Page 65 of Motorycle Daddies

MEREDITH

The bath is soothing, and I must admit that I’m more relaxed than I was before. I normally take my baths hotter, but I’m questioning everything with this pregnancy, from the food I eat to the temperature of the showers I take.

I don’t want to make the wrong choices, including the potential to completely overheat myself and the baby I’m carrying. Luckily, Dart doesn’t overdo it with the heat, and I can ease into the comforts of what they’re all trying to do for me.

They take their time rubbing down different parts of my body, lathering their hands with sweet-smelling soaps and going over every single inch of my body. It’s obvious that my insecurities are in my own head. None of them seem to be noticing I look bloated or have a pooch belly. They clearly have their focus on my naked body as a whole and making me feel good.

As the water cools, they help me out of the bath and Dart takes a towel from the rack to help me dry off. Grizzly holds a bathrobe for me to wrap myself in and Trap returns from the bedroom with a fluffy pair of slippers.

“Why are you all so good to me?” I ask.

Grizzly wraps the robe around me and ties off the front with the belt from the bathrobe. “Because you deserve it.”

I don’t know how many times I’ll have to hear things like that before I believe it, but I know this won’t be the last. Or at least I hope so. I don’t feel very deserving of their affection when I’m keeping a secret like this from them. I try to brush the guilt off. If I say anything right now, especially when they’re being so sweet and attentive, it will derail the whole night. They’ll want explanations, to talk for hours, and…and I’m just scared.

“Thanks for the bath. I needed that,” I say. “But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t need to prioritize my studying. I really will be jeopardizing my scholarship if I don’t take this seriously.”

Trap smirks. I don’t think he believes me when I say things like that. I can see how someone might think I’m naturally book smart by earning a scholarship, but I’ve always had to work hard to stay ahead. But this time, he’s right to be suspicious of my motives.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Trap says. “You’ve gotten this far.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but not quite.” I let out a sigh. The tiredness from this pregnancy is taking its toll on me. “I have hours in front of me. Some of the questions stump me every time.”

“These questions?” Dart is leafing through my class paperwork, turning the pages over to get a feel for the study materials.

“Ugh,” I grumble. “Those would be the ones.”

Grizzly waves his hand to Dart, gesturing for him to hand the questions over so he can look for himself. “Are these really the questions? What is all of this for? Science? Medical?”

I laugh because I’ve had the same thoughts about what this class is trying to achieve, but it’s a requirement that I take it. I’m being quizzed on offbeat medical conditions as part of my Science in Contemporary Medicine class. I think the professor is just trying to keep us on our toes.

“I have an idea,” Grizzly says. “Something that will allow you to know your materials better and lets the three of us stay as long as we want.”

“I’m listening,” I say.

I climb onto the bed, intrigued by Grizzly’s incoming proposition.

“I’m going to quiz you. We’ll each take a question, and we’ll go around doing this for as many rounds as we need. If you get the right answer, you get rewarded with something of our choosing.”

I can’t help but smile at the thought. The idea of using positive reinforcement for me to get a better grade is scientific enough for me to play along, and certainly worth the experiment. If it works, I could lean into this whole idea and come out ahead after all.

“Okay,” I say. I don’t bother putting up a fight. I lie down on my side and rest my head on my hand, batting my eyes. “Give me my first question, Professor.”

Grizzly’s gaze lingers on my body sprawled out on the bed, my hair long and wavy, the only thing between me and him a robe that could easily slip off. He looks down at the notes.

“What is the scientific term for brain freeze, also known as cold neuralgia?”

“Oh my God,” I say. My brain goes blank at first. I’m scanning my memory for as many scientific terms as I can think of. I think it starts with an S. It’s long. I think of brain freeze as having to do with ice cream. I think of food in general and the word palate comes to mind. For some reason I remember the term having palate in it. Or something like that. Palatine?

Once I remember the last part, the whole word clicks in, and I shout, “Sphenopalatine Ganglioneuralgia!”

“Very good, young student,” Grizzly says.

“Damn, that’s a mouthful,” Trap says. “Sounds like you’re performing a magic trick.”

“So, what do I get for getting it right?” I tease.

I loosen the belt of my bathrobe and open it up just enough for me to run my fingers up and down my smooth thighs. I’ve made sure that every single part of my body is smooth.

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