I can’t believe this. I want to throw up. The only thing I can do right now is question why she didn’t feel she could have come to me. I would have helped her. I would have made sure he didn’t touch her.
“He’d remind me on a daily basis that if I ever told anyone, he’d make sure I’d regret it. Before I came here the other night, he threatened to kill you and me. He knew that first day I met you that there was something between us, and it got worse after that. I just needed you to know this. I hate that I’m putting you in danger by just being with you.”
“Listen to me, I’ll keep you safe. I’m not going to let him hurt you, and the guys are completely on board with this too. For once in your life, Maddy, you have people that care about you. Just let us.” I try to reassure her the best that I can.
“I really don’t know what I’d do without you, Carter.”
“So, is it safe to assume you’re spending your winter break with me?” The smile on her face is breathtaking, and I love that I can put it there.
“I’m not sure yet. What did you plan on doing?” She gives me a little smile to show that she knew exactly what she was asking. Why tell her when I could show her?
I grab her and kiss her, then gently ease her down so that she is lying on the couch. I settle myself on top of her and enjoy having her finally be mine. I run my hands up and down her sides, then I start kissing her neck, collarbone, and gently bite her earlobe. The sounds that she is making should be illegal.
She runs her fingernails down my back and I let out a low groan. She is incredible. All she’s been through and she still has the capacity to love. She grinds her hips against mine and I reach my limit. I jump up and start walking toward the bedroom. I know she isn’t ready for this.
“Where are you going?” She is clearly confused about my abrupt departure.
“To take an ice cold shower or two.” Her giggle is the last thing I hear before I close the door.
Madison
Being here with Carter today has been the best day of my life. I never thought I could be so happy in a relationship. While he is showering, I work on cleaning up. I hate that he jumped off of me earlier.
I know that he is just being considerate after what Chris had done, but he isn’t Chris. I wasn’t ready to have sex with Carter, but I love being able to be intimate with him and being comfortable with it.
Someone knocks at the door and my heart stops. Should I answer it? It isn’t even my house, and Carter is still in the shower.
I was standing there staring at the door when I heard someone yell. “This shit isn’t getting any lighter, you know!” I immediately recognize Shawn’s voice and hurry to let him in. He and Jason were standing there with cardboard boxes in their hands. “Two Musketeers movers at your service, Yoko Ono.”
“Why did you call me that?”
He smiles. “Because you’re breaking up our group, just like she did to the Beatles.” I laughed at his reference of me stealing Carter from them, but what are they talking about with the movers thing?
Jason shoves him and then looks over to me. “Don’t mind him. I think he may be more in love with your boyfriend than you are.” We all laugh at that.
Just then, Carter walks out of the bedroom in only his sweatpants. Oh my, the sight of him is enough to make me melt. His hair is still wet from the shower and messed up to perfection. His chest and his abs are so defined that they didn’t even look real. He looks like one of the models you see in the magazines that couldn’t possibly look like that in real life. His pants hang just under that delicious V that leads to the place that I so desperately want to explore.
“Yo, Carter. You gonna stand there like a Calvin Klein model, or you gonna come help us?” Jason yells from the door.
Carter looks at me and smirks. He caught me ogling him. “Yeah, let me throw shoes on!” he yells back. He slips his sneakers on and follows them outside. I walk out of the door and see Jason’s truck bursting with boxes.
Wait a minute. That is all of my stuff. What is going on? They all come in with boxes and I walk up to Carter. Before I can even ask him what is happening, he looks at me and says, “I knew you didn’t have any of your stuff with you and I didn’t want you going anywhere near Chris’ house. So, I called Shawn and Jason and begged them to get your stuff and bring it over. If they missed anything, we can figure it out later. I hope you’re not pissed at me, I just couldn’t stand-”
I grabbed his face between my hands. “You’re the most thoughtful, incredible, amazing, and wonderful man I could have ever asked for.” He leans down and kisses me. It isn’t intense like earlier, just gentle and loving.
“I need to go help the guys. Would you mind putting away the groceries? I also promised them dinner and beer. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No! Of course I don’t mind! I’ll cook so you can relax too. Isn’t there a game on tonight? Tell the guys they’re welcome to stay as long as they want.”
He leans down and gives me one last kiss. “You’re perfect.” He swats my butt and I giggle as I watch him walk away.
Carter
After the guys leave, Maddy and I go to bed. This day has been great. She fits into my life so well, and I hope she never leaves. We both had a really long day and, truthfully, I couldn’t wait to hold her in my arms again.
All day I avoided asking her if she was staying permanently. To be honest, I was scared of the answer. It was amazing being able to be with her and I wanted it to be like that every day, even when the semester started again. I sit down on the bed and look at her. “So, I know we still have a few more weeks, but what’s going to happen next semester? Are you going to go back to the dorms? Or did you want to move in permanently?”
I am trying to hide the desperation in my voice. If she wants to live at the dorms, I need to accept that and not let her know how disappointed I am.
“I think that’s up to you, babe. I love just being able to be here with you. I just don’t want to crowd you.” Her voice is laced with insecurity.
She could be permanently attached to me and it still wouldn’t be enough. I need to remember how things were with her and Chris. She needs reassurance that she is wanted, appreciated, and loved. “Baby, if it’s up to me, not only are you going to live in this house, but you’re never leaving this bed.” I grab her and yanked her down on top on me. She laughs, leans down and starts to kiss me. She rolls on her side and runs her fingers through my hair.
“If I’m going to be here through the holidays, do you think we could decorate? If you don’t want to, it’s okay.”
She wanted to decorate my house? My mom always decorated for the holidays but since she was gone, we never really knew how to do it right. I lean up and give her one more kiss. “We’ll go get a tree and all the trimmings tomorrow. Whatever you want, baby.”
“All I want is you.” God, it feels amazing to hear her say those words.
“You’ve had that since the first time I saw you.”
Chapter Twenty Four
Madison
It is Christmas Eve. Carter and I have been living together for almost two weeks now and it is amazing. We decorated his house with all of the Christmas decorations that we could find in the stores.
I think everything is beautiful. I’ve never decorated a house I was living in for Christmas, and I loved that I got to do this first with him...even though our tree looked bi-polar because my side was all very organized and neat, and Carter’s was just kind of all mixed together in random order.
He wants to spend our first Christmas alone together, but we made plans to go to his dad’s house later in the afternoon. We are going to stay for a few days, and Carter is excited to show me some of the places he went to growing up.