The Maid

by Sidney Halston

  "I was thinking that tonight maybe we can go to my apartment. I have a hot tub and my muscles can really use it after the workouts they're putting us through. And, I can think of other fun things we can do in there."

  "That sounds sublime." She said as she took a forkful of eggs. "But I can't. Promised my parent's I'd visit which means I have to leave early tomorrow since it’s a four-hour drive."

  He shoved food into his mouth, "I'll go with. We can leave from my apartment."

  "What? No!" She shook her head. "No, Gun, really."

  "Why not? I bet they'd love to see me. Is Ms. Finney still living with them?"

  "Yes, Aunt Nina is there, but I don't think visiting them is a great idea."

  "Why? She used to love me."

  She snorted. "Used to being the key word."

  He dropped his fork. "What? They don't like me?"

  "Not to bring up old wounds or anything but I was really sad when you left and then I obsessed over every football game that I could find on TV that you were in. Nina, particularly, didn't like the way we left things."

  "It wasn't all my fault—"

  "I know. I know. But I'm their family and I was crying. So…you got the blame."

  "I'm great at groveling. Now I'm really going with you."

  "No, seriously, Gun. I don't want them to get the wrong idea about us."

  He huffed. "Yeah, whatever. I'm going."

  "Gun!"

  "I'll come by and get you after work, so you can leave your car here. You can stay with me tonight and then we'll drive up tomorrow morning." He stood and kissed the top of her head. "Great breakfast, baby." And walked out. Damn, the man was highhanded. But for some reason the smile she had on her face took away a lot of the impact.

  * * *

  Later that evening, Gun and Addie prepared dinner on Gun's balcony. "How's training going?" She asked as she slathered butter on his baked potato and placed it on his plate while he finished grilling the steaks.

  "Everything hurts. I guess I wasn't in as good of shape as I thought. And the new kids are looking younger each year."

  Addie laughed. "That's because you're getting older every year."

  He placed a steak on her plate and then sat down to join her. "Yeah, don't remind me."

  "Mmm. Delicious." Addie said while she ate.

  "Glad you like it." He smiled. "Are you excited to see your family tomorrow?"

  "So excited. I haven't seen them in over two months, and I miss them so much." She stood and stretched. "How about your folks?"

  "What's wrong?" he asked as she rubbed her shoulder.

  "Nothing, just a crick. So, your family?"

  He grabbed all the plates and took them inside, left them in the sink, and then came back out and took her hand and walked to the other side of the balcony. "I have the perfect cure for your neck."

  He messed with some buttons on his hot tub and it began bubbling. "Get naked and jump in," he said, matter-of-factly as he pulled off his shirt.

  "Naked?" She turned around and looked out and then side-to-side.

  "Yeah, your business suit is not going to be comfortable in there."

  They were high up and across from his apartment was the ocean and… it was dark and the balcony’s walls were high enough that when they got inside the tub, they'd probably be completely obscured. But still, she had never gotten naked outside before.

  Noting her hesitation, once he was naked, he pulled her toward him and answered her pending question. "My parents are still assholes," he said while turning her around and unzipping the back of her dress. "They have a house in Miami, and they visit too often. We're on talking terms now. It took a long time for them to get over me choosing football over the family business."

  She looked at him over her shoulder. "That's good."

  "Not when they come to town to criticize every single one of my decisions. They're just waiting for me to seriously fuck up. When we won the Super Bowl, they didn't call. But when we have a bad loss, I hear from them immediately."

  "What? Why?"

  "Because, baby, not everyone has a mom and dad, and aunt, who loves them and just want for their kids to be happy. My parents wanted a lawyer or maybe a politician. Not a, and I quote, "A Neanderthal football player."

  She was so saddened and indignant for him, she barely registered that she was butt-ass naked getting into the hot tub until the bubbles began to tickle her nose.

  "Wait here," he said, jumping out of the tub, and padding into his apartment dripping wet and just as naked as she was. All his muscles moved like the perfect physical specimen that he was. He walked back into the tub with two flutes and a bottle of champagne.

  "What's all this for?"

  "I remembered how you loved this pink champagne those few times we took it from my parents’ fridge."

  "Oh God." She laughed. "And we would drink it out of plastic cups, remember?"

  "How can I forget." He poured her a flute and handed it to her.

  "You think your parents ever noticed? I bet it was expensive stuff."

  "My parents?" He rolled his eyes. "No, they never took the time to notice much of what was going on around them."

  "I don't know why I never realized how strained your relationship was between you guys."

  "I hid it well."

  "Why would you hide that from me? We were only together for a few months, but we were together all the time. We talked about everything. I told you more than I told anyone, ever."

  "I know. I guess I was ashamed. I mean you had the perfect relationship with your parents."

  "Ashamed?" She scooted closer to him. "We were dirt poor. I didn't even know what champagne was other than that it was expensive, and you were supposed to pop corks on New Year's. I was just the maid."

  "You were never just a maid, Addie. Anyway, I don't want to rehash the past. I can't complain, really. Life has been good to me."

  She looked around at all the excess around him. "No, you really can't. You've done good, Gunther. Real good. I'm proud of you." She floated closer and straddled his lap. "Really damn proud of you."

  When had his heart began to beat so rapidly? No one had ever said those words to him. Not one single person. Not when he got a full ride to college on an academic scholarship, even if he decided to focus on football once he was in. Not when he was a first round NFL pick at twenty-one- years- old. Not when he won two Super Bowls. His heart soared in a way that he could honestly say he had never felt before. It was as if at that moment the idea of not having this woman in his life made him scared. The idea of another woman right there on his lap made him nauseous. And the idea of this woman with another man made him want to kill someone. It was a primal feeling he could barely keep contained. He took her face in his hands and kissed her like he'd never kissed anyone before.

  "I'm keeping you," he declared.

  "What?" She asked breathlessly but he didn't answer her because instead, without any precursor, he lifted her slightly and slid inside of her.

  "Hope you're on the pill," he said, as he moved her up and down, not caring much whether or not she was because she was his and he wasn't going to let her go and the truth was, having kids with her didn't at all feel scary. It felt...welcomed.

  "Are you okay? Health-wise?" She looked concerned. "I mean, God this feels good," She said with a moan. "But you've been with so many—"

  "Stop talking. Get tested all the time. I'm good."

  "Good. Me too. And yeah, I'm on the pill."

  All the conversation was pretty worthless considering he was so turned on he was on about to blow his load.

  "Addie, baby..." He closed his eyes unable to hold it, but she stopped and climbed off. "What?"

  "Sit up." She patted the ledge of the tub.

  "What?" He repeated.

  "Just do it, hop up." She demanded and he quickly obliged.

  Once on the ledge she got on her knees and took his cock in her hands. "What are you—" His head fell back when she began
to pump his hardened dick and then put it in her mouth.

  "I can't hold it much longer." He groaned.

  "Then don't," she mumbled and the reverberation of her husky voice on him was too much and he came hard and fast in her mouth. Between the heat of the tub, the long day he'd had, and the grade-A blow job she'd just given him, he felt drained. She kissed the top of his thigh once before getting up and out of the tub. She wrapped herself in the towel he'd placed nearby and began to walk inside but turned around and looked at him over shoulder and asked, "You coming?" It was flirty and cute and at that moment he knew he was completely fucked because for the second time in his life he was head over ass in love with Adalyn Finney.

  "You should really be more nervous," Addie said as she closed the door to his car.

  "I'll win them over again," he said, taking her hand in his.

  She looked down and pulled away. "What are you doing?"

  "Holding your hand."

  "Why?"

  "Uh...because—"

  "We're still on the same page here, right? Good sex that can't interrupt my work. I can't get fired and you and I can't ever be more than—"

  She looked panicked and he let out a breath. "Yeah sure. Just sex. Just friends."

  She let out a relieved breath. "Okay, cool. Come on, let's go."

  The front door opened, and Mrs. Finney walked out looking like an older version of her daughter. He'd never met her, but she was exactly as he pictured her. There was something homely yet jovial about her. "Honey!" she yelled, jogging down the steps to hug her daughter. "You feel too thin." She pulled away and looked Addie up and down. "Yes, too thin. Aren't you eating?" She turned to Gun, who she knew was coming along. "Aren't you feeding my daughter, Gunther McCall?"

  With a big smile he answered. "Of course I am, Mrs. Finney."

  She let go of Addie and walked over to him. "We finally meet. Even more handsome than on TV. You are definitely eating." She gripped one of his biceps. "Look at all the muscles, good Lord."

  "Mom," Addie smiled. "Leave Gun be."

  "Come 'ere and give me a hug." She said, and Gunther pulled her into a hug.

  Ms. Finney, who looked so much older than he even imagined, walked out of the house with a cane, her back hunched forward. "Is that my niece?"

  "Hi Nina," Addie said, enveloping her frail aunt.

  "I heard you were coming too, Gunther. It's been too long, honey," she said, pulling him into a very familiar hug. She smelled like home. It was something about the old woman that reminded him of his childhood.

  "It is so good to see you, Ms. Finney." His parents didn't hug but the Finneys, they did, indeed, hug. He hugged Ms. Finney so tightly that she came up off the floor just like back then. He felt elated. When he put her down, her eyes glistened. "You hurt my Addie!" She said and with a stern look and an old wrinkled finger pointed at his chest. A complete sudden change that pushed him down ten pegs.

  "Aunt Nina, stop that. That was a long time ago."

  "Well, you were hurt. And I was too!" She huffed and turned toward the door.

  "Mrs. Finney. I'm sorry, I lost contact and that hurt Addie." The woman kept walking.

  "You can explain it to my husband," Mrs. Finney, her mother said, as she turned toward the house. Shit. Maybe he had overestimated his charm.

  "Mom. Aunt Nina!" Addie looked over her shoulder and gave him an apologetic look.

  "It's okay, Addie. I'll handle it," he whispered and inside they went.

  Addie walked to the family room where her father was watching a baseball game. He stood up and said something to her that he couldn't hear, and she nodded and then they hugged. When he let go, he turned to Gun.

  Gun extended his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you Mr. Finney."

  Instead of shaking his hand, he turned and said, without looking at Gunther, "Follow me." Fuck. That voice that sent fear down his spine

  "Dad," Addie warned but Mr. Finney kept walking. Gun didn't like to see Addie worried, especially since the reason they didn't like him was Gun's own fault. He'd hurt Addie and now he had to face the consequences.

  "Don't worry, it's okay." Gun assured her as he walked out to the backyard with Mr. Finney.

  Once the door was closed and they were by the barbeque, her father began to talk. "Hope you like barbeque chicken."

  "I do, sir."

  "I hate it. Dry as hell. But after my heart attack all we eat is chicken. Turkey and chicken. I'm going to grow feathers soon."

  Gun chuckled. "Mr. Finney. I'm sorry to hear about your health and I’m sorry about—"

  "Adalyn should never have started anything up with you back then. She was older and it was work."

  "It wasn't her fault, sir."

  "Not entirely no. You had a part in that debacle too. You were just a kid, but you broke her heart, nonetheless. But that's life. Shit happens and you grow up and you move on. Now I see my daughter's in the same predicament. You hold her career and her heart in her hands, again."

  Gunther's heart ached. He pulled the top of the barbeque down and turned to Gun. "So, what is your intention with my daughter, Gunther McCall?"

  "I'm not going anywhere, sir."

  "You sure about that?"

  "I am. I'm positive. I know that I hurt Addie, I had my reasons. They were stupid, they were the reasons of a stupid naive --eighteen-year-old kid. I can't undo the past, sir."

  "I understand that."

  "So, now I don't really know how to keep her. She has a huge wall built around her heart."

  "And it was built to keep you out." Mr. Finney added. It was a one-two punch that he felt right on his chest.

  "I know that,” he swallowed. “She won’t admit she has feelings for me, but I know she does. So, I guess I'm just going to keep picking and digging at that wall until I get in. I won't give up. I'm in love with her sir. I don't think I ever stopped being in love with her, actually. But back then, I was just a kid, I wouldn’t have wanted my daughter to be with me. An arrogant --eighteen-year-old kid with no dreams. I didn’t feel worthy of much back then."

  “And now?”

  “And now I’m ready. Now I can give Addie everything she needs, and I’m not just talking about money,” he said with a hand on his heart.

  "I see the sincerity in your eyes and because Nina spoke so highly of you throughout the years, I'm going to believe you, Gun. But if you hurt her, we're gonna have big problems, Gunther. Problems that no money in the world will get you out of."

  He looked through the glass door and saw Addie with her mother and aunt in the small humble kitchen cooking something while in deep in conversation. It was an unfamiliar sight. He only ever only saw chefs and hired help cooking. He never saw his mother in the kitchen or any extended family. Even on Thanksgiving, there were other people cooking. But that's not how he wanted to live or how he wanted to raise a family, if he ever had one.

  "Mr. Finney, my word may not mean much to you, but I swear I'm not going to hurt her. I would give everything up to be with her." He'd even surprised himself by saying that. But it was true. He needed to have Addie in his life as much as he needed to take the next breath.

  "Dad, I hope you're not giving him a hard time." Addie’s voice startled him.

  "Nothing I didn't deserve," Gun replied.

  "Come on, we were young. I moved on, you all can move on too," she said, but the truth was she hadn't move on. Not really. She was so closed off that it was obvious she had been broken and never put completely put back together after he'd left.

  "I made those rosemary tater tots Addie loves," Mrs. Finney said to him and then looked at her husband pointedly, as if that was the end of the conversation and she looked into the grill, "And it looks like the chicken's ready?"

  Mr. Finney put the food on a serving plate and walked in with his wife behind him.

  Addie touched Gun’s arm to stop his advancement inside. “Everything, okay?"

  He pulled her in, her cheek resting on his chest because she was w
earing flats and he had almost an entire foot on her. He kissed the top of her head. "Yeah. Everything’s fine."

  She looked up, her chin right by his heart. "You sure? You don't look okay. Don't pay them any attention."

  "Don't you worry about a thing, Addie." He kissed her one last time on the top of her head and pulled her into the house.

  It was almost one in the morning when they'd gotten back to Miami. Addie had wanted to go home, and he used the excuse that it was too late to drive to his apartment in order to stay the night. And then on Sunday, she made a huge breakfast and asked him to help her move some of the heavy boxes she hadn't yet unpacked. Then, he'd ordered dinner and by the time they were finished, it was late and this time it had been her idea that he stay since, again, it was too late to drive all the way home. They'd made love all night both nights and every time had been better than the last.

  When the reality of Monday arrived, he was worried that she'd pull away. She didn't let him take her to work or have lunch with him or pick him up, but his worry was for naught. She freely agreed to spend the nights together. Quickly, they developed a routine which involved dinner first, then he would log on to his iPad answer emails and she would either do some work or lay her head on his lap and read a book until he was finished. Then they'd have amazing sex. Usually, more than once. One day blended into the next.

  Two weeks after the trip to her parents’ house he received a call from Addie from her work number. Normally, she texted from her cell throughout the day, she still wanted their relationship to be kept secret and he didn’t want to cause her any more stress, so he hadn’t fought her about it much.

  "Baby?" he answered, alarmed.

  "I have the best news!"

  "You do? What is it?"

  "I should've given Jeff a chance to call you first, but I couldn't wait. So, act surprised when he tells you, okay?"

  He laughed into the phone. "Are you going to tell me today, or what? "

  "NIKE called. They want a meeting. They're building a campaign about older players who still have it."

  "Holy shit."

  "I know!" She yelled.