by Rye Hart
“I was in a building that was on fire,” Madison said flatly. “Oliver and Jimmy pulled me out of it. They saved my life.”
“To be fair,” Jimmy said, “Ollie did all the heavy lifting—”
“Oh, you think I'm heavy?” Madison asked, a wide grin on her face.
“Yeah, you stepped in it now, buddy,” I said to Jimmy.
“Not what I meant,” he said and laughed. “Not even close to what I meant.”
“So, what did you mean?” Madison pressed.
“I just meant that he carried you out—”
“Because I'm so heavy,” she said. “I'm surprised you boys didn't need to call in a crane or a flatbed truck.”
We all laughed and Jimmy shook his head, his cheeks an unnatural shade of red. I was glad to see Madison loosen up a little bit and have some fun, showing off that personality and wit I found so attractive. The atmosphere in the dining room lifted almost immediately, and a lot of the tension that had saturated the air before dissipated.
Andi, of course, wasn't amused. She nodded, the look on her face knowing. Though, I had no idea what she thought she knew. At least, not until she opened her mouth and spoke again.
“So, is that how you two met?” Andi asked. “When they saved your life?”
The insinuation seemed pretty clear, even to me. Not that I was a shrink or anything, but I imagined, in her mind, Andi probably thought Madison was out with me out of some misplaced sense of hero-worship or gratitude. Or something equally as stupid as that.
“Actually,” I said. “Madison and I have known each other for a long time. High school, right?”
Color flared in Madison's cheeks and she nodded, a small smile touching her lips. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
The insinuation I hoped to make to Andi with that remark was that our relationship was long-standing and had nothing to do with the fact that we'd pulled her out of a burning building. Andi's jaw set, though, and she looked determined to undermine Madison at every turn.
If she kept that up, this was going to be one long-ass night.
“So, anyway,” Andi said, “about this fire—”
“Let's skip the shop talk, huh?” Cassie said as she stepped back into the room.
Andi frowned, her mouth settling into a little pout. I gave Cassie a grateful look and she tipped me a wink. She set a beer down in front of me and a glass of wine down in front of Madison before taking her seat.
She held up her glass and smiled. “To new friends,” she said, giving Madison a warm smile.
“And old ones,” I replied.
We all clinked glasses – Andi, reluctantly so. But, the conversation after that was easy and free-flowing. Cassie had gotten the message that I wasn't interested in Andi and, of course, was shifting her attention to Madison, asking her a million different questions, trying to ferret out whatever information she could. Cassie was like a big sister, checking out a prospective new girl, and would only allow me to date her if she gave me her stamp of approval.
“Penn State, huh?” Cassie asked, clearly impressed.
Madison nodded. “Yeah, I double majored in Journalism and Criminal Justice.”
Andi looked thoroughly unimpressed. “I graduated from Boston College with a law degree.”
This game of one-upmanship – something Andi had embarked upon after Cassie shut her down about the fire – was going to get old real fast. Cassie had gotten the message; why couldn't Andi? Jimmy and I exchanged a look and a small shrug of the shoulders.
A timer went off in the kitchen and Cassie started to get up. I quickly jumped to my feet and motioned for her to stay put.
“We'll get it,” I said. “Jimmy and I. You relax.”
Cassie gave me a look and a small smile, but settled back into her seat and picked up her wine glass. Jimmy and I hurried out of the dining room and into the kitchen. Leaning against the counter, I let out a long breath.
“That woman is a shark,” I said. “Wow. How could you guys even think about setting me up with her?”
Jimmy laughed and held up his hand. “Hey, it wasn't me,” he said. “Talk to Cassie.”
“Yeah, I'll do that.”
“Madison though,” he said. “Nice call on that.”
“I figured I needed a buffer.”
“Buffer, huh?” he said, a grin on his face. “Looks like a little more than a buffer to me.”
“Got no idea what you're talking about.”
Jimmy laughed and got another couple of beers out of the refrigerator and handed me one. Madison and I had a bit of a history, that was for sure. Not that it was a good history. But, a history nonetheless. He took a long pull of his beer, his eyes fixed on mine.
“What?” I finally asked.
“I see the way you look at her, man,” he replied.
“Madison?”
“No, Cassie,” he laughed. “Yes, Madison, you twit.”
“I don't look at her like anything.”
“The hell you don't,” he said. “I can practically see the cartoon hearts floating above your head.”
I laughed. “You are so full of shit,” I said and took a long drink of my beer.
“If you say so.”
“I do say so,” I said. “Now, come on. We need to get all the food out to the table.”
We picked up the platters of food and walked out to the dining room, Jimmy laughing the whole time. After setting everything down, we took our seats and I looked at the spread before us.
“This looks amazing, Cassie,” I said. “Thanks for having us.”
“You're always welcome,” she replied. “You're family, after all.”
I cut a glance over at Madison who looked back at me and smiled. Jimmy's words rattled around in my head and I tried to avoid giving her a look that entailed cartoon hearts floating above my head. I really didn't think I was giving her a look like Jimmy described but, even if I was, could anybody blame me? Madison was a knockout. A flat-out knockout. Whip-smart and with a personality brighter than the sun.
Could I really be blamed if I looked at her a little googly-eyed? I wasn't, but even if I had been, could anybody blame me?
“So, Jimmy mentioned something about a podcast?” Cassie asked.
Madison's face lit up and she smiled. Obviously, she enjoyed talking about her passion in life. As we ate, Madison told us all about her podcast, about how her degrees from Penn State helped her launch it, and where she wanted to take it in the future. She rattled on, incredibly excited about it. And through it all, Andi looked incredibly bored.
“Yeah, I don't listen to podcasts,” Andi said when Madison stopped talking. “Not enough time, what with all of the important work I'm doing.”
The remark was obviously meant to be cutting, even earning a look of reproach from Cassie. To her credit though, Madison just smiled and shrugged it off.
“It's not for everybody,” she said evenly. “But, I am proud of the fact that my investigations have led to the arrest of a number of men who'd believed they'd gotten away with murder.”
“That's right,” I said, suddenly feeling defensive of her. “She's doing good work. She's given peace of mind to quite a few families who suffered for years, never knowing who murdered their loved one.”
“Oh, I didn't know you were such a regular listener,” Jimmy said, a shit-eating grin on his face.
I felt the color rush into my cheeks. Busted. I'd told Jimmy I'd only listened a few times, but I obviously sounded like a devoted fan. Which, I was. But, that was supposed to be my secret. Dammit. Cassie looked at me with a smile in her eyes and a knowing expression on her face, Andi looked at me with disdain, though the real venom was reserved for Madison, and Jimmy just laughed at me.
“Yeah, I listen,” I said. “It's a good show. Informative. Interesting.”
Madison looked at me and smiled, her own cheeks coloring. Obviously, she didn't know I was a regular listener either.
Eventually, dinner came to an end. I helped Cas
sie clear off the table and clean up the kitchen. Before we headed back out into the dining room though, she grabbed me by the arm and looked me dead in the eye.
“She's a good girl,” she said.
I cocked my head and looked at her, not sure who she was referring to. “Who? Andi?”
Cassie slapped me playfully on the arm. “No, you dummy. Madison,” she said. “I can see by the way you look at her that Andi never stood a chance.”
“I'm not looking at her in any special way,” I said, a wry grin touching my lips. “Why does everybody keep saying that?”
“Because we can see your face and you can't,” she said. “Trust me when I say, the look is there. And I get it. She's gorgeous. Intelligent. Well spoken. Passionate. She seems like the whole package.”
I couldn't argue with her there. Madison really did seem like the whole package. And then I wanted to kick my own ass for even thinking that. Given our history, the last thing I wanted or needed was to let myself get attached to her. Fool me once, and all that jazz.
“I just want to know why you never mentioned her before?” Cassie asked.
I shrugged. “I— I don't really know,” I say. “I guess I play some things close to the vest.”
“Obviously,” she laughed and slapped me in the chest.
I didn't know why I didn't just confess and tell her there was nothing to tell. That Madison was there with me strictly to act as a buffer between Andi and me – one I was really glad I had.
“Well, I'm glad you brought her. Glad I got to know her a little bit,” Cassie says. “She seems like a really great catch.”
I smiled and squeezed her hand, not saying anything because I didn't want to flat out lie to her.
“Though, what she's doing with somebody like you is a mystery,” Cassie said and laughed again. “Talk about dating up, my friend.”
I laughed and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
We made our way back into the dining room and Madison and I said our goodnights. Andi wouldn't even look at or acknowledge us as we left. She just sat at the table, looking at her hands in her lap. Clearly pouting. Cassie just shrugged her shoulders and poured another glass of wine, fortifying herself for the emotional onslaught that was sure to hit her the moment we walked out the door.
The ride back was a little quiet, neither Madison nor I knowing what to say, an awkward silence filling up the air between us once more. I kept thinking back to what both Jimmy and Cassie had said about the way I looked at her. Was there something to it? Was there something I wasn't seeing?
I couldn't deny that, physically speaking, I was very attracted to Madison. Who wouldn't be? But beyond that, I really didn't know. I wasn't in a place where I was looking for any kind of a relationship or emotional entanglement. That just wasn't where my head was at. At least, I didn't think it was.
Though I continued to deny it to myself, the voices of Jimmy and Cassie kept banging around in my skull.
I cleared my throat. “Anyway, thanks for coming tonight,” I said. “I appreciate you running interference for me with Andi.”
Madison laughed, her smile lighting up the cab of my truck. Her smile was warm and genuine and made the air between us feel lighter again. Less awkward.
“She doesn't really seem like your type,” she said.
“No?” I asked, arching an eyebrow at her. “What's my type then?”
Madison shrugged her shoulders. “I don't know specifically,” she said. “But I know what isn't your type. And Andi isn't your type.”
“Yeah, she seemed a little too—”
“Uptight?” she said. “Angry? Takes herself way too seriously? Has a really nasty and overinflated sense of self-importance? Has an ego that can fill up a stadium—”
“Wow,” I said and laughed. “Don't hold back. Tell me how you really feel.”
A small smile touched her lips. “Yeah, sorry,” she said. “I usually don't deal well with people like her.”
“Well, for whatever it's worth,” I said, “you handled yourself very well.”
“Well, thank you.”
We rode in a companionable silence for a few moments. I had to admit, I felt comfortable around Madison. More comfortable than I'd been around a woman in a long, long time. She was easy to talk to. Funny. Sharp. Clever. I felt like I could have a conversation about the most serious of topics, and then downshift into something goofy and wildly inappropriate without missing a beat.
I had no idea though, what I was going to do with it or the maelstrom of thought and feeling that swirled around inside of me because of her. After a moment, I thought it best to stuff it down and ignore it for a while. At least, until I was able to sort through it all and figure out what the hell was going on in my own damn head.
“So,” I said, clearing my throat. “How's that hotel working out for you?”
She grinned at me. “It's fine.”
“Fine?”
“Fine.”
“Uh huh,” I said. “That tone of voice makes me think it's not actually fine.”
She sighed and shook her head, a rueful grin upon her lips. “If you want the truth, it's uncomfortable,” she said and laughed. “I've never slept on a lumpier mattress in my life. It sucks.”
I shrugged. “Should have taken me up on my offer.”
She grinned. “Yeah,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Maybe so.”
I parked the car in the lot and jumped out. I moved quickly around to the other side of the truck and opened the door, helping her out.
“Such a gentleman,” she said.
“That's me.”
I pulled my jacket tighter around my body and walked her to the front door of the hotel. She might have declined my offer to protect her at my place, but I'd be damned if I wouldn't see her to her room safely. It seemed like the right thing to do.
I held the door open for her and escorted her through the lobby. I stopped at the bank of elevators and push the button to call for a car. I turned to her and smiled.
“Home safe and sound,” I said.
“Looks that way.”
As the doors to the elevator slid open, we were standing face to face, our eyes locked and the air around us infused with something – almost an air of expectation.
An expectation of what though, I had no idea.
CHAPTER SIX
Madison
“I'd ask if you'd like to stay for a drink, but the mini bar is kind of lacking,” I laughed.
I stood in the doorway, with it open and Oliver standing outside, still not entirely sure how we'd gotten there. We'd been standing face to face at the elevators downstairs and then somehow, as if we had some unspoken agreement – or more like, we were both moving through some sort of hypnotic trance – we'd both gotten into the car and taken it up to my floor. And now, there we were. At my room.
