A/N: So as you might notice when you delve a little further into this story, I used Moonlighting's original dialogue in some parts, as I felt that it works here. I do not own the characters or the dialogue, that privilege belongs to ABC and Glenn Gordon Caron. Enjoy!
It's just a mood
"You're going home, aren't you?"
Maddie didn't fail to hear to slight snort coming from him, as David unleashed his infuriatingly cocky grin on her.
"You're going right home."
Was he mocking her? Really? What, he couldn't even fathom her as a sensual woman? Sure, he found her attractive, he never hid that fact, but apparently, he only saw her as a pretty package. Someone who looked good, but that was about it. Like there was nothing there beneath her icy exterior. Sure, she knew that she was controlling, not forthcoming with her emotions and liked to have everything in order. She didn't like spontaneity or surprises and needed to have all the facts before she even allowed herself to have some fun, but she was still a woman!
"Look me in the eye and tell me you're going right home!"
Great, now he almost sounded like a father figure! Why was it so threatening to him if she did go out there and found someone who would… take care of her needs?
Who was she kidding? She knew there was no way that she was going to go and do that, but the fact that David Addison was so sure that she wouldn't set her off! She glared at him in the dimly lit office, letting her angry silence do all the talking.
"Maddie…," he started.
"What?! Why is this such an issue? I knew that you were a male chauvinist, but to make the rules different for women is simply appalling. You do something like this all the time!"
"I'm not making the rules different for women, Maddie. I'm making them different for you," David spat, raising his voice.
"Just for me? Oh, that's rich! I'm going, David. Goodnight!"
David jumped forward, grabbing her elbow with one hand, while blocking her path by keeping the door closed with the other.
"You're not going out there!"
"Watch me!" Maddie yelled, trying to push him away.
He wasn't budging, though.
"Let me go, David! Why is this so important to you?"
"Because if anyone out there is going to take you home after a night out on the town, it's going to be me!"
His words thundered throughout the room and Maddie blinked up at him in surprise. Did he just say…?
David seemed a bit shocked by his own words and stumbled back, releasing her.
"Well, I mean… Uhm…"
Maddie watched as he shoved his hands into his pockets almost awkwardly and refused to meet her eyes. Meanwhile, the wheels in her head were turning, trying to process the meaning behind his outburst.
The thought had never really crossed her mind that….
Oh, of course the thought had crossed her mind! He was a man, and she was a woman. They were constantly thrown together in the most bizarre situations. To say that she hadn't thought about having sex with David would be a flat out lie. She had been drawn to him from the moment she had met him…. Now, with the mood she was in, his words were like a catalyst; her blood was rushing through her veins, creating a red hue onto her skin. The undefined ache that she had been experiencing all day worsened… like a lot. Her heart hammered against her ribcage and her throat felt very dry all of a sudden.
They couldn't... they shouldn't…
"Dream on, Addison!" she managed to get out, trying to salvage the situation.
"I didn't mean it like that. I meant that I want to take you home, so you don't do anything stupid."
He was saving face as well; she could tell by his slightly paled complexion.
What would happen if they gave into that undefinable pull between them? Somehow, Maddie had always feared that being with David Addison would be too much for her; that he would ignite something that she felt was better off being left dormant. It was why she fought him so hard.
"Stupid? You are calling me stupid?"
"Not yet. But I'm going to if you're going to carry out this plan of yours…."
Maddie almost hissed and stepped forward, making him back up against Miss DiPesto's desk.
"Let me tell you something, buster; you are not going to take me home! You're going to return to your poker game with Mr. Viola and you're going to let me go!"
"The hell I am!"
"Good night, David. I'll see you tomorrow," she told him in a firm voice.
Then, she turned around and walked out. Her business partner still wasn't letting up, though. He followed her all the way up to the elevators. Well, maybe it would be best to ignore him. She would be in her car in no time, leaving him stranded at the car park alone. Calmly, she pushed the elevator button, keeping her gaze focused on anything other than him.
The elevator doors opened, and Maddie quietly stepped inside, David in tow.
"You know, Mr. Viola might be wondering where you went," she let him know.
"I'll tell him I went out on a case when I see him tomorrow."
"You don't have your jacket with you. You might get cold."
"If you're going where you said you're going, I doubt that I'll freeze," he retorted.
"I never said that I was going to drive you there, now did I?" Maddie shot back. "If you insist on following me around, get your own means of transportation."
"Fine, I'll just hotwire a car down there."
She turned her head to look at him and to her annoyance, he winked.
"I've always been one step ahead of you, babe. That's never going to change."
"Your adolescence must have been so charming, with the lockpicking and hotwiring and everything. I'm surprised that you don't have a criminal record to date, Addison."
"Who says that I don't?"
For one small second, her stern stance with him slipped and the curve of a smile graced her features.
The elevator reached the parking garage and Maddie stepped out, heading for her car with big strides. She fumbled around in her purse, reaching for her car keys. The closer she got to her parking spot, however, the more she realized that the keys didn't seem to be in there. She frowned for a moment. Then, she whirled around, her eyes shooting fire at her associate.
"Where are they, David?" she hissed.
David simply stood there with his hands in his pockets, giving an almost innocent shrug.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"The hell you don't! This is not the first time you've robbed me! Now, hand them over."
"Whatever do you mean, Miss Hayes?"
The fact that he stood there so calmly… tauntingly... made her want to gauge his eyes out! She flung herself forward and instantly reached for his pant pockets, pulling his hands out to see if there was anything in there. The keys were bound to leave an impression somewhere.
"If you wanted to feel me up, Maddie, all you had to do was ask," he grinned at her.
"Where are they?!"
"Want to check some more pockets?"
He was so horribly sure of himself that she wanted to smack his face!
"Forget it! I'm not playing this game with you."
"I'm not playing. I want to see you home safe."
Maddie's heart jumped a little when the expression on his face suddenly turned serious. His eyes were boring into hers and she swallowed something.
"Why?" she heard herself asking.
"Why?"
"Yes, why?"
"Because I'm worried about you. You were saying things that you've never uttered before."
"You're worried?"
David simply nodded his head, his eyes never leaving hers.
"That's…. Look, that's really sweet of you, David, but I'm still a big girl. Nothing is going to happen that I don't want to happen."
She watched as his eyes darkened with those words.
"All right, that's it!"
David turned around, pulled her keys out from somewhere and strode over towards her car, unlocking the door. He slipped behind the steering wheel and started up the engine, before driving to where she was still standing with a dazed look on her face.
"Get in!" he bit at her.
"I already told you I'm not going anywhere with you!"
"You might want to reconsider, Madolyn. I've got your car and I've got no problem leaving you standing there to stew."
"Well, I'll just call for a cab!"
Maddie crossed her arms, not letting up. What she wasn't expecting, was for him to storm out of the car, grip her arm and almost drag her towards the passenger side.
"I can walk, David!"
"Get in," he stressed his words.
The weird thing was; his firmness with her did something to her. Maddie sank down onto the passenger seat, feeling an intense heat go through her. David walked around the car, before sliding in beside her. He said nothing as he drove towards the exit.
"So now you're giving me the silent treatment?" she asked after minutes of silence.
"I didn't get the feeling that you wanted to chit chat."
His eyes remained glued to the road, the expression on his face almost rigid.
"Well, what are you going to do once you've dropped me off? Are you headed over towards a bar for a night of the same depravation that you want to deny me?"
"It's a weekday, Maddie," David simply replied.
"Oh, it's a weekday?! That didn't seem to bother you that time when you showed up to our appointment with Mrs. Kendrick, hungover and reeking of a wine cellar!"
"That was one time!"
Maddie crossed her arms, staring at him incredulously.
"One time, huh? How about that time when I found you hanging from my office door? Or that time when I found you lying on the ground beneath your desk after a party in Las Vegas?"
"That last one was during the weekend, honey!"
"When I found you, it was not! It was a Monday, David Addison and the alcohol level in your system was still insanely high!"
"Is there a point to all of this?!" David snapped.
"The point is that you're a hypocrite and a chauvinist. You get to have fun, but I can't, is that it?"
"It's not who you are!"
Maddie almost flew from her seat, that's how desperately she wanted to strangle him.
"It's not who I am?! I'm not someone who has fun? Go to hell, David!"
They pulled up to her driveway, both of them fuming. As soon as David killed the engine, Maddie stormed out of the car. She whirled around before she got to her front door, though.
"You have absolutely no idea who I am, Addison! Not a clue! You drag me here like you're some caveman on a bender and you fail to see who's truly standing in front of you! Sure, you see a boss… you see an ice queen, as I know you all call me, but you don't see me. I have a life outside of all this!"
She angrily gripped her keys and headed for her doorstep.
"I do see you," David suddenly spoke up, his voice having taken on that soft tone that could hit her right where it hurt.
She froze when she heard him take a few tentative steps towards her.
"I know that I tease you a lot about your life and your looks and what not, but I do see you."
Maddie huffed and unlocked her door, stepping inside of her house. She was about to throw the door in his face, but he was quicker than she was. He caught it with his hand, right before it closed, and pushed his way inside.
"I'm tired, David, and I don't want to argue anymore. You can take the car and I'll see you in the morning."
He wasn't moving. Instead, he was gauging her with a sheepish look on his face.
"Look, I'm sorry for what I said and the way I said it. I could have handled things... uhm… differently."
"Yes, you could have," Maddie threw at him.
She turned around to put her keys on the side table.
"Do you really think that I see you as an icy boss first?"
He had stepped close behind her and she could feel his breath tickling the back of her neck. Goosebumps rose onto her skin and she bit her lip. Even with her current mood, her mind wasn't supposed to go there.
"Maddie, I see exactly what those men out there would have seen had they met you tonight. It's why I didn't want you to go out there."
A surge of… something coursed through Maddie. She tried to hold on to her decorum, but then he delivered the final blow:
"I will always see you as a woman first."
Why did her legs suddenly feel so much heavier? Her hands trembled when she smoothed out her skirt, giving her something to do besides envisioning what it would be like if she let David help her with her needs.
"Would you turn around and say something?" he demanded.
She couldn't. If she did, she feared her own actions. She didn't trust her voice either; she was sure it would sound really high pitched if she even contemplated uttering a syllable.
"Fine. I said I was sorry. If that's not good enough, then… Well, good night."
Wait. He was leaving? Was he really going to leave things like this? She finally turned around to watch his retreating back and sighed wistfully. He must have heard her releasing her breath, for he stopped.
"David," she whispered, his name coming out almost needy.
She took a step forward when he faced her, his eyes unreadable, but dark. Darker than she had ever seen them. There it was again; that bolt of lust that shot down straight between her legs. His tongue licked across his lips, though he did it so subtly that Maddie almost missed it. Was he feeling this as well?
"I…. You're forgiven. See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, sure. See you tomorrow."
His voice had taken on his special honey delivered tone again and Maddie shivered in the dimly lit foyer. Oh lord, would he please just leave and remove the temptation? He didn't, though. He just stood there, eyeing her… waiting for… what, really?
Employer-employee, Maddie! Not good!
Then why did it feel good to move closer towards the body heat that he was emitting? She was hovering in his space now, her eyes glued to his lips. Had they always been so… luscious? Suddenly, she was noticing everything about him.
"You can take the car if you want?" she almost whispered, desperate to distract herself.
"Or I could take a cab. It's not that much trouble. I just need to make a call."
"Sure. The phone is right there in the uhm…."
"Living room?" David offered.
"Yeah…"
Her heart was thundering in her chest as she gazed up at him. The silence became almost too much to bear for her. Every inch of her was screaming for him to touch her and she just wished that he would… take her.
That sounded so bad. Did she really want him to sweep her off her feet and haul her to bed like some caveman? A part of her did.
"I suppose we could wait for the phone to come to us?" David tried to joke around the tense situation.
Maddie couldn't even answer him properly anymore; she was too lost in her own emotions. She found herself leaning forward, leaving no more than a hairbreadth between their faces.
"Maddie..," David croaked. "Are you sure that….?"
He didn't even finish his sentence. Who eventually crossed that final bridge, Maddie couldn't even be sure of. What she was sure of, though, was that as soon as their mouths finally found each other, all dams broke.
Her body seemed to almost breathe a sigh of relief at the nearness of this man in front of her and she reveled in the way his tongue carefully sought entrance to the hot cavern between her lips. She was unable to stop the moan of pure pleasure when it began to tease hers in a slow and delicious way. Raw passion seemed to overtake her, and she gripped his shirt tightly, needing him even closer. Her nimble fingers ended up clutching him so fiercely, that she accidently ripped the first two buttons right off.
She pulled back a little, startled by the sound. They stared at each other a bit dumbfoundedly, their breathing coming out in a labored manner. Both tried to compose their selves for a moment.
"Do you want me to stop?" David asked, his voice hoarse with passion. "Because I could…"
Stop? Maddie didn't think that she would be able to at this point. She couldn't even find her own voice to tell him so, so she merely stepped back into his arms and kissed him again. Their passion quickly spun out of control, and David pushed Maddie up against the side table that she had placed her keys on earlier. The edge of it pushed into her rear and she hopped on top of it, not tolerating any distractions. With trembling fingers, she opened up the rest of the buttons on his shirt.
The last time she had come into close contact with his chest, was when they had been at that boxing game with the Russian. Back then, her body had been too pumped up with adrenaline to notice what was in front of her. She sure noticed now, though. Her mouth felt dry when she took in his physical appearance. If he was smug about her appreciation, he didn't let on. He simply continued playing her body like a fine instrument.
He had stepped in between her legs and Maddie groaned when their lower bodies ground together. After the mood she had been in today, every touch seemed heightened… like a mere brush of his fingers against her heated skin could send her into overdrive. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders, while he busied himself pressing kisses to the side of her neck. Her jacket and blouse came off, leaving her in nothing but her skirt and undergarments. She shivered as the cool air breezed across her naked flesh. Just then, David's tongue licked a path across a place below her hairline and out of nowhere, Maddie's hips shot up, bucking against his. The table scraped across the floor with her movements, while he repeated his actions again and again..
"Oh, David. I…"
She was incoherent and almost babbling. However, she just couldn't seem to care. He unhooked her bra and stopped what he was doing for a moment, staring at her with such heat in his eyes that Maddie felt like she would spontaneously combust on the spot. Her nipples strained to attention and she swallowed something that seemed to be permanently lodged in her throat.
He leaned forward in an excruciatingly slow matter, keeping their gazes locked. Oh, she knew what he was going to do and she felt that somehow, it would be the end of her. He probably knew it as well, but that didn't stop him. He hovered above her right nipple, still looking at her. Maddie's chest heaved in anticipation, a light perspiration covering her skin.
After what seemed like minutes, he finally relented. His tongue firmly licked across her nipple, before taking it into his mouth completely. Just like Maddie feared and expected, her body almost soared right off that side table. He made her orgasm ten times more intense when he slipped a hand between her legs, flicking her swollen nub until she felt like screaming.
It seemed to go on forever and she gripped the edge of the side table tightly, until she could finally feel the tremors subsiding. She wasn't done, though. Not by a long shot. As soon as she became lucid again, she reached for his belt buckle, pulling at it impatiently.
"Wait," David interrupted her frantic movements.
Wait? Did he really say 'wait?' What on earth?!
"Let's not do this here," he clarified himself.
Maddie still wasn't getting it and she frowned at him. He answered her unspoken question by pulling her from the table and guiding her towards her spiral staircase. Oh, right. He wanted to do this in her bedroom on an actual bed. It was actually really sweet and considerate, but Maddie was so far gone that she couldn't stop touching him. She pulled down his pants halfway up the stairs and he kicked it to the side. She then attacked his chest with fervor, kissing and nibbling her way across his salty skin, while her hand reached for the hardness in his boxer shorts.
"Maddie… God… if you don't stop this right now we're going to end up doing this right here on the stairs," he warned her.
It was fine with her, but he wouldn't have it. He almost hauled her up the rest of the stairway and barreled through her bedroom doors, quickly taking off her remaining skirt, pantyhose and panties. They almost tumbled down onto the bed together. Maddie continued attacking him with her lips and tongue, needing for him to just do it already. He slipped out of his boxers and positioned himself between her legs.
"If you have any reservations about this whatsoever…," he mumbled.
"I think we're way past the point of no return, David."
She wrapped her legs around him and he finally pushed himself home. God, it felt even better than she had anticipated. And yes, she could admit now that she had thought about this before today. She couldn't deny it anymore; there had always been something between them. Combined with he fact that she had felt so sexually starved today, this was sensational.
He alternated his rhythm between slow and deep and hard and fast and Maddie clawed at his back, feeling another build up beginning to stir in her loins. She groaned and hissed with each powerful stroke. He suddenly shifted his angle just a tiny bit and it was enough to set her on fire. She never even saw her release coming; it hit her like a ton of bricks.
"Oh, David… David… David!"
Maddie fought to catch her breath while he shivered in her arms, having reached his own pinnacle. They stayed that way for a long time, finally rolling over when their limbs began to feel heavy.
"That was….," David uttered, obviously not finding the right words to finish his sentence. Maddie understood exactly what he wanted to say, though. She had felt it as well.
"I know," she told him.
She moved to place her head on his chest, her hand playing with the wiry damp hairs there. They didn't speak, both trying to make sense of what had just happened between them. She could feel the tips of his fingers stroking her back carefully and she closed her eyes, sighing with the pleasant sensation. After a few minutes, the stroking began to get a bit more playful; he tickled his way across her hip and buttocks and she could feel her loins responding.
Again? Really?
Her hand travelled lower across his abdomen, coming into contact with his obviously newfound desire for her. It seemed like he was ready for round two as well. She raised her head up to look at him, finding that he had a wicked smile plastered across his face.
"Come here," he told her.
Without hesitance or resistance, she listened to him, pressing her lips to his and rolling over on top of him….
The sun was just beginning to rise when Maddie's eyelids fluttered open. She sighed and stretched out like a Cheshire cat, groaning when her body protested a bit with her movements. With a slight frown she remembered exactly what she had done the night before and immediately glanced over towards her right. David was still sleeping soundly next to her.
Right, she had felt… frustrated yesterday and David had… helped her with that. Was that the way they were supposed to see things? Would he see it like that when he woke up? David Addison was the embodiment of fleeting contacts. Surely he wouldn't want to continue this? Did she want to continue this?
She quietly slipped out of bed and headed for her bathroom. A million thoughts were plaguing her about her and David's rendezvous and it wasn't even 7 a.m. yet. The first thing she needed to do was take a shower, get dressed and then figure out how they were going to deal with this.
Maybe she would have been better off with the stranger she had talked about with David last night. Some nameless someone who wasn't in her life 24/7. This complicated things. Like a lot.
Images of a relationship with David invaded her mind as she stepped underneath the spray of hot water. Surely, they would clash over just about everything. True, they already did, but with a relationship, they would probably take it to the extreme. She could already envision herself nitpicking over a toothpaste cap left on the sink. Not to mention that it would seep into their working relationship. The last thing she wanted was to ruin their business.
After her shower, she dried off and put on her clothes. She wondered if David was up yet. Carefully, she peeked around her bathroom door to find him getting out of bed… and he had no qualms about being naked whatsoever.
"Morning, Blondie," he greeted her, his voice still hoarse from sleep… and something else.
There was a dangerous look in his eyes when he approached her and Maddie backed up against the wall behind her.
"What are you doing up already?" he wanted to know.
He tucked a strand of still damp hair behind her ear and she swallowed with difficulty.
"We have to get to work."
She tried to keep her emotions from her voice, giving him her 'boss' attitude.
"I don't recall us having an appointment with anyone this morning. How about we call in sick?"
He was throwing her an incredible grin and she raised her eyebrows in an annoyed matter.
"Both of us at the same time?"
"There's a real nasty bug going around," David whispered, leaning forward to kiss the side of her neck. "All that time we spent in a car together. I suppose it was something very contagious."
Maddie closed her eyes for just a moment, allowing herself a mere moment of enjoying his lips on her sensitive skin. She felt him stirring that mystical spot on the back of her neck again and a sigh escaped her.
She placed her hand on the planes of his chest, though she wasn't sure if it was to stop him or to touch him.
"David," she groaned. "I'm serious. There's a ton of things that I want to get done."
"Hey, I hear ya. There's a ton of things that I want to get done in here as well."
This time, she did push him away.
"Take a shower. I'll be downstairs with some coffee."
She shot him a look that let him know that she couldn't be messed with and exited the bedroom, thankful that she was no longer in his presence. He was just too… tempting right now. First, she needed to know where things stood and how it would affect everything in their lives.
When she arrived downstairs and peered into her living room, she noticed her answering machine flashing. She walked over towards it and pressed the button, sitting down onto her couch to listen to whatever message it was.
"Hi Maddie, this is Sam Crawford. I know it's been a long time since we last spoke, but I happen to be in town and was wondering about you. I'm curious how you've been doing. Anyway, you can call me at 555-4013 if you want to catch up with an old friend. Bye."
Sam Crawford? Indeed, it had been a long time. It would be wonderful to speak to him. She would call him from the office, though. Right now, she needed to focus on getting her and David there without any funny detours.
She went into the kitchen to put on some coffee and found herself some toast. David came down 15 minutes later.
"Would you mind dropping me off at my place first? I can't show up wearing this shirt, now can I?"
He held up his collar teasingly and she noticed the first two buttons missing. Oh yes, she knew exactly where those had ended up. A blush colored her cheeks and she merely nodded, having issues about finding her voice right then and there.
David helped himself to some coffee and was giving her this funny look.
"What's on your mind, Goldilocks?"
"Nothing. We need to get going. Can you be ready in five?"
Without waiting for an answer, she went into the foyer to collect her bag, not seeing the frown that marred David's features…..
Maddie was seated at her favorite table inside of her favorite restaurant and smiled when Sam came into view. She got up to greet him.
"Sam! How wonderful to see you again! How have you been?"
Sam kissed her cheek and helped her back into her seat, before sitting down himself.
"I'm doing well. And you?"
"Oh, I'm doing good as well. You probably heard about me ending up with a detective agency on my hands," she laughed.
"Ah yes, my parents may have mentioned that."
"I'm sorry I missed your message last night. I was… occupied, but I'm glad that you could meet me for lunch."
Sam gave her a pleasant smile.
"It's quite all right. I'm just glad that you wanted to meet up with someone you haven't spoken to in years. How did we get out of touch?"
"It happens, Sam. I was doing a lot of traveling for my modeling work and was rarely in the country. You became an astronaut and were rarely on this planet," Maddie teased.
"Yes, that definitely put a kink in the cable.. but we're here now."
"That we are. Are you ready to order?"
They talked up a storm during lunch and Maddie couldn't help but notice how easy things were between them; a lot easier than between her and David. She barely knew how to interact with him now that they had slept together!
You're not going to think about that green-eyed devil here!
"So you're doing well business wise, how about on a romantic plane? Are you seeing anyone?"
The question came out of nowhere. Maddie paused mid-bite and put her fork down, pondering over how to answer that.
"Its… complicated," she finally said.
"Oh," Sam chuckled. "One of those, huh?"
"Yeah."
Maddie sighed and got a faraway look in her eyes.
"Who is he?"
"He's… probably the most infuriatingly cocky, childish man that I have ever come across."
"But you love him?"
She remained silent, wondering about that question herself. She had admitted to herself last night that she had always been attracted to David, but did she feel something more?
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask twenty questions here," Sam interrupted her thoughts. "I'm just curious about your life here in Los Angeles."
"It's okay. Relationship wise, you just caught me in a confusing time. Me and David, that's still very new. Well, except that it's not. We've been working together for almost three years now."
"He's your business partner? Ouch, that might get messy."
"Things already are messy," Maddie mumbled quietly, but Sam overheard anyway. His eyes widened a bit while her words sank in.
"Oh, you mean that the two of you… "
He trailed off, not knowing how to phrase that he understood that they were sleeping together. Maddie kept a tight lip, not needing to get into this too deep with an old childhood friend.
"I suppose that you need to figure out for yourself if it's worth the risk. But hey, I'm just an outsider whom you haven't seen in ages. I don't want to impose."
Maddie nodded quietly, indeed not wanting to delve into this any further with a man whom she had once been intimate with in the past. It was highly awkward and inappropriate. They continued their lunch avoiding the subject of her love life, but in the back of her mind, Maddie couldn't help replay Sam's question over and over again: "Do you love him?" And more importantly, did he love her?
"How was lunch?" David asked, as soon as Maddie was seated back at her desk.
"It was all right."
"Just all right? Wasn't Sid everything he cracked up to be?"
He said it as lightly as ever, but something in his stance was off. Maddie gazed up at him, trying to determine who was going to be the one to bring up the issue on how to move forward from here. She was nervous to, though. He probably saw it as a fling that happened between them and she wasn't sure if she wanted to expose herself to him like that.
"Sam," she told him in a stern voice.
"What?"
"His name is Sam."
"Right."
"Did you come here for a particular reason?" she wanted to know.
"Actually, I came in here on business. You remember. Business… As it turns out, I spent my lunch hour making phone calls, running down leads, digging up some dish on Mr. McClafferty, who spent his lunch hour among other things renting a room for tonight at the Wilshire Arms," David told her.
"So?" Maddie asked, not sure where this was going.
"So, I don't think he's having his house fumigated."
"Maybe the room's for him and Miss Johnson?"
This entire case, which had shown up on their doorstep unexpectedly this morning, was already giving Maddie a headache; Mr. McClafferty's mistress wanted to find out whether he was still in love with his wife? Ha! How unconventional. Yet, they needed the work and so she had taken the case.
"I made that call. I have done this before," David said, slightly irritated.
"And?"
"And she's not supposed to meet him until Saturday night, which means he's meeting someone else tonight… which means all we gotta do is go over, snap a couple of 8 by 10 glossy's and decide how to spend the money."
A stake out with David? The two of them alone together?
"This is the part where you're supposed to go: 'Wow, David! You did a great job!'"
Okay, what was with him? Why did he sound like his feathers were ruffled?
"Oh, I'm sorry. You really did great, David," Maddie complimented him, thinking that maybe her underappreciation might be the reason for his mood.
"So, what I thought was; I'd go home, get a couple hours of sleep and pick you up at your house around seven."
When she remained quiet, his mood soured even more.
"Unless you've made plans with Stan again."
"Why would I have made plans? I just had lunch with Sam," Maddie frowned, not sure what he was getting at.
"It's just that you seemed awfully chipper when you sped out of here around noon and didn't come back until three hours later."
Okay, now she was getting peeved.
"I don't recall seeing hall monitor under your job description!"
"Hey, you don't have to answer to me, I'm just your business partner… nothing more… nothing less.."
So this was about last night?
"What exactly are you angry about?"
Maddie watched him pace and then back down, finally heading for the door.
"Nothing. I'm not angry about anything whatsoever. So are we on for tonight?"
"Sure, I'll see you at seven."
"Good."
With that, he left her office, leaving Maddie to wonder what the heck had just happened…
The entire way over towards the hotel had been dead silent, which made Maddie wonder how much worse it would be once they were inside that hotel room. She followed him almost meekly into the hotel elevator, nervously tapping her feet on the way up.
"We should get a perfect view of their hotel room," David brought up, speaking for the first time in almost half an hour. It should be a record for him!
"And you have all the equipment we need?"
"Absotolutely."
They walked down the hallway side by side and David reached for the key the hotel clerk had left them with. When the door opened, Maddie looked around.
"I'll just set things up over here. Looks like our lovers haven't arrived yet."
David went about getting the right angle for the camera to take pictures, while Maddie sat down on the bed. She was so tired so could sleep right there.
"Oh, there they are. Let's get this show on the road!"
She watched him ducking behind the camera, all excited, and she couldn't help the smile that crept up onto her face. When he was in his element, he was so captivating.
"Okay, here goes; Blue Moon Investigations. Field notes of the surveillance on the Johnson case. Investigating agents; M. Hayes and D. Addison. Time: 7.35 p.m. Surveilling the Wilshire Arms Hotel. Subjects observed, engaged in mutual oral explorations confined to areas about the face. Subject A: McClafferty, caucasion and male. Subject B: unknown female of blonde origin, approximately 35. Subject A has just removed subject B's black evening dress cut down to South America. Subject A has just placed his oral cavity in close physical proximity to subject B's upper torso and left clavicle region. Hello! Smack down on the mamma's. Subject A is carrying subject B to bed. May day! Subjects are prone!"
Maddie almost giggled a bit with how enthusiastic he was. A warm feeling spread in the pit of her stomach, and suddenly, she knew everything that she needed to know. She got up from the bed and went to stand next to him, gazing out the window to watch the couple in the building across from them.
"You can stop, David."
He looked at her with a frown.
"What? I still need to take some more pictures and define who the blonde is."
"I think I have an idea."
"Are you psychic? That lady could be anyone!"
Maddie looked out the window again and shook her head.
"She's comfortable with him in a way that you can only be comfortable with someone after years of really getting to know that other person. This is not a fling and they are not having sex; they're making love."
"I'm not following," David uttered, blinking up at her.
Maddie rolled her eyes.
"Of course you're not."
She took him by the hand and led him to sit on the bed with her.
"I know that we still haven't talked about what happened last night. I was not sure how to continue from that point this morning and I needed to sort things out first."
"Okay."
Great. Was that all he was going to say? Why was it always so difficult to get him to open up a bit? Right, so she guessed it was up to her to tackle the matter completely.
"David, last night wasn't sex, it was making love."
There, it was out. She could tell by the look on his face that he still wasn't getting what she was trying to say, though. God, men were so dense sometimes!
"You and me, we have something. I never thought about it before yesterday... Well, I mean.. I never analyzed it before, but it's there. I've always known it was there."
Lord, would that man just speak already! What ever happened to that insufferable wit well?!
"I can't believe you're just going to sit there and watch me go through this by myself!" she suddenly snapped, not able to take it any longer.
He suddenly flew into action, pressing his lips to hers in a desperate matter. His tongue dove into her mouth and Maddie let out an incredible and relieved sigh. The couple across the road was forgotten as he began to pull her clothes off, pushing her down onto the mattress. Maddie let it happen; she knew this was his way of telling her what his answer to her ramblings was.
They were naked and writhing underneath the covers in no time.
"There's one thing I need to know," David muttered, keeping his movements to a bare minimum once inside of her.
Maddie tried to get him to get on with it, but he wouldn't budge. Great, so this was the moment he decided to talk?!
"What?!" she almost hissed.
"What about Sam?"
"Sam?"
She wanted to move, but he pressed her down, keeping her still.
"Who is he to you?" David demanded.
Maddie's brain was so clouded that she didn't understand what he was getting at.
"What do you mean? He's a childhood friend whom I briefly dated in college. Our parents are friends. He was in town and wanted to catch up. We caught up and now he's on his way back to Chicago… or wherever."
That's when she saw the look on his face.
"Oh, David. Were you jealous today? Is that why you were so cranky?"
Instead of answering her, he moved, setting up an almost punishing rhythm between them. She clung to him for dear life, hearing the headboard hitting the wall behind them several times over. My my, he is jealous! It was almost endearing, if he wasn't currently busy trying to pound her through the mattress.
In that moment, it worked, for she reached a pinnacle in almost record time. David was right behind her, breathing harshly. He collapsed on top of her, not moving a muscle until she began to stroke his bare back to bring him back to the present. That's when he raised himself up to look into her eyes and he finally said what she had been so desperate to hear:
"I love you."
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