Max laughed as he clapped Teddy on the back. “I’m right there with you but change that burger to a nice juicy steak. I need to call Desiree and let her know we’re home, so she knows how to call us if anything goes down.”
“Pussy whipped, fucker.”
“Like your ass isn’t either. Don’t think I don’t know about that chick you’re pining away over in your sister’s club. You’re just too chickenshit to talk to her or let her know you’re interested in her. Pussy.”
Max roared with laughter when Teddy flipped him off. It felt good to laugh freely without having to worry about the enemy finding their location if they got too rowdy.
They had been gone for a solid month dealing with their mission. They were all exhausted and ready for some much-needed downtime.
At least this time their mission was accomplished. They managed to deal with the loose ends of the terrorist group they had been looking for that had their sites on military based overseas.
Max turned on his phone and waited for it to complete the cycle it did to be ready for use. He breathed a sigh of relief when the phone came on, and no notifications came on to let him know something bad had gone down.
He pulled up Desiree’s number and let it ring. Hearing her voice would be the balm to a shitty month that he desperately needed.
“Hey handsome, please tell me you’re back stateside.”
“Hey beautiful. I am. Going to head home and grab a nice hot shower. Wanna meet up for dinner? I am wanting a nice hot juicy steak after all the crap we had to suffer with.”
“How about you bring your go bag and come here to get that shower. I’ll start the grill and make you a nice juicy steak with a baked potato. I even have cold beer in the fridge.”
“Not that cheap shit your brother likes is it?” Max asked with a smile on his lips at her suggestion.
“Fuck no. He has to bring that shit if he wants it himself. Just let me know. I also understand if you want to head to your place for some down time. Won’t hurt my feelings none. I remember how it was once you come home from a mission.”
Max realized in that moment he was head over heels for this woman. The idea of going home to his apartment honestly didn’t appeal to him like it used to.
He knew at that moment that his home was her. Max was just going to have to learn how to be patient until she was ready for the whole deal.
“Let me finish debrief and I’ll text you when I’m headed to your place. Teddy can go home and dream about the girl he’s too chickenshit to tell he likes.”
“Wait, my baby brother has a girl he likes but he’s too pussy to tell her? Please tell me you know who it is?” Desiree begged through the phone.
“Yep!” Max popped his ‘p’.
“Yo, Beast, team is going to grab beers after we grab a hot shower. You game?”
“Who was that?” Desiree asked, laughing through the line.
“That would be our team playboy, Hef. He deems himself the modern-day Hugh Heffner.”
“Gross. If you want to go, then go. We can do steaks and dessert another day.” Desiree continued to laugh at his groan.
“Babe, I’ve been alone with these assholes for a solid month, I do not need to catch a beer with them. Especially when I have something way fucking better waiting for me at home.”
Home…that word sounded like heaven to him. Desiree was his home.
“No thanks, Hef. I have something way better to get home to. You boys have fun and please for the love of all that is holy, call a Lyft or an Uber.”
“Damn, boss is pussy whipped.” Daelen “Hef” Barnes pointed out to the others in the team.
“Damn right I am.” Max responded as he walked away with Desiree roaring with laughter on the phone.
Max hung up the phone after a few more minutes of talking to Desiree on the phone. He wanted to get his debrief over with quickly so that he could get to her.
An hour later, he was sending her a quick text message to let her know he was on the way. He waived bye to his team, including Teddy as he climbed into his truck and got on the road.
All he knew was that he needed to lay eyes on her to be able to be able to breathe easily. She was quickly becoming the air that he needed to function.
