Page 61 of Come Find Me Tonight

“Hey, baby,” his raspy voice says.

“Hi, babe,” I reply. I squirt my nighttime toner onto a cotton round and start gently scrubbing my face with it.

“Sorry, I had to work late. This program is driving me nuts. Getting ready for bed already?” he asks, and I glance down at my phone resting on the counter, and I can tell he’s still sitting at his work desk. The skin under his eyes is dark, and the blue light reflecting in his warm eyes dulls them.

“Not quite. Gonna take a bath first.”

“All I can see is your ceiling. Are you naked yet?” he asks.

A pulse of fire rushes through me, and it’s not embarrassment. “Robby!” I call out.

“What? I miss you.”

I roll my eyes, but I know he can’t see me do it. “You were here last night,” I remind him. I pick up my phone and switch the camera to the back one. “But since you miss me.” I use my free hand to loosen the sash of my robe, making it fall open to reveal my chest to him and slide down my arms.

Robby groans. “Fuck, I wish I were there.”

“Me too.”

I switch the camera back around to the front-facing one, switching my phone to my other hand to take the robe off altogether. He can only see my face and bare shoulders now.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, Apps.”

“And you’re tired,” I say.

Robby runs a hand down his face. “Ugh, I am, but I could find a second wind.” He smirks a little in his cute boyish way, but one of us has to have self-control. He usually does, but it’s okay if he stays home tonight. I’ll see him in a couple of days when the week is over.

I smile at my phone. “No, no, go to bed. I’ll see you Friday?”

“That sounds so far away.” Robby is clingy sometimes, too, and I secretly love the attention. Maybe not so secretly. “I’ll let you go, so you can do your thing.” My eyes dart away from my phone, and I bite my lower lip.

I don’t want to hang up yet.

“Yeah, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay. Goodnight, baby.”

I turn on the bathtub faucet to begin filling it with hot water, and I pour in some bubble bath, creating a fragrant abundance of bubbles as the soap blends with the water. Stepping into the hot water washes away the day. It’s been a busy day for me, too, between filming, sponsorships, and taking photos to use on my story over the weekend in case I’m too wrapped up in Robby…which is likely.

Despite the lavender-scented bubbles soothing my body, something inside me still aches that Robby is staying home tonight. He didn’t spend every weeknight here, but it was always my preference when he did. He kept my bed warm, leaving his cologne embedded in his pillow, and his arms felt safer. It never bothered me living alone until he came into my life, and I realized how dreadful my empty bed was. And how vulnerable I was at home.

I could go to him and spend the night at his place.

I lift my arm from the water and tap my bottom lip with my finger. Maybe I’ll surprise him and wear something sexy under an ordinary T-shirt dress. Like that black lace bodysuit stashed in my closet with the tags still attached. It would be okay if he were too tired for sex; we don’t need to do it every time we see each other. Sleeping in his arms was enough, but I’d be a sight for sore eyes.

Okay, talked myself into it.

I unplug the tub drain and step out, burying my toes in the fluffy bathmat next to the porcelain bathtub. I reach for my towel and wrap it under my arms, tucking it in the front to keep it in place. My blonde curls fall around my shoulders as I release them from the claw clip nagging at my scalp. I reach for my nighttime moisturizer, taking my time to massage it into the delicate skin of my face.

I’m rubbing lotion onto my arms when the power cuts out, leaving me in the dark and hushed silence of my bathroom. Moonlight streams through the small window above my bathtub. My heart pounds. Robby’s tired. Too tired for games. Yet he hasn’t unleashed Rook since I found out his true identity. I’ve gotten used to Robby’s softness but miss Rook’s roughness, too. I tighten the towel under my arms.

What if it’s a copycat, and I’m in actual danger?

I obviously never shared anything publicly about how Rook came into my house, but Robby figured out how to cut the power. Someone else could do that, and he’s thirty minutes away, at least. I should do something—run?

But I’m frozen, standing in the middle of my bathroom with a racing heart and a pit in my stomach. I reach for my phone on the bathroom counter after my call with Robby. I hit the phone icon and tap Robby’s contact as fast as I can. A call starts…

Pick up. Pick up. Pick up.