“How was the bowling?” Madeline asked as I approached her, and I could already tell something was up since, for the first time in like ever, she didn’t greet me with a big smile or jump into my arms all giddy.
“Eh,” I said, holding out my arms because I needed her in them already. “Rusty as shit. Came in last all three times.”
“Who’d you bowl with?”
“Nolan and Xavier,” I said, pulling her to me by the waist, since she still hadn’t greeted me the way I was used to. “Quino’s in Radcliffe with my dad and grandma.”
She was stiff but gave in, staring up at me. “Hang out with any girls?”
“No, babe,” I said, trying to smile with confidence. “We ran into a few as we walked out, stopped and talked with them for a minute just outside the place, right as your mom got there.” I raised a brow so she knew I knew why she was asking. “Did she call just to tell you?”
“No.” She smirked and finally wrapped her arms around my waist. “She always asks us to check in once we’re out of work and together. I texted her to tell her we’re safely here at Shelby’s. She only mentioned seeing you there with the new girl from her work to say she hoped the rumors about you and me would die down. ‘If you’re going after the fresh meat in town,’ she said, ‘hopefully the rumors would shift to that girl now.’” Madeline nudged me in the gut. “They better not.”
I laughed, trying not to sound as unnerved as this made me. “Course not. Seriously doubt any rumors will start up about my brothers and me talking to those girls for all of what? Five minutes?”
Finally, I did what I was already dying to do. I devoured her mouth, and she gladly kissed me back. Thank God. I only hoped all talk about this was over with. But when we were done, she hit me with an unexpected question.
“How do you know the new girl at Mama’s work? She said she only moved into town a few weeks ago.”
Swallowing hard, my mind raced for a proper response, and then I shrugged. “She’s been in the shop a few times, and Xavier knew the other girls with her.”
Madeline nodded, smiling big now, and I knew she was completely satisfied. I smiled back, feeling enormously relieved, even if I did feel a little like a douche for not being entirely honest. But I knew my girl too well now. No way could we have a conversation about how I really knew America without things getting ugly, even if it was way before her and me.
There was a sudden gleam in Madeline’s eyes, and I knew there was no way her mom could’ve told her about seeing America and me together before. My initial greeting tonight was nowhere near as giddy as I was used to, but I knew it would’ve been much colder if she knew the whole truth about America. That could mean only one thing. Her mom didn’t remember, and in all likelihood America hadn’t made the connection either. I realized suddenly I may’ve prematurely worried about this whole America thing. Loretta peeked out at us for all of five seconds that night. Odds are America didn’t even see her; she was too busy trying to tuck in her shirt.
“Mama’s driving out to Nashville for the weekend once she’s done with that birthday thing she had to attend at the bowling alley,” she said, staring at me with those wickedly playful eyes. “Her”—she stopped to do air quotes— “just friend, Bernie got tickets last minute to see Tim McGraw. She was able to get the weekend off, so she’ll be gone all weekend. And Maggie works both days. I’m off, so I’ll have the place to myself all weekend.”
I was already shaking my head, but the twitch in my pants coupled with her pouty lips was a telling sign I’d be giving into her as usual. “Baby, I’m gonna have a hard enough time winning your mom over. No way am I gonna risk her finding out I disrespected her in her own home.” When she started to pout again, I thought fast. “But there’s no one at my place tonight.”
I’d already told her about my dad, grandma, and Quino being out of town until tomorrow. Her eyes opened wide. “Aren’t Xavier and Nolan home, though?”
Shaking my head, I smiled. “They’re hanging out with those girls they talked to tonight.”
I knew it was still a risk. My brothers could decide to come home early, maybe even bring their dates home, but them walking in on us was not as risky as being walked in on in her mother’s home.
Madeline dug her teeth into her bottom lip, and I knew she was thinking the same thing that had me rock hard already. “Let me grab my purse.”
My heart thudded nervously as she ran into the house. She was almost eighteen and I knew her. Should this get back to her mother, Madeline would fight tooth and nail for her mother not to try and keep us apart. Yet the very thought of what I’d been so close to giving into had me so hard I needed to adjust, or this was going to be one uncomfortable ride back home.
Within minutes, we were on my bike, and I was taking the back way to my house. As expected, no one was home. “You hungry?” I asked as we walked into the kitchen from the back door.
I flicked lights on as we made our way through the house. “A little,” she admitted, glancing around curiously.
Opening the fridge door, I smiled when I saw it. “You’re in luck. My grandma made enchiladas, and there are actually some left.”
“Oh my God. Homemade enchiladas?” She turned to me with a big smile. “I don’t think I’ve ever had some. Mama buys the frozen kind.”
I made a face, pulling out the enchilada container along with the beans and rice. “I know I’ve never had the frozen kind.”
“What is that?” she asked, eyeing the other two containers I pulled out.
“Beans and rice. Also homemade. We don’t eat them any other way around here.”
“You’re kidding?” she said as she stood next to me while I opened the lids. “I’m getting an authentic homemade Mexican meal?”
“Sure are.” I turned to her, surprised to see the strange expression on her face. “What? I promise you it’s good.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that for a second. It looks delicious. I just . . .”
“Just what?” I stopped what I was doing to look at her.
“This just makes me nervous. Maggie’s the cook of the two of us. Mama always says even the homeless wouldn’t eat my cooking.” She laughed nervously when I chuckled at that. “But she says it’s okay because I could paint them a picture instead.”
“So why does it make you nervous?” I leaned down and pecked her.
“Because,” she said as I plated her dish and stuck it in the microwave. “How am I ever gonna live up to your grandma’s cooking?”
I laughed, wrapping my arms around her as I leaned against the counter and pulled her to me. “You don’t have to. But I’m sure she’d be willing to give you a few pointers if you ever really wanted to learn.”
I kissed her a little deeper this time and didn’t even realize how long it went until the microwave started beeping and I was forced to pull away.
Madeline eyed the hot plate, licking her lips. “Smells good already.”
We sat down at the kitchen table. Madeline happily ate her food as I watched, smiling from ear to ear as she groaned after almost every bite. I only ate a few bites at her insistence because I wasn’t really hungry. We’d ordered and eaten a bunch of crap at the bowling alley.
Once done and I was satisfied she was full, I gave her a tour of our house. We walked through the front room and the dining room. Then we walked down the hallway to the bedroom Quino and Nolan shared, my grandma’s room, my dad’s, and finally the room I shared with Xavier.
When we walked into the great room my dad added onto the back of the house, her jaw dropped open. “This is huge.”
I nodded, feeling a little bittersweet because I remembered my dad built it with a special something in mind for everyone in the household. I told her about the pool table and game table for my brothers and me, the large TV area for all of us, the bar for my dad and his Lion’s Club buddies, and the fireplace for my grandma, but I kept to myself about the corner reading area next to the fireplace with all the bookshelves he added special for my mother. Again, I didn’t explain it because I knew how quickly that would kill the mood.
While she took a moment to use the bathroom, I turned on the sound system and set up the pool table. I grabbed a beer out of the fridge at the bar and smiled when I saw the wine coolers left there by girls who’d previously been invited here when we’d had the place to ourselves.
“Want one?” I asked, holding the cooler up as she walked in the room.
“What flavor is that?”
I read the label and glanced back up at her. “Piña colada.”
“Ooh, yes, please.”
Just like all the other times she’d drunk around me, she babied it, taking tiny sips as I showed her how to play pool. There were a lot more moments of kissing, groping, and straight out making out than there were of actual playing. I was having visuals of lifting her onto the pool table and spreading her wide, making her cry my name out the way she does in my dreams, and it already had me hard. But thoughts of my brothers walking in on us slowed me down, until her hand was on my obvious erection over my pants.
I stiffened and she glanced up at my eyes. “I wanna return the favor. Do what you’ve done for me so many times now.” I started to shake my head even as my cock throbbed in protest. “It’s only fair and how is that more legal, if that’s what you’re worried about, than me willingly doing this to you?”
Taking her by the hand, I started toward my bedroom, my erection leading the way. We’d gone as far as I’d let things go here in the great room. We got to my room where I locked the door; then I was instantly tackled onto my bed as Madeline giggled in delight. Before I could protest, she was working the fly on my jeans. “Madeline,” I said hoarsely because truth be told I was ready to accept her argument.
She shook her head, staring straight into my eyes as her hand wrapped around my dick, and I groaned, letting my head fall back. If her hand nearly did me in, thoughts of her lips and tongue on it had me moaning already.
I watched as she pulled me out, and her eyes grew along with my throbbing erection. Knowing this was very likely her first time doing this, did something to my insides. As aroused as I was, a part of me was still terrified. “You sure about this—”
Groaning in the ecstasy of it, my head fell back again as she licked the pre-cum off the tip of my dick. I squeezed my eyes shut as her tongue began to lick my shaft; then she took me in her mouth completely. “Oh, babe,” I said, grabbing a handful of her hair gently. “Oh fuck!”
This went on for a while. It was the craziest sensation. While I felt like I could have burst at any moment, it came and went. Clearly, this was Madeline’s first time ever. It felt fucking amazing, and just the idea that she was the one doing this was enough to drive me insane, but I could already tell it might be a while. I knew from experience with other girls, it might take a few tries before she had it down to where she knew just when to slow, when to stroke, and when to suck harder.
After hearing her gag a few times, even though that, too, drove me crazy, I had to let her off the hook. “Babe, my turn,” I said, running my fingers through her hair.
She glanced up at me, wiping her mouth. “But you haven’t come.”
I smiled. “Oh, I will.”
“When?”
I sat up, smirking. “I always do—after.”
That little crease between her brows made an appearance. “Without me? That’s not fair.” I chuckled until she added, “I’m on the pill.” She kissed me before I could protest and brought my hand to her breast. “I’m so ready,” she whispered against my lips and continued to talk between longer heavier kisses. “I already know you’re the one. I’ve known it for years.”
“When’d you get on the pill?” I asked as my heart raced in both terror and excitement.
“I’ve been on it for a couple of years,” she said as her kisses got more frantic. “So has Maggie. It’s the only thing that helps with the horrid cramps we get.”
She pulled my shirt off, and already I knew she knew. Just as I did with everything else, I was about to give into her. “Babe,” I said, pulling away from her mouth and cupping her face. “You have to know how badly I want this too, but this scares the fuck outta me. If your mom—”
Her fingers were on my lips, and she shook her head with a smile. “Unless I get pregnant, and there’s no way that’s happening, how would she ever find out? Besides . . .” She kissed my temple softly three times as she unbuttoned her blouse. It never failed. I immediately felt my heartbeat calm after the third kiss. “She had Maggie and me a week after her eighteenth birthday. So she can’t be such a hypocrite. At least I’m doing this with the love of my life. She barely knew my dad.”
With a groan, I kissed her then flipped her over and started having my way with her body. I started with her breasts, sucking each nipple until they were swollen and erect. I undressed her slowly, kissing every new exposed part of her body softly, slowly, and I could barely stand it, but I wanted to take my time. I wanted to enjoy every moment of this. I could hardly believe it was even happening.
I worked my way down between her legs, loving that her entirely naked body was all mine for the taking. So far, all the times I’d gone down on her she was only partially undressed. I decided right then and there from here on, unless we were somewhere too risky, I wanted her completely naked each time I took her. As much as I loved tasting her entire body, it was her mouth I kept going back for. I couldn’t get enough of it. “I love you,” I whispered before devouring her mouth again. “Jesus Christ, I love you.”
“I love you too, Nico,” she said breathlessly when I pulled away to look at her.
We stared at each other for a moment as I began to play with her with my fingers. She was so wet my fingers slipped into her easily even as tight as she was. I continued to stare at her, watching her lashes flutter and feeling her body tremble against mine as I rubbed her engorged clit. Her breathing accelerated, and I couldn’t remember loving watching this so much. Watching her entire body’s reaction to my touch.
“This is mine,” I said, pinching her clit softly between my fingers. “All mine forever.”
She nodded adamantly with a dreamy smile. “All yours, Nico. You own me. Always have.”
I stopped to stare at her dreamy baby blues. “Always?”
“I told you.” She smiled with a nod, caressing my face. “Way back. You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted.”
“You’re all I need,” I said, and I’d never been so sure about anything in my life. “I’ll do whatever it takes to convince your mom no one will ever love you the way I do.”
She smiled even bigger, her eyes flooding just a tad. “She’s gonna love you as much as I do. I promise you.”
I wasn’t sure about that, but I wouldn’t argue. Instead, my fingers did to her what I still couldn’t believe my dick would be doing to her soon. Our kissing went on again until we were both moaning breathlessly.
“Make love to me, Nico. Show me what my body is in for, for the rest of my life.”
I slipped the rest of the way out of my pants, and now we were both completely naked. She felt so petite and delicate next to my body, but somehow our bodies felt perfect together regardless.
Her hands roamed my body, my arms, my chest, and neck as she examined all the ink I’d accumulated over the years. “I love your tattoos,” she said, gazing over my chest and neck. “They’re such a part of you, and I love everything about you, Nico.”
I leaned down and kissed her softer this time as I spread her legs with my knee gently. Spreading her with my fingers, I guided the tip of my cock to her entrance, but paused when I felt her stiffen in reaction. “You okay?”
She nodded, wrapping her arms around my neck. Despite her attempt to hide it, I saw the apprehension in her eyes, so I stopped. “You sure, baby?”
Instantly, her expression softened, and she wrapped her arms around me even tighter. It was her cue for me to keep going. I smiled and kissed her as I entered her. We kissed the entire time I slid deeper into her tight slit, and she spread wider for me as I moaned in her mouth. The feeling was indescribable, not just physically but emotionally. Never in all the times I’d been with any girl had I felt the utter bliss I was feeling now. I kissed her even deeper as I continued to slide in all the way.
“You’re so tight.” I groaned against her lips and managed to slow a little. “It’s fucking amazing for me, but how’re you doing?”
She nodded, tightening her hold around my neck. “I’m good. I love this. Love you.” She grunted as I slid in deeper but shook her head when I paused. “Keep going, baby. Don’t stop.” Of course, she didn’t have to ask twice as I buried myself deep in paradise with a grunt. “Oh my God!” she moaned. “Don’t ever stop.”
As usual, I did as she asked. Not that I’d have been able to stop now if I’d tried. Sliding in and out of her as the momentum built, it was everything I’d imagined it would be and more. “Play with yourself, baby.” I grunted, and, of course, my girl complied.
I watched in awe. As if seeing my dick slide in and out of her wasn’t beautiful enough, Maddie’s finger flicked her wet clit and then slid down to where it was soaking now. My eyes followed her hand as she brought it back to her mouth and licked it clean.
I nearly came just watching but managed to keep from exploding because I wanted her to come first. She brought her finger back down, and this time played with herself the way I could only imagine she’d done for years. She was good at it and, within seconds, began to moan.
“This feels so much better with you inside me,” she said as the tears slid down the side of her face .
A few more touches was all it took, and the moment I felt her coming around my dick I was a goner. I buried myself deep in her, surprised by all the emotion I was feeling. Typically, everything I was dealing with at this point was physical. Trying to catch my breath—trying to be cool despite having lost most of the strength in my limbs—all I could think of was how much I loved this girl. How there was absolutely no turning back now, and while I was glad for that, a part of me was suddenly terrified.
I stayed there like that until everything inside me was drained; then I gently collapsed onto her, wanting this moment to be as memorable as ever, but I could barely wrap my head around what I was feeling. We lay there silently as I drifted away to the sound of her pounding heart as it seemed to sync with my own.
It took me a few minutes to realize it wasn’t morning, then another few groggy moments to remember what happened tonight and that Madeline wasn’t in bed with me. I jolted upright, looking around. The house was silent and my heart pounded.
“I fucking passed out?” Glancing around as my eyes adjusted, I saw the light in the bathroom was on. “Peanut, you in there?”
There was no answer, and I was officially panicked. Did she have to leave? Did my brothers get here and wake her? Fuck! Did her mom show up? I pulled my legs over the side of my bed, searching for my phone when the door squeaked open.
“Perfect timing,” she said, and my heart swelled at the sight of Madeline as she walked into the bedroom.
“Babe, I fell asleep. I’m so sorry—”
“We fell asleep together,” she said, smiling as big as ever. “It was beautiful. I’ve never woken up feeling so perfect in my life!” She inhaled deeply, handing me the water I was suddenly in desperate need of, and kissed my forehead. “Your hot body next to mine, holding me so tightly . . . It’s how I wanna wake for the rest of my life.”
She kissed me after I took a much-needed swig of water. “You rested up?”
I brought my arms around her waist and pulled her to me. “Ready to go again.”
Madeline giggled as I kissed her, squeezing her even tighter. “First, I have questions.”
Swallowing back any nervousness because, for some reason, this unnerved me, I glanced up at her again. “Questions?”
“Yeah.” She nodded, tugging my hand. “About some of the photos in the great room.”
Relieved, I exhaled and stood up. I told her I needed to use the bathroom first, and she told me to meet her out in the great room when I was done. I used the bathroom then splashed water on my face. Staring into the mirror, I frowned, shaking my head. “Passing out? Really? Way to make it memorable.”
Trying to shake off the disgust, I wiped my face and hands, dried them, then headed out to the great room. Madeline was standing in front of the fireplace, staring up at some of the photos on the brick wall.
“That’s your mom, right?” she said, pointing at the photo of my parents leaning against my dad’s old Dodge truck.
“Yep, that’s her.”
I stared at the photo for a moment until Madeline slipped her hand in mine. “She was very pretty.”
“Yeah, she was,” I agreed, feeling that same heaviness I always felt in my chest when I thought of my mom.
“What does that mean?” Madeline asked, pointing at the engraving on the frame then butchering the words as she tried to pronounce them. “Amor eterno.”
I chuckled then said it myself. “Amor eterno.”
Turning slightly pink in the face, Madeline turned to me with a discomfited smile. “Sounds much prettier the way you say it.” I kissed her forehead because she was just too damn adorable. “What does it mean?”
“It means eternal love.” I stared at the photo of my mother, remembering how genuinely in love my parents had been. The pain he’d felt over losing her must’ve been unbearable. “It’s the name of the song we played at her funeral. It was written by an artist my Ama and dad say is one of the most prolific Mexican singer-songwriters of all time. He wrote it for his mother when she passed, and the words are said to make any grown man cry.”
I left out that it had. It’d been the first time I’d seen my father cry, and that alone had us all in tears. Then when I actually listened to the lyrics, I cried even more. My dad still couldn’t listen to the song even now without shedding a few tears. Neither could I.
“Tell me about her,” Madeline said, searching my eyes as she touched my face. “How’d she die?”
“Snowboarding accident,” I said simply.
“Really?” She asked, her eyes widening like everyone’s always did when I told the story. “Did she crash into something?”
I shook my head, breathing in deeply because I hadn’t spoken about this in years. “It was a freak thing. She and dad had gone on a weekend getaway for their anniversary. He didn’t even see her fall. They’d been out boarding. He said he lost sight of her for a few minutes and had begun to look for her. When he found her, she was sitting on a boulder and told him she’d fallen, but otherwise, she looked fine. They wrapped it up anyway because she did complain of having a slight headache. Dad said she told him she lost her balance and toppled over a small hill of snow, but rolled backwards a few times until a log broke her fall. She went from complaining of a headache to dizzy spells to passing out in a matter of hours. She was rushed to the hospital with my dad by her side. My dad said she woke and spoke to him for a little bit when they were in the ER, and he said she really did seem fine.” I chuckled dryly. “I still remember Ama telling us Mom was in the hospital because she’d gotten a bump on the head. When I asked if she’d be okay, Ama assured me she would but we might want to say a prayer or two to help her headache go away faster. A few hours later, I heard Ama crying in her bedroom, and I knew something was very wrong, but I was afraid to ask, and it was late, so I went to bed and prayed even more. Next day Dad came home alone with the news that Mom was gone.”
“Oh my God, what a shock,” Madeline said, squeezing my hand. “How old was she?” She brought my hand to her mouth and kissed it. “How old were you?”
We walked over to where there were more photos of my mom and dad and then some with us boys. I told her my mom was only thirty-one and I was ten when she passed and for the longest time I just couldn’t believe it. I kept thinking she’d walk through our door any day with that huge smile she always wore. That she’d fawn over us with a thousand kisses the way she always greeted us, saying she’d missed us as much as we missed her, but she never did.
“My brothers, who were even younger, took it harder.” I sat on one of the bar stools, pulling her to me. “I was mostly in denial and kind of angry about the whole thing. I was pissed at God, that’s for sure.”
“Is that why you stopped going to church?”
I nodded but didn’t elaborate. Tonight wasn’t the night to get into something so heavy. I’d already screwed it up by passing out. “Thirty-one, wow,” she whispered, leaning against me. “And your dad’s never considered remarrying?”
“Nope.” I glanced back up at my parents’ photo and chuckled. “Dad said he was so sure she was going to be fine. So was she. They’d even kidded about it in the ER. She made a comment about haunting him if she ever died and he even thought of remarrying.”
Madeline smiled, but it felt cautious, as if she weren’t sure I was okay with being playful about this. “You think that’s why your dad never remarried?”
That actually made me laugh. “No. He just had his hands full with four boys to raise on his own. Well, he and Ama, thank God. He’s always said relationships are a handful, and unless a girl came along who was completely worth it, he wasn’t willing to give into the drama. So I guess she never did.” I shrugged. “I’m sure he’s taken care of business on the down low, but we kept him too busy for anything else, that’s for sure.”
“Taken care of business?” She raised a brow. “You don’t think your mom would’ve preferred he remarried and had a real relationship—someone who could’ve helped raise you guys—rather than him just taking care of business?”
Shaking my head, I leaned my forehead against hers. “We had Ama. And she did an awesome job. We didn’t need anyone else.”
“Well, I can’t argue with that, but still.”
“Still what?” I asked, smiling because she couldn’t seriously be feeling defensive for my dead mother.
“I’d haunt you.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” I said, kissing her neck even as she squirmed. “You’d want me to be happy and taken care of.”
She squirmed even harder, play-punching me in the stomach. “You’re nuts if you really believe that. I so would haunt your ass, Nicolas Cortez.”
“No, you wouldn’t, babe.” I lifted her when she tried to pull away, and she yelped but giggled. “Wouldn’t it make you feel better to see me move on and get lots of loving from—”
The playful punch wasn’t so playful the second time, and I feigned having the wind knocked out of me. “From who?” she asked, twisting my wrist.
“It wouldn’t matter, right?” I started toward my bedroom even as she kicked and squealed for me to let her down. “If you’re gone, I mean.”
We got to my bed where I dropped her, but I was immediately on her before she could squirm away. “So I guess it wouldn’t matter if I—”
“Well.” I nipped her bottom lip before she could finish the thought. “Let’s not get ridiculous.”
At first, she fought my kisses but gave in, and I devoured her mouth for a few minutes until we came up for air. Madeline lifted her finger in the air and wiggled it around. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, it’s done.”
“What’s done?” I asked, peering at her.
“It’s written in the vault.” She pointed at her head. “Up here. If I go before you, I will haunt you until the day we’re back together.”
I laughed because I couldn’t believe she was still on this. “I believe you.” Now she laughed but caressed my head softly. “Amor eterno,” I added with a whisper as I kissed her softly.
“That’s perfect,” she whispered, kissing me back, but then her smile waned. “I can’t even imagine what your poor dad must’ve gone through. It must’ve been so hard for all of you.” She winced before adding. “I’m so sorry you lost your mom so young.”
Smiling softly, I kissed her, not wanting this to get heavy again. “Nolan probably took it the hardest since he was the youngest.” I paused and shrugged. “It did suck at first, but we made it. Thanks to both my dad and Ama, I think we turned out okay.”
“You turned out perfect.”
“You think?” I smiled, pecking her softly.
“I don’t see how you could be any more perfect?”
“I do.” I started to undo my pants, and her eyes widened. “Now let me take care of business.”
The play punch got me again, but she was laughing. “I don’t ever wanna hear you call it that again, Nico. I’m serious.”
“Alright.” I lifted her blouse and took her nipple into my mouth. “I’ve already made love to you. Now I wanna fuck you.”
Thankfully, she moaned at my wording instead of balking at it. Given the go-ahead, I pulled down her shorts and proceed to fuck my girl until she was screaming my name out again.