Ice Dreams Part 3 (10 page)

CHAPTER NINE

Sunday morning came as the sun shined through Madison's bedroom window. She groaned as she got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and tried to work her brush through her knotted hair.

After Carter and Alicia were officially married, Hunter dropped Madison off at the apartment. She knocked on Mike's door but no one answered. She managed to get undressed and collapsed into her bed. She was drained.

After her shower, she got dressed and decided to check on Mike again. She opened her door and walked across the hall. Just as she was about to knock, Mike opened the door. His eyes locked with hers as he pulled her tight against him and lowered his lips to her. He pushed her against the open door and locked her arms above her head.

His lips were anything but gentle against hers. When his tongue parted her delicate lips she moaned and pushed her body tighter against him. As he pulled away, he still kept her trapped against the door. His eyes darkened and both of their lips swollen.

"Good morning, Maddy."

She couldn't speak. Her body was turned on and responded to him. She took a deep breath. "Good morning. I was just coming to see if you wanted to join me for breakfast."

He grinned. "I would love to." He backed away and released her. She suddenly felt alone. "Your place?"

She nodded. "I can fill you in from yesterday." He closed his door and followed her across the hallway. She grabbed some flour and started making pancakes. Mike sat at her kitchen table and asked, "How's Alicia?"

"She's good, really good considering."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Hunter managed to convince their pastor to marry them in the hospital room."

"Wow that was thoughtful of him."

Madison nodded. "He's a good guy, Mike. I know you don't like him but he does have a good heart."

He grunted as he grabbed a couple of plates. "I want to ask you something. But, I need you to be truthful, completely honest."

She put the pancakes on his plate and nodded. "What do you want to know?"

"Will you go out with me? Like a real date: movies, dinner, making out in the car afterwards."

She couldn't stop herself from laughing. She looked into his eyes and searched within her heart. She thought back to their kiss from that morning. Her body started to come alive but she still felt Hunter in her heart. She looked at him. "Mike…"

He put his hand up. "I know what I felt in that kiss, Maddy. It's ok, you need more time. I won't push you. Yet…"

Madison sat down next to him when her phone rang. She noticed it was Hunter. "Hey Hunter, what's up?" Mike grunted again as she gave him a look.

"They are releasing Alicia later this afternoon and Carter thinks all the wedding stuff will depress her. Do you think you could come and help us out?"

"Of course, I will be right over." She hung up and looked at Mike. "Alicia is coming home and I need to get the wedding stuff down."

"I can help." he offered.

She smiled. "Thank you but can you play nice with Hunter?"

He groaned. "As long as he plays nice with me."

She patted his shoulder as she cleared their dishes. "Come on, I will drive us over there." Mike hopped into her car and placed his hand on her bare thigh as she drove.

"Your legs are beautiful, Maddy. Those shorts really make them look sexy."

She blushed and was very grateful that Carter's house wasn't that far away. She pulled into the driveway and spotted the trucks for the tent and chairs. The workers were packing everything up and carting it away.

Mike followed Madison into the house to find Hunter. She could hear Hunter and Carter talking in the kitchen. Over the noise from the tent removal, they didn't realize she was standing there.

"I love her, Carter. I never stopped. She's the reason I get up in the morning. She's the reason I take my next breath. I messed up, I understand that but how do I earn her trust back?"

Carter shrugged. "This is Alicia's area of expertise not mine. Just keep talking to her and maybe she will come around. I see it in her eyes when she looks at you. She loves you too. She just doesn't understand what happened."

Madison started to cry as Mike put his hand on her shoulder. She had forgotten that he was there. She turned around and walked from the house. Mike stopped her as he reached her car.

"I'm going to ask you another question, Madison. I want you to be completely honest with me and with yourself. Do you still love him?"

She looked into his eyes. She dug into her soul. She had feelings towards Mike but was it just covering up her true feelings for Hunter. She closed her eyes as she discovered the truth.

She felt Mike's lips touch her forehead. "I'm going to call a friend to pick me up. You are special, Madison Sinclair. You deserve the world, don't settle for less."

He walked away as she watched. She wiped her tears as she looked around. She hoped that she hadn't made a mistake or lost her friend. She put the thought behind her as she walked towards the house again. She was still in love with Hunter. She always was. Maybe they both just needed time to grow up by being apart from each other.

When she entered the house, the guys were signing the paperwork for the rental company. "Madison, there you are." Carter walked up to her and hugged her. "Thank you for helping out. We are handling the big stuff. Can you go upstairs and help pack up the dresses? Hunter will take care of everything else. I need to get to back to the hospital."

Madison nodded. "Good luck. I will make you guys some dinner and put it in the fridge."

"I love you, sis."

"I love you too."

Carter disappeared out the front door leaving her alone with Hunter. Their gaze stuck on each other. "Anything on your mind, Maddy?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nope, I will be upstairs if you need me." She ran up the stairs as she chickened out from telling him how she felt. She needed more time.

She walked into Alicia’s bedroom and found the box that her dress came in. She slowly packed it away and put it at the bottom of her closet. She walked into the guest room and grabbed all the bridesmaid dresses. She would call the girls later and make sure they retrieved them. She started walking down the stairs with the dresses when Hunter spotted her.

“Hang on, let me grab those. I don’t need you to fall down the stairs.” He pulled the dresses from her arms. “Are they going in your car?”

She nodded. “They can stop by my place and pick them up.”

He walked towards her car and she opened the back door for him. He laid them across the backseat. “What else needs to be done?”

“I think that’s it. The house looks normal again.”

He smiled and leaned back against her car. “Did you need to get going? I can stay and wait for them.”

“No, I’m going to make them something that Carter can re-heat tonight and then I think we both should leave. They will need some privacy when she gets home. He will call us if he needs us.”

Hunter followed her back inside of the house and watched her as she cooked the chicken and vegetables. She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He looked as if he wanted to talk to her but didn’t know what to say.

“Are you excited about signing with your team?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, I couldn’t be happier that I’m staying in town. I have some unfinished business to attend to.”

She looked at him as she seasoned the chicken. “Oh yeah, like what?”

“Just some personal stuff... how are things with Mike?” he asked.

“We are just friends, Hunter.”

“I see the way you look at each other. It’s more than friendship.”

She didn’t know how to respond, part of that was true. “Well for now, it’s just friendship. That’s all I can give him.”

He nodded and seemed ok with her answer. She heard her cell phone ring as Hunter reached behind him and handed it to her. “Hey Jessie!”

“Hey honey, I’m ready for my trip!”

Madison smiled from ear to ear. She missed her best friend. “When are you coming?”

“I will be there on Tuesday night. I quit my job.”

Madison gasped. “You what? Why?”

“I’m not happy. Life is too short, Madison. I need something different. I’m young, I will figure it out. Plus I have a best friend who will let me sleep on her couch.”

She laughed. “For as long as you need it.”

“I will see you soon.” She hung up and placed her phone on the counter. “Jessie is coming for a visit.”

He smiled at her. “That’s awesome. I know you will be looking forward to that.”

She nodded. “I miss her.” She finished up dinner and placed it in containers in their fridge. She left them a note with heating instructions. “Well, I’m going to head home and study for awhile.”

“I guess I should go and get some of my stuff done too. If you hear from them, text me or call me, I want to make sure she is doing ok.”

She nodded. “Of course, I will be in touch.”

Hunter reached for her hand as he kissed it. She closed her eyes to his tender touch. She felt another wall disappear around her heart. When she opened her eyes, Hunter was staring at her. He slowly moved closer to her as he captured her lips. He grabbed her waist and pulled her towards him. As he parted her lips, she found herself melting against his strong chest. She surprised herself when she heard the faint moan from her throat.

He pulled away and looked down at her. “Tell me you felt that.”

She slowly nodded and whispered. “I did.”

“Why would you deny us then?”

She looked into his eyes. “Just give me some more time, ok?”

He nodded and didn’t push her. He leaned down and kissed her gently and disappeared from the house.

CHAPTER TEN

Tuesday afternoon arrived and Madison was itching to get out of school. Amber gave her the night off so she could be with her friend Jessie when she arrived. She finished with her study group and gathered her notes from her classmates. She looked up and spotted Dr. Allen walking into the library. She was so embarrassed from their last encounter that she tried to move quietly past him.

As she walked out of the library, she breathed a slow sigh and started to walk down the hallway towards the parking lot.

“Why do I have a feeling that you are running from me?”

Madison stopped when she heard his familiar voice. She turned around and spotted him leaning against the wall. “I’m not running, I’m just avoiding the awkwardness but it still managed to find us.”

He chuckled. “I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Last time I saw you, you were crying and not yourself. Has everything corrected itself?”

She nodded. “I’m doing better, thank you.”

“How was the wedding?” he asked.

She frowned as she thought back to it. “Didn’t go as planned but they were married after a long day.”

He nodded. “Well, I will let you continue to run away now.” He turned and started back towards the library. “Oh, congrats on your exam, you had the highest grade in the class.”

She smiled. “Thank you. I really love your class. You are a good teacher, Professor.”

He smiled. “Now, I love hearing that. See you in class, Ms. Sinclair.”

She turned around and headed towards her car. She couldn’t get home fast enough as she drove towards the ocean. She pulled into her parking space and frowned towards Mike’s car. They hadn’t run into each other yet. She didn’t know what to say to him.

She climbed the stairs and placed her key in her door. She was startled when she heard his voice behind her. “Are we going to keep avoiding each other?”

She smiled and turned to face him. “I hope not. I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Maddy. Have you talked to him yet?”

She shook her head. “I haven’t really seen him. My friend is arriving today so I’ve been busy.”

“Your friend?” he asked.

She nodded. “Jessie is my best friend from back home. She quit her job and needed a break. She will be sleeping on my couch for awhile. Be nice to her when you see her around.”

He laughed. “I’m always nice.”

She quickly turned around and walked into her apartment. “Maybe the three of us can do dinner?”

“Sure, just let me know when.”