Page 48 of The Chase

I gave her my lopsided grin. “Yeah, I’ll allow it.”

She got out of bed and yanked her boots off before walking into the bathroom. She changed into a t-shirt to sleep in and returned to the bed. I slipped my boxers back on and laid down on the bed. I pulled her to my chest and cuddled her in my arms.

“Wow,” she said and let out a breath.

“That good, eh?” I teased, then kissed the top of her head.

She twisted around so she could glare up at me. “Don’t get cocky.”

“Too late!”

“T?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to spend the night?” she asked and gave me a nervous look. I wasn’t sure why she was nervous. This timid woman put a spell on me, and I had no desire to leave. Not tonight.

“I thought I already was.”

She leaned up and kissed me. “Okay, well, I definitely want you to.”

We fell asleep with her wrapped up in my arms, and I knew I was in trouble when it came to her. I was letting my guard down because I really liked her and because I was tired of being lonely.

Holding her in my arms made me feel a little less alone. I wanted to try having a girlfriend, even with a woman as guarded as Maxine Monroe. I wanted to peel back the layers and discover all her secrets. I hadn’t felt this way since high school, but Maxine wasn’t Natalie. She wouldn’t toy with my heart and cast me aside.

* * *

I woke to a cry and then a blood-curdling scream. I shot up in bed in a daze when I realized I wasn’t in my bed. I opened my eyes and blinked until I saw Maxine whimpering and crying in her sleep next to me.

I leaned over and tried to wake her. “Max, come on, baby. It’s just a dream.”

She shook her head, still asleep but crying. “No, no, there’s so much blood. No, Charlie!”

Who’s Charlie?

I pulled the tiny woman into my arms, cradling her in my lap. “Baby, wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”

She screamed again, and then footsteps pounded up the steps, and the door of her bedroom flung open. A tall Black woman in scrubs and long tiny braids in her hair stood staring at me.

“Shit,” she swore.

Max was still whimpering but now into the crook of my neck and holding onto me in a death grip. I smoothed down her hair. “Hey, hey, wake up. Baby girl, I’m here. I’ve got you.”

Her eyes fluttered open. “TJ?”

“Yeah, baby. You were having a nightmare.”

She shook her head, and her eyes shifted to the woman standing at the foot of the bed. Then she was crying into my shoulder, and I held her close, not understanding what was happening.

“I’ll go make some tea,” the other woman said and left the room.

Max blubbered into my neck, and it broke my heart to see her shattered like this. I didn’t understand what was happening or why she was crying in my arms. I just wanted to make her tears go away.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked.

She shook her head.

“Max, tell me.”