Page 35 of The Maid

Finally, Addie had agreed to go out on an actual date with him and, as he sipped his water, he was happy to see her looking relaxed. Maybe she would start loosening up. She mostly worked and she took work very seriously. Today, though, she wore a long flowery dress that went to her ankles, her feet were in sandals, and her hair was in a ponytail. She looked years younger and like she'd spent her day at the beach, although he knew first-hand, she'd barely seen the beach.

Addie didn't like to be pampered or for him to spend money on her, but when she mentioned her love for stone crab in passing, he'd made reservations at Miami's historic restaurant, The Rustic Dock, where stone crabs were the specialty. It was only opened seasonally and it was very pricey and hard to get a table, especially on the last weekend of the season. Luckily, he knew enough people to get a seat right outside overlooking the beach.

"My mouth is watering," she said as she looked around at everyone with piles of stone crabs in the middle of the table. "I've heard these are the best."

"They are. You're in for a treat."

"I'm sure it was very hard to get a reservation here, thanks for bringing me."

"For you, Addie. Anything."

She smiled and looked down at her plate. He reached across and used his finger to bring her chin up. "Why do you do that? You always look away when I tell you how I feel. Don't you believe me?"

"I'm trying to believe you, Gun. I really am."

As he was about to answer the waitress set a small mountain of crab on the table, along with fries, grilled asparagus, creamed spinach, baby carrots, and cornbread. "Oh my God, Gun! This is an insane amount of food!" she squealed as she put on her bib.

"I'm a big guy," he said, patting his stomach and realizing the heaviness of the conversation had passed but he'd definitely need to talk to her later. She needed to understand that—like it or not—they already were in a relationship. A committed, 'in for the long haul', kind of relationship.

She grabbed her first crab claw and tried to crack it. Her laugh was infectious and when she finally was able to open it and pry some meat out of it, she closed her eyes and moaned out.

"Babe, you need to get a handle on shit."

"What?" she asked, with big round questioning eyes.

"You sound just like you did right before we left my apartment. You know...when I was eating your pussy." Remembering how they’d been late to lunch because when he’d picked her up and saw her—he went crazy with the need to touch her.

Her eyes widened. "Gunther! You can't say things like that in public."

"Then you can't do shit like that. Eat your crab like a normal person, will ya?"

“I missed you yesterday,” she admitted.

“Fuck. Now that’s progress. I missed you too, baby. George had a fight with his new girlfriend. Long story.”

“Everything okay now?”

“Yes. Everything’s fine. He met his girlfriend in a nightclub while he was on a date with his previous girlfriend.”

"That's not dysfunctional at all," she smiled and continued to eat. "And when he thought he was on a date with me, did he have any of these two girlfriends?"

Gun shrugged. "I can't keep up with George's love life. There's too many parties involved."

She laughed. "So, everything's perfect now?" Things were moving toward perfection and by the end of the month everything would in fact be perfect. At least that was the plan.

They were about twenty minutes into their feast, her laugh was loud, uninhibited and infectious. Today, she was the Addie he remembered. The girl he fell in love with.

He was laughing out loud at her attempt to eat every single morsel of crab in the shell when he heard the familiar voice. "Gunther?"

Oh shit. He placed the crab down, wiped his hand, and took off his bib before looking up. He knew exactly what he'd find. His parents.

Katherine McCall wore a navy blouse with her pearls and matching earrings, her hair in a perfect bun. His father had on a navy jacket, with gold buttons, and khaki trousers. They looked as if they were going to an upscale yachting event.

Gun pushed his chair out and stood. "Mother." He leaned to place a kiss on either side of her cheeks. He then extended his hand to his father. "Father."

"I didn't know you lunched here, son." His mother said. Lunched? He didn't lunch. He ate a meal wherever he desired but he didn't lunch. "And who's this lovely young lady?" His mother said, her face tight and judgmental. How could they not remember Addie?

Addie nervously wiped her face and hands fumbled with her hair. Then she stood and extended a hand, but awkwardly realized she still had on the bib, so she yanked it off first. "Mr. And Mrs. McCall. Hi. It's me, Adalyn Finney. You probably don't remember me but I—"

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