AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It smells like honey. “I hate honey.” And tea.
“Don’t care.” She taps the bottom of the mug before starting to tip it toward me. “Bottoms up.”
I narrow my eyes but let her control the movement of bringing it to my mouth. Taking a gulp of the hot liquid, I ignore my gag reflex as it travels down my throat.
She grins, satisfied for now. Stealing the mug back from me, she brings it with her as she sits beside me on the couch. I watch her get comfortable by tossing her legs over my lap and stretching out along the couch, head propped by the armrest. My hands are glued to the cushions on either side of me, no way to move them without touching her.
Before setting the mug on the ground, she gives it a cautious shake and says, “When you’re ready for more, let me know.”
I jerk my head in a nod. My fingers curl as she wiggles her legs in my lap, stretching and relaxing her calves over and over again. Her shorts are small, leaving her legs bare from the top of her thighs down to her ankle socks. I’m staring at them. At the smooth, creamy pale skin of her thighs. The muscles flex with each slight stretch of her calf, and before I can stop myself, I’ve rotated my right wrist and extended my index finger, brushing the back of her knee with the tip of it.
My chest thunders at the feel of her. I exhale out my nose, nostrils flaring as I keep my face blank.
“Are you sore?” I croak. My back stiffens at the lack of control in my voice. “From today. Training.”
She cocks her head, smiling softly. “Are you worried about me?”
“Always.”
My honesty earns me a glance at the slight pink tint that suddenly appears over the bridge of her nose.
“I worry about you too. Hence making you drink the tea that you hate.”
“I was terrible today,” I admit.
She knows all of my weaknesses. It’s fitting since she’s my biggest one. There’s no reason to hide them from her.
Her expression twists with concern, and she reaches for me, snagging my hand from beneath her leg and setting it on her thigh instead. With a soft pressure, she holds my hand, watching me quietly, as if she’s waiting for me to open up further.
For anyone else, I would tell them to mind their own fucking business, but for her . . .
“When I get onstage, my chest gets tight, and my head hurts. Music was for me.Justme. Now, it’s for everyone else. It’s not the same as before, and I can’t get comfortable. Garrison was there today.Watching.”
For hours, he stood there watching, correcting us and demanding we do a better job. I’ve never played a show with a hoarse voice before. Tomorrow will be my first, but I don’t tell her that. My little angel would destroy him on my behalf. She can’t get involved with it.
“And he saw you weren’t your best, which is why you sound like a frog when you speak. I’m sorry.” She rolls her lips for a moment before her eyes flare wide, and she reaches an arm behind her, over the side of the couch. Her chest pushes toward the ceiling, and I bite back a groan at the flash of her nipples through her shirt.
When she pushes back up to face me, she’s spinning a joint between her fingers. “I watched Josh stash a few beneath the couch the other day. Don’t tell on me.”
The way her mouth kicks up into a coy little grin makes my pants tighten, my cock stealing all the blood from the rest of my body. I meet her stare and slip my hand into my pocket to pull my lighter out. When I flick it back and a small flame begins to burn, I watch it reflect in her eyes.
“Outside. I don’t want Justice’s daughter around the smell,” she says before hopping off the couch and heading for the door. I follow her, reaching up to adjust the tie of the bandana holding my hair back as we step outside.
The parking lot of the hotel we stopped at for the day is busy, but the bus is parked in a way that cuts us off from the cars. As we lean against the side of the bus, we face an empty field on the edge of town. Smoking weed is legal in Canada and allowed on a boxer’s drug test, but I know Tinsley doesn’t want a photo of her online with a joint in her mouth.
When she offers it to me, I take it, purposefully brushing our fingers as I pull back. Something curious fills her gaze before she blinks it away and smiles, nodding.
I put the joint between my lips and light it up. The first hit starts to ease the tension in my body, and the second has my head hitting the side of the bus. I watch Tinsley with a deeper intensity than I usually allow myself.
When she leans toward me, I hold the joint in front of her but don’t bring it to her mouth.
“You sure?” I grunt.
She rolls her eyes. “Yes, Dad. I’m allowed to smoke pot every once in a while.”
“It’s not good for you.”
“And it’s good for you? We both need our lungs in prime condition, but I don’t harp on you for smoking.”
