Page 36 of Tough Score

We eat the pizza she brought and I walk over to her new apartment with her to see the place. Or at least that's what I tell her, but in truth, I want to make sure she's safe and that there isn't anything wrong with the apartment.

It's a studio, so it's smaller than mine by an entire bedroom, but it's also temporary, and she says it's bigger than the place she has at Oakley's, so it's more than adequate for her needs. I'm just glad that it worked out and she is close by.

We head back to my apartment so she can get her purse and phone that she left and then she pulls out a baby monitor from the department store she went to today.

"Do we need to have the birds and bees talk? Because I only used my fingers this morning. And if you gauged my girth at only two fingers wide, then I'm mildly insulted."

"I'll never tell," she singsongs and then takes the baby monitor to my room.

The anticipation at what she plans on doing with that has my body thrumming with excitement and my brain firing off a million dirty images of Keely, me, and a camera.

Or shit... Keely and a camera would be fine too.

I make my way toward my bedroom to find Keely plugging the camera in and turning a switch on the top.

"I turned off the camera so that I can't see you on the other end, I can only hear you. And it's on mute so I can only hear you when you turn it on. I got it so that I can hear you tonight. If you need me, I can easily zip over and help," She looks down at her phone, her eyes flashing. "I have to go. I told my uncle I would be there a little early to help with inventory before the crowd hits at happy hour. Are you going to be okay while I'm gone?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me. I'll just be here icing my knee and learning about the mating ritual of the humpback whale."

"Spoiler alert, but did you know that the males engage in a weird ritual where they fight and try to push each other out of line behind the female? It's also rumored that ultimately females pick their mates and researchers believe that it's usually the larger, stronger, older males."

I stare back at her as she sets the camera next to my bed and checks the monitor to make sure it's working on her end.

"You just gave me a huge brain boner."

"Excuse me?" she chuckles.

"You're really smart, and it's freaking hot."

"Thank you," she smiles, a flicker of something in her eye. "And I think it's cute that out of everything you could watch on TV, that you watch the Discovery Channel."

"Cute?" I say with a scoff. "You have to do better than that."

"Okay, fine, I find it outrageously sexy that you choose to watch humpback whales doing it in your spare time."

"That's better."

She shakes her head and then heads toward me standing in my bedroom doorway.

"Now I really have to go. I'm going to drop the monitor off at my apartment and then I'm going to head to the bar. You might be asleep by the time I get home so make sure you turn on the monitor before you go to bed," she says.

"Okay," I say but my stomach knots up at the idea of her going to the bar without me there to walk her to her car.

"Hey, Keely?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't walk to your car alone. And make sure to look both ways."

Chapter Eleven

Keely

I drag myself through the door of my new apartment, exhausted but happy to have gotten to help my uncle after another busy night at Oakley's, with the Hawkeyes winning another game. The familiar scent of beer and greasy bar food clings to my clothes, a reminder of the energetic atmosphere I just left behind.

Kicking off my shoes, I pad across the room, my feet sinking into the plush carpet. The studio apartment may be small, but it already feels cozy and welcoming. I'm grateful for this space, a temporary home that brings me closer to my dreams—and to Reeve.

I shake my head, trying to dislodge thoughts of him. It's becoming harder to maintain professional boundaries when he's constantly on my mind.