Текст книги "Fall For Me"

Автор книги: Alexis Noelle

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 13 страниц)

Carter

I can’t believe she wanted to go buy gifts for my family. She is always so caring and thoughtful.

“Shit, Carter, I just remembered I’m broke. Maybe I can make your family coupon books too.”

I have to laugh out loud at that. “As much as I’m sure Anthony would love that, I’ll pay for the gifts.” I see her smile fade. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I hate that you always need to pay for me. I don’t want to be a burden. I mean, I’m living in your house, you’re paying all the bills, and you buy all the food. You got me this amazing Christmas present, and all I got you were some scraps of paper. Not to mention that you paid for that paper too!”

I love taking care of her and it makes me feel good to know I have the means to. However, I understand where she is coming from. “If you want to start giving me money when you get paid, that’s fine. I like being able to take care of you, though. You’ve been on your own your whole life and it makes me feel good to be able to do things for you.” She smiles and looks up at me. “Although, if you want to repay me, I’m sure I could think of a couple different ways.”

Her mouth drops open and I wink at her. “Carter James!” She punches me in the arm. “I’m telling your father.”

“That’s okay. I’m sure he’ll just be happy that I’m finally getting some. Four months is a record for me, baby.”

We spend over an hour shopping. Maddy drives herself crazy picking out gifts for my family. On the drive there, I am happy to see that she is finally exploring her phone.

She is so nervous when we get to the house, I grab her hand and we go in together. When we walk in, everyone is in the living room. Maddy walks in and gives everyone a hug but, in my opinion, Anthony hugs her a little too long. Then, they all notice the gifts in my hand.

My dad looks the most shocked. “Carter, what is all that?”

I laugh. “Don’t look at me. I got scolded this morning for not having presents to bring. She made me take her to two different stores so she could get stuff.” I see Maddy blush.

My dad turns to her. “Well, that was really nice, sweetheart.” He gives her another hug and then sits down.

“Hell, yes!” Anthony yells. He picks her up and spins her around while she squeals.

Holly looks at her and smiles. “Thanks, Maddy!”

“I was happy to do it! I just hope you guys like everything.” She is as red as a tomato, but she is still so beautiful. She comes over to me and starts to hand out gifts.

Holly is first. Maddy got her a pink hat, glove and scarf set. “This is great, girl! I love it!”

Anthony is next. Maddy had gotten him a new phone case. “This is perfect! Thanks, sis!”

I see Maddy’s face when he calls her “sis,” and she looks like she might cry. I know how much the fact that my family embraced her means.

My dad is last. She got him a new docking station so he can listen to music at work, because she heard me talking to him about how his old one broke. The other thing she got him was a roll of duct tape. I asked her why, and she said it was an inside joke. He looks up at her and I can tell he doesn’t get it either.

“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.

After coffee, Carter takes me to see his old school and there is a playground next to it. We play around on the swings and slide, and Carter makes fun of how I can’t make it all the way across on the monkey bars. When we are leaving, I run up behind him, jump on his back, and he carries me back to his car like that. When we get in, I turn to him. “Thank you so much for today, Carter. I’ve never been to the playground, and I’ve never had so much fun in my life.”

“You’ve never been to a playground?”

“No.” I can feel myself starting to give in to a memory. It feels like a mix of anxiety and fear gripping at my throat. I haven’t had an episode in such a long time. No, not right now.

My father is sitting in the living room watching TV. “Daddy, can you take me to the park?” All the other kids in school always talk about the park, but I never go. I just want to be like the other kids. “Daddy?”

He takes another drink and then he looks down at me. “Your mother could have taken you to the park, but you killed her.”

NO! I didn’t kill Mommy. A guy who was drinking did. Daddy drinks a lot and it scares me. “Daddy, please! I didn’t kill Mommy! I loved her!”

His hand hits my face and I fall down. “Get away from me. I can’t stand the sight of you.”

“Maddy!” Carter is shaking me and the look in his face is one of fear. I realize I have tears streaming down my face. He pulls me against him and starts stroking my hair. He pulls back and looks at my face. “What just happened?”

“I’m sorry. It was just a bad memory.”

“Was it about Chris?”

“No, my father.”

“Would you tell me about it, please?” I’ve never talked to anyone about my dad, but Carter makes me feel like I can tell him anything. After I tell him, he pulls me to him and we stay like this for a while. “You know that none of that was your fault, right?”

“For the longest time I didn’t, but I do now.”

Chapter Twenty Seven

Carter

This day is not going like I planned. First, Alyssa was at the coffee shop. I still can’t believe she is coming to Duke. I could tell Maddy was uncomfortable with the situation.

Then, the memory of her dad came after I’d cheered her up. I hate him for what he did to her, and I hate how much hurt she’s experienced in her life.

I take Maddy to one of my favorite seafood restaurants to try to salvage the day. I see her looking at the menu with a strange look on her face. It’s the one she makes when she doesn’t know what to do, but is too shy to ask. “What’s wrong?”

She looks up at me, with surprise. “How do you always know what I’m thinking, or when something is wrong?”

“Because I’m in love with you. It’s my job to know what you like and what you don’t. To understand what makes you uncomfortable and know how to fix it. I know what’s going on in your head before you even say it and what you need before you even tell me. You think you’re a burden to me, but you’re not. You’re everything. Now, what’s wrong, babe?”

Her smile is so big that I actually think her cheeks might crack. I love that I have the ability to put that smile on her face, and I make it my mission to make it happen more often. “That was probably one of the sweetest things I’ve ever heard. I love you so much, Carter. To answer your original question, though, I’ve never been at a restaurant like this before and I have no idea what to order.”

I forgot how little she’s experienced. It makes me so mad to think about how shitty her life has been. She deserves everything, but has absolutely nothing. She never even got to enjoy most of the basic experiences normal people did, because no one ever cared enough to give them to her.

That is in the past, though, and I am going to enjoy giving her all these new experiences. “I do believe this will be yet another first that belongs to me, then. If you want, I can order for you. I think I know what you like.” I smile at her and give her a wink, letting her know what else I am thinking of. I hate that she put a stop to sex while we are here, but I love her reason behind it.

She blushes that beautiful shade she does. “You definitely know what I like, Mr. James.”

I order our food and hope Maddy will like what I picked out for her. The restaurant has a dance floor and a song comes on that I recognize. I grab her hand and she looks up at me. “Dance with me?”

“I’d love to.”

I walk her out to the dance floor. They are playing Carrie Underwood’s “Ever Ever After.” As I listen to it, I realize how much it relates to Maddy. She just needed to let me in and I’d give her a happily ever after. I kiss her once the song is over and we walk back to our table.

The waitress brings our food and I ignore the fact that she lingers by me a little too long. Girls are always very obvious in their attempts, even when I am with Maddy. “I know it makes you uncomfortable when girls flirt with me and I get it. I just want you to know that I’ve been there and done all of that, but I’ve never been happier than I am with you.”

After dinner, we walk to my car and when we get there, Maddy pulls me into a hug. She snuggles into me like she does when we are in bed. “Thank you for today, Carter. It was great.”

I lift her chin with my finger and kiss her. “We still have one more stop.”

“Really? Where?”

“It’s a surprise, but I intend for it to also be another first, Miss Stevens.”

We pull up to Midnight and I know right away she recognizes it. “You’ve taken me dancing before, babe.”

I smile. “Yes, but tonight I’m going to get you drunk.”

She laughs. “Is that so you can take advantage of me later?”

“Maybe…if you’re lucky.”

She grins at me and starts walking toward the door. “Oh…if I’m lucky, huh?”

I walk her over to the bar and she starts looking over the drink list. I see the bartender, Paul. We went to high school together. I give him a nod to say hello. Maddy taps me on the shoulder and whispers in my ear, “Aren’t they going to ask for ID?”

“It’s okay. I know the bartender, you’re fine.”

She turns to Paul. “Can I get a Sex on the Beach?”

I see her cheeks blush and have to take advantage. “Damn, baby, I could have given you that.” She elbows me in the stomach. I like it when she is feisty. Oh god, Anthony is rubbing off on me.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom.”

“Okay, babe, I’ll be here.” While I wait for her to come back, I start looking around and see the last person that I want to.

Alyssa walks up to me and puts her hand on my arm. “Hey, Carter, you look good. Ditch your girlfriend already?”

I hate her so much. She screwed me over in high school. Now, she is trying to screw up my relationship with Maddy. Alyssa is one of those girls who considers herself superior to everyone else. She wears the most expensive shit because she thinks it is impressive, but nothing could cover up how ugly she is inside. I snatch my arm away from her.

“No, Alyssa, I didn’t. I’m with Madison so you need to take the hint and stay the hell away from both of us.” Paul taps me on the shoulder and hands me Maddy’s drink. Just then, Maddy walks up beside me and I know she isn’t happy that Alyssa is here. I lean in and give her a kiss, trying to reassure her. “Here’s your drink, babe.”

“Thanks.” She smiles at me, but I can tell it is forced.

“Do you want to dance?”

“Sure!” There is the genuine smile I was looking for.

I sidestep around Alyssa and lead Maddy onto the dance floor. Once we get away from Alyssa, I pull her close to me. “She came up to me, babe. I told her I was with you and to go away.”

“Okay. I just want to forget about her and enjoy tonight.”

“Sounds like a plan.” After three hours and about five drinks, Maddy is drunk and is having a blast. I decide it is time to go, because I know she is going to be feeling it in the morning. I settle my bill and start walking toward the door with Maddy. Alyssa steps in front of us. Damn, she can’t take a fucking hint.

“You weren’t going to say goodbye, Carter?” She puts her hands on her hips and pushes out her chest, as if that will change my mind about her. She looks like she is going to hug me and I am just about to tell her where she can stick her hug.

Just then, Maddy swats her hand away from me. “He didn’t say goodbye to you on purpose. He’s mine, not yours.” She grabs me and kisses me. “Remember that next time, you bitch whore.” Maddy grabs my hand and starts to lead me to the door. Drunk, angry Maddy is fucking hot!

I drive us home and Maddy says she is feeling sick. Damn, I let her drink too much. Everyone else is in bed or out when we get home. I take Maddy to the bathroom because I have a feeling she will be using it soon.

“Why did you bring me…me in here?”

Just then, I feel her lurch and rush her to the toilet. She empties her dinner and, I have to say, I’ll never look at crab cakes the same way again. “Stay here, baby. I’m gonna get you a change of clothes.”

“Okay, cutie Carter!”

She is adorable, even now with her head resting on the toilet seat. Maddy got sick a couple more times. After about an hour, I could tell she was done. I help her change out of her clothes and put on pajamas.

“Remember, cutie Carter, no boom-boom in your room-room.”

I can’t help but laugh at that. I help her wash her face and brush her teeth, then hand her a glass of water and Tylenol, hoping it will ease her pain in the morning. We go into my room and lay down together. I wrap her in my arms.

“Carter?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“Will you take me to the beach?”

I thought she hated the beach. Was that just an excuse not to go? “I tried to before, but you said you hated it.”

“I don’t hate it. I just said that.”

“Why would you lie?”

“Because the only time I’ve ever gone to the beach is with Chris. He got mad at me for wearing a bikini and looking like a whore. He took me home and beat me for the first time that day. I’d like to go there with you, though.”

Fuck! I hated that motherfucker with every inch of me. My stomach turns thinking of the fact that he ever laid a hand on her. I still had unfinished business with him when he got back to town. “I’ll take you tomorrow, babe.”

“Okay. I love you, cutie.”

“I love you, too, Maddy.”