X-Treme Measure (7 page)

The thing was, I wasn’t ready for her to leave. “Stay for breakfast? What would you normally eat right now?”

“Probably cereal.”

“Go on into the kitchen, Reighlyn should be already in there waiting.”

“Oh God, did she?”

“See you sprawled on me like a tick? Yes, but she just giggled and walked away.”

“Oh God.”

“It’s okay. Just go to the kitchen, grab you some OJ and sit tight. I’ll put a shirt on and be out in a moment.”

Would she stay or insist on leaving? The look on her face suggested she was about to refuse and tell me she needed to go home, but then her shoulders slumped in resignation. She barely let out a ‘sure, whatever,’ before making a big walk around me like I was radioactive and left the confines of the bedroom.

Good. She needed to eat better anyway. Made me wonder what she'd think if she knew what I did for a living? I've seen guys that try and date girls but once they found out what they did, performing and sometimes escorting, they flipped their shit. The whole that's cheating, immoral, and disgusting downhill process was complete shit. That was one another reason why I didn't date. So it would probably be wise to just avoid Moriah and the hot temptation she presented. She was a down to earth girl, probably had two loving, religious parents, who did what she was told, never wandering too far from her comfort zone. Although I wouldn't mind if she watched Reighlyn again. Yeah, totally a dick move but she did a good job.

I should have let her go. Now that I told her to stay, I better feed her so she can leave and let the avoiding begin. Of course I wouldn't be downright rude to her, but I would not let what happened earlier be repeated. Bringing her into my bed was a colossal mistake. And hell. Now the bedding would probably smell like her, too.

I was so screwed.

I had no idea how to face Reighlyn, knowing she saw how I was sprawled on top of her father like a damn blanket. I had no good excuse as to why. Like why in the world would he even put me in his bed in the first place? It was beyond me. Although I must admit it was super-duper comfy.

Why I had to tell him off was also beyond me. That wasn’t like me. No one ever talked to me like that. Or even texted. I had always done whatever I wanted. Growing up I barely had parents. When I was old enough and worked, it was when they’d see a cut of my pay check. I’m pretty sure if I had stayed in Liberty, they would have been just fine with that. They’d probably be happy. I’d probably still be a doormat because they could look at me and I’d feel obligated to take care of them as much as I could. They were shocked when I was accepted at the University of Houston, and transferring to another Chili’s allowed me to make double what I made at Liberty. I sent them some money once a month, but now that I had to pay for everything myself, I was afraid to tell them I might not be able to send them as much money, if any at all, while saving up for tuition and all my other expenses.

“Morning, Riri.”

“Morning, Reighlyn. How was sleep?”

“It was sleep.”

“No dreams?”

“Nah.” She didn’t look at me when she said this and deep down it felt like she wasn’t telling me the truth but who was I to pry? I might have had an instant bond with this girl, but she wasn’t my daughter, it wasn’t my place. I let it go, but logged it into the back of my mind. Maybe I’ll ask her the next time I get and see if she still says no.

“So what’s for breakfast?”

“Toast, eggs, then probably a banana or an apple. It’s Saturday.”

“So what does that mean? And what kind of breakfast was that? No bacon?”

“I don’t keep bacon in this home.”

I shrieked, having jumped from Daniel sneaking up behind me.

“Bacon is a major food source.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Just because you love pig fat doesn’t mean everyone should.”

“Reighlyn, don’t let his blasphemous words penetrate those innocent ears, bacon is delicious.”

I looked at Daniel while I said it and he just looked me over and rolled his eyes.

“You know, in some cultures, rolling your eyes is just bad behavior. Haven’t you ever been spanked? Did your mother keep bacon out of the house?”

“Bad behavior? Ha. I’m not sure who really needs the spanking here, girl. I’d like to see you try to spank me,” the look in his eyes as he said this made my tummy contract, the searing, dark gaze sent tingles coursing in my stomach at the exchange. “And yes, I’ve had bacon before and Reighlyn can have bacon if she wants it, I just don’t buy it.”

“Okay then. Toast and eggs it is.”

“No fruit for me. I’ll eat an apple if you have it.”

He snickered and walked past us to make breakfast. I must admit, I felt full afterwards.

Bossy buster. I thanked him for breakfast, told Reighlyn to call me if she wanted to hang, and I hurried after that.

Best to not make things any more awkward.

“Moriah! Wait a moment.” Ugh. Just when I was ready to escape. I turned around to see him take out his wallet and a wad of cash. “Here. This is for watching her and doing it at the last minute.”

Now, I didn’t even think about getting paid because it was a favor for a favor. He helped me in a jam and I returned the favor. I mean, did he have a sitter for tonight as well? He said his mother wasn’t going to be home until later this week. And it wasn’t like it was a few twenties. It looked like it was at least two hundred.

“Uh, thank you, but this is way too much. I didn’t watch her very long.”

“It was last minute.”

“Daniel, do you even have a sitter for tonight? What about the rest of the week?”

“I only work Friday through Sunday.”

“Must pay very well.”

My hand flew to my mouth, having just realized I spoke out loud.

“It is. And no I don’t, but that’s my problem.”

“You can ask me, Daniel. I didn’t mind watching her. And if you’re going to give me that much money, consider it a weekend gig until your mom gets back.” He looked me over, his eyes roaming every curve and line. I felt a thrill rush over my skin at being looked at so thoroughly. It wasn’t like he was critiquing, but mesmerizing. “I work from noon to five.”

“You’re not going to get any rest.”

“Okay, I’ll admit. I have a good GPA, but there’s one thing I’m not good at.”

“One thing. Ha. What’s that?”

“Well, I was taking this gym class, and I have a high B, but the teacher said if I did this paper on the body and how nutrition and fitness helps with emotional stress levels in a person, he’d bump it to an A. I really want that A.”

“Gimme your paper. I’ll look over it.”

My eyes blinked hard in astonishment. “Really? Are you an expert or something?”

“Yes. I worked at a gym for one and I have a BA in kinesiology. So nutrition and fitness? Yeah, I can help. Let me have a look and I’ll get it back to you tonight.”

He held out his hand, and even though I was skeptical, I wouldn’t mind having a person who actually knew physical fitness to look over it with an unbiased eye. Hell, any eye. It’s not like I had anybody else to proofread it. I was up all night typing it.

“It’s on my iPad.”

“Then let me look it over and if there’s anything to mark, I’ll highlight it with another color.”

“Uh, handing over my iPad, I don’t know.”

“Honestly? I’m your neighbor, I’m not going to pack my things and take off with your tablet. I’ll look over it while I take Reighlyn to Karate class. I will give it back. It’s not like you can take it to work. Where do you work anyway?”

“The Chili’s around the block.”

“Hmm…that’s good. I’ll see you same time then tonight.”

I nodded and handed over my iPad, giving him my passcode and where in my word documents I had it.

“Thanks for lending an eye. I’ll see you later then.”

I knew I waved awkwardly as I crossed the walkway to my apartment. I walked inside, let out a deep sigh of relief. I was finally able to relax. Being in Daniel’s presence made my insides all gooey and my nerves
zing
.

“Have a good night?”

“AH!” I looked to where Ashley was sitting at his kitchen table, a steaming mug of Joe in his hands. “I helped out our neighbor, Daniel. His babysitter bailed and didn’t have anyone. And since I was free, I agreed to watch her. No big.”

“Wow. He normally doesn’t let anyone take care of his little girl. He’s super protective over her.”

“He said her mom bailed on her.”

“I’ve heard about her. Ugh. I have no idea what he saw in her in the first place. Just one look at her and you can tell she was just wrong in the head.”

Since I’ve never met her, I’d had to reserve judgement, although abandoning your child just because you wanted to score your next fix or whatever was just wrong on so many levels.

“Well, it looks like I’m watching her over this weekend until his mom gets back from her cruise.”

He tilted his head, and said, “Strapped for cash?”

“No. He actually tried giving me two hundred dollars for last night, but I refused and told him I’d only take that much if he let me watch Reighlyn the nights he works.”

“He only works weekend nights.”

“He said that.”

“Did he tell you what he does for a living?”

“No. And honestly, it’s not my business. I mean, what would a guy be doing overnight? It’s probably some heavy lifting kind of work. Maybe stocking or maybe at a plant?”

“Keep thinking that. Alright, I’m going out. I will leave the house to you.”

“Oh, I go to work in a little bit.”

“Well, happy money making day for you then.”

“Thanks.” I walked to my room, and set my belongings on the bed. It really was such a huge bed. I didn’t really need so much space, but I wasn’t complaining. I couldn’t wait to sleep in this bed. Looking at the clock it was just a little after ten. I set my alarm, then climbed on the bed, sprawling my body out right in the middle and shut my eyes.

By Monday, my hot neighbor, barely spoke to me. I mean, what the hell happened to make him become this cold-as-ice robot? He hadn’t been like that Friday night, or Saturday morning. When I got there Saturday night, he was brief and spoke to Reighlyn quickly before nodding a short thanks and leaving the apartment.

Not that it was a big deal, I had a good time with Reighlyn. She wasn’t very open, but I understood why she was so closed inside of herself. Not once did I see her on the phone talking to a friend. She just read or watched TV. I thought I had made a small friendship with her, but Saturday night, it was like Friday night didn’t happen. It made me wonder if she and Daniel argued about something. My suspicions were confirmed on Sunday when after Daniel left and I asked her about the hospital volunteer thing, she said her dad thought that wasn’t a good idea.

I was actually shocked at him saying no. Of course, I was a stranger, but hey, I wasn’t strange. It’s not like it would be anytime soon. I’d have to get to know her. She’d have to get to know me and learn how to trust me. Whatever Daniel must have said to her made her close in.

Which made me kind of angry. Actually it made me a lot angry. I mean, I wasn’t the one that was desperate for a babysitter that I asked my neighbor. Which made everything deflate. It was wrong to think like that. It was my anger thinking. He did trust me with his daughter to watch over for the weekend, but he was cryptic with me and only said to call if there was a problem. He was a single dad taking care of a little girl who needed some female guidance. Of course, I remember him saying his mother took care of her the nights he worked, but Reighlyn seemed so closed in. She was genuinely happy Friday night when we talked about what we liked and the whole girl bonding thing. Maybe I was babysitting wrong. It’s not like I’ve ever done that before.

Sunday, he had to leave by five and said he would be home around two in the morning. Weird shift but what did I know? I worked at a restaurant, shifts were what they were. Instead, he came home about ten, Reighlyn had just fallen asleep about twenty minutes ago when he came in, flustered and angry.

I had tried to calm him down—big, and I mean BIG mistake. He growled at me, like a freaking Grizzly Bear.

“Thank you, but I was cut early, you can go now.” He was curt. His voice was a low rumble of barely controlled rage.

Since Reighlyn didn’t seem to want to talk to me and Daniel was being a beast, I had said goodnight and left. I was just trying to get him to calm down, he seemed like something was terribly wrong, but I was exactly what I was. A stranger. I didn’t need to get involved in their lives. He was a single dad supporting his child and I was a college student
almost
down on her luck trying to graduate.

So why was I sitting in a booth at work, still worrying over it, two weeks later?

“You totally need to go out.”

My head lifted and Chirsta, another server, sat across from me and looked at me with pity.

“No, I’ve heard about the times you and the girl’s go out. It’s a crazy, free for all.”