Super Series (Book 4): Supervised Read Online Free
thoughts.
“Shit!” I turned around and saw Mike standing there with a big grin on his face and a styrofoam coffee cup in his hand. Brown skinned, clean cut, and dimples, Mike was very good looking. Still, I wasn’t that happy to see him. What is this? A neighborhood reunion?
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he laughed. “I just stopped in on the way the work and noticed you over here planning our wedding with Cindy. So what are you thinking for the reception? Skittles or Starbursts?”
“Ha. Ha. Ha,” I deadpanned.
“Oh come on. Kids say the darnedest things, right?” He smiled at me in that way that made me really want to swim backstrokes in his eyes.
I went back to studying the candy selection. “I just want to keep this whole thing professional. I don’t want to lose my job because I’m doing one of the tenants.” And I also don’t want a boyfriend. But I kept that to myself.
He must have read my mind, though. “Just explain to Hy that you have tried every man in New York City and the best one you could find was two floors up.”
“Or I could just explain that I’m lazy and so I only looked two floors up.”
“Or that.” He picked up two Butterfingers and gestured for me to go to the register. “I’m gonna buy these for you.”
See? I thought to myself. This is why I like him. He gets it.
At the counter, Mike put all of the stuff next to my sandwich. “Hey, Rafi. Put this all together. I’ll take care of it.”
“Sandwich is on the house,” Rafi said before giving him the total for the rest of the stuff.
Mike handed Rafi some money. “What did I do to deserve that?”
Rafi handed him back his change and nodded to me. “Not you. Her.”
I grabbed all of the stuff from the counter and rushed Mike out of the store. I didn’t want him to know about me and the robbery. I didn’t want to explain why I got involved and why I wasn’t afraid to be shot.
Outside on the street, I tried to draw attention away from what had just happened. “So, um, what are you doing today?”
Mike looked at me strangely. “Like I said, I’m headed to work. You?”
“Oh, you know, stuff around the building. I have to work on 2C. Something is wrong with one of the dryers. You know—”
“Yeah, yeah, super stuff,” he finished for me. I tried to push down the flutter of anxiety that appeared in my stomach. I knew he was using it in the lowercase way but my body got nervous at the idea of him knowing about me in the uppercase way. “What about tonight? I’m meeting some guys from work for happy hour. You wanna come?”
“Uhhhh. . .” I was having dinner at my parents’ house but I didn’t want to tell him that because I wasn’t ready for him to even know my family existed. And the last thing I wanted was to meet his coworkers. “I have book club.” It came out before I could even think about it. And it was the stupidest lie in the world. When had anyone ever seen me with a book?
Mike cocked his head to side and echoed my thoughts. “I didn’t know you were in a book club. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with a book.”
“Well, um, we’re a secret book club. So we don’t advertise that we’re reading. We only read when no one can see us.” Mike just looked at me. “What? You don’t know everything about me,” I finished defensively.
“No,” Mike said. “No, I don’t.” He wrapped me in a bear hug and kissed me on the forehead. “Stop by after your secret book club if you want.”
I hugged back, gingerly at first and then with more pressure. “OK,” I said, muffled by the hug, my own anxiety, and the weight of my own lies.
Chapter 5
“You’re alone.”
After spending the day working and eating candy bought by someone I was telling lies to, I took the 2 train from Crown Heights to my parents’ brownstone on the Upper West Side. I had a typical family growing up—two parents and an older sister. The only thing that was different was that we were all Supers.
“Shit!” I turned around and saw Mike standing there with a big grin on his face and a styrofoam coffee cup in his hand. Brown skinned, clean cut, and dimples, Mike was very good looking. Still, I wasn’t that happy to see him. What is this? A neighborhood reunion?
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he laughed. “I just stopped in on the way the work and noticed you over here planning our wedding with Cindy. So what are you thinking for the reception? Skittles or Starbursts?”
“Ha. Ha. Ha,” I deadpanned.
“Oh come on. Kids say the darnedest things, right?” He smiled at me in that way that made me really want to swim backstrokes in his eyes.
I went back to studying the candy selection. “I just want to keep this whole thing professional. I don’t want to lose my job because I’m doing one of the tenants.” And I also don’t want a boyfriend. But I kept that to myself.
He must have read my mind, though. “Just explain to Hy that you have tried every man in New York City and the best one you could find was two floors up.”
“Or I could just explain that I’m lazy and so I only looked two floors up.”
“Or that.” He picked up two Butterfingers and gestured for me to go to the register. “I’m gonna buy these for you.”
See? I thought to myself. This is why I like him. He gets it.
At the counter, Mike put all of the stuff next to my sandwich. “Hey, Rafi. Put this all together. I’ll take care of it.”
“Sandwich is on the house,” Rafi said before giving him the total for the rest of the stuff.
Mike handed Rafi some money. “What did I do to deserve that?”
Rafi handed him back his change and nodded to me. “Not you. Her.”
I grabbed all of the stuff from the counter and rushed Mike out of the store. I didn’t want him to know about me and the robbery. I didn’t want to explain why I got involved and why I wasn’t afraid to be shot.
Outside on the street, I tried to draw attention away from what had just happened. “So, um, what are you doing today?”
Mike looked at me strangely. “Like I said, I’m headed to work. You?”
“Oh, you know, stuff around the building. I have to work on 2C. Something is wrong with one of the dryers. You know—”
“Yeah, yeah, super stuff,” he finished for me. I tried to push down the flutter of anxiety that appeared in my stomach. I knew he was using it in the lowercase way but my body got nervous at the idea of him knowing about me in the uppercase way. “What about tonight? I’m meeting some guys from work for happy hour. You wanna come?”
“Uhhhh. . .” I was having dinner at my parents’ house but I didn’t want to tell him that because I wasn’t ready for him to even know my family existed. And the last thing I wanted was to meet his coworkers. “I have book club.” It came out before I could even think about it. And it was the stupidest lie in the world. When had anyone ever seen me with a book?
Mike cocked his head to side and echoed my thoughts. “I didn’t know you were in a book club. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with a book.”
“Well, um, we’re a secret book club. So we don’t advertise that we’re reading. We only read when no one can see us.” Mike just looked at me. “What? You don’t know everything about me,” I finished defensively.
“No,” Mike said. “No, I don’t.” He wrapped me in a bear hug and kissed me on the forehead. “Stop by after your secret book club if you want.”
I hugged back, gingerly at first and then with more pressure. “OK,” I said, muffled by the hug, my own anxiety, and the weight of my own lies.
Chapter 5
“You’re alone.”
After spending the day working and eating candy bought by someone I was telling lies to, I took the 2 train from Crown Heights to my parents’ brownstone on the Upper West Side. I had a typical family growing up—two parents and an older sister. The only thing that was different was that we were all Supers.
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