*****
Jake yawned and rubbed the corners of his eyes. Madi was asleep on his shoulder and the TV was still playing. He grabbed the remote and checked the time – 5 a.m. It was still dark out and his arm felt like it was falling asleep. He tried to move it slightly and Madi’s hand gripped him tighter. He stopped moving. He leaned his head closer to hers and smelled her hair. She smelled like shampoo and perfume and cotton candy. It did things to him. He tilted his head back on the couch as he winced and reveled in her smell.
He slowly wiggled his arm out from her grip and she shifted. His arm was free but she bent and laid her head on his lap. Jake took a sharp intake of air. She stretched out her legs on the couch and placed her hand under her head and on his leg. That wasn’t what he had expected, but he couldn’t complain. He took in the sight of her. Her legs were in black nylon and her skirt was higher than it should be. She looked gorgeous. It wasn’t just that she was sexy, it was that she was so damn sweet. He thought about sharing the ice cream with her and how natural and easy it felt to come home to her. He’d never felt that way before about anyone. He actually looked forward to seeing her. How could he feel so comfortable with someone he barely even knew?
He peered down at her face and watched her sleeping. Her makeup had smudged and her hair was a mess. Yet she looked absolutely radiant to him. He had never seen her with her eyes closed before and he couldn’t look away. She looked so peaceful and content.
“Madi…” he said softly. She didn’t move. He reached down and gently pushed a strand of hair away from her eyes. Jake sighed as he studied her face. “Do you know what you do to me?”
She was asleep and he knew she hadn’t heard him. It was the only reason he was able to say it out loud. He whispered, “You make me crazy and happy and angry and aroused all in the same second. Can’t you see I just don’t want to hurt you? You’re everything, Madi, and you don’t even know it.”
Madi was still. Jake maneuvered his fingers though his hair and leaned back against the couch. He touched a strand of her hair before running his hand through it. It was so soft and felt so right in his fingers. Madi stirred at his touch.
“Hey baby, let’s get you to bed okay?”
“I’m not tired,” she slurred.
Jake laughed to himself as he slipped out from under her. He bent down and lifted her into his arms. Madi’s mouth curled up to his throat and her arms stretched around his neck. Jake turned his face into her hair. He loved the way she felt in is arms. He carried her down the hall and stopped when he came to two doors; his was to the right and hers was to the left. He held her tightly against him as he contemplated bringing her into his bed. He wanted to bury himself in her. He’d never wanted anyone more in his life. He stood there for a few seconds before letting out a deep sigh. She was too important to him and he would not hurt her like he did everyone else. He turned left and carried her to her bed, noting the stuffed bear he had sent her was sticking out from under a pillow. He pulled back the covers and gently laid her down.
“Stay with me,” Madi mumbled as she awoke briefly before rolling over and falling back into a deep sleep. He covered her and lightly kissed her forehead. He walked out the door, closed it and leaned against it. He ran his hands through his hair and thought about what she had unconsciously asked him. “If only I could, Madi. If only I could.”
Chapter 27
Madi
Madi climbed out of her bed. It was still dark out. She could hear a faint sound in the distance. She slipped on her robe and stepped into the hall. She heard music coming from Jake’s bedroom. She put her ear up against the door but she still couldn’t hear him very well. As she leaned into it, the door opened and Madi slid inside. The room was dark except for the light coming from the corner on top of the piano. Jake was sitting there playing and his eyes were closed. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just the grey sweatpants from the night before. He looked irrationally delicious. His fingers were playing a melody she hadn’t heard before and the sound was intoxicating. She slipped further into the room and stopped when she came to the side of the piano. She watched him play. He was a beautiful, complicated man and she wanted him. Jake looked up, startled by her presence.
“Did I wake you?” he asked as he leaned forward on the piano.
“No, but I heard you playing. You take my breath away.”
Jake stared at her longingly as he sighed, “No, you take my breath away. I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Madi felt her heart pound and then had a sudden burst of courage. “Are you ever going to kiss me?”
“You want me to kiss you?” His voice was deep and radiated sex.
“Yes, more than anything.”
Jake slid out from his piano and made his way toward her, never taking his eyes off of hers. The closer he got the more Madi felt. She could feel her body begin to shiver as he untied her robe and let it fall to the floor.
Jake stared at her body and she could tell he wanted her too. It was finally going to happen and she knew she wasn’t going to stop him. His hands reached up and lightly stroked her nipples through her dress. Madi’s whole body tensed at his touch. It was better than she had ever imagined. His hand went down to her thigh and he lifted up the side of her dress. “Where would you like me to kiss you, Madi?”
“Everywhere…”
Jake lifted her dress off of her. He bent down and planted teasing, soft kisses on her stomach as his hands reached around and touched her from behind, kneading into her flesh. His mouth on her skin was more than she could bear. Madi could feel her body begin to quicken. Could he make her orgasm with a simple kiss? His lips felt so good. He made his way up to her chest as he put his mouth over her nipple, sucking gently. She reeled at the feel of his mouth as his hands began to move along the edges of her panties, running his fingers underneath. Just as he reached the area of tenderness she desperately craved him to touch, a bright light shown in her face. It was as if someone was shining a flashlight on her through the window. It was so bright she closed her eyes and began to rub them.
Madi awoke to the sun shining brightly in her room. No, no, no! She tried to close her eyes and go back to Jake but she couldn’t. When she moved she noticed she was still in the dress from last night and her head fell back into the pillow.
Of course, the most exciting moment of my life was just a dream! Madi glanced at her clock. It was 1 p.m. She couldn’t believe she’d slept so late. She sat up in her bed and looked down at her dress. Suddenly, she couldn’t remember how she’d gotten to her room. She searched her memories. She remembered sitting next to Jake and laughing with him. She remembered how easy it was to be with him and how she put her head on his shoulder and he had kissed the top of her head. She was so happy to be close to him. He had turned on “Speed,” which was playing on TV, but they talked more than they watched it. Jake told her about the first time he sang on a stage and how nervous he was. He told her about his first night away from home and how homesick he felt. He spoke of how he almost quit when he read his first reviews. She had learned so much about him. He acted so tough and so together, but Madi could see that time had made him better at hiding things. He learned to conceal his feelings behind a smile so reporters wouldn’t know how terrified he was. She felt so close to him. There were no jokes or banter or games. It was just Jake. She liked him every way she could get him, but she liked this Jake best of all. At some point, they had stopped talking and were just sitting in silence, watching the movie. That was the last thing she remembered. She would have to ask him what had happened. Had he carried her to bed? Oh God! If he carried her to bed and she missed it she was going to jump off the nearest bridge. Madi got out of bed and took off the dress. She went into the bathroom and was horrified at the frightening woman looking back at her. Apparently Gina’s make-up was not sleep proof. After Madi scrubbed her face and took a shower, she threw on a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt. She ran a comb through her wet hair as her stomach growled. She didn’t hear
any noise at the door so she was convinced Jake was still sleeping. She was ravenous and desperately craved a cup of coffee and a bagel.
She crept into the silent kitchen and began the process of making coffee when she heard footsteps behind her and the familiar rattle of Murphy’s chain. She turned around and smiled. Jake’s hair was a wreck and he looked like he hadn’t moved from one position all night. He was in a black t-shirt and his grey sweats. Madi felt her face blush as her eyes stared a hot second too long at them and the way his thighs moved as he walked.
“Good afternoon, sunshine,” she said.
“Ugh…”
“Would you like some coffee?”
He nodded his head. “Please don’t tell me you’ve been up for hours.”
“Nope, I just woke up myself.”
The coffee was making its usual gurgling noises as the magical brew started to come forth. Madi poured Jake a cup first since he seemed to need it more than she did. He took a sip, sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Do I look hot this morning?” he said as he shaped his hair into a mohawk.
“So, so hot,” Madi said with as serious of a face as she could muster, without letting her eyes tell him that he really did look amazingly hot.
When Jake returned from walking Murphy he asked, “What are your plans for today?”
“I am going to do my laundry and nothing else.”
“Hmmm… how do you feel about games?”
“Games?” Madi’s high-pitched response must have given away her feelings on the matter.
“Video games,” he said with a chuckle.
“I love video games, why?”
“Want to play?”
“Sure, why not.”
Madi grabbed her bagel and followed Jake to the couch.
“Have you ever played ‘Call of Duty’?”
“Nope.”
“Well I’m going to teach you,” Jake said with a grin.
For the next two hours Jake instructed Madi how to move using the controller, the importance of the right gun, as well as how to use a knife effectively. Madi had gotten a little cocky when she beat him during free for all, so Jake asked her if she wanted to make a bet on the next game.
“What kind of a bet?” Madi asked suspiciously.
“The winner can ask the loser to do anything and they have to do it.”
“They have to?” Madi crinkled her face as she deliberated his words.
“Yep, no backing out,” Jake replied with a shake of his head.
“I don’t know. You seem like you have something in mind already.”
“Okay… we don’t have to. It’s just that someone seemed so confident in her abilities a few minutes ago. It must have been luck rather than skill.”
“Jake Morgan, are you trying to goad me?”
“Goad is such a strong word.”
“You are!”
“No, not at all. Let’s just forget I even mentioned it.”
“You’re smooth. I’ll give you that.”
“So are we done here?” He put the controller down and started to get up.
“Fine, I’ll take your bet. You’d just better be ready to do what I tell you.” Madi’s dream suddenly came to mind.
“I’m not worried.”
“You should be.” Madi said with a devious grin that made Jake pretend to shake.
*****
The game lasted twenty minutes and was touch and go for them both. Jake scored the final blow and Madi put her hands on her face and bent down in shame while he did a victory dance all around her.
“Okay, Mads, time to pay up.”
Madi glared up at him and wondered what he could want so badly from her. “What I could I possibly do for you?” Madi felt confident she could handle anything he asked of her. Secretly she prayed it was sexual.
“You can sing for me.”
Jake
“No! That’s not fair.”
“You said anything,” he reminded her.
“You’ve played for years. You knew you were going to beat me,” she said with her hands on her hips.
“So?”
“It was a set-up wasn’t it?”
“Not at all. I won fair and square.”
“You suck, Jake.”
“Yes I do,” he said matter-of-factly as he began his walk to the piano. “Would you like me to play music for you or are you singing acapella?”
“I’m not singing at all.”
“You can’t renege on a bet.”
“You promised me you’d never make me sing.”
“That was when you were a fan, not an employee, and that was also before I found out you had no problem singing for my friends. What will it be?”
“Jake, please!”
“I don’t know why you would be so shy in front of me. I’ve seen your ass. This should be nothing.” Jake watched as Madi glared down at the ground. He got up from the piano and walked toward her. “It’s just me. I’m the same guy who you ate Chinese food with, the same guy you packed boxes with, the same guy whose ass you grabbed and whose shoulder you fell asleep on last night. I’m just a normal guy. I just want to hear you. It’s important to me that you share this with me. Come on, what do you say? Do you trust me?”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just…”
“It’s just what?”
“Hearing your singing makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. You’re special and you have a special gift. I don’t have that and I’m going to embarrass myself. I don’t sound like the other women you’ve sang with and I’m afraid what you’ll think of me.” Madi’s eyes trailed to the floor.
Jake lifted her chin and looked deeply into her eyes. “There is nothing you could do or say or sing for that matter that would make me think any less of you. I don’t want you to be anything other than who you are. I just want you to show me that you trust me. This is how you show me. You can sing ‘I’m a Little Teapot’ if you want.”
Madi laughed, “No.”
“Okay, anything you want then.”
Madi sighed and stared at him for a bit. “Do you know ‘Ashes and Wine’ by a Fine Frenzy?” Madi walked behind him and stood twelve feet away.
“Actually I do. Beautiful choice, but I might not be able to hear you from Chicago.”
“There was no stipulation as to how close I had to be to you to sing.”
“You’re right.” Jake sighed and started to play. Madi missed her cue. “Anytime you’re ready…”
“Please don’t make fun of me.”
“I would never. I know how hard this is for you. Just close your eyes and pretend I’m Kendra.”
“It’d help if you had blond hair.”
“Just try…”
“Okay.” Jake glanced back and he saw Madi take a deep breath and close her eyes. He started again and Madi came in at the right moment. Jake was surprised at what he heard. He’d expected her to maybe be off key, but she had good tone and a nice vibrato. He didn’t know what she was so worried about. As she sang, he wondered why she chose this particular song. Was she singing this to him? He turned as he was playing and saw the emotion in her face and that right there did it for him.
She stopped after the chorus and hid behind her hands. Jake got up from the piano and came to her. He pulled her hands away and as he scanned her eyes he said, “Singing for someone is like showing them a part of your soul. It’s letting someone see the deepest part of who you are. Thank you for trusting me and for believing in me enough to show me that part of you. It means more to me than you will ever know. It’s a gift I will never forget and one I will always remember.”
Madi looked down and then back up into sincere blue eyes. “Did I hurt your ears?”
“Not in the least. It was quite lovely. Ang was right.”
“Ang?”
“She told me you were pretty good. I’d have to agree. There was no reason for you to be so shy. I may have to pull you up on stage with me for
practice, or heck maybe even during the tour.”
“You will not! Jake please, I couldn’t possibly…”
He smiled as he put his hands in his pockets.
“You’re an ass.”
He nodded his head casually. “Go get dressed. I’m taking you out. It’s time I gave you that tour of LA.”
Chapter 28
Madi
As Madi and Jake walked through the door, Madi couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Jake had donned a baseball hat and sunglasses all day, hoping he could get away without being recognized. It worked most of the time. He had walked her down Rodeo Drive, and shown her the Hollywood Walk of Fame, pointing out his favorite stars. He had shown her the Hollywood sign and insisted she stand with her hand up as if it were in her palm as he snapped a few pictures. He had taken her to Bob Baker’s Marionette Theater, where his parents took him as a child. They walked past Paramount Pictures and ate hot dogs at Venice Beach. Jake suggested that one day soon before the tour, he should take everyone to Disneyland for a non-work day.
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