Free X-Treme Measure by S. N. Garza, Stephanie Nicole Garza

tonight? What about the rest of the week?”
    “I only work Friday through Sunday.”
    “Must pay very well.”
    My hand flew to my mouth, having just realized I spoke out loud.
    “It is. And no I don’t, but that’s my problem.”
    “You can ask me, Daniel. I didn’t mind watching her. And if you’re going to give me that much money, consider it a weekend gig until your mom gets back.” He looked me over, his eyes roaming every curve and line. I felt a thrill rush over my skin at being looked at so thoroughly. It wasn’t like he was critiquing, but mesmerizing. “I work from noon to five.”
    “You’re not going to get any rest.”
    “Okay, I’ll admit. I have a good GPA, but there’s one thing I’m not good at.”
    “One thing. Ha. What’s that?”
    “Well, I was taking this gym class, and I have a high B, but the teacher said if I did this paper on the body and how nutrition and fitness helps with emotional stress levels in a person, he’d bump it to an A. I really want that A.”
    “Gimme your paper. I’ll look over it.”
    My eyes blinked hard in astonishment. “Really? Are you an expert or something?”
    “Yes. I worked at a gym for one and I have a BA in kinesiology. So nutrition and fitness? Yeah, I can help. Let me have a look and I’ll get it back to you tonight.”
    He held out his hand, and even though I was skeptical, I wouldn’t mind having a person who actually knew physical fitness to look over it with an unbiased eye. Hell, any eye. It’s not like I had anybody else to proofread it. I was up all night typing it.
    “It’s on my iPad.”
    “Then let me look it over and if there’s anything to mark, I’ll highlight it with another color.”
    “Uh, handing over my iPad, I don’t know.”
    “Honestly? I’m your neighbor, I’m not going to pack my things and take off with your tablet. I’ll look over it while I take Reighlyn to Karate class. I will give it back. It’s not like you can take it to work. Where do you work anyway?”
    “The Chili’s around the block.”
    “Hmm…that’s good. I’ll see you same time then tonight.”
    I nodded and handed over my iPad, giving him my passcode and where in my word documents I had it.
    “Thanks for lending an eye. I’ll see you later then.”
    I knew I waved awkwardly as I crossed the walkway to my apartment. I walked inside, let out a deep sigh of relief. I was finally able to relax. Being in Daniel’s presence made my insides all gooey and my nerves zing .
    “Have a good night?”
    “AH!” I looked to where Ashley was sitting at his kitchen table, a steaming mug of Joe in his hands. “I helped out our neighbor, Daniel. His babysitter bailed and didn’t have anyone. And since I was free, I agreed to watch her. No big.”
    “Wow. He normally doesn’t let anyone take care of his little girl. He’s super protective over her.”
    “He said her mom bailed on her.”
    “I’ve heard about her. Ugh. I have no idea what he saw in her in the first place. Just one look at her and you can tell she was just wrong in the head.”
    Since I’ve never met her, I’d had to reserve judgement, although abandoning your child just because you wanted to score your next fix or whatever was just wrong on so many levels.
    “Well, it looks like I’m watching her over this weekend until his mom gets back from her cruise.”
    He tilted his head, and said, “Strapped for cash?”
    “No. He actually tried giving me two hundred dollars for last night, but I refused and told him I’d only take that much if he let me watch Reighlyn the nights he works.”
    “He only works weekend nights.”
    “He said that.”
    “Did he tell you what he does for a living?”
    “No. And honestly, it’s not my business. I mean, what would a guy be doing overnight? It’s probably some heavy lifting kind of work. Maybe stocking or maybe at a plant?”
    “Keep thinking that. Alright, I’m going out. I will leave the house to you.”
    “Oh, I go to work in