Page 63 of Rebound

“That’s because you are an idiot,” she says with a cackle. “Now the whole world knows it.”

“Ha ha,” I say like a petulant child. If I had a free hand, I’d slap her on the ass, but I decide it’s probably best to wait until tonight and do that while she’s naked.

It takes us about fifteen more minutes to leave the park and find the rental car. It takes over two hours to drive back to our hotel. Jasmine sleeps the entire drive. She doesn’t stir when Ipull her out of the car or as I carry her inside or when I lay her on the bed.

When I’m done, I find Layla lying on the couch with her arm covering her face.

“I suppose you want me to go bring in those stupid stuffed animals,” I say as I pretend to be annoyed.

“Yes. Right now,” she orders. She doesn’t bother to look up.

“Why didn’t you bring any of them up?”

“Because I’m tired. Just hush and go.” She gestures for me to go. “Peasant,” she says to my retreating back. “And I want us to go to Six Flags this summer.”

I take as many as I can carry, return to our suite, and dump them on top of her. She groans, grabs a huge Princess Jasmine, and holds it to her without even bothering to open her eyes.

Too wired to nap, I decide on a cool shower. By the time I return to the living area, she’s up and in the kitchen putting things on the kitchen table.

“I got us room service.” She grins. “And drinks. Mojitos with real sugar cane.” She takes a glass, stirs it with her straw, and sips. “Mmhmm.” She approaches me and lifts the glass to my face, offering me a sip. She smiles up at me while she waits for me to take it.

So, I do and take a sip. It’s sweet and delicious, so I toss the straw to the ground and take a huge gulp. She reaches for the glass, but I move it away.

“Mine,” is all I say. She rolls her eyes and takes the other one. She lifts one of the silver lids and reveals a steak. The other one has two lobsters, and there are a bunch of sides.

I sit with her and we eat in silence. We share the food, and a few times, she eats from my plate. No one has ever done that to me before. I don’t even let Jasmine eat from my plate because she makes such a mess. The few times I saw Chastainand Coach’s wife do it, I joked that they were wimps who let their wives walk all over them. They both said I was a fool.

“I don’t want to take relationship advice from the guy who is going home alone,” Chastain had said.

“Jazzy Girl is coming home with me,” I had responded right before I stuck my tongue out at him.

Now, I push my plate closer to her so she can have easier access, even though she has the same food on her plate. She takes my lobster tail. She breaks it, dips it in butter but instead of eating it herself, she offers it to me. I open my mouth to take it, but she laughs and says, “That thing is huge,” just before she stuffs it in my mouth. “And you might want to make sure you don’t still have food in your mouth the next time you open it that wide.”

I grab her wrist and put her hand back to my mouth to eat the rest. I make sure to lick her buttery fingers in the process. When she tries to pull away, I tighten my hold and bring her hand back to my mouth. She screams and giggles when I start to nibble on her fingers. She manages to pull her wrist away and gets up, but soon comes back with two more mojitos and hands me mine.

We manage to finish eating just as Jasmine gets up from her late nap. I wouldn’t normally let her sleep this late, but she was exhausted from today. Now, she’ll be up much later than usual.

I sigh and get up.

“You’re a mess, Jazzy Girl,” I say when I pick her up. She’s sweaty and her bottom is wet, but I hug her tight and she puts her little arms around my neck.

Chapter 37

Layla

After feeding her dinner and bathing her, Jasmine is playing quietly in the living room while I sit outside with Seth. We turn the chairs around so we can watch her as she sits in the sea of stuffed animals from earlier. She’s clean, happy, and content now in her short pink onesie. Of course, it has a tutu attached.

I suddenly remember something in the fridge, so I run in, grab it, and return. I set out two berry bowls and spoons for us. Seth grabs his and starts eating.

“Why do you always put her in a tutu?” I ask as I watch Jasmine stand, put her hands over her head, and spin.

“Girls like tutus,” is all he says.

He inhales his dessert and stares at mine, so I hand it to him. He takes it and eats it.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Now you’re shy about asking me things? Your nosey little behind has been in my business since the day you wiped your hands on your pants after I shook it.”

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