X-Treme Measure (5 page)

Please do not stare at my tits. My nipples were hardening from the effect he was having on me as he had his fill. And he didn’t, but not without his lips twitching as he looked at my face.

“Fresh from a shower yourself, huh? Wow. Didn’t peg you for a girl that wears glasses. Are you actually blind? Or are they just for show?”

“Like you said. You don’t know me. Don’t judge a book by its cover, Daniel. And yes, without them I can barely see. And why are you dressed like that? You’re barely dressed. Maybe you should put some clothes on.”

He barked out a laugh and his smile was instantaneous. And sexy as hell as it sent butterflies to my stomach. “My own words back at me, huh? Well, come on in. Definitely don’t want your sensibilities overshot.”

“They aren’t.”

“Right. Reighlyn!” He called for his daughter, but he kept his hot chocolate gaze on me. “Come in, Moriah. I don’t bite.”

Snort. Yeah, right. He seemed like one of those guys who were all alpha male and take charge. Not my type. Not that I was even looking. That’s right. Babysitter, Moriah. You are the babysitter.

Daniel seemed to find me amusing because he chuckled as I walked into his apartment. Totally male. He took the backpack from my shoulder and his hand found the small of my back as he led me into a big kitchen on the left with a dining table. His hand felt warm and I felt it contract against my clothes, all the way to my skin and shot straight to my core. I wanted to feel his hand on my bare skin.

GAH! Head. Gutter. Stop it!

We stopped there, Daniel showed me certain cabinets. “You’ll find cups here, if you want a drink. Or I have bottled water in the fridge if you don’t want tea. My only vice.”

“Ah, now I know you’re kryptonite.”

His hand flexed at my back as he continued, “Yes, hmm. Reighlyn may have a snack, but nothing passed nine thirty. I don’t keep junk food in the house, so she can eat fruit or vegetables.”

“Wow. Strict diet.”

“No, not really strict. I take her out every once in a while and let her eat whatever she likes, but I don’t let bad food into my system and I don’t want to mess with hers either. The child obesity rate is outrageous.”

“Wow. Bad food could be delicious.”

“Yes. Of course they are, until they clog your arteries—

“No, please stop. I don’t want to know.”

“Do you eat a lot of junk food?”

“No. If I remember to eat, I try and eat healthy-ish. I like bacon. No one is taking away my bacon. I might have to kill a person if they took away my bacon.”

“I’ll have to remember that, Moriah.”

He led me out of the kitchen, and gave me a small tour. He pointed to a door saying that was his bedroom but since the door was shut I couldn’t see inside. And I admit, I was a little curious. Then a bathroom that was bright pink and yellow. Then he should me an office slash work out room, but since I had no plan on going in there, it was just a room. Then he showed me Reighlyn’s room. Someone was a MLP fan. My Little Pony was splashed everywhere. A girl after my own heart. Yes. I admit it. I was a closet MLP fan.

“Yes, she has a My Little Pony thing going on.”

“Oh, I’m not judging. I actually like MLP. Pinkie Pie is a girl after my own heart. In the Equestria Girl’s movies anyway, when they turn into teenagers. Yeah.” He was looking down at me with this amused smile lighting up his face and I just rolled my eyes. “Don’t hate, buster.”

“Zero hating here, honey. Come on. Reighlyn should be in the living room. She likes to read and she can be up until ten pm. After that, she needs to be in her bed. I let her play a movie and she usually falls asleep on her own.”

He turned me and we walked back to the living room where Reighlyn was sitting in a little woman’s recliner. Nice. Someone was spoiled. Let’s hope there wasn’t a brat attached to that word either.

“Alright, Reighlyn. I need to finish so I can head out. Oh, do you have a phone, Moriah?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Alright, let me give you my number just in case you need anything or if there is any problems. There is a house phone with numbers you might need, but my cell phone is best for now.”

He gave me his number, and I called him so he had mine as well. He pulled out his and plugged in my number into his contacts.

“Reighlyn.”

“I know, dad. It’ll be fine.”

“She’s nine going on twenty.”

“We all were at that age.”

Both Reighlyn and I giggled, because it was true. It probably wouldn’t be long until she became a young woman. I bet Daniel was going to have a field day with that one. Poor man.

“Women,” was his only response and it only made us laugh harder. He set my backpack on the coffee table and shook his head as he turned towards his bedroom to finish getting ready. I hadn’t noticed before now but there was a large tattoo on his back. A black cross with pointed ends covered the top of his back and it went down his spine, stopping at the middle of his back. I hadn’t really pegged him for a religious guy, but like I told him not to judge, I wasn’t going to pry and judge him right back.

“Hi, Reighlyn.”

“Hey. You’re Moriah.”

“Yes, you can call me Riri if you like.”

“Okay. That’s cool.”

Yeah. That was our conversation. Brief. To the point.

I sat on the edge of the couch, farthest away from her so she wouldn’t feel closed in. I waited until Daniel came back in and I stood. In a way, I was nervous to be left alone with this little girl. I had no idea how to take care of a child. Although it was practically my major, but that didn’t mean I know how to take care of one in real life; one on one. She was old enough to do most things by herself so that was a plus.

Daniel went over to Reighlyn, bent to kiss her on the head, whispered something into her ear, which made her giggle and said, “Yes, dad.”

She saluted him and he gently tugged the ends of her hair. It was such a sweet thing to do. It only made me wish my relationship with my father was this nice.

Yeah. Right. That was wishful thinking.

“Alright, dad. We’ll be fine. I’ll protect her.”

Protect me? Against what? I tilted my head to the side, watching the weird exchange.

Daniel nodded before walking the short distance to me. He towered over me and took the ends of my hair just like he did Reighlyn and gave it a gentle tug.

“She’s a good girl. She’ll behave and she knows when she has to be in bed. What will you do?”

“I have my psych homework.”

“Nerdy.”

I shrugged because it wasn’t the first time someone said that to me and I wasn’t ashamed by it. I was glad I was smart and worked hard.

“Yeah, I suppose. What did she mean by ‘
protect me’
?”

“Oh, she’s a red belt in karate. But nothing is going to happen. She just likes the initial shock value. It gives her sick pleasure.”

“Okay.” I looked over to Reighlyn and said, “I can protect myself though, thanks.”

“Sure.” She said that way too innocently and it made me think she didn’t believe me. I looked back up at Daniel to see a soft smile on his face.

“Call or text me if there is anything you need or have problems. Although you shouldn’t. She’s a good girl.” Then he leaned in close and I felt his warm breathe cascade over my earlobe sending shivers down my back. And to my own shock, my nipples hardened and I felt butterflies low in my belly. His voice did things to me. I had no idea how to react to them. “You be a good girl, too. Don’t leave unless you really have to. Don’t open the door for anyone. No one has a key except me and Reighlyn. Do you have everything you need?”

My whispered yes was barely audible so I nodded and his fingers curled around my hair.

I could hear him take a deep breath. Breathing me in? His finger uncurled and he stepped back before nodding, his dark chocolate eyes almost black as they looked me over one final time.

“Alright. I’ll text you in a little bit to make sure everything’s okay. Or text me when you go to sleep.”

“Okay. Be safe.”

“Always.”

He nodded, walked around me and the view of his ass was just as nice as his front. He walked to the foyer hallway before turning back and saying, “Love you, babydoll.”

I looked to Reighlyn, and she smiled happily saying, “Love you, too, Daddy.”

Then he looked at me, winked and left.

I sat back down and looked over to Reighlyn who had her nose stuck in a book and her knees covering the front it.

“Whatcha reading?”

She laid her legs down and showed me the cover, “It’s a My Little Pony book. I have all them. I collect them.”

“That’s really nice. I don’t have the books, but I have the movies. My favorite of the Mane 6 is Pinkie Pie.”

She looked surprised that I would like something that was for kids. Well, she didn’t have to worry about that. I loved MLP.

“Mines Rainbow Dash.”

“Rainbow Dash is awesome.”

“Why Pinkie Pie?”

“Have you seen the shows and the Equestria Girl’s Canterlot High movies? Pinkie Pie is like the bomb. She’s like cotton candy and bubblegum but at the same time, she’s a little sassy. No one’s as cool as Pinkie Pie.”

“Yeah, I can see that. I love the comic novels too. The Friendship is Magic books. They are short books, but I like them. What are you going to do?”

“Like I told your dad, I have my psychology homework to finish. Although finals are over, I am working on an extra credit paper.”

“What do you want to be when you get done?”

“I am going for a degree in children’s psychology. I’d like to be a therapist for children.”

“Wow. That’s pretty cool. So you could like be my therapist?”

“Oh, I won’t have my degree for a while. And why would you need a therapist, Reighlyn?”

“Because my mom is a crackhead and she abandoned me.”

“Oh. Well. Have you talked to your dad about how you feel?”

“Of course not. He’d freak. He can’t handle all the girly feels.”

“And your dad didn’t abandon you.”

“No. He’s really great! He made me self-sufficient.”

“Wow. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a little girl.”

“That’s not how I see it. I can do a lot of things myself. I cook, clean. I am disciplined. Karate is a lot of fun.”

For a girl who was only nine, Daniel was right; she did talk like she was much older. When I was nine, I was still playing with my Barbie’s (the few I had) and playing house with the cabbage patch doll I won from the church when I went to their Bizarre. I wasn’t catholic—or anything really. I believed in God, but I didn’t go to church so I didn’t know what I was religiously.

“Have you ever had your nails painted?”

She shook her head no.

“Dad likes clean nails.”

“That’s because he’s a boy. Boys don’t wear nail polish.”

She leaned over her book and looked at my own nails. “Yours aren’t painted.”

“I removed the polish a few days ago. I usually go out and look for a new color. The amount of nail polish I have should be criminal. It’s a sickness. Some women like to get shoes or purses. I like nail polish and books.”

“Oh.” Then she looked down as if she was upset.

“Reighlyn?”

“Daddy and I don’t really do things like that. I guess if my mother was, you know, around but...”

I saw her eyes bubbling up and it was like DANGER! DANGER! Flashing in front of my eyes. Oh, crap. Not even an hour in and I was making her cry.

“Reighlyn, I’m sorry. It’s okay, though. My mother never did that kind of stuff with me either and she was there all the time.”

“Yeah, and did your mother abandon you?” Even I could hear the bitterness in her voice and it only made me more determined to make sure she knew she didn’t need a mother to make her feel like a girl.

“No. Mine just didn’t care. I had to work hard for everything I’ve ever gotten. My parents are lazy cheats. I never felt loved. Their indifference didn’t stop me from doing my very best to get out of that life, though. They were going nowhere fast and I wanted more for myself. Your dad clearly loves you to death. And hey, if he lets me watch you again, I’ll bring over some girlie stuff and we can totally have a girl’s day. Oh! Have you ever done a cosplay before?”

“What’s cosplay?”

“It’s where you dress up like your favorite character—anime, cartoon, hero or heroine and do the wigs, make-up, all that stuff.”

She shook her head, the excitement lighting her eyes. “Like, I could dress up and look like Rainbow Dash?”

“YEAH! Totally! I have Pinkie Pie stuff. I did this charity thing a year ago for Texas Children’s Hospital. I dressed up as Pinkie Pie and went to the hospital. My singing voice isn’t too bad and I sung a few MLP songs. It was pretty cool seeing the kids, even boys having a good time. It was a lot of fun.”

“Wow. Could I do something like that?”

“Sure. Let me get the stuff and we can totally get our MLP on!”

Reighlyn’s eyes lit up with joy and her blue eyes danced with merriment as she thought about becoming Rainbow Dash. She smiled brightly at me before going back to her book.

Hopefully Daniel wouldn’t have a problem with what we just talked about because Reighlyn seemed in need of just a little bit of girlie time.

I couldn’t keep the smile from my face as I took out my iPad, my book and notebook and got started on my extra credit.

It was after two in the morning, Reighlyn was already passed out in her bed. I shut off the TV, and a nightlight popped on by her bed from being too dark.

I went back to the living room and was typing up my extra credit work when my phone buzzed with an incoming text.

Everything ok? -D

Daniel. Okay. That's right. I was supposed to text him when I was going to sleep. Since I wasn't asleep yet, it hadn't occurred to me. I was entrenched in my studies. So when I opened up his message I was only a little surprised.

Yes. Reighlyn’s sound asleep. I'm finishing up my paper. -M

U need to be asleep. It's late.-D

He really was a bossy kind of guy. I wasn't too sure how I liked that. I've never known bossy guys. Most of them were more passive than aggressive or they just didn't notice me.

I'm good. I have a little more to do then I'm going to get comfy.

It's not good, being up so late. You should get at least 8 hrs of sleep
.

Thank God I'm an adult right? :)

It's the weekend. U have lots of time for school. It's extra credit anyway
.

Okay, dad. Should I salute you 2, sir?

You have a smart mouth.

: P

Get some rest, Moriah

I didn't even bother with a response. I set my phone aside and worked on my paper. Of course I could put it down and get some rest, but the quicker I get it done, the quicker I could relax. I didn't need the extra credit, but I wanted it. I wanted to excel. Make my future worth it since my past wasn’t too much to go on. I wanted to be the best I could be.

Good grief. I was such a nerd. I had no life whatsoever. I mean look at me. Friday night, and I’m babysitting? Happily doing school work?

I was. I liked challenging myself. I liked volunteering. Was it life fulfilling though?

Ugh. Forget this. I set my iPad and Bluetooth keyboard down and started reading.