Forbidden Love

by Phillips, Laura

  “You are so sexy,” Madison said, shaking her head slightly as she looked down at her, her body glistening with sweat.

  Kacey smiled. “Come here,” she said, reaching for her, their lips crashing into each other.

  Madison had no intention of going anywhere tonight. This was right where she wanted to be.

  Chapter 46

  “Can this just be the way it is?” Kacey asked one morning, her leg draped across Madison’s, both their bodies tangled in the sheets.

  “I wish, but reality calls,” Madison said, turning her head to meet Kacey’s eyes.

  “I’m going to be managing a restaurant next week.”

  “And I’m going to have to start getting up at six o’clock in the morning again.”

  “Where did the last month go?” Kacey asked, her fingers drawing patterns on Madison’s stomach.

  “I think we spent the majority of it in bed...”

  “Oh yeah...”

  “Not that I’m complaining.”

  “You better not be,” Kacey said with a smirk.

  “That would never happen.”

  “Good.”

  “Hey... Why don’t we do something with our last few days of freedom?” Madison asked, sitting up. She ran a hand through her dark hair, trying to tame it.

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “What about going to Miami?”

  “To see your parents?” Kacey asked, her heart beating a little faster now. She knew she’d have to meet Madison’s family eventually, but just the thought of it made her nervous.

  “Yes, but there’s plenty to do there. We could go to dinner with them one night. I just thought about this now, so I don’t really have a plan, but I’m sure we could find a place to stay on Airbnb.”

  “We wouldn’t stay with them?” Kacey asked, sitting up beside her, resting her back against the headboard.

  “No. I mean we could... But dinner is more than enough.”

  “I know you’ve said you’re not very close...”

  “We’re not, but I still want them to meet you and you to meet them.”

  “Will they like me?”

  Madison took a deep breath. “I think that they’ll think you’re too young for me, but hopefully they’ll have the sense to keep that thought to themselves,” she said with a smile. “But of course, they’ll like you. Who wouldn’t?”

  Kacey smiled, hitting her lightly on the arm. “I’m serious. I want to make a good impression.”

  “We’ll spend a few hours with them, and if it goes well, and we all get along, we can do it again.”

  “Okay,” Kacey said, a smile tugging at her lips. “I think I can manage that.”

  “Don’t worry about meeting them. Miami is an amazing city. Have you been?”

  “Not since I was a teenager. We spent a few days on the beach there one summer.”

  “I’ll show you around, and we can both relax before we have to get back to work.”

  “I like the sound of that,” Kacey said, sliding out from under the covers. “Do you want to join me in the shower?”

  “You never have to ask,” Madison said, following her into the bathroom.

  Chapter 47

  Madison hugged each of her parents. She was genuinely surprised with how well tonight’s dinner had gone. She was fully expecting her parents to throw in a comment or two about how young Kacey was or to quiz Madison about why she didn’t do anything for her fortieth birthday. The conversation stayed friendly, and both her mom and her dad were interested in Kacey’s family restaurant.

  Madison wrapped her arm around Kacey’s waist as they watched her parents leave the restaurant. “Well, that went better than I expected it to.”

  “And it looks like they’ll be coming to us next time.”

  “Straight to The Beach House... I can’t believe they always wanted to start a restaurant business. How did I not know that?” Madison asked as they left, getting into one of the taxis outside the door. She gave them the address of their apartment.

  “At least it gave us something to talk about,” Kacey said, reaching for her hand. “I could go on for hours.”

  “And when you told them that you were going to be the new manager next week, they were really impressed... Not that you need to impress them.”

  “It was nice though.”

  “So, we have the next two days to ourselves,” Madison said, watching the city’s lights go by as they got closer to their beach front apartment.

  “I’m happy to do whatever you want to do.”

  “Maybe we’ll just see how we feel tomorrow?”

  “Sure,” Kacey said as they made the rest of their journey in silence.

  Madison didn’t think she’d ever felt this comfortable with someone before, to be able to enjoy each other’s silence and not feel the need to constantly be talking about something.

  As soon as her parents showed an interest in The Beach House, Madison could almost feel Kacey’s nerves slip away. Kacey sat up straighter as she told them about her parents and how they started the business. She told them about the menu, and they seemed to love everything about it.

  Madison had no idea that her parents always dreamed of running a restaurant. She remembered how much her mother loved cooking when she was a kid, but she never thought anything of it. She just thought it was normal. Her father had a steady job at the bank, but he was always buying and selling antiques, showing an entrepreneurial streak that Madison had never taken note of back then.

  They probably would have been good at it... If they’d been a little more comfortable with the idea of taking a risk. They’d always been conservative, and maybe that was the reason they never took the leap and bought a place. She couldn’t talk though. She had a safe job at the college down the road but helping people and working at the women’s shelter was what really made her tick and that was why she had such a hard time saying goodbye to summer. She’d be spending less time with clients, and she’d only have a few hours to volunteer. Her lectures and the papers she had to grade always had to come first when September rolled around.

  Maybe I’m the one that needs to take a risk.

  As they pulled up outside the building where she had found their Airbnb, Madison let her mind wander, thinking about what it would be like to pause her teaching career and go back to counseling. It was something she’d been thinking about for years, but never seriously. This was the first time she’d actually thought about looking into it. She could probably apply for a career break now, and this could be her last year teaching for a while, if that’s what she really wanted.

  “You okay, babe?” Kacey asked, looking over at her as they stepped into the elevator, and she pressed the button for their floor.

  “Yeah. I’m just glad everything went okay,” she said with a smile. She’d talk to her about her career move when they got back. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy having Kacey all to herself.

  Chapter 48

  Kacey’s hands wrapped around the edge of the balcony as the sun set behind them and a warm breeze whipped through her hair. Tomorrow, they’d be going back to Tampa. The few days they had here flew by. They’d spent most of them out and about with Madison taking her to some of her favorite restaurants. It was nice not having any responsibilities for a few days, but they had to get back to reality eventually.

  She could see them coming back here though. Miami was a four-hour drive away, and on the way here, they drove south from Tampa, along the coast through Fort Meyers and Naples. They were going to go home a different way in the morning, heading north from Miami by West Palm Beach and Port St. Lucie. Kacey had traveled all over Europe, but she’d hardly explored her own state. She was glad she was doing it with Madison.

  “Are you nervous about next week?” Madison asked, pulling the sliding door closed behind her and standing beside her, looking out over the ocean and the waves breaking against the shore.

  Kacey took a deep breath. “Nervous and excited. All at the
same time,” she said with a smile as she turned to face her. “I just don’t want to disappoint my mom or Trent.”

  “You know you’re going to amazing, right? You’ve seen everything there is to see. You know what causes problems and when you need more waiting staff. I know your resume doesn’t technically say you’re qualified for this job, but you are the best person for it.”

  “Thanks,” Kacey said, feeling her cheeks warm.

  “I mean it. There’s a reason your mom offered you that job. She thinks you’re ready for it.”

  “I just have to prove it now.”

  “The first few days will be challenging, but you’ll figure it out,” Madison said, slipping her arm around her waist.

  “What about you? Are you nervous about going back to school or are you used to it by now?”

  “I always get a little anxious about the first lecture, but after that I’m fine... I am going to miss having you all to myself though.”

  “I know,” Kacey said with a sigh. “But I might end up working even less than I was before.”

  “Really?”

  “Well, it’ll be more structured for sure. Before I was just picking up shifts when someone got sick or it was extra busy, and sometimes I ended up working almost every day. I’ll know my hours now, and we can work around them. I won’t always have my weekends free though.”

  “We’ll manage,” Madison said, pulling her into her, and Kacey rested her head on Madison’s shoulder as they took in the view. The sky was almost completely dark now, but the moonlight took over, illuminating the beach, reminding her of that night on the beach in Tampa.

  “I know we will.”

  Chapter 49

  Madison put her phone down on her desk, thankful that she didn’t have any more classes scheduled for today. She did have office hours, but she could put a sign on her door saying that they’d been canceled.

  Her hand shook slightly as she reached for her bottle of water and took a long drink. She’d just gotten a call from the hospital saying that one of her patients had attempted to commit suicide. Despite years of counseling and working at the women’s shelter, this was the first time that something like this had happened to one of her patients, and Madison couldn’t stop herself from feeling guilty.

  She’d been back at college for almost a month, and she did the same thing she did every year. She referred her clients to one of her colleagues until she was left with just one or two. That was all she had time for. This woman had been one of the ones she had referred, but what if that hadn’t worked out? She didn’t usually follow up to see how they were doing. She always had such a busy workload with school.

  Madison covered her face with her hands, resting her elbows on the table.

  This could have been prevented. What if she didn’t feel comfortable talking to someone else? What if I was still seeing her twice a week? Would this have happened?

  Madison wiped her hand across her face as she stood up. She wasn’t sure what to do. Should she go to the hospital? Would her patient blame her? Would she even want to see her? All Madison wanted to do was go home and curl up in bed.

  Her phone buzzed on her desk while she was gathering her things. It was a text from Ashley wanting to know if Kacey and her were free for a double date Friday night. Madison ignored her question and asked her if she was free to meet up now. Ashley answer a few seconds later.

  Sure. Alcohol or no alcohol?

  Madison smirked. That was always Ashley’s way of figuring out how serious the problem was.

  Alcohol. Meet me at Tony’s. I’ll be in the usual booth.

  Madison slung her bag over her shoulder and slid her phone into the pocket of her charcoal pants, locking her office door behind her.

  She was tempted to call Kacey, but she knew she was working, and if she told her what happened, Madison knew she’d leave to come check on her. She didn’t want to distract Kacey. She’d ask her to come over tonight if she was free.

  Madison crossed the parking lot, noticing how dark the sky had gotten in just the last few minutes. A rumble of thunder in the distance confirmed that there was rain on the way, and Madison hoped she’d be in her favorite booth in Tony’s sipping on a pint before that happened.

  In less than ten minutes she was parked outside Tony’s as the rain splattered her windscreen, slowly at first and picking up in intensity as she made a dash for the door before it became a full-on downpour. Ashley had somehow beat her there.

  “Hey,” Madison said, sliding into the seat opposite her. “How’d you get here so fast?”

  “I was already here,” Ashley said, glancing down at her half empty pint of beer, while the waiter made his way over with another pint for Kacey. “I ordered your usual, by the way.”

  “On a Wednesday afternoon? Drinking on your own?”

  Ashley shrugged. “Nothing’s wrong. I just have the day off...”

  “And Brooke doesn’t?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You two are cute,” Madison said with a grin, forgetting about her own problems for the moment.

  “What? It’s not like you and Kacey aren’t joined at the hip too.”

  “We are, although I don’t think we’re that bad. We both have busy schedules now that summer’s over.”

  “How’s college?” Ashley asked. “I haven’t talked to you in ages.”

  “Good. College is good... I got some bad news today. I can’t really talk about it because she was a patient of mine, but she tried to kill herself.”

  “What? Oh my God! She’s okay though?”

  “She’s alive. I don’t know about okay. I’m not sure what to do. She’s not even my patient anymore.”

  “Are you okay?” Ashley asked, her arms resting on the wooden table between them.

  “Not really. I just found out a few minutes ago. I’m shocked... And I feel guilty. I might have been able to talk to her... But I went back to college, which means referring patients on.”

  “You do that every year though.”

  “I know, but I still feel guilty about it. I’m starting to think about taking a career break.”

  “Because of this?”

  “No. I was already thinking about it,” Madison said, taking a sip of beer. “But this is really making me wonder, plus it’s what I love.”

  “More than teaching?”

  “Yes.”

  Ashley nodded. “What does Kacey think?”

  “I haven’t really talked to her about it yet.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because she’s just getting a handle on her new job. I didn’t want to bother her with my shit.”

  “You should talk to her about it,” Ashley said, bringing her glass to her lips.

  “I know. I will tonight.”

  “You should come out with us Friday night, take your mind off all this.”

  “I’ll see if Kacey’s free... It won’t be weird though, right?”

  “Why would it be weird?” Ashley asked, her eyes narrowing.

  “Because Brooke and Kacey kissed...”

  “Ohhh. No. That won’t make it weird, but maybe... Just in case, we should kiss,” Ashley said in a neutral tone. “Then we’ll be even.”

  Madison nearly spit out the beer she was drinking, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand while she tried not to laugh. “You’re awful,” she said when she recovered.

  “Hey, you didn’t say no.”

  “You should have taken your chance on our first date. The was the first and last time I would have even thought about kissing you, but thanks for making me laugh,” Madison said with a smile.

  “Are you going to be okay? I’m free all evening if you want to just hang out and have a few more beers.”

  “I’d love to, but Kacey’s finished at six, and I have my car... I probably shouldn’t. I might have one more though, if you’re up for it?”

  “Sure.”

  Madison had hardly seen Ashley in the last few weeks, but this was new territory for t
hem. She’d never seen Ashley this happy, and she knew she’d never been this optimistic about a relationship before. Their priorities had shifted, and Madison couldn’t be happier for her. Brooke seemed like a real catch. It would be good to hang out with her properly Friday night and get to know the woman Ashley was so crazy about.

  Chapter 50

  Kacey ran a hand through her hair as she waited for the computer to shut down. She was supposed to leave an hour ago, but she got caught up answering a few emails and trying to tidy up the office. She didn’t know how her mother functioned with papers scattered all over the desk. When Kacey went to put them in the filing cabinet, she couldn’t figure out whatever system her mother or the previous manager had been working with.

  Even though this was her fourth week on the job, Kacey still felt like there was something new to learn or figure out every day. She loved the challenge, and she felt like she’d matured in the last few weeks with all of this responsibility.

  Kacey sent Madison a quick text saying that she was running late but that she’d be at her apartment in a few minutes. She couldn’t believe it had been almost a month since they were in Miami. Time was flying by. It was the end of September, and she had to start thinking about where she was going to live. She’d signed an eighteen-month lease in May last year, so she needed to decide if she wanted to commit to at least another year there.

  The location was perfect for college, and she was close to Madison, but Kacey wondered about being nearer to the restaurant. She was starting to see a pattern: her schedule wasn’t really her schedule. She often showed up early or stayed late, and that was because she loved it here. She wanted to do the best job she could but being a few minutes away or even within walking distance would make a big difference.

  Kacey put her phone in her bag and locked the office door behind her. She’d been here for twelve hours, and she couldn’t wait to curl up on the couch with Madison and watch something on Netflix with a glass of wine.

  *****

  Kacey knocked on Madison’s door, her feet aching after being on them all day. She should be used to it from waiting tables, but somehow this was different. Maybe it was the pressure of being in charge.