Playing for Keeps (12 page)

She chuckled.
"I didn't think you had, unless you're fucking Superman on Viagra. But I gather you have slept with her recently."

"
Before you," he admitted.

"
Okay." She nodded. "So explain to me why you kissed her last night."

"
What?" He looked surprised.

"
When she left, the two of you kissed."

"
It was just a quick kiss goodbye. We were together for nine years, Mad."

"
It was ten seconds. Granted, in the larger scheme of things, ten seconds doesn't seem very long. But for a kiss? Bear with me here, one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand…" She counted off the seconds.

"
Maddie, stop. It was a simple kiss for Christ's sake."

"
Seven one thousand, eight one thousand, nine one thousand, ten one thousand. Ten seconds. It seemed like an eternity, didn't it?"

"
Maddie, I was drunk. You have to remember that. Please don't make an issue where there is none."

"
Do you remember anything that happened after the party?"

He
stared at her, and shook his head. "Not really."

"
You got pretty cranky with me." She thought about their sexual encounter and how Rob called her 'Dee'. She wasn't ready to bring that up, yet.

He raised his hands again.
"Drunk, I'll admit it. And I'm sorry. I didn't handle their surprise visit well at all. If I could do it over again, would I do things differently? You bet." He reached for her hand and squeezed it. "I'm really sorry. Is there any way we can get past this?"

"
You were ashamed of me. That sucked, babe. It really hurt."

He pulled on her hand and brought her into his lap.
"I was never ashamed of you. I was on the spot and embarrassed, but never ashamed. Believe me?"

She pouted.
"I suppose. But the next time we're in a group of people, do you think you could treat me like your girlfriend, and not just Sophie's babysitter?"

He grinned.
"Is that what you are? My 'girlfriend'?"

"
You tell me." She looked into his eyes, and he kissed her gently.

"
I think that works."

S
he slapped his chest. He grabbed her and tickled her ribs, then began kissing her again and didn't stop until they were in bed making love.

He was extremely tender, but Maddie
's tears still fell as she remembered his calling her 'Dee'. She knew it would be a long time before she forgot that horrible experience.

"
You okay?" he whispered.

"
Yeah," she replied softly, then remembered what Emma told her,
'Possession is nine tenths of the law'.
Maddie wrapped her legs around Rob and possessed him with all her might.

When she arrived home from work the next evening, Rob was cleaning out the closet in his bedroom.

"
Hey." She walked in and looked around.

"H
i!" He gave her a quick kiss. "You can have half of the drawers, and I don't have as many hanging things as you do, so you can have most of the closet."

"
What are you doing?" Maddie smiled.

"
I figured you might be getting tired of living out of your suitcase, shoved under the bed every day. So I made you closet space! I haven't attempted to tackle the bathroom, though. You may have to do that. Just shove my stuff aside. Make plenty of room for yourself."

She slipped her arms around his neck.
"Well aren't you suddenly, Mr. Nice Guy?"

He grinned and kissed her again. Then he reached
for something on the dresser, and turned back to face her. "I got you these. First, a change of address card. You might as well have your mail forwarded here."

Maddie
blinked, surprised.

Rob went on.
"Here's a house key. You should have had one long before now."

"
Wow!" She looked over the things he handed her. "Moving right ahead here all of a sudden."

"
I thought that's what you wanted."

"I
t's great. Thank you." She gave him a kiss.

"
You can give the Peabody's notice, and quit paying rent."

She looked at him.
"I just signed a year lease."

"
Oh. What the hell, break it."

"
I couldn't do that to Mr. and Mrs. Peabody. They've been way too nice to me for that. I'll wait a bit, see if I can find someone to sublease it."

He shrugged.
"Up to you. I'm just trying to make you feel at home."

"
And you have." She hugged him and they kissed, until Sophie ran into the room.

"
I'm hungry! What's for dinner?" She tugged their legs.

Rob smiled at Maddie and brushed a wisp of hair off her face. He looked at his daughter
. "I'm grilling pork chops."

Sophie made a
'yucky' face.

Rob added
, "With a box of macaroni and cheese on the side."

"
Yesss!" The little girl pumped her fist, and they all laughed and went to the kitchen.

Over dinner
, Rob suggested a division of duties to Maddie. She could make breakfast and he'd make dinner. She agreed to clean up, if he agreed not to use every pan in the house. They had a nice dinner and were getting along well when he finally tucked Sophie into bed and turned a baby monitor on in her room.

"
What are you doing with that?" Maddie asked.

Rob brought the receiver end out with him.
"This is going to allow us to go for a dip in the pool. If Soph wakes up, we'll hear her."

"
A dip in the pool, you say?" She smiled.

"
A skinny dip, more specifically." He peeled her out of her clothes and shed his own. He grabbed robes for each of them; they slipped them on and made their way outside.

"
It is a beautiful evening," Maddie said as Rob unlocked the gate and they strolled in.

"
You are beautiful." He kissed her. They dropped their robes and climbed into the water.

She swam a few strokes to the other end, and he followed her.
"Trying to get away from me?"

"
Of course not. Stretching my legs."

"
Stretch them over here, around me." He reached for her, and pulled her into his arms. The water was warm and it splashed soothingly against them as they moved.

Maddie wrapped her legs around Rob and he held her firmly.
"See how nice this is? I knew we'd enjoy this pool."

"
I agree." She kissed his neck and rubbed against him. "Making love in a pool is very erotic." She reached down and massaged his erection. "Ooh, you think so, too. Well hell, what are you waiting for?"

He chuckled.
"Hang on there, beautiful. I've got to get a rubber. Don't want my boys to swim upstream." He guided them to the edge of the pool, and stepped out for a moment to get a condom from his robe pocket. He put it on and rejoined her in the water. "Now show me those moves."

Later, as they were lying in bed but not quite asleep, she whispered, "Would it really be so bad?"

"
What?"

"
If 'your boys' swam upstream. Would it really be so bad?"

Rob laughed and ran his hand over her face.
"Hey, I've given you closet space and a key. I think that's about as much commitment as I can handle for one day."

Maddie chuckled and snuggled up to him.
I hope my period starts soon.

* * * *

They settled into a comfortable routine. The long, hot days of July dragged, with temperatures in the nineties and low hundreds. They spent their evenings relaxing in the cool air conditioning or splashing around in the pool. Sophie was pleasant and almost always in a good mood. Maddie was as happy as she could ever remember being, lying in Rob's arms, night after night.

Maddie still had not received her monthly visit from
'Aunt Flo', but she wasn't too worried about it. She had never been particularly regular. The more she watched Rob with Sophie, the more she allowed herself to think that it might be okay if she was pregnant. He was a good daddy, and he loved Sophie more than anything.

Maddie and Sophie
became more attached as the days went by, too. She and Rob took turns reading bedtime stories to the little girl, and some nights they'd all lay in bed together to listen. Sophie never failed to give them both a hug and kiss goodnight, and say, "I love you." Maddie repeated it back casually now, and Sunday evening as she and Rob left the child's room he swept Maddie into a romantic kiss.

"
You're very sweet with her," he murmured.

"
She's a sweet girl," Maddie commented. "I do love her. She's easy to love."

"
What about me?" He moved his kisses to her neck.

"
You're easy to love, too." She gasped as he nipped at the tender skin on her neck.

"
Tell me," he commanded, his mouth tracing a hot path across her skin.

Maddie squirmed with pleasure and murmured
, "I love you."

He pressed himself into her and walked her backwards
toward their room. "Tell me again." He kicked the door shut and laid her on the bed.

She looked into his eyes.
"I love you, Rob."

He smiled and covered her mouth with his.

Maddie
thought about Rob the next day on her lunch break. She was glad to have finally admitted that she loved him, but wished he would have said it back to her. It obviously turned him on to hear it. He made her say it over and over again as they made love. She knew it would take him a little longer to commit because of his history, and she vowed that she could wait for it. She knew a part of him loved her. He couldn't make love to her so tenderly if at least some small part of him wasn't falling in love with her.

She felt better
thinking about it that way, and was in a good mood that afternoon when she and Rosa met outside for play time.

"
I've been dying to talk to you, all day!" Rosa cornered her. "You'll never guess what happened this weekend."

"
Oh lord, I don't even want to try," Maddie teased her. She looked over the playground and called "Henry! Get down from there, please. Sophie was on the slide first. Hey Sophie, don't push him. Come on you guys, play nice." She rolled her eyes at Rosa.

"
So," Rosa was positively beaming.

"
What?"

"
Leonard told me he loves me!"

"
You have got to be kidding me." Maddie shook her head. It still cracked her up to hear Rosa call Smoky 'Leonard', but they seemed to be getting quite close. Now, apparently, in a matter of weeks, even closer than she and Rob. "I'm happy for you, girlfriend. I really am."

"
I'm happy, too." Rosa smiled, and looked out at the children. "Hey Mad, you got a situation over there." She motioned to the slide.

Maddie looked
in time to see Sophie punch Henry in the stomach. She had to try not to laugh. "Sophie Cooper! Get over here right now, please."

Sophie ran up to Maddie and grinned.
"I showed him."

"
Why did you hit him?"

"
He kept shoving me off the slide. I asked him and asked him not to. Then I punched him."

Rosa
shrugged. "Well, she did ask him to stop. Sounds like self defense to me."

Maddie grinned.
"Yeah, me too. No means no, right Soph? But please, no hitting."

Sophie nodded vigorously and ran back out to play.

Rob stepped up behind Maddie. "Jesus, the discipline is tough in this joint."

She jumped
, then turned and smiled at him. "She asked him and asked him to stop. What's a girl to do?"

"
Punch him in the stomach, I guess. Hey Rosa."

"
Hey, Coop. How's my Leonard today?"

"
A lovesick pup." He shook his head. "Quite disturbing, actually."

"
Sorry." Rosa grinned, obviously not a bit sorry. She excused herself and went to talk with one of her arriving parents.

"
How was your day?" he asked Maddie as they watched the kids play.