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“I do like him,” Stephanie unapologetically admitted. “Which is why I don’t want to go talk to him.”
Her answer piqued Maxi’s curiosity, but unlike her dad, she didn’t meddle.
“Right, you don’t want a boyfriend. I remember.” He looked back and forth between Maxi and Stephanie. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you two.”
“Whoa.” Maxi lifted her hands in a defensive stance. “How did I get dragged into this?”
“You’re just like this one,” he motioned to Stephanie with his thumb sticking out like he was hitchhiking on the side of the road. “Two peas in a pod. I think it’s that song by Beyoncé, you want to be independent women.”
“Actually, I think TLC’s ‘No Scrubs’ is more my jam.” She looked down. “Which is ironic because I wear scrubs every day.”
Maxi chuckled but her dad continued on, unamused. “You’re both young and beautiful, you should be falling in and out of love. This is the best time of your lives, you should be living and living is loving.”
“No thanks.” Stephanie answered.
At the same time Maxi said, “I’m good, but thanks.”
“You two don’t know what you’re missing,” he contended.
“Wow.” Stephanie beamed down at her patient and crossed her arms. “I never would’ve pegged you for a romantic.”
“You don’t have to be a romantic to know that the best thing in life is love,” he grumbled. “And one day both of you will fall head over heels when you least expect it and there’s nothing you’ll be able to do about it. When love hits you, you don’t get to decide that you don’t want it. It’s the ultimate TKO. You go down for the count.”
“Thankfully I’m a good bob and weaver.” Stephanie fisted her hands and ducked an imaginary punch.
Again, Maxi laughed.
Out of the corner of her eye she tried to see if Billy was listening. She crossed her fingers and toes—metaphorically—that he wasn’t hearing this conversation. They hadn’t had any kind of relationship talk, but she knew what this was. He wasn’t the kind of guy that settled down. She’d gone into this with her eyes wide open. And oddly enough, she didn’t regret any of it. The first two times they’d had sex she’d suffered post coital freak out, but since then she’d been fine. Her mind had categorized it as they were being forced to live together and were enjoying each other while they did.
End of story. This wasn’t a fairy tale and he wasn’t her prince, no matter what her imagination chose to believe. Her common sense overrode any fantasies that had played out in her head. This was temporary, no matter how permanent it felt.
“Hey, turn that up,” her dad instructed, pointing at the television.
Maxi grabbed the remote and had her finger on the volume button before she glanced up at the screen. When she looked up the remote fell from her hand.
On the top left hand corner of the television was a picture of Damien “The Smasher” Samuels sitting in a room with a reporter. “This Saturday our own Brian Thomas will be bringing you an exclusive sit down interview with Damien ‘The Smasher’ Samuels who is currently incarcerated after being found guilty on manslaughter charges in the death of Miles Hale. We’ll talk to ‘The Smasher’ about the barroom brawl that ended in death, his alleged ties to the mob, his upcoming parole hearing and more. You don’t want to miss the shocking…”
The announcer’s voice trailed off, replaced by a loud buzzing sound in her head. She tried to ignore it but the room suddenly felt like it was spinning. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath, in through her nose and out through her mouth. She knew her physical reaction was really a psychological one and she tried to anchor herself to that fact. All of these symptoms were just a response to seeing Damien’s face again after all these years.
That was all. The important thing was, he was still behind bars. For now.
***
As much as Billy enjoyed talking with the Colonel, he had to admit that he was only half listening. They’d discussed his resignation from Elite Security, which he’d given to Seth four days ago. The assignment with Maxi would be his last. His boss had wished him well and told him he’d always have a place at Elite. They talked about him transitioning to a coach after so many years of being the one that was trained.
The Colonel was dropping wisdom on him left and right but still his attention kept being pulled back to Maxi. Since she’d heard that Charlie was most likely going to be released tomorrow she’d seemed on edge. He hadn’t been able to get a moment alone with her to check in with her. Being so close to her without being able to talk to her, to kiss her, to hug her, to touch her was driving him crazy.
After spending the past week with her, he was more certain than ever that they belonged together. Of course he knew that it hadn’t been a representation of what real life was like. But they’d fallen into an easy routine of getting up, going on a run, having breakfast, showering, coming to the hospital, going home, having dinner, sometimes watching TV, and sometimes just going straight to bed. Every day they’d made love at least twice. Every morning when they woke up and then again before they went to sleep. But they’d also shared a few afternoon and evening delights. They’d enjoyed themselves in the shower, at the dinner table, on the couch, and once in his truck before they made it inside his house.
Not that all they had was physical, it wasn’t. That wasn’t why he was already dreading walking back into his house and her not being there. Sure, he’d miss the sex and since they’d christened practically every room in his house he’d have constant reminders of the time they’d shared.
But more than that, he’d just miss her. He’d miss the way she stretched out on the couch and tucked her feet under his legs because they were always cold. He’d miss her singing in the shower, even though it was criminally off key. The way she always leaned back in her chair and stretched after a big meal like she’d just ran a marathon. The way she snuggled against him when she slept, like she couldn’t get close enough to him.
There were a million little things that he’d miss, but most of all he’d miss waking up to her smile. Her smile wasn’t just an expression. It wasn’t just lips turning up to show a perfect line of white teeth. It was more. When she smiled time suspended, everything slowed around him; his life was a movie that paused. Her smile owned him.
He heard something drop and turned to see Stephanie picking the remote up from the floor. Maxi was staring at the TV. Her face was white and her eyes wide. He glanced up at the flat screen and saw that there was a story about a boxer that had been at the gym when he started working and training there. The few interactions that Billy had had with him had not been good. Growing up, his mom had a steady stream of boyfriends coming in and out of their lives. At a young age he’d gotten really good at distinguishing regular assholes from dangerous assholes and Damien “The Smasher” Samuels was a dangerous asshole. He remembered feeling relieved when he got arrested.
He listened as the sportscaster announced a prison interview that was going to air this weekend.
