"Lovie, come here." I open my arms, and she waddles over to me, her baby blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She was just about ready to give it up before Daisy died. I have a feeling she’s not going to be letting it go any time soon, and I feel no need to rush that.
Just as her little body falls onto the couch next to me, the floodgates open and the tears start flowing.
"Shhh. You're okay." I rub her back as she leans into my side.
Eventually, she settles enough for me to ask her the question I'm not sure I want to know the answer to.
"Lovie, who did you think I was talking to?"
"Mommy." She sniffles again, and it shatters my heart into a million pieces.
I'm sure she woke up most of the nights that Daisy and I stayed up talking and fucking all hours of the night. And I'm sure in her hopeful heart, she thought we were getting together and that we were all going to be a family again. I know I sure did. And now, in her half-sleeping state, she thought the possibility of her mother being here was real.
"I know that's crazy."
"It's not crazy. Our minds can play funny tricks on us when we're sad or when we're sleepy."
She nods her little head, and I lean down to kiss the top of it.
"Come on, let's go to bed. You can sleep with me tonight if you want."
She sits beside me, unmoving. "Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Can we watch an episode of Survivor? Just one?" She gives me a look that I have absolutely no chance of saying no to.
So much for having control over the remote tonight... "Just one."
"Yay!" She jumps up so fast she almost clocks me in the face with her head. I dodge out of the way and fall back into the couch.
When Clover gets the episode started, and we're all snuggled in, I glance over at my phone on the other side of the couch, nearly dangling off the edge of the cushion. My heart is still racing from that close call and from allowing B to get me all worked up. I don't bother reaching over for it. I'm not going to risk opening my phone and Clover seeing something she shouldn't. No, I'll apologize for hanging up abruptly later. Right now, my little girl needs me, and she's always my top priority.
Even if she hogs the remote.
Chapter Fourteen
KASS
After talkingto her for several days, I finally convinced Blake to hang out again. It was under the stipulation that it wouldn't feel like a date—a similar tactic I used the first time we met up. She made her intentions very clear—that she doesn't want anything serious and that this is purely about sex.
Kass
So when do I get to see you again?
Blake
Miss me already?
Kass
I miss your fine ass and the way yousuck my cock.
Blake
Not my stellar personality?
Kass
