Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 105398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 422(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 422(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
“Fuck, that was hot.” Gabe said.
I smiled, and then buttoned my pants.
“I’ve got to go, I’m super late. Max is taking me, right?” I asked him as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Yeah, baby. I’m sorry I’m not going, but we have a small amount of time left to finish this bike and get it registered, or the bike won’t make it to auction. Call me when you are leaving, I love you, Em.” He said before letting me go.
“Love you, more.” I said and then walked fast out the door.
Max was on his cell phone, but quickly hung up when he saw me. Helping me into the truck, he started it up and then took off towards the doctor’s office. We parked in the parking garage and walked at a fast clip to the office, all the while not saying a word. He hooked an arm around me once we reached the elevator doors and kissed me on the forehead.
“We’re lucky you made all the lights or we would have been late.” I said idly.
“That’s ‘cause I’m the man.”
“I’m sure that’s it.” I said dryly as I opened the doors to the office.
“I wasn’t here but a year ago with Cheyenne. These nurses probably think I get around a lot.” Max whispered beside me.
“Don’t you?” I asked sweetly.
“Well yea, but I don’t leave and evidence behind.”
“Eww. That’s just nasty.”
“You know what’s nasty? Hearing your sister have sex while you were innocently trying to play a war game. That’s nasty.”
My face flamed and the receptionist watched us with curiosity after overhearing Max’s comment.
Rolling my eyes at her, we went to sit down. Max being the ass he is sat two seats away from me. He liked his elbowroom, and we’d played this game before, many times. There was a TLC program on about giving birth, and I watched Max watch it with revulsion in his eyes.
His horror-filled eyes turned to me and said, “Don’t expect me to be in there with you.”
“Of course I do. You are my only family. I need you.” I said simply.
I didn’t really, but there was no way I was letting him know that. Terrorizing him was my favorite past time. When he was in Iraq, I missed teasing him like crazy. I felt empty without him. Very alone.
When he was hurt, I went to pieces. I cried for three days straight. I couldn’t even go see him because they couldn’t tell me where they took him. They didn’t know if he was all right, they only knew that the Humvee tripped an IED, and that Max sustained injuries. It was truly the worst experience of my life.
Watching him now, you would never know he was ever hurt. He looked perfect. Although, he did go into his zones where he would draw into himself. Those times were hard because he would never tell me what was wrong. We told each other everything, and it was tough when he didn’t trust me with those aspects of his life.
“I really do need you, you know.” I whispered so just only he could hear.
His eyes went soft, and he moved to the seat beside me. “I owe you an apology. I know you’ve had it hard since mom and dad died. I wanted to apologize for leaving you, and then for making you feel like shit after I came home.”
His words made my heart swell. I hadn’t let myself contemplate it, but I needed to hear that he was sorry. Sorry for leaving me alone when I our parents died. Sorry for making me grow up so fast when I needed him so much. He’d left me broken, and I’d never healed.
“That was a shitty thing to do. Why’d you leave me when I needed you so much?”
“I was hurting, too. I didn’t even think about you, to be honest. I was in so much pain myself, that I buried myself in my career. Took all that pain out on the enemies. I should have come back, but I couldn’t forgive myself after I’d realized what I’d done. Gabe succeeded where I couldn’t. It was only after I got hurt in that Humvee that I let myself think about what I was doing. I love you, Emmie. Please forgive me.”
Everything he said was true, and who was I to judge for how he coped with losing our parents? Everyone grieves a different way.
Tears pricked my eyes, and I blinked rapidly to dislodge them. “I know, Maxie. I never held it against you. I forgive you. Will you buy me a new car to make up for it?”
He laughed, and the spell of sadness was broken.
Thirty minutes later, I found myself on the scale. I was two pounds lighter since just yesterday. Which didn’t surprise me since I ran on adrenaline and a prayer for a few hours yesterday. The nurse showed us to a room, and I sat on the table while Max took the only available chair. He surveyed the room, and quickly turned away from the model that showed a baby passing through a birth canal.
“I can’t wait for you to have a kid of your own. You’re gonna end up having to deliver the baby all by yourself. You’ll have to watch your wife’s vag stretch to the size of a melon. It’s gonna be awesome. I’ll video your reaction.”
“That’s absolutely disgusting.”
The appointment went about as expected. We talked about risks, can-dos and can’t-dos. He told me I wasn’t allowed to have sex in water. No more than two cokes a day (this was one of the worsts), and limited amounts of mercury. While I listened with half an ear, Max looked like he was taking everything the doctor said to heart, memorizing it, and then storing it in the vault he called a mind. Some of the things were so obvious that I wondered what type of person wouldn’t know that you shouldn’t chain smoke or drink whiskey. Um, duh?
“Any questions?” Dr. Robinson asked.