When she was awoken by the obnoxious ring of her phone, she realized that Max wasn't beside her. His side of the bed was made and felt cold to the touch. She sat up and grabbed the now silent phone. After scrolling through her messages from Shannon and Daryl, she hurried out of bed and into the shower. Mrs. Jensen was having a fit about a supposedly wrong order. The wedding was still a few weeks away and they weren't scheduled any deliveries till the eve of the wedding so she didn't understand what the woman was complaining about. The workers were panicking and she had to go check out the situation.
She wished she could spend the morning with Max and make sure he was fine. The night before was a really intense one and she was immensely worried about him. After a record-breaking shower, she got dressed in her clothes from before.
She pulled open a drawer and was grateful that she'd left some underwear here from when she prepared for the charity event the other time. She also found her brand of deodorant and hair products on the dresser. Her lips pulled up into a small smile as she imagined Max looking around her bathroom to get her things that would make her comfortable. Usually, that kind of behavior would have annoyed her but after yesterday night, it only endeared him to her. The man trusted her enough to talk about his past, of course he'd care enough to make sure she was comfortable at his place.
When Cadee was done dressing, she set out to find him, already knowing he'd be at the hidden balcony. She found him sipping coffee and reading something on an iPad. He didn't seem to notice her arrival until she was in front of him. His head slowly lifted from the screen, giving her a quick perusal before breaking into a wide grin. She followed suit, thankful that he seemed okay.
"I missed the sunrise but seeing you here was worth it." He pulled her to sit on his lap, and she followed, straddling him and bunching up her dress in the process. When he pressed a kiss against her lips, she promptly opened to let his tongue inside and was hit with the sweet taste of sugar and cream.
"Good morning," she said when they pulled away.
"Good morning baby. Did you sleep well?"
"I did. What about you?" She tried not to let it show, but from the way his smile dimmed he'd seen the concerned expression.
"I slept fine." His hands tightened on her waist. "Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you're waiting for me to break and that you want to fight my demons for me."
"I do want to fight for you. You're important to me and seeing you hurt breaks my heart." Her brows furrowed.
"I'm fine. It feels good to know that someone's got my back though." He winked. "so, do I call that someone my girlfriend? We didn't get around to your answer yesterday."
"Hmm," she grinned, cupping his face. "I thought you already knew my answer?"
"I still want to hear you say it."
"Fine," Cadee sighed, trying to maintain a straight face. "I want to be your girlfriend."
"That's my woman." Max pulled her into a kiss and she rocked against where he was beginning to harden.
"I have to get to work. There's a lot to do and I have to avoid the crisis that is angry Mrs. Jensen." She moved to get off him and he reluctantly let her go. "don't wear that face, baby. It's hard to not fall for it as is."
"Is it working? I don't want you to go anywhere. I want you where I can always see you."
"Because you want to fuck me as much as you can?" She winked at him and he gasped in mock horror. When she shot him a look, he grinned.
"Yes. I want that but I also like looking at you," he replied.
"I'll come back later tonight or we'll see tomorrow." She made to hurry in and grab her things, but halfway in she was stopped by Max's hand on her arm.
"Move in with me," he said when he held her attention. "that way I can see you every morning, night and the hours in between."
"Do you really mean that?" He nodded in response. "Ask me that another time, okay?"
"You don't like the idea? I can move in with you instead, if that's better."
She tried to picture sharing her one bedroom apartment with Max and almost laughed out loud at the absurdity. She couldn't imagine him living anywhere else than his home. He'd look so out of place. "You're really serious. Wow! Next thing you will ask me to marry you and have your babies," she teased. When he didn't even crack a smile, her eyes widened. "You want that too?"
"Of course I do. I've always wanted to have a family. You're the only woman I've ever cared about so it makes sense that I would think about it." He chuckled when he saw her go pale. "Relax, love. I'm not proposing right this second." He hugged her, patting her back. "Breathe for me, Cadence." He hugged her stuff body tighter. When he was sure she'd calmed down enough, he said. "can we talk about why marriage and children almost had you passing out?"
"Yeah. Um... We will talk about it. But not now, okay? Now I have to get to work."
"Okay." He let go. "Drey will drop you off. I'll call you later."
"Bye," she waved before hurrying out. Max stared at the door she'd walked through for a few moments before shaking his head. He wondered what the deal with her was and why she was the one panicking about taking their relationship to the next level.
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"Hey boss, Mrs. Jensen is all sorted out. Why do you still look upset?" Shannon who'd been watching Cadee for a while asked. The question seemed to upset the woman more and Shannon watched as her shoulders tightened before she let out a loud breath.
"I'm fine. Can you handle the store today? I have to go see someone." She needed to talk to Bianca and see if it would help her calm down.
"You don't have to ask. It's the reason you pay me."
"Thanks Shannon. Don't forget to water the plants out front before closing. They've been in the sun all day."
"Boss, I've been working here for almost a month now. I won't forget, now go."
Cadee thanked the woman again before grabbing her purse and heading out. She'd texted Bianca earlier on so she knew to find her at home. Her friend pulled her into a hug immediately she opened the door.
"Girl, you've been scarce," Bee cried as she hugged her tighter. Cadee squeezed back, having missed her friend.
"Work's been tight," she muttered.
"Don't blame it all on work." She pulled away. "You've been getting steady dick, I can tell just from your posture."
"What? Bee!"
"Oh you slut!"
"No, we don't even see a lot of the time. He's busy working and so am I most times," she protested as she took a seat on the sofa. Bee brought out bite-sized chocolate cakes with tea and set it on the coffee table in front of them.
"Mhmm. Is it that good? The sex?"
Cadee sighed. "It really is." She pushed a piece of cake into her mouth and chewed. It was moist and delicious and she had to stop herself from stuffing her face. She had been eating a lot of calories and couldn't even remember the last time she exercised. Max fucking her probably counted as exercise, she mused.
"So why do you still look so tense? Or is it because you're not getting enough?"
"It's not that."
"What then?" Bee bit into the tiny cake and gave her friend a look. "You love him and he doesn't love you yet?"
"No. It's not that either. He asked me to move in with him," she said.
"So when are we moving? Cos I know you are accepting his offer. That would fix your not seeing him often problem."
"I want to, I really do. But I teased him about wanting marriage and children next and the dude didn't laugh. Like he legit wants those things." Her eyes widened to emphasize her point.
"What's the problem, Cadee? If that fine, rich man wants to marry you, hesitating shouldn't even be on your mind."
"Do I really deserve that?" She stared at the tiny cake in her hand.
"What do you mean?"
"You know after I found out I was pregnant, I wished so bad for it to go away. It wasn't until the third month that I came to terms with it and was finally looking forward to it. But the moment I began to love and care for that baby, life decided to hit me. The incident happened and I lost mom and the pregnancy." Tears were slowly rolling down her cheeks.
"You can't pack on that amount of guilt, Cadee. It wasn't your fault."
"I didn't want to be pregnant. I wished so hard to not be. What kind of mother does that? I don't think I deserve to start a family."
"You were a child, love. What's important is that you accepted it and even loved the baby. If there's anyone you should blame, it has to be the bastard that caused everything. Do you hear me?"
Cadee nodded as her best friend wiped her tears with her thumbs. "I'm scared though. What if it happens again?"
"It won't. You're an amazing person and only amazing things will happen to you now. Besides you won't be alone this time. You've got that fine ass man."
Cadee chuckled. "Well he hasn't proposed yet. We've only talked about living together."
"Do you want that?"
"I do. I really want to be with him, Bee."
"Then be with him. You guys should talk about everything and if it all works out I'll be cheering for you. If it doesn't, I'm still here love."
"Thanks Bee." She hugged her friend before pulling away to stuff her face with cake. As if he knew they'd been talking about him, her cell rang. She didn't have to check to know it was Max.
"Hey doll. Still at the shop?" His voice was smooth and she could hear the sounds of the city in the background.
"I stepped out to see a friend. I'll go home soon. Are you still at work?"
"Yes. I'll be home in a few hours. Are you too tired to see me today?"
"I'm good. I'll come over soon."
"Drey will pick you up then."
"Okay–"
"When do I get to see you?" Bee asked from beside her.
"Who's that?" Max inquired.
"My friend, Bianca. She wants to know when you guys would see."
"Can I talk to her?"
"Sure," Cadee replied and passed the phone to her friend. She watched as her friend talked to him, smiling as she greeted. They exchanged a few words and she wasn't sure what they talked about. Bee only made comments like; okay, yeah, wow and then she handed the phone back.
"So I'll see you soon," Max said.
"What did you guys talk about?"
"You'll find out soon enough. See you later, darling." He ended the call.
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Thanks for reading till this point! You're amazing and I'm glad you're enjoying the story.
Please vote and comment.
Were you surprised when Max asked Cadee to move in?