Dirty Curve

Screw it.

I text him, and the moment I hit send, I shrink in my chair, my hands coming up to cover my face.

God, Meyer. Pathetic.

It’s not like a text will tell me if he’s out and so what if he is! He can be.

I don’t want him to be.

Covering my mouth with the blanket, I groan, squeezing my eyes shut.

“What the hell are you doing, Meyer?” I chastise myself.

Don’t be dumb—

My phone beeps and a breath lodges in my throat.

My chest grows warm with unease and excitement, things that don’t go together but are equally felt.

Chewing on my lip, I grab my phone, opening it to read his message.

Tobias: I’m a beast, Tutor Girl. You should know this by now.

A laugh leaves me, and I fall back into the chair as a second message comes through.

Tobias: What you don’t know is I have a giant bag of caramel corn the vendor lady stashed for me and the password to my boy’s Netflix.

Anticipation swirls low in my stomach, creating an unsteady sensation as I wait for more, unwilling to dare and read between the lines because I know I don’t have to. Tobias never beats around the bush and his next text proves it.

Tobias: What do you say, Tutor Girl? Will you open the door for me?

My skin tingles and I text him back a quick yes, and not ten seconds later, my phone rings, his name flashing across the screen.

I answer, but he speaks before I can.

“Open up, Tutor Girl.”

I dart up in my seat, my head snapping around to stare at the front door. “You’re here?”

“I’m here.”

He’s here.

He was already on his way.

Standing, I head for the door, pulling it open with the phone still held to my ear, and when I do, my pulse flips.

He’s still in his uniform, black eye paint still drawn along his cheekbones, hat still pointed forward and hiding half his face, but his eyes shine regardless.

“You can hang up now,” he says into his phone, that is also still held to his ear.

A nervous laugh leaves me and I drop it, stepping back to allow him inside.

“Mind if I change real fast? I left quick to beat out the news crew. Figured if I stayed, you’d be sleeping by the time I got here.”

“Not if you had told me you were coming.”

“Didn’t want to give you a chance to tell me no.” He grins, disappears into the bathroom, and steps out not two minutes later.

“Think we can pull out the bed so we have more room?” He looks to me as he picks the remote up from the side table. “You do that and I’ll get us all signed in?”

I nod, doing as he suggested and not five minutes later, we’re pressing play.

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because when I wake, it’s to Bailey’s soft cries. The clock reads three thirty, and the space beside me is empty.

Tobias went home.

Pulling myself into a sitting position, I wipe my hands down my face and toss the blanket I don’t remember covering myself with, but then I hear him.

My head snaps left to right as Tobias steps into the hall. Bailey held tight against his bare chest.

My heart beats double time as he comes closer, a tired smile on his handsome face.

“Someone woke up,” he whispers, his focus on her. “Ain’t that right, Bailey Bay?”

My heart pounds against my rib cage and I can’t look away from him.

Not as he reaches me, still fixated on her, and not as he climbs onto the bed beside me. He gently places her in my arms, and only once she’s secure does he look up.

“Was that okay?” he worries, his blue eyes roaming my face.

I don’t trust myself to speak, so I nod, and he settles into his spot, but he doesn’t look away.

He knows why she’s woken, and he’s silently begging I don’t ask him to go.

I don’t want him to go.

I shift my baby girl in my arms and lift my shirt up over my left breast so she can latch on. Once she does, her hand comes up, as it always does, so I tug my hair free of the scrunchie and allow it to fall the way she likes it. Instantly, her little fingers glide into it, holding on with gentle ease.

Tobias’s soft chuckle heats my neck, and my skin flushes.

With a deep breath, I face Tobias, and our eyes lock once more.

Completely in sync, both of our heads lower onto the couch cushions we’re sitting up against.

A few moments pass, his blinks grow heavier, and then his fingers fold into mine.

Tobias falls back asleep and I sit there, tracing over his every feature.

At first glance, he looks the part of the rough and rugged ball player.

His hair is kept short and he’s never past the point of stubble. His smirk is ever present, his walk is more of a lazy strut, and his body a testament to long hours of hard work. He’s tall and confident, with flirty eyes and a cocky smile, but what you don’t see by simply looking is the softness he holds. Tobias has a kind heart he can’t deny, but doesn’t allow others to take advantage of. He doesn’t give the media the attention they crave, he brushes everything off one shoulder and squares the other.