Chapter 21: David's Dilemma

[Addisonsgirl]

Maddie woke up after a night of restless sleep which was interrupted by a lot of tossing and turning; no, actually it didn't really deserve the name sleep at all. She never slept well when David came home late for whatever reason, even if she knew where he was and why; she couldn't do anything about it, it was stronger than her. She needed to know he was safe at home – and beside her in bed before she could rest.

On this occasion she knew where he was and why: he was at Richie's bar where he and his brother were throwing Bert a bachelor party. Now she remembered that at his own bachelor party – which had also been held at Richie's bar – David had actually been the most sober one and had left the party early; that had happened basically because he had had to bail her and the other women out of jail when her bridal and baby shower had gotten a little out of control. Now, without that kind of obstacle, obviously he didn't see a reason to come home at a decent hour – she noticed in the blink of an eye that the bed beside her was empty. Great. She felt anger well up rather than worry; she knew David was not the type to drink and drive, so she was pretty sure he was okay physically. Well, that can change quickly, she thought furiously.

Okay, David had told her not to stay up and that he might be very late – but she hadn't expected him to stay out the whole damn night. And really – was it asking too much to pick up the phone and call her? Maddie threw off the bed covers and stomped downstairs to wait for her husband. She tried to see things through David’s eyes - they had promised each other before they flew off the handle they would try and see things through the other’s eyes – but all she saw were voluptuous half naked women peeling off their clothes and lots and lots of Tequila. She shook those pictures out of her head ferociously.

For a few minutes she pondered what to do. She looked at her watch. Half past eight, and still no sign of David. Damn him! She thought it was okay to call Terri and see if she had heard anything – she didn't want to upset pregnant Agnes in case that Bert was home already and it was only the two Addison brothers who were missing. But come to think of it how did she know Richie didn’t get home at a decent hour? She began to see red imagining it was only her party boy husband who had spent the night doing God knows what. She almost growled as her fingers stomped out Terri’s number on the dial pad.

Terri answered after the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hey Terri, its Maddie."

"Maddie, hi!” She could hear the smile in Terri's voice. “What's up?"

Without any further preliminaries she asked: "Is your Addison home?"

"Richie? You mean if he's here? Not yet," Terri told her; Maddie was a little taken aback that her friend seemed to be as cheerful as ever, and absurdly enough that fueled her anger a little. Really, didn't Terri ever get into a bad mood? “And he isn’t at his place either. I told him to phone if he decided to go home. No call.”

Maddie had forgotten however that her brother in law and her friend were not living together yet. "I thought so," she growled. "David hasn't come home either."

"I don't think we have reason to worry," Terri said, "they're both not the types to drink and drive. I'm sure they are okay."

"A little bodily harm can be arranged," Maddie muttered under her breath, and Terri laughed.

"What's so funny?!" she almost snapped at her friend. "Aren't you mad at all?"

"Mad?" Terri echoed. "Because Richie isn’t home? To be honest, I’d be surprised if he was.”

Maddie shook her head at her friend even though the other woman couldn't see her. "I don't understand how you can be so calm," she told her. "I mean, you can't possibly consider this responsible adult behavior?!"

"Of course not," Terri chuckled. "But hey, they work hard and act responsibly every day. And let's be realistic – they were organizing a bachelor party, not a crocheting course. What did you expect?"

“And why did they need to stay out the whole night? I mean what could they be doing? Probably passed out under a table.” Maddie threw at Terri.

Terri only laughed. “Maybe they are. And they will have wicked hangovers to remember the night.”

"You are pretty tolerant," Maddie grumbled and asked herself if she was overreacting; she didn't see that, but even if it were that way, she couldn't help it. It was like it was – she would never like the thought of David being out all night without her, drinking and watching naked women dance.

"Live and let live is my motto," Terri replied brightly. "Of course, I'll expect the same tolerance in return." Maddie gave only a little snort in return. “Do you know if Bert has come home yet?”

Maddie shook her head. “I didn’t want to disturb Agnes but I guess we should see if they are all missing or just our two. Let me call Agnes. I’ll call you right back.”

After a quick conversation with Agnes it was discovered that all three men had not come home that night.  Maddie called Terri back. Her voice was coated with annoyance. “Of course poor Bert followed David’s behavior! Poor Viola being led down a path of debauchery.”

Terri chuckled. “You make David sound so wicked.”

Maddie couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips. “If the horns fit…”

Terri giggled and after a short pause went on: "What do you say, I'll pick up Agnes, and we meet at Philly's in say 40 minutes?" Terri winked saucily, “we can rescue them from under their table.”

"I'll be sharpening my axe."

Terri laughed and shook her head as she dialed Agnes’ number. Really, what had her friend expected? Of course, she wouldn't be happy if the guys had gone missing on a booze tour, but as Bert's bachelor party had been held at Philly's, Richie's bar, she saw no reason to be angry at Richie for getting carried away. So far, she knew Richie only as a decent guy who had kept every promise he had made to her and never had disappointed her; he had proven himself to be a little crazy and big mouthed, but absolutely reliable in things that really mattered. She knew though that Maddie was made differently, and that was fine with her; David would have to deal with it. Terri made a quick call to her neighbor to see if she could leave Nate with her for a bit and then she was off to collect her man.

***
When Bert woke up, his head felt twice its size and hurt like he had been hit by a truck. Given by the smell on his clothes and the foul taste in his mouth, it had been a tequila truck. He moaned and opened one eye; that was already painful. He opened the other eye too, and the pain was almost unbearable. Oh, the shame, the misery... what would his pumpkin say? Suddenly it hit him: Agnes! What would she actually say? With utter horror he realized that he never had gone home last night – David and Richie had done a thorough job when they had organized his bachelor party at Richie’s bar Philly's: strippers, cigars and streams of booze. At some point, he had passed out. Now, the thought of Agnes sobered him at once and made him sit up briskly; a move that already hurt like hell. That he hit his head with an awful thudding sound didn't really help. Only when that happened, he realized that he had been sleeping under a table.

Both hands pressed to the sides of his head, he looked around for other survivors.

***
When Maddie, Terri and Agnes entered the bar they thought they had walked into some kind of zombie apocalypse. A table was turned over, several chairs were scattered on the floor, and empty and half-empty bottles of beer and liquor were all over the place. Maybe about a dozen men in disheveled clothes and various stages of consciousness were slumping on chairs, half-lying on or under tables or shuffling around aimlessly, making the weirdest noises.

Maddie's fists clenched at her sides when she scanned the room for her missing husband. Terri was the first one to spot their three men; Richie and David were half sitting on, half hanging from chairs while Bert was standing on his feet, swaying lightly, pressing his hands to his temples. All three of them looked like crap.

"David Addison!!" Maddie thundered, hands at her hips.

"You can't prove that," he muttered through a mouth of filthy cotton.

Agnes was shocked; her fiancé always looked scruffy, and she kind of liked it usually, but she had never seen him looking slatternly like he did now. His face was crunched in pain and his skin had a tinge of green. "Herbert Quentin Viola!" Her voice was unusually severe.

The short man turned his bloodshot eyes in her direction. “Pumpkin?”

"Richard Addison," piped up the tallest of the three and bravely raised a hand. "Do I get extra points for remembering my name all by myself?"

"Normally you would," Terri replied dryly, "but this makes it all even again, I'd say..." she tugged at a piece of shimmering pink material hanging out of Richie's pocket; it looked like a very tiny bra. He blinked heavily. Terri looked a little miffed, her hands were at her hips and her dark curls looked extra wild today. She looked down at him with a dangerous spark in her almost black eyes.

Richie shrugged sheepishly. “I have no idea how this got in my pocket,” he claimed, and it wasn't even a lie; his memory of the last 10 hours was pretty bad.

"Where's mine?" David protested in a slightly slurred voice and started to search his pockets clumsily. Maddie snorted in disgust and tried not to explode.

"Don't worry, David, I've taken care of it," Bert moaned and pulled two bras out of his breast pocket; when he had woken up, one of the first things he had thought of was to protect his idol from getting into trouble with his lady love, and so he had taken the tiny bra from David's pocket. He recalled vaguely that his friends had collected the strippers' bras as some kind of trophies and stuffed one into his pocket too.

Maddie rolled her eyes. "You are despicable worms, all three of you!" was her verdict. She grabbed David roughly by the collar of his shirt and yanked him to his feet. "Come on, let's go home. But be warned: one burp in my car, you walk."

The three men stumbled without further protest out of the bar after their women, all three of them pictures of misery.

Terri loaded Bert and Richie in the back of her car while Agnes climbed on the passenger seat a little clumsily, not used yet to her slightly growing baby bump.

"Hope they don't bug you too much," Maddie told her friend and threw a venomous look at David's back while he shuffled towards her car.

Terri shrugged. "Guys," she just commented. "Can't live with 'em, can't poison their beer either." Of course she hadn't liked the sight of the piece of underwear in Richie's pocket, but then she thought back to Maddie's bridal and baby shower and how the three of them – and the other women too – had cheered and howled at the sight of the male strippers and yes, had even touched them and tugged at their underwear. Okay, she hadn't been in a relationship then, but all the other women had been, and neither Maddie nor Agnes or Stephanie had had any scruples. It had meant nothing. She was going to give her man the same credit now.

The slightly amused look in the corners of Terri's brown eyes still made Maddie wonder. The short brunette nudged her amicably when she told her good-bye. "Don't be too hard on him," she chuckled with a nod of her head towards Maddie's car where David just had managed to crawl in. "Don't forget where your hands were when the cops raided your bridal shower..."

Maddie pressed her lips together and walked towards her car. Terri suppressed a laugh; she supposed her friend hadn't liked her last remark, but Terri had always been the one to speak her mind too.

"Off we go!" she singsonged brightly – and extra loudly, much to Richie's and Bert's dismay – when she started her own car.

***
"Really," Maddie pressed through clenched teeth while they were driving home, "you had to overdo it again, didn't you?"

David was slumped in the passenger's seat, his hair wildly tousled, his face scruffy and unshaven (which normally wasn't a bad thing, but today everything about him irked Maddie), dark shadows under his eyes and his shirt crumpled and sprinkled with gold-brown tequila stains. "Huh?" he managed and rubbed his eyes with his thumbs; that seemed to cause him physical pain. Good, Maddie thought with a devilish satisfaction.

"How old are you," she snapped a little more loudly and was happy to see him cringe at the sound of her voice, "sixteen?!"

"What are you talking about?" he moaned.

"Drinking yourself into a stupor," she hissed, "smelling of booze, passing out under a table..." she drew a deep breath and spat: "Collecting cheap strippers' underwear!"

Despite his unsavory physical state and the throbbing pain in his head, David chuckled. "Believe me, they were anything but cheap. Only the best for Bertie-boy."

"Never mind!" Maddie snorted with disgust. "I'm really not interested in the filthy details."

"The hell you are," David muttered under his breath, his headache, lack of sleep and Maddie's nagging changing his light mood into a dark and dull one.

"What was that?" Maddie asked in a menacing tone.

"You heard me," he grumbled. "If you're not interested..."

"I am not!"

David shook his head which wasn't a good idea at all. "What's the problem with having a little fun?"

"Fun?!" she snapped and snorted with sarcasm. "Yeah, you're looking like you're having a reallllll blast right now."

"Do you hear me whining?" he asked in an annoyed tone which fueled her anger. Seriously, he was miffed at her?! Before she could reply, he went on: "I'm a big boy, I can deal with the consequences. I'm hungover, so what?"

"You're disgusting!"

Suddenly, he felt completely sober, even if his head still felt like it was being used as a punching ball. Really, she was acting like she had to pick him up at a dinky joint every weekend. Something like this hadn't happened at all since they were together!

"You're exaggerating," he growled, "and you know it. The last time I was that hungover you even didn't have to pick me up – your space cowboy was so kind as to tuck me in before he tucked you in."

"You're such an ass!" she spat. "You know how I hate it when you're like that..."

"Maddie, for Pete's sake, this was an exception!" he barked, ignoring the pain behind his eyes. "A bachelor party!" He pursed his lips and shot her a filthy stare. "At least you didn't have to bail me out of jail!"

Of course, he had to bring that up again! Maddie's hands clenched the steering wheel like claws in her anger. "I wasn't punch drunk!" she hissed. "And I didn't collect underwear!"

David threw his hands up in the air in a theatrical gesture. "Nooo, you just stuck your hands in a male stripper’s undies!"

“That was something completely different!” Maddie hissed, but at the same moment she knew that had been a mistake. David might have been drunk, but he wouldn't let such an occasion pass.

“Ah!” he exclaimed with dripping sarcasm. “You can go touchy-feely, but I can't catch a bra that's thrown at me? And you call me a sexist.”

“You should have called!” she changed the subject without going any further.

“What for?! To tell you we'd be partying all night long?” David ruffled his hair, and he felt the weird and unpleasant sensation that even his hair roots seemed to hurt. “We didn't plan this, Maddie, and once we got there it was too late and I was too drunk. Would you have slept better if I had called you at 2 am and slurred into the phone that I was gonna come home late?”

She pressed her lips together and turned the car sharply around, heading into their driveway. "You are really..."

"Never mind," he cut her off, "I get it, you're mad at me. So what else is new?"

They had reached the house, and Maddie slammed down the brakes, fuming. She knew that there wasn't a real objective reason to freak out like that – she had to admit David was right about the phone call, and well, the strippers... – but then, she didn't need an objective reason. She was his wife and simply hated to see David drunk or hungover, she hated the liquor smell, and she hated the thought of a silicone-equipped stripper waving her boobs into David's handsome face. She knew he hadn't really done her any wrong and she had no reason to doubt him or think bad of him, and that was a good thing – but it was a wife's God-given right to be mad at her husband, period. Maddie also knew she would calm down eventually, but right now she couldn't stand the sight, the smell or the sound of him. She pushed him out of the car.

"Go and take a shower," she told him briskly.

David frowned. "Aren't you coming?"

"I'm going to my mother's where I left Jade before picking you up, dickhead. Don't expect me for lunch,” she added curtly. “When I come home later, I want you sober and clean. And you better take care of your clothes yourself. Burn them."

And with that, she drove off.

After a pleasant lunch with her mother Maddie began to calm down. Maybe she had overreacted. Now she felt as if she couldn’t get home quickly enough; but when she reached home the house was silent. Maddie put Jade down in her playpen and raced upstairs where she found David sprawled across the bed sound asleep. She smiled to herself when she realized he was clean shaven and showered. Letting him sleep, Maddie softly closed the door to their bedroom and headed downstairs. She knew that if David slept he would feel better and be back to his old self. And for what she had in mind he needed his full strength.

David woke up feeling refreshed and sober. The clock said eight, but for a minute David wasn’t sure if it was morning or night. He scratched his head as little by little pieces of the previous night and that morning came back to him. Despite his trouble with Maddie a crooked grin ran up the side of his face. Bert’s bachelor party had been over the top. Excellent cigars, top shelf liquor, sensuous strippers – and lots and lots of laughs. He didn’t regret a minute of it – he figured Maddie would expect him to do some apologizing, but he knew she wasn’t as angry as she pretended to be – at least he hoped that was the case. On his way downstairs David took a little detour and tiptoed into the nursery where he checked on Jade and placed a butterfly kiss on the sleeping baby's cheek.

Maddie was sitting on the sofa wearing a short baby blue satin night shirt. She was waiting for her slumbering husband to wake up and remember he had a wife. For some reason Maddie was feeling extra amorous and needed her husband to fan her flames. She heard David coming down the stairs and put on a blank face. No way was she going to let him off the hook that easily.

David flopped on the couch next to Maddie – he was wearing a pair of tight gray sweat pants and a black tank top. Maddie’s mouth watered as her eyes drunk in her sexy husband, but she looked away and pretended to watch some inane TV show.

“Well, look who's back from the dead,” she remarked coolly, her voice coated with sarcasm.

David had noticed her hungry look and couldn't help but smirk. “I'm like a cat, I have nine lives,” he replied smoothly, “and you haven't taken all of them yet.”

“Emphasis on yet.” she growled. This wasn't going like she had expected; a little groveling from him would have been more than appropriate.

Instead, he chuckled. “That's my girl,” he purred, and despite the tingling that ran down her spine at the sound of David's voice, she moved a little away from him deliberately. She would be damned if she fell into his arms that quickly! Before Maddie had only been pretending to be angry but David’s nonchalant attitude was making her anger boil up again.

“Are you hungry?” she asked almost casually. She figured either he was sick to his stomach due to his overindulgence from the night before or starving. She felt David move closer to her and she backed away from him a little more. She wouldn’t be Maddie Hayes Addison if she made it easy for him. And she secretly admitted to herself a bit of playing hard to get made the sex so much hotter.

David moved closer to his stubborn wife, then bent his head so that his lips were right next to her ear. “Hungry for you, baby,” he whispered, and despite Maddie's growing annoyance about his cavalier attitude it took her an almost superhuman effort to keep her composure when she felt his hot breath at the side of her neck.

She threw him a cross look. “Get over yourself, Addison.” Even though Maddie had basically forgiven David for staying all night and getting dead drunk, she thought that he should be at least a little bit more apologetic for his behavior – knowing that she had been worried and that staying out all night without as much as a damn phone call was a total no-go in this relationship – but still not even attempting to placate her and thinking he could crawl into her panties immediately made her feel irritated toward him, even if she had thought of little else than him crawling into her panties all evening. Sometimes, she thought, he was much too sure of his power over her.

His hands wandered over her bare legs, “I think that you’d rather me get over you – fucking you nice and slow,” his fingers snaked under her short nightshirt, “or hard and fast – your choice.”

Maddie pushed David’s hand away and stood up with her hands on her hips. “Seems you found another basement door to crawl into!”

David threw his head back against the back of the couch and closed his eyes. “Nowww, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying I don’t like your smug attitude!” she snapped.

“Smug attitude?” he echoed.

Maddie tossed her head. “Smug attitude! Now, probably you were still too drunk this morning to hear what I said, but I'll gladly repeat it for you: you should have called me, end of story! Even if it was in the middle of the night.” He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off: “Yes, I would have gotten mad anyway and no, I wouldn't have slept better. But I would have known you weren't getting any stupid ideas of maybe crawling into some other drunkard's car!”

David threw his hands in the air. “I heard you alright since your voice was loud enough!” he replied in an amused tone that made her see red – and black and blue if he wasn’t careful. “And I told you not to wait up and I'd be home late.” He really didn't see it as a big deal.

“Late?!” she repeated in disbelief and shot her finger at him like a bullet. “2 am, that's late. 4 am. Not all night!” She lowered her voice to a menacing growl. “And one more thing: I don't appreciate having to pull my drunken husband out of a bar in the morning!”

David raised an ironic eyebrow. “And I don't appreciate having to bail my wife out of jail,” he retorted smoothly, pursed his lips into a mocking grin and added: “No, actually that was fun.”

Maddie clenched her hands to fists. “You...”

David held up his hands in defense as he pushed off the couch. “The point is,” he quickly interrupted in a slightly more serious tone, “both are occasions that aren't very likely to come up again.”

“They better not!” she shot at him. “Some day soon, your no-good brother will be having a bachelor party, and if you think you can pull something like that again...”

“I promise next time I will call you at whatever ungodly hour it might be!” he announced.

“Yeah, you'd better!” She folded her arms and raised her chin angrily, but already calming down a little.

David sensed the subtle change in her attitude and smirked. “Speaking of coming up...” He pushed his hips a little forward, and her attention was immediately drawn to the enormous boner outlined beneath his tight sweatpants. She felt a wave of the well-known mixture of arousal and anger wash over her and pressed her lips together.

“You are despicable.” Maddie turned her back on him.

“And you love me.” He had seen of course the feverish twinkling in her eyes before she turned around.

“At times I wonder why,” she growled. She never wondered why, but as usual her mouth was sometimes faster than her brain. Unfortunately, the green eyed devil who she could feel coming up behind her was ingrained in her soul and she knew why she loved him – he was David. And there was no one quite like David Addison – she loved the sound of his laughter, the way he could make her laugh when she didn’t even want to smile, his joy and passion for life – and his passion for her. She loved the sparkle in his green eyes and the way he lit up a room when he walked in – she loved the way he was the life of any party and the way he had brought happiness into her life. She loved the way he made love to her as if she was the only woman in the world for him. She loved the way that he took care of her and the Bean and he was reliable for things that really mattered. She loved that he was hers and she was his. She loved him completely, wildly, and with an out of control desire she never thought she possessed. She sighed inwardly as she tried to hold on to some facet of her annoyance toward him, but she found that very hard right now.

David laughed to himself. He knew that Maddie’s bark was worse than her bite, and despite her sometimes rude words he knew that she never really wondered why she loved him – as he never wondered why he loved her. It was a bad case of opposites attract and two souls intertwined for eternity – kismet. But for now David decided to be nicey nice and apologize. After all, what was a little sorry here and there if it meant a hot night getting laid by his beautiful, complicated – and slightly nutty – wife. Besides, he had to admit to himself that he would have climbed the walls worrying if he hadn't heard from her all night, even if he had known where she was.

He came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist as he laid his head on her shoulder his face slightly tilted up to look in her eyes. “I’m sorry, baby. I never meant to make you worry.” He laid a soft kiss on the soft spot under her ear. He knew she wouldn’t pull away and she didn’t.

“I don’t think you’re really sorry, David,” she grumbled but had to suppress a groan when she felt the evidence of his arousal pushing against her ass. And hearing the sorry from his lips did cool her annoyance and heat up her loins.

“When I say sorry I mean it, just like you do,” he whispered into her ear. “Baby, please forgive me. I’ll be a good boy,” David purred as his tongue ran over that spot. He felt Maddie lean against him and he pushed his twitching dick against her curvy butt until he felt her undulate against it. He chuckled. “Guess I’m forgiven, huh, babe,” he whispered as his fingers glided over her nipples straining against the satin material of her nightshirt.

Maddie closed her eyes as she leaned into David. “You’re my bad boy, but yes, you’re forgiven. This time,” she told him and tried to make her voice sound firm, but the next sound out of her mouth was a guttural groan as she felt David lift up her nightshirt and tear off her panties. She heard the ripping sound – which always made her arousal peak – and felt the cool air on her naked ass.

“Oh, David...” she moaned as his big hand began to stroke, pinch and play with her curvy ass – his fingers gliding between her legs and fluttering like soft butterfly wings over her swollen nub. She let her head fall back against his shoulder.

“Ya like that, honey?” David murmured his tongue trailing fire over her neck and shoulders as he peeled off her nightshirt leaving her bare ass naked and squirming against his rock hard body and massive boner.

Maddie opened her legs wider to allow David’s magic fingers to pleasure her. Long strong fingers began to stroke her throbbing nub in long, lazy circles – his other hand was playing with her breasts – and his mouth and tongue were busy with her neck. After only a few minutes Maddie felt her climax building. Her cries were incoherent as she spiraled out of control into a mind-boggling orgasm.

“Sounded extra good today, sweets,” he purred as he bent her over the side of the sofa and pushed his dick into her with one long thrust. “Now here’s my big dick.”

“Oh God, yes!” Maddie cried when she felt David pushing in and out of her with long, languid strokes of his cock. She loved the way he made sure to always keep in contact with her pulsating nub as he made love to her. No man had ever made her feel such an intense pleasure – no man was David. She began to move her hips in sync to David’s rhythm. One of his big hands was around her waist holding her in place while the other one roamed all over her body until she felt that the pleasure of what he was doing to her would make her break into pieces. She began to moan louder and louder as she felt another orgasm wash over her body.

David moved inside Maddie as her tightness wrapped around his cock; he loved the way he felt when he was inside of her throbbing hotbox – so hot and wet and always ready for him. “God Maddie! You are so hot and beautiful and all fucking mine.“ He moaned as he let go and came so long and hard he thought the top of his head might blow off.

They remained motionless for a few seconds as their minds and bodies rebooted. Maddie was the first to move. She turned around to face David as her arms wrapped around his neck. “I love you, David Addison.“

David pulled her tight against his musular body. “And I adore you, Mrs. Addison.“ He still loved to roll that name over his tongue – Mrs. Addison. Madolyn Addison. Maddie Addison. She was a complicated, fiery woman with a wicked temper, but he loved her with every cell of his being. His hands moved down and cupped her ass moving it against his once again lenghtening cock. He still couldn’t get enough of this blonde siren he called his wife. „“And I love this ass,“ his eyes were smoldering as they gazed deeply into her eyes – green on blue. She giggled girlishy which spurred him on, “And I love your long, sexy legs,“ his hands moved to her legs; stroking them lovingly, big hands moved up her body over her belly to her breasts, “And I adore your tits,“ he bent his head to lavish hot kisses over them as his hands pushed her breasts together.“ Maddie moaned and ran her hands over his hard ass, then lazily his hands moved down her body and between her legs which spread in order to welcome him. “I cherish your notbox which is open just for me.“ David raised his head to stare into her eyes, the desire and love he saw shining out of Maddie’s eyes turned him to mush – and no woman had ever come close to turning him to mush. “God Maddie, you’re my life. Don’t you know that, woman?“

Maddie felt her insides melt and her heat throb when she saw the love and passion glittering out of David’s incredible eyes – his amazing cat eyes were staring at her with so much devotion she felt herself swoon. She held on to him tightly – her arms wrapped around his waist – and stared back at him. „“And you’re mine.“ She told him with a catch to her voice. Who would have ever imagined that the green eyes who drive her crazy from the first time she looked into them would become her life line – her reason for living. Sometimes the ferocity of her emotions for David still scared her senseless but now she had no choice but to revel in them.

Finally, the serious moment was broken when David licked his lips laciviously; his magic fingers fluttering over her aching core. “We’re not finished here yet. I still have plans for this hotbox,“ he purred as he took her hand and pulled her to the stairs.

“And I have plans for this big dick.“ She counted her hand stroking his boner adoringly. “I love it and it is mine – and only mine.“

David laughed as they moved quickly up the spiral stairs – tongues and hands busy all the way to their bedroom where they spent the rest of the night making love over and over.

***
The Monday after the bachelor party David was still feeling a tad under the weather although he would never admit it. He kept hearing Maddie’s words echoing in his head – you’re not 16 – and unfortunately his body was beginning to realize it. When once he could drink like a fish and be fine the following morning now it seemed to take him a few days to recuperate. That Monday morning David decided to have breakfast and drink a strong pot of coffee in the diner around the corner from Blue Moon. He needed a few minutes alone to clear his head and just relax. The weekend had been eventful and he had a few important meetings today so a leisurely breakfast alone sounded wonderful.

“David Addison?” a vaguely familiar female voice woke him from his deep thoughts.

David frowned slightly and looked up at the sound of his name to come face to face with an old friend he hadn't seen in years. At first he was totally flabbergasted – he hadn't expected what he saw – , but then a crooked grin ran up his face at the sight of his old lover.

“Linda Basso!” he exclaimed incredulously. David had met Linda shortly after he had moved to L.A. after his disastrous marriage to Tess. She had helped him lick his wounds. For a few years after that they had an on again – off again relationship which worked out refreshingly easy until she had wanted more than he could give – a commitment – and they drifted apart. Then he had met Jillian, and Linda became a distant memory. David had heard she had gotten married a couple of years back and he had been happy for her.

“Actually it's Cooper now,” Linda told him with a momentary shadow flying over her face and nodded happily as he eyes feasted on David. He had gotten even more handsome over the years. Linda still had a soft spot for David; unlike other men he had never lied or run around on her, and when he had realized she was getting too serious he gently let her down. He was a good man; they had just not been meant for each other. She sighed inwardly; she still remembered the feel of his lips on hers but quickly pushed that thought out of her mind when she noticed the wedding ring on his finger. She had enough trouble without messing around with a married man.

“So?” David smiled broadly, “how are you?” He gave her the Addison once over. “You look great.”

Linda smiled back. “Thanks, so do you,” she replied without answering his question. She handed him a menu. “So, you come here often?” she teased. David remembered she had a great sense of humor.

He laughed. “Actually I do.” He took the menu. “When did you start working at The Corner?” The name of the diner was actually Jake’s Corner but everyone knew it as the “Corner” since it was on the corner of the street.

Linda shook her head. “Last week.”

David noticed sadness in her brown eyes. He could tell that there was a story behind her words. He had always liked Linda and wanted to hear about what was troubling her. “Hey do you have a break coming up? Why not you join me for some coffee?”

Linda looked around at the half empty coffee shop. Now was the lull between breakfast and lunch, so she could take 15 minutes or so to sit and catch up with David. “Sure,” she shrugged. “Let me tell my boss.” She smiled at David. “What do you want for breakfast?” She laughed. “My treat.”

David and Linda sat and talked as they ate bacon and eggs and drank rich dark coffee. David told her what he had been up to the last few years and proudly showed her his wedding picture as well as the numerous photos of Jade he carried in his wallet like any proud father. Linda oohed and ahhed over the baby. She took the wedding picture and looked at it closely; the gorgeous bride looked familiar somehow; then it dawned on her. “Is your wife the Blue Moon Shampoo girl?” Linda’s eyes were wide.

David laughed. “Yep. Maddie Hayes, now Maddie Addison,” he said joyously.

Linda smiled. “She is stunning. You have a beautiful family. You’re a lucky man.” She knew that David had been looking for something she hadn't been able to give, and she knew that he had been restless for a long time; now it seemed that he had found exactly what he had needed and was happy with it. She was glad for him.

David nodded happily as he put the pictures back in his wallet. “I know,” he agreed. “Imagine little Davey from Philly catching a super model.” He shook his head but his eyes twinkled.

“Don’t sell yourself short, David.” Linda told him firmly, “you’re a good man, and any woman – super model or not – can and should be proud to call herself your wife. Not many of those around nowadays.” She tried to smile but felt tears prick her eyes. “Believe me, I know.”

David’s eyes softened. “Want to share with the class?” he prodded.

Linda shrugged and nodded. She told David a tale of an abusive husband, a miserable marriage and her escape with just the clothes on her back.

David’s heart turned over for his old friend. “So you’re living in a shelter?” His voice was shocked.

Linda nodded. “Well, it’s really a place for abused women to live until they get back on their feet.” She sighed loudly. “I really want to make something of my life, like going back to school to be a paralegal, but with what I make here that might take me years.” She started to get up. “Well, nice to see you again David. Break’s about over.”

David grabbed her hand. “Let me loan you some money!” he offered spontaneously. “You can pay it back when you get a good job.”

Linda was stunned. She stared at him disbelievingly. “Why would you do that for me?” She was wondering if he had an angle. After her experience with her soon to be ex-husband it was hard to trust anyone.

“Cause you’re a good woman and I want to help,” David answered without hesitation. “I’ve been lucky. And I want to do good for you.” He smiled at her. “How much do you need?”

Linda shook her head. “Forget it, David.” She raised her hands to symbolically push him away. “We barely know each other anymore, and anyway – what will your wife say about loaning money to an ex-lover?”

David realized he couldn’t keep this from Maddie, and he saw no reason to. After all their fights about her going behind his back and being sneaky there was no way he could do the same to her. He would just have to deal with her. He was sure that once she understood the importance of helping Linda get on her feet, she wouldn’t begrudge the other woman a boost. Or so he hoped he could convince her. They had the money – it really wasn’t very much – and he knew Linda would repay them, so he couldn’t foresee a problem.

“Let me help. Please.” David threw her his panty melting smile. This was something he felt he had to do. There was a reason that out of all the coffee shops in L.A. Linda had found work at this particular one. Kismet. God who had given so much to him wanted him to help his old friend. And he would.

***
That day was very busy. Bert stumbled on to a corporate espionage case that had them out in the field and well into the night. When David finally made it home well after 11 Maddie was half asleep so they never had a chance to talk. When they got up the next morning they made love quickly, then David left the house extra early to resume the case investigation. David decided to let O’Neill and MacGillicuddy handle the espionage case. It was a clear cut investigation, and the two detectives could gain some needed experience. The company was growing so it was important for everyone to work in the field as well as the office – the investigations could no longer solely rest on his and Bert’s shoulders. So, that evening he was able to leave the office at a decent time – and that was exactly the right occasion to talk to Maddie about his plans. He was sure she would agree with him.

***
“Are you nuts?” Maddie stood in front of him with her hands clenched in fists at her side. Her eyes shot blue daggers at him. “We are not giving some woman that you fucked around with any money!”

After a nice dinner and getting the baby to sleep, David had explained his plans for Linda. Instead of agreeing to be a benevolent benefactor Maddie had exploded in a fit of rage. She couldn’t believe that her husband was actually thinking of giving their hard earned money to some old lover. Was he insane?

David looked at her with angry cat eyes. Really, Maddie could be such a bitch at times. Why wasn’t she willing to help another woman out of a mess? It couldn’t be that she was jealous? She had to know he had no interest in Linda other than as a good friend. “Loaning! Not giving!” David threw at her. “And we didn’t just fuck around, we had a relationship!” he snapped at Maddie. He wasn't sure if that was making things better, but somehow it was important to him to point that out to Maddie – even if that on/off relationship hadn't been a classic relationship and hadn't led anywhere in the end; but it had been more than she had made it sound like, and it made him really angry that whenever it came to him and women in his past – besides Tess and Jillian - , she acted like he hadn't been able to have relationships with women other than based on fucking. Okay, he had fucked around a lot, but there had been a few women he had brought to his bed that more more than just a slap and tickle.

“Oh, a relationship! How nice!.“ Seriously, in her mind that somehow made it much worse as her green eyed snake slithered into the room. “How long did you know her? Why haven’t you ever mentioned this woman to me before? Was it before or after we met?“ For some reason the thought of David having more than just a throw in bed with some woman after they met made her feel terrible – which was ridiculous she knew because they hadn’t been a couple at the time – but still...

David looked at her with irritation. “Really, must we get into this now?“ He looked at Maddie with a hard look. He ruffled his hair and sighed. “It was before Jillian. We dated for a couple of years on and off. But I know her.“

Really, David was sometimes so dopey when it came to women. “You knew her, David. Now you know nothing about her!“ She looked at him as if he had sprouted another head. “How do you know she will pay us back?” Maddie wasn’t so sure.

“I do know Linda. She’s a good woman. She’ll repay us,” David reassured her.

“Yeah, a good woman like your Jillian?” Maddie couldn’t help toss out to him nastily. She saw his eyes narrow dangerously and like so often before wished she could bite back her unfair words.

David's face froze. “Low blow, Maddie – even for you.” His voice dripped with acid. Boy, Maddie knew how to hurt him. Bitch.

“You know what I meant!” Maddie tried hastily to explain herself.

“No honey, why not clue in dumb David?” He touched his forehead with his finger as he tilted his head.

Maddie’s eyes were blue flames. “Don’t make me out to be the bad guy here!”

“Then don't fucking act like the bad guy!” he barked back angrily. “I mean, it's not like your relationship choices have always been so wonderful, right? And why does there have to be a bad guy anyway?” David ran his hands through his hair. “Listen, I just want to do an old friend a favor. She hasn’t been as lucky as we are.” He shrugged. “I just want to help her out. Share our luck.” His hands were moving around excitedly.

Maddie tossed her head. “Why is this so important to you?” she inquired. She hated the fact that one of David’s past lovers was back in his life. Not that she didn’t trust David, but who knew what this woman really wanted from him? Maybe she still had a thing for him. Maddie’s suspicious nature rose to the surface planting thoughts in her head – perhaps this Linda woman knew that David frequented that coffee shop and purposely got a job there. Maddie remembered Jillian and how David had been blindsided by her. Until they became a couple it seemed to her that David had made poor choices when it came to women. She didn’t trust his instincts at all. “I don’t like it.” She stared into his green eyes. “I say no.”

“Well, to quote one of your favorite one-liners: you're not the boss of me!” he threw at her. “And I didn’t ask your fucking permission, wife.” David pointed his finger at her like a loaded weapon. “I say yes.” His jaw was clenched in anger. With that David turned his back on her and stomped up the stairs.

Maddie raced up the stairs after him. “David Addison! I’m not through talking to you!”

David began to undress. “Well, I’m through listening.” He threw off his clothes and tossed them one by one on the chair by the closet. He had his back turned to Maddie and was pointedly ignoring her as she continued her haranguing.

“How dare you think that I have no right to voice my opinions!”

“Voice away!” David’s told her nastily. “And notice that – unlike you – I have given you the chance to voice your opinion.” He snorted and shook his head. “You are one selfish bitch.” David knew he was going over the top, but as so often their argument had started on a bad note and had gotten worse from there; he was just so furious at her that he was intentionally throwing insults her way.

“Selfish?” Maddie saw red. “How dare you call me selfish! I just can’t see handing our hard earned money to someone we barely know!”

“Funny you should say that, when you've done that so many times with our – the agency's – money in the past!” he pointed out with acid sarcasm.

“What are you saying?!” she wanted to know.

David put his hands to his face and put on the grimace of a shocked face. In a high-pitched voice he mimicked her: “David, we can't take this money, it wouldn't be right. David, we have to give this money back, we didn't earn it. David, we have to find a mate for this woman without charging her.”

“Those were completely different occasions!” she almost yelled, furious that he dared to compare that. “In all these cases it was morally correct!”

“Morally?” he echoed and snorted with disgust. “Oh please. Don't be such a fucking hypocrite. So, are you saying it's not morally correct to help a woman get back on her feet who has been beaten black and blue by her abusive husband and has just scraped her courage together and left him to start a new life?”

Maddie swallowed and became insecure for a moment; normally this would be exactly the case where she would want to help, but in this case... she persuaded herself successfully that her doubts and reluctance to help were only due to the fact that this story just reminded her so much of the Jillian affair – an abusive husband also there whom she had supposedly tried to free herself from.

“I'm saying that we should check her story first,” she backpedaled a little. “We don't really know her.”

David’s eyes were icy. He waved his hands at her. “I know her.”

That had definitely been the wrong thing to say; Maddie's blinds went down immediately, and the neutrality she had been trying to assume flew right out of the window. “Yeah, you know her well.” Her voice dripped sarcasm.

“You’re just jealous.” David strode to the bathroom dressed only in his boxers.

“And you’re nuts.” Maddie neared David, itching to slap his face.

David didn’t even bother to reply; he just slammed the door to the bathroom in her face.

They slept side by side without touching. When Maddie got up David was already gone. She hated when he did that! She thought about the whole issue for a bit then made a decision.

She asked Virginia to watch Jade for a couple of hours while she had lunch with Agnes. Then she called Agnes and invited her to lunch. “But don’t tell David you’re meeting me.” Maddie instructed her. Agnes sighed when she put down the phone. What was going on between these two knuckleheads now? It seemed like Maddie was planning again to go behind David's back, and that never turned out well; she really hoped that her friend wouldn't try again to drag her into something awful like the infamous camouflage act at Richie's bar months ago. Well, she'd better not.

A few hours later, Maddie and Agnes were seated at a booth in the coffee shop around the corner from Blue Moon. Quickly, Maddie clued Agnes in on her reason for wanting to have lunch with her. Agnes shook her head her curls flying. “This sounds like trouble,” she warned.

Maddie shook her head as her eyes scanned the restaurant. “Nonsense. I just want to see what she looks like, Agnes. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t be curious if it was one of Bert’s exes.”

Agnes sighed deeply. “Just seems sneaky.”

“We’re having lunch together like we do all the time. Surely, it isn’t sneaky.” Why did Agnes always have to be the voice of her conscience?

“Whatever you say.” Agnes told her a tad grumpily. 'All the time' was a massive exaggeration, and her friend knew it. Agnes felt the urge to just get up and walk away from this; at least David wasn't here, so technically they weren't spying on him. Still, she felt like she was betraying him somehow, and she hated that feeling; David was one of her oldest friends, and it just didn't seem right.

Maddie was just going to answer her when she noticed a shapely brunette working behind the counter. Maddie squinted and could make out the name tag which had ‘Linda’ written on it in bold black letters.

After a rather uncomfortable lunch Maddie dropped Agnes at the office again and went on her way to pick up Jade at her parents’ condo; she felt nauseous. Linda was stunning; a beauty! And she looked so very young. And she had once had a thing with David; a relationship, as he had pointed out. She wished she hadn’t gone to the coffee shop, because now in her head all she could see was David and that woman fooling around. And the fact that she hadn’t heard from him all day only added to her unease.

***
That night David and Bert were staking out a cheating spouse and the men didn’t get home until after midnight. When Maddie heard David’s key in the lock she sat up in bed. She wanted to talk and resolve this matter; she knew it couldn't stay this way between them much longer. All day long she kept seeing David and that woman in her mind’s eye. She hoped to be able to voice her thoughts and fears without an argument.

David walked into the room tired and scruffy but didn’t even look toward the bed. The whole day long he had been brooding in a bad mood and displayed a grumpiness so obvious, that not even Bert had dared to ask him what was wrong. He couldn’t believe that once again Maddie didn’t trust him or his instincts. Did she really think that his head was just a hat rack? Sometimes she still made him feel dumb, and he hated it; and sometimes he had the impression that she did that on purpose. Just thinking of how she made him feel like an idiot made his anger flare up inside of him. From the corner of his eye he saw Maddie sitting up in bed staring at him. He inwardly sighed. The last thing he needed right now was another lecture from his wife.

“Go to sleep, Maddie.” David told her with a wave toward the bed. “I’m tired and not in the mood for an argument.”

Maddie shifted in bed. “I don’t want to argue, David. I want to talk.” Why did he assume that they would end up in a fight? Hm, she thought in a moment of self-insight, maybe because that's just what usually happens when we're at odds... Anyway, she really needed to tell him the way she felt, and she only hoped he was in the mood to listen.

He wasn’t. “Well, let’s save the talking to tomorrow morning when I’m conscious.” He plopped down in bed next to her in only his boxers. He then pulled up the covers and turned on his side. “Right now I just want to go to sleep. I’m bushed.” On second thought David rolled over and gave Maddie a chaste kiss on her head. “Night.”

David hated when they went to bed angry at each other, and this was already the second night in a row, but he was hurt and angry at Maddie. She was behaving selfishly. They finally had a successful business and were making a very good living so would it hurt to help out someone who was in trouble? The thought that Maddie was reluctant to help Linda because she had once been his lover made him furious. He thought they had gotten over the trust issues, but once again Maddie’s green eyed snake was rearing its head. Since he was bone tired, David fell into an uneasy sleep with unpleasant dreams.

Maddie felt hurt and angry that David refused to hear her out – blinding out the thought that that was just what she had done when he had brought up the subject the day before. And that kiss had been worse than no kiss at all. Was she his aunt? Maddie lay back down but found herself tossing and turning and listening to David’s deep breathing as he slept.

***
The next morning, Maddie was sitting at the kitchen table feeding Jade when David came down. He was dressed in his dark grey suit which was her favorite. She looked in his direction and was happy to see a slight smile on his face; maybe they would be able to work this out... after all, they always had managed in the past. When she thought about things over night she had to admit to herself that losing the money wasn’t what worried her – she didn’t like the fact that one of David’s ex-lovers was back in his life. Although she trusted him she still couldn’t help the cold hands of jealousy grabbing at her throat when she thought of David holding that woman in his arms. She was sure he would understand.

When David saw Maddie holding Jade in her arms his heart melted and most of his anger evaporated. He was crazy in love with both women in his life although the blonde one drove him crazy at times. He didn’t want to start the day on the wrong foot. Maybe they could talk over the situation with Linda tonight when he came home from work; by the look on his wife's face he saw that she didn't seem to be in the mood for a fight either, so there was hope that after another day of cooling down they would be able to sort things out without going for each other's throats.

“Hey.” David bent down to kiss Jade on her furry head and then moved his lips toward Maddie kissing her on the side of her mouth. “Beanie seems hungry this morning,” he laughed.

Maddie was happy to hear David’s deep laugh and feel his lips on hers, even if it had been only a very light, very short touch. She nodded. “Yes, very hungry. Probably a growing spurt.” She smiled at him. “Coffee is ready. Do you want me to fix you something to eat?”

David poured himself a mug of coffee, took a sip and then shook his head at her offer to fix breakfast. “Nah, don't bother,” he told her and quickly glanced at his watch. “I’m in a rush. I’ll just grab something on the way.”

Grab something on the way? His words were ringing in her ears. Probably at the coffee shop where she worked. Suddenly, the green eyed snake began to slither. Her eyes took in David’s appearance – one of his best suits – his hair styled perfectly – tie just so, and she felt sick to her stomach. “Oh, at The Corner?” She couldn’t help the undertone of jealousy and sarcasm in her voice.

David stopped sipping his coffee and looked at Maddie who had her head down looking at Jade. He knew that tone in her voice, and it irked him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked suspiciously.

“It means what it means,” she threw back his old comeback at him.

“Now you’re telling me where I can grab something to eat?” David looked at her with annoyance. Really, another display of mistrust? He couldn't believe it. How many times had they had this debate already? The funniest part was that he hadn't even been thinking of stopping at The Corner. But it was a no brainer that Maddie would think the worst of him, as usual.

“I’m not telling you anything.” Maddie refused to look up; she was hurt and didn’t want him to see the tears in her eyes. Although she didn’t believe he would do anything wrong she couldn’t believe that he was being so dense about her feelings. He knew she had a jealous streak a mile long but he didn’t seem to care at all about her feelings. That was what hurt her the most. Unfortunately, she had already forgotten her good intentions of the previous evening – that she had been determined to tell him exactly how she felt; of course, that wasn't on purpose – she simply didn't realize that she sounded like she was expressing her mistrust in him again. She just saw that he didn't seem to understand her. How about if the tables were turned and it was Sam who worked at a place she frequented?

David was still annoyed at her, but didn’t want to leave on a bad note. “Look at me, Maddie.” She looked up and he could see the glassiness of her eyes. Really, why was this woman so temperamental and so difficult? “Let’s talk later, baby. Okay?” But he didn't say he wasn't planning to stop at The Corner.

Maddie reluctantly nodded. “Sure. Later.”

“I love you, baby.” He gulped his coffee and rinsed the cup out in the sink. “I’ll try to make it home for dinner.”

“Okay.” Maddie told him. “I love you too.”

David threw her a two finger kiss as he left for the day.

***
Terri and Maddie had plans to go to the mall together that day. Although Maddie was feeling troubled over her problem with David, she didn’t want to disappoint Terri. And she figured she could use the distraction. The last thing she wanted to do was spend the entire day working up different scenarios about Linda in her mind – that wouldn't be helpful at all if she wanted to resolve the problem in the evening when David came home, and she was really determined to do that.

Terri was waiting for Maddie in the mall’s food court. She waved Maddie to the table she was sitting at next to Nate who was sitting up in his carriage biting on a teething ring in the shape of a pretzel. Maddie pushed Jade’s stroller toward her friend. She greeted Terri and reached down to pet Nate on his bald head.

“You’re getting to be such a big boy.” She laughed as she placed Jade’s carriage next to Nate's, then flopped into her chair. They were going to eat a quick lunch then do some shopping.

“How’s the job?” Maddie asked her friend. Terri had gone back to teaching music at the university. Nate was nearby at the on-site day care center. One of the main reasons Terri had chosen to teach at the school was due to this necessary perk. Nate was close by during the day and she could visit him during her breaks between classes. Today she had a day off.

“Great. I have a great schedule, and the kids are smart and interesting.” Terri went on to tell Maddie about what she was teaching with her brown eyes filled with happiness. She was passionate about her career and loved what she did for a living. The idea to teach as opposed to traveling with a symphony was necessary once she became a mother, but she hadn’t been sure she would enjoy it. Terri knew that Maddie was also happy to be working part time again at Blue Moon.

As the women shopped Terri could tell that something was bothering Maddie; she knew her friend well, despite the short time they had known each other. When the women sat on a bench to feed the babies, Terri was her usual blunt self. She pushed her curly locks out of her eyes as she searched Maddie’s face. “What’s bothering you, Maddie?”

At first, Maddie didn’t want to discuss what was going on with her and David with anyone, but when Terri asked her what the matter was, it was as if a dam broke, and Maddie began to spew out all her hurt and angry feelings. Finally, she stopped to catch her breath. She looked at Terri with a sheepish smile. “So, any advice?”

Terri shook her head. “You are both nuts! I have never seen two people who argue as much as you two, yet are so much in love!” She looked at Maddie her brown eyes serious. “First thing is – you have to talk TO – not AT – each other.”

“We talk…” Maddie tried to defend herself.

Terri held up her hand to stop Maddie. “And you have to listen with your ears and your heart. And always try to put yourself in the other's shoes.”

Maddie realized that was the same advice her mother would usually give in such a situation; she thought about what Terri had just said – her friend was right, of course.

David had called her earlier that day, before she had left for the mall to tell her that he would be home a bit late because he needed to clear up some paperwork. Maybe she’d surprise him at the office with Chinese food, and they could talk while they ate. She quickly told Terri her idea and asked if she could leave Jade with her for a couple of hours. Terri agreed with an encouraging smile.

***
David was putting the finishing touches on the case report when he heard a tentative knock at his office door. He looked up, the door was slightly ajar but he couldn’t see who was behind it.

“Come in!” he called out as he pushed the finished document to the side. He’d give it to Agnes in the morning to mail to the client. David was surprised to see Linda walk into his office. He hadn’t seen her since the morning he had promised her the loan. He wondered if she had come to ask him about the money.

“Hey!” David smiled at her. “I was going to call you tomorrow.” He noticed that Linda looked happier than the last time they had spoken. His eyes swept over her and he couldn’t help but admire her body. The last time he had seen her she was dressed in a loose waitress uniform, but now she was wearing a tight pair of jeans and a body hugging sweater which hugged her curves in all the right places. He felt no guilt admiring another woman’s assets – he didn't see anything wrong with looking but never touching, which was fine with him. Maddie was all the woman he needed, but he wasn’t blind or dead.

Linda sat in the chair in front of his desk and pushed back her long curtain of hair with her hand. “I just wanted to tell you there has been a change of plans.” She crossed her long legs. “Thanks for the generous, over the top offer, but I won’t need your loan, David.”

David was shocked to feel relief wash over his body. Now Maddie would have no reason to be angry at him. Still, he wasn't sure if that would stop her. “Are you sure?” He had to ask her.

Linda nodded with a smile. “Yes, I’m sure.” Her eyes grew a little misty. “But you don’t know how much I appreciate what you were willing to do for me. You’re a good man.”

David blushed slightly as his hands waved in front of him brushing off her remark. “So, what’s the reason you won’t need the loan?” He really hoped she wasn’t thinking of returning to her abusive husband.

“I’ve decided to move back home with my mom.” She looked at David with a smile on her pretty face.

David got up and walked slowly around his desk. He leaned back on the front of his desk next to Linda. “You okay with that?” David remembered that Linda had a long and stormy relationship with her stepdad.

Linda nodded. “My mom finally left my stepdad.” She laughed ironically. “She finally realized he was a loser. Guess neither of us knows how to pick 'em.”

David smiled at her with warmth in his eyes. He really liked Linda and wished her the best. “You just haven’t found the right one,” he told her.

Neither realized that Maddie had come into Blue Moon’s outer office carrying the bag of Chinese food; when she heard a woman’s voice in David’s office she waited outside to hear what was going on. It was ingrained in Maddie to be slightly suspicious, so there was no way she wasn’t going to eavesdrop on this conversation. The door wasn't closed after all. Green replaced the blue in her eyes when she heard David talking in his flirty voice with another woman. How could he?? An icy, jealous rage began to overwhelm her as she listened further.

“You’re a good man, David Addison. How did I ever let you get away?” Linda teased him. She pretended to be deep in thought. “As I recall you weren’t ready to be tied down, but maybe if I had hung in there longer, made love to you better...”

David laughed. “Oh, as I recall there was nothing lacking in that department.”

A low throaty laugh sprang from Linda’s mouth. “Yeah well,” Linda tilted her head to the side and looked at him flirtatiously, “Welll,” she practically purred, “if you happen to find yourself a free man again…”

David chuckled with amusement. “I’ll keep that in mind. I think I still have your number,” he joked.

Both began to laugh but stopped in mid chuckle when Maddie burst in the office throwing the bag of food on his desk. “Isn’t this cozy?!” she bellowed, her face red with fury.

David’s head snapped up when he heard Maddie’s angry voice. Shit, she couldn’t have picked a worse time to come in his office. He had only been joking with Linda, and he didn't think it had been anything than harmless flirting, but then he realized that Maddie didn't know such a thing like harmless flirting when it came to him and another woman – to her it probably had sounded bad – real bad. “Maddie!” He went over to his wife who was looking from him to Linda with blue lightning bolts aimed at their heads.

Linda looked up when she heard the angry woman’s voice. She jumped to her feet as recognition dawned on her. This was the Blue Moon Shampoo girl, and it was without a doubt the same woman who had been in the coffee shop the other day. She had thought it might be David’s wife, but the blonde and her friend had left before she had had the chance to ask her. She looked really angry now, and Linda realized she probably had heard their teasing banter.

Maddie turned her icy eyes to Linda. “You must be Linda.” Her voice dripped acid on the name. “Glad you’re waiting for my husband to be free –“ she looked at David like he was a disgusting insect, “the wait might not be as long as you think.”

David raised his hands in defense, “Calm down, babe. Nothing was going on.”

“You are vile.” Maddie spat through gritted teeth.

“We were only joking!” he defended himself.

“Flirting!” Maddie threw back at him.

David ruffled his hair as he nodded his head. “So what!” he exclaimed in growing annoyance. Really, was she going to dictate even what he could say to other people now? “It was innocent!” Maddie stared at him in disbelief; she couldn't believe what she had just heard – he was angry at her?

Linda nodded. “It was,” she confirmed. “Sorry, I don’t want to cause trouble between the two of you. It really was innocent.” She tried to change the subject, not realizing it was going to open up another can or worms. “Hey, weren’t you in The Corner the other day?”

David’s head whipped around to stare at Maddie. “You never mentioned that you went to the coffee shop.”

Maddie knew she was caught. “Do I have to tell you every place I have a cup of coffee?” She looked into David’s green glaciers. She placed a lock of her hair behind her ear as her thoughts were whirling. “Okay, so I went to lunch with Agnes the other day. Big deal.” And it wasn’t a big deal, her anger returned full force. “At least I wasn’t flirting with the waiters.”

“No, you were spying again!” he shot back and tried to control his anger when he thought back of how she had come at him when he had been helping out at Richie's bar and had dragged Agnes there, both women in ridiculous outfits, to spy on him.

“So what, if I wanted to see what she,” Maddie nodded toward the other woman who was itching to leave, “looked like?” She stomped her foot. “Don’t try and change the subject!”

“Change the subject?” David echoed in a thundering voice. “I believe the subject is you not trusting me – again!”

At this point Linda decided to make her escape. She cleared her throat loudly. Two pair of angry eyes turned her way – one green, the other blue – and she waved her hand toward the door. “Well, I think I should be going.”

Maddie stared at her with a mix of white hot fury and ice cold jealousy. How dare she think she could flirt with another woman’s husband: If you happen to find yourself a free man –

David’s eyes turned to Linda. “Sorry about this.” His hands waved toward Maddie and then at him, and Maddie saw even more red – he dared to apologize to her and not to his wife??

Linda waved him off quickly. “No reason to be sorry. I’m sorry if I caused any trouble.” She strode quickly toward the door.

“Call me. Let me know how things work out!” he called after her.

Linda nodded. “Sure, David. I will.” She turned to look at Maddie. “And believe me, you have a good man here. Don’t ruin it, or some woman will surely grab him.”

Maddie didn’t respond; she was struggling with all her might to restrain herself from pulling out Linda’s shiny hair by its roots. As soon as they heard the outer door close the fight resumed.

“Call you?” Maddie growled, her eyes' blue tinged with green. “You have the audacity to tell another woman – an old lover – to call you when your wife is standing in the same room?”

David ran his hands through his hair. “Exactly! If I had anything whatsoever to hide – I would never tell her to call me in front of you.” He shook his head in disgust. “Really, you're blowing this all completely out of proportion! Sometimes I think you’re just looking for excuses to fight with me.”

“And sometimes I think you are a complete dummy!” she spat.

“Oh, back to name calling?” His voice dripped acid. “When you know you’re wrong you resort to belittling me – low blow.”

Maddie’s gaze would have liquefied a weaker man, but David was used to her murderous looks. David saw the bag of Chinese food on his desk and noticed the absence of Jade. “Why did you come here? And where’s the baby?”

Maddie raised her chin. “I was going to surprise you with dinner. I thought we could talk. I left Jade with Terri.” She threw him a nasty look. “I wonder what I would have walked in on if I had come a few minutes later.” Maddie didn’t really mean what she had just said, but the words poured out of her mouth without her thinking – as usual. The moment the words were out, she regretted them, but as so often one look into David's furious eyes was enough to silence that little voice in her head that told her to stop it, stop it, stop it! “You told me you were working late. Working on what? Or should I ask – on whom?” she added venomously.

David’s mouth dropped open as his eyes turned into green steel. “Are you fucking serious?” he barked, nearly out of his mind. She was practically accusing him of being about to boink another woman in his office! Did she even realize that?! “And I was working. She came here unexpectedly. And honey, what do you imagine you would have seen?” He couldn’t believe she still didn’t trust him.

“Who knows?” Maddie, as was her nature, sometimes found it hard to backpedal during an argument she was losing, and even if she always got there in the end to apologize when she went over the line, the moment it happened she never seemed to realize it.

“Bent over the desk maybe?” David threw at her, completely frustrated with her now. His eyes froze her to the spot.

Maddie hated that he was trying to turn the tables on her. "Oh come on, you know I didn't really mean it like that, but what am I supposed to think when I hear you insinuate to your old lover that you may once again be a free man?!"

David looked at her and shook his head, “It was a joke, Maddie. A joke. Where’s your sense of humor? Oh,“ he waved his hand in her direction, “I forgot you don’t have one.“

“Fuck you, David!” Maddie grabbed the bag of Chinese food and headed to the door. “You don’t deserve Mr. Chopstix. To hell with you.” And she left with a resounding slam of the outer door, her eyes blinded by tears.

David was left gazing after her shaking his head. She really was a crazy bitch at times – and this was surely one of those times. If he didn’t love her with every cell in his body he wouldn’t put up with her nonsense but the alternative which was living a life without her was something he could not imagine. But he also knew that he couldn't, didn't want to go on like that – if she was seriously accusing him of wanting to cheat on her, they had a problem. He sighed deeply as he flopped into his chair unhappily.

***
Terri was surprised to see Maddie return so quickly, but when she saw her friend’s red eyes she knew something must have happened. She took the Chinese food from Maddie, “What happened?”

Maddie sat at the table and recounted her experience with David and Linda. She held back her tears of hurt and anger as she told Terri her side of the story. “Call me. He tells her to call him??”

Sometimes her two friends acted like they were in the 7th grade. She knew that they had a crazy but loving relationship, but she knew she could never take the angst and fighting – she was happy that her relationship with Richie wasn’t anything like theirs. Oh, it was hot and steamy, and of course they had disagreements from time to time, like every normal couple – but these recurring fights that seemed to go so deep and affect the couple so much was something she was absolutely unfamiliar with.

“Maddie, calm down,” she told her. “You have to trust David. That was a really grave accusation you made. He would never do anything to hurt you or your marriage – you should know that by now. And I doubt if there was anything going on between them – which I'm sure there isn't – he wouldn’t tell her to call him in front of you.”

“That’s what he said.” Maddie pushed her hair back, “I still don’t like it. He told me he was working late, but I find him there with her.”

Terri couldn’t talk Maddie out of her anger and jealousy and suspiciousness and sat there shaking her head when Maddie left with Jade a few minutes later. She just hoped that her friends would grow up before they destroyed their marriage.