Chapter 4

Maddie stepped aside to let Sam in the house. She closed the door behind him. "So how have you been, Maddie?" Sam asked.

"Tired," Maddie's said with sarcasm.

"I'm sorry I woke you."

"I'll ask again, what are you doing here?"

"Well I have some downtime at work. I haven't been to Los Angeles for a while. I figured that I'd come here and stay with you like last time."

Maddie looked annoyed. She crossed her arms across her chest. "So you thought you'd show up after two years and stay in my guest room?"

"No. Not at all. I thought I'd stay with you… in your room," David said as he put his bags down and stepped closer to Maddie.

She stepped back, her arms still crossed. "That spot is taken and so am I, Sam."

"Really?" Sam asked with some skepticism.

"Yes really. Did you expect me to sit around alone waiting for you to decide to come back into my life?"

"Honestly? Yeah."

"You're unbelievable, Sam. You need to leave."

"Meet me for dinner, Maddie. We can talk."

"What's there to talk about?" Maddie asked.

"Talk about us. We left things open ended."

"And whose fault is that?" Maddie said. She could tell she was getting angry. She didn't want to wake David. "Sam it's late. We have nothing to talk about."

"Nothing to talk about? Maddie, you never gave me your answer," Sam said raising his voice slightly.

"Shhhhh. Keep it down," Maddie said looking up in the direction of her bedroom.

"Oh. Is he here now?"

"Who is or isn't here isn't your business, Sam. What is your business is that you won't be. Now leave."

"Have dinner with me," Sam said again walking towards her.

Maddie backed up again. "No. Now leave," Maddie said.

"Sure. But this isn't over," Sam said as he turned and picked up his bags.

"Yes it is, Sam."

Sam left. He stood outside the door. 'This definitely wasn't over. Not by a long shot,' Sam thought as he walked to his rental car.

Maddie walked back up to the bedroom, took off her robe, and slipped back into bed. David was now sleeping on his back. The sheet slipped low on his hips. Id she wasn't so frustrated by the unwanted guest and the conversation, her libido would be pushing her to make love to David. Instead, she cuddled up next to him. She rested her head on his chest. He felt the pressure on his chest and hugged her close. 'If Sam thinks I'd leave this for him, he's out of his mind,' Maddie thought as she fell asleep.

The next day Maddie and David sat eating breakfast. "You were up late last night," David's said as he ate a bowl of cereal.

"Yeah. There was a thunderstorm. You know how I can't sleep when there's a storm," Maddie said.

Once again, David noticed an uneasiness in her voice. "And especially when someone comes knocking at the door during said storm."

"Oh, you heard that," Maddie said looking down at her toast.

"Yeah. I got up to use the bathroom and heard you talking to someone. I just went back to bed. I didn't want you to think I was spying on you or something."

"I would never think that David. It was Sam."

"Sam? Buck Rogers? That guy? What did he want?" David asked. Wow. Sam after two years.

"Yeah that guy. He's in town and thought he could waltz back into my life and bed," Maddie said rolling her eyes.

"He said that?"

"Yeah. He thought he could just hop back in my bed. But I told him that spot is taken and so am I," Maddie said smiling. "He wants me to have dinner with him to talk. I told him no."

"I think you should go."

"Really? I thought you'd be against it," Maddie said genuinely surprised.

"You should go and talk. I have a feeling if you don't, he won't leave you or us alone. Maybe this way he'll get his closure or whatever and be done."

"Alright. I'm sure he'll call and ask again. I'll go but for coffee. I don't want to go to dinner and have him thinking it's something that it's not."

Sure enough, Sam called later that day inviting her for dinner again. She said no but agreed to meet at a coffee shop.

She walked in dreading this conversation. 'Just get it over with so he can move on and go away,' Maddie thought.

"Hello. You look even more beautiful than I remember," Sam said standing moving to give her a kiss.

Maddie moved to avoid him and sat down. "I'm in a relationship, Sam. Don't try that again," she snapped at him.

'We'll see about that,' Sam thought as he sat down. "So how have you been?" Sam said smiling.

"Good," Maddie said flatly. There was a silence for a minute.

"Aren't you going to ask how I've been?" Sam asked.

"No. Asking would mean that I give a damn, Sam," Maddie said flatly.

"What's your problem Maddie? Why are you mad at me?"

"Hm. Why am I mad at you," Maddie said pretending she has to think about it "aside from the fact that you claimed to love me, ask me to marry you, get told that I have to think about it, then leave before I make up my mind. Gee I can't imagine what my problem is with you, Sam."

"You know you could have contacted me with your answer."

"Oh really? How? With my telekinesis?"

"I'm sure you could have found away to contact me."

"So I was supposed to chase you down to give you my answer? You basically answered for me by leaving."

"Maddie, I didn't come here to argue," Sam said as he tried to hold her hand.

"Then why are you here?" Maddie snapped back moving her hand away from his reach.

"I wanted to talk about us. Maddie I never forgot about you. I missed you," Sam said trying to hold her hand again.

"Oh really? Is that why I haven't heard from you in two years?" Maddie said moving her hand out of Sam's reach again.

"Look Maddie, I give forgive you for your mistakes…" Sam started to say.

"You do? Forgive me for my mistakes? What were my mistakes, Sam? Not saying yes to you immediately?"

"Actually yes. You let that bum of a partner prevent you from saying yes to a great guy who is perfect for you."

"Oh really? And who might that guy be Sam?"

"Come on Maddie. Don't be like that."

"And what about your mistakes, Sam?"

"What mistakes? I didn't make any mistakes. Maddie, let's just forget the past. I can get past what you did to me Maddie. I don't understand why you're fighting this."

"Oh yes. How dare I not happily jump into the arms of a guy who must degrade a great man to make himself look better," Maddie says crossing her arms.

"Great man? Him? You can't be serious Maddie," Sam said laughing.

"Yes Sam I am serious."

"Wait, is he the guy keeping your bed warm?" Sam said in disbelief as the realization hit him.

"Yes Sam. He is. And will stay there. We're living together. We have plans to get married."

"You can't be serious Maddie. Marry him? Yeah right."

"Sam, you have no clue about what I've been through since you left. You weren't here. You didn't call. Not a word. David and I have been through hell in the last couple of years. A lot of it my fault. He stuck by my side no matter what hell came our way. I was pregnant. David was ready to be a dad. We were happily preparing to be parents. Then the baby died. That guy you say is a bum was there comforting me. Making sure I was ok. Making sure I ate well. Making sure I slept well. Making sure I didn't let my grief take over and destroy me. What did you do? Go on with your life. You never called to check on me. You never called to find out my answer. What if I decided I wanted you over David? How would you have known? You wouldn't have. And you think you're a great guy and not him? Well you're very wrong, Sam. Who do you think you are? You really thought you can show up on my doorstep after two years without a word and we'd pick up where we left off?"

"Well, yeah," Sam said.

"You really are that arrogant, aren't you?" Maddie asked shaking her as she stood up. "I do have to thank you though."

"Thank me? For what?" Sam asked confused.

"After you left, I did question if I made the right decision letting you leave. Thank you for making me realize that I did make the right decision," Maddie said before walking out of the door.

Maddie opened the front door of her house and slammed the door behind her. She groaned in frustration. "I know that slam and groan. I thought that was reserved for me," David said getting yo from the couch in the living room. He walked over to greet Maddie. "Ugh that man. I never thought anyone but you could make me that mad," Maddie fumed as she walked past David and up the stairs to their bedroom. David followed behind her. "After that, I feel like I need to shower to wash the ick off of me. He actually sat there and acted like I was the one in the wrong. He acted like I'm the only bad guy in everything that happened between me and him. After he walked out without just a note, he had the nerve to talk badly about you and make himself seem like a saint. Ugh! I can't believe I was so blind to what he was really like!" Maddie ranted as she for undressed.

David honestly wasn't paying attention. He was too distracted by her getting naked right in front of him to really listen to her rant. He wasn't used to her being so openly naked in front of him. He had seen her naked plenty of times before, but he wasn't used to her being so openly naked in front of him. There were only a few times that he was able to really look at her. Usually, he only saw her naked during sex. And those times he was a little too preoccupied to notice much. In recent years, she was a lot less shy about her bare body being seen by him. She wasn't shy after they had sex in the hotel room while following a couple for a case. She wasn't shy after having sex after they played pool, or after the "thank you" sex she gave him when he got her the pearls. She wasn't shy about him spotting her in the shower. She was a bit curvier than he remembered. She hadn't completely lost the baby weight. But he did mean what he said in that plastic surgeon's office: she was still drop dead gorgeous inside and out. "You know, you seem pretty stressed. And doctors say it's dangerous to shower when you're stressed. I think I'll need to spot you in the shower again. Make sure you don't hurt yourself. And maybe, you need some help de-stressing," David said in his seductive voice.

Maddie smiled and turned to walk to the bathroom. She purposely did the "attitude walk" that he taught her early in their partnership. He watched her bare body sway as she did that walk on her way to the bathroom. She turned to look at David who was just standing there looking at her. "You know, the main requirement of spotting me in the shower is not having on clothes," she said seductively as she stood at the bathroom door looking at him.

As soon as she said that, David was undressing himself as quickly as he could. "Ow!" David yelled as he fell over while trying to remove his pants.

"Hahahhaha clutz. And you're supposed to make sure I don't get hurt," Maddie laughed.

"Oh. You're gonna get it when I catch you," David said teasingly as he stood up.

"I sure hope so," Maddie said seductively as David got his boxers off and ran after her. They both laughed as they ran into the bathroom.