“Much better,” Moving back, he pointed his camera and continued taking pictures of her kooky antics which he found hilarious.
After about a few dozen photos, she asked him, “Do you know how many pictures you’ve taken over the years?”
“Probably thousands, I’ve never really counted because I’ve done so many.”
“Do you have a favorite?”
“A favorite, well I can say that there is one that I took the other day that turned out to be my absolute favorite.” He winked seeing her blush a bit when he said it but everything he stated to her was true. When he came home to develop the pictures he took of her in the garden, Austin knew they were his best ever. Her alluring looks and brilliant smile made her a precious prize to be won by the right man and he hoped maybe, just maybe he could be the one.
“Austin, you know the picture that you wanted to take with the silk sheet…why don’t we try and take it.”
“Are you sure? I mean remember I told you—”
“I know you said it was up to me and I want to go on ahead and do it. Besides, I won’t ever get a chance like this again, might as well take advantage of it you know?”
Austin gazed into her eyes and he knew she was ready to do it. “Alright, come on.”
“But you have to make me a promise Austin.”
“Anything,”
“If we do this photo, you have to promise to not to try and put any moves on me.”
Holding up his hand and crossing his heart, he swore, “I promise,” Going over to the table where he’d left the sheet and pants, he grabbed them both and went to hand her the sheet. “You can go over to that room over there and change.”
Chapter Five
It was about ten minutes later when Madison came out of the room, the softness of the silk along her skin felt warm as she had finished the rest of her wine. She felt like she was floating around in her own body as she softly walked barefooted into the room where she saw Austin setting up a small box fan. When he turned around, Madison had to shut her mouth quick before her jaw ended up falling on the floor in front of her.
His chest was like an artist dream, so chiseled and perfection in its prime. He looked tan from head to toe as he stood wearing those pants. He smiled when he walked towards her, feeling those hands rubbing her arms as if to assure her that everything would be all right.
“We will make it quick and then we can get back into our clothes.” Walking over to the window, Austin pushed the sheet back so that the fan would be able to hit it.
She could feel the heat from his body against her back as his hand rested on her stomach. Her initial instinct was to grab his hand, which she did. “I’m sorry,” she told him.
He started to chuckle a little. “No, it’s alright it will be over sooner than you think. Now just relax Madison,” he whispered in her ear.
His warm breath seemed to relax her even more. The butterflies seem to flutter down lower between her legs as he nudged her ear with his lips. She had to laugh because it was funny what he was doing and before she knew it, a picture was taken.
“You have a cute laugh do you know that?” he whispered some more as he turned her around to face him.
She gazed into his eyes, those beautiful green eyes of his—a big mistake—as she wondered what they’d seen over the years.
“I wouldn’t be lying if I told you that you’ve got to be the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.” He moved a tendril of her hair from her face.
“You know you are going to get into a lot of trouble if you’re thinking of doing what I think you are going to do. Remember you made a promise,” Madison reminded him.
He closed his eyes for a moment. “I’ve been thinking about it ever since I first met you. I just wanted to taste those lips one time and be thankful that I was able to have them touch mine.” Instantly, he opened his eyes.
Madison swore she saw a flash within them. “You are a smooth talker you know that?” She giggled.
He laughed and quickly kissed her before she realized it, catching her completely off guard while he held her. His lips were soft and tender as his fingers ran through her hair. She held his forearms as he nibbled her lips hungrily while his tongue tasted hers. My God, this can’t be happening, what are we doing? We weren’t supposed to do this. But damn, he sure knows how to kiss. While his hands roamed her body and their kiss grew more intense, the flashing of the camera continued without them seeming to care, as they were so into one another.
When he slowly stopped kissing her, she opened her eyes to look into his. “Damn!” she said while moving from his embrace. Pulling the sheet around her shoulders, Madison walked back into the room and closed the door.
Standing up against the door, she could hear him shout out, ‘FUCK!’ as she groaned in misery. Slowly sliding down to the floor in a groaning heap, she smacked her own forehead over and over again saying, “Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid girl. How stupid can you be?” she mumbled to herself while shaking her head. Running her hand midway into her hair, she let out a deep sigh, and it only gave her small satisfaction of relief. “Let me get my clothes on,” Quickly she gathered her clothes and put them on.
When she emerged from the room, she saw him getting on his shirt as walked up to her. “Listen Madison I am so sorry about me kissing you like that. I had told you no hanky-panky and I ended up kissing you.”
Still blown away by the kiss, Madison didn’t know what to say or think at the moment but she ended up smiling. “I have to admit it was an amazing kiss. Something that I don’t think I’ll forget in a long time. But I think I better go because it’s getting late.”
He looked upset as he stared at her face. “I’ll meet you down there, let me get my shoes,” he said.
Nodding her head, she went down the stairs.
When they got outside, Madison stopped at the car. “I really did enjoy the evening Austin, I had a lot of fun and dinner was great. I can’t wait to see those photos later.”
“They will turn out beautiful because I had a lovely subject,” he replied while holding her hand.
It got really quiet for a moment, that uncomfortable silence between two people when they don’t know what in the world to say or do next. But she watched as Austin stared down at her hand and eventually, kissed it. “Goodnight Madison.”
It felt like a surge of lighting had gone through his lips, onto her hand and through her body. “Goodnight Austin.” She got into her car and drove away. She still felt those butterflies in her stomach though. Wow. That was just…Wow!
When Madison pulled into the driveway and turned off the car, she sat there for a while and thought about how the evening had gone. She still couldn’t get over that kiss, damn why did he kiss her and why was she still thinking about how good it was? Girl you need to get over it for now and move on. But how in the hell can you get over such an amazing moment like that? Getting out of the car, she slowly walked towards the front door, taking a deep breath before she opened the door.
“And how was your evening young lady?” Jonathan joked.
Madison plopped down on the couch next to them. “Oh, it went just fine, took some photos, ate some dinner, had a nice conversation and now, I’m beat.”
Jonathan turned off the television. Kissing Candace and going over to kiss Madison on the cheek. “Well, I’m headed off to bed. I’m glad everything went well Madison, good night.”
Candace advanced quickly next to her sister. “Ok, what happened? I want details and don’t skip a damn thing.”
“Well, there is nothing much to say except that we took some photos, he made me dinner which was awesome, we drank a lot of wine...and he took a lot more photos…”
Candace nodded her head. “And…?”
Madison looked around the room as she shrugged. “And he kissed me.”
Candace’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. “He kissed you? No way!”
“Jesus woman, do you want to wake up the entire
neighborhood or something? Yeah, he kissed me right in the middle of a shoot.”
“So how was it?”
“What do you mean how was it?”
“You’ve got to tell me how it was Mad,” she whispered this time. “I told you how it was with me, so it’s only fair that you tell me, so fess up.”
“It was amazingly hot. I wasn’t expecting him to do it but he went right on and kissed me. He felt so guilty afterwards because he promised me that we weren’t going to be doing anything else other than the one shoot scene. I guess the moment was just right and the heat between us was cosmic.”
“Madison’s in love.” Candace joked with a giggle as they both got up and went walking down the hall to her room.
“Am not, will you stop picking on me woman!”
Both of them laughed as they went into her room.
With Candace right behind her, Madison knew she was going to be interrogated for the rest of the night.
“So what are your plans for today?” Jonathan asked the next day.
Madison glanced up at him as she’d been thumbing through the newspaper. “I need to check back with the firm, it’s been a while and I haven’t heard a thing. Other than that, probably nothing since Candace and the kids are out for the day.”
“Well, you can go into my office and use the phone to handle your business there.”
“Thanks.”
When Madison did make the call to Mildred, her secretary, she never would have thought that so much chaos would have been going on during her absence.
“Madison, when are you supposed to be off of this hiatus?”
“Do you guys miss me that much?”
“Man, it’s been so hectic here, it’s unreal. Bob is about to lose it and Tim, well I can’t tell you what Tim has been shouting around here lately. I don’t want to offend you over the phone.”
Knowing Tim, Madison knew what he was capable of saying. “Well, I wasn’t going come back home till next week.”
“Listen Madison, if you are having as much fun as I know you deserve, then don’t come back till next week. We can manage here, unless I call you.”
“No, if you guys are in that much craziness, then I need to be there. I will be home tonight. Anyways I kind of miss working. I’ll be seeing you tomorrow at eight.”
When she went back into the living room, Jonathan he asked, “How was everything?”
“Seems like they really miss me, at least Mildred does because Tim and Bob are about to raise the roof. Something is going on there and I know they need me for it. I better get my stuff together, so I can be ready for the morning.”
“You know you don’t have to go back yet.”
Madison smiled. “You sound like Mildred, she told me that I didn’t have to come back, but I have to admit I miss working. Even though I needed to be around family for a bit, I’ve got to get my mind back to work.”
Jonathan nodded. “What do you think Candace will say about you leaving?”
Madison rolled her eyes and laughed before leaving.
He chuckled for they both knew what would happen when she found out.
“You can’t leave just now, why in the hell are you leaving to go back to work?”
“The firm needs me. I talked with Mildred and she told me that it’s been crazy there.”
“Well, what about Austin? Don’t tell me that you forgot all of a sudden about him.”
Shit, I forgot about Austin.
“I’ll just call him when I get home and tell him I had to come back because of work. He will understand.”
All her sister could do was shake her head and put her hand on the suitcase she had been packing. “Don’t walk away from the opportunity of a lifetime, sis. You don’t know if you will get this chance to meet a man like Austin. Paul was an asshole to screw up your marriage by sleeping around. Austin is perfect for you. I don’t know why you won’t give him a chance?”
Madison sat back down on the bed, even though she knew her sister was right, deep down she felt that if she left now, things between them wouldn’t go any further. “I just—I just can’t Candace. Even though he might be the ‘perfect’ man and all, I can’t risk it, not right now.”
“You can’t keep dwelling on the past with Paul. I know together, you had some great memories with him but now you’ve got a fresh start in life and you can have it with Austin—”
Madison cut her short. “I need to finish packing.”
So just like that, the conversation was closed and Candace soon left her to finish packing.
“Why do you have to go Auntie?” Jon Jr. pouted as she gave him and his sister a hug.
“My work needs me right now sweetheart. But you know I had fun being with you two while I was here. Don’t worry, I will be back soon to visit and play some more. I’ll call you when I get home and make sure that you know I made it home safe and sound all right?”
Both nodded their heads, walking over to their dad.
Candace pouted at her sister which made her laugh. “What is that all about?”
“Just make sure you call him and let him know that you’re not here. I can hear him calling for you as soon as you leave out,” she reminded her.
“I’ll call him I promise.” Getting into her car, she drove off, making her way back home.
The familiarity of the town she lived in Brookhaven was a somewhat welcoming sight. She’d called Patrick ahead of time to have him bring over Mr. Puff since she knew he probably had given him hell while she was gone. Mr. Puff didn’t care much for men, even though he was a boy himself. He always followed behind her, everywhere she went. When she was in her office, he rested underneath her feet or if he really wanted her attention, he would jump up on her desk and sit on the keyboard.
When she pulled into her driveway, she had already opened the garage door to pull into, Madison let out a sigh. “Home sweet home,”
The house looked just like she left it as she opened some windows to let the light in. It took her a while to put her clothes up as well as answer the thirty messages on her voice mail, most of which were telemarketers. She remembered she had to call Austin and that was what she had been mainly procrastinating about doing. Scrambling into her purse, Madison found the card in the side pocket and grabbed the cordless to dial the number. Sitting down on the couch, she bit her lip waiting for him to pick it up but she jolted a bit when hearing that amazing voice on the other end.
“Hello?”
“Hello Austin, its Madison.”
“Madison, I was just thinking about calling you. I got a call to do a shoot in Spain and another shoot back in France again. I’ll be gone for a month. I had to call you before I left.
“Wow, that’s a long time. I was going to call you because I had to come back home. My firm needed me.”
“I guess us meeting again was probably not in the cards then. But I would like to keep in touch with you while I’m gone. Is there any way I can have your address? Maybe I can write you while I’m away.”
She smiled at the thought and gave him her address as well as her work and home phone. She didn’t think anything of it but if he said he was going to write her what harm could come from it?
“Listen, I have to finish packing because the guys will be here to pick me up. Can I ask you a question before I get off the phone?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Will you miss me while I’m gone?”
Madison had to smile. “Yes, I will.”
“It’s good to be missed by someone as sweet as you which really made my day. Goodbye Madison and good luck on your case.”
“Goodbye Austin, have a safe trip.” Madison felt as giddy as a school girl after that call. Just hearing his voice made her feel good and when she heard the doorbell, she knew her brother would be there. When she opened the door, she had to laugh when she saw the exasperated look on his face.
“Take your cat!” He came inside and put down the carrier.
When she bent down
to open it, Mr. Puff immediately came out, purring up a storm around her feet as he stretched for her to pick him up. “How’s momma’s big boy doing? Did you miss me? Was he that bad with you?”
“Bad wasn’t even the word, he was stubborn as hell, he scratched up the side of my couch and he tried to bite me twice,” Patrick muttered.
Madison still couldn’t help but laugh as she gave him a hug. “Even though he gave you hell, I want to thank you for taking care of my little man.”
“At least you got the chance to get away from this place. Why did you come home so soon?”
“Mildred said that a big case came along and they needed my help.”
“Sis said you were running away from Austin,”
Madison could have smacked her sister for running her mouth. “How do you know Austin?”
“I don’t but Candace gave me the details.”
“Good grief, is no secret sacred in this family?”
“Not if Candace knows about it first.” He chuckled.
Madison continued grumbling over her sister’s constant meddling.
“Don’t worry about her, she was just looking out for you, but if I had been you, I would have stayed to see what would happen between you two.”
“He had to leave the country to do a shoot, so it wouldn’t have mattered anyway for me to stay. Sure, I could have stayed on with Candace and stuff but I miss work too much.”
“I hear you there with work. I can’t stay away from the studio, especially while in the midst of recording another album. Speaking of the studio, I’ve got to head on back.” Giving her a kiss on the cheek, he headed out.
She moved around her house doing some straightening and settling in.
Later that night, while Madison slept, her dreams were of a kiss that never seemed to have left her lips the moment they touched. How he held her in his arms which she could still feel while she slept. It was a vision she couldn’t get out of her head to save her life. The thought had been implanted deep within her mind. In a way, she really hoped it would stay there for as long as it possibly could.
Chapter Six
Curly Q Page 4