I glanced at Lexi out the corner of my eye as she mulled over the notes she’d taken, occasionally glancing up at the laptop screen. She was biting down on her lip, and I wondered if she even knew she was doing it. Against my will, my eyes dropped to her mouth, and I had to bite back a groan.She looked sexy like that, with her determined expression. She released her lip, and I felt my breath hitch. Her lower lip had darkened a pretty pink, wet from her saliva. I really wanted to kiss her. After a while, she blinked and looked up.“Do we continue now?” She asked, totally innocent, impossibly sexy.I took in a deep breath, a little surprised when it shuddered through my body. “Actually, I think we can use a break.”I knew I definitely did. My thoughts were going down a route they shouldn’t, and I couldn’t remember now why it was so wrong before. For the past few hours, I’d been trying my best not to be so aware of her, but it was impossible with her sitting so close, her expression comp

After the late lunch, we went back to study for a few more hours. Surprisingly, even with the close proximity, we were both able to focus and we made some headway. With the terrible timing, I wasn’t sure how much I’d be able to help her, but if I could do anything for her at all, then I was going to do it.We broke off late and made dinner. I was starting to wonder when Mom would be coming back with Sam, when she called.“Hello?”“Sorry, Carlton. It’s late, but I just forgot to call. I’ll be keeping Sam with us for the night, okay. I’ll bring him back tomorrow night after you leave work, okay?”I glanced at Lexi, not as against the idea as I probably should have been.“It’s fine, Mom. I’ll see you and Sam tomorrow. Give him a kiss for me.”I rejoined Lexi at the table.“Who was it?”“Mom saying she’s keeping Sam for the night,” I said.“Oh.”Her voice had gone quiet, and she ducked her head as a blush spread on her face. I couldn’t help but smirk.Since Mom was retired, she’d helped m

Mom had said she’d come at night, but she surprised me by coming earlier in the afternoon. Luckily, by the time she got back, Lexi and I had already finished lunch and cleaned up, and we were in the office doing some more learning, fully dressed.“Should I go to the room?” Lexi asked nervously.We stepped out of the office, but she didn’t move far from the doorway, staring at it as if it would bite her. I shook my head.“There’s no reason for you to hide. I’m sure Dad must have told her about you, and I planned to let her know you’re babysitting for me, anyway. Have you ever met her before?”“Well, Dad has, but she didn’t go to your dad’s office as much as you and your brother did, and I missed her at the hospital when I went with Dad to see how Ken was doing.”“You can meet her, then. Come on.”I headed for the door, with Lexi following slowly behind me. I opened the door, and Mom was there with Sam. He was standing while she held his hand, and in her other hand, she held a bag.“I b

I made sure I had everything I’d need with me, then picked up Sam.“Are you ready to go out, baby?”Sam didn’t say anything, sucking on his fingers, and I patted his hair.“We’re going to have a lot of fun in the park, okay? Daddy already said it’s fine to get you a little ice cream, and it’s such a nice day out.”A few weeks had passed, and it was already over a month since I started babysitting, and it had hit me that in all that time, unless Carlton’s mom came to take him, Sam didn’t leave the house that often. I was too afraid to just take him out, though, so I’d asked for permission, and Carlton said it was all right. So, for the first time, I was going to have a park date with Sam.There was a park not too far away, and Carlton had left me with some money so I could take a taxi there and back. I’d already called for one, and it was waiting for us downstairs. I had a driver’s license, so if I’d had a car, I could have just driven us there, but when Carlton offered to leave the ca

When I woke up in the morning, I was disappointed to open my eyes and find myself back in my apartment. I would have been back at Carlton’s penthouse, if only school hadn’t opened up again. I couldn’t put it off. Thankfully, though, because his dad was doing well enough, between him and his mom, they could handle taking care of Sam.I still wish I was there.There was nothing I could do, though. I slipped out of bed and went to take a quick shower then got changed. I picked up my phone to check out my schedule for the day. I had enough time to catch breakfast before my first class of the day, and I headed out. I’d been back for a few days already, and I hadn’t talked to Carlton much in that time. He was busy with his family, and I could hear the stress in his voice when we did talk, so I didn’t want to bother him.I was bothered, though.“Lexi!”I looked up at the call of my name to find my friend waving me over from a few feet away. I called her friend, but really, we were more like