Playing for Keeps

by Hill, Jamie

  "Well, I'd think I have a week of vacation I need to use up, and I might as well use it then."

  "Really?" Maddie's excitement bubbled over. "I think a week in bed sounds like the perfect vacation!"

  Nick clutched his heart.

  Maddie tossed her head back and laughed.

  He put his cigarette out and wrapped his arms around her. "You might kill me girl, but what a way to go."

  "Holy smokes, I think so too! So how about a weekend in bed right now? It's going to be a long two weeks until January."

  He nuzzled her neck. "If I spend all weekend in bed with you, I'll need those two weeks to recuperate."

  "It's a plan." She kissed him, and nudged her tongue toward his lips. "Kiss me, I want to taste you."

  He obliged, and they kissed until they were both panting.

  "What was I thinking?" he muttered, pulling away.

  She looked at him, confused. "What?"

  He took a breath. "I've got a hot eighteen year old who wants to keep me flat on my back in bed…and I had to stop and think about it?" He looked at her and grinned.

  Maddie laughed. "You think I'm hot?"

  "Sizzlin'."

  "Wow." She put her head on his chest. "No one has ever called me 'hot' before."

  He snorted. "No one may have said it, but I'll betcha lots of people thought it." He ran his hands down her back to her butt. "But then, nobody has ever seen you quite the way I have, now have they?"

  She looked into his eyes. "No one," she said quietly, and kissed him again.

  Maddie went home to Hartford for Christmas. It was surreal to her, being there where everything was the same as it had always been, when she didn't feel like the same person. She had to borrow several sweaters from Zoey to hide the marks on her neck. She faked illness Christmas Eve to stay home from church because she didn't have a dress that would cover the hickeys.

  She lay in bed and smoked one of the joints Nick had given her instead. She tried to call him, but he wasn't there. He said something about spending Christmas with his old man, but Maddie's head was foggy and she didn't remember. She curled up and went to sleep, with visions of Nick, rather than sugarplums, dancing in her head.

  Christmas morning, her mother rapped on her door and stuck her head in. "Merry Christmas, Maddie! How are you feeling?"

  Maddie opened her eyes. "I don't know, yet," she answered truthfully. Pot didn't cause a hangover like beer did, but it definitely messed with her mind.

  "Put your robe on and come downstairs. We're going to open presents and have breakfast. That should make you feel better."

  "Give me a minute," Maddie answered, and her mother shut the door.

  Maddie went to the bathroom then put her robe on. It barely covered the marks on her neck, but she thought it would be okay. It would look more suspicious for her to get dressed, because they always did Christmas in their robes and pajamas. She ran a brush through her hair and ambled down the long staircase to the living room.

  "Good morning!" Her father called to her jovially. "Feeling better?"

  "I guess," Maddie said. "Merry Christmas."

  "Merry Christmas!" he replied.

  Maddie looked at her father in his big leather chair. He was tall and lean with thick wavy hair and a smile for everybody. He was in the insurance business, which meant he was a smooth negotiator and could usually manipulate things to his advantage. That was fine in the office, or on the golf course, but it was another story for Maddie at home. She was his little girl, his pride and joy, but also putty in his hands, because when it came to decision making power, she had none. He had it all. "Hi Daddy." She kissed his cheek.

  "Sleep well?" He smiled at her.

  "Very well," she answered truthfully.

  "I didn't," Maddie's brother Matt said as he came into the room yawning. "Too excited, I guess."

  Maddie looked at him. I could give you some Kahuna Gold pot that would knock you right out. "Excited for Christmas? What are you, like, ten?"

  He yanked at the bow tied around her waist which kept her robe closed. She clutched at the robe and gave him a dirty look.

  He grinned. "At Christmas, isn't everyone about ten? As the man once said, it's the most wonderful time of the year!"

  Maddie groaned and dropped into a corner of the sofa, retying her robe.

  Her father looked at her. "You should help your mother, Maddie. She's bringing juice and croissants."

  Maddie gave her father a "you're joking, right?" look and Matt spoke up. "I'll help her." He went into the kitchen.

  She watched her brother go, disgusted with his early morning cheer. Matt, now he was the true Golden Child of the family, whether they realized it or not. He was two years ahead of Maddie at Yale, and enjoyed the traditional college experience. He was in a fraternity, the yacht club, and the National Honor Society. He was also blessed with the same bright, red hair that he and Maddie had inherited from their mother. But Matt's freckles covered his face while Maddie just had a smattering. He wore gold, wire-rimmed glasses which Maddie suspected would suit him later in life in the business world, but for now she wondered how he ever got anywhere with girls.

  Matt returned, carrying a tray with juice and four glasses. Their mother followed with a tray of croissants. "Here we are," she announced.

  Maddie watched her mother set the tray down and serve everyone. Usually, the maid did the serving, but she was given Christmas off. Meg was quite capable, though, and handled everything she did, from serving to planning a charity event, with style and grace. Maddie thought she was beautiful, with her long, flowing hair and clear complexion. The problem with her mother, Maddie thought, was she spent so many years with a domineering husband. Meg had learned to be controlling herself, so Maddie had it coming at her from both directions.

  "Thanks, Mom." Maddie accepted a plate.

  "Are you feeling okay?" Meg asked.

  "I think so." Maddie wrapped her robe around her tightly.

  "Then let's open presents!" Michael announced, and they did.

  Maddie had gone shopping the few days she had at home before Christmas, and found a simple gold necklace she knew her mother would like. She chose a classic striped tie for her father, a clichéd gift, she knew, but he wore ties all the time and liked nice ones. For Matt, Maddie bought a book on yachting, which he seemed pleased with.

  Maddie also purchased a black AC/DC 'Highway to Hell' t-shirt for Nick. The skull on it looked just like the tattoo on his left arm. They had agreed to buy one small gift for each other, and they would celebrate Christmas together on New Year's Eve. Maddie had to figure out how to get out of her parent's annual New Year's Eve party. She had a week to work on that.

  Maddie received a mountain of clothes and jewelry from her parents. They were nice things, but not exactly the style she was wearing these days. Matt gave her a 'Guide to Harvard' book with information and pictures of things around the campus. "Thank you," she said graciously, thinking to herself 'doorstop'.

  When the gifts were unwrapped, Matt gathered up the wrapping paper trash while Maddie collected dishes on the trays and carried them back to the kitchen. She rinsed the dishes and loaded the dishwasher, as Matt returned from carrying out the trash.

  "Nice clothes mom picked out for you," he said.

  "Yes, they are."

  "Better than those ugly turtlenecks you've been wearing all week."

  "It's cold out." She turned away from him but he tugged at her robe tie again and yanked the robe open. "Stop it!" She grabbed her robe around her. "You perv, trying to get a glimpse of something on your sister?"

  "Just your neck." He grabbed her. "And look-it here, just what I suspected. Hickeys. Jesus Maddie, a ton of them!"

  "There is not." She closed her robe tightly. "Leave me alone."

  He stepped close to her. "Are you doing it Maddie?"

  "Oh, for God's sake, go away." She shoved him.

  "Is it Alec? I'll pound that little jerk if I find out he's sleeping with yo
u."

  "It's not Alec," she insisted. "It's not anyone. Just leave me alone. I'm eighteen, for crying out loud, and if I wanted to do it, it would be none of your business."

  "It might be Dad's business," Matt told her. "I don't think he's sending you to Harvard to screw around."

  She pointed a finger at his face threateningly. "Leave Dad out of this. If you say one word to him, I swear, I'll make your life miserable. And I can do it, too, brother. Make no mistake about that." Maddie hoped something in the look on her face suggested he drop the issue.

  He chuckled nervously and took a step back. "You better be careful. No one wants to marry a slut."

  Maddie laughed. "Who said anything about getting married? And don't knock sluts 'till you've tried one. You might be surprised at what you're missing!" She left him with a shocked expression on his face, and went up to her room to smoke another joint and try on clothes.

  Later that night, when her family was otherwise occupied, Maddie phoned Nick and he answered this time. "Yep."

  "Hey, baby," she purred at him. "Merry Christmas."

  "Merry Christmas to you, too. How's it going?"

  "Not bad, thanks to the early Christmas present you sent along with me. It's the only thing that keeps me sane."

  He chuckled. "If I recall it has another effect on you, as well. How are you handling that?"

  "Handling, being the key word, there." She chose her words carefully in case someone picked up the extension.

  Nick laughed, understanding that when the weed made Maddie horny, she masturbated for release.

  "Just don't tire yourself out," he advised. "Get rested up."

  "You, too. I just wanted to say hey. I'll try to call you again in a couple days."

  "Find a pay phone," he told her. "I have some things to say to you."

  "You got it. Bye, now."

  "Bye." He chuckled, and hung up.

  A few days later, Maddie called Nick from a pay phone and he told her exactly what he was going to do to her when she returned. She promised to hurry back, and drove home figuring out a way to leave Hartford early. She had a plan formulated in her mind by the time she arrived home, and called Alec at his house in Hartford.

  "Hello, Maddie! How was your Christmas?"

  "Great, Alec. Yours?"

  "It was great, too. I got the coolest new tennis racket."

  "Wow, cool," Maddie agreed. "Hey, would you have some time to go out for a coke in the next couple of days? I'd like to talk to you."

  "Sure! Tomorrow afternoon works for me."

  "Great! Pick me up?"

  "Yes. How about 2:00?"

  "Perfect. I'll see you tomorrow." She hung up, feeling slightly guilty about using Alec, but wanting very much to get home to Nick.

  Alec wasn't so sure he liked being used, either. Maddie told him there was a party she wanted to go to in Cambridge on New Year's Eve, not exactly a lie, it was a party for two. She needed an excuse to leave home early.

  Alec was attending intercession classes, and was leaving for Cambridge early also. Maddie convinced him to talk to her parents with her, and tell them there was a frat party with no alcohol New Year's Eve, and ask if he could escort Maddie to it.

  Her parents liked Alec. He came from a good, old Hartford family, and he was a responsible young man. They agreed to let him escort Maddie to the party, and she could stay at school for the intercession.

  Maddie floated on air as she walked Alec to his car in the front driveway.

  "I'm not sure I like this," he muttered under his breath.

  "It's fine. Thank you so much for helping me out." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and hugged him, pressing her breasts into his chest, for a moment.

  Alec closed his eyes as she touched him, Maddie knew he liked her and probably wished they really were going to a party together. She felt another twinge of guilt. "If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know."

  He chuckled at her suggestively. "That's a loaded statement."

  Maddie shrugged. "You just have to ask, you know that. I'll see you back at school, sometime." She shivered without a coat in the December air. She jogged into her house, stopping in the doorway to toss Alec a little wave, then closed the door.

  Chapter Seven

  Maddie groaned and tried to lift her leg with the cast on it. "Damn," she muttered. "I'd hoped it was just a bad dream."

  Rob lifted his head off her pillow and yawned. "Nope, it was real. A living nightmare. How's it feel today?"

  "Like a big, heavy pain in the leg. Want me to kick you with it so you can feel how heavy it is?"

  He chuckled. "No, thank you. Want me to do something to try and get your mind off it? We're alone in the house, if you recall, so you can make all the noise you like."

  Maddie ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not sure I feel up to that."

  Rob flopped over onto his back and clutched his chest.

  "Stop it." Maddie laughed, and slapped his chest.

  "Well I'm sorry, but I can only think of a couple times you've ever turned down sex, and one of them was in the hospital when we were trying to get your labor with Stacie started."

  "Yeah." She laughed again. "You thought if I had an orgasm, it might get things rolling."

  "Who knows?" He shrugged.

  Maddie pulled his head on to her chest. "How about we lay here for a minute and hold each other? That always makes me feel better."

  "Umm, me, too." He snuggled into her, and they held each other.

  Maddie finally said, "Okay, now I have to pee."

  "Bathroom's through there." Rob pointed.

  Maddie lifted her cast as if to drop it on him. He rolled out of bed and stood up. "All right, all right. Want me to carry you?"

  "Yes, please." She smiled sweetly at him, and he carried her to the bathroom. He went to get her crutches, and when she was finished he handed them to her.

  "No time like the present."

  "I don't think I can use these," she complained.

  "Well, I don't think I can carry you around for a week. Try it, please."

  She hobbled into the bedroom and collapsed on to the bed. "That's as far as I'm going. I'm exhausted already."

  "It's a start." He crossed his arms. "You want to get back into bed?"

  "I think so. I don't feel very good." She squirmed under the covers and Rob smoothed them over her.

  "Can I bring you anything?"

  "A pain pill?"

  "You need to eat something." He handed her a pill and some water.

  "No, thanks. I just want to sleep."

  "Okay. Would it bother you if I showered?"

  "Go ahead." She raised a hand, and dropped it again. So sleepy.

  When she woke, several hours later, she felt lousy, but had to go to the bathroom. She used one crutch and made her way in there, swearing the whole way. When she came out, Rob was there. He slid next to her and helped her get back to bed.

  "How you feeling?" he asked as he settled her in.

  "Really bad. I feel achy, and generally like crap."

  Rob chuckled, and sat on the bed next to her. "You should probably try to eat something so you can take another pain pill."

  "I'm not hungry at all. But another pain pill sounds good. Actually, I could use a joint."

  Rob gave her a funny look. "Yeah, well, dream on, sister. And please, be careful joking about that with the kids in the house."

  She looked around. "The kids are here?"

  "Well, no. But they could have been."

  Maddie waved him off and closed her eyes. "Just bring me the pill, okay? I'll take my chances."

  Rob stood up and headed to the bathroom. "Thought you promised not to be so grumpy today." He returned with the pill and a glass of water.

  "Bite me," she muttered, and swallowed the pill with a gulp of water. "Just want to sleep."

  Rob looked at her for a moment, then left her to sleep.

  Maddie woke late in the afternoon feeling very groggy. "Hey!
" she called.

  Rob appeared in their doorway. "Hey. How you feeling?"

  "Really, really bad. Will you sit with me?"

  "Of course." He sat on the bed next to her, and rubbed her back as she tried to get comfortable. "Maybe if you ate something, you'd feel better. You haven't had anything since last night."

  "Don't even want to think about food. Sheesh!"

  He smoothed her hair. "Even with morning sickness, you still wanted to eat. I wonder if those pills are doing more harm than good?"

  "I don't know." She shook her head. "Play your guitar for me, please? That always makes me feel better."

  Rob stared at her. "I'd be happy to. If I had a guitar. And if I knew how to play it."

  Maddie looked at him. "Okay." She closed her eyes again and fell asleep.

  It was dark outside when she woke again. Her head felt a little clearer, and she was hungry. "Rob?" she called.

  He came to their doorway and smiled at her. "At least you know who I am, this time."

  "What?" His comment confused her.

  He shook his head. "Any better?"

  Maddie nodded. "I think so, a little. I'm hungry."

  "Good! I called the doctor and he thought maybe you were having some kind of reaction to those pills. He said to stop taking them and use aspirin if you need something."

  She nodded and sat up. "What time is it?"

  "Almost seven."

  "At night?" She looked around. "Where are the kids?"

  "Dee's keeping Sophie a couple more days, since it's her weekend anyway. She's taking the rest of the week off work."

  Maddie made a face. "I don't know about that."

  He sat on the edge of the bed. "You were incapacitated, so I made the decision on my own. And I asked Mom to keep the babies, one more night."

  "I'm not sure that was a good idea, either!"

  He stood back up. "Madison Cooper, a couple of hours ago you were delirious, asking me for joints and to play the guitar. I made the decision you could use one more day before the kids come home, and I took off work the rest of the week. Please don't give me any static."