Page 20 of Rebound

I roll my eyes and say, “Well, I heard that sandwich shop chain dropped you because your ways aren’t a good look for their family-friendly image.” I smirk as I say it.

“What ways?” he asks.

“The whorish ones.”

“What are you? Some prude? Oh, please. Their loss and stop calling me that in front of my child.”

I look over, and Jasmine is fast asleep on the couch. She’s on her back with both arms above her head.

“You should probably take her home so she can nap. I take a lot of phone calls while I’m working,” I tell him. It’s not true. Most things are handled via email or direct message, not to mention the department has a weekly meeting that we had this morning.

“I haven’t heard the phone ring once. I guess you’re used to that,” he says with a deep chuckle. I make a face at him but don’t respond. “I don’t want to disturb her,” he says.

I wonder why he didn’t take her home to nap in the first place, but I don’t ask. Jasmine is a doll, and I don’t mind having her here. Her father is a whole other story. I ignore him, stand, and walk to her. I gently pick her up and she doesn’t stir. I carry her down the hall to my bedroom. I can hear Wakowski’s heavy footsteps behind me.

I gently lay her down on my bed and throw a thin blanket over her. I surround her with pillows to make sure she doesn’troll and fall off. I turn to walk out and collide with him. I start to fall back, but he grabs my hips and steadies me.

I put a hand to his chest to steady myself and look into his green eyes. He stares down at me, and there’s no malice or mischief in them. He looks down at me with an unreadable expression on his face. I’ve never looked at him this closely before, and he’s more handsome than I thought. His eyes are a nice shade of green, and his lips are nice too.

I drop my hand and walk out of the room. He follows and plops himself on the couch. His long legs take up half the space in the living room. He takes off his shoes and lies on the couch as if he lives here.

I turn to my laptop, and minutes later, I hear his heavy breathing, followed by a loud snore. I shake my head in irritation and grab my AirPods to drown out the noise.

Chapter 13

Seth

It takes me a few seconds to remember that I’m not on my own couch at home. This one, though comfortable, is much shorter. I had mine custom-made to fit the length of my body. I have almost everything custom-made, even most of my clothes. After growing up with nothing, I don’t shy away from getting the best that money can buy now. The other issue is the noise. I’m used to Jasmine being loud, but if she wakes up before me, the first thing she does is climb on top of me and smack me in the face.

She hasn’t done that but she’s making noise. Much more than usual, but she’s happy. I can always tell how she is by the sounds that come out of her. She’s extremely happy right now, and that’s a sound I don’t hear much when I’m not involved.

I notice there’s a soft, fuzzy blanket covering me. It’s pink, and it’s not Jazzy’s. I sit up and look around for my kid. I find her on the floor. There’s another little girl around her age, and they are playing with dolls and stuffed animals.

Layla’s grandmother is sitting in a chair, watching them with a smile on her face. Layla is on the floor with them and running her hand through Jasmine’s hair. Jasmine yells some gibberish and hugs Layla, who kisses the top of her head.

This is what my daughter needs, and I’m going to give it to her by any means necessary. She’s not growing up the way I did.

Jasmine stands and walks to Layla’s Grandma. She hands her a teddy bear and the woman bends down to kiss her.

“Dada!” Jasmine yells, finally noticing me. She doesn’t run to me like she normally would. She sits with the other girl and they continue to play. Jazzy’s new friend pays me no mind.

I check my watch and realize I’ve slept for three hours. Last night was rough with Jasmine waking up three times. I stretch and Layla finally looks my way. She seems annoyed with me when she stands and walks over. She’s tall for a woman with skin that looks soft and supple.

“Did you get a good rest?” she practically sneers.

“Layla, smile at the boy. Men don’t like mean women,” her grandmother says while she cranes her neck to look at us.

Layla scowls deeper.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. You should have woken me up.”

“I tried,” she practically growls. “I poked you and shook you, but all you did was snore, so I left you alone.”

“So, you kept touching me?” I say with a smile.

“Eww,” she says back.

Jasmine runs to me on wobbly legs and the other little girl follows. “Yook,” Jasmine says pointing at her new friend who waves at me.

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