m a d e l y n
Generosity, boldness and love.
Since I was a teeny tiny little girl, my parents made sure I knew those words. I never really understood why those three, of all things, but I just learned to live with it. All I knew was that it meant a lot to them.
My twin brother grew up thinking the same thing. After all, our mom and dad didn't demand much from us. They just wanted to make sure we lived by those three values.
"Dude, if you want to come, you need to hurry up," Archer whined, banging on my door. "We have three days left before school starts, and Nate and I still have shit to do."
I swear, last night, I was certain he had the "love" part figured out. Guess he still had some work to do.
"If you waited two seconds, you wouldn't have had to scream at a door," I opened my bedroom door, walking past my brother and down the stairs. "Come on!"
"Please tell me we're actually finishing all the movies today," he begged, getting into the driver's seat of his car.
"We will if you two quit making me pause every single time you need to leave the room and pee," I remarked.
He groaned, starting to drive to our friend, Nate's place. "But I don't wanna miss anything important."
"Then we won't finish the movies today. We'll probably have one left," I concluded. "Unless you and Nate can sync up your pee schedules instead of going ten minutes after the last one went."
"Fuck you," he rolled his eyes at my comment.
"We both know you don't mean that, Arch."
I could tell he didn't want to admit it, but it was true. My brother and I were stuck together, whether we liked it or not. Luckily, most of the time, we were okay with it.
"You're not wrong."
Soon enough, we were at our destination. Archer parked right outside Nate's house and got out of the car, locking the doors once I got out of the passenger's side.
"You think Jake's at school?" my brother asked.
Jake was Nate's 10 year old little brother. Archer was his favorite out of the two of us, which wasn't very surprising, because when he was six, Archer was the only one who couldn't say no when he asked us to play with him.
Archer always told me he wanted a little brother. I told him Nate was enough of a brother to him, but he got his wish anyway because Jake was like a brother to him too.
"I think he started yesterday so probably," I shrugged. "You're lucky. I heard he's been playing a lot of Minecraft recently. I know how much you hate it."
Archer's face morphed into one of horror. "Remind me to ask Nate whenever we come over if he's gonna be around."
"Please, it's not that bad."
"Talking about me?" Nate opened the front door for us and led us into the house.
"Your brother, actually," I corrected him, walking with them towards Nate's room.
"Not even surprised you two are here again," Nate's dad greeted us as we walked past his office.
My brother and I turned to him and waved. "Hey, Mr. G."
Aside from being my best friend's dad, Grant Reed was also, coincidentally, my dad's best friend. Fun, right? Our dads were the reason we grew up together and became best friends.
We used to call Mr. G Uncle Grant, but when we got a little older, he asked us to start calling him Mr. G because he thought it sounded cooler. We just went with it, he was a pretty cool guy anyway.
"Golf again on Sunday with my dad?" Archer wondered.
"He and I were just talking about it. I'll see you then," he grinned. "I think there's food in the kitchen if you kids get hungry."
"We'll be in my room," Nate informed his dad as we walked away.
I kicked my shoes off and got comfortable on the bed. Nate only had two bean bags, and he and my brother liked sitting in them, so I got the bed all to myself.
"Why are you so excited, Mimi?" Nate laughed, setting everything up so we could start the movie.
Nate called me Mimi because I used to go by my first name, Amelia, until I was about eight. Eventually, I realized how much I hated the name, so I went by my second name, Madelyn or Maddie, instead, but he never stopped with the nickname.
I used to hate it, but I just got used to it. Besides, if he let me call him "Pickle" instead of Nate sometimes, I was okay with it. I mean, what did he expect if his name was Nathaniel Dylan Reed, and Dyl, which was another thing I called him, sounded like a kind of pickle?
"Because Arch has been bugging me the whole car ride about how we need to finish everything today so you two can plan whatever," I laid on my stomach waiting for the movie to come up on the TV.
"Right. I almost forgot about that," he nodded, throwing the remote at me. "Can you set it up? I'll get the popcorn from the kitchen."
I nodded, looking for the movie we were planning to watch. "You two better go pee before we start. I'm not about to pause a hundred times because you two don't wanna miss anything."
Eventually, the boys both used the bathroom, we all had enough popcorn ready to get our stomachs full, and we were finally able to start watching.
Two movies, about five bathroom breaks and countless side comments later, Nate got a call and excused himself, making us promise not to go on to the next movie without him.
"Yeah, we really aren't finishing all of these today," I told my brother, checking the time on my phone. "We gotta go home after this next one, and we'll still have one more to finish after that."
"I figured," Archer shrugged. "I guess it's whatever."
"You good, Arch?" I worried. "I can ask dad if we can stay here for dinner instead so we can finish it. I'm sure Mr. G won't mind."
He shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. We can finish it on Sunday at home when Nate and Mr. G come over after golf."
"So, if it's not about the movie thing, what's wrong then?" I questioned. I could tell something was bothering my brother.
"Mads, it's nothing," he insisted.
"Archer."
"I got it handled. Don't worry about me," he shot me a smile. "If I need help, you'll be the first to know."
I nodded. "Now stop being so mopey, it's not like you at all."
"Shut up," he rolled his eyes.
"What?" I laughed. "It's true. I'm supposed to be the emotional twin. It can't be the two of us."
"You have a point," he nodded. "Now go call Nate. He's taking forever."
I walked out of the room and towards the stairs, figuring my friend probably went somewhere in that direction.
"No, you're not getting it. My mother said she wants twenty-three tables with eight seats each exactly. I don't care if it's an odd number of tables, you need to make it work."
I watched as he took a seat on the top step and massaged his temple. He still didn't notice I was there, but I didn't expect it, considering how pissed he looked.
"This is supposed to be simple enough. My father shouldn't be needing to talk to you guys about this. He's busy enough running everything else. Now, if you don't get the arrangement settled by eight tonight, consider yourself fired."
"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" I leaned against the banister and raised an eyebrow at Nate. I could hear some semblance of an apology through the phone.
Nate sighed. "Look, I'll give you until tomorrow at three. If you still can't figure it out, call me and I'll come there myself to work it out with you. Got it?"
He waited for the person on the other end to finish talking before he said goodbye and ended the call.
"I told you to wait for me in my room," he stood up, shoving his phone into his pocket.
"You were taking a long time. Arch told me to come get you so we can start," I explained as we walked back toward his room. "Wanna talk about why you got so mad back there?"
"The charity auction thing for mine and Jake's birthday is next Saturday, and the people at the hotel are so behind schedule. They can't even arrange tables properly," he complained. "I still have table arrangements and shit."
We stopped outside his room, and I faced him. "And that means you can threaten to fire them like that?"
"It's not like that," he reasoned. "This is my first thing, I want it to be good. My dad told me I had to make sure things went smoothly. I don't want to have to call him to fix things and disappoint him when I know I can do it myself."
"Dyl," I frowned. "You know I'm here if you need help with anything, right? Archer too. We've been to our fair share of these. Every year since we were nine, remember?"
He nodded. "I know, Mimi. Honestly, who did I think I was, believing I could do something like this without you there to make sure I don't make rash decisions and fire people on the spot?"
"You always ask for my advice for a reason," I winked. "Now, come on. Arch will scream at us if we don't start the movie now."
"Finally," Archer rolled his eyes as we entered Nate's room. "Took you two long enough. I peed and everything, so we can start right away. I just wanna know what happens."
He pressed play once we took our seats, me on the bed and Nate on the bean bag beside my brother's.
~~~
"Party Saturday, golf Sunday," Archer reminded Nate as we walked out the front door. The sun was just setting, and we had to be home in a bit for dinner.
"Will you two come pick me up or am I driving?" he asked.
"I'll drive," I volunteered.
Nate nodded. "Okay, I'll see you guys then."
We waved goodbye and got into Archer's car. With my brother's driving, we got home in a little more than ten minutes. Should've been fifteen or twenty.
"It's pasta tonight," Archer's eyes widened as we entered the house. We could smell the sauce from the front door.
"Don't hog the extra sauce like last time."
Pasta was our favorite. It meant that our parents cooked it together, and that was the best.
Dad was a pretty decent cook, that's why he cooked most nights if I didn't. Mom was a different story, but for some reason, the pasta was better when they made it together.
It was the first and only thing my dad ever taught my mom to cook. From what they told me, they weren't even dating back then. They've been together for twenty six years, yet my mom has never wanted to learn anything new.
"Kids?"
"We're here, Dad," I announced as Archer and I walked into the kitchen. "And we're hungry. Is the pasta ready?"
"You two are just on time," my mom smiled, bringing a plate of pasta to the table along with some shrimp on the side for me and her.
I was the one who got more from my dad than Archer did. We both liked to cook, and my dad was a pretty good singer too. Not to mention the fact that we both loved pickles. If there was one thing other than basketball that my brother got from him, it's the shrimp allergy.
But my mom and I thought the pasta needed a little something, so we always cooked a little shrimp on the side to add after.
"Have you finished your movie marathon yet?" Dad asked, digging into his pasta.
Archer shook his head. "We have one left. We're planning to watch it on Sunday after golf."
"I'll get you guys some food for then," Mom offered. "You three are going somewhere on Saturday, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Archer nodded.
"I'm gonna drive, and the boys won't drink much anyway since they have golf so early," I told her. "The party's gonna be at Andrea Zyler's house."
"Okay," Dad took a sip of water. "You two remember to look out for each other. And look out for Nathan too."
Mom gave him a look. "Blake, they've been to parties before, and they haven't done anything stupid yet. They're responsible kids."
"Fine," my dad waved it off. "But try to be home before one so the boys get sleep and aren't zombies at golf in the morning."
I smiled and put a thumb up. "I got it covered, Dad."
~~~
"Didn't think you'd answer."
"When have I ever not answered your calls, Dyl Pickle?" I rolled my eyes, putting Nate on speaker while I did my skincare routine.
He laughed. "Got me there. I just thought maybe you were busy."
"Busy with what?" I wondered.
"Thinking of me?" he tried.
I burst out laughing. "If that was your attempt at trying to make me cringe, you were successful. That was very cheesy."
And yet I couldn't help but be a little embarrassed because it was true. Sometimes, I find myself thinking of him. A lot more recently.
"Shut up," I could practically hear his eyes roll. "Actually, can we FaceTime?"
"Yeah, okay," I FaceTimed him as I started to put moisturizer on my face. "What's up?"
"I need your help with table settings and centerpieces. Mom usually has a preference, but when I asked, she said I could decide," he yawned. "I've been staring at these for the past hour, and I've gotten nowhere."
He sent me a few pictures. "Those are the pre-approved ones. I just have to pick the final one, and I have no idea which one to pick."
The two of us went over every option and finally decided on something passable.
"It's finally over," he huffed, collapsing on his bed. "Well, after I make sure the tables are arranged properly tomorrow."
"Trust in your people, Nate," I reminded him. "And I'll even go to the hotel with you tomorrow to make sure things are going well."
"Mimi, you're the best," he sighed.
"You know I have your back, Pickle," I smiled. "Anything else you need advice on?"
He stayed silent for a bit, as if he was debating on telling me or not.
"What is it? Come on, tell me."
"Do you think it's a good idea for me to ask Andrea out?" he blurted out.
My eyes widened slightly, just enough so he wouldn't notice. I shouldn't have reacted that way considering this wasn't the first time he's ever expressed his wants to ask a girl out, but I couldn't help it for two reasons.
One, because he's never asked me for advice on a girl before. It was always Archer. And two, because I liked him.
"Oh, uh... well, do you like her?" I asked.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Do you think she likes you too?" I continued.
He nodded. "I'm pretty sure she does."
"Okay," I nodded. "Well, when you're sure you like her, ask her out. If that's what'll make you happy."
Generosity, boldness and love, right? To me, being generous meant being selfless too, and if the boy I liked had feelings for someone else, who was I to get in the way of that? I was still working on the boldness part. If the world allowed it, one day, I'd be bold enough to admit my feelings to Nate.
"Yeah," he agreed. "I'll think about it, and I'll tell you tomorrow. Thanks for all your help, Mimi. Seriously."
"No prob, Nate. Now go to sleep, it's past midnight, and you have stuff to do tomorrow. Call me if you need me to come with you."
"Okay, good night."
"Night."
♢♢♢
Author's Note
Holy shit that was a long time not publishing anything. I'm just glad to finally be back!
For F&PR readers, I just want to thank you for coming back and continuing this journey with me. I'm guessing you enjoyed the book if you came back to see what happened to Blake and Poppy's daughter, so thank you for trusting me with another book, and I really hope I do you proud.
For new readers, thanks for giving this book a chance. It makes me feel so good knowing I intrigued you enough to want to read Secrets and Stolen Kisses, and I hope you enjoy it. I have to warn you that I'm a sucker for clichés and this book, like F&PR will have them. Whether you like those or not, I hope you keep coming back to read what happens next.
Like the book before, updates will be one chapter a week on Saturdays (aside from this week since I'll be publishing another 2 chapters right after this one ;)).
Happy Holidays and see you next week!
♡,
dani :p
Oh and I'm doing a quote-of-the-chapter every chapter now so here's the first:
We meet the people we're supposed to when the time is just right. — Alyson Noel