Page 4 of Daddy's Reckoning

You didn't have that problem when you had a Daddy keeping you accountable.

The intrusive thought niggled in the recesses of my brain as I eyed the biochem book in front of me with one eye on the clock. Two hours to class. Did I have time for a nap?

Maybe just a catnap. Exhausted from my own mental acrobatics and unsuccessful decision making, I laid back against a pile of throw pillows and covered myself with the blanket from the back of the couch. My eyelids fluttered closed the second the soft warmth of the blanket nestled around me, and I yawned.

Just a few minutes. I just need a short rest.

I woke up to the sound of the door slamming shut behind my roomate, Ashlyn, and sat up with a start.

“Oh shit, sorry,” Ashlyn swore, then furrowed her brows and approached the couch. “Are you okay? Are you coming down with something? You've been sleeping a lot lately. Maybe you need to see a doctor or something.”

I did need to see a doctor, and would soon, but I would not be sharing that information with Ashlyn, or anyone for that matter. We had a good roommate relationship, but we were not friends. We worked well because our schedules kept us so busy we barely saw each other. Speaking of which, what was Ashlyn doing home in the middle of the day?

“What time is it?” I asked, wiping the remnants of drool from the corner of my mouth.

Shit. I’d slept hard.

Before Ashlyn could even answer, I grabbed my phone from the table and glanced at it. It was after six. My little “catnap” had lasted four hours, and I’d missed my afternoon classes.

Fuck. Being able to handle med school with a baby seemed more and more unrealistic with each passing moment. I couldn’t even handle it while pregnant.

Fuck, shit, fuck.

“It’s after six,” Ashlyn answered unnecessarily, kicking out of her shoes and hanging her purse on the coat rack. “I have just enough time to grab a quick dinner and pregame a little before I hit the club. It has been a hell of a week, and I’ve been looking forward to a break for ages.” As she spoke, yelling over her shoulder, I could hear her rumbling around in the kitchen. When she returned, she held a slice of cold pizza in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. “What are you doing tonight? Want to join us?”

The club was undoubtedly The Penthouse, the club Theo owned with his buddies, so even if I hadn’t been bone-tired and pissed at myself for sleeping through my classes, the answer would have been a hard no.

“Uh,” I stammered, my mouth feeling like it was full of cotton, “I don’t really feel like going out tonight. I think I’m just going to stay in and catch up on reading.”

More like open my coursework and panic because half my assignments I’d missed had to be done in person and the others were just impossible without the professor explaining them. Hell, mostly they were impossible even with the professor explaining them. Maybe I just wasn’t cut out for med school, after all.

“Suit yourself.” Ashlyn shrugged, downed her wine, and carried the glass to the kitchen before disappearing down the hall to her room.

When she was gone, I buried my head in my hands and groaned. I was still mentally berating myself for sleeping through my classes when my phone dinged again.

When I picked it up, I noticed that I had a pile of text messages, all of them from Theo.

Erin? Are we still doing this?

Have you had your appointment yet?

Hello? You were supposed to let me know when it was

Are you okay? Do you need anything?

I’m trying to be there for you, but I can’t if you shut me out. It doesn’t have to be Rent-A-Daddy stuff, just please let me help you. Let me know you’re okay…

Rent-A-Daddy was the only thing I needed help from. And I needed it badly if I was going to make it through the end of the year without becoming a stereotypical med- school dropout.

A thousand potential problems with letting Theo back in my life ran through my brain at warp speed, countered with as many reasons as I couldn’t afford not to. I needed Rent-A-Daddy. I’d joined for a reason, and honestly considered it the best money I’d ever spent.

Maybe I should just call the club and ask to be reassigned… I played through the possible outcomes of that scenario in my head. All of them included Theo finding out, and none of them included Theo. Did I want another Daddy?

No. Unfortunately, I wanted Theo, and if his half dozen messages were anything to go by, he wanted me.

Sucking in a breath, I opened the text thread and typed out a response I hoped was a good mix of acting nonchalant, evading his questions, and conveying my needs.

Sorry. Been busy. Appointment was fine. All is good. Not ready to resume physical discipline yet, but could honestly use some help not falling behind in classes. Really struggling, but don’t even have time to meet up. Could we do this not in person for a while somehow?