“Leo!” Ada called, jumping up and down when she recognized the little boy she’d grown up with from just a few houses down.
And then my girl dropped her daddy’s hand and ran right up the steps and plopped herself at Leo’s side. “Bye, Mommy!”
I barely held the tears as the doors closed and I waved back.
“Just you and me now, sweet cheeks,” Sawyer pulled me into his arms as the bus pulled away from the curb.
“And Jack.” I chimed, our four month old sleeping soundly in his bassinet in the living room. Two babies, I still couldn’t believe it.
“He’s too drunk on milk to know what we’re up to,” Sawyer cooed at my ear, fingers looping with mine as we walked up the steps and into our home.
“And just what are we up to?” I flirted.
“Adult time,” he winked, scooping me into his arms and carrying me over the threshold, glancing at the video monitor to see Jack was still sound asleep.
“Sawyer,” I laughed, “it’s nine o’clock in the morning.”
“My dick doesn’t tell time, sweet checks, especially not when you ask me to install a stripper pole in our master bedroom and then fall asleep as soon as I’m finished.”
I shrugged when he let me down to the soles of my feet on our plush bedroom carpet. “You’re the best husband ever.”
“Well,” his hands wrapped around my waist and grabbed my cheeks, squeezing both of them as he thrust his hips against mine. “This best husband ever wants to see your sexy ass on that pole.”
“I just started classes, and I’m terrible at it.” Nerves radiated through me.
“I don’t care if all you can do is wrap one leg around it. Show me.”
A thrill of pleasure spun through me as I pushed my pants down my thighs as he lounged back on the bed, one eyebrow arched.
I pushed my shirt over my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor as I walked to the new pole I’d begged him to install last night. Call me insane, but I’d done the unthinkable and six weeks after having Jack, I’d enrolled in a mommy’s pole dancing class. My favorite part? Everyone ended their night with a glass of wine and a tiny dark chocolate and strawberry ganache, provided by Sweet Curves Bakery.
That’s how I’d stumbled into the pole dancing studio in the first place. The owner had placed an order at Sweet Curves for the grand opening of her studio. We’d formed a fast friendship in the months since, so when she’d pushed me to try dancing to gain some flexibility and a little “me time” I’d taken her up on her offer.
The truth was, I loved working out with Sawyer in the beginning, but I was looking for something new to try, something that made me feel sexy and empowered. I want to fall in love with my body–especially this body that’d carried and brought two kids into the world.
If Sawyer loved me no matter what I looked like or what number I was on the scale, why couldn’t I? And the extra bonus: I’d made some new mommy friends, including an up and coming television host that had already been to the bakery and talked it up on numerous episodes. Not only had the client list quadrupled over night, but now her husband–a professional football player–was training at Sawyer’s gym.
Life had been bonkers the last few years, but we’d found a way to embrace the happy chaos.
“I usually have music,” I uttered, brought back to the moment and trying to tame my nerves as my hand cupped the cool metal pole. I swallowed when slow R&B music echoed from the speakers, Sawyer setting his phone at his side after selecting a playlist, his eyes on me the entire time.
Riveted.
I shuddered, fear quaking me as every old story I’d told myself about my body came back to haunt me. The few classes I’d taken were so much easier under the cloak of night in a dimly lit studio with other real women.
Now it was just me and him.
At nine a.m.
“You look sexy as hell.” I heard his words, letting them loosen my muscles as I gripped high up the poll and lifted into a spin. I hooked my thigh around the front of the pole, thrusting my body his way, his eyes taking in my body so on display for him.
I shuddered under his intense gaze when he lingered for long beats at the center of my panties, already damp and getting more soaked with every beat. The song spun through my veins as it picked up tempo, my muscles moving into contorted positions I hadn’t thought possible just a matter of weeks ago.
I gripped my hand between my thighs, sucking in a breath before trying a move I’d only done a few times. I tightened my core, flipping my torso over my waist and my thighs around the pole about my head. I held tight, body focused and strung tight as I held myself upside down, sweat already trickling down my back with the strain of holding the position.