I groaned. “You have no idea.”
I sniffed the air and smelled the remnants of pizza, so I started my hunt. Suri slid my purse off my shoulder and hung it up as I made my way into the kitchen. I sighed with relief when I saw the unopened pizza just for me.
“Pepperoni and mushroom with pineapple?” I asked.
Suri giggled as she came to meet up with me. “Just the way you like it.”
“Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho. Do we have Ranch? Please, tell me we have Ranch.”
My best friend wiggled her eyebrows. “I had to buy some from the pizza place, but there are three small containers of it in the fridge.”
“You’re my soulmate, you know that?”
“And as your soulmate, I’m telling you that the next time you meet a hot guy after I shove you out the door to go have some ‘you time,’ the thing youshoulddo is text me to tell me you’ll be late.”
I picked up a slice of lukewarm pizza and took a bite. “Noted.”
As much as I wanted to cry, stuffing my face with pizza was the next best thing. So, I walked Suri to the door before I stacked a plate full of the cheesy, meaty, pineapple-y goodness. I grabbed my ranch and plucked a Dr. Pepper from the door of the fridge before I made my way upstairs, stopping just shy of my daughter’s bedroom.
I heard her soft snores leaking through the small crack the door, and the sound settled my restless soul. “We’ll find a way to make it, I promise,” I whispered.
I made my way into my bedroom and headed straight into my en-suite bathroom. It was kind of small, and sometimes I had trouble navigating my way through it. But, I put up with it because the shower-tub combination was large enough for me to take a legitimate bath in it. I set my food down and stripped myself of my work clothes. I tossed them into the hamper just outside of my bathroom door, then readied myself for a nice bath. I poured rose-scented bubbles into the hot bath water and rummaged around for Old Faithful—my vibrator that did wonderful, ethereal things to my body.
“Come to Mama,” I murmured.
With my child-sized TV tray pulled up to the edge of the bathtub that my daughter didn’t use any longer, I set my pizza and drink beside me. Then, after turning off the bathwater, I tossed my leg over the frothy edge. I dipped my vibrator beneath the bubble-coated waters and parted my pussy lips, allowing my eyes to fall closed just long enough to conjure the image of Trey.
And when I turned my vibrator up, my toes started curling. “Holy fuck, just like that,” I groaned.
It never took long when I was at the reins. I knew exactly where to massage and where to pivot. I knew exactly how to buck against my toy to hit all those lovely spots. I knew how to make my toes curl from the very beginning, and I knew how to pucker my tits as my orgasm crashed over my body.
And as I choked back my sounds, chanting Trey’s name at the back of my throat, I settled heavily against the bathtub as bubbles slowly trickled down the side and onto the tiled flooring.
“Shit,” I whispered.
I felt sweat dripping down the nape of my neck. I felt my face flushed with redness as I stared at the shower-head diagonally above me. The smell of pizza and ranch was what got me to move, and I moved just enough to nab a slice before dipping it into some dressing. Then, I closed my eyes.
I had no idea what the hell I was going to do about bills. I mean, being laid off wasn’t the first thing I expected from my day when I waltzed into work this morning. And yet, I should have seen it coming. The way people started talking to me as if I didn’t matter, and the way my boss kept stealing glances at me throughout the week. It was almost as if everyone else knewbutme before the firing truly happened. And that pissed me off more than anything.
“Fucking assholes,” I murmured.
In about a year, the savings account I had managed to save up would be depleted. Between food and bills and rent, I was lucky if I’d even have that long. Aurora and I would have to find a cheaper place to live if I couldn’t find a job within the next few months. I had to make this money stretch as much as I possibly could.
You know you can find a job that you won’t hate if you put your mind to it.
I sighed as I reached for my Dr. Pepper. Why didn’t anyone tell me that having an art history degree was practically worthless unless I wanted to teach? Or obtain a higher level of education? For a moment, I turned over the idea of enrolling in teaching classes at the local community college. That would enable me to take out student loans to keep myself and Aurora afloat in this place, at least until I graduated.
Then, what?
I’d have mounds of debt to pay back on a teacher’s salary?
“Hell, no,” I murmured.
The only good thing that came from my degree was the fact that I could remake myself into anything. You know, since it was fucking worthless. And over the past eight years, I’d done just that. I’d played the part of a cashier, a manager at a gas station, a full-time lunch lady, a bus driver, and a secretary. So, surely there was something out there that would enable me to have a steady nine-to-five without compromising my time with Aurora.
I finished my dinner and stayed in the tub until I was wrinkly and unsightly. Then, I drained the tub and got out. I washed my toy down and stored it away from the prying eyes of my offspring, then I dried off and fell into bed without any clothes on. I was much too tired to get into pajamas, so I wiggled beneath my down comforter and wrapped myself up tightly in it.
I needed a good night’s sleep for my full day of turning in applications tomorrow.
