The Rules of Dating(50)

Then she ran off with Saylor, leaving me alone.

My heart pounded as I looked down to find photo after photo of Billie’s stark-naked body, painted in a mixture of red, white, and blue. Everything, and I mean everything, was visible. Her tits, her nipples...and my eyes moved farther south. Damn. Damn. Damn. My pants grew snug.

Her body was just as gorgeous as I’d imagined it, although with all of the paint covering her, I still had the urge to see her bare skin. But this was a huge gift. One I certainly didn’t think I’d be receiving tonight.

Fuck. Me. How was I supposed to sleep with these images in my head?

I was tempted to text them to myself, but I wouldn’t do that without her permission. I’d definitely be asking for it, though.

Wow, Billie. You are so goddamn beautiful. My gawking was interrupted by the sound of giggling coming from down the hall. I’d been so into looking at Billie’s naked body that I’d been missing out on the fact that Billie and Saylor were having a blast together.

I walked down the hall and peeked into the bathroom. The tub was full of suds, and Saylor’s face was already tiger-free.

Billie turned to me. “What are you doing in here? I thought I told you to relax.”

“Relax? I think you were trying to rev me up.”

Saylor slapped her hands against the water, causing a big dollop of suds to land on Billie’s head. I tried to ignore the pang of longing in my chest. Because as awesome as it was to witness Billie bonding with my daughter, I realized there was a huge difference between one day of fun and a lifetime of responsibility. Billie’s hesitation with me all this time proved that.

“Alright. Heading back to my relaxation den. You sure you have everything you need?”

“Yup. Got it covered. Found the towels and everything.”

I sat back down in the living room, but to my dismay, Billie’s phone screen had locked, so I couldn’t look at the images again since I didn’t know her password. So, I experienced the withdrawal that went along with that and finished off my beer listening to the sounds of laughter coming from down the hall. I realized it was the first time I’d ever heard such a thing, the first time this apartment had been so full of life. Billie was still here, and I was already starting to miss the feeling.

Saylor came running out to me in her pajamas. “All clean, Daddy!”

I lifted her onto my lap. “I don’t know how Billie managed to get every bit of that makeup off. There was so much of it.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t easy,” Billie said. “But it was worth the work.”

I looked up at her. “I’m finding a lot of things are like that.”

She blushed.

We got Saylor in bed, and when she asked Billie to read her a bedtime story, my first inclination was to intervene and suggest Billie was probably tired. As fun as today had been, a part of me also worried about Saylor becoming attached to Billie. But then I remembered how strong my little girl was. We would deal if I ever had to tell her Billie wouldn’t be coming around anymore someday. For now, she should get to enjoy the moment with her new friend.

After about twenty minutes, Billie emerged from Saylor’s room.

I patted the spot next to me on the couch. “C’mere. I won’t bite. I promise.”

“Who says I’d be opposed to that?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Be careful when you say things like that.”

She sat down next to me. “Did you enjoy the photos?”

“Yeah. Until your phone locked me out when I got up to check on things in the bathroom.”

She snickered. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“Say what? ‘I’m sorry to interrupt your bonding time with my daughter, but can you unlock your phone screen so I can continue getting off on your naked body?’”

She chuckled and slapped my knee. “What did you think of the photos?”

“What did I think?” I sighed. “I think I might not sleep tonight because I’ll be replaying those images in my head. I think I’m even more screwed than I was before. And I think I’d give my left nut to paint your body right now.”

She got up and went over to the table where the paints were still lined up. My eyes widened. At first, I thought maybe she was going to grant me my wish and let me paint her, but that was probably dumb, given that Saylor wasn’t even asleep yet.

“Take off your shirt,” she said.

“Are you gonna paint me? Wait—is this just an excuse to see me shirtless?”

“Well, an eye for an eye, right?”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” I said, slipping my shirt over my head.

She laughed. “Lie back and relax.”

For the next few minutes, I did just that—closed my eyes while Billie painted something up by my neck. Even when I opened my eyes to look at her beautiful face and the way her tongue slid across her lip when she concentrated, I couldn’t make out the design.

“There. All done. Perfect,” she said.

“Should I be afraid to look?”

“I think you’re gonna like it.”

I walked over to the mirror, and my jaw dropped. Billie had painted a white collar and black bow tie on my neck. I looked like one of those Chippendale’s dancers—or something straight out of Magic Mike.