It had been an uncomfortable flight.
Boomer stared at him. “Dude, I’m supposed to be the dumb one.”
“You’re not,” Deke started.
Boomer waved him off. “I make up for it by being an amazing guy. I’m not the brightest bulb, but I know my worth. I’m not sure you do when it comes to this, brother. You are crazy about this woman, and you’re acting like you don’t have anything to offer her.”
“Sex. I can offer her sex.” Did she want sex? He’d given her the one orgasm to prove to both of them they could still connect, but then he’d backed off. She’d been plain that she didn’t want to trust him. He’d told her they could enjoy each other knowing it wouldn’t go anywhere.
Then he’d held her and he’d wanted more. So much more.
Boomer huffed. “I’m calling Kai.”
He did not need a therapy session. “Just say what you need to say.”
Boomer was one of his oldest friends. They’d been like brothers for over a decade. He’d nursed Boomer through many a head injury because he seemed to be the guy who always took one to the noggin. And Boomer always supported him. When Deke’s family home had flooded, Boomer had gone with him and worked for days cleaning the place out and helping his family. He would listen to Boomer.
“She was disappointed you didn’t take her to bed Friday night. Apparently you had some kind of encounter.”
He shrugged. “Yeah. I figured out she was acting like a brat because she was self-conscious. When she gets anxious it can be hard for her to settle down. So I thought I would handle both problems with some play. She sat on my lap, and I got her to relax in a very physical way.”
“Well, you didn’t whisk her away.”
He’d wanted nothing more than to take her to his bed, strip her down, and get inside her. But he’d known he would be wanting far more than sex. “I didn’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Well, she thought you didn’t want her. Big Tag and MaeBe convinced her you do, and now she’s… I don’t know, the word pretending was said a whole lot. Like pretending to pretend. It got confusing there, and I was pretty hungry.”
That little brat. “MaeBe is the bad influence. She’s topping from the bottom and showing my sub how to do it, too.”
“So top her from the top,” Boomer suggested.
“What?”
“You know, turn it around on her. The way I see it the two of you are in a standoff. Neither one of you wants to be the first one to say ‘Hey, I like you. Let’s go to bed.’ So she’s trying to tempt you. Tempt her. You have charms, Deke. I’ve found it helps if I show a little maleavage.”
“Dare I ask what that is?” Deke was fairly certain he didn’t want to know.
Boomer undid three of the buttons on his shirt and spread the sides out a bit to show off part of his pecs and the curve of his muscular chest. “It’s better with a V-neck, but when I wear one to work Big Tag slaps me upside the head and calls me a himbo. Masculine cleavage is a thing. And your forearms. See, you roll up your sleeves real slow, give ’em a show, and then you do something manly with your arms. I like to pick up something heavy.”
Deke couldn’t help but laugh. This was another thing Boomer did well. He took a rough moment and turned it into something fun. “Okay, I can probably show her my charms, but it doesn’t fix the problem. She doesn’t want a long-term relationship with me, and I can’t blame her. Look at this place. I can’t even come close to offering her something like this.”
“Dude, you’re going to make her give up this place and live off only your income?” Boomer asked. “That seems dumb. I don’t think she’s going to go for that. This place is nicer than yours. You should pick this place.”
Well, that was moving fast. “Very sarcastic of you, but I have a point. She’s in a different league than me financially.”
“Do you ask the women you date how much money they make and then compare salaries? Like how close does she have to be?” Boomer kept up the sarcasm. “Because I’ve been forgetting to do that.”
“Of course I don’t ask them about their finances,” Deke said with a sigh. “I’m just saying I don’t bring Madeline anything financial.”
“And I’m saying the fact that you think that way is your problem, not hers. Personally I’m going to go with the flow. If I meet a lady who wants to stay home and take care of our house, then I’ll work real hard to make that happen. If I meet one who wants to work, then we’ll divide the household chores and go from there. She wants me to stay home and take care of the kids, she’s going to find out my biggest secret.”
Deke felt a smile cross his face. Only a couple of people knew Boomer’s deepest held secret. “You’ll cook for her?”
He happened to know that Boomer was an excellent cook, but the women of MT liked to feed him and Boomer liked to make people feel good.
“I will,” Boomer agreed. “I can’t bake to save my life, but I can make a meal. My point is who does what jobs doesn’t matter. I don’t want a wife who stays at home or a wife who needs to work. I want a wife who loves me, and I want a family. The rest is window dressing.”
Put so simply, Deke knew that was what he wanted, too. What he’d always wanted. “I don’t think Maddie shares your vision.”
Boomer gestured toward the back of the house. “Then it’s only because she doesn’t know how nice it can be. Look around that house. You know what’s missing?”
“Nothing, from what I can tell.” She had everything including a tricked-out media room with a massive TV and movie theater style chairs.
“There’s no pictures,” Boomer replied. “She’s got one picture of her mom and dad and nothing else. She’s got paintings, but I would bet those are more investments than anything else. She doesn’t have pictures of her friends. I’m starting to think she doesn’t have any.”
But Maddie had friends in high school. She’d loved hanging with her girlfriends and going on double dates. She’d loved parties.
Over the last couple of days, they’d talked about the op mostly, but at night she’d asked him about his life. When she talked about hers, it was all work. She hadn’t mentioned friends she went out with. She hadn’t mentioned friends at all.
The idea that Maddie was lonely made his heart ache.
The idea that she was manipulating him oddly didn’t irritate him. She wanted to get into bed with him, and she could tell herself it was all about sex. Hell, he’d propped that door open with the whole live-in-the-moment bullshit he’d spouted.
Now he had two things to give her. Pleasure and companionship.
The money disparity still worried him, but he would think about that later. Right now, he was going to concentrate on rebuilding their connection. They had some time. He wouldn’t rush her, but he also wasn’t going to let her slip into his bed and slip out without giving something back.
“Hey, I was going to order some dinner since it’s getting late.” Maddie had opened the glass door and stood there watching them, the light from the pool casting shadows across the beautifully landscaped yard. “I’ve got a bunch of delivery menus if you want to look.”