Page 183 of Daddy's Naughty List

She cleaned herself up as best as possible in the sink before pulling jeans and a T-shirt on. It felt good to get into fresh clothes. Melissa struggled to brush her long hair with her left hand. Unable to free it of all the tangles, she wrangled it awkwardly into a low ponytail.

Sighing, she looked in the mirror. Her eyes looked clouded with pain. She hadn’t picked up the prescription they’d called in. Her budget didn’t allow that. Melissa pushed her shoulders back and smiled. Maybe she could pull it off and he’d never know. Yeah. That looked better.

She heard her phone ring in the other room and dashed into the bedroom to answer it. Rocky. Her heart sank. “Hi. I bet you have an emergency and can’t make it.”

“No, little girl. I’m still waiting for the pizza. They tell me a few more minutes. I bet you need something from the pharmacy. Tell me where to stop and I’ll pick it up on the way over.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I don’t take medicine. It’s too expensive,” Melissa told him.

“But they called in something for you?” he persisted.

“Yes. Just some painkillers. I’ve got some aspirin around here somewhere.”

“Where did they call it in, Melissa?”

“The drugstore on Pershing Road.” Now why had she told him that?

“Thank you, little girl. See you in a few.”

He’ll never be able to pick up the prescription without me.Melissa decided not to worry about it. She took the shirt into the kitchen and found a pot to fill with water. Immersing the material inside, she set it on the stove to soak.

As she turned back toward the door, curiosity got the better of her. Had her neighbor really received a package for her? Melissa walked to the door and peeked out the peephole. Blackness filled the small view. It took a second for her to put together that someone had blocked her from seeing out.

That had to be for nefarious reasons. She didn’t want Rocky to run into trouble. Finding her phone, she called him. She spoke quickly. “Look. We should probably reschedule so I can meet you somewhere else. My apartment building is a bit dicey at night.”

“I don’t like the sound of that, little girl.”

“It’s fine when I’m coming or leaving in the early morning or evening. I don’t want you to get hurt. I’ll call in a few days and we can try this again. You know. If you want.”

“I’m three blocks from your apartment. Don’t worry. I can handle myself. I appreciate the warning to be on guard. Thank you. Hungry?” he asked.

“Starving.”

“I’ll see you in a few.”

She stared at the phone for the third time. How did he totally change what she’d called to tell him each time? Her stomach growled. She was starving. A break from peanut butter would be incredible.

Melissa grabbed the golf club she kept by her bed. Someone had thrown out a bag of old clubs for the garbage. She’d stopped and grabbed one that seemed sturdy. Tami kept after her to move but money was tight. Although Tami paid her well, a new place would require first and last month’s rent. She had her eyes on a pretty apartment complex in a better part of town.

Tami had offered her an advance on her salary, but since Tami’s Daddy had already paid for a couple months of her rent when she’d started working cleaning yards, Melissa didn’t feel like she could do that. She didn’t want to take advantage of their friendship, even though she knew Tami would never imagine she was.

A knock on the door jolted her out of her thoughts. Running to the door, she asked, “Rocky?”

“Yes. It’s me.”

His growly voice sounded much different from her neighbor’s icky one. Melissa propped the golf club against the wall and unfastened the locks.

“Hey. Who are you?” she heard her neighbor’s voice demand.

“I’m Melissa’s boyfriend. Are you the jerk that put tape over her peephole?”

“Fuck you. Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re out here lurking in the hallway. Leave her alone.”

“I’ll consider it.”

Finally, she got the last lock flipped open. “Sorry. Come in.”

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