Page 31 of Taking Her Medicine

“Okay. See you later.” I waved at him, but my heart was still heavy. He cleared away a lot of the gunk trapped in my brain, but I wanted more. I wanted him to be the last person I saw before I fell asleep at night, and the first one in the morning.

I was falling in love with Aaron, but I was too chicken to tell him.

* * *

I shuffled through my living room, drinking another glass of wine as I paced, and stopped dead in my tracks. The clock on my wall showed midnight. I had been so engrossed in a dumb game on my phone that I lost all track of time.

Shit!

It was hours past the time that Aaron set me for to go bed. Worse still, I neglected to text him and ask for an extension. I dumped the remaining alcohol down my sink, and rushed off to bed. I climbed under the covers and shot Aaron a quick text message.

Goodnight, Daddy.

Are you just going to bed now, kitten?

I stared at his question. I didn’t want to lie, but I didn’t want him to get mad at me.

Yes, Daddy.

Do you know what time it is?

Midnight.

Stop by my house in the morning before you go to work.

I might forget where you live.

He never answered my last text. I tossed and turned for a while, trying to tell myself that he probably had something serious happen, but the other concern tugged at my insecurities.

I poked himwaymore than I listened to him, and even though the dynamic was completely new to me, it was possible he might not have appreciated it. Or maybe I was overthinking and tired. It could definitely be the latter. I got up from my warm blankets and went to the bathroom.

If Aaron had come over, his strong arms alone would have relaxed me enough to sleep. Pushing the thought away, I padded back to my bed and tucked myself under the covers.

* * *

“Kitten?”

“Aaron?” I rolled over, alarmed. He was standing next to my bed wearing his work scrubs. I pushed away the last remnants of sleep and sat up. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I got stuck so late at the hospital. I wanted to check on you.”

“I’m sorry for worrying you. Do you want to stay here?”

“Yeah, but let me take a quick shower. You don’t want to know some of the things I’ve had my hands in tonight.” Aaron padded off into my master bathroom.

I forgot to put fresh towels in there, and followed him. “Hey. I brought you a towel.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

I sat on the toilet bowl with the lid shut as he showered. “Are you mad at me, Daddy?”

“No, baby girl. I’m not mad, but I am disappointed that you didn’t reach out sooner.”

“I totally blew past my bedtime.”

Aaron shut off the faucet and poked his head out. Water droplets dripped down off his hair, and I wanted to catch them on my tongue. “We can talk about it tomorrow.”

I stood up and held the towel out to him, watching appreciatively as he wrapped it around his waist. I ran my hands up his torso, loving the feel of his warm solid muscles beneath my hands. “Do you want to borrow a tee-shirt or something?”

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