10. Wade
10
WADE
I finally gave up on getting any decent sleep around five a.m., after a night of tossing and turning. I’d like to blame it all on dealing with Ellie’s piece-of-shit ex, but that wouldn’t be the whole truth. The kiss had crept into my thoughts, too. More than a few times.
When I walked back into my apartment last night, my dick was as hard as it’d ever been. Normally , I would just go seek out one of the women I had been with in the past who might be amenable to meeting up occasionally to mutually scratch that itch, but none of them appealed to my dick. Nope , that appendage wanted Ellie , and Ellie only.
Well, shit.
My only option was to take myself in hand in the shower, but that felt just as wrong as being with her in real life. Still , unless I wanted to have a hard-on at the family lunch later today, I had no choice. Just this once, I let myself fantasize about what she would feel like. Her curves, her soft hair, that supple ass.
If she hadn’t moaned loudly last night, waking my brain back to reality I may have taken things too far with her, and I couldn’t do that.
I liked women. Immensely . But ever since my military training, I had never lost control around one. Fantasies may come to mind, but I could compartmentalize and shut that down, change my focus if I needed to. Not with Ellie . That woman was like a powerful drug I could not break free from. She was addictive.
Now, because I was an idiot, I would be spending much of the day with her and my family. Together .
What could possibly go wrong?
I internally groaned, knowing my family would jump on the fact that Ellie was the first woman I’d brought home in a very long time, and they would pounce on the ability to share embarrassing stories about me.
Since sleep was not going to come for me, I decided to get up and work off the frustration in the gym. I also called Archer and Vince to give them some more details and thoughts I had on Ellie’s stalker. Vince was going to head to the bar and put caller ID and a recorder on the phone just in case he called again. We decided we would touch base tomorrow morning at the office and look into a few other things.
I worked out, showered, and threw in a load of laundry, and I was about to walk over and get Ellie when there was a knock on my door. I opened it to find Ellie standing there looking beautiful in a colorful summer dress. Thin yellow straps showed off how tan her shoulders were. It was tight through her top and then flowed down to her knees. And it was very apparent she was not wearing a bra underneath.
Jeez, she was going to kill me today. So much for trying to rub one out in the shower to make sure I didn’t have an erection at the family lunch.
“Hey, I didn’t have much time, and I wasn’t sure what your family was serving, so I just threw together a small side dish. Hopefully , that’s okay,” she said, holding out a glass container I hadn’t noticed since I was too preoccupied with looking at her.
“You don’t need to bring anything, Ellie ,” I told her because I certainly never did.
“I most certainly do!” she said, and I just nodded because, having my sisters, mother, and grandmother around most of my childhood, I knew better than to argue with a woman about food.
We walked out to the car, and I was glad she walked behind me, so I didn’t embarrass myself by staring at her ass the whole time. I needed to regain my focus here, or my family would start asking too many questions. Questions I wasn’t even ready to answer myself.
I used the car ride to explain to her that my family was a lot, and she should be prepared for them to be in her space and annoy her with questions. I even gave her a few examples of how nosy the women in my family could be. She just smiled and took it in stride, saying she didn’t mind. I hope she still felt that way when we left.
At least I’d warned her.
We pulled up the long drive to the house and I could see my sister Willa , Paul , and their kids all on the big wraparound front porch. Well , this was about to get exciting real fast.
“I’ll get out first and come around and let you out of your door,” I told her as I shut off the engine.
“I appreciate the chivalry Wade , but I can open my own door,” she responded with a chuckle.
“Yes, you can, but if you do, those mini humans over there will likely jump all over you, and trust me, they can be feral,” I explained, pointing at my niece and nephew. “ Sit tight. I’ll come around.”
She laughed but thankfully waited in the car for me. As I rounded the car, I saw my niece and nephew come running off the front porch towards me. I slowly opened Ellie’s door to see her smirking at me as though she thought I was the funny one. Whatever . I tried to warn her.
I glanced back up to see my niece and nephew edging closer but also saw the gleam of surprise in my sister’s eyes just before she hopped up and yelled back into the house at the top of her lungs, “ Mom ! Quick ! Wade brought a girl!” Willa clapped her hands excitedly.
Before I had time to really think about that, two little barbarians jumped on me.
“Uncle Wade ! Uncle Wade you’re here!” they both squealed.
I saw the moment they realized there was another person. They didn’t let go of me but stared at Ellie like she was an alien. I figured it would be best to make quick introductions before my mom and sister made their way over.
“This tall monster is Charlie .” I pointed at my nephew on my right. “ And the mermaid is Haley ,” I explained to Ellie while pointing at the mermaid costume my niece was currently wearing.
“Guys, this is Ellie ,” I said, pointing beside me.
“Are you Wade’s girlfriend?” Charlie asked, but before Ellie even had a chance to answer, Haley decided to interrupt with her own comments and questions.
“You’re very pretty,” she said. “ Do you like mermaids? You look like a mermaid. Do you want to wear a mermaid tail?” She said the entire thing without taking a breath between questions.
Ellie just giggled and smiled beside me.
“Alright, hooligans. Calm down. Can we at least let Ellie get inside to the kitchen so she can drop off the food?” I asked while they both still held on to my arms. Trying to pull away from them slightly, I felt my sister come up to us.
“I’ll help with the food. Hello ! I’m Willa ,” my sister interrupted, sticking her hand between Ellie and me and slowly squeezed her way in. “ Kids ,” my sister said conspiratorially. “ Uncle Wade is just dying to see your new pet. Why don’t you take him inside and show him,” she said as the kids screamed and grabbed my arms, yanking me toward the house away from Ellie .
“Hey, everybody, let me get Ellie inside first please,” I tried to explain as the kids kept pulling me away from Ellie and my sister kept encroaching closer to her.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her!” Willa yelled, waving me off.
Yeah. That’s what I was worried about.
God only knew what she would be telling her while I was gone. My niece and nephew continued to pull my arms, guiding me up the steps into the house.
I passed my brother-in-law, still sitting on the front porch like nothing was at all out of the ordinary. That or maybe he just became immune to the chaos. He did that head lift acknowledgment that men often did as I was dragged by his kids into my parents’ house.
“Hi sweetheart. I’m so glad you could make it,” I heard my mom say to me as she appeared in the doorway. I tried to hug her and use it as my way to escape the clutches of the two kids attached to me, but no such luck.
“We’re taking Uncle Wade to see Snickers !” Haley told my mom.
“Oh well, then go right ahead, dear. But please bring Uncle Wade back to the kitchen when you’re done so I can put him to work,” my mom said, winking at me.
I had no idea what Snickers was, but I had a feeling my mother was enjoying this.
“We will!” both kids yelled as they pulled me farther into the house and toward the living room.
Sitting on the coffee table was a cage with what appeared to be a mouse.
“Meet Snickers , our new pet hamster!” Charlie said. “ Isn’t he so cool?”
“Definitely,” I told them while lying straight to their faces.
“When did you get this?” I asked, because I could have sworn my sister told me no pets until they were older because she didn’t want to get stuck taking care of it by herself.
“We got it from our neighbor,” Haley started to explain. “ Charlie and me were outside playing in the yard and the guy gived it to us for free because he was moving. Isn’t that awesome?”
I grinned and nodded because I was sure my sister and Paul were thrilled with their former neighbor just gifting their kids a free pet with no advance notice. They showed me the cage and setup they had for Snickers while also explaining all the cool things he could do. If I’d let them, they would have kept talking about Snickers and showing me things for an hour, so I used my mother’s excuse and told them I had to go find Grandma in the kitchen and help her before she got mad. They nodded and waved me off, moving their attention back to Snickers .
As I was walking back toward the kitchen, I heard several female voices laughing and rolled my eyes. Whatever conversation was happening likely was about me, and if my sisters were in there, it was highly plausible it was embarrassing. Getting closer, I slowed up so I could listen just outside the room off to the side and out of view.
“When you say clumsy child, what do you mean?” Ellie asked innocently enough, and I knew they were absolutely talking about me. I was very much a klutz as a kid and had terrible coordination until my late teen years.
“Like a bull in a China shop, full-blown klutz,” my sister Whitney enthusiastically answered. “ So , Mom put him in ballet and gymnastics classes with me to help him.”
“He gave me his allowance every week for three months so I wouldn’t tell his friends,” Willa laughed.
I rolled my eyes, remembering how I practically begged her not to tell my friends initially, until it worked out in my favor.
“I still can’t believe you did that to your poor brother,” my mom chided my sister. “ Though a few months into it, he realized all the other girls loved having a cute boy in class.”
This was true and the main reason why I stuck with it. It helped me with my coordination and set me up with my first kiss. A girl named Heather from my ballet class. Also , my second kiss with Bridget , and third kiss with Stephanie from gymnastics.
I chose that moment to walk in and interrupt my sisters, who were no doubt getting ready to embarrass me more.
“When I told my friends how many girls I got to make out with after class they all wanted to sign up a week later, so it worked out for me,” I said, flashing a sly grin at my sisters.
“You are such a sleazy braggart,” Willa said, sticking out her tongue.
“Children!” my mother said, chiding us like we were little kids again. “ Quit acting like you are five years old in front of our guest. She’s going to think I raised you this awful on purpose.”
I heard Ellie chuckle as my sister and I both rolled our eyes. Normally my mom wouldn’t care, but I knew she was trying to impress Ellie while also trying to learn everything about her to see if she would be great wife material to give her more future grandkids. I closed my eyes and shook my head.
“Get your handsome face over here and hug your grandma before I die of old age and never get to see you again,” said my grandma, who had been sitting quietly enjoying the show from the side of the kitchen island.
“Hey, Nana . How’re you doing?” I asked, walking over to her and giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek.
“Better now that my whole family is here,” she said, smiling.
I knew she meant it politely, but it also made me feel a little guilty because I was often the holdout for these gatherings.
“What am I ? Chopped liver?” Whitney asked from beside her.
I leaned over and grabbed her and squeezed her hard until she begged me to let her go while laughing. I did, but not before rubbing my hand over the top of her head and messing with her hair, causing her to growl at me as I walked back over toward the kitchen island.
“You told Willa’s mini-spawns you needed my help, Ma , so what can I do?” I asked my mom, who was still getting all the food together.
“Your sisters and I have it covered for now, but when the rolls come out of the oven, I’ll have you start carrying things into the table,” she said, pointing at several bowls already laid out on the kitchen island. Man , it smelled good. My mom was a great cook, and so was my grandma, though she mostly just supervised nowadays since her arthritis was bad. Usually , she just gave my mom a hard time, telling her how she was cooking stuff wrong just to get on her nerves.
Just then my niece and nephew came into the kitchen with their hamster in their hands.
“Ah ah ah, no hamsters in my kitchen!” my mom said, shooing them out.
“But Grandma , we wanna show Wade’s girlfriend our new pet!” they whined.
“Then you can do it in the living room where I don’t have to worry about Snickers leaving presents in my kitchen,” she told them.
They both looked up at Ellie and pleaded with her to come with them.
“Sure, I would love to.” She smiled as she followed them out of the kitchen.
She was gone no more than five seconds before all the female members of my family pounced.
“She seems very nice. How long have you two been dating and not telling me?” my mom asked in a sweet voice but with definite cheeky undertones.
“She’s good with the kids. You should marry her quickly so I can get some more great-grandbabies before I die soon,” my grandmother added.
I scoffed dramatically as I replied back to her with just as much attitude as she gave me.
“Nana, you’re going to live to be 120 just to spite all of us. You’ve got plenty more time on this Earth to give us all hell, so quit meddling.” I shot her a knowing look, and she stared right back at me with a calculated smile.
“I don’t meddle, young boy. I use years of wisdom to come up with impeccable ideas and execute them to perfection.” She smirked right back at me, full of sass as usual.
I laughed, first because she still called me young boy, even though I was nearly thirty and almost twice her size, and second because she’d always been witty to a fault, and I loved her for it.
“She told us you work together at the bar, and she lives right next door to you… How convenient,” Willa interjected with an evil smirk.
I knew she was trying to stir the pot too, but I wasn’t going to take the bait.
“Yes, we do work together,” I said, giving her the bare minimum.
“She said her brother was in your little group of Army friends too,” my mother commented, which made me chuckle at how she labeled the guys in my squadron, as though it was just a little boys club who hung out overseas, playing cards and passing the time.
“Yeah, her brother is Jack ,” I confirmed to my mom, who no doubt knew which one he was since she always asked about all of them and even sent extra stuff for each of them when she would send me a care package.
“Oh, he’s the one who lost his parents and grandmother, yes?” she asked, pausing what she was doing with a sad look on her face.
I wasn’t surprised she remembered because that was my mom. She was great at remembering all the details about people.
I nodded at her but felt the need to change the subject because I didn’t want Ellie walking back in here and thinking we were talking about her family behind her back.
“Where is Dad ?” I asked, realizing he was nowhere to be found.
“I’ll allow that diversion, only because I need you to get him,” my mom explained. “ He’s outside tinkering in his garden again. I asked him to grab a few more tomatoes for the salad, but that was thirty minutes ago. Why don’t you go grab him and bring him in. Food’s almost ready anyway.”
I wasn’t going to waste an opportunity to get away from this fierce interrogation, so I made my way outside, looking for my dad. My mom was right. He was crouched down pruning some of his various vegetable plants when I walked up beside him.
“Hey Dad . Mom said you were out here tinkering in your garden and I’m to collect you and bring you in for lunch,” I said with a grin, knowing my mom’s words would get to him.
“Ugh.” He sighed shaking his head. “ Men do not tinker. I swear your mom said that just to annoy me.”
I laughed, enjoying nettling him on purpose too.
“Good to see you, son,” he said as he got up and brushed the dirt off his hands before coming around to put his hand on my shoulder and clap my back. “ Never know whether to expect you for these things since you’ve got the new business.”
I knew he didn’t mean it in a rude way, so I tried not to take offense to his comment.
“Yeah, it’s been busy, but I should come more often. Sorry ,” I muttered.
“No need to apologize. I get it,” he sympathized. “ It’s tough getting a business up and running from scratch.”
I nodded as he handed me a handful of tomatoes from the garden.
“Take those in and add them to your mom’s salad, I’m going to go change my shirt since I got dirt all over it fixing my babies.”
I smiled at my dad’s use of the term babies for his garden. He’d struggled at first with retirement, but this garden project really gave him something to do, and he enjoyed the fruits of his labor being used for my mom’s cooking.
As I walked back into the kitchen my mom was the only one in there, and she was carrying a dish in her hands.
“Oh good. Rinse those and put them right in the salad on the counter and then please bring it out to the dining room table,” my mom said. “ We’re ready to eat.”
I did what she asked and realized my mistake the moment I walked into the dining room seeing my niece and nephew sitting on either side of Ellie , which meant I would have to sit across from her. I sat down, looking over at her to hear my nephew rambling on and on about Minecraft . I highly doubted Ellie knew about anything he was talking about, but she sat there and gave him her full attention while he talked about creepers and endermen in great detail.
She was good with kids and would make a great mother someday. A tinge of pain in my chest hit me at the realization that for that to happen, she would have to be with another man, and I hated that that thought bothered me.
My dad and brother-in-law sat on either side of me and asked me about the security business. Every once and in a while, I would look up and see Ellie staring at me and listening to what I was saying. I was sure she was curious since her brother would be working for us too when he came home.
After we finished the meal, the banter between everyone was good, and I realized how well Ellie fit right in with everyone. It made me want to make more of an effort to be here, though I’d want Ellie to be here too, and that made me pause since my family would certainly get the wrong idea if I kept bringing her back every meal.
As we finished up, Charlie begged Ellie to come see his Minecraft card collection, which she agreed to, likely under obligation and duress.
Haley informed the rest of us that we must come see the unicorn section of the garden my dad made her. We all walked outside to the backyard to check it out.
As we were listening to Haley’s entertaining explanation about how unicorns are the best and they need a special section of the garden just for themselves, I felt my phone ring in my pocket and saw it was Tammy calling. Great . Someone had likely called in sick, and she was calling to ask me what to do.
“Hey Tammy ,” I said.
“Hey, boss-man. Everything is good here, but you said you wanted me to let you know if that man called again for Ellie ,” she said.
I ground my teeth, feeling my anger rise.
“I did what you said and told him she no longer worked here,” she said in a somber voice. “ At first, I wasn’t sure he believed me, but when I added a few details to try to make it more believable, he seemed to get angry.”
That wasn’t a good sign that he was that quick to anger when he didn’t get what he wanted, though if it really was Ellie’s ex, that wouldn’t surprise me.
“You sure it’s the same guy?” I asked.
“If it’s the same one that called the other day when I picked up, then yes, it’s the same voice,” she confirmed. “ It happened about seven minutes ago, and I know Vince was by earlier to install some fancy stuff on the phone here to track him, so I just wanted to let you know.”
She was right. After I talked with the guys last night, Vince came over to the pub this morning to install caller ID and a few other things Tammy didn’t need to know about.
“Do you want me to call her and find out where she is? Make sure she’s safe?” she asked, and I appreciated her concern for Ellie .
“She’s with me,” I said simply. There was a pause before she spoke again, full-fledged amusement in her voice.
“Innnnnnnnteresting,” Tammy teased.
“I just brought her to my parents’ for lunch to keep an eye on her, so don’t start,” I tried to explain, but it was no use with her.
“The weekly family lunch that you never seem to find time to go to, but now you magically make time in order to take Ellie to? Veeeeeeeeery interesting,” she added, leaning into it even more.
“I’m hanging up now. Call me if anything else happens,” I told her as I hung up the phone. Then I shot a quick text off to Vince to let him know about the call. No sooner had I put the phone back in my pocket, both my sisters came right up next to me.
“Who pooped in your cornflakes?” Whitney asked me. “ Your face looks like you want to murder someone.” my sister added jokingly. If only she knew.
“The correct phrase is who pissed in your Cheerios ,” I informed her.
She waved her hands, practically dismissing me.
“Whatever,” she said and then leaned in conspiratorially in a loud whisper. “ So , who are we murdering today?”
“No one,” I told them.
“Does it have something to do with the pretty blonde you brought to the family gathering today, which you never do,” Willa said, looking at me with an accusatory face but also a full smile.
“She’s a co-worker and Jack’s little sister,” I defended.
“I may not be good at getting phrases or memes correct, but I’m not stupid,” Whitney said. “ And Willa is right. You haven’t stopped staring at her for more than ten seconds since you’ve been here.”
“I don’t spend that much time staring at my co-workers,” Willa said.
That was because I couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss every time I looked at her. I needed to steer them away from this topic of conversation.
“That’s because you’re married,” I interjected. “ Speaking of co-workers, got anybody you could recommend for me for our security business?”
“I’m only allowing you to deflect the conversation for now, because, yes, I do in fact have some recommendations,” Willa answered. “ Guy named Dane Enderson . He interviewed for our security position, but he is actually overqualified for what we need for this entry-level job. I’ll send you his info in an email. I also have another guy you should reach out to. I really shouldn’t be recommending him because he currently works for us, and he’s great.”
That had my attention. Why would she try to pass off someone who was supposedly good at their current job, unless there was something wrong?
“What’s the catch?” I asked.
“His name is Axel Skarsg?rd , and he is great at his job, truly, but he looks miserable sitting at a desk all day,” she explained. “ He was in the Swedish military before coming to the U.S . and taking this job. Dude looks like a Viking and barely fits in his cubicle. Any time we do projects off-site or even outdoors, he looks like he just won the lottery. I just think he might be a better fit for you than us.”
She turned to me and pointed her finger in my face. “ But if you tell anyone I gave his information to you I will kill you.”
That made me smile. My sister couldn’t hurt a fly if she tried, let alone a human, but I would humor her.
“Your warning is crystal clear, sis. And thanks, for both recommendations.”
She nodded like she was proud of herself for helping solve world peace.
“Back to more important topics,” Whitney said while rubbing her hands together no doubt plotting evil things. “ I like her. Ellie , I mean. She seems to be good for you.”
I sighed, not wanting to entertain this topic at all. I practically growled her name low to send a warning to drop it.
“Your growls don’t scare me, little brother,” Willa said, waving me off. “ Look , I know that woman you dated, and I use that term loosely, messed you up.” Her mouth looked like she’d bitten into a lemon. “ But Candace didn’t deserve you.”
I tried to interrupt and defend Candace because no woman should have to put up with what I did to her, but Willa just kept right on talking.
“Uh-uh, no, I’m gonna stop you right there.” Willa held up her hand in my face. “ You would never hurt that woman on purpose. It was only ever in your sleep, and instead of trying to get you help with your nightmares, she ran away.”
“It’s not that simple,” I tried to explain. I regretted the one time I got drunk and confided in her husband, because he obviously told Willa everything.
“Fair, but she also never tried,” she said, sensing my rising anger. “ Look , I’m done bringing her up. All I’m saying is don’t let Candace prevent you from opening yourself up to someone else… whether that’s Ellie or another woman.”
I heard what she was saying, but I just couldn’t do that to a woman. Especially someone like Ellie . Even if she wasn’t Jack’s sister and my employee, she had already been in one abusive relationship. Being with me, when I could inadvertently hurt her in my sleep, would only add to her trauma, and I couldn’t do that.
“Okay,” she said, clapping her hands. “ Done with big sister talk. Now , you better go over there and rescue that girl from Mom and Nana .”
I looked over and sighed. They had photo albums pulled out from my childhood, regaling her with even more embarrassing stories.
“Don’t worry. I already told her most of your embarrassing childhood stories. There’s not much left for them to tell,” she said, giving me a huge fake smile.
“Are you always such a smartass?”
“No, thank you very much. Sometimes I’m sleeping,” she said as she stuck out her tongue and walked away.
I walked over to collect Ellie and head out. When I got close, I heard my mom and grandma talking about the pub, and Ellie invited them to come for a meal. Great . More opportunities for them to meddle.
I told them Tammy called and we needed to head back to the pub so I could get a few things taken care of. Ellie looked at me funny like she knew I wasn’t saying everything, but she didn’t call me out on it, and I appreciated it. We said goodbye to all the family, and my mom brought over some leftovers for us to take back with us.
The walk back to the car was quiet, which was good for me since I was going through how to handle the call Tammy took at the pub. I was happy Ellie waited until we got inside the car to say anything.
“I like listening to you talk about the security business,” she said, which was not the topic I thought she would bring up, but this was a safer topic, so I went with it.
“So, you know what your brother will be doing?” I asked as I drove us back to our building.
“Well, yes, but also, you have so much pride in your voice when you talk about it,” she explained. “ You seem genuinely excited about it, and that joy is contagious, I guess.”
I was excited, but I guess I just never realized my excitement was that obvious.
“Yeah, so far it’s doing well, and we’re picking up clients, which means we need to hire some extra people sooner rather than later,” I told her, as I mentioned that my sister might have some people in mind.
We talked about the business and what role her brother might take on when he got back to the States . She seemed genuinely curious, and I enjoyed talking with her about it.
“What did Tammy call about?” she asked.
I chuckled, wondering how she’d waited that long to bring that up.
“How long have you been sitting there thinking about that?” I asked.
“I was trying not to because I figured you would tell me if I needed to know, but I’m not the most patient person and couldn’t help myself,” she said, blushing and honestly looking a bit chagrined.
As much as I didn’t want to worry her, she needed to know. Especially since I had decided right after the call with Tammy that she would not be staying in her apartment alone tonight. Not until I could talk to Archer and Vince tomorrow and add a few extra security cameras.
“Tammy called to let me know that you had another mystery caller today,” I said cautiously while trying to look at her and the road at the same time to see her reaction. I didn’t want her to be upset about this, but her reaction surprised me.
“Ugh, seriously? Again ?” she practically grumbled. “ I left. Why can’t he just leave me alone? God , I hate that man.”
She was upset, all right, but more angry than sad. Still , I’d take an angry woman over one who was crying any day. She remained silent for the rest of the ride, and I gave her space to sit with her thoughts. I needed to think too—about our options and how Archer , Vince , and I should handle this.
We pulled into the parking lot behind our building. I shut off the engine and turned toward her to get her full attention.
“I am very confident our building is secure, but he knows where you work now, and we live above it,” I started to say. “ I already touched base with Vince and Archer about adding some more cameras to the property, but until they can add those, I’m going to camp out on your couch.”
“Wade, you’re not sleeping on my couch,” she started to say, but I cut her off.
“I would do the same for my sister or anyone of my friends’ sisters too,” I tried to justify so she didn’t think I was trying to stay over for nefarious reasons. “ More importantly, if I was overseas and either of my sisters had a stalker, I would want one of my friends to watch over my sisters too. Jack isn’t here to stay with you, so I will.”
“Wade, I wasn’t fighting you on staying in the apartment,” she said calmly. “ As much as I hate to admit it, because I want to be a stronger person, I am a little freaked out how he was able to find me, especially since I didn’t know the pub, security company, and the apartment were all in one building before I came here.”
“Okay then, it’s settled. I’ll walk up with you first, but I’ll go over and get a few things from my apartment in a little bit,” I said as I turned to open my car door and exit, but she put her hand on my arm to stop me, and I felt a shock run up my entire arm. In a good way. Too good.
“Wade, I wasn’t fighting you on staying in the apartment,” she explained quickly and with a smile. “ But I barely fit on that couch, and you are bigger than I am. You take the bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch.”
She pulled her hand off my arm, and I instantly wanted her to put it right back. While she made a good point, there was no chance I wasn’t staying with her, so I figured my best course of action was to just get her back up to the apartment and get the details squared away later.
“We’ll figure it out, but you’re not staying alone tonight,” I told her. “ Let’s head inside before it gets too hot sitting in this car.”
We made our way upstairs, and I kept my eye on our surroundings the entire time. We went into her apartment to drop off the leftovers. She wanted to take a shower, so I left to go to my place to grab a few things and shower myself. I also needed to send some more detailed messages to Vince and Archer and get a game plan together for how to deal with this jackass if he showed up, because I had a feeling now that he knew she was here, it was only a matter of time before he made his presence known.