Madi placed her hands on her hips as she said, “So, this is where the magic happens?”
“What?” Jake was rarely surprised and she just surprised the hell out of him.
“I mean… what I meant to say was… I meant that… what I meant was that…” Madi recoiled her arms and crossed them over her chest.
Jake watched her squirm. He put his hands in his pockets and turned toward her fully. He gave her a confident, inquiring smirk, not helping her out or taking away any of her discomfort. He was really interested- really, really, interested in what magic she thought he provided in this room.
Madi’s face began to blush and he could see she was hoping for him to swoop in and save her. He would do no such thing. He was completely infatuated with her in that moment and watching her skin turn red and her arms wrap around her chest as if she were hugging herself made his pants feel a little tighter. He inched his way a little closer to her.
“Magic?” he asked. He got about two feet away from her and stopped. He looked down at her and licked his lips. She refused to look at him, which further ignited the burning he was feeling inside. He took a step closer. “What magic do you think I perform, Madi?” He was close enough to smell her skin. He was close enough to see the freckles on her shoulder and the color of her bra. He was close enough that he could easily bend his neck and kiss her. He could see her jaw quivering and wanted nothing more than to feel her lips on his and to push his tongue into her mouth.
Just as he started his descent on her, she took a step back and responded,
“What I meant was that I’m sure that while you are sleeping you come up with melodies and lyrics to your songs. I see there is another piano here and I can just imagine that you do a lot of magical creating in this room.” Madi walked toward the piano and ran her fingers over the keys.
Jake licked his lips, glanced down then up through the tops of his eyes as he smiled and said, “I see. Yes, I do write in here.”
Madi looked up at him from across the room ever so briefly before she looked down again.
She still can’t look at me, he thought. It made him smirk to see she was still a little uncomfortable. He decided to put her at ease. “Hey, are you hungry?”
Chapter 18
Madi
Madi splashed cold water on her face in her bathroom in Jake Morgan’s home. She would literally be across the hall from him. She bit her lip and mentally smacked herself in the face for letting her mouth work faster than her mind. The minute she saw his bed and thought of him naked in it, she felt her body start to tingle. She didn’t mean to say what she was thinking. She could tell he enjoyed watching her squirm. He kept getting closer and closer to her. Madi could feel her body tense at his stance. He was so close he could have kissed her. For a moment, Madi had thought he might. Her skin felt like it was boiling. She knew she had to be as red as an apple. Kendra would have looked up at him and asked to see the magic. Madi was such a chicken. She couldn’t even raise her head just a little. She could have felt his lips. Damn, she might have kissed him if the nearness of him hadn’t sent her into a mental tizzy. Hadn’t she been thinking about his mouth for weeks, for years? And then, when she could feel his breath on her face, she bolted- so dumb. Ugh! What was wrong with her? She wished she could go back and do it all again. It wasn’t like she was a prude. Madi had never backed down from a challenge from any man. Usually they were intimidated by her confidence and they slinked away. How could she face him again?
“Madi, are you ready?”
She looked at herself in the mirror and smudged away the black streaks from her eyeliner under her eyes. She lifted her chest and her eyes to the mirror, took a deep breath and headed out toward the TV room. Jake was sitting on the floor with various open cartons of Chinese food, two bottles of water, two plates, two forks and a pile of napkins.
“Hope you don’t mind leftovers.”
Madi couldn’t help but smile. “It’s perfect.”
She sat down next to him on the floor and he turned on the TV.
“This must be Star Wars week,” he said with a laugh. Madi looked up to see ‘Return of the Jedi’.
“No way!”
Jake handed her carton after carton. They sat there in silence, eating, drinking and watching Star Wars together. To Madi, this was a perfect date. Twice their elbows touched and twice Madi had to catch her breath. He was so close she could smell him as much and as often as she wanted to without him noticing. Murphy skipped over and placed his head on Madi’s lap.
“He likes you,” Jake said.
“Well, I like him. How old is he?”
“He’s two, going on three. I love him more than anything.”
Madi looked at Jake and sighed. She could see how he felt. It was written all over his face.
“He’s been with me through a lot. He goes with me to the studio sometimes and I usually take him to the stage for practice. That’s where we’re going tomorrow. It’s our first day of running through the set for the tour. This is where we set lighting, test sound, and practice stage set up. He usually just makes himself at home anywhere.”
Madi nodded, took one last bite and then had to put her fork down. “I’m so full I don’t think I can move.”
“You were pretty hungry!”
“Are you insinuating that I ate too much?”
“No, I would never say that out loud.”
Madi nudged him with her arm and then a yawn escaped.
“Tired? It’s been a long day.”
“What time is it?”
Jake hit the remote on the TV and the screen said 1 a.m. “Whoa, that’s 3 a.m. your time.”
“Hmm?” Madi suddenly was having a hard time keeping her eyes open.
“Come on, time for bed.”
Madi started to get up and then bent down to pick up the empty cartons of Chinese they had finished.
“Stop, don’t worry about it. They’ll still be here in the morning. Get some sleep. I’ll get them tomorrow.”
“Wait, what time do I need to be ready for work?” Madi asked.
“Hmmm… How does eleven sound?”
“Really?”
“Well, I’m not a morning person and since your method of transportation is me, then your work starts when I start.”
“Sounds great,” Madi said as she yawned again.
“Goodnight, Madi.”
“Goodnight, Jake.”
Jake turned off the lights and walked to his door. Madi walked to hers. They both stopped and turned back to look at the other over their shoulders. Jake smiled at Madi and she smiled back before their doors had closed.
Madi yawned and glanced at her phone. She hadn’t spoken to Kendra since her ride in the limo. She had six texts. Madi quickly typed.
Madi: You’re probably sleeping. Sorry it’s so late. Change of plans. I am now staying with Jake at his place. Have my own beautiful room. Spent the night in front of the TV, rubbing arms with him, eating Chinese and watching TV. We went off our separate ways and I am going to sleep. BTW, he almost kissed me. TTYL XO.
After removing her makeup and contacts, Madi changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination or not, but she swore her pillow smelled like Jake. She smiled as she drifted off to sleep.
Jake
Jake awoke to scratching at his bedroom door. He blinked twice and lifted his torso enough to see Murphy clawing at the door to get out. His tail was moving a mile per minute.
“Hold on a sec, boy.” Jake looked at the clock. It was 10 a.m. His head fell back against the pillow. He was still tired. Then he heard the clinking of silverware and remembered Madi was there. He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. He staggered to his bathroom, put on his glasses, brushed his teeth, and ran his fingers through his hair. He pulled on a t-shirt and a holey pair of jeans and opened his door. Murphy bolted out and headed straight for the kitchen. Jake looked up and could see Madi fully dressed and ready to go. She was wearing tig
ht jeans and a v-neck red blouse. She had a cardigan tied around her waist. His kitchen was spotless and he smelled coffee. His nostrils flared and he gravitated toward the aroma.
Madi had bent down to greet Murphy when she saw his bare feet enter the room.
“Morning!” she said with a smile.
“Oh no… Please, please tell me you are not a morning person.”
Madi giggled as she opened a cabinet and pulled out a coffee mug as if she had been living with him for years. She even opened a drawer, the right drawer, and pulled out a spoon. “How do you take your coffee again? Is it black with two sugars?”
Jake managed a nod. He slipped onto a stool at the kitchen bar and Madi placed a cup in front of him. She placed her hand on his back as she put it down and it did something to him. It was morning after all. He took a sip and looked around the room. He’d never seen it so clean. Even when his cleaning lady came, heck even when his mom stopped by, it had never looked like this.
“What did you do?” he said as he looked around.
“I hope you don’t mind but after I cleaned up the food from last night I came in here and just straightened up a bit.”
“A bit?”
“Should I not have done it? I’m sorry.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. The place looks amazing. Thank you. You didn’t have to do that you know.”
Madi wiped the counter with a towel before folding it and placing it by the sink. “I wanted to. Yesterday you could have easily just taken me to a hotel. I really appreciate you letting me stay here last night.”
Jake surveyed her. He liked having someone besides Murphy to talk to and he certainly liked having coffee ready. “You can stay here as long as you like. If you keep making me coffee every morning, I may never let you leave.”
Madi smiled shyly before pointing to the dog. “Do you want me to take Murphy for a walk?”
Jake took a big sip of his coffee. “Nope, I can do it. You’re welcome to come along if you’d like.”
“Sure, I’d love to.”
Madi disappeared into her room and came out with a pair of tennis shoes. “I forgot to ask you how I should dress for work. I have plenty of skirts, suits, and dresses. I can change before we leave.”
“Hmm…” Jake considered it for a minute. He grabbed a baseball cap and slid it on his head. He rubbed his chin as if deep in thought. Madi stood there waiting for his response. She shifted her balance from one foot to the other.
“I’m thinking that when we get back from walking Murphy, you should try on every outfit you brought with you. I can grab a pad of paper and make you a list of the items I think you should wear.”
Madi crossed her arms and huffed. “Okay sounds great, but you need to do the same for me.”
Jake ambled to the door and attached Murphy’s leash. “Why would I need to model my wardrobe for you? You work for me, remember?”
“I was thinking that since you seem to know so much about fashion from your vast assortment of t-shirts and sweaters that I could learn from the master.”
He gaped, “You don’t like my t-shirts? What’s wrong with my sweaters?”
Madi laughed and Jake shook his head. “It’s too early for this. I’m obviously still half asleep and slipping. Anything you wear is fine. You will get a good idea of how much time you will spend on your feet today. If we need to go for an interview, you will know before I do and you can plan your dress accordingly.”
“Oooh… You sound so manly and professional.”
“I am manly and professional.” He flexed his muscles and Madi’s eyes quickly flashed to the floor. Jake grinned and made a mental note that his biceps made Madi blush. He would need to flex harder and more often in her presence.
Last night when he had gone to bed he felt relieved that Madi had stepped away from him. He wasn’t sure what had possessed him to try to kiss her, but he promised himself that it wouldn’t happen again. He had to be careful. This could never go anywhere and he needed to make sure she knew that. But flirting, it seemed harmless and fun. He was sure he couldn’t stop that even if he wanted to. She brought it out in him like a primal need. It was a game they played and Jake liked nothing more than a good contest.
Chapter 19
Madi
Jake and Madi strolled all around his neighborhood. He lived in the city but there were so many trees and grassy areas that it felt comfortable to her. The building Jake lived in had an attached garage and a top-notch security system. He told her that he’d have a key made for her and make sure she had a card and the access codes by the end of the day. Madi couldn’t believe she was staying with him. He was very considerate to let her intrude on his privacy. She imagined she had Ang to thank for her good fortune.
It was about a quarter to eleven when they got back. Jake opened the door and as they entered, they both stopped in their tracks.
“Hey there, handsome! Hope you don’t mind but I let myself in.”
A leggy, sandy blond, with big blue eyes waved from the couch. Her legs started in a short skirt and ended stilettos. They stretched from the couch to rest on his coffee table.
Jake smiled bigger than Madi had ever seen as he walked over and kissed her cheek. “That’s why I gave you a key.”
Madi felt like she should run and hide. She felt as if she were intruding on a private moment that she had no business witnessing. So she had a key? Wow, she was beautiful. Madi looked down at her tennis shoes and suddenly felt underdressed and completely insecure.
“Excuse me,” she said as she tried to run to her room.
“Wait!” Jake said. “There’s someone important that I want you to meet. Gina, this is my new assistant, Madi. Madi, this is my…”
“Did you say Madi as in Madi Ryan?” Gina held out her hand to stop Jake mid-sentence as she got up and walked toward Madi. “I recognize your name from Jake’s phone.” She turned back to Jake and said, “She called last Sunday while you were in the shower.”
Jake glanced back and forth between Gina and Madi, obviously confused. “You called me?”
Madi could feel her knees begin to weaken. She was right after all. Jake did have a date and she sounded beautiful because she was beautiful. She had to think quickly, this was ridiculous. “Yes, I accidentally dialed your number by mistake when I went to dial my friend John… um, Mergen. I realized I had the wrong number so I apologized and hung up.”
“She said it was a wrong number so that’s why I didn’t bother to tell you. Remember, you were in the shower and I popped my head in to tell you your phone was ringing and you told me to answer it?”
“Yes, I remember…” Jake stared suspiciously at Madi. Madi could tell by the way he scrutinized her that her demeanor was giving her away.
“Well anyway, it was very nice to meet you Gina. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go.”
“It was nice to meet you too!” Gina smiled and waved. Madi noted that she seemed genuinely sweet. She could see why Jake was in love with her. She was drop dead gorgeous and nice.
Jake and Gina watched as Madi quickly hightailed it to her room and closed her door. Madi stood with her back to the door. I can do this, it’s a job. It is just a job. Madi suddenly felt the urge to grab her phone and call Kendra for support. She looked at the clock, counted two hours back, and sighed. She’d already spoken to Kendra this morning and filled her in on last night. By now, Kendra was probably in the air on her way to Mexico. Madi took a deep breath, grabbed the journal Kendra had given her and wrote her feelings down inside. If she couldn’t talk to Kendra, then this would have to do.
Jake
Gina gaped at Jake with her hand in the air, “Is it just me or was that a little strange?” Gina was puzzled.
“No, it’s not just you. Usually she’s more talkative than that. Something’s off.”
Jake glanced toward Madi’s door as he scratched his growing stubble.
“Is she staying here with you?” Gina asked curiously. “You’ve never let
just anyone stay here before. What’s up, Jake?”
“I’ll explain to you later. I don’t have a lot of time. I’ve got to jump in the shower and then head to stage practice, want to come along?”
“I wish I could but I have a couple of interviews. I just stopped by to see if you thought I looked okay.” Gina pushed down her skirt a bit and twirled around ending in a pose with her hands on her hips.
Jake scowled and put his hand to his chin. “That skirt’s a little too short, Gina. Don’t you think?”
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