“Is six or six-thirty too early? Or too late?”
“No, that should be fine. It’ll give us time to eat dinner and pop some popcorn.” She looked up at him. “Do you want to eat with us too?”
Stephen paused for a moment, not sure what to say. If he got there early to eat, would she push him out before the second movie?
“Milo would love to have you come again,” Madison added.
Stephen didn’t want to disappoint the boy, but also didn’t want to overstay his welcome or make her cook for him.
“What if I brought pizza?”
Madison smiled. “Chicago?”
“Absolutely.” Stephen pictured her eating it the way they’d done that first night he’d started working here. He hoped she’d make those same little noises as well.
“Sounds great. We’ll see you at six then.”
Stephen saluted as he left, falling back to the way he’d often said goodbye to her back in King, Montana. She saluted back, and he walked away with a smile on his face.
***
Madison hurried to her sister’s house to pick up Milo. She’d told Karen Thursday morning about the kiss Wednesday night so if Milo mentioned it, Karen wouldn’t call her at work. It had been hard to get her to stop asking questions long enough for Madison to leave to make it to the office in time. She’d promised to tell her more about it after work since Karen had needed to rush her kids to soccer practice the night before, but Madison was sure Karen would let her hold off on all the details because of the pizza date with Stephen in a few hours.
When she pulled up to the driveway, both Karen and Milo were standing on the front porch. Madison waved and got out of the car. “Hey kiddo, grab your stuff quick. We’re watching a movie tonight with Stephen.”
Milo clapped his hands together then turned on his heels and rushed into the house.
Karen’s eyes widened, and she gave Madison a long look. She glanced back into the house, not even bothering to close her door, and walked down the steps to meet Madison.
“A movie tonight, huh, and Milo’s coming too?”
“It will be at my house. Stephen wants to show Milo Star Wars because of his birthday.”
“Oh, right. May the fourth be with you.” Karen nodded.
“You know about that too?”
Karen giggled. “Jason’s a bit of a closet geek.”
“I can see that in him, I guess.” Madison smiled.
Milo bolted out the door with his backpack and stuff ready to go then joined them at the car and climbed in.
“Hurry, Mom.”
Karen leveled her gaze at her sister. “You’d better tell me everything.”
“Okay.” Madison shrugged. “But if you want to know about the movie, I’m sure you could convince Jason to see it.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
“There won’t be anything to tell,” Madison insisted. “It’s just a movie. And Milo will be there with us.”
“Milo was there Wednesday too. That doesn’t mean anything.”
Madison glanced at her son in the car. “It was a good thing he was there.” She took a slow breath and whispered, “I didn’t want the kiss to end.”
“Good for you. You need a little romance in your life.”
Madison shook her head. “No, I need stability and commitment.”
Karen placed her hand on Madison’s shoulder. “Sometimes they can come from the same person.”
“Not so far.” Madison frowned.
“Give it a chance this time. Who knows what might happen if you let it.”
Madison nodded thoughtfully. That was what she was afraid of.
***
Stephen knocked on the door, and this time Madison opened it. She smiled at him and welcomed him into the house. He wondered for a second if she was happier to see him or the huge pizza box he held.
“It’s still hot. You ready to eat now?”
“Yes!” Milo hollered from the other room.
Madison giggled and shook her head gently then led him into her kitchen. She’d set the table and had a salad made and a pitcher full of some kind of juice. Milo volunteered to pray and was so quick Stephen wondered how long the kid had been waiting to eat. The second he said amen, he opened the box and pulled out a slice.
Milo placed most of it on his plate, only losing a few of the toppings, then proceeded to pick off the things he didn’t like. Madison quickly scooped up the topping he’d discarded and added them to her slice. She ate it with a fork this time and didn’t moan like she’d done before, but Stephen still watched her eat.
She savored every bite, enjoying the pleasure of the food. It was good to see such a healthy appetite. It made him sure she was the kind to enjoy other things in life.
They chatted happily over dinner, and Stephen helped clean up the table while Madison wrapped the remaining pizza in some tinfoil, separating some into helpings for her to keep and some to send home with Stephen.
“Can I put the movie in, Mom?” Milo asked.
Madison glanced at Stephen. “Is that okay?”
Stephen nodded.
Madison turned to Milo. “Make sure you open the case carefully. Don’t break the disk.”
“I won’t. I know how to do it now.”
Stephen hadn’t even considered there might be possible damage. Milo moved into the front room. He opened the DVD case and carefully popped the disk out. He slid it into the player and then did a running jump onto the loveseat, leaving the couch open. Stephen mentally thanked the boy and hoped Milo wouldn’t question if Stephen sat close to Madison. If he could convince her to let him.
“Should I push play?” Milo asked.
“In a second,” Madison said. She pulled out an air popper and a bag of popcorn kernels.
Even though Stephen had just had two slices of pizza, his mouth watered at the thought of fresh popcorn. She looked at Stephen. “Could you get a stick of butter out of the fridge? Top shelf inside the door.”
They worked together to the sound of the popper and had it ready and joined Milo in the front room before he’d asked more than a dozen times about when he could press start.
“Now?” He looked at Madison, and when she nodded, he pointed the remote at the television and started the show. As the familiar music filled the room and the words scrolled up the screen, Stephen glanced at Milo, who had leaned forward, staring at the words intently. He wasn’t sure how much a seven-year-old could read, so Stephen lowered his voice and read the words in his best movie voice-over voice.
“It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base…” Stephen continued reading the lines, and Milo grinned at him.
As the movie began, Stephen answered a few questions Milo had about the show until Madison shushed him. “You can ask questions afterward. Just watch and see if the movie answers it for you.”
Milo leaned back and pulled the little throw blanket onto his legs and started munching on the bowl of popcorn Madison had given him. She’d placed the other bowl between them, making Stephen just a little disappointed since there wasn’t a sneaky way to move over closer to her with it there.
After a few minutes, Milo asked for seconds, so Stephen took the large bowl from the couch and passed it over so he could refill his bowl. When the kid was done, Stephen left it on the end table next to him then glanced at Madison.
“Did you want any more?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m stuffed.”
He smiled inwardly. Now that obstacle was out of the way, he just had to decide what kind of move to make. She was leaning against the armrest of the other side, with her bare feet tucked under her legs and a couch pillow on her lap.
The last time they’d watched this movie together, she had been leaning up against him with her legs tucked under her on the other side.
She shifted a few times as if trying to get comfortable, and tilted her head from side to side. He watched her, noticing she kept rolling h
er shoulders and stretching the back of her neck.
“You feeling okay?” Stephen asked.
“Yeah, just a little bit of a stiff neck. Probably from bending over a laptop so much.”
“I could help. I’ve been told I have magic fingers.” Stephen wiggled his fingers at her, smiling when she smiled back. She was the one who had told him his fingers were magic when he used to rub her neck before. He reached for her hand and pulled her toward him. She relented and moved forward then climbed off the couch and put the pillow on the floor at his feet.
He spread his knees open to give her room to sit between them, and she gracefully sat on the floor, her back to him. She reached up and grabbed her hair, twisting it quickly into a bun and tucking the ends underneath to hold it out of the way.
Stephen examined her graceful neck, exposed by her loose, off-the-shoulder shirt. The collar came down in a gentle curve, revealing part of her shoulders, giving him a hint her bra was pink.
He pressed his fingers firmly but gently on the base of her skull. Madison sighed, and Stephen’s chest tightened again. She had no idea what those sounds did to him, but he wanted to hear more of them, so he began working his magic, still very aware there was a child on the love seat next to them.
Chapter Twenty-one
Madison sighed. Stephen really did have magic fingers. The knots that had plagued her for days were finally loosening, and she thought she might actually get rid of the strain of the last few days. It was nice that the man who had put those knots there in the first place was taking them away.
He’d been working on the achy muscles for at least ten minutes and didn’t show any signs of stopping. She wasn’t going to tell him to quit either. He was better than a paid masseuse. Stephen moved from the base of her skull and the tight muscles around her spine to the shoulders, gently kneading them.
He spent some time on one side then moved to the other, never pushing harder than necessary, but applying the perfect amount of pressure. As he worked another knot, Madison sighed again, the pleasure too much to hold back. She glanced at Milo, who was engrossed in the film, and then glanced back toward Stephen but couldn’t see much more than his knees and forearms.
She turned her head straight and just let him continue. With a quiet whisper, he instructed her to move forward a little, pressing his palms against her back until she was leaning forward. He worked her long back muscles, taking slow purposeful strokes down the muscles on each side of her spine.
He worked those for a few minutes then took one hand and placed it on her shoulder, guiding her back into more of an upright position. As he pressed on one spot, Madison grunted in discomfort at the stubborn knot. He kneaded that for a moment, but because of where it was, Madison kept leaning forward with the pressure from his hands.
Stephen slid further to the edge of the couch and leaned forward, placing his left arm around her shoulder and crossing it over just under her collarbone, then wrapped his warm hand around her right bicep to hold her steady. Her body stiffened in surprise at the contact. His closeness should have worried her, but it felt so good she didn’t want him to stop.
She relaxed, allowing him to hold her steady as he worked the offending muscle into submission. He didn’t overwork any one area, but moved from place to place then returned to the areas of tight muscles until she didn’t feel the former stiffness. As he worked his way lower down her back, she could tell he was bending over to try to reach it.
“You don’t have to keep going,” Madison said, though she wished with all her heart he would never stop.
“Can’t give you a half massage,” Stephen whispered. “Here, sit up.” He pointed to the couch and shifted his body to the side a little.
She did as he instructed and sat on the couch, feeling the warmth of his large hands as he placed them on the curve of her hips to guide her where to sit.
He pressed his thumbs on both sides of the spine, and she moaned again. Stephen’s fingers tightened on her hips for a moment. His thumbs eased up, then he began again, and Madison let herself just relax until she felt limp. As he finished working her lower back, he pulled her close to him until her shoulder was tucked under his as his arm wrapped around her, allowing her to snuggle against him.
They fit together so perfectly, and she felt absolutely amazing. The logical part of her mind told her to thank him and move to her side of the couch, but the other side, the traitorous one who only knew how lonely she was, didn’t want to move.
What would it hurt to just stay here throughout the rest of the movie? Stephen didn’t put his hands anywhere they shouldn’t be. The hand that held her close was softly resting on her forearm. She closed her eyes and took a slow cleansing breath.
She could easily stay here the entire night.
***
Stephen stared at the top of Madison’s head as she snuggled into him. He couldn’t believe it worked as smoothly as it had. The suggestion to work out the tension in her muscles had been completely innocent to begin with, but once he felt her soft skin beneath his fingers, he hadn’t been able to help himself and had continued on. Each time he’d moved from one muscle group to the next, he’d hoped she wouldn’t put an end to it, and now that she was in his arms, he couldn’t be more pleased with himself.
He glanced at Milo, who didn’t seem to even notice the two of them on the couch. Stephen had peeked at the kid a few times, making sure his son was okay with him touching his mom, and hoping he wouldn’t say anything that might wake Madison out of the trance he’d worked so hard to put her under.
And though he hadn’t watched more than a few minutes of the movie tonight, he couldn’t help thinking Star Wars was the best movie ever. He turned his attention back to Madison, straining his head a little to see if he could see her face, but she had her forehead pointed down a little.
He listened close, feeling her breathing motions as her chest rose and fell. He wasn’t positive, but he thought she was asleep.
He leaned his head back against the couch and settled in to watch the rest of the movie, happier than he had been in months.
He still couldn’t believe his luck that he had been hired at the same company where Madison worked. Too bad he would only be there for another month on his contract. She was too good at what she did to make his services necessary longer than that.
Chapter Twenty-two
Madison shifted in her sleep against Stephen, and he held still, not wanting to jostle her. The movie had ended, and Milo had asked if they could watch another movie. Stephen agreed, hoping Madison wouldn’t be upset that he was still here, but she was sleeping so soundly he didn’t want to wake her.
She must have overworked herself to be this completely gone. It was past eleven, and Milo’s choice of movie was almost over, and the kid had fallen asleep on the loveseat, one leg hanging half off and his mouth open. Stephen smiled then turned his face to look at Madison.
His arm had gotten numb a few times, and he had shifted slightly to ease the pressure of her head against him, but it felt so good to hold her he hadn’t minded the tingling sensations developing in his fingers.
What he wanted to do was stretch out onto the couch and snuggle her body next to him, but with the movie wrapping up, he knew he should excuse himself and let them head to bed. If he hadn’t been trapped by Madison’s body, he would have carried Milo to his room, and maybe he could still do that after he woke her.
He brought his free hand up and stroked her hair then softly rubbed her shoulder. That didn’t wake her, so he squeezed her arm and whispered, “Madison.”
She stirred a little, then, as if coming to her full senses, sat up straight and stared at him.
“Oh, Stephen.” She rubbed her face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. How rude of me.”
“No worries. I didn’t mind.”
Madison looked at the TV. “This isn’t Star Wars. How long was I out?” She looked around the dark room as if searching for a clock. “Did you start a
different movie?” She looked over at Milo sleeping on the couch then at Stephen.
He couldn’t tell in the dark what her eyes held in them. He hoped she wasn’t bothered. It was a weekend, and she didn’t have to get up early for work.
“Milo wanted to watch this one. I thought it would be okay.”
Madison nodded. “He loves that movie.” She relaxed a little, leaning into the couch but not touching Stephen anymore.
He wanted to take her hand but instead leaned against the back of the couch and turned enough that he was closer to her and face to face.
She tilted her head to the side, smiled sweetly, and whispered, “I’m just glad I didn’t have to watch it.”
Stephen chuckled. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“Yeah, the first time you see it. But after a couple dozen times, it gets a little annoying.”
“Didn’t you have a favorite movie growing up?” Stephen asked.
“Yeah, probably.” She looked up at the ceiling. “I can’t think of what it was though.”
They talked for a few minutes about the movies and shows they watched as kids and giggled a few times as they quoted lines. Madison did a perfect imitation of an actress, making Stephen laugh loud enough to startle Milo. He rolled off the couch and hit the floor with a thud, not catching himself at all.
He was still so deep into sleep he only fussed for a moment then whimpered as he struggled to get comfortable on the floor. Madison had jumped off the couch and rushed over to him then shook her head in amusement that he was still asleep.
“Would you like me to carry him to his bed?” Stephen asked.
“He’s kinda heavy.”
Stephen flexed his arm then did a few bodybuilder poses, and Madison giggled. “Okay, Mr. Universe, you can take him.”
Echoes of Summer Page 10