Inseparable: A New Adult Erotic Romance

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Chapter 1: Julie

Chapter 2: Julie

Chapter 3: Jack

Chapter 4: Jack

Chapter 5: Julie

Chapter 6: Julie

Chapter 7: Julie

Chapter 8: Julie

Chapter 9: Julie

Chapter 10: Julie

Chapter 11: Jack

Chapter 12: Julie

Chapter 13: Jack

Chapter 14: Julie

Chapter 15: Julie

Chapter 16: Jack

Chapter 17: Jack

Chapter 18: Jack and Julie

Chapter 19: Jack and Julie

Chapter 20: Jack and Julie

About the Publisher

"H
ey, Julie, do you know who these belong to?" Cathy carried a pair of small pink sneakers into the manager’s office. They appeared new and had the figure of a cartoon princess across the sides.

Julie looked up from the managers desk with a sigh. "Where did you find them?"

"Kicked behind the water fountain, near the first party room," Cathy replied.

Bigger Bounce had four party rooms, two on each side of the large play area filled with inflatable play equipment. Toys and clothes got lost all the time, so it was no surprise that it happened last night as well.

"Yeah, it was the Brousard party last night. You remember that bitch in the purple designer track suit? Her three year-old lost them, but according to her it was my fault they didn’t turn up." Julie felt her stomach drop as she recalled the mother shrieking about the lost shoes. "She actually called me an over-priced babysitter and cursed at me. She’s lucky I need this job more than she needed to be slapped."

"Oh, yeah, I remember her now: curvy, with red hair, and a mean mouth? She’s also the one who complained about the pizza. I told her we only put in the delivery order, we can’t make the delivery guy show up on time."

"Well she’s the one who scheduled her party on a Sunday night during NFL playoffs." Julie shook her head. "Just leave them here on Sharon’s desk. I’ll give them a call and let them know we found them."

"Thanks, Julie. Hey, speaking of them, did you get a look at the Dad? Hunka, hunka. I’d let him tuck me in any night." Cathy giggled and hugged herself.

"He’s a little old and soft for my tastes, but he was easy on the eyes," Julie replied, smiling. "The Mom gave him the cold shoulder the whole time. I felt bad for the older sister. I overheard her tell her friend that her birthday wish was for them to stop fighting. Ugh, damn near broke my heart."

"How old was she?"

"Six years old and dressed better than me." Julie laughed and picked up the shoes. "Hell, these probably cost $75 bucks at the mall. That’s a quarter of my damn paycheck, and I bet she has three pairs."

"I know, right? Suburban crotch fruit have it so easy. Must be nice." Cathy shook her head sadly.

Julie sighed. "I always wanted to grow up in a big house with lots of toys and department store clothes. Instead, I get a one bedroom apartment with my Mom, and I still have to sleep on the couch in the living room. But hey, at least I’ll always have WalMart!" Julie pretended she was being funny, but it hit a little too close to home.

Cathy noticed someone queued up in the concession area. "I got a customer. Let me know when it’s time to wipe down the equipment again and I’ll take it for you."

"Thanks, Cathy."

Julie shrugged off the self-pity and picked up the phone, dialing the number on the Brousards’ birthday party form. While the phone rang, she realized the address on the form was in a nice neighborhood on her way home. Glancing at the shoes again, she wondered if that little girl realized how lucky she was. When she heard the mother’s voice again on the outgoing message it made her shiver.

"Thank you for calling the home of the Brousards. We are not able to come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number we will get back to you as soon as we can."

"Hi, this is Julie from Bigger Bounce. I found your daughter’s shoes. Please call me at 555-6473 so I can get them back to you."

She hung up her phone before realizing the mistake she had made. "Fuck," she swore to herself silently. She had left her cell phone number instead of the business number. She sighed to herself, but realized there was nothing she could do about it now, and besides, she still had a lot of work to do.

After she finished scheduling the morning staff for the week, she checked the answering machine messages, did an inventory of the concession stock, then double-checked that the staff had done the required cleaning of the bathrooms. Cathy and the rest of the staff were pretty good at keeping things running, but if they didn’t, it fell on Julie when Sharon came in in the afternoons.

Rather than going back to the manager’s office, Julie went out to play with the kids for a while. It was her favorite part of the job. She had always loved working with children. During junior high and high school she had even gone through the Red Cross training courses to work as a certified babysitter and lifeguard.

The laughter made her forget her worries for a while as she played tag through the inflatable obstacle course. The little girls and boys always loved to tag her so she would have to chase them. When she caught them, they would laugh as she tickled them mercilessly, then she would run away for them to catch her.

There was one little boy who seemed a little timid about playing with the others. She helped him climb and jump until he got his confidence up, then she tagged him to get him running. She was rewarded with his delighted laugh as he joined in happily with the game after that.

After she got the kids good and spun up, she ducked out to visit Cindy at the concession stand for a drink of water.

"You are so good with kids, Julie. I bet you’ll make a good Mom." Cindy handed her a cup of ice water.

"Got to find a good Dad first," Julie chuckled and took a drink. "It’s harder than I thought it would be."

"You go out all the time!"

"Yeah, but that’s just exercise," Julie said, hoping Cathy would get that she wasn't talking about lifting weights. "I like a good workout as much as the next girl, but there is a big difference between what I want for a night of fun and daddy material."

Cathy nodded. "You seeing any likely candidates?"

"Not right now. The last one ran screaming into the night, and good riddance."

"What happened?"

Julie scoffed. "I asked him to take me out and pick up the tab for a change."

"Typical."

"Yeah, he loved to invite me over when he was tapped out and had nothing else to do. Last time, he let me watch him play video games and then hit me up to borrow gas money."

"That’s some class." Cathy said, shaking her head.

"Yup, so I haven’t met a daddy yet. Just going to have to get my fix playing with the kids here," Julie said, a light smile on her face.

The rest of the day progressed without incident. Sharon came in just as Julie was about to shut the office door and change out of her uniform to leave. She was older, with a brown monochrome dye job. She was a good manager, but a real stickler for details. Julie let her in and shut the door behind her.

"Anything fun happen today?" Sharon asked.

Julie pulled off her shirt and grabbed the white sweatshirt out of her duffel. "Not really. Cathy found the shoes that woman was looking for yesterday."

"Where were they?"

"Kicked behind the water fountain, I guess," Julie said.

"Typical... How many customers come through today?"

Julie knew that Sharon wouldn't be happy with her answer. "Thirty kids, but I got two moms asking about parties. I put their forms on your desk so you can check the quotes I wrote and to confirm their info."

Sharon sighed. "I hate Mondays. I keep telling Steve we should close on Mondays and Tuesdays. It costs more to pay the electric bill than we bring in."

"Not if we count the parties," Julie said with a smile, pulling up her blue jeans. "I still think we ought to book those sales on the days they schedule, otherwise you could argue we should only be open on the weekends."

"True," Sharon said. She gave Julie a quick once-over. "Nice bra and panties by the way. Where did you get those?"

Julie smiled. "An old boyfriend who spent too much at the mall. I only wear them when I need to do laundry and don’t have anything else. I like the way they make me feel, but I don’t want them to wear out too soon."

"God, I’d give anything to be young and hot again," Sharon said wistfully.

"Stop it, I’m not hot. My hair is stringy, my eyes are too far apart and my boobs are already starting to sag if I don’t keep my shoulders back."

Sharon laughed. "Well, I’d have to hang upside down to keep mine from sagging!"

Julie smiled and shook her head. "You’re a nut, Sharon. I'll see you tomorrow."

Julie was putting on her white sneakers when her cellphone rang. She recognized the number as the parents of the little girl who lost her shoes.

"Hello, this is Julie from Bigger Bounce," Julie said, trying to sound professional.

"Hi Julie, this is Jack Brousard, the father of the little girl who left her shoes at your play place. I could come and pick the shoes up around 7:00 tonight."

"Actually I was just leaving and you are right on my way home. Why don’t I drop off the shoes on the way by?"

"That’s kind of you. The wife and kids are out of town right now visiting grandma, but I’m stuck at work all week. I don’t mind swinging by to pick them up from your office if you don’t feel comfortable doing it."

"No, it’s fine, really. I have to get off at your exit to go home anyway."

"OK, if you’re sure you don’t mind."

"It’s no problem, Jack. I’ll see you in a bit."

Sharon was giving her an odd look when she hung up.

"What?" Julie said as she grabbed the shoes.

"A customer named Jack? Calling on your cellphone?"

"I accidentally gave the number out when I left a message earlier. And I don’t call people mister or misses on my own time." Julie stuffed her work clothes into her duffel with a smile. "And I’m off."

"You be careful, Julie."

"You worry too much." Julie said smiling. "But thanks anyway."

W
hen she arrived at the address, she was impressed by the size of the house and yard. It had huge trees in front, with a line of small flowering plants leading from the sidewalk to the porch. She parked in the street, grabbed her purse and the pink sneakers, then walked up to the front door.

Jack opened the door just as she walked up. He was barefoot, wearing artfully faded jeans and a white undershirt. She gave him a half smile and waved the little shoes.

"Hi, I’m Julie," she said, knowing that most people never remembered her name at work.

"Hi, Julie. Thanks so much for dropping those by. Lisa is strangely attached to her shoes, at least until she grows out of each pair."

"My pleasure, Jack." She made the point of using his first name. She noticed him glancing at her breasts as he handled the shoes, trying not to be obvious about it. Just to flirt a little she made sure to keep her shoulders back, letting him see her breasts lifted high. She could see him begin to get a little flushed as he stalled at the door.

"Look, uh, I know you said you were heading home. How about you let me make you a drink? I’d even cook something nice if you wanted to, uh, hang out for a while, maybe get to know each other better," he said, practically stammering by the time he got to the end, obviously embarrassed by his own shameless offer.

Rather than flattered, she was actually a little insulted that he had the nerve to proposition her like that. Julie gave him a cold smile and let him suffer for a moment, refusing to let him off the hook.

Finally, she whispered, "What did you have in mind, Jack?" she started, sounding a little seductive. Then, her tone turned cold. "Impress the over-priced babysitter with your fine home while the wife is away, fill her full of supermarket vino and then maybe get a blow job on the deck out back?"