Authors: Melissa Johns
She walked over to his dresser and started to sift through his t-shirts. She grabbed one of his heavy metal shirts and slipped it on. She dried her hair and slid on her jeans. He walked out of the bathroom just as she finished up. His towel hung from his hips in that sexy way. She walked over to him and kissed him. “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t offer you money like that but I want you to be covered if you need something.”
“I really love you for it and I promise you that if I need anything, I will let you know.”
He smiled and kissed her lovingly. “Let me get dressed and I will drive you over to their place.”
She nodded as she went into the living room and grabbed her phone. She noticed that she had a text message waiting for her. She scrolled through and saw it was from Mike.
Good Morning - I hope I didn’t wake you but wondered if you wanted to grab lunch - Mike
Heading over to Alicia’s now - I will let you know - Madison
Madison
put her phone back in her purse. She walked onto the balcony and looked at the city. The sun was shining, it was warmer then it was the day before. Summer had arrived. Madison sat at his small table and chairs and enjoyed the warmth.
Hunter walked towards her and smiled. “I really like that you are here with me.”
She smiled. “It’s such a change for me. But, I’m ready for it. It’s only been a couple of days but I found a friend. I’m helping prepare for a wedding and my wonderful boyfriend is heading towards the cup finals.”
Hunter laughed. “Don’t jinx me!”
“Have you received any more information on the trade rumors?”
He nodded. “My agent called this morning and said teams are starting to ask questions. I have a strong feeling that I’m not staying here.”
Madison pouted. “But you don’t know for sure. Your management could step up and give you a multiyear contract.”
He nodded. “Yes, they could but with all this interest, they could use me as a pawn to get a better draft pick.”
She stood up and wrapped her arms around him. “Well, let’s just hope for the best.”
He nodded and grabbed her hand. “Carter is waiting for us.”
He drove them over to Carter’s apartment as Alicia was finishing up breakfast. “Good morning, guys. How was your evening?” She winked.
Madison
blushed. “It was great. I’m ready to enjoy this sunshine.”
Carter walked into the room. “Hey sis, I can I talk with you for second?”
She nodded and followed him into his office. He shut the door and hugged her. “I feel like we haven’t talked since you got here. How’s the apartment?”
“Thanks to your fiancée, it’s perfect. Everything is unpacked and livable.”
He smiled. “Yeah, Alicia loves that stuff. I heard you found your dress for the wedding.”
She nodded again. “It was fun. Thank you for picking up the cost of it too.”
He waved it off. “Not a problem, I know you are trying to figure everything out right now. As we talked about before you moved, the apartment is covered for the next month. If you need more time, just tell me and I will continue to pick up the cost.”
Madison
frowned. “No, I’m going to look for a job as soon as I get back into town. I can’t live off of you forever.”
He smiled. “I picked up all your school information.” He handed her a folder. “It’s your class schedule from what you selected. You just need to go pick up your books but you can do that on your first day, if you wanted to.”
“Thank you so much, Carter.”
“It’s never a problem. Are you excited to start school?”
She nodded. “I really am. Though can I ask you something?”
He nodded. “Of course you can.”
“Is Hunter going to get traded?”
He sighed. “I don’t know. He’s a huge asset to our team. If we lose him, it leaves us a huge hole in defense. But, it’s a big business. Upper management makes the decisions. Between you and me, I think he’s leaving.”
She frowned and started to cry. “I’m finally starting to figure out my place in this world and he’s a big part of it.”
“I know but it’s the game. You know that.”
She nodded and wiped her eyes. “I guess we will just figure it out in time, right?”
He nodded. “Alicia told me that Mom and Dad latched onto your friend Mike last night.”
She sighed. “It was so embarrassing. Just because of his last name he’s an asset to them. I wanted to bury my head in the sand.”
He chuckled. “They are unbelievable. They are still in town until the game is over tomorrow night.”
“I figured as much. It’s ok. It’s a big city, right?”
He nodded. “Good girl. I’m glad we had a chance to talk. I’m so happy that you are here, Maddy.”
She stood up and hugged her brother. “I am too Carter.”
They walked back into the kitchen as Hunter grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. “Is everything ok?”
Madison nodded. “We just needed some sibling time.”
He smiled. “Carter, we should go.”
“Yep, let’s go.” He kissed Alicia and headed towards the front door.
Hunter leaned over and lightly kissed her lips. “Enjoy shopping today, we have plans for dinner.”
She smiled. “I can’t wait. Have fun today.”
Alicia turned towards her. “Where do you want to go?”
“Actually Mike asked if I wanted to meet him for lunch. Is that ok?”
She looked suspiciously at her. “Do you like him?”
Maddy gasped. “What? No, he’s just a friend.”
She smirked. “I’m about to play the role of your big sister. He likes you.”
“You are crazy. Hunter said the same thing and he admitted that he was wrong after last night.”
“Well, I’m smarter than Hunter. I watched the entire situation pan out last night. The look in his eyes when he saw that guy touch you should only belong to a protective boyfriend. He likes you, Madison. It’s up to you how to play out the situation. You are new to dating. Hunter is your first boyfriend.”
Madison stopped her. “I love Hunter. He’s been nothing but wonderful to me. I’m not going to jeopardize that, Alicia.”
“Did you tell him that Mike wanted to have lunch with you?” she asked as she walked into the living room.
Madison turned towards her. “No but it never came up in a conversation either.”
She smiled. “If you want to have lunch with Mike, go for it. It only gets dicey if you act on his feelings.”
Madison groaned. “I’m going to respectively ignore you.”
She laughed. “Seriously, go to lunch with him. I can pick you up afterwards for shopping.”
She reached for her phone and sent him a text. He quickly responded back.
Noon at the Park Ave Café - Mike
Alicia drove her into the city and dropped her off. “You have my number. Call me when you are ready.” She waved as she drove off.
She entered the café and looked around. She spotted him by the windows as she waved at him.
“Hey
Madison, how are you?”
“You can call me Maddy, if you want. All my friends do.”
He smiled as he handed her a menu. “I’m happy that you could join me.”
She smiled. “Alicia will pick me up later so we can do some shopping.”
He chuckled as he looked at her shirt. “You mean that Def Leppard isn’t your favorite band?”
She looked down. “I don’t even know who they are but it looked comfortable.”
He laughed. “How was your evening?”
Madison
thought back to sharing Hunter’s bed and having his arms around her all night long and blushed. “It was good, yours?”
He paused for a second. “It was good. It was nice to see my friends. We are having a party tonight with some of our buddies from school. You should come.”
“I’m not really a party girl.”
“It’s not going to be crazy. Just a bunch of friends hanging out, I’m sure you will hear some embarrassing stories of me.”
“That is tempting,” she chuckled. “Hunter told me that we already have dinner plans though. I could always text you.”
He nodded. “Hey, aren’t those your parents?”
Madison turned around and groaned. “Why are they here?”
They noticed her as they approached the table. “Madison, what a surprise to see you here and Mr. Henderson, it’s a pleasure. What is going on with you and my daughter?” her mother asked inappropriately.
Madison groaned. “Did you really just ask him that?”
Her father stepped in. “It seems like a logical question seeing how you are supposed to be in a relationship with Hunter.”
She looked at Mike and blushed again. He quickly stepped in. “It’s just lunch between friends. That’s it and if you don’t mind, I would like to get back to it.”
Her mother gasped and started to walk away. “I would have thought that someone with your stature would speak better to people.”
“I’m not my parents,” Mike calmly said to her as they left. He looked at her. “Was I out of line?”
She shook her head. “That was amazing. Can you teach me how to do that?”
He laughed. “I really am interested in hearing your story one day.”
“I don’t want to ruin lunch,” she smiled.
As they finished eating, Madison called Alicia and told her to pick her up. Mike paid and walked her outside. “Thanks for joining me.”
She smiled. “Thank you for the invite.”
She hugged him goodbye and hopped into Alicia’s car. She told her about her parents showing up and how Mike stood up to them.
Alicia laughed. “I’m starting to like this guy.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and splurging on outfits that would bring their guys to their knees.
CHAPTER SEVEN
When they returned to the apartment it wasn’t long before the guys were back from practice. Carter pulled Alicia into her arms and kissed her.
“They are so cute together,”
Madison said.
Hunter chuckled. “I think we are cuter.”
Carter took a break from kissing Alicia so that he could chuckle. “In your dreams, Hunter.”
Just then the front desk called up to inform them that their parents were there.
Madison groaned as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. She pointed it towards Hunter. “Want one?”
He laughed and grabbed it. “That’s a great idea because one stupid comment towards you and I will lose it.”
She smirked as her attention went towards the door. Carter greeted their parents as they hugged him. They said hello to Alicia and glanced at Madison.
“It’s nice to see you again,
Madison,” her mother stated.
Madison
looked shocked. “It is?”
“Of course it is. I enjoyed running into you and Mr. Henderson this afternoon.”
Madison dropped her bottle of water on the floor. She hadn’t had time to tell Hunter yet about her lunch. Her mother knew exactly what she was doing.
She felt Hunter’s stare. She looked up at him. “I didn’t have a chance to tell you yet.”
“Who is Mr. Henderson?” Then the light bulb went off in his head. “Mike? You had lunch with Mike?”
“I was going to tell you but you just walked in five minutes before they did.”
Mrs. Sinclair piped in. “I hope we didn’t start anything.”
Madison
glared at her mother. “You know exactly what you are doing. You are trying to start shit between us.”
Her father spoke up. “You do not speak like that in front of your mother! I don’t know who taught you language like that.”
Madison groaned and grabbed Hunter’s hand. She pulled him onto the balcony and closed the door. “Please give me time to explain.”
Hunter leaned down and kissed her lips gently. He ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her close. “Maddy, I don’t care who you have lunch with, I was just surprised. You are right, you didn’t have time to tell me but that doesn’t mean anything. You have friends and I don’t control you.”
She smiled. “I love you.”
“Right back at ya.” He kissed her again. “I’m proud of you. You stood up to her again. I love seeing that strong side of you.”
She laughed. “You should have seen Mike today. He didn’t even blink when she started in on me.”
“What was her problem today?”