by Naomi Niles
“And now?”
“I realize that the real dream is waking up to the same woman day after day,” he said softly as his eyes went wide with affection. “There’s love and friendship and trust and comfort. Everything feels bigger and better and more colorful because of her.”
Alan laughed at his own sentimentality. “I’m being sappy, aren’t I?” he said. “I’ve been driving Langdon crazy lately. He hates hanging out with me now because I keep telling him about the advantages of a monogamous relationship.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re happy.”
“What about you?” Alan asked, with a pointed smile. “Sam filled us in on the new woman in your life.”
“Sam has a big mouth,” I said.
“Is it true?”
“Kind of.”
“Kind of?”
“We’ve been having dinner together,” I admitted. “Things actually seemed to be progressing towards a full-fledged relationship, but…”
“Oh no,” Alan groaned.
“This is a new development,” I sighed. “I haven’t even told John and Sam yet.”
“What happened?”
“She sort of has a…complicated past,” I explained. “The Cliff Notes version is that she ran away from her abusive drug-dealing boyfriend and now he wants her back. Madison’s brother works for her ex-boyfriend, and he came down here to try and convince her to come back with him.”
“Geez,” Alan breathed. “Sounds intense.”
I nodded. “I heard a commotion at her place a few days ago and I went over…with my gun.”
“Whoa.”
“I smashed into the house, and I saw this big guy with his hands on Madison,” I explained. “And I just…lost it. I managed to wrestle him to the floor before I pulled my gun on him. Turns out it was Victor, Madison’s brother.”
“Fuck.”
“She wasn’t too happy about that,” I sighed. “She made her brother leave and then she asked me to go, too. I haven’t heard from her since.”
“Do you think she’s okay?”
“I saw her drive off in her car,” I said. “So I assume she is okay. I just hope she’s kept away from her asshole of a brother.”
“Hmm… I doubt she’d take too kindly to her brother being referred to that way.”
“He was trying to drag her back to an abusive relationship,” I said defensively.
“But he’s still her brother,” Alan pointed out calmly. “And obviously, she still cares about him. Why else would she have gotten upset with you for pulling a gun on him?”
I fell into a thoughtful silence.
“Think about it, Pete,” Alan continued. “If someone pulled a gun out on me or John or Sam or Talen, how would you react?”
“I’d be pissed off,” I nodded. “I’d be furious.”
“And, what if we deserved it?”
“I’d still be pissed off,” I nodded.
“Exactly,” Alan said. “Then why do you expect her to be any different?”
I looked over at Madison’s house, wondering where she had gone. I was scared that she’d gone back to Kameron with her brother. But instinct told me that she was not the kind of girl to give up that easily.
“You’re right,” I said finally.
Chapter Twenty
Madison
“Come on, Madison!” Whitney yelled. “Dance!”
I knew what she was doing. She was trying to distract me from my life.
She had been extra bubbly the entire morning, twirling around in dramatic fashion and chattering through the whole morning. Even the customers looked at her like she was on something. I couldn’t help but be amused. It was the kind of personality that I’d always tried to emulate. But in my heart of hearts, I knew I lacked the confidence.
“Madison!” Whitney yelled again.
I humored her by twirling around and doing a little shake in the middle of the salon. I could see Lola rolling her eyes at the both of us and that made me laugh. It was a nice atmosphere to be in, and I felt my spirits lift slightly.
It had been days now since I’d last seen or spoken to Peter. He hadn’t made any attempt to contact me, and it wasn’t as though I could blame him. I reasoned that he had only been trying to help me. In any case, he hadn’t known who Victor was when he had pointed the gun at him.
But something about that image had sent tendrils of fear whizzing through my body. All I had wanted to do was jump in front of that gun so that Victor was not in the line of fire.
“Madison?” Whitney’s voice cut through my thoughts. “You’re thinking again.”
I smiled. “How do you know when I’m thinking?”
“I can tell,” she said with a shrug. “We have got to get you out of this funk of yours. It’s not healthy.”
“What do you suggest?” I asked, open to options.
“I’ve got the perfect solution,” she said, clapping her hands together. “We’re going out tonight to do some real dancing and some real drinking! Lola, too.”
“Urgh, must I?” Lola complained from behind her tiny desk.
Whitney shot her a glare. “That’s a direct order.”
“I don’t think you can order me around after five-thirty,” she shot back.
“Watch me,” Whitney said dangerously and Lola and I laughed.
“Fine then,” she sighed. “I’ll come.”
Whitney turned to me with a pointed look. “Well?”
“If Lola’s in, then I suppose I am, too,” I nodded.
“Excellent,” Whitney smiled with satisfaction. “And since we’re having a night on the town, I think I should change up my look.”
“Again?” Lola asked.
“Again,” Whitney nodded. “And I want you to do it.”
“Me?” I said. “Really?”
“Yup,” she nodded. “I’ve seen you enough times to know that you know what you’re doing. So I shall put my trust and my hair in your capable hands. I want something bright, colorful, and fun.”
I laughed. “I really didn’t need the brief,” I said. “I know your style.”
Once the last appointment had cleared out for the day, Whitney and I started cleaning up the stray hair on the salon floor. Whitney turned the music up loud and pirouetted around the narrow space, using her broom as a mike half the time.
“It’s funny how much more sweeping I’m doing than you are,” I pointed out.
“I’m performing here, Madison,” Whitney replied. “Don’t interrupt me.”
Once we were done with the sweep, I turned to Whitney. “Ready to get started on your hair?” I asked.
“It’s a little early, don’t you think?”
“Not really,” I shook my head. “I’ll need a few hours for your hair, then we have to go back to your place to change, remember? Then we have to pick somewhere to go.”
“Hmm…decisions, decisions,” Whitney nodded. “All right, let’s get started.”
Whitney had just sat down in a chair when the door opened and an attractive young man walked in. He was tall, well built, with blue eyes and blond hair. I felt Whitney perk up immediately.
“Hello,” she greeted, in a slightly flirtatious voice. “How can I help you?”
“I was looking to get my hair cut,” he said. “I saw this place and I thought I’d stop by and ask if you cut men’s hair?”
“We certainly do,” Whitney said, jumping off her seat.
“We do?” I asked.
“We do,” she nodded with finality. “I’m Whitney, the owner of this salon. This is Madison, my protégée. And you are?”
“Dave,” he replied. “Pleasure to meet you both.”
“Oh, the pleasure’s all mine,” she said sweetly. “Take a seat, my good man. I’ll cut your hair myself.”
I sat back and watched Whitney flirt through the entire haircut, engaging Dave in conversation. She was definitely a people person and as it turned out, a born flirt. The fact that she wasn’t even slightly conscious of
herself helped a lot.
“Thanks for taking me in,” Dave said. “I could see you girls were ready to close up shop for the day.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Whitney said. “Nothing we couldn’t push back for a couple of hours.”
“What were your plans?”
“Just a girl’s night out,” Whitney smiled. “We wanted to hit a club or something, do a little dancing, that kind of thing.”
“Hey that’s perfect!” Dave said excitedly.
“Is it?” she asked, with a suggestive smile.
“The opening of my bar is tonight,” he said. “You ladies should totally come. The drinks are on me.”
Whitney shot me a glance. “Well, in that case, we have to come.”
“Yes, you do,” Dave nodded, and I noticed he gave me a little smile. “I’ll roll out the red carpet for you ladies.”
“I should hope so,” Whitney laughed.
He gave us the address of his bar and left fifteen minutes later. Whitney turned to me in excitement. “Well, that worked out perfectly.”
“Lucky you,” I smiled.
“You’re the lucky one,” Whitney said, with a wink. “He was obviously interested in you.”
“What?”
“Come on,” she said impatiently. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.”
“I didn’t,” I insisted. “He smiled at me a couple of times, but he was smiling at you, too.”
“You have to read the smile,” she told me. “It’ll tell you everything you need to know.”
“Ah… Well… I’ll keep that in mind next time,” I smiled nervously.
“Keep that in mind tonight when we drop by his bar,” Whitney told me pointedly. “Now, let’s get going on my hair.”
We had fun playing around with different styles and colors. But she finally settled on a peacock green with little threads of braided black running through it. It was amazing that Whitney managed to look amazing, no matter how outlandish her hairstyle choices were. Once she was satisfied with her new do, we headed back to her place for a quick change.
It was almost eight o’clock when we arrived at her apartment and Polo was waiting for us eagerly by the door. I gave him some love and some dinner, and then I joined Whitney in her room.
She was holding up a tiny pink dress in the mirror. “What do you think?” she asked.
“That’s going to clash with your hair,” I pointed out.
“Good,” she said, with some satisfaction. “I want to stand out.”
I laughed. “Of course.”
“Stick your head in my closet and pick something out for me,” she told me.
I rifled through her closet and pulled out a silver mini dress with gold accents. “How about this one?” I suggested. “You’ll definitely stand out in this one.”
“Hmm…good choice,” she nodded. “I haven’t worn it in a while, either. Great, I’m good to go. Now what about you?”
“Me?”
“I’ve seen your clothes, Madison,” Whitney said critically. “Cute as they are, you don’t have many choices.”
“I wasn’t really paying close attention to my wardrobe, you realize,” I reminded her. “I had a few other things on my mind when I left home.”
“Well, we’ll just have to remedy that soon then,” she said. “Did you find anything in my closet that you’d like to wear tonight?”
“I’m a little taller than you are.”
“Good, my stuff will be shorter on you,” Whitney said, with a wink. She pushed past me and started whizzing through her closet. Then she pulled out a tight red dress with thin straps and a small slit on the side. “This will look amazing on you.”
“It’s a bit much,” I said uncertainly.
“Try it on,” she said in her authoritative voice.
I didn’t argue, I just took the dress and headed for the bathroom. Once I was alone, I put on the dress and zipped up the side of it. Then I turned to my reflection in the mirror. It was tight, but not overly uncomfortable. It gave me a lovely silhouette and made me seem taller somehow.
I worked the top layers of my hair into a series of little braids and then draped them around my head, leaving the lower layers of hair loose around my shoulders. I dabbed on some lipstick and eye shadow and walked outside.
“Well?” I asked, turning to Whitney.
“Fuck, yeah!” she said approvingly. “You look smoking hot.”
“Great, then we’re ready to go?”
“We’re ready.”
Dave’s bar was already packed when we arrived around nine. “Lola said she would be here in ten minutes,” Whitney told me. “So, we can head on in now.”
As we walked in, Whitney spotted Dave. He gave us a wave and headed over immediately. He gave both Whitney and I a kiss and a hug, but I noticed he lingered a little longer around me. Whitney seemed to notice, too, because she gave me a pointed wink.
Half an hour later, Lola had arrived with a group of other girls in tow and the party had kicked up a notch. Everyone was laughing, drinking, and dancing. Everyone seemed to be having an amazing time, but I couldn’t seem to catch the vibe they were feeling. I just sat there, sipping my drink without really tasting it, nodding along to conversation I wasn’t really listening to and smiling until my face felt tight and tired from the strain of it.
Whitney must have noticed my mood change, because half way through the night, she turned to me. “What’s wrong, Madison?” she asked. “You don’t seem to be having a good time.”
I let my smile drop. “I’m just not feeling it tonight, Whitney,” I replied. “And I don’t think I can keep up the façade any longer. I think I’m just going to go home and crawl into bed with Polo.”
“Are you sure?” she said, without pushing it.
“Positive,” I nodded, relieved that she wasn’t going to try and force me to stay.
I gave her a quick hug, said goodbye to Lola and the girls, and headed for the exit. I had just stepped out into the relative quiet of the street when Dave caught up with me.
“Hey, Madison!” he called. “Don’t tell me you’re leaving already?”
“I’m tired,” I replied. “I just want to get to bed.”
“Aw, come on,” he pleaded, taking a step towards me. “The party’s is just getting started. Come back in with me and we can dance.”
I smiled impatiently at him. “Thank you, but no.”
I was about to walk away when he reached out and grabbed me by the arm. The gesture brought back the memory of Victor grabbing me a few days before, and I felt rage flood through my body as I yanked my hand away from him. “Don’t touch me!” I yelled.
He looked at me in shock, obviously taken back by my reaction. “Whoa,” he said, as his expression changed. “I didn’t mean any harm.”
“I just want to go home okay?”
“Fine,” he said, his tone turning cold. Then he turned and walked back into his bar without a backward glance.
Sighing, I headed back to Whitney’s apartment. Polo greeted me as I opened the door, and I bent down and planted a kiss on his head. “Hi, boy,” I said. “I just couldn’t hack it tonight. It was loud and boozy and all I kept thinking about was… Well, you know.”
I changed into comfy pajamas, took off my makeup, and got under the sheets on the couch with Polo snuggled up next to me.
“I keep thinking about him, Polo,” I confided. “I keep thinking about Peter.”
Despite how tired I was, it took me awhile to fall asleep. But when I finally slipped into unconsciousness, dreams filled my mind. I dreamt of Kameron and Victor, Polo and my mother, but Peter was the one who dominated my dreams.
Chapter Twenty-One
Peter
I couldn’t seem to get Alan’s words out of my head. The more I thought about them, the more I realized that he was right. How had I expected her to react? Victor was her brother, after all, and just because his actions were less than noble didn’t mean that Madison didn’t sti
ll love him.
I thought about Talen and everything that had happened between us over the years. I remembered our rocky relationship, the harsh conversations, the drunken fights, and the passive aggressive jabs, and I realized that despite all that, I would still never turn my back on him. We were brothers; we had a bond that could never be broken, no matter what he did. Why should I have thought that Madison’s relationship with her brother would be any different?
When John walked into the kitchen that morning, he was surprised to see me sitting at the table with nothing but a cup of strong black coffee in front of me.
“What?” John asked. “No eggs benedict? No salmon quiche? No French toast with maple dripped strawberries? What’s the matter?”
I smiled as John sat down in front of me. “Didn’t feel like cooking this morning.”
John raised his eyebrows and leaned over a little. “Okay, now I’m really worried.”
I laughed distractedly. “Don’t be dramatic; it’s nothing major. I’m just a little preoccupied, that’s all.”
“Would this preoccupation have something to do with Madison maybe?”
“It would,” I nodded, without bothering to deny it.
“You had a fight?”
“Something like that,” I nodded. “What are your plans today?” I wasn’t purposefully trying to change the subject, but I had an ulterior motive in asking and I wanted to put my plan into action as soon as possible.
“I have a few appointments in the morning,” he replied. “But I should be done around four in the evening. I’ll come by so that I can help you with the house.”
“Great,” I replied, without explaining further. “I’ll see you this evening then.”
I got up from the table and headed for the door. I had just left the kitchen when I craned my head back and yelled, “There are some banana pancakes in the fridge if you’re interested.”
“Bless you,” John called back after me.
Smiling, I got into my car and turned the key in the ignition. The whole time, I stared over at Madison’s house, but there was still no sign of her. It was just as well; for this plan to work, I needed an empty house. I drove down to the hardware store and walked in with my mind firmly fixed. I spent a good two hours there, trying to figure out what exactly I needed.