It was sort of romantic, but truthfully, scary. His hand reaching back, grabbing at his gun.
Was this how he lived? A target on his back? Would someone try to hurt him here, with me? Did that make me a target?
Those were questions that would remain unanswered.
It was Maggie.
Shit.
I forgot about Maggie coming.
She got out of her car and stood there, her face in shock.
As she walked forward, she pointed at Duke. “Tell me I’m dreaming right now.”
“Jim is inside,” I said.
Maggie couldn’t stop smiling. “I never thought I’d see you again, Duke.”
“Maggie,” he said.
“I like the look,” she said.
“Thanks. I see you’re still fighting to win prom queen.”
I grinned, taking note that Maggie had gotten herself all dressed up to come here. Little did Duke know that Maggie was there to clean and help out with Jim’s house.
“I’m going inside,” Maggie said.
“I’ll be right behind you,” I said.
“I won’t,” Duke said.
“Don’t stare at my ass when I walk by,” Maggie said. She touched Duke’s arm. “Don’t hurt Belle again.”
That was a total cheap shot.
I saw Duke’s lip curl.
Maggie shut the door behind her.
“Sorry about that,” I said. “She’s…”
“Bitter,” Duke said.
“No. Just a bitch.”
Duke touched my face. He gently kissed me again. “Sweetie, she’s bitter and jealous. That time we all went camping in the woods? Right after you turned eighteen. She was in my tent. She was not wearing any clothes. She confessed her love to me, willing to do anything to get with me. I zipped up my sleeping bag and picked her up, carrying her out of the tent. I made her hop away just like that.”
“What?”
Duke winked. “True story.”
“That’s why you only had one sleeping bag that night,” I said. “I thought that was your cheap attempt at getting me to sleep in the same sleeping bag with you.”
Duke backed away. “Sweetie, I don’t do cheap attempts. I go all in. Never forget that.”
Duke left those words lingering in the air as he walked to his motorcycle.
Just like that I had found out a piece of our history I never knew.
I watched Duke ride away… and within seconds I felt lonely and missed him.
**
“What the fuck is this?” Jim asked as I pressed the lid on all the eggs nobody freaking ate.
I turned and jammed the container against Jim’s gut. “Eggs. You have breakfast for the week. You’re welcome.”
Jim chased me down as I exited the kitchen. “Belle, stop this. What is Maggie doing here?”
I paused. “She owns a cleaning business. She offered to help here.”
“Tell her to stay on your side of the damn house.”
I pointed to the kitchen. “My house is clean, Jim. Yours is disgusting. What did you want me to do? I’m not cleaning your house.”
Jim showed his teeth. “This is a setup.”
“Yes, it is. I set up for Maggie to clean your house.”
“I didn’t ask for help.”
“I know that, Jim,” I said. “But the house is disgusting. And you could do me a favor here.”
“What’s that?”
“Maggie’s coming off a bad break up. She keeps going back to the guy. Well, the guy keeps bothering her. One of those. He calls. She lets him over. They fuck…”
I saw the color on Jim’s face. He definitely had a thing for Maggie and the look of jealousy was awesome.
“Stop,” Jim said. “Just stop, Belle.”
“She’s here. She’s going to keep coming here. My advice? Take a shower. Clean up a little. Talk to her. Maybe you could be her saving grace.”
“The one legged wonder?” Jim asked.
“You know, you’re the only one who seems to give a shit that you have one leg,” I said. “And it’s not like you did something stupid to get hurt. You’re a hero, Jim. Whether you feel that way or not, or like it or not, it’s the truth.”
I walked away, feeling good that I actually got the last word for once.
I went outside and saw Maggie at her car having a smoke break. One habit all the cool kids picked up in school but I was able to give it up. Maggie swore she only smoked when she was stressed out.
I didn’t even bother asking what was stressing her out that day.
“So… your brother…”
“He didn’t know you were coming,” I said. “Sorry.”
“I don’t care. He’s grumpy.”
“Welcome to the world of Jim.”
“Enough about him. Tell me about Duke. Where did that come from?”
Maggie had a sly smile on her face. I thought about bringing up the story Duke told me but I let it slide.
“I called him for help,” I said. “Jim was in a bad spot. Still is. I just…”
“Look at you all flustered. Wait, you called him this morning?”
“No. Last night.”
The words slipped out of my mouth a second before I realized what Maggie was doing to me.
I then felt my cheeks turn red.
“Right,” she said. “Do you need me to change your sheets?” She giggled. “Or do you want to savor that amazing sex smell?”
I opened my mouth to lie and say I didn't sleep with Duke.
But what use was that?
I just grinned.