Love in the Heartland

by Diana Currie

  “I missed you,” he added squeezing her in his arms.

  “I missed you too,” she replied sliding her hand up and down his chest where she discovered more new muscle definition. She was going to have to thoroughly explore this army-buff physique soon, but wanted to hold off until they had talked and caught up a little more. There would be time for sex later that night, and plenty more every night for as long as she was there, so she forced her mind to think of something else.

  “I feel bad for rushing you to get here when I’m still working twelve-hour days,” Nathan said as he nuzzled her neck.

  “How’s it going on set?” she asked.

  “Good. Some days feel like an emotional roller coaster though. I knew it was a moving story but there are some really sad parts. And filming is a slow process so even though any particular scene takes like a minute or two to watch, that same two minutes could take an entire day of filming. That mean twelve plus hours where I need to stay in that depressing mindset.”

  “Yeah, that does sound hard,” she agreed.

  “Have you seen Steel Magnolias?”

  Maddie smiled. “Who hasn’t?”

  “You know the scene at the funeral where Sally Fields has that emotional outburst over losing her daughter?”

  “Of course. ‘Shelby was right. It really does look like a brown football helmet!’” Maddie quoted with a thicker than usual southern drawl.

  Nathan chuckled. “Yeah, that’s the one. The scene’s about five minutes long but it probably took hours to film. Sally Fields had to cry over and over again, trying to make herself feel like she’d just buried her child.”

  Maddie shivered at the thought. She couldn’t even watch that scene without tears. “I get what you mean about it being difficult. Don’t some people think that playing the Joker in the Dark Knight is what made Heath Ledger have trouble sleeping and drove him kind of nuts?”

  Nathan pulled Maddie into his lap and nuzzled the side of her face. “Most people in the industry don’t believe that, but I’m sure it was a very tough role for him to play. What I’m doing isn’t nearly as demanding as that, but it’s really made me appreciative of the sacrifices our military make. I met so many people that had lost relatives and friends. And even the guys who come back alive are often missing limbs or have trouble readjusting to their lives. It’s difficult to think about for prolonged periods of time.”

  “You said meeting Andre Peters was sobering,” Maddie said. “Was it awkward talking to him?”

  “He’s such a cool guy, but he had a really hard time feeling normal again after being in Fallujah. He told me that seeing the things he did in Iraq changed him and he doesn’t ever expect to forget them. Sudden loud noises still make him jump. Even though he’s aware that he’s in Vancouver or Los Angeles his brain immediately thinks it’s a car bomb… every time.”

  “I can’t imagine going through what he did. I finally started reading his book on the plane. Andre’s a very good writer.”

  “He’s come to the set a few times with his wife. I feel a lot of pressure trying to talk and act like him in my scenes. I want to do a good job with his story.”

  “I know you’ll do great because you’re so talented.”

  Nathan smiled and squeezed her thigh with his hand. “I have a good supporting cast, so that helps.”

  “Do you still like the director?” she asked.

  “Yes. Daniel’s a visionary,” Nathan said but then frowned. “Things are going great except I found out I have another nude scene.”

  “Are you talking about the love scene with the wife? I thought you filmed that already.”

  “We did film that scene. This is a different scene where I’m alone in the shower. I really need Melissa to add a detailed nudity clause to my future contracts.”

  Maddie gasped. “Don’t you dare! Holly would be devastated if you stopped showing skin. It might actually kill her,” she teased.

  “I can’t believe you’d actually side with Holly on this; with all these directors objectifying me for you and your fangirls?” he asked with mock horror on his face.

  Maddie couldn’t help smiling as she considered it. “Well, that depends. How much nudity are they talking about?”

  Nathan looked at her strangely. “Are you seriously pleased by this development? I thought that stuff made you uncomfortable now that we’re together.”

  “No, love scenes make me uncomfortable. But I like seeing your tushy on the big screen as much as Holly.”

  “You’re supposed to say you hate having to share my ass with the world,” Nathan replied feigning insult.

  “Sorry, a good shower scene is too hard to resist. Is it like the one in Zero Gravity, just minus the female companion?”

  “Not exactly. Daniel wants it in the film to help show the effects of the PTSD. It’s not meant to be a sexy scene; I’m supposed to break down sobbing in the shower. Apparently, an ass shot will add to the vulnerability of the character or some bullshit.”

  Maddie looked surprised. “Are you going to do it?”

  “I don’t have much choice at this point. We only have two weeks left and it isn’t Daniel’s fault I didn’t read the notes on this shower scene until a couple days ago. I seriously can’t wait until I’m over forty and no one wants to see me naked anymore,” Nathan whined.

  Maddie smirked. “I don’t think age is going to fix that problem. Ben Affleck’s over forty and he showed his penis for the first time in that movie Gone Girl.”

  Rolling his eyes, Nathan replied, “Great, so when I’ve saturated the market with my ass I’ll have to start showing my cock. Something to look forward to.”

  Maddie giggled. “Holly made me go see Gone Girl just for that shower scene but people made a big deal over nothing. Holly was so mad; she said we wasted $12.50 on two seconds of side dick.”

  “Side dick? Is that a real term?” Nathan asked grinning.

  “It ought to be. Write it into your contract now, Slugger,” she said poking Nathan’s chest playfully.

  “Nathan Foster Theatrical Agreement, Section 5.1. Actor agrees to nudity in the following contexts only. A. Full torso above waist is acceptable. B. Ass cheeks permissible for no longer than fifteen seconds. C. No more than two seconds of side dick.”

  Maddie laughed as Nathan pretended to rewrite his movie contract. “Now I really want to see this movie!” she teased. Joking aside, she wasn’t worried about him ever agreeing to show his penis on screen. How in the world would he explain that to his mother?

  Nathan pulled her astride his hips and wrapped his arms around her, giving her jean covered ass cheeks a firm squeeze. “You don’t have to wait until next May, Angel. I’m ready to show you right now.”

  His hands felt so good on her body and Maddie felt herself grinding against him as she groaned. Maddie noticed the quickening pace of Nathan’s heart under his shirt as she touched him and smiled to herself. She saw a familiar look in his eye and loved that he was getting turned on so easily. She figured they had talked enough. Maybe it would be better to catch up on sex now and leave the rest of their talking for later.

  “I think I’ll take you up on that offer.” She pressed herself harder against him and felt his erection beginning to grow. Maddie ran her hands down Nathan’s chest and gripped the edge of his t-shirt between her fingers. He didn’t fight her when she lifted his shirt up and over his head.

  Nathan bucked his hips and Maddie reached her hands around his neck to hold on. Yes, baby, hold on tight, he thought to himself. He wanted to give her a wild ride, but not in the living room. Maddie moved one hand down to start undoing his pants and it nearly killed Nathan to stop her. She felt him begin to resist, but undeterred Maddie sat back on his thighs and pulled off her own shirt.

  “The kitchen,” Nathan panted.

  “You want to take me into the kitchen?” Maddie asked excitedly.

  “No, well yes. But no, I meant Lupe is still here. In the kitchen.”

  Maddie ga
sped and threw herself against Nathan’s chest to hide herself. How could she have forgotten about Lupe! Nathan’s Latina Mama was still in the house!

  “Should we go upstairs?” she asked while slipping her t-shirt on again as quickly as possible.

  Nathan growled as he watched her breasts disappear beneath the blue cotton t-shirt. “I really want to but she’s making us dinner. We can’t be rude and when I take you upstairs I don’t plan to come down for a long, long time.”

  The look on Nathan’s face told Maddie that he was very serious about that. She wanted to make love to him but knew they couldn’t do that to Lupe. She was probably making something special for Maddie’s first night back. Reluctantly, she slid off Nathan’s lap and placed her hand in his.

  “After dinner I’m going to have my way with you.”

  Nathan groaned as he reached for his discarded shirt. “I’m looking forward to it, Angel.”

  “Let’s go see if we can help her out,” Maddie suggested. Perhaps a few extra hands would get supper done sooner.

  Nathan followed Maddie to the kitchen where she stopped short in the archway. He bumped into her back because he hadn’t expected her to stop so abruptly. At first he didn’t understand what spooked her, but then he followed her line of sight past Lupe to the other side of the kitchen. Lupe set down the casserole dish she was washing and smiled at them, oblivious to the surprised reaction Maddie had to what was waiting for them in the kitchen.

  “Your gifts have arrived, Nathano,” she said happily.

  Nathan rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. “We see that, Lupe. Thank you.”

  He waited for Maddie to say something but she was silent as she cautiously walked towards the four towering piles of boxes and letters that sat on the dining table. Nathan wished that he had instructed the delivery man to take all of them upstairs where they would be out of sight.

  “Are these all from your fans?” Maddie asked as she circled the table in awe. Stacked neatly on the long wooden table, each pile of packages stretched up higher than Maddie’s head.

  “Yes, they’re birthday cards and presents,” Nathan admitted. “I was so preoccupied with your arrival that I forgot they were in here.”

  Maddie turned around to look at him. “There must be hundreds of them.”

  Nathan nodded. “And these are just the ones my security team has gone through so far.”

  “You have a team of people who read your mail before you do?” she gasped.

  “I have to for security purposes. The guys scan all the packages and pull aside anything suspicious. They also read every note and take out the ones that are offensive or threatening.”

  That surprised Maddie even more than the leaning tower of gifts. “Do you get a lot of threatening letters? What do they say?”

  “I don’t think there’s a lot; the security guys are just being cautious. And I don’t know what they say. That’s the main reason everything is read before it gets here, so I don’t have to see the bad ones.”

  “Wow, ok. So, are you going to try to open every one that’s here? It could take weeks to go through them all!”

  Nathan moved a few of the larger boxes out of the way so they could sit at the table to eat. “I’ll open a few, but this was one of the tasks I was going to give Emma. I thought she could read through them and organize them. “

  “Let me get this straight. All these adoring women write letters to you and first your security team reads them, then your assistant reads them, and then maybe they’ll be lucky enough to get into your hands?”

  “It helps me be able to read as many as I can. What’s wrong with my system?” Nathan asked.

  “Nothing, I’m just starting to wonder how many employees might have read the letters I sent you!”

  Nathan relaxed a little; amused by the direction her mind was headed. “I’ve been scouring this house looking for your first couple letters. I have no idea where they went, so I can’t tell you who might have read them.”

  “Oh,” Maddie replied looking perplexed.

  Nathan was smirking. “Why are you concerned? Did you write something naughty in them?”

  “What! No! But in hindsight they would probably embarrass the hell out of me if they surfaced now!”

  Nathan crossed his arms and watched Maddie’s expression as she thought about the possibility of a security guard reading one of her letters to him. He would give anything to know where they were too, but he’d been truthful when he said they’d been misplaced.

  “I don’t throw any of my fan letters away so they’re in this house somewhere… unless you sent me worn panties, threatened to kill me, or laced the letter with Anthrax.”

  Maddie’s eyes widened and Nathan chuckled. “Relax. Maybe you and Emma can search for them this week.”

  Lupe came to the table then with a large platter of food. She had outdone herself again, making all kinds of finger foods and vegetables drizzled with a warm brown sauce that smelled delicious. Nathan got up from the table to get plates and utensils while Maddie asked Lupe about the food and thanked her for cooking.

  “Do you want wine, Maddie?” Nathan asked.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  Lupe retrieved two wine glasses from a cabinet and placed them on the table just as Nathan returned with a bottle and corkscrew. “Enjoy your meal,” she said with a grin.

  “You’re more than welcome to stay and eat,” Nathan offered.

  “Yes, sit down with us,” Maddie added genuinely.

  “Gracias, but I cannot. I have four more hungry mouths to feed at home!”

  “Well, please tell me you’re taking some of this food home for them. You’ve cooked enough for an army, Lupe,” said Nathan.

  “Si, I did pack up a few plates to take home,” she replied holding up two large shopping bags. “I will be back on Monday. Have a good weekend, love birds!”

  Maddie blushed and Nathan smiled. “Thank you for everything Lupe,” he said as she waved goodbye.

  Nathan turned back to Maddie and began to uncork the wine bottle. Finally, he had his Angel all to himself. They ate dinner together in the kitchen like a normal couple. Maddie talked about her family and everything that had been happening in Amarillo. Joe had a checkup with his cardiologist and got the good news that his heart is healthy six years after the heart attack. She laughed as she described her mother’s latest business venture. Sandy has decided that she has an eye for finding antiques at rummage sales and has filled the family’s garage with items she intends to rehab and sell online. And she pulled out the new iPhone Nathan had sent her so she could share recent pictures of her nieces who were two and a half years old now, and fully embracing their “terrible two” stereotype.

  “You’re being very quiet,” Maddie commented when they were about halfway through the meal.

  “I’m enjoying listening to you talk. I usually don’t get the see the facial expressions you make when you tell me about your life.”

  Maddie chuckled. “What kinds of faces do I make?”

  “I like knowing that you look up at the ceiling when you’re trying to remember something. You tuck that one loose bit of hair behind your ear, you roll your eyes, and make all sorts of hand gestures. It’s fascinating and I don’t get nearly enough of you when we’re apart. Hearing your voice over the phone is just not enough. It doesn’t do you justice at all.”

  “Nathan…”

  “Having you here feels like watching television after months of just listening to a radio,” he explained.

  Maddie smiled, feeling shy but flattered by his words. “Hopefully you won’t be sick of me by the end of the summer.”

  Nathan stared at her thoughtfully. He couldn’t imagine ever wanting Maddie to leave; the summer was going to be far too short a time as it was. “I feel the same about you. Hopefully you won’t get homesick after a few weeks.”

  “Are you seriously worried about that?” Maddie asked surprised. What Nathan didn’t understand was that she would
only feel homesick when she returned home. And it wouldn’t be for his house or the sunny California weather; it was him that she would miss. Her life in Amarillo was now incomplete when he was away. “I can’t be homesick as long as I’m with you.”

  Nathan smiled at her and thought about what that meant for their future. He’d been giving serious thought to their geographical problems during the past few months they’d been separated. It was not ideal for dating; a few days here, a week there. Now they had all summer together, but Maddie would have to leave again before the fall semester began. She had one more year of school and Nathan was already thinking about what would happen after graduation. He loved her and was hoping that, despite the choppy blocks of time they got to spend together, their relationship would continue to get stronger. Maddie could bounce back and forth between L.A. and Amarillo while she was in school but after graduation she would want to find a job. She wouldn’t be able to just fly to California for any extended period of time.

  He couldn’t help but wonder if Maddie would consider job hunting in Los Angeles. Nathan loved her so much that even if she decided to find a job in Texas he knew he would be willing to fly there as much as he could to be with her. At some point in time he planned to talk to Maddie about these plans, but for now he wanted to just enjoy their time together.

  He placed his fork down and smiled at her lovingly. “Are you finished eating? I want to take you upstairs now,” he said softly.

  Maddie’s face flamed; she knew exactly what he meant. “Yes, I’m done dinner. And ready for dessert,” she said as her eyes flitted down Nathan’s body. When she looked up at his face again he was smirking in that sexy way that drove her crazy.