“I thought your dad didn’t cook?”
“He does, but instead of the oven, he uses the phone.” We both start laughing. He always knew how to make me smile. After dinner, his dad called Carter and I into the living room.
“I picked up a movie for you two to watch.”
He handed Carter a movie I’d never heard of ‘Insidious.’ “Dad, this movie is gonna scare her half to death.”
“Well, then, I guess you’re just gonna have to find a way to comfort her.” He winks at him. Carter turns to me and I think he is unsure what to do.
“I’m game if you are. As long as you promise to stay close to me. I’ve never watched a scary movie before.”
“Never?” He seems to be in disbelief.
“Nope. I guess that’s another first for us.”
“Holly and Anthony are both at friends’ houses tonight so they won’t be home until later, and I’m going to go play poker with the guys. I’ll see you two in the morning.” His dad walks out the door and we are all alone.
We go into Carter’s room and I head to the bathroom to get changed. I walk back into the room and lie down on the bed while he gets the movie ready. He lies down like he did last night and I look over at him, trying to figure out if I should lie with him like I did before. I’m more hesitant this time because it feels like things have changed between us. He holds out his arm to me. “C’mon, come lie down.”
To say that I was scared by the end of the movie is an extreme understatement. I hadn’t left Carter’s side the entire time. He kept his arms around me, except when he’d rub my back or stroke my hair. When the movie ends, we just lie there together.
I’ve never been happier in my life than I’ve been these past couple days. I want to take the leap with Carter and I want to tell him that I want to be with him. The way he was rubbing me and holding me sent a chill through my whole body. I started to feel an ache in between my legs, and had to squeeze them together to help relieve it. I needed Carter and I trusted him. I wasn’t ready to have sex, but there was no reason we couldn’t do other stuff, right?
I sit up and look at him. He is so gorgeous. I lean in to kiss him and he seems surprised at first. Within seconds, he is kissing me back and running his hands up and down my sides. I need him to touch me. I’ve never wanted to be close with a guy before. Everything is different with Carter, though. I pull back and look at him. “I want you to touch me, Carter.” Even saying this sends a wave of fear through me. I know he won’t hurt me though, and just want to be close with him. I want to take the next step with him.
“Maddy, are you sure? I’m not rushing you. You don’t have to do anything.”
I love that he wants to make sure I am okay, and that he doesn’t pressure me. Chris is never satisfied, and he always wants more. “I’m not ready to have sex. But can we do other things? As crazy as this sounds, I just want you to touch me and I’ve never wanted that before. I’m not going to lie to you and say I’m not scared, but I trust you and I know you’re not going to hurt me.”
“Baby, I’ll do anything you want me to. I just want you to promise me that you’ll tell me if you want me to stop, okay?” I nod my head and he starts kissing me again.
I grip at the hem of his shirt. He helps me and pulls it off. His body is beautiful. His chest is hard and well-defined and his stomach is like the pictures you see in magazines. I run my fingers down his chest from his neck to his waistband. He lets out a groan and crashes his mouth to mine. He runs his hands under my shirt, but I can tell he is apprehensive. I grip my shirt and pull it over my head. I wasn’t wearing a bra so now I am completely exposed to him.
Carter looks up at me and smiles. He leans down and starts kissing my left breast. He kisses around it in a circle, then pulls my nipple into his mouth. I let out a moan I didn’t even know I had in me. He moves onto my other breast and does the same thing. “Carter!” He kisses down my stomach and when he reaches my pants, he kisses all along the waistband. He looks at me as if he is asking for permission. “It’s okay.”
With that, he eases my pants and my panties off of me. Then, he comes up and presses a kiss on my lips. “I love that you trust me with this and I do believe this is another first, Miss Stevens.”
“I do believe it is, Mr. James.”
He ran his hand down my body till he got to where I’d been aching for him all night. He runs his finger between my wet folds and slowly strokes me. It feels amazing and I know he can tell how much I am enjoying it by all of the sounds I am making.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, he leans down and I instantly know what he is about to do. As soon as his tongue touches me, I scream. “Oh my god!” He laughs, but keeps going. He keeps his tongue there and, at the same time, his thumb finds my clit. I feel what I can only assume is an orgasm rocking through my body.
I can feel myself shaking, and the waves of pleasure that were rocking through me felt like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. It was the most amazing feeling I’ve ever had, and I am glad that it was with him. After I catch my breath, I look over at him. “Carter, that was amazing.”
“I’m glad, baby.” I knew I should do something for him. The truth is that after everything Chris has been doing, I am scared. “Do you want me to…?”
He looks up at me and smiles. “Baby, tonight was about you. I can see how scared you are when you look at me right now. If you’re not ready, it’s okay.”
“Carter, are you sure? I know that guys have needs.”
“My only need right now is a cold shower, and coming back to you in my bed.” He kisses me and then goes off to the bathroom.
I look down at my side and breathe a sigh of relief that the bruises are gone. Chris has been more verbally abusive then physically lately. That and he has been making me do things to him rather than hitting me.
I don’t know what I would have done if Carter had seen the bruises.
Chapter Seventeen
Carter
She is asleep when I get back to the room. I loved being able to do that for her tonight, and I knew how much it meant that she let me. I hated that she felt like she owed me, though.
As much as I would’ve loved for her to do it, I saw the look on her face. I wanted her to know that I didn’t expect something in return, like everyone else in her life always had.
I climb into bed beside her and wrap my arms around her. She lets out the most contented sigh I’ve ever heard. Then she said, almost too low for me to hear it, “I love you, Carter.”
“Maddy, are you up?” Nothing. I couldn’t believe she loved me. To know that she felt the way that I did gave me so much more motivation to win her over tomorrow. I would show her why she should choose me. I wish it was tomorrow already. I am going to give Maddy the best birthday ever.
* * *
When I wake up, she is still asleep in my arms. I slip out from underneath her and go to work. I make breakfast and put up the couple decorations I bought yesterday.
There is a Happy Birthday banner that I taped to the kitchen counter, and a couple streamers. There is also a pile of presents on the counter. I can’t wait for her to get up. I know she is going to be surprised. I hear my bedroom door open and I am thankful that everyone else is still asleep. I want to be able to share this just with her.
When she sees everything, the look on her face makes all the running around yesterday worth it. She puts her hand over her mouth as she draws in a breath. “Carter, what is all of this?”
I walk over to her, put my arms around her, and whisper in her ear, “Happy Birthday, beautiful.” I move my head to the side and kiss her. Then I feel wetness on my cheeks, and pull back to look at her. She has tears running down her face. “What’s wrong, baby?”
She leans in and kisses me again, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her body into mine. “This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. How did you know it was my birthday?”
“Nicole told me about it on Than
ksgiving. Why didn’t you tell me?”
She let go of me and went to sit on the couch. “I haven’t celebrated my birthday since I was three. My mother died on my fourth birthday and my father always blamed me. A drunk driver hit her when she went to get my birthday cake. When she didn’t come home that night, my father told me I killed her. He started drinking after that and couldn’t even bear to look at me. Then when I was put in the foster homes, no one cared. I eventually just stopped celebrating it myself. When I started dating Chris, I thought maybe he’d want to celebrate it with me. He told me I was already used to not celebrating it, so why change it now.”
I hated him with every fiber of my being. I didn’t understand why she ever stayed with him. I needed to talk to her about this.
“When I walked out here and saw all of this, I thought I was dreaming. You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever known.” She leans in and kisses me again. Maddy has been through so much. All I want to do is make every day from now on special. She starts to look around and that is when she sees the presents. “You got me gifts?”
“Yeah. When I stopped by the mall yesterday, I gave Holly some money to get you some stuff.” I hear footsteps coming toward us. My dad, Ant, and Holly came in the room. They all say happy birthday to Maddy and give her hugs. “Is everyone hungry? I made breakfast.”
Ant looked at me and scowled. “I’m not trying to get sick, dude. I’ll pass.”
I hear Maddy giggling next to me. “I have to say, he made me breakfast before and it was really good.”
I put my arm around her waist and pull her against me. “See, the birthday girl likes my cooking.”
“Hey, all I said was your breakfast was good. I don’t know anything about the other stuff.” Everyone starts laughing. I love how well she fits into my family.
After we eat breakfast, we all sit in the living room and give Maddy her gifts. Holly did really well. She bought her a new pair of boots, two shirts, a jacket, and a pair of jeans. I’ve never seen her smile this much. She thanks us and gives out hugs to everyone.
I help her carry her stuff into my bedroom and as soon as I shut the door, she shoves me against it. She crushes her lips against mine, and I am so surprised and turned on that I let out a groan. She slips her tongue into my mouth and starts playing with my hair.
I wrap my arms around her and lift her up a little. She clenches her legs around my waist. The sounds that she is making are getting me so worked up. I want this girl, and I want her bad.
I carry her over to the bed and lie down with her. I start kissing her all over her neck. I need to stop this. She isn’t ready, my family is down the hall, and I already have a major case of blue balls. “Hey, where did this crazy girl come from?”
She looks up at me and smiles. She is adorable. “I’ve never felt so cared for by anyone, Carter. I always shy away from people because I assume all they’ll do is hurt me. I’ve been so scared to let someone touch me ever since I was a kid but, with you, everything just feels right. You make me feel like it’s enough to just be who I am.”
I don’t know what to say to her. I am so glad that I affected her that way. “It is enough to be who you are. I want you to feel safe with me. I’m not going to judge you or try to change you.”
She wraps her arms around me and we just lie there for a while.
“Hey, I have one more thing to give you.”
She looks up at me. “Carter, you’ve already done so much.”
“The day isn’t over yet, baby. We’re going out tonight.”
“We are? Where?”
“It’s a surprise. Speaking of surprises, wait one minute.” This was the gift I was most anxious to give her, but I wanted to do it in private. I took the velvet box in my hand and went to sit back down on the bed. When she saw the box in my hand, I swear she almost had a heart attack. “Calm down. I’m not proposing.” I handed her the box. “Open it.”
When she did, she gasped and put her hand over her mouth. I took it from her and lifted it out of the box.
I move behind her and fasten the necklace around her neck. It was a white gold chain with a double heart pendant. “Carter, it’s beautiful.”
“The guy at the store said it’s a symbol for two people in love. They are two hearts that will forever be intertwined.”
“I love it.”
I love you. I couldn’t bring myself to say it to her, although I wanted to. I didn’t think she was ready to hear it yet, even though she said it to me last night in her sleep.
We spend the rest of the day watching movies and talking in my room. Once it gets a little later, I tell her we have reservations for dinner and she starts to get ready. When she comes out of the room, she has on the new pair of jeans, one of the shirts, and the jacket that Holly got her. She looks beautiful, and I am excited to finally be able to take her out.
Chapter Eighteen
Madison
Carter looks sexy! He has on a black button up shirt, jeans that hang just low enough on his hips, and that smirk that made me want to drag him back to his room.
“I’m ready to go,” I say, trying to contain the high level of excitement running through me.
He walks over to me and gives me a kiss on the lips. “You’re so beautiful.” I can’t help but blush. “Are you excited?”
“Yes, I haven’t been out to dinner in a really long time.” He frowned when I said that. I never really knew how bad I had it with Chris until Carter came into my life. He took my hand and we started to leave.
We pull up to the restaurant and he leads me inside. He gives the hostess his name and she smiles at him. She leads us to a booth in the back of the restaurant, gives us our menus and then leaves, but not before she slips Carter a piece of paper. What the hell is that?
He looks down at it, laughs and throws it on the floor under the booth. He looks up at me and sees that I am watching him expectantly.
“Yes, she gave me her number. As you can see, I put it where it belongs. I’d say that your number is the only one I want, but you don’t have a phone.”
I shake my head at him and then open the menu. Wow. Everything is so expensive! “Carter,” I whisper, “it is really expensive in here. Are you sure about this?”
He laughs at me. “Maddy, I work four nights a week and I make pretty good money. Order whatever you want, okay?”
“Okay. I’ve never been anywhere nearly as nice as this. Chris and I only went out to dinner once and it was to this place called Chili’s...and he had me order from the two-for-twenty menu.” I see him clench his jaw. I should really stop bringing him up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s okay. I’m not upset with you. I just hate how he treats you.” Since the booth is a semi-circle, he is able to scoot over toward me. He leans in and gives me a quick kiss. “You deserve the world, baby, and I want to help give it to you if you’ll let me.”
The waitress comes and takes our orders, and then it was just us. What was going to happen when we went back to school? I wasn’t sure I’d get the answer I wanted, but I needed to ask. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“What’s going to happen when we go back?” I was crossing my fingers that he wanted to be with me as much as I wanted him to.
“That’s up to you, Maddy.”
Why is it up to me? I mean, a relationship is a choice that two people are supposed to make together. I hope he is not gonna slip in some condition for us being together. “What do you mean?”
“You have all the power in this situation. I want to be with you, I want to have you by my side, and I want to wake up to you in my bed. As long as you’re willing to break it off with Chris, though. I can’t be your secret.” He stares into my eyes as he says this and his voice is soft.
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I hated that I had tried to keep him a secret. He is so much more than that. I know it hurt him that I did that, and I am surprised he even went along w
ith it at all. I never really understood why he waited for me, either. It wasn’t like he was in short supply of available girls. I saw the way they all looked at him.
He didn’t want them, though, he wanted me. “I don’t want you to be my secret, Carter. Would you be willing to give me a couple days when we get back, though?” I don’t know how he is going to take this. “Chris can be…temperamental. I just want a couple days to tell him and make him understand it’s over.”
“Maddy, I need you to tell me the truth about what’s going on with you and him.”
Did he really want to have this talk now? I’m not ready to tell him everything. I’ve been letting him in little by little, but it was going to take time. “Carter, can we have this talk later? I really don’t want to ruin the night.”
He frowns, but seems to understand. “Okay, just as long as you’ll tell me eventually.” An awkward silence forms between us. “You know, that necklace is beautiful. Someone with really good taste must have picked it out.”
I couldn’t help but giggle at that. “Someone really important gave it to me.” He leans in to give me another kiss just as the waitress is bringing our food.
Dinner is amazing and when Carter said we weren’t done yet, I didn’t know what to expect. As we were driving, he turned to me and asked, “Have you ever been dancing? Like at a club?”
I wouldn’t even begin to know how to dance. Sure, I’ve seen plenty of other girls do it, but that didn’t mean I had the slightest idea how. “No.”
“Good. I believe that’s another first, Miss Stevens.” He stops the car and we are in front of a place called Midnight. Oh my god. It was a club! I am going to make an idiot out of myself.
We walk into the club and, instantly, I feel out of place. He leans close to my ear. “Do you want a drink?”
“No, I think I’ve had enough firsts tonight.”
“You’ve never had a drink?” I shook my head. “Well, that will be a first I’ll definitely enjoy giving you.”
Just then, a slower song came on which, I was guessing, didn’t happen a lot. Most people started to leave the dance floor so only the couples were left. He grabs my hand and leads me onto the dance floor. I recognize the song as Pink’s “Just Give Me a Reason.” He puts my arms around his neck and starts swaying me back and forth. I can handle this. As I am listening to the song, I realize how much the chorus relates to me. She is talking about being broken, but being able to pick up the pieces and start again. That is exactly what I wanted to do with Carter.
Fall for Me Page 6
