Page 63 of Out Of Time

“Thank you for showing up to help,” she said, leaning her body against the driver’s side door.

“You’re welcome.”

“They took her away in an ambulance. She was so scared, Max.”

“I’m sorry you had to see that. I’m sorry you had to be the one to find her in that state,” he said, guilt from the other night flooding him, knowing she had also just foundhimin a scary situation.

“I just want to forget about it for a while, is that awful of me?” she asked.

“No. If you need to protect yourself right now, I say sweep it under the rug and come back to it later.”

This made Remi smile. “Do I sense cleaning lady humor embedded in that last statement?” she asked.

“I’ve been known to have a pun or two up my sleeve,” he said, offering her the most welcoming smile he had.

“I want to hug you so bad right meow,” she said, a tired smile on her face and a speck of dirt above her eyebrow.

Max smiled and her cat joke, which had become a secret language of sorts between them. It was their own way of saying,I’m yours, andI’m safe with you. Max moved toward her without a second thought, pulling her into his arms. She tried to push away, but he just held her closer, his physical strength winning this round.

“Max, I’m so filthy,” she protested.

“So am I,” he said quietly.

She looked up at him and smiled. “This is the most disgusting hug of my life.”

“The absolute worst,” he teased.

“You stink,” she said.

“So do you.”

They both began to laugh and Max, despite the smudge across her forehead, leaned in and kissed her there.

“My place or yours?” he asked.

“Mine? I need to feed Bozo.”

“Okay, your place it is. Let me grab my bag from the jeep.”

Remi’s eyebrows quirked up in question.

“I don’t think I should drive at night anymore, Rem,” he admitted, his smile faltering at the admission. It was the first thing he knew he officially had to give up.

She fell into his arms. “Oh, Max, I’m so sorry. Was the drive here bad?”

“Pretty bad. I don’t want to risk it anymore. I kinda knew it was coming to this.”

She pushed up on tiptoe and kissed his lips with affection and care. “I can bring you to get your Jeep tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Now, let’s get home so we can shower away this awful day.”

And it had been an awful day. The Condors had lost in Colorado with Max in front of the net, and Remi had walked into a nightmare at work. While her shower was so small he wasn’t sure how the two of them would fit, they would make it work because there was no way in hell he was going to let her wash away the sins of her day alone.

Remi started the shower for her and Max, and piece by piece their clothing fell to the floor. The remnants of their day would be washed away down the drain.

She stepped into the shower first, holding out her hand to welcome Max to join her. It was a tight fit, but she didn't care. She wanted to be close to him. Sheneededto be close to him. The hot spray pushed his perfectly styled red hair back on his head, and she never knew someone could be so beautiful when wet.

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