“Well, last time I was here, we were talking about how great Carter, Holly, and Anthony had turned out. You’d said that you were proud of all of them, even though sometimes you wished you could duct tape Anthony’s mouth closed.”
Everyone starts hysterically laughing. It is great to see my family so happy and to know that it was because of the girl I love. Maddy is going to make dinner tonight, just like on Thanksgiving, but Holly offered to help this time.
We go into my room to put our bags away. Once I close the door, Maddy throws herself at me. I am so surprised that I drop the bags. She kisses me, but it isn’t one of those ‘I wanna rip your clothes off kisses.’ It was a ‘let me show you how much I love you’ kiss. “Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?”
“I love you so much, Carter. Thank you so much for everything you do for me, and for making me a part of your family.”
“It’s my pleasure, baby.” I give her another kiss.
Chapter Twenty Six
Madison
Holly and I are cooking while the boys are watching the football game.
“Hey, Mads?” I stop peeling the potatoes and turn around to look at her. She stops cutting the vegetables and looks at me.
“Yeah?” I wonder what she wants to talk to me about. Holly is nice, although we really only spent time together that one day shopping. Let’s be honest, heart-to-hearts don’t really happen in the mall.
“I just wanted to tell you thank you.”
I hope she isn’t talking about the presents again. I still can’t believe Carter didn’t plan on getting his family anything for Christmas. “For what?”
“For making my brother so happy. After Mom died, Carter kind of shut down. He never considered being serious with anyone because I think he was scared they’d leave him like she did.”
I see tears building in her eyes. Please don’t cry. I’m a baby and it doesn’t take a lot to get me there.
“The only time he ever came close was with this girl, Alyssa, senior year and she was a nasty bitch.” Holly scrunches up her face and we both laugh. “She only lasted a week, though, thank God!”
Now she sparked my interest. “Why? What happened?”
“He caught her giving the quarterback a blow job in the locker room.” I choke on the water I am drinking. OH MY GOD! “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve never seen him happier. You’re the cause of it and I’m so grateful to you for that.” I walk over to her and hug her, then the water works start for both of us.
We don’t even hear Anthony walk into the kitchen. “Hell, yes! Girl-on-girl! But, can I call someone to take Holly’s place ‘cause she’s my sister?”
I pick up one of the cooked potatoes and throw it at him. It hits him in the face and splatters everywhere. The look on his face is hilarious. Holly and I break into hysterics.
“That was not cool!” he shouts at us while wiping away potato. Just then, Carter and his dad come in, survey the scene, and start laughing. “Carter, where did your girl get such good aim? I need to go take a shower now.” Anthony walks back to the bathroom while we are all still laughing.
Carter walks up behind me and wraps his arms around me. “I love hearing him say my girl,” he whispers in my ear.
My whole body is on high alert now. I lean back and give him a kiss. “Well, your girl needs to get back to cooking. Would you mind cleaning up that potato?”
“Sure, baby.” He kisses me and then grabs the paper towels. Holly and I have a great time cooking together. She is telling me that her and her friend, Christen, got early acceptance to Duke. I am excited that she’ll be there with us next year.
Dinner is really good, and Carter says he and Anthony will clean up. After they are done, we say our good nights and go to hang out in his room. We watch a movie. This time, I let Carter choose it. He picks ‘The Exorcist’ and I am pretty sure that it is just because he wants me to cuddle up with him. He doesn’t need a scary movie for that, though.
After the movie, he turns to me and laughs at the horrified expression on my face. He leans down and kisses me, the kind of kiss in which I feel all of his passion. I could lose myself in Carter so easily, and I really want to. I can’t, though...not here and not with all of his family home. He moves his hand up my side and over my breast. I can tell where this was going and it was getting there fast. “Carter, stop.” He looked at me and seemed worried.
“I don’t want to do this here. Your family is home and I’m not comfortable.”
“Babe, it’s okay. My dad doesn’t care.” He leaned down to kiss me again, but I moved my head to the side.
“Well, I do.” I felt horrible. I couldn’t get over feeling that this was wrong.
I could see he was disappointed and I hated that I was the one who did it. “Okay, okay.” He put his hand up in surrender. “I love you, Maddy. Goodnight.” He lies back and pulls me to his side.
“I love you too.”
* * *
Carter wants to show me around today and the first stop is the coffee shop he always went to. When we walk in, I take a look around. It is really cute. There are a couple of booths and tables, and there is soft music playing in the background. Carter has his arm around me. I love how he is always touching me. If he didn’t have his arm around me, his hand would be on my back or interlaced with my hand.
This is just another way that he makes me feel so safe and wanted. I can’t help but notice the blonde behind the counter giving me dirty looks. What the hell was her problem? Carter hadn’t noticed her yet.
When it is our turn to order, the blonde looks him up and down. “Carter James, where have you been hiding?”
He looks up and I see recognition and surprise in his eyes. “Alyssa?”
The bitch whore who cheated on him, Alyssa? I take a better look at her, her blonde hair reaches down to about the middle of her back, her clothes look expensive and her boobs are about to pop out of her shirt.
“How have you been, Carter?” She still has yet to acknowledge my presence, except for the dirty looks she was giving me earlier.
“I…uh…I’ve been good.” Jesus, Carter, talk much?!
“That’s good! I hear you are at Duke. I’m transferring there this semester.” WHAT? Kill me now.
“You are?” I shift beside him, completely uncomfortable with this whole situation. He looks over at me. “This is my girlfriend, Madison.”
“Hi.” I might as well try to be nice, even if she is a witch.
She turns my way and gives me a fake smile, then goes right back to Carter. Bitch whore. “Girlfriend? I never thought that would happen!”
Carter turns to me. “What do you want, babe?”
Her head on a stick, preferably a really sharp one. “Can I get a medium caramel coffee with cream and sugar?”
Once again, this bitch whore pretends like I’m not even there. “What can I get you, Carter?” I can definitely see the hidden message there.
“I’ll just have a large coffee with cream and sugar. Also, a couple pieces of the lemon pound cake.”
We get our stuff and go to sit down at one of the booths. “So that was a little awkward, huh?”
“Just a little.”
He turns to face me. “I should probably tell you how I know her.”
No, thanks. I don’t need to hear that story again. “It’s okay, I already know. Holly told me all about her yesterday.”
He grabs my hand and gives me a quick kiss. “Hey, don’t let her ruin our day.” He leans in to kiss me again and lingers a little longer than he did before. When I pull back, I see that Alyssa is watching us. Take that, bitch whore, he’s mine.