Page 28 of The Maid

"I don't just want sex, Addie. I like spending time with you. Always have. I mean, when I said I missed you, I didn't just mean the sex. I missed you. All of you."

She smiled at him and then held a piece of bacon to his mouth. He opened his mouth and took it. She giggled girlishly and playfully moved him out of the way to set the table.

"I was thinking that tonight maybe we can go to my apartment. I have a hot tub and my muscles can really use it after the workouts they're putting us through. And, I can think of other fun things we can do in there."

"That sounds sublime." She said as she took a forkful of eggs. "But I can't. Promised my parent's I'd visit which means I have to leave early tomorrow since it’s a four-hour drive."

He shoved food into his mouth, "I'll go with. We can leave from my apartment."

"What? No!" She shook her head. "No, Gun, really."

"Why not? I bet they'd love to see me. Is Ms. Finney still living with them?"

"Yes, Aunt Nina is there, but I don't think visiting them is a great idea."

"Why? She used to love me."

She snorted. "Used to being the key word."

He dropped his fork. "What? They don't like me?"

"Not to bring up old wounds or anything but I was really sad when you left and then I obsessed over every football game that I could find on TV that you were in. Nina, particularly, didn't like the way we left things."

"It wasn't all my fault—"

"I know. I know. But I'm their family and I was crying. So…you got the blame."

"I'm great at groveling. Now I'm really going with you."

"No, seriously, Gun. I don't want them to get the wrong idea about us."

He huffed. "Yeah, whatever. I'm going."

"Gun!"

"I'll come by and get you after work, so you can leave your car here. You can stay with me tonight and then we'll drive up tomorrow morning." He stood and kissed the top of her head. "Great breakfast, baby." And walked out. Damn, the man was highhanded. But for some reason the smile she had on her face took away a lot of the impact.

Later that evening, Gun and Addie prepared dinner on Gun's balcony. "How's training going?" She asked as she slathered butter on his baked potato and placed it on his plate while he finished grilling the steaks.

"Everything hurts. I guess I wasn't in as good of shape as I thought. And the new kids are looking younger each year."

Addie laughed. "That's because you're getting older every year."

He placed a steak on her plate and then sat down to join her. "Yeah, don't remind me."

"Mmm. Delicious." Addie said while she ate.

"Glad you like it." He smiled. "Are you excited to see your family tomorrow?"

"So excited. I haven't seen them in over two months, and I miss them so much." She stood and stretched. "How about your folks?"

"What's wrong?" he asked as she rubbed her shoulder.

"Nothing, just a crick. So, your family?"

He grabbed all the plates and took them inside, left them in the sink, and then came back out and took her hand and walked to the other side of the balcony. "I have the perfect cure for your neck."

He messed with some buttons on his hot tub and it began bubbling. "Get naked and jump in," he said, matter-of-factly as he pulled off his shirt.

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