5. Chapter 5
Chapter five
“I swear, none of them are mine.”
The storm continued to rattle the house, and after a particularly loud crash of thunder, Abe squeezed Maggie’s hand.
“Just think, you could be on a cot next to some old couple with two dogs and a bunch of pictures of their grandchildren to share with you.” He held up a finger. “Or next to laundromat Larry.”
“Larry’s family has a big house on a hill far from the flood zone.”
“He lives at home?”
She shook her head. “Poor Larry.”
“Poor Larry? He stood you up. The man lives at home, and he stood you up?”
She sat up straight. “You’re right. The heck with Larry.”
“Heck yeah.”
Maggie pointed at him. “Stop making fun of my non-swearing.”
He was still holding her hand, but she didn’t seem to care, and he didn’t want to let go. “Why don’t you swear?”
“My dad.”
“What about him?”
“I don’t want to disappoint him.”
“He wouldn’t approve of his daughter having a potty mouth?”
She laughed. “Actually, he probably wouldn’t care. It’s just a weird thing I have.”
“Hmm. I’m sure he appreciates the respect. Does he swear?”
“Yes. So does my brother.”
“Double standard.”
“As I said, it’s my weirdness.”
He squeezed her hand again. “Do you have any other weird things I should know about?”
“That’s probably the only one I want to share with you.”
“Oh, come on. I’ll give you one of mine.”
She smiled and bumped his shoulder. “This should be good.”
“I like to go without clothing when I’m here alone, obviously.”
“Um…wow. Even in the kitchen when you’re cooking dinner?”
“Sometimes.”
She shook her head. “Remind me to steer clear of your kitchen. It actually sounds slightly dangerous.” She blushed, and Abe laughed.
“I never cook anything that splatters.”
She covered her face with her free hand. “I really wish you hadn’t told me that.”
“Sorry.”
“My weird things don’t seem so weird anymore.” She looked at him. “The image of you standing in the kitchen with just a spatula in your hand is forever seared into my brain.”
“That might make my charmingly disagreeable boss persona a little less effective now.”
“Okay. I’m going to change the subject. How old were you when you had your first girlfriend?”
“Wow, that’s a change in subject, all right.”
“Sorry. Just curious. You don’t need to answer the question.”
“First girlfriend or first…”
She shook her head. “Typically, the first one comes before the second one.”
“Right.”
“Perhaps not in your case. The second one, then.”
“Fourteen.”
She turned to him. “What? No way. You and some other eighth grader hooked up?”
Abe laughed. “No. I was a freshman, and she was…older.”
Maggie sucked in a breath. “Like a woman?”
“No. Jeez. She was seventeen.”
“Oh. Okay. What happened?” He cocked his head, and she nudged him again. “I meant, how did that come about? I’m not looking for details.”
“It might replace the kitchen image.”
“Nothing ever will.”
“A friend and I crashed a party along the river, which freshmen weren’t invited to. Carrie was fighting with her football jock boyfriend and ended up talking to me about what a jerk he was.”
“And you ended up having sex with a complete stranger?”
“I knew who she was.” Abe shrugged. “But eventually, yeah. The next time I saw her, she was back with the boyfriend. But I was fine with it. I had sex with a junior.”
“Wow. That’s quite an accomplishment.”
“It is for a fourteen-year-old boy.”
“Carrie what? Is she still around?”
“Winslow. Ferguson now.”
Maggie thought for a moment. “The English teacher at the high school?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that weird?”
“Why would it be weird? I’m not taking English from her.”
“Doesn’t she have four kids?”
“I swear, none of them are mine.”
Maggie laughed. “I figured. Did she marry the jerk boyfriend?”
“No. She married the nerd she and the jock made fun of in high school.”
“Oh, goodness.”
Abe looked at her. “So, do I get to ask you the same question?”
“No.”
He shook his head. “So unfair. You haven’t slept with Larry, have you?”
“Ew. Gross. No.”
“If that would be gross to you, why go out with him?”
“Can we change the subject, please?”
“No. You need to answer that question.”
Maggie sighed loudly. “He’s nice, non-threatening, and there’s no way I’d fall for him.”
“I’m confused.”
“I just wanted someone to spend time with once in a while.”
“I see.”
Thunder shook the house again, and Maggie covered her face. Abe put his hand on her arm and pulled her hands down. “It’s just Zeus blowing off some steam.”
“Well, Zeus needs to find another outlet. Like yoga or meditation.” Maggie looked at him, then down at his hand on her arm. When she looked him in the eye again, she smiled. “Thank you for this.”
He reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “It’s what friends do.”
“Are we friends now?”
He took a moment to answer. “Yeah. I think we are. Is that okay?”
“So you’re going to be nice to me at work?”
“Well, let’s not go crazy. I will try to be more charming and less disagreeable.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Why do you want to date someone safe?”
She was quiet for a moment. “Until I find the perfect guy, safe is good enough.”
“You should never settle for good enough. You never know who might turn out to be the perfect guy.”
Maggie leaned against him for a moment, then picked up her glass and took a sip. She shook her head. “Nope. Still tastes like crap.” Abe was still looking at her, and she cocked her head. “What?”
“I um… This is going to sound weird, but I would very much like to kiss you.”
She smiled. “Why?”
“I’m not sure. I’m nowhere near the perfect guy, and probably not the safest either.”
“You’re too hard on yourself, Abe.”
“Still, kissing you would probably—”
Maggie leaned forward and kissed him, then pulled back and put a hand to her mouth. “Oh, wow. I—”
He smiled. “It’s okay.” He pulled her hand down again, then pulled her close and kissed her back. He looked at her for a moment and smiled.
She hugged him and whispered in his ear. “What are we doing?”
“Not sure.”
“We shouldn’t. I mean, yeah. We really shouldn’t.”
“Probably not.”
She looked at him, and he kissed her again, sparking several minutes of passion that neither of them expected. A few minutes later, they paused to catch their breath. Maggie laid her head on his shoulder. “My goodness.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie.”
She looked up at him. “What?”
“If you want me to leave you alone and go to bed, I will.”
She shook her head. “That’s not what I want.”
“It’s what you should want.”
“Maybe. But I don’t care. Right now, this is what I want.”
Abe pulled her in for another kiss.
The rain was still coming down, but the electrical storm had passed sometime during the night. The power was still out, but the sun, somewhere up behind a layer of dark clouds, filtered enough light down to fill the bedroom with a gray light.
Abe’s body curled around Maggie’s as they both lay on their sides.
He was half awake when he felt her stir.
The memory of the night they’d had floated back to him, and he smiled.
He was with Maggie, the woman he’d never considered sleeping with.
Actually, that wasn’t true. The thought had crossed his mind a time or two, but he’d always dismissed it.
She was Maggie, the woman who worked for him.
He kissed the back of her neck, and she rolled onto her back and looked at him. “Hi.”
“Morning.”
She pulled the blanket higher. “So…um.”
“Yeah.”
She studied him for a moment. “You’re not freaking out.”
“Nope. You?”
“No.” She smiled. “What the heck?” She rolled onto her side to face him.
Abe laughed. “A tiny bit unexpected?”
“Only a tiny bit?”
“I will say this. It was…um…pretty damn good.”
“So what happens now?”
“What do you want to happen?”
“I’m not taking full responsibility for the aftermath of what happened last night.”
“Right. Sorry. Do you want my take?”
“Yes, please.”
He put a hand on her arm. “I’m not the kind of guy you’re supposed to be with.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Okay.”
“You need romance. Quiet dinners. Movies. Flowers.”
“Well, I guess.” She nodded. “You’re right. As na?ve as it may sound, I do want those things.”
“I, on the other hand…I don’t think I could give that to you.”
“You have made it quite clear that you aren’t a relationship guy.”
He rubbed her arm. “It’s not na?ve to hope for the ideal. You’ll find it.” He grinned. “Not in Larry the laundromat guy, though. And not in me, I’m afraid.”
She nudged him. “I’ll work on my screening process.”
“Please do.”
“So, where does that leave us?”
“That leaves us being mature adults and putting last night behind us.”
“Forget about it?”
He touched her face. “That’s not going to happen. As I said, it was pretty damn good.”
“Keep it to ourselves?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. So, business as usual?”
“Ideally, yes. Realistically, that might not be so easy.”
“But the Vegas thing applies.”
“Vegas thing?”
“What happens in Vegas…”
“Oh, right. Yes. Absolutely.”
“I just need one more of these.” She leaned toward him and kissed him, then she sat up and wrapped the blanket around herself.
He put a hand on her back. “Maggie.”
“Yeah?”
“I wish I could be that guy for you.”
She stood. “So do I.” She headed for the bathroom. “I’m going to go clean up a little and get dressed.”
Abe reached for his phone. “I’ll call Gentry and see what the plan for today is.”
Maggie went into the bathroom, which was fairly well lit by the gray light filtering in through the window above the shower.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror and whispered, “You slept with Abe freaking Buchanan.” She clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from squealing.
Crazy. Unexpected. Inappropriate. Wonderful.
She blew out a breath. So, so wonderful.
She pointed at her reflection. “Do not fall in love with him.” She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face, ignoring the little voice in her head telling her she already had.