Madison

The trip back was nice. We talked about everything and nothing at all, we laughed, I told him to go to hell because he laughed again at my advice, and we talked about Cole again.

“I still can’t believe Cole Knight is gay. Actually, I just don’t understand it.”

“What don’t you understand?”

He goes on, looking at the road, “Why doesn’t he just come out?”

“Because of his family, his father, patrimony, prejudice...”

He runs his hand through his hair.

“Nowadays, we have the freedom to be whatever we want, Madison. Everything in life requires some sort of sacrifice, but even so, no sacrifice is so great we should give up on our freedom. Prejudice is a crime and we have legal ways to deal with it.”

“He’s the CEO of a multinational company, he gave his blood and sweat to that place. If he steps forward with his sexual preference today, there’s no doubt that his father will disown him and remove him from the position he has struggled so hard for. And why so much interest?”

“I just don’t think it’s fair that people don’t get to have the freedom to live their lives the way they see fit. Whether it’s Cole, Aidan or anyone else.”

The night had just fallen when we parked in front of my house. I quickly get ready, grab a few things, and he drops me off at the club, saying that he’d send Frank to pick me up to go home, his home.

I barely stepped into the Secret Garden and I already knew that the problem was Selena again. I find her and deal with the situation with ease, I give her a notice. In thirty days, she won’t be working here anymore. I go to the Office, analyze the list of dancers who can replace her, the chosen girl will have to undergo an intensive course before taking the stage.

I walk through the place, check if everything is in order, and Ramon gives me some things to get done. As soon as I finish my work, I return to the Office and find Rebecka, staring at a painting.

“Becka?” She turns and smiles.

“You’re still here? I thought you left already.”

I sit in the chair facing her.

“I decided to stay a little longer.”

“Sorry for ruining the trip. But I had already argued with Selena before, things got complicated...”

“No problem.”

She shuffles in her chair, “How was the trip?”

“It was great. The place is beautiful.”

“That’s good. And how are things between you and Noah?”

I run my hand through my long hair.

“Good. I guess. Noah is not an unstable person but, these last few days, he’s been acting so strange. We spent almost ten days just texting, and then, he makes that beautiful surprise, taking me to the Coast. But his eyes say there’s something wrong, I just don’t know what it is.”

“It must be some complicated case. Otherwise, we’d know what is going on by now.”

The phone on the desk rings, and Rebecka answers.

“Hello,” she opens a smile, “She’s here, yes, I’m passing it to her. See you,” she hands me the phone, “Noah.”

I answer the phone, “Hi.”

“I’m waiting you for dinner,” His voice is low, deliciously sexy.

“I’m on my way.”

“Okay, See you soon.”

He hangs up, and I’m left with a silly grin on my face, staring at nothing. This man is incredible, his body, his voice, his coc...

“Madison?” Rebecka calls me and I see she’s laughing. “You’re in love!”

My smile evaporates, and I react as if they’ve thrown a bucket of cold water at me. As much as I wanted to fall in love, I don’t know if I’ll ever be capable of doing it again.

“No,” I say, shaking my head, “Noah is a good person, hot, and I adore him. But that’s all.”

Her smile falls apart.

“Madison, not all men are the same. I doubt that, one day, Noah would ever cheat on you. And besides, it’s time to get over...”

I get up and walk towards the door, “Okay, Mom... See you tomorrow.”

I greet Frank in front of the club and we head towards the Lancaster State. On the way, I am distracted by what Rebecka said, that I need to get over it. I’m already over it. It’s just that, the moment what I have with Noah becomes something more, I’ll be giving him the power to hurt me, and that is a risk I don’t want to have in my life. Nobody is perfect, people make mistakes, disappointments are part of life, I just don’t know if I’m willing to lower my guard again.

As soon as the car stops, I get off, and Frank comes towards me, “When will you finally let me do my full service, Maddie?”

I roll my eyes, “I don’t know how to be a madam, okay? You’re lucky I agreed to sit in the backseat.”

“Was a lot of work to get that done, by the way,” he says, smiling.

“You’re getting old and cranky, Frank. It’s not good for the heart,” I say, laughing, as I head for the door.

One of the women working at the house opens the door for me. I keep asking myself why so much pampering? As I approach the living room, I hear Alyssa screaming at Noah. Unusual. I never thought I’d see that.

“How can you be smiling right now, Noah? My God, you were my role model and now you’re nothing but a liar!”

Noah’s tone is low, “Alyssa, please...”

“No, fuck you! It’s time to fix this, Mr. Judge.”

I walk into the room, and they both look at me at the same time. Alyssa comes up to me and gives me a hug.

“Hi, Maddie,” her eyes are sad and cannot meet mine. She must be embarrassed because I witnessed the fight.

“Hi, Aly. It’s everything alright?”

She smiles, uneasy, “Yes, it is. Let’s have some dinner? I’m starving, and we were just waiting for you.”

“Of course... I’m just going to wash my hands.”

Alyssa walks past Noah, and he looks sad, watching his sister walk away. One thing I know, they’re not in good terms for some reason. That’s what must be messing with Noah. I go to him, hugging and kissing him.

“Good evening, Your Honor.”

“Good evening, my Red,” his smile, even sad, is beautiful.

We sit at the dinner table and Christopher shows up, in a bad mood for a change. He sits beside me, and Martha serves him. I put my hand on his back as a gesture of affection because Chris really doesn’t look well.

“What happened, handsome?”

He throws three blue envelopes on the table, “Invitations to my engagement party,” his tone shows scorn and it scares me.

“Chris, if you don’t want this, then don’t just go along with it. You and Audrey won’t make it if you take that path,” I tell him.

He turns to me.

“It’s not her. You have no idea what it’s like to have your whole life manipulated and decided for you. What’s more, I wasn’t even part of the decisions. The engagement was supposed to be six months from now, but my publicist moved it up to leverage the polls.”

“It’s the price you pay for an ideal, man,” Noah says.

“I know, it’s just... I just don’t know...” Christopher turns to me, “How was the trip?”

“I loved it. The place is incredible.”

He smiles.

“Yes, it is.”

“Did you know that, in less than twenty days, it’s Maddie’s birthday?” Aly smiles, “We’re having a party, what do you think?” she asks me.

“I don’t think anything, because I don’t celebrate my birthday. Forget about parties, gatherings or anything like that,” I tell them with a serious face.

“We can have a party...” Noah says looking at Alyssa.

I cut them off, “No, you cannot! Now, if Your Honor wants to please me with million-dollars jewelry, I’m in. I even have a plan for them already, I’ll pawn them and run away with Frank.”

Everyone starts laughing. Dinner was peaceful, despite the white elephant in the room. There’s something serious going on between Alyssa and Noah, added to Christopher’s irritation, the vibe was tense. Then, the two of them went to talk in the Study, and I went after Aly in her bedroom. I knocked on the door, and she opened.

I go in, sit down, and analyze her.

“What’s going on between you and your brother, Alyssa?”

She turns away from me.

“Noah is not who I thought he was... or maybe he’s changed, I don’t know. He’s always been my role model for everything, I always had the best brother. In my eyes, Noah was perfect,” she alters her voice, “Then he screws up and acts like it’s okay, but it’s not! God, I’ve been hating him lately.”

“Calm down,” I reach for her hand, “Look at me. Nobody is perfect and we’re all susceptible to make mistakes, Noah is no different. Whatever he did, forgive him. Because he can be judged by everyone, Alyssa, but he couldn’t bear to be judged by you, the young sister he always cared for. Don’t ever say that you hate him, that would destroy him, he couldn’t bear to hear this from you.”

“I know, but I’m so… very angry,” A tear trickles down her face, “You wouldn’t understand...”

“Maybe I wouldn’t, Alyssa, but you don’t have to understand him, you just need to be by his side. It’s just you two against the world.”

She holds me tight.

“I wish I could change everything, Maddie. I wish I had the power to go back in time and change everything.”

I dry her tears.

“I’d want that too, Aly. Maybe today I’d be wiping the tears from a niece who fell off a bike and hurt her knee, or my sister’s tears because of a silly movie, or just watching TV with my father. But we can’t go back, and it’s better that way, otherwise we wouldn’t have the opportunity to learn from our mistakes.”

“Thank you for being like this...” she hugs me again, and I’m emotional. No one has ever thanked me for being the mess that I am.

 

***********************************

 

The days go by, and we work tirelessly. We’ve been training the new girl for weeks now, to take Selena’s place. Rebecka and I decided to invest in one of the background dancers, those that are only part of a choreography. Cindy is a gorgeous brunette, but we wanted to turn her into a femme fatale. She’s a little shy, we’re also working on that side of her.

For her theme act, we’ve chosen something more classic. The Hill by The Weeknd, will give the perfect beat for a sexy dance. She’ll strip, but not everything, what counts are the movements, the hips, some squats. In short, the way she moves her body will make a difference. At times, we want her to look like she’s having sex, all according to the bit of the music.

Her outfit will be a black leather dress, opened from behind, we think it’ll be cool if she asks a client to open it. Also, men have a fetish for leather. Her makeup will be heavy, loaded on black, red lipstick, high heels, elbow-length gloves and high stockings to complete the look. Her debut will be next week, by then, we’ll have to get her ready.

As the choreographers go through the steps with Cindy, I smile, thinking of this morning. I was awakened by a handsome, tall, blond and incredibly strong man, singing Happy Birthday to You in my ear. My first gift was a kiss, followed by other kisses on the body, licks, bites, and epic sex.

“I was going to bring your breakfast in bed, but Martha and Alyssa insist on you joining them,” he says, looking at me, and I have the impression he can see my soul. I try to pull away, but Noah doesn’t let me. “Will you stop moving so I can finish wishing you a happy birthday?”

“Yes...”

He stays on top of me, holding me with his weight. His hands frame my face and his gaze is so sweet it moves me.

“I want your days to be enlightened, may God protect you throughout your journey, keep your tongue sharp and this body smoking hot. But most of all, I wish for Him to keep that big heart of yours protected. I adore you, Madison, a lot! Even more than I should. But I adore you, all the same. Congratulations, my devilish Red.”

I roll my eyes, “I like your romanticism, Your Honor,” I kiss his mouth, “I adore you too, Noah.”

He kisses me softly, opens my legs and slides his cock inside of me, making me the happiest woman in the universe. We didn’t have sex, we didn’t fuck, we made love. Well, until he pulled my hair, from there it became a delicious fuck.

It’s very easy to get along with Noah, our days are very easy going. He asks for nothing, demands nothing, he only gives. He’s extremely affectionate and makes a point of showing it. He likes to touch me whenever possible, to intertwine his fingers in mine or in my hair.

I come back to reality with the phone ringing in my pocket. I look at the screen and see his name, as if he knew my thoughts were with him.

“Good evening, Your Honor. How can I help you?”

“I want you here, Madison,” he says, so sweet, “Don’t take too long, please.”

“How can I say no to that? I’m on my way.”

His voice sounds worried, “For God’s sake, Madison, be careful. I haven’t recovered from that accident you had a month ago.”

“Yes Sir. I’ll see you in a bit,” I say goodbye and we hang up.

Since I went back to sleeping in his house, he’s been lending me his bike, so I can come to work. He wanted to negotiate, but with me it’s Yes or No. I check a few things before I can leave the club, confirm some reservation for a group celebrating a bachelor party. All done! I can go home.

I go to the garage and get on that dream machine. This bike is beautiful, a BMW that speeds like crazy. I get into New York traffic and head for the Lancaster State.

The distance is considerable, but it’s not too far away. As I pass through the gates, I can see three cars parked in front of the house. Two of them, I know very well, I don’t need to think twice to know to whom they belong to, but there is a third one I don’t recognize and it’s very old. Christopher and Benjamin are there. Probably Noah and Alyssa invited them to have dinner with us. I shake my head, smiling. What more could I want out of life? I have friends who adopted me and that always make sure that I feel I’m part of a family.

I take off my helmet and go inside, I hear altered voices and I rush to the living room. I see Benjamin holding Rebecka and Alyssa crying in Chris’s arms. Martha is pale, I turn in the direction where everyone is looking, and I notice Carly next to Noah, who is... devastated.

My heart tightens, something is very wrong. I take a few more steps forward and everyone notices I’ve arrived. Noah takes a step towards me, Rebecka walks in front of me.

“First of all, you bastard, tell her. Be a man, Noah,” she says.

“What’s going on?” I ask in a low tone, fearing the answer.

Noah opens his mouth to speak, but it’s Carly who answers first.

“I’m Pregnant.”

I think I just went deaf. Did she say she’s pregnant? A pain goes through my chest. I lower my head and try to digest the news. They had a long relationship, it’s possible that she was pregnant when they broke up, they just didn’t know it yet. I look at her belly and see that she’s too straight, but Carly is very thin, she’s not showing yet.

I head for the stairs with my helmet still in my hand. I need to step aside to process all this and to give Noah some time with the mother of his child. The conversation we had in Boston comes immediately in my head: “If Carly was pregnant with your child, would you still break up with her?” I remember his reply very well, “No!” he answers with conviction, and a shiver of fear makes its way through my body, “If she was carrying my baby, we’d be together, forever. I’d do anything to keep my family together, be that with Carly or anyone else.”

I stop on the second step and, before I can control myself, I ask, “How far long, Carly?”

“Seven weeks,” she answered without hesitation.

I quickly do the math. Seven weeks ago, I had that motorcycle accident, and the other day I slept in Rebecka’s house. When I got back home, I noticed something strange about Noah, and after that we spent a few days apart. The Son of a Bitch cheated on me...

“Madison...” I hear Noah calling me. I look at him in disbelief.

“You cheated on me.” He comes toward me, and I stretch my arm. “You cheated...”

“Madison, I don’t even remember what happened that night. It’s like I blacked out...” His voice is desperate, “I don’t know how she ended up in my bed ...”

“What? In your bed?” I ask in even more disbelief, “Are you telling me you slept with her in the bed we shared, while we were together?”

“Madison, please believe me...”

I go back down the stairs and I walk towards him, I ask Rebecka to hold my helmet and punch his gorgeous face, specifically, his nose. I hear others talking loudly, but I don’t care, they can all go to hell. My hand hurts bad, I shake it to try to get rid of the pain.

I look around and see sadness in the eyes of Alyssa and the guys, but it makes no difference, not now. I look at Alyssa again and realize that’s why she had that big fight with Noah. She knew he cheated on me. God, and I told her to stand by him.

I was cheated on before and, at that time, I lost my mind, I ended up losing every family reference I had. Today, despite having punched his face, I can at least save my dignity. I fix my clothes, turn to the mirror that covers part of the wall, tidy up my hair and take my helmet back.

I turn to Christopher, Benjamin, Alyssa and Martha, standing on one side.

“Martha, if you could pack up the few things I have, I’ll be eternally grateful. Send them to the club, please,” I look at Rebecka, “We’ll talk later.” I turn to Noah and CarLame, “And to you two, My Congratulations! I pity this poor child, it hasn’t even been born yet and it already has a very heavy burden to carry. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

I swallow my crying, put on my helmet, get on the bike, and leave in a rush. I want to run, feel the danger prowling around me, the adrenaline going up and not thinking about what just happened. I check the speed, one hundred miles an hour, I want more. I push it to the limit, making use of everything it has to give me. I go, round and round, until I can’t take it anymore.

I stop in front of the club, and it’s packed. I get off the bike and drop it on the ground. I head to the side of the building, where there’s some leftover wood from a remodel. I pick up the thicker one I can carry, I go back to the bike and smash it. Two of the club’s bouncers hold me back, but I still manage to do a lot of damage. I love bikes, but that’s Noah’s bike, and I hate Noah.

When they tried to hold me down, my hand cracked, and it hurt a lot. I scream in pain, Cole shows up and takes me to his car, from there, we rushed to the hospital. They get some tests done to see if it’s broken, but it was just a sprain. They gave me some strange meds that made me dizzy and I blacked out.