Page 81 of Time Out

“Come on. Let’s get you home.”

And out of the view of others. She’d stirred more than a desire to have her body. She’d stirred up a need to have her. All of her. Her body, her mind, her soul, her passions, and her heart.

My home was dark and silent when we entered, only the gentle hum of the heating turning on. The kitchen light was left on, and I went to the fridge to get Maggie something to drink while she headed to the pantry to get herself some food.

It was only ten o’clock, but between the game, the dinner, and the incredible concert performance, my body was quickly slowing. I needed sleep. I needed to wrap my arms around Maggie and hold her while doing so.

I needed her to be okay with that, knowing my dad was sleeping in a room down the hall.

But most of all, I just needed her.

“Can I ask a question?” I grabbed waters for both of us, along with a pasta salad I’d made earlier in the week, and set it on the island.

Maggie’s eyes lit up as she saw the food and grabbed a fork from the drawer and a bowl off the shelf.

“Sure.”

“Why aren’t you doing open mic nights and things like that on your nights off work?”

It’d been killing me. She’d been here for years and never let her voice be heard outside karaoke clubs? She was so much more than that.

She chuckled. “Because that takes work and marketing and demos to even get your foot in the door, and I’ve been focused on finding a safe place to live and getting money in the bank.”

“But Belle…”

“Belle’s my friend.”

“Who would do anything for you, wouldn’t she?”

This was the girl who offered to let a near-practical stranger move into her apartment after seeing she was sleeping in her car.

“I know she would.” She stabbed some pasta and popped it into her mouth.

“I don’t understand. You’re not taking advantage of her by taking her help.”

“I need to know I can do it on my own.”

Stubborn. So stubborn and maybe, too naive, too. “Maggie. No one, not a single person on the planet, reaches their dreams by themselves, completely on their own. Everyone has someone helping them, rooting for them, encouraging them. Why do you think you have to go it alone all the time?”

Her eyes narrowed and twitched with irritation. It was late. She was tired. We were both exhausted, and we’d had a hell of a long physical and emotional day.

I could have dropped it.

Probably should have.

But something told me she needed a push. That Belle had stood back and waited for her friend to come to her, and now there was so much more on the line. Providing for our family. Showing our child how to pursue their passions and being willing to have an army at their back and standing at their side while they did it.

“I don’t want to take advantage of her,” she said finally and frowned down at the pasta.

“There’s a difference between taking advantage and having support.”

She shrugged and moved her fork around her food like she was no longer really seeing it. “I feel like I’ve always been alone and never had anyone listen to what was really important to me, or that I mattered, that the things I wanted mattered. Maybe it’s just easier this way.”

“To struggle when you don’t have to? You’re not alone anymore. You have Belle and Lance and me.”

Her eyes flicked to mine.

Was she surprised by that?

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