I had no idea. For as much as the Hellman twins had invaded my life, I knew nothing about those other twins. Before I could think more on that, she went on with a gleam in her eyes. “Mrs. Connor’s always teasing us about how cute it’d be if Maggie and I wound up with the only other pair of twins in town.”
“Is she now?” I swallowed hard, staring at her, not even trying to hide my annoyance about that last comment.
She turned back to Maggie, who was still standing over by Nolan’s bike, several feet away, but appeared to be waiting on her. Madeline nodded as if to say she was almost done then turned back to me.
“I didn’t tell Mrs. Connor this, but there’s only one set of brothers Maggie and I have ever been interested in.” She shrugged with a sweet smile. “Actually, scratch that. I can’t speak for Maggie. That’s her business to tell. But you already know who the only one I want is.”
Just like that, my heated insides were doused with an invisible shower of comfort as she smiled beautifully one last time, before mouthing the word goodnight and walking away.
With instances like this happening again and again, it wasn’t long before my family caught wind of what was happening, and they weren’t thrilled. I couldn’t deny that my interest in riding her around was more than just me giving her a lift and that it happened on a whim. Hell, I was even carrying a second helmet around now whenever I was fairly certain I’d be running into her, because each time I gave Madeline a ride, she protested about taking mine.
But my father’s reaction to the small town murmuring that had started up about Madeline and me surprised me. I’d been avoiding being alone too long with him or Ama for that very reason.
Late one night when I was closing things down with him, I mistimed his walk to the back, thinking he’d be longer. He walked back into the front of the shop just as I was pulling out the second helmet so I could stash it in my saddle bag. I’d be heading straight to the lake from here and anticipated another dose of Madeline on the back of my bike.
“Is that for the Hellman twin?”
I put the helmet down on the counter, feeling caught, but shrugged. “Or anyone who might jump on my bike. Helmet laws. Not looking to get a ticket.”
He nodded, but judging from his expression, he wasn’t buying my BS. Only instead of following it up with an annoyed frown as I was expecting, he smirked. “Look, Hijo,” he said, leaning against the counter. “When I first heard about you riding this girl around town—I’m not gonna lie—scared the shit out of me. Not that I didn’t think you wouldn’t be using your head. I trust my boys. None of you would ever do anything any of those girls aren’t fully willing to do. Pisses your grandma off how shameless girls are these days—”
“Not Madeline.”
My interruption was so abrupt and full of unexpected attitude, I knew I was toast. Here I’d done nothing but given her rides, and I already knew any chance I might’ve had of walking away from this conversation without my dad picking up on just how fucking hung up on her I was now just flew out the window.
“I didn’t say she was.”
I nodded, glancing away because I felt like an ass now. “She’s not like any of those other girls,” I said simply and with much less attitude.
“I know that.” As I turned to face him, I was surprised to see him smile. “I know she’s different, Son.” He motioned to the helmet on the counter. “Helmet laws my ass.” He stopped and shook his head with a chuckle. “That daze you’ve been walking around in . . . Your grandma and I know it’s only the beginning. It’s what I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”
I peered at him, annoyed with myself. Had I really been that obvious? So obvious both my dad and grandmother knew it was only the beginning?
“You don’t have to tell me she’s different, Nico. I know nothing about her, but I know you, and I know this girl—this experience—is a different one for you. It’s what makes me so nervous.”
I shrugged, trying to backpedal, even though I knew he hit the nail on the head. “Nah, I’m cool. She and I have just hung out a little and—”
“Let’s cut to the chase.” He said it with a smile, but I saw the underlying worry in his eyes. “I know the age of consent in Kentucky is only sixteen.” Obviously, the look of astonishment on my face surprised him, and now he frowned. “Of course, you hadn’t bothered to look into it. And yet you’re driving up and down with that young little thing on your bike, and I bet you thought she wouldn’t be legal until she was eighteen—”
“Dad, it’s nothing like what you’re thinking. I’ve just given her a few rides, and we’ve hung out.”
“Really? You didn’t special order that helmet just for her? Since when do you care about helmet laws? If it weren’t for the fact that you know I’d tackle your ass off that damn bike if I ever saw you riding without one, you wouldn’t even wear one.” He paused for a response, but I had none, so he continued. “You’ve been walking around in that lovesick twisted haze half the time looking like you don’t know if you’re coming or going. I know that look, boy. But here’s something you have to remember. By law, you may be okay hanging out with her. But she’s still a minor, and I can guarantee you her mama will do whatever she has to, to protect her baby. And rightfully so.”
“Dad, I haven’t even kissed her.”
His unimpressed expression said it all. He knew that wouldn’t be for long. And truth was the wheels in my head had already been turning since he mentioned the whole age-of-consent thing. I couldn’t believe I’d just assumed it was eighteen. If it weren’t for the fact that I was so hung up on Madeline, the thought of a grown man with a sixteen-year-old would have been a sick one. Only now this excited me as much as it terrified me. If I’d been having a hard enough time holding back already, this would only make it so much worse.
“I want you to promise me you won’t get yourself arrested because of this girl.”
“I’m telling you I haven’t even—”
“I don’t mean because of Loretta. If that girl is even acting the slightest bit as goofy as you’ve been all these months, her mama has about as much chance of keeping her away from you as I do of keeping you away from her.” He shook his head when I immediately started to protest. “Boy, I wouldn’t dream of wasting my time trying to keep you from her. You don’t think I know that look? You said it yourself. You haven’t even kissed her and look at you.”
It was only then that I realized how tense I’d gotten. The very thought that someone would actually step in and order me to stay away from her had me standing up straight ready for a fight. Feeling stupid, because once again he’d gotten me, I did my best to ease up.
“If you get like this over a simple conversation about her, I can only imagine what you’d do if anyone ever looked at her the wrong way.”
Shaking my head softly as if he had nothing to worry about, visions of Shane and that man at the Stop & Shop I followed out without thought, crossed my mind. Hell, I couldn’t even see those damn twins Shelby’s mom thought would be so cute with Madeline and Maggie without grinding my teeth.
“Don’t look at me like that, Nico. I’m your father. I’ve raised four boys, and while you’re the first I’m dealing with about this stuff, I’ve been around long enough to know exactly what I’m talking about. Maybe you haven’t done anything with that girl yet, but I’ve already heard the stories.”
“What stories?” I asked, annoyed because I knew too well how these rumors with no real basis could run rampant. “I swear I haven’t done anything.”
“Not about that.” He frowned. “But even the old guys down at the Lion’s Club have joked about how you’ve staked your claim on that little Hellman twin. How the hell can you tell them apart anyway? That alone’s gotta get tricky.”
“Nope,” I said, picking up the helmet because too much talk about this was making me nervous.
There was no way I’d successfully argue that I hadn’t staked my claim without him seeing right through it as he did eve
rything else. Already, I felt stupid for using the shop’s account to order Madeline’s helmet. I’d paid for it myself, but the shop got better rates on all motorcycle products since we started expanding to include more items that can be embroidered or labeled. But I should’ve known my dad might see the order.
“They may be identical on the outside,” I said, staying off the subject of me making it clear she was off limits to anyone else. “But they’re different as night and day on the inside.”
As soon as I saw the expression on my father’s face, I regretted it. If the man thought he might have had something to worry about before, I sure as hell just gave him all the confirmation he needed.
“Don’t worry,” I said, starting to the front door of the shop. “I’m just having a little fun. And if it’s getting around that I’ve staked my claim, then there shouldn’t be any problems, right?”
I grinned in spite of the growing anxiousness I was already feeling in my stomach because talking to my dad about this made it so much more real.
“Be smart, Nico. About everything,” he said as I neared the front door. “You hear me?”
That last question was louder and firmer, which meant one thing. He wanted me to look at him, so I did.
“I don’t know what worries me more now. That you’ll do something to break that girl’s heart and I’ll have her mother pounding on my door.” He paused when I shook my head adamantly because already I knew that’d never happen. “Or that she’ll do something to break yours.”
Swallowing hard, I stared at him for a moment as I pondered that. I hadn’t thought that far ahead, but I shook my head again. “Getting ahead of yourself, Dad. It’s nothing like that.”
“Yet,” he said loudly as I opened the door.
I saluted him as he added the usual warnings he gave whenever I went out for the evening. Even knowing that if my dad was on to me now it was just a matter of time before her mother was too, I was still incapable of staying away.
Still, I knew better than to do more, but I did give into the temptation anytime I was fairly certain it was late enough in the evening or we were far out enough away from town for Madeline’s hopping on my bike to get too much attention. It helped that the extra helmet I carried for her now was a full-sized one for extra safety. So it was harder to tell who was actually on my bike.
It was part naivety and part stubbornness on my part to think her mama wouldn’t catch wind of it too soon. It was why, ever since the first ride, I’d also gone above and beyond not to be seen with anyone else but her on my bike.
It may have been reckless to continue doing so, but I wasn’t stupid. Despite the unrelenting temptation, and knowing about the age of consent now, I was still too damned scared to lay a hand on her. I wasn’t sure what I was more afraid of: her mother raising hell or falling even harder.
Only time our bodies touched was when she was on my bike, and she was doing most of the touching. Aside from the unspoken understanding we clearly had now, I’d neither done nor said anything inappropriate that could have her mother trying to put an end to us.
Afraid or not, I was helpless to stop what was already happening. Each time I got a moment alone with her, it only sucked me in deeper. Still, I made sure to cover my ass. Without actually spelling it out, just like our game, I’d also, in no uncertain terms, made it clear to Madeline that while I was all for our game to keep going, she was off limits to me—for now. Sixteen just felt wrong. What I hadn’t told her was that it was getting harder and harder to keep my end of the yet-to-be-even-discussed-out-loud deal.
I knew I was too close now. Too close to giving into what I felt when she wrapped her arms around my waist. More than once she’d laid her face against my back, breathing in deeply as she pressed her warm soft body against me. I could only fantasize about the day I could finally have more with her. Each ride I gave her was always too short. I hated when it came to an end, and I knew she did too. From the very beginning, she’d made it more than clear without even saying it that she wanted more than I was willing to risk still.
After one of our longest rides to date yesterday, I couldn’t stop thinking of her. The furthest things between her and me have progressed physically, was our lingering hand holding, and my playing with her fingers until she finally had to walk away. It was everything I could do not to pull her to me and kiss those beautiful lips goodnight. Especially because she always wore this wicked little smile that said she knew how badly I wanted to but I was holding back. Thankfully, she never pushed, but those sexy-as-hell smiles and the fluttering of her lashes over those breathtaking eyes didn’t make things easy. Knowing she’d be more than willing to allow it, made it all the more torturous. My dad was right to worry. Even I couldn’t believe how bad I had it.
I went into town, and after that long ride yesterday, I was still lost in thought over what Madeline did to me now. I was so lost in thought I didn’t even realize who I collided with as I walked out of the bank until I felt the power Madeline’s touch had on me now.
As we stared into each other’s eyes without saying a word, her usual playful demeanor wasn’t there. For a moment, I panicked that these might have been timid Maggie’s eyes that I was staring so deeply into. My dad’s comment on this making things trickier came to me. All this time I’d prided myself on being able to tell them apart, unlike most in town. But this look of awe she gave me today felt different.
Then her eyes brightened, and she said something that confirmed it was Madeline’s eyes I was staring into. It was the very thing I’d begun to wonder. “So this is what they mean by missing someone even before they’re gone?”
Before I could respond to that, Shelby and Maggie walked out of the store Madeline had just walked out of. Just like that, she said good-bye and walked off toward them again, leaving me there missing her already.
Grudgingly, I planned to go about my day, running the errands I’d set out to do that morning, until I drove by the Main Street old time theater. She and her sister and friend were outside paying to get in. As usual, the guys behind them in line were engaging with them. I knew the looks on those guys’ faces. As always, Madeline was laughing the whole time, likely making them interpret her cheerful and friendly demeanor as an invitation to hang out with her and her friends. The guys followed them into the theater, and I made a U-turn.
Plenty of times I’d been tempted to do something even more reckless with Madeline than just give her rides away from boys vying for her attention. But I’d managed to talk myself out of it. This time I couldn’t. There was something about the way she’d gazed at me the night before then again when I’d run into her earlier. A girl like Madeline shouldn’t be made to wait, not when she had so many other guys probably wishing to hell she’d give them the go-ahead as she had with me so many times already. How long would she wait before giving up and taking up with one of those other guys instead?
Paying at the booth, I took a deep breath. What the fuck was I doing? This wasn’t a weekend night out by the lake or deep into the river where the chances of being seen with her were less likely to get back to too many. This was in town, at a public theater in broad daylight!
Walking through the front door of the theater, I froze when I saw her standing by the photo booth in the lobby, chatting with one of the guys who’d been outside with them. Her sister and Shelby were at the concession stand as I approached Madeline without thought or a plan. I almost began to regret it—considered turning around and walking out—until she saw me and smiled big. “Happy birthday to me,” she said with eyes so bright I nearly pulled her to me right then.
The guy with her was about her age but didn’t walk away because of me. In fact, he seemed eager to keep talking to her. “I was just about to do a birthday shoot.” She motioned to the photo booth. “Care to join me?”
It took me a second to decide until the guy began to say something. Grabbing her hand before he could finish, I pulled her into the booth with me and set her on my lap.
> Inappropriate.
It was the first time I’d crossed a line I knew might cause some issues with her mother. All the other times I could simply say I’d offered her a ride and she agreed. Now we were sitting in this tiny booth with her glorious ass and legs on my lap, her perfect tits pressed against me, and she even wrapped her arms around my neck. The booth was brimming with the sweet scent of Madeline—citrus, bubblegum, and something so uniquely her it drove me insane. Breathing in deeply, she stared into my eyes, and I was in complete rapture. “I’m seventeen today.”
Every one of my senses was heightened to the point I felt almost dizzy. I’d been close to her on my bike plenty of times but nothing like this. I wanted to say technically she was still a minor, that her mother still had the final say regardless of what the law may be. But I could barely breathe. She bit her bottom lip, and it was all I could take. I wasn’t even sure who moved first, but in the next second, my lips were in heaven. The touch of her lips to mine was what I imagined an addict felt like when taking a long-awaited hit from his drug of choice. It was euphoric—almost an unbelievable sensation.
Like an addict, I had no doubt I’d crave this more than I’d ever craved anything in my life. Already, I couldn’t get enough. With a moan, I cradled her face in my hands and kissed her even deeper and longer as it went on and on, because I could not pull myself away.
It wasn’t until we finally came up for air much later that I wondered how the hell I’d step out of that booth without everyone noticing my obnoxiously obvious erection. I was so fucking hard for her it hurt. There was no way she couldn’t feel it, and judging by the mischievous smile and the humor that danced in those baby blues, not only did she know it, she was pleased by it.
Christ, give me strength.
Mercifully, she didn’t make things worse by mentioning it or, worse, rubbing or even grazing it with any part of her body. Instead, she giggled and set up the photo shoot. We took several pictures; a few of them were of us sucking face. Since we were both so caught up in our kissing to notice when each photo was taken, it wasn’t until the photos were ready that I saw how incriminating they were. If her mama got her hands on them, she’d know the kisses were not innocent crush kisses. Evidence of our entangled hungry tongues made one of the photos.
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