Page 41 of De Vil

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The girls think I'm unaware that most of them have gone down to the bar inside the hotel. Libby and Tia are in their room. How do I know? I'm next door to them. I can hear Libby telling Tia goodnight, and I smile. My girl is probably sitting on her bed, her left leg bouncing. She does that when she's nervous or impatiently waiting for class to be over with.

I'm not sure why Tia isn't in graduate classes by now. She's turned in every single homework assignment two days into the class. She did all of her online assessments at a hundred percent. As I'm pondering her future, I decide to send her a text message.

Me:Are you in your jammies?

Her reply doesn't take long.

Tia:Yes, Mommy.

Me: The kitty cat ones?

Tia:Yes.

A picture message of her on the bed in the cute pajama outfit I picked out for her comes through. She is always beautiful, but when she takes off the makeup she uses to hide her true self…that’s when she's the most precious.

Me:You look so cute, sweetheart.

Tia:I miss you.

Laugher escapes me as I think about how it's only been twenty minutes since we last saw each other.

Me:I miss you too, princess.

Tia:Can I come over now?

Me:Is Libby asleep, yet?

Tia sends me a frowning face with a chat bubble that says no, and I smile.

Tia: She said she has two more chapters, then she would sleep.

Me: Be patient, little one. You’ll be in my arms soon enough.

A knock at my door startles me, and I almost drop my phone. I press the on/off button to turn the screen black before I set it down on the dresser. Opening the door, I see Joanie standing there with some beers. I want to sigh, but I don't. Instead, I smile and raise an eyebrow.

"What are you doing, Joanie?"

"Oh, come on. The kids are in their rooms. And we have a tradition to keep up. Sharing a beer and talking about our strategy to win."

She has a point, but I don't want to drink with her.

"We have a game tomorrow. We need all our faculties."

Joanie looks at me like I've lost my damn mind. "We always have a drink the night before."

It feels wrong to have a drink with her now that I have Tia. The door opens and I know it's my princess. I can feel her eyes on me.

"Not tonight, Joanie."

"Your loss, Laura." Joanie shrugs and walks back to her room.

I grab my keycard and walk toward Tia. "Is Libby asleep?"

She looks angrily at me and shakes her head no. "Follow me." Two simple words are all I say before walking toward the vending machine area I saw. Rounding the corner, I make sure there are no cameras in this area. Luckily, there are none. Now, we have to wait and see if someone walks by.

Tia comes into my line of sight, and I grab her, pushing her back into the corner of the connecting walls. Not letting her talk, I kiss her. My lips move along hers hard. I don't want to stop. She's so damn addicting. I eventually pull away and put my hands on her face, forcing her to look at me.

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