Unconditional

by Tyler, Q. B.

  “I just…” I search my brain for an excuse, but come up pretty empty, “I’m so tired, Sash.”

  “Bullshit, you can sleep tomorrow. You’re coming out. No questions. I’ll be at your house in one hour. Please be ready.”

  I sigh in defeat. “Where are we going?”

  “Just to grab some dinner!”

  I know my best friend well enough to know, there is more to the story. “With…”

  “Mike…” She looks around and gives me a smirk and a shimmy, “and the hot lacrosse guy.”

  I squeeze my eyes shut, knowing that this is going to be complicated as fuck to get out of. How am I going to explain to Sasha that I can’t go on a date?

  I see the look she’s giving me and let out a sigh.

  Okay, how am I going to explain to Cal that I’m going on a date?

  Cal’s still not home an hour later and I’m starting to feel antsy about leaving the house without seeing him first. I pick up the phone to call him and he answers on the first ring.

  “Hey, Maddie.” Translation: I’m around people. Hi baby.

  I swallow as I run the lotion up my bare legs, wishing it were his hands touching me. “Hey… umm…Sasha wants to hang out.”

  “Now?” Translation: I want you home when I get there. Don’t go out.

  “Yeah, I just…don’t know how to get out of it.”

  “I don’t know that I want you going out this late.” I hear someone speaking in the distance and then a voice I recognize coming into the receiver.

  “Don’t let this old man keep you from going out and living your best life, little G.” The voice of Ryan Burns, Cal’s right-hand man, comes over the phone. They’ve been best friends since the first day of Academy and genuinely one of the best guys I know other than Cal. He started calling me little G, as in Little Grayson, because to him that’s what I am. Cal’s daughter.

  I squeeze my eyes shut, knowing that never in a million years is Ryan going to let this go and now Cal has to be careful about what he says next because Ryan always knows when something is off. It’s why he was promoted to Detective at twenty-six.

  “Hey Ry, are you guys staying out of trouble?” I reach for my jeans and pull them up over my legs as I cradle my phone against my shoulder.

  “You betcha. Now go have fun. But not too much, alright?”

  “Ummm…yeah, sure. Can…I talk to Cal really quick?”

  “Where are you guys going?” Cal says as his voice comes over the phone.

  “I don’t want to go, but you’re not exactly giving me an out,” I tell him. “And I know Ryan just made it ten times harder.” I sigh, knowing he can’t respond to any of what I just said. “I just want to see you.” I sigh, when he doesn’t say anything. “Dinner. I’ll text you where we go.”

  “Alright, have fun, Mads.” I can hear the smile in his voice that he’s probably putting on for Ryan, though I know his heart isn’t in it.

  “I love you.”

  “Talk soon.” Translation: I’m fucking pissed.

  “Can you at least pretend like you’re excited?” Sasha says as I slide into her Toyota Camry. It was an early birthday present from her parents, both for turning eighteen and for getting into college. Sasha is brilliant by nature, not by studying, and despite the fact that she skipped more than half of her classes every week, she is still maintaining a good enough GPA to get her early acceptance to a handful of schools.

  “I don’t want to go out with the lacrosse guy. Speaking of which, does he have a name?”

  “Ummm…Bryan? Brock? Brent?” She shrugs as she pulls out of my driveway. “Couldn’t tell you. Ask him. And why not?” She points her finger at me. “You’ve been acting weird the past few weeks. What gives?”

  “Nothing, I’m just…exhausted, and I guess a little antsy about turning eighteen. And next year…I don’t know, college stuff.” I start rambling off the standard things kids our age have to be stressed out about to keep Sasha from getting too close to the truth.

  “I know girl, me too. But this is why you have to let loose from time to time.”

  “I let loose plenty.”

  “Not recently! I feel like I’ve hardly seen you since before Thanksgiving. It’s almost Christmas. Speaking of which, what are we doing for your birthday?”

  Hopefully me and Cal in nothing more than our birthday suits. I roll my eyes at my corny pun and shrug. “I have some plans with everyone, but nothing crazy.”

  “That’s stupid, it’s your eighteenth! I’m sure Aria and Cal have something fun planned for you. Like a surprise party!”

  “Wouldn’t you know if there was a surprise party?” I raise an eyebrow at her.

  “Not necessarily, they know I can’t keep secrets from you.”

  Sasha turns on some music and I’m grateful for the sounds of Lana Del Rey to stop the conversation and to quiet the thoughts in my brain. I let her melancholy voice calm me slightly when I feel a text buzzing in my bag.

  Superhero: Just you and Sasha?

  Me: No

  Superhero: Who else?

  Me: Her boyfriend and some other guy

  Superhero: So, like a date?

  This is one of those times that I wish I could be completely transparent. I want to tell him that I feel backed into a corner, and that I don’t want to go out in the first place. That I wanted to be home when he got there, tucked in his bed and waiting for him. That I didn’t want any other guy. Just him.

  But I can’t say that.

  Me: I wouldn’t call it that.

  Superhero: Sounds like it…and you know all guys have to be cleared through me.

  Me: Cal…

  He doesn’t say anything and a sinking feeling washes over me that I’m walking into a disaster.

  Brad Richards has bright blue eyes that almost completely match the shade of mine. His blonde hair is cut short, almost buzzed if not for the fact that it sort of falls in his face in the front. He’s tall, much taller than me and Sasha, and even has Mike by an inch, making me wonder if he is well over six feet. He’s ripped from what I can see under his letterman jacket that has his name proudly stamped across the back. “This must be the famous Maddie.”

  I pull my brown leather jacket closer around me. “I didn’t know I was famous.” A polite smile finds my lips before he pulls me into a hug, much to my surprise. I pull back and put some space between us and give him my hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

  “So formal.” He smiles, revealing a smile with a slight gap between his front two teeth. Objectively, he is still handsome. The slight flaw makes him seem more real and not the perfect All-American boy that he appears to be. He shakes my hand and pulls it to his mouth, brushing his lips over the skin. I slide my hand out of it, wondering why he’s so handsy when we literally just met, and he frowns.

  I think he’s going to say something in response to my aloofness when something over my shoulder catches his attention. His eyebrows furrow and I hear Sasha groan. “Oh, for the love of God.”

  My scalp tingles in preparation for the storm I know is headed my way. I have no idea how Cal is going to stake his claim over me, but I know without a doubt, that I won’t be at this restaurant for much longer.

  “Ladies.” Hungry brown eyes meet mine. Well to me they’re hungry, to everyone else I’m sure they’re the eyes of a cop who doesn’t take any shit. He turns towards Brad and Mike, glowering at my ‘date.’ “Gentlemen.”

  “Is there a problem?” Brad looks him up and down, not realizing who he is, and thus getting a different vibe from him. Please don’t start a pissing contest with him. I’m just about to explain who Cal is when Brad continues, “Because they’re with us.” He points at me and Sasha.

  “Is that so?” Cal looks at me, an evil glint in his eye, and I already don’t like where this is going. “Madeline.”

  I try to stop my body from reacting to his use of my full name but it’s no use. My chest deflates, my heart begins to race, and a pulse begins to flicker betw
een my legs. “Brad, this is my…ummm…well…I sort of live with him.”

  He raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms over his chest, his posture and gaze full of judgment. “Seems a little young to be your dad.”

  “He’s not.”

  “Brother?”

  I shake my head. “No,” I say softly.

  “Cousin? Uncle? Some sort of family member?”

  “We’re not…related. I don’t…have a ton of family.”

  “Yes, you do.” Cal’s voice is smooth and he pins me with a look. You have family. What do you call Aria and Henry and Margie?

  “I just mean…ummm my parents died when I was younger and Cal took me in.”

  “Just some random guy?” Brad stares at me and shifts his gaze to Cal in an accusing way.

  “God, Brad, shut up!” Sasha glares at him. She looks at Mike, who is privy to my past, much like most people in our town, making me believe that Brad didn’t grow up here because everyone in the state of Oregon knows about the Shaw homicide-suicide. “Babe!”

  “Yeah, cool it, B.” Mike nudges his arm. “He’s good,” he says pointing at Cal.

  “Fine, well we’re going to have our date now? I don’t really know why you’re here.” His hand reaches for me, in an attempt to pull me away from Cal, but I keep my feet firmly planted in place and pull out of his grip. A flash of hurt but also anger moves through his eyes and I find myself taking a step back and closer to Cal.

  He must sense my apprehension because he takes a step closer to Brad and somewhat in front of me. “I’m here because no one takes Madeline out without meeting me first. She knows the rule and so does Miss Parker, who I’m sure was hoping could get her out of the house while I was MIA.” He shoots a look at Sasha and she rolls her eyes.

  “Come on, CG, I need you to relax. Our girl is almost eighteen, you can’t baby her forever.”

  “Watch me.” He glares at Sasha, and I have to give her credit, she doesn’t back down, holding his gaze for far longer than most. She rolls her eyes and turns to me. “Can you call off your bodyguard please?” She pouts as if to say, please don’t ruin this double date.

  “Can I talk to you for a second?” I try my best to sound irritated with him, trying to play the part of the teenager who’s embarrassed, but the truth is I’m irritated with everyone but Cal. He’d come for me when I wanted him to and is offering me the out I desperately want to take.

  He doesn’t touch me as we make our way outside and all I want to do is jump into his arms and wrap my legs around him. “Hi.”

  “Hey.” He smiles and it reaches his eyes making me wonder if he’s really not angry with me.

  “You’re not mad at me?”

  He shakes his head. “No.” He takes a step towards me and I feel him all around me. “I’m sorry I missed your show.”

  I shake my head. “I understand.”

  He touches my chin softly. “I hate when I can’t be there.”

  “You’re always there. You’re everywhere.” I bite my bottom lip. “Thank you for coming.”

  His thumb rubs my lip and dips slowly into my mouth. “Do you want to be here?”

  I shake my head slowly and let my tongue run over it. “I think you know where I want to be.”

  “I figured I would ask…”

  “In case I was lying about my feelings for you?”

  “He’s your age and not so complicated and…” Fear grips my heart, hearing his words, and I shake my head.

  “Not you.”

  “You want me to take you home?”

  I nod emphatically. “Yes.”

  “Do you want me to come back in with you?” He nods towards the restaurant but I don’t think Brad and Cal need any more time in the same vicinity.

  “No—” I shake my head just as I hear my name being called. Cal drops his hand from my mouth in an instant and takes a step back from me, trying to cool the heat sizzling between us as Sasha approaches us. Her ash-colored eyes move back and forth between us as if her vision is unfocused before and now she’s seeing things clearly.

  Fuck.

  “Hey.” Her eyes flicker to Cal, who’s raising an eyebrow at her daring her to question what she’s walked in on. They sweep back to me because although she talks a big game, I know Cal intimidates her. “Everything good?”

  I smile, trying to appear less guilty than I feel. I hate lying to Sasha and keeping things from her. “Yeah, Sash, but I’m really not feeling great, I think I’m going to go.” Her brows furrow and shoot to Cal.

  “Are you really making her leave?”

  “I’m not making Maddie do anything, Sasha. She can make her own decisions. It sounds like you pressured her into something she didn’t want to do in the first place.”

  “Cal…” I trail off. I shoot him a look telling him to lay off and he rolls his eyes. I try to downplay the conversation we are having with our eyes but Sasha must notice because she clears her throat.

  “Can I talk to you for a second?” Sasha asks, before shooting Cal a glare. “Alone?”

  Cal huffs, irritation flowing off of him in waves as he nods towards his Jeep. “I’ll be in the car.” I turn back to Sasha, with a plan to lay it on thick of how tired I am from the day when she speaks up first.

  “Are you sleeping with Cal?!” she blurts out, her eyes trained on the Jeep parked several cars down.

  “No!” I look around, worried that someone might overhear when I realize that even if they did, it’s not like they’d necessarily know who we were talking about.

  “Madeline.” She looks at me, her eyes narrowing and she puts her hands on her hips. “I’m your best friend, if you can’t be honest with me who can you be honest with?”

  Cal.

  “I am being honest.”

  “Swear on your slippers.”

  I bite my bottom lip. When I was a kid, whenever I had an ultimate truth, I swore on my ballet slippers. “I swear on my slippers I’m not sleeping with Cal.”

  She looks at me like she doesn’t believe me, which is dangerous because Sasha can be relentless in her quest for the truth. “You know you can tell me anything.”

  My heart sinks that I can’t be honest with her. That I have to lie to her and keep this secret from her. But what if she didn’t understand? What if she told someone? “I know, Sash.”

  She takes a step forward and wraps her arms around me. “You really have to go?”

  “Yeah.” My eyes are trained on the ground, unwilling to meet her penetrating and curious gaze. She kisses my cheek and squeezes me.

  “You do you.” My heart thumps in my chest as I swear I hear the double meaning when she pulls away. “Just…” she trails off, “take care of yourself. I know you expect Cal to do that, but make sure you know how to do it too…for when he’s not there.”

  SOFT, WARM LIPS ATTACK MY face as soon as the door closes behind us. Maddie hasn’t even removed her coat when she throws her arms around my neck and pulls me down to kiss her. I welcome her lips hungrily, opening my mouth and meeting her tongue with urgent eager thrusts. She tastes like cinnamon and sex and every time she swipes her tongue along mine my cock tightens in my pants. She wraps one leg around me, pushing her sex against me and opening herself up to me. I grab her hips and lift her into my arms allowing her to wrap her legs around my waist. She yanks her coat off and pushes mine to the floor as I walk us up the stairs, our kisses getting more desperate and frantic. “No fucking dates, Madeline,” I growl at her.

  The second she told me she was going out with Sasha I knew there was more to the story and then she told me a boy was involved and I saw red. Thank God Ryan was off the clock and his woman rang the “I need dick” alarm, so I didn’t need to come up with an excuse to go find Maddie and stake my claim. I almost broke that fuckers arm off for thinking he could even breathe Maddie’s air let alone touch her.

  “I didn’t want to go.” She pulls back and looks at me. Her lips are swollen and red and glossy and her eyes are shimmering wi
th tears. “You said you weren’t mad.”

  I push her cheeks together and run my lips from her forehead to her chin, kissing her cheeks and nose in between.

  “I’m not mad at you. The thought of anyone touching you just drives me fucking insane.” I grip her forearms harder as anger whips through me and she yelps. I drop her to the bed and straddle her waist, rubbing my erect cock against her sex. “God, I want to fuck you.”

  “Because you’re jealous?” She sits up on her elbows and pushes me slightly off of her much to my surprise. “You can’t be serious. You have nothing to be jealous of.”

  “You are mine, Maddie.”

  “I’ve always been yours.” She looks up at me through her lashes and bites down on her bottom lip, like she’s a master at the art of seduction. “Since I’ve been old enough to know what it meant to want a man. It’s always been you, Cal. I thought I was sick or disgusting for wanting you, but I couldn’t help it. I can’t help it. I want you…I want this.” She grabs my dick through my slacks and squeezes causing me to hiss.

  “Mads,” I groan.

  “Daddy.” A smirk crosses her face.

  “Fuck. Don’t call me that.” I lower my head to hers and press my forehead against hers. God knows I want to hear it. I want to hear her call me Daddy while I’m deep inside her…while my mouth is on her cunt. I want to hear the muffled version that escapes her pouty lips when they are wrapped around my cock.

  “You sure about that?” she whispers, her breath tickling my face.

  No.

  I pull away, remembering myself and stand in front of her.

  “It hits too close to home.” Cum trickles down my shaft and drips into my briefs at the thought of that word slipping through her lips again.

  “I know.” Her eyes are full of hunger. “It makes me so wet.” She gets up on her knees and her blue eyes shine with lust. Her fingers run along my belt and she slides it through the loops. “Please let me see it.”