I walk into the kitchen.
Her eyes get huge as she sips her coffee, trying to figure out what I’m talking about.
“What’s with the hoodie?” she asks instead. “That’s not yours.”
“It could be,” I reply instead.
“Nope,” she says. “That’s Syrus’, isn’t it? Did you spend the night?”
“I did not,” I say, biting my lip.
“But you had fun?” Lexi asks, her smile growing wide.
“Mmhmm,” I admit, my weight shifting. “Will you please help me with the gym time for toddlers at the community center? Everyone called out.”
“Well, fuck,” she says, clapping her hand over her mouth.
“They can’t hear you yet,” I tease her. “Please? I’ll buy lunch afterward.”
“It’s Tuesday. Marie has a special on Rueben sandwiches today,” she muses.
“Lexi!” I groan. “Whatever you want, but you need to hurry.”
“Fine,” she grins, standing. “Let me throw a shirt over this and I’ll be ready.”
She’s wearing a sports bra and leggings, and I realize that she’s been up for a while.
“I did a yoga class at the courtyard this morning. It was really relaxing,” she says, leaving her coffee cup on the island as she scoots out of the kitchen.
Making a face, I put the rest of her coffee in a to-go thermos and clean her mug before I put it away.
“Ready,” Lexi says, her bag in hand.
“Thank you,” I grunt, passing her coffee to her as I hustle out the door.
She’s used to my antics, so she simply follows me to my truck.
“I swear, I don’t know how you manage to get in and out of this thing every day,” she grumbles, struggling to climb in.
My truck isn’t lifted or anything, but it is a big vehicle.
“Practice,” I say, shrugging as I start up the vehicle. “Syrus offered to take my car in to change my tires for me before the first snow hits.”
“Before or after yesterday?” Lexi asks, watching as I pull onto the road.
“Before,” I sigh, my eyes on the road. “That happened after he followed me home and bought me pizza on Friday night.”
“I think he wants to keep you safe, and it’s a very Syrus thing to offer. What did you say?”
“I was grumpy and said I could do it myself,” I mutter.
“Firefly,” Lexi groans.
“What?” I ask. “I can do it myself. He told me that he was offering to take something off my plate, because he knows I’m so busy.”
“Like handling a toddler class single-handedly?” Lexi asks, shaking her head.
“I have you,” I remind her. “I’m a badass bitch, not psychotic.”
“That’s a thin distinction,” she laughs. “Especially for you.”
I manage to just find a spot, and then Lexi and I are sprinting toward the community center. I leave the hoodie in the truck since I’ll definitely run warm today, and wave at the person working the front desk.
“They’re in room four!” Kyra calls out to me.
“On it!” I yell back, jogging to the room.
There’s a roomful of toddlers and their parents waiting for me, and I smile widely as I grab the little microphone to attach to my shirt. Pairing it with my phone, I begin speaking.
“Are we ready for open play?” I ask. I don’t do fake excitement well, but everyone nods anyway. “Remember to watch out for your friends, and to wait for people to move out of the way before you jump, okay?”
Shoes are lined up along the back wall, and I find a playlist that’s approved for kids on my phone. I’ve helped with these classes before thankfully, but rarely am I left to my own devices.
Toeing out of my shoes, I walk the room with Lexi to make sure everyone’s being safe. My microphone is off again, which is a good thing as I watch a kid belly flop into a sea of foam pillows.
This would be fine, but he appears to be semi drowning in the middle of them. Hiding my amusement, I hold out my hand and help haul him out.
“It’s deeper than it looks, huh?” I ask.
“Yes, ma’am,” the tiny voice says before running off.
I find that gym time without one of the staff members is like an invitation for fucking tea time for the moms milling around. They’re talking about all kinds of things, taking a break from parenting.
Even Lexi gives me SOS eyes, and I decide to throw in mani/pedis after lunch. The bar opens at six for a few hours. People will swing by to hang out, play card games, and shoot the shit before heading home. I may as well pamper my sister as a thank you for having to deal with this madness.
Jumping forward as a kid slips off the balance beam, I shove several exercise mats underneath her to break her fall. She lays stunned there as she gazes up at me, and I crouch down beside her.
“That wasn’t fun, huh?” I ask her. Her eyes are wide as she shakes her head and I nod. “Go grab a drink of water and take some deep breaths. You got the wind knocked out of you.”
I don’t know many of the kids' names, but I am impressed as she stands up and shakes herself off. A mom comes running over, and I raise my brow at her.
“That was a big fall, babe. Let’s take a break, okay?” she asks.
I appreciate that she doesn’t freak out, and that she picks her kid up to give her a hug. I don’t think that playing with your kids is natural for everyone.
At the end, I pull out a parachute, more than ready to be done.
I call everyone to sit around in a circle, and play a song that tells them what to do.
They have fun lifting it up, getting inside, and they’re giggling by the end.
I play one more song to help them get the wiggles out, making sure that their parents do it with them.
Ugh, I feel as if I just went through a war.
“Okay,” I say, my mic back on. “Make sure you put your shoes on and get your things. Have a great day.”
I put the microphone away, watch everyone leave, and then Lexi and I wipe down all the equipment.
“That was dirty of them to throw this at you,” she groans.
“So dirty,” I agree, blowing out a breath. “I’m throwing in mani/pedis due to extenuating conditions.”
I’m not dramatic enough to call a bunch of toddlers traumatizing, but it’s a near thing.
“Fuck yes,” Lexi hisses, happily finishing the rest of the equipment.
Putting everything away, we walk out of the gym and I barely manage to say goodbye to Kyra on the way out. She’s not on my shit list, but Carrie definitely is. I think I’m going to need to break up with the toddler gym time for awhile.
I leave my vehicle parked where it is, and walk with Lexi to the sandwich shop.
“Want to get them to go to eat in the park?” she suggests. The tiny toddler terrors will be napping, which means it should be pretty empty outside of the chess warriors.
They’re adorable grifters who are very serious about their games and in their sixties. When people come to live here, they sometimes bring their older parents. Most of them are betas looking for a peaceful place to spend their lives, and we definitely provide that.
“I think that’ll be nice,” I agree.
The sandwich shop isn’t super busy yet, despite their special today, and we easily procure our food and lemonades.
“Do you feel like we just survived a war zone?” Lexi asks as we walk to the park.
“Yes,” I snort. “No one helped us. What the hell is that about? At least when Tara or Lyra run that class, there are eyes on the kids at all times. I feel like I just got run over by a train.”
Finding an open picnic table is easy, and we sit down to devour our very well earned lunch.
“Ugh, I love you and food, but I don’t think I’ll be able to put myself through that again,” she groans.
“Through what?” Syrus asks, walking up to us with his hands in his pockets.
“Toddler dominion,” Lexi complains, taking a bite of her sandwich.
“What?” he asks, chuckling.
“I helped out at the community center, but it was rough today,” I explain. “I’m going to need a long bath tonight after work.”
“Please don’t drown,” Lexi says unhelpfully. “You may need to supervise her, Syrus.”
“Oh my God, Lexi!” I groan. “I only fell asleep once.”
“Three times,” she snorts.
Syrus appears amused as he watches us before he shrugs. “I guess you and I have a date with your bathtub after you’re done at the club, Spitfire,” he says.
Leaning over, his fingers press on my chin to tilt my head back so he can kiss me.
“You know what the real problem with watching a bunch of kids is?” he asks, his blue gray eyes sparkling.
“What?” I breathe, unable to stop looking at him. He’s dressed in uniform and is really fucking gorgeous.
“It’s psychological birth control,” he says with a wink. “I’ll see you later.”
I’m speechless as he strolls away, and very aware that people saw him kiss me.
“Why was that so hot?” Lexi grins, fanning her face.
“Lexi,” I hiss, taking a long sip of my drink. Ugh, why can’t it be spiked?
“No, don’t ’Lexi’ me. You have a second date with him now. You’re welcome,” she says smugly, happily polishing off her sandwich.
Yeah, but in my bathtub? Thank god it’s huge, but even then, I don't know if it’ll fit both of us. Great, now I’m thinking about having sex with him again.
Lexi can’t stop laughing at me, and I roll my eyes as I finish my food.
“Ha, ha,” I mutter. “Come on, brat. Let’s go get pampered and shit.”