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009 i think he likes you
The next morning, Maleea decided to be a good coworker and drop off coffee and malasadas at Steve's - at least that's what she told herself. That morning, she woke up, dressing herself in a pair of workout tights, an oversized tee, her hair in braids and a cap hung loosely on her head. She was all smiles as she greeted her younger brother downstairs, making her way out of the house. Jumping in her Jeep, she started the engine, reversing out of her driveway. Her mood impeccable since waking up, nothing could ruin it.
After collecting the two coffees and box of malasadas, she made her way to the McGarrett household, parking in the driveway, she collected the items from the passenger side, closing and locking the door behind her. She made her way up the front path, nerves filling the woman from head - to - toe. She had finally decided to act on her feelings for Steve, first step, coffee and breakfast. With a smile, she knocked on the door, only to have her breath taken out of her when it swung open. Instead of revealing Steve, it revealed a half naked woman wrapped in a towel. Her mouth dropped open in shock. "I - uh - I. Is this the wrong house?" Maleea began stuttering, suddenly unsure that she knew her way to Steve's house, concluding that was silly as she had made the journey so many times it's ingrained in her brain, even if she wanted to forget it, she couldn't.
As the woman began to speak, a voice came from inside the house. "Cath, who's at the door?" Steve's voice carried throughout the quiet house, drifting to Maleea's ears. Her stomach dropped and she instantly felt ill. How could I be so stupid to think he was still into me, was the only thought running through her mind. Seconds later the man himself appeared - half naked as well - as he pulled the door open a little to get a better look, his face dropping the second he saw her. "Uh, hey, Steve. Just brought breakfast and coffee. Didn't realise you had company." She stumbled over her words, trying to rush the sentence out so she could leave the situation as soon as physically possible. "I don't want to interrupt, so here," she handed the box and tray to Steve, who grabbed them, still in shock at the situation he found himself in currently. "Enjoy." Maleea mustered up the best fake smile she could, before turning on her heel and walking away.
She unlocked the Jeep, jumping in. She remained calm, reversing her car, driving a little ways down the street before pulling over, sobs racking through her body. She felt awful and rejected, she had honestly thought that when he got back, Steve had given her signals that he was interested in trying things again, all their coworkers seemed to think so as well, she just felt deflated. She pulled her phone out, dialling a number from her contacts, seeing it as the only thing that could cheer her up. She sniffled, trying to compose herself. "Hey, Leea!" The kind voice of Daniel Williams drifted through the phone. "Hey, do you have Gracie today?" Maleea asked, her voice cracking midway through, silently cursing herself. "Yeah. But I don't know what I'm going to do with her, we just got a case. I'm going to have to take her to Rachel, like she doesn't get enough time with her." He muttered the last part.
Maleea thanked her lucky stars. "I can look after her if you want, Danny. I'm not feeling too good today. I haven't told Steve yet that I'm not feeling well though." She offered, adding in a lie about feeling unwell, hoping the blonde man would take pity on her and desperate enough to not give up time with Grace that he'd be willing to accept the offer. "You know, Leea. That'd be great, and I'll tell Steve for you." He informed through the phone, a feeling of relief washing over her. "Okay, I'm on my way to grab her now!" Maleea chirped, starting up the Jeep again and pulling onto the road. "Gracie, get dressed, Auntie Leea is on her way over to spend the day with you!" She heard Danny call out, followed by cheers from the young girl, a giggle falling out of the brunette's mouth. "Okay, see you soon, Leaa." Danny responded. "Bye, Danny."
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"So, I'm thinking, shopping, lunch, more shopping, then I teach you how to surf. How bout that, missy?" Maleea asked, once Grace had finished eating her breakfast. "I think that's a great idea." Grace nodded her head. The brunette woman smiled brightly, taking the young girl's dishes to the sink and washing them, placing them on the drying rack before turning around. "Need to grab anything?" She leaned against the counter, the girl shaking her head, indicating a response of 'no' to the woman, she smiled as her phone began buzzing. "Oop, hang on. Might be your dad." She pulled her phone out to see Steve flashing across the screen, her face instantly contorting into one displaying nerves. "Hang on Gracie Bug, it's Steve. I just need to get this quickly." She spoke walking into another room as she answered.
"Hello?" She questioned. "You didn't seem sick this morning." His voice immediately shot out at her. "Wow. Hi Leea, how are you? Oh you know, Steve, not feeling too well, sorry I couldn't come into work today." She spoke sarcastically, finding it annoying that the first words out of Steve's mouth were not ones of concern for her. "You're too sick to come to work, but not sick enough to hang out with Gracie for the day?" He questioned, ignoring her words. "Yes, Steven, I am. Danny needed someone to look after Grace, I said I would, just because I'm not feeling well, doesn't mean I wouldn't offer to help my friend so he doesn't have less time with his daughter." She spoke harshly through the phone.
"And to get sick so suddenly?" Steve continued to poke the bear unknowingly. "It's not suddenly, Ari's been sick all week. I live with him, doesn't take a genius to put that together." She responded, sassily, annoyed at how Steve was seeing through all of her lies. "Really? Because I just saw your brother, he looked fine to me. Not only that, but he seemed like you being sick was news to him." Steve continued his tirade at the girl, and she wasn't sure why. Shouldn't he have felt just as uncomfortable as her this morning? "I have to go, Steven. I need to take care of Grace. I'll be back in the office when I'm feeling better. Goodbye." She hung up, not allowing the man a chance to continue the conversation.
"All right, Gracie Bug, ready to go?" She called through the house, hearing the young girl cheer in anticipation for their day.
-
"I'm telling you, Gracie. This is the best juice you'll ever drink." Maleea smiled down at the girl, suddenly being flung backward after obviously running into someone, she fell on her butt, Grace looking down at the woman shocked. "Oh my god, are you okay?" A deep voice made its way to Maleea's ears, looking up she found a chiseled man with dirty blonde hair gazing down at her, concern etched on his features. "Yes, that was my fault, I was talking to my niece and wasn't looking where I was going." Maleea spoke, starting to lift herself off the ground, the mad darted a hand out, gently grabbing her arm, helping her up and steadying herself. "Don't be sorry, it's not often I get to bump into such a beautiful woman, I should actually be thanking you for this encounter, I'm sure I'm going to be thinking about it all day, doubt I'll be able to get the smile off my face, when I think about the pretty lady who interrupted my early afternoon." He winked, extending his hand out. "I'm Jay. Jay Chase." He smiled, his smile infectious, reaching his eyes.
His eyes. Gorgeous. Maleea was drowning in the balls of blue he uses to see out of. "Hmm. Two first names? Immediately untrustworthy." She joked, keeping her tone neutral. "Oh, really?" Jay joked, the brunette woman nodding. "Maybe you'll have to get to know me, so I can prove you wrong." His smile, morphing into a smirk after the words left his mouth. "Wow, cocky." Maleea smirked back, the pair staring at each other for a while. "And your name?" He prompted the woman in front of him. "Maleea Hudson." She smiled, the man nodding. "Maleea. I like that." He stated, the woman blushing.
"Well, I really hope I see you around, Maleea Hudson." Jay smiled, before taking a step around the girls and walking away.
"I think he likes you." Grace giggled up at the brunette woman. I think I like him too. She thought.
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well, well, well. we've met jay, yay! also, steve really did maleea dirty there haha. as always, please leave a comment with your thoughts, see you in the next chapter 🤍
