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Over my dead body will my sister marry Riccardo Romano.
Chapter 4
Ocean
The sound of knocking at my door has me groaning. Scrubbing the sleep from my tired, heavy, eyes all I can think about is the day I finally get my own place and won’t have to deal with random interruptions from my sleep. Though, I am grateful that they had a space for me here – being it's strictly for women and safe – it will be nice to have peace and quiet. I sigh and remind myself of how lucky I am to have found this little hostel, even if I am irritated right now. Despite my irritation, I roll over, my gaze landing on the brown door.
“Yeah?” I croak before clearing my throat.
“Ocean, honey?” I recognize the voice as Valerie, the lady that runs the hostel. “I’m sorry to wake you dear, but I need you to open up so that the maintenance guy can check your bathroom. There is a leak somewhere in the building and he isn’t sure where it's coming from.” She tells me, regret heavy in her voice. Though some of the other staff don’t mind, Valerie hates intruding on our space. It’s one of the things I like about her. As long as you aren’t doing anything illegal, she leaves well enough alone.
“Give me five. I just need to get dressed.” I shout back. She doesn’t respond, but I hear her mumble something to someone.
Dragging myself out of the bed, I pull on some sweats, my Converse, and a hoodie before moving to the bathroom. I make quick work of splashing my face with cold water and brushing my teeth. Stepping back into the bedroom, I grab my cell and pull the door open.
Valerie smiles at me. “Ocean, why don’t you go down to the communal room? I made breakfast. Mr. Dobak is here for maintenance.”
“Thanks.” I nod, my eyes shifting to the man beside her. He stares at me lasciviously, his beady gaze roaming over my covered body. His eyes meet mine, a horrible smirk curving his lips. I shiver, suddenly feeling uneasy about him going into my room.
“Go on now, dear. I will help Mr. Dobak.” She jerks her head, her eyes imploring me. I understand what she is saying without her saying it. She won’t leave him alone in my room.
Moving past them, I make my way down the stairs and to the communal room at the end of the hall. Some of the other girls are already in here, drinking coffee, and eating waffles and pancakes as they chat. I spot Selena in the corner on her own and make my way over to her. It's Selena who told me about The Executive Club, having worked as a dancer there for around four months. She offered to put a good word in for me and as they say, the rest is history. I don’t know her story and I haven’t asked her. But I get the feeling it's dark. Though she tries to hide it, I see the haunted look in her eyes. See the pain she tries to cover with her beauty, humor, and smiling face.
“Hey,” I greet, pulling a chair out at the table where she sits.
Her head snaps up. She smiles wide when she spots me, and I can’t help but grin back at her. Like all the girls at the club, Selena is show-stopping gorgeous. What makes her different from most of the other dancers – and in my opinion better – is she is actually nice, kind, and genuine, which I haven’t found inmany of the other girls. I don’t know whether it’s because they think I am their competition, but for some reason the majority of them all took an instant dislike to me.
“Oh, hey Ocean. You okay?” She chirps enthusiastically, looking fresh, unlike me.
“I would be if I wasn’t dragged out of bed after only a couple of hours of sleep,” I grumble.
She chuckles. “Right, I would be pissed if I had to work last night and then was dragged out of bed early the next morning. Thankfully, I didn’t but I did have a date, so I still had a relatively late night.” She pauses, her head cocking. “Though, I bet it I was in bed earlier than you.”
I blow out a breath. “Yeah. It was past four by the time I got into bed.”
“I was home by one, so had a couple more hours of sleep than you,” she frowns. “You work too hard Ocean. You should cut down on your shifts. None of the other girls work seven nights a week.” She chides, shaking her head.
“I need the money.” I shrug.
She eyes me for a long beat. “We all need the money, but girl, you are going to exhaust yourself and crash if you are not careful.”
My chest tightens at the concern in her voice, but for right now, I am not going to cut down my shifts. I have a dream and I want to achieve it sooner rather than later. “Thanks for looking out for me, but I'm fine. Promise.”
Her eyes narrow in on me playfully before she sighs. “I’m going up for another pancake. Do you want anything? Coffee?” she asks, changing the subject and I’m grateful for it.
I shake my head, grinning. “I look that bad, huh?”
Her eyes widen. “What? No. You’re fucking stunning, Ocean, even on a couple hours of sleep.”
I chuckle. “I’ll go up and grab something. Those waffles look good too.” I say eyeing her plate of waffles and berries.
Selena laughs. “They are. If you want one, go now before they all get eaten.”
I am out of my seat before she finishes her sentence, rushing over to the side table that is stacked with food and an assortment of cold and hot drinks. Grabbing a plate, I stack it with a couple of waffles, some chopped banana, strawberries, and whipped cream before pouring a mug of coffee and making my way back over to the table.
Selena takes her seat opposite me, and without a word digs into her pancakes. Her eyes close as she chews. “Damn, I’m going to miss these when I eventually move out of here,” she groans. “In fact. I may just stay for Ms. Valerie’s breakfast.”
I laugh, taking a bite of my breakfast. I almost moan out loud as the sweetness of the fruit and waffle hits my tongue. I agree with Selena. I would also stay just to have this breakfast every morning. Fortunately for us, breakfast is included in the weekly rate we pay for our rooms. It makes the cost a little higher but it’s worth it. No other meals are included but that’s okay. I work most nights and Leo always makes sure the girls are fed. It works out perfectly, really. Most days, I don’t have to waste money buying food.
