by Tami Lund
Chapter Four
Madison was drunk by the time the first of their family arrived at the airport. Highly inconveniently, it was her own parents.
Kyle had never met them before.
But for as long as the two of them had been friends, Madison had not had very nice things to say about her parents. Her mom was a doormat. Her dad had expectations that neither daughter would ever be able to attain.
“Mom! Daaaaaad!” Madison drunkenly called out as a couple walked past the restaurant.
“Madison?” her mother said, her voice lifting at the end, as they both slowly inched closer.
“Hey, Mom.” Madison flung out her arm, knocking it into the wooden half wall, and then turned to Kyle, laughing. “Oops.”
He had already paid their bill—the second one—so he slid out of his seat and tugged Madison out of hers. She draped her arm around his shoulders and gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek before patting his face.
“You’re such a great friend,” she said, adding air quotes with her fingers.
If she wasn’t careful, she was going to let the cat out of the bag before their affair even began.
“Did I ever tell you that when I met you and Elliot, I liked you first?”
“Not relevant, Madison,” he said out of the side of his mouth while smiling at her parents, who were staring on in obvious horror, no doubt repulsed by the fact that their daughter was drunk at nine in the morning.
“Madison may have had a little too much to drink,” he said sheepishly when they stepped out of the restaurant and her parents continued to stand there, staring at them. Actually, at their daughter. “I’m Kyle Bryant, by the way.” He offered the hand that wasn’t clinging to Madison, ensuring she stood upright, as wobbly as that may be.
Her father ignored Kyle’s outstretched arm and after several long seconds, her mother finally leapt forward and shook it.
“Carlos,” she pointed at her husband, “and Rosa Alverez.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said politely. He was meeting Madison’s parents for the first time, and she was hammered. With him.
Mrs. Alverez didn’t reply in kind.
“Um, so, our gate is right over there,” he said lamely.
“This was the perfect idea,” Madison declared. “I’m not even upset that my parents are here, looking at me like I’m a terrible, terrible person. Maybe I should drink Bloody Marys every morning.” She swung her arm in an arc, and her mother ducked to avoid being struck in the face.
“Let’s get you into a seat, and I’ll get you some coffee, okay?” Kyle suggested as he tried to guide her toward the waiting area.
Madison flung her head from side to side. “Uh-uh. I want more vodka. And a side of you. No, I want you and a side of vodka.”
“Nope. You are officially cut off. In fact, I should have cut you off at three.”
“Three?” Rosa croaked.
“It was only two.” Madison lifted two fingers and waived them in his face. “Best two of my life, though.”
“Not what we’re talking about right now, Madison.” He tried to explain to her parents, “She seemed fine. It wasn’t until halfway through number four that she started, um…”
“Laughing uncontrollably,” Madison finished for him and then proceeded to do just that. In retrospect, she’d tried to talk him into having sex in an airport bathroom after three, and Madison was not normally an impulsive person. Even last night, when she’d first propositioned him, it had been calculated, a plan. She’d obviously put some thought into the idea before broaching it.
And yeah, he was still reeling from the fact that he had, indeed, had sex with Madison Alverez and she clearly wanted to do it again. Unfortunately—or maybe fortunately as he did have a tendency to overthink things—he didn’t have time to take it all in, revel in his good fortune. Instead, he had to make sure she didn’t say something they’d both regret to her parents, who were quite obviously not thrilled with her decision to start drinking so early on the first morning of her vacation.
“Hey! Those people look like part of our crew,” someone called out, and Kyle winced because that sounded like his mother’s voice and he really didn’t want his mother to see Madison like this. Not that he was going to be able to avoid it, since they were all on the same flight. But he’d at least wanted to try to get some coffee into her, maybe sober her up a tad. He knew damn well she would be embarrassed as all get-out when this buzz wore off.
Sure enough, that had been his mother’s voice. Which meant his father and Grandma Bryant were here as well. Oh yeah, and Elliot.
“What the hell?” Elliot said as soon as he laid eyes on Madison, who was hanging on Kyle like her legs had forgotten how to function. Which was entirely possible at this point. “Maddy? What did you do to her?”
Kyle scowled. “I force-fed her drinks for breakfast. Isn’t it obvious?”
“Clearly,” Elliot snapped back.
“Nope,” Madison said, lifting her hand and batting Elliot on the nose. “Did it all by myself. Although I think Kyle paid. You weren’t supposed to pay. I was. It was my turn.”
“We split the bill,” Kyle reminded her.
“You guys take turns getting each other drunk for breakfast?” Elliot asked, which Madison found outrageously funny, apparently, based on her rather robust laughter.
“Why are you so pissed off?” Kyle asked.
Before Elliot could respond, if he planned to, Mom interrupted. With a look of concern on her face, she said, “Is she not a good flyer?”
“I’m not sure,” Kyle admitted, although he was pretty sure that was not the issue here. He was reasonably confident her overindulgence was a direct result of her decision to have sex with him, plus a dose of wanting to do it again.
Yeah, good thing he didn’t have time to overthink that.
“She’s gonna have a hell of a hangover,” Grandma Bryant said. “Make sure you’ve got some hair of the dog for her in about twelve hours.”
She would probably be sound asleep in twelve hours. Also, how the hell did Grandma know about hair of the dog?
“Is there anything we can do?” Mom asked.
“Get her away from Kyle would be my suggestion,” Elliot said.
“How about you go get her some coffee?” Kyle snapped at his pissed-off-for-no-reason brother.
She wasn’t his girlfriend anymore, and if she wanted to get drunk at nine on a Sunday morning, she had every right to without judgment from him. Was that really so bad? Did he have any idea how hard she’d been working lately? She deserved to cut loose, frankly.
“Good idea,” Mom said, giving Elliot a push toward the Starbucks just across the way.
“He-e-e-y!” a shrill female voice called out, and Kyle grimaced before glancing up to note that Camila, Tommy, Philip, and Philip’s girlfriend, Maecie, were all heading this way. There were two elderly couples in their wake—Kyle’s grandparents on his mother’s side, and, he guessed, Camila and Madison’s paternal grandparents.
“Whoa,” Camila said when she noticed her sister’s state. “Somebody started early.” She peered at Madison. “What’s she been drinking?”
“Bloody Marys,” Kyle admitted.
Camila nodded knowingly. “Yeah, vodka is not her friend. We should probably get her some coffee.”
“She seemed awfully excited about drinking them,” Kyle defended.
Camila shrugged. “I didn’t say she didn’t like them. Only that vodka…well, it does this to her.”
Madison started laughing again and tried to launch herself at Camila. Kyle grabbed her around the waist, half afraid she’d fall if he let her go.
“Later,” Madison said, batting at his arms. “My sister’s getting married!”
“Yep,” Camila said, her lips twitching like she was trying really hard not to laugh.
Madison leaned closer to her. “Is that Abuelito and Abuelita?” she stage-whispered.
Camila struggled to swallow her laughter as she
said, “Yes.”
“Oh-h-h,” Madison said. “This is embarrassing.”
Her abuelita snickered. “Happens to the best of us. In fact, I wouldn’t mind some of whatever you’re drinking.”
Good to know that not everyone in Madison’s family were sticks in the mud like her parents apparently were. Oh, and Elliot.
Elliot returned with her coffee, and Kyle guided her over to a row of chairs near their gate. Several in their group wandered off in different directions. It looked like Camila and Tommy were heading for coffee themselves, while Madison’s grandparents were—seriously, they really were going to get drinks?
And was Grandma Bryant tagging along?
For the first time since her parents showed up, Kyle felt his lips lift into a smile. Until he looked up and noted that Elliot and Madison’s parents had all taken seats directly across from her.
Elliot was slouched in his, glowering as he sipped a coffee he’d apparently gotten for himself. Rosa sat primly, nervously picking at invisible lint on her pants while darting glances first at her husband and then at Madison. Carlos sat with both feet planted on the carpet, arms crossed over his chest, a frown seemingly permanently carved onto his face.
Mom dropped into the chair on Madison’s other side and patted her arm. “She’ll probably fall asleep as soon as we take off. Which seat is she in?”
Kyle used Madison’s thumb to unlock her phone and looked at her boarding pass. “14A.”
Mom looked at her own phone. “Oh, she’s sitting with your father and me. Don’t worry, dear, we’ll take care of her.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Not soon enough, it was time to board their flight. Madison had ingested about half her coffee, and while she was still drunk as a skunk, she was at least able to walk on her own down the tunnel toward the plane.
Mostly.
Mom went first and then Dad down the aisle, with Madison following and Kyle hovering behind her, one hand resting on her hip, guiding her so that she didn’t bump into anyone’s seat or stumble and fall. It wasn’t remotely the time nor place, but, yeah, he was acutely aware of the way his palm cupped her flesh over her leggings. If he inched his thumb down a few inches, he’d be touching her ass.
When she reached their row, Mom said, “Kyle, why don’t you give her the window seat and take the middle seat?”
“My seat’s two rows back,” he said. “I think me, Grandma, and Elliot are together.” He’d been hoping Grandma would sit between them as a buffer, since Elliot was still acting annoyed over Madison’s drunkenness, and Kyle was absolutely certain his brother blamed him.
Mom turned around and waved at someone behind Kyle. “Mom, do you mind sitting with Kyle and Madison?”
“Nope,” came Grandma Bryant’s perky reply.
“Excellent. Sit next to her, dear. Your dad and I will take yours and Grandma’s seats.”
“Um…”
“You’re holding up the line, Kyle,” Mom admonished, and he quickly slid into the row, twisting so that he could drop into the seat next to Madison.
“Hey,” she said, the word slurred. “You’re cute. Wanna hook up later?”
He glanced up at Grandma, who was directing Elliot as he stashed her carryon in the compartment above their seats. Clearing his throat, he said, “Um, we’ll see.”
She barked out a laugh loud enough that it felt like half the plane turned their way to check out what was so funny.
“You won’t be able to resist,” she taunted, which was true, but he wasn’t about to admit that right now. Not with Grandma currently making herself comfortable in the seat on his other side.
Madison leaned over and dropped another kiss on his cheek, and he resisted rubbing the spot while hoping Grandma hadn’t noticed.
“So you’re next, eh?” Grandma said after she was buckled in.
“Next?”
She motioned at he and Madison. “To get together. It’s like you boys are falling like dominoes.”
Kyle made a strangled noise and shook his head. “Nope.”
They were just friends. The benefits were strictly physical.
They had a plan.
Chapter Five
Madison rolled over onto her back and groaned.
Wait. If she was lying on her back, she wasn’t in an airplane. Reaching out her arm, she smoothed her hand over what felt like soft, albeit wrinkled, sheets. A bed, then. So, how had she gotten from the window seat on an airplane to a soft, and, frankly, pretty damn big bed?
If she couldn’t recall getting to the house they’d rented at their final destination, she’d certainly taken her plan to cut loose to extremes. Damn it, vodka was not her friend; she knew this. Probably why she couldn’t remember how many Bloody Marys she’d consumed. There had been at least three, but things started to get fuzzy after that.
What else about the day didn’t she remember?
She recalled Kyle sitting next to her on the plane, which had been nice, actually.
She sighed and tried to remember what happened after the plane had taken off from Detroit Metro Airport. She was pretty sure she’d slept through most of the flight. When they landed, Kyle helped her off the plane because she had still been unsteady on her feet. He’d even waited outside the restroom while she peed.
Then they’d all piled into taxis that took them to their rental house. Grandma Bryant and Abuelita had hit it off, if Madison recalled correctly, and had wanted to go check out the local bars.
Madison pressed her palm to her forehead. No, surely that had not happened. She must have imagined that.
God, she hoped she imagined that.
She vaguely recalled meeting up with her maternal grandparents, and she definitely hadn’t imagined the disapproving looks they’d given her when they realized she’d gotten drunk so early in the day. Or hell, at all.
At least Madison knew her mother came by her stuffiness honestly.
Camila had offered to tuck Madison into bed, but Kyle had told her that this was her wedding trip and he would take care of her sister so she could enjoy herself.
And now she was lying in a bed, alone, presumably in her designated bedroom, with all the curtains closed. It was so dark she couldn’t even make out the shape of whatever furniture was in the room.
Turning her head, she noted the big red numbers on the alarm clock. Eight fourteen. Was it evening or morning?
“You awake?”
The deep voice bursting from the quiet caused her to yelp while her heart raced in her chest.
“Kyle?”
There were rustling noises and the bed dipped when someone sat on the edge. “Hey there. How are you feeling?”
“Fine.” She furrowed her brow. “Why do I feel fine? I don’t usually feel fine after drinking as much vodka as I think I consumed.”
There was laughter in his voice as he said, “I made you take a couple of ibuprofen and drink two glasses of water before you passed out earlier.”
“Thanks.” She paused. “Have you been in here the whole time?”
“Yeah. Fell asleep in the chair, which, in retrospect, was a bad idea. My back’s killing me.”
She almost offered to give him a backrub, but she bit her tongue because she knew how backrubs made her feel, which was way more than friendly. And they’d agreed to go back to being strictly friends, hadn’t they?
Why did she feel this niggling doubt in the back of her mind?
Clearing her throat, she asked, “Why? I mean, why did you stay instead of going to your own room?”
The bed shifted and she thought maybe he shrugged. “Wanted to make sure you were okay. You know, hold your hair back if you needed it.”
He would have held her hair back while she vomited? “How is it some lucky woman hasn’t snatched you up yet?”
His chuckle was low, and if laughs could sound self-deprecating, this one most certainly did.
She sat up, groaning and then smacking her lips. “I need to brush my teeth.”
At least she didn’t have to go out into the hall to use the facilities, which allowed her to avoid their families a little bit longer. Could she stay in here until it was time to go home?
“Thanks.” She swung her legs over the bed, brushing against his hip as she did so. She felt his body go rigid, and she realized that her legs were bare.
Clearing his throat, he said, “I took your leggings off before tucking you in. Figured you’d be more comfortable that way.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that. And, um, everything else.”
She collected her toiletry bag and a pair of gym shorts, hurried to the bathroom, and closed the door.
Flipping on the light, she stifled a gasp as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Holy crap! Her mascara had smudged, leaving huge black circles under bloodshot eyes, while her hair was flat on one side and sticking up like a scarecrow on the other.
She opened the door a crack and said, “Hey, I’m going to take a shower. You don’t have to stick around if you don’t want to. I’m fine now.”
“It’s okay. I’ll wait.”
Was it possible to be too nice? Because Kyle was ridiculous with his need to care for her. And she couldn’t say it was in his nature because she honestly couldn’t recall him acting this damn protective over anyone else in his life.
Only her.
She brushed her teeth and then turned on the shower, set it to a nice, steamy temperature, and stepped under the spray to wash away the physical evidence of her morning debauchery.
Maybe Kyle’s need to take care of her was because she was a girl. All four brothers had discovered the opposite sex far later in life than typical boys. She didn’t know it for a fact, but she was pretty sure they’d all been virgins until after high school. They’d been too busy being boys.
Tommy and Kyle had raced dirt bikes, and their parents had dragged the other two along to all their competitions. No one had minded, as far as Madison could tell. Even Elliot, who had zero interest in getting on a motorcycle, hadn’t complained about spending his weekends during the summer months at this track or the other.
