Playing With Fire (Guarded Hearts) (15 page)

She was so nervous when we got to the house, I grabbed her hand and we went in together. When we walked in, everyone was in the living room. Maddy walked in and gave everyone a hug but, in my opinion, Anthony hugged her a little too long. Then, they all noticed the gifts in my hand.

My dad looked the most shocked. "Carter, what is all that?"

I laughed. "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 saw Maddy blush.

My dad turned to her. "Well, that was really nice, sweetheart." He gave her another hug and then sat down.

"Hell, yes!" Anthony yelled. He picked her up and spun her around while she squealed.

Holly looked at her and smiled. "Thanks, Maddy!"

"I was happy to do it! I just hope you guys like everything." She was as red as a tomato, but she was still so beautiful. She came over to me and started to hand out gifts.

Holly was first. Maddy had gotten her a pink hat, glove and scarf set. "This is great, girl! I love it!"

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

I saw Maddy's face when he called her "sis," and she looked like she might cry. I knew how much the fact that my family embraced her meant to her.

My dad was last. She'd gotten him a new docking station so he could listen to music at work, because she'd heard me talking to him about how his old one broke. The other thing she got him was a roll of duct tape. I'd asked her why, and she said it was an inside joke. He looked up at her and I could tell he didn'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 started hysterically laughing. It was great to see my family so happy and to know that it was because of the girl I loved. Maddy was going to make dinner tonight, just like on Thanksgiving, but Holly offered to help this time.

We went into my room to put our bags away. Once I closed the door, Maddy threw herself at me. I was so surprised that I dropped the bags. She kissed me, but it wasn'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 James. 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 gave her another kiss.

"I need to go start dinner."

Madison

Holly and I were cooking while the boys were watching the football game.

"Hey, Mads?" I stopped peeling the potatoes and turned around to look at her. She'd stopped cutting the vegetables and was looking at me.

"Yeah?" I wondered what she wanted to talk to me about. Holly was nice, although we had 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."

Was she thanking me for the present again? I still couldn'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 saw tears building in her eyes.
Please don't cry.
I thought.
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." We both laughed. "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 choked on the water I was 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 walked over to her and hugged her, and then the water works started for both of us.

We didn't even hear Anthony walk into the kitchen. "Hell, yes! Girl-on-girl! But, could I call someone to take Holly's place ‘cause she's my sister."

I picked up one of the cooked potatoes and threw it at him. It hit him in the face and splattered everywhere. The look on his face was hilarious. Holly and I broke into hysterics.

"That was not cool!" he shouted at us while wiping away potato. Just then, Carter and his dad came in, surveyed the scene, and started laughing. "Carter, where did your girl get such good aim? I need to go take a shower now." Anthony walked back to the bathroom while we were all still laughing.

Carter walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. "I loved hearing him say my girl," he whispered in my ear.

My whole body was on high alert now. I leaned back and gave him a kiss. "Well, your girl needs to get back to cooking. Would you mind cleaning up that potato?"

"Sure, baby." He kissed me and then grabbed the paper towels. Holly and I had a great time cooking together. She was telling me that her and her friend, Christen, got early acceptance to Duke. I was excited that she'd be there next year.

Dinner was really good, and Carter said he and Anthony would clean up. After they were done, we said our good nights and went to hang out in his room. We watched a movie. This time, I let Carter choose it. He picked "The Exorcist" and I was pretty sure that was just because he wanted me to cuddle up with him. He didn't need a scary movie for that, though.

After the movie, he turned to me and laughed at the horrified expression on my face. He leaned down and kissed me, the kind of kiss where I felt all of his passion. I could lose myself in Carter so easily, and I really wanted to. I couldn't, though...not here and not with all his family home. He moved his hand up my side and over my breast. I could 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, I guess I have to respect that. I love you, Maddy. Good night." He lay back and pulled me to his side.

"I love you too."

*  *  *

Carter wanted to show me around today and the first stop was the coffee shop he always went to. When we walked in, I took a look around. It was really cute. There were a couple of booths and tables, and there was soft music playing in the background. Carter had his arm around me. I loved how he was 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 was just another way that he made me feel so safe and wanted. I couldn'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 was our turn to order, the blonde looked him up and down. "Carter James, where have you been hiding?"

He looked up and I saw recognition and surprise in his eyes. "Alyssa?"

Alyssa? The bitch whore who cheated on him, Alyssa? I now took a better look at her-her blonde hair reached down to about the middle of her back, her clothes looked expensive and her boobs were about to pop out of her shirt.

"How have you been, Carter?" She still had yet to acknowledge my presence, except for the dirty looks she'd been giving me earlier.

"I…uh…I've been good." Jesus, Carter, talk much?!

"That's good! I heard you were at Duke. I'm transferring there this semester." WHAT? Kill me now.

"You are?" I shifted beside him, completely uncomfortable with this whole situation. He looked over at me. "This is my girlfriend, Madison."

"Hi." I might as well try to be nice even if she was a witch.

She turned my way and gave me a fake smile, then went right back to Carter. Bitch whore. "Girlfriend? I never thought that would happen!"

Carter turned 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 pretended like I wasn't even there. "What can I get you, Carter?" I could 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 got our stuff and went to sit down at one of the booths. "So that was a little awkward, huh?"

"Just a little."

He turned to face me. "I should probably tell you how I know her."

No, thanks. I didn't need to hear that story again. "It's okay, I already know. Holly told me all about her yesterday."

He grabbed my hand and gave me a quick kiss. "Hey, don't let her ruin our day." He leaned in to kiss me again and lingered a little longer than he did before. When I pulled back, I saw that Alyssa was watching us.
Take that, bitch whore, he's mine.

After coffee, Carter took me to see his old school and there was a playground next to it. We played around on the swings and slide, and Carter made fun of how I couldn't make it all the way across on the monkey bars. When we were leaving, I ran up behind him and jumped on his back and he carried me back to his car like that. When we got in, I turned 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 could feel myself starting to give in to a memory. It felt like a mix of anxiety and fear gripping at my throat. No, not right now.

My father was sitting in the living room watching TV. "Daddy, can you take me to the park?" All the other kids in school always talked about the park, but I never went. I just wanted to be like the other kids. "Daddy?"

He took another drink and then he looked 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 had. Daddy drank a lot and it scared me. "Daddy, please! I didn't kill Mommy! I loved her!"

His hand hit my face and I fell down. "Get away from me. I can't stand the sight of you."

"Maddy!" Carter was shaking me and the look in his face was one of fear. I realized I had tears streaming down my face. He pulled me against him and started stroking my hair. He pulled back and looked 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'd never talked to anyone about my dad, but Carter made me feel like I could tell him anything. After I told him, he pulled me to him and we stayed like that 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 Eight

Carter

This day was not going like I'd planned. First, Alyssa was at the coffee shop. I still couldn't believe she was 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 hated him for what he did to her, and I hated how much hurt she'd experienced in her life.

I took Maddy to one of my favorite seafood restaurants to try to salvage the day. I saw her looking at the menu with a strange look on her face. It was the one she'd make when she didn't know what to do, but was too shy to ask. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at me, surprised. "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 was so big that I actually thought her cheeks might crack. I love that I had the ability to put that smile on her face, and I made 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 had seafood before and I have no idea what to order."

I forgot how little she'd experienced. It made me so mad to think about how shitty her life had been. She deserved everything, but had 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 was the past, though, and I was 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 could order for you. I think I know what you like." I smiled at her and gave her a wink, letting her know what else I was thinking of. I hated that she'd put a stop to sex while we were here, but I loved her reason behind it.