Fingers brushed against my scalp as they played with my hair. Warm breath hit the back of my neck. Madie's chest rose and fell beneath my head.
God, this was a dream to wake up to after so many mornings alone. My hand was flung over her hip—at least I was pretty sure it was her hip. I gave a squeeze, and she squirmed a little, confirming I was right as she moved beneath my grasp. Without opening my eyes, I grazed my hand up her side, appreciating her curves and the simple fact that she was naked. And that she was holding me.
It should be the other way around. I should be holding her. I should be the one brushing my fingers through her hair, touching her until she opened her eyes. It should be the other way around, but I couldn't get myself to wake up enough to flip the situation. It took me forever to fall asleep last night.
And she felt too good. This felt too good.
Madie murmured that she loved me, and I let myself fall asleep again, bringing those words with me so I could dream about them.
And I did.
The next time I woke, the only thing beneath my head was a mass of pillows.
It was comfortable. But nothing could beat the comfort of Madie's touch. And that was gone...which was a problem.
I forced myself up. Looking around the room, I searched for Madie. She was walking to the door, wearing an odd combination of my clothes. And it only took me seconds to jump out of bed and catch her before she turned the door handle.
Wrapping an arm around her waist, I pulled her back into me, and she collided against my chest with a gasp.
"Going somewhere, baby?" I asked, and my voice came out all scratchy and hoarse. It sounded parched—like I hadn't drunk anything for days.
To be honest, my system could probably use some refueling and hydration. We were pretty active yesterday.
"Yes," Madie breathed. It was accompanied by a light laugh, and I scowled because there was absolutely nothing funny about her leaving me.
That laugh cut off as I spun her around and took a step in, leaving us pressed against the back of the door. There was still a smile on her face, though, and she bit her lip to try to control it.
I didn't know where the hell she would be going dressed like she was—no shoes, no bra, my barely-buttoned dress shirt, and the sweatpants that I took off last night before our bath.
I palmed the door behind her, leaning on it. "What's so funny, Madeline?"
When she didn't do anything besides flick her eyes up and down my naked front once, I asked, "Are you trying to sneak away on me?"
"I wasn't trying to sneak away," she said. "I was just grabbing the room service that was delivered." Madie's teasing smile broadened. "But I guess now I know how to get you up."
I dropped my arm and took a step back, laughing despite myself. "You ordered room service?"
She shook her head. "No, but someone just knocked and said they delivered breakfast." A little confused frown appeared on her face. "I thought maybe you ordered it in advance."
My frown quickly matched hers. "No, I didn't."
"Huh." Madie shrugged, and before I could stop her, she spun around to peek her head out into the hallway.
My whole body tensed as the door opened. There was definitely something fishy about getting room service that you didn't order. But then Madie laughed brightly.
"The note here says it's from Beau," she said, bringing a tray full of covered plates into the room.
I rolled my eyes with a smile. "Of course it's from Beau. "
Two champagne flutes threatened to overflow as Madie turned to face me, and I wondered if the orange juice in them was spiked. Because...well, Beau.
"Do you think he stayed the night here, too?" Madie asked, slipping past me to set the tray down on the bedside table. I followed in her direction and pulled another pair of sweatpants out of my overnight bag so I could stop standing there naked.
As I stepped into them, I said, "I guess it's possible he stayed the night with Collins. She reserved a room for the weekend, too, since I'm her ride home."
Madie had uncovered the steaming dishes. There were pancakes, fresh fruit, and a pile of bacon that smelled fucking amazing. Madie was about to toss a strawberry in her mouth when her hand froze.
"Right," she said before biting into the fruit and chewing slowly. "I forgot about chur—Collins."
I winced, internally kicking myself for mentioning her. But Madie seemed to move past it quickly. She popped a blueberry into her mouth before saying cheerily, "After we eat breakfast, I think I'll run out quick."
It was my turn to freeze. "Run out?"
"Yeah," she said with a little smile, blinking up at me with those blue eyes. "To get you a birthday present."
"No." I immediately shook my head. "No, absolutely not."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why not?"
"Why not? Because having time with you is the only thing I want, so I'd really rather you didn't leave. Besides, what would you wear?"
I gave her a meaningful glance, trailing my gaze over her choice of clothes. I mean, I loved it when she wore my stuff. But this was an interesting look.
Madie raised a brow at me. "You don't think I could rock my heels with your sweatpants and dress shirt?"
I laughed. "Oh, I know you could rock it. But I think you should just rock it for me."
Especially considering that the dress shirt was almost completely unbuttoned right now, giving me a great view of her breasts as she continued to pop fruit into her mouth. Fuck, I bet she tasted as good as she looked.
Madie pretended like she was thinking about it. Or maybe she actually was thinking about it. But eventually, she said, "Fine. Alright."
Madie and I snuggled into bed as we ate breakfast, courtesy of Beau. The orange juice was totally spiked—I knew it the second it touched my lips. Madie didn't comment on it, so I wasn't sure if she realized. But she was getting more giggly by the minute, and I loved it.
Once again, I owed Beau big time.
With us, things always tended to be so goddamn intense. It was a side effect of everything we'd lived with and lived through. Our reactions, our mindsets, our interactions...as shitty as it could be, that stuff was all laced with our pasts.
But today, Madie was wholly and completely living in the present.
She laughed as she recounted a scene in a new TV show she'd been watching. I honestly wasn't following a word of what she was saying; I was too distracted by her bright smile, the way she was nibbling on her pancakes, and the moans she made when she took the first bite of bacon.
Fuck pancakes and bacon, I wanted Madie for breakfast.
She caught my attention then as she lowered her voice—as if someone was actually going to overhear her—and told me about this guy who'd been crushing on Nessa. His name started with a G, but that was all I could make out with how fast she spewed on about it. And then Madie startled me as she abruptly dropped her fork and rushed to find her phone because she needed an update from Nessa about what had happened last night after we left.
When Nessa replied that nothing, in fact, had happened, Madie rolled her eyes. But her annoyance only lasted a moment before she turned back toward me with a smile, and I'd never been more in love with a day or a person.
After tossing back the last of her mimosa, Madie leaned in and trailed a purposeful finger down my chest. Judging by the way she kept tracing my abs, she seemed to like the newly defined muscles. I bit back a smile.
"I think you're just a little bit tipsy, baby," I commented.
She wasn't the only one, though. The champagne in that glass had caused a tingling in my limbs. And there was a warm flutter in my chest, but I suspected that had more to do with the girl in front of me.
"Just a little bit," Madie said in response, leaning forward so she could press a quick kiss against my lips. Fuck, I wanted to pull her back in for a longer one. But then, with an adorable pout, she went on to say, "You didn't wake me up this morning like you said you would."
Catching her hand before it could reach the waistband of my sweatpants, I entwined my fingers with hers. "I know. I'm sorry." I brought her hand up to my lips so I could brush a kiss on the back of it. "I guess I'll have to make it up to you," I murmured before letting our hands drop into our laps.
She laughed before saying, "It's alright. You were pretty cute when you were all sleepy this morning. And I didn't get you a birthday present, so I guess we both have some making up to do."
I leaned toward her without thinking. Well, I knew what I was thinking. The only thing on my mind was how I really wanted to find out what she tasted like. She was already sweet enough on her own, but now that mouth had been drenched with fruit, syrup, and champagne. I wanted to devour it, and then I wanted to devour other parts of her as well. "Sounds like we should get busy," I suggested.
Madie looked at me from beneath her heavy lashes and smiled.
It was a smile that told me exactly what she wanted.
And I'd be damned if I didn't give it to her. We had one day, one night, and I wasn't going to waste either one.
🤍
wow, the struggle was real getting this chapter out of my brain. but i did it!
next one shouldn't be too long of a wait—it was supposed to be combined with this one but I split them up.
hope everyone had a good weekend.
xoxo A