“Yes, Fox, I know. Thank you very much for nada.” Mia flopped down beside him on the couch and sulkily grabbed the other controller. “What happened to sharing with your partner? What happened to being honest at all costs?”
“Told you,” he said out of the side of his mouth, and I giggled again.
Okay, so my family was a little bit nuts, but I loved them. Maybe everything really would be okay.
“I need to make a quick phone call, then I’ll get dinner started.”
I was firmly ignored since Fox and my sister were now arguing over golf.
Golf, of all things.
Taking advantage of their distraction, I headed into the bedroom and sent up a prayer of gratitude at finding it empty. I just needed a few moments of privacy to call my bestie and ask her for a colossally huge favor. But hell, I was on a roll. Hopefully, it would remain a Kaiser and not change into an onion one, because I hated those.
Curling up on the bed, I called Jenna.
“’Sup?”
“’Sup yourself. Busy?”
“For you, always.” Her laughter made me smile. She always sounded so young and carefree, even though she was a couple of years older than me. “Let me guess. You’re finally calling to fess up all the sins you’ve been dancing around for weeks but not sharing because you don’t want your bff to have good gossip.”
“More like I don’t want you talking to your brother.”
“Which one? Oldest PITA or middle PITA?”
“Either, but in this case, specifically middle.”
“Um, okay, but why?”
“Because I talked to Slater already about some of this, and let’s just say he doesn’t agree with my choices.”
Not that I could even blame him for that, because he was right. Giovanni and assorted others he gravitated to weren’t exactly the best influences.
Which was why I was steering far clear of all of them for the foreseeable future. At least until next summer, at which time I might reevaluate. But while I had a kid in my belly to look out for, no matter how I missed Gio and wished things could be different, I wasn’t going near him. Because things weren’t different, and he’d made it clear I would never be his choice.
I might be slow to take a hint, but once I had, there was no going back.
“Which choices?” Jenna asked suspiciously, sounding every bit like the sister of a SEAL.
I liked her older brother Liam a lot. He was just a rigid thinker. Jenna might live a sheltered lifestyle, but at least she was open-minded in theory if not in deed.
“He’s not happy with a guy I’m seeing. Was seeing.” I lowered my voice. That topic wouldn’t be discussed under this roof, not while my sister and Fox were battling it out on the virtual golf green just feet away. “But that’s not why I’m calling.”
“Why are you calling then? Since it sure seems like you’re still telling me a whole lot of nothing.”
“You remember how I said I was dancing on the side?” I tried to keep my voice close to a whisper, but not so low that Jenna thought I was whispering. “Well, I’m quitting. The money’s great, but it’s just not for me anymore.”
“Okay.” She made the word have about five syllables. “Whatever is best for you.”
“Yeah, but there’s a schedule conflict. I have another week left, and next Friday is Fox’s fight. I need to be there.”
“And, what, you can’t get anyone to cover for you?”
“Not yet, no. Everyone’s busy that night, and the girl who owed me a favor just quit herself. So I’m kind of in a pinch. But I have one more night after that one, so I don’t want to ditch my shift because like I said, the money’s good, and since I’m going to be short for a while…”
Plus, I now had a baby to think about along with school, so I needed to collect every spare penny I could get. I’d probably end up going full-time at the Salad Hut until I could get a better position.
Dancing might pay well, but that life wasn’t for me. Even if the club wasn’t overrun with criminals and other unsavory types, I deserved better than that. Too bad it had taken me so long to see it.