I should’ve been prepared. Madeline was as impetuous about our lovemaking as she was everything else. Every chance we got, no matter where we were, if it was possible to get away with it, she was all for it. In fact, she was usually the one initiating it. As much as I enjoyed it and would never pass up the chance, a part of me was still trying to think ahead. I’d have my hands full trying to win over her mother—who for as much as Madeline said it wouldn’t matter once she was eighteen—and I had no intention of being the cause of any riff between them.
Madeline could say it all she wanted, but it was clear how close she was to her mother. Almost as close as she was to Maggie. I’d have liked the transition from doing things on the down low to being an official couple out in the open to be as painless as possible. I knew Loretta would not appreciate the fact that, not only had I taken her baby’s innocence, I’d been doing it all over town. Despite this being legal, I’d still had dreams of opening up my front door and Loretta standing there with her shotgun, cocked and aimed at my face.
But for as much protesting as I did, I’d accepted that as long as it was within reason, and didn’t pose a real threat, I’d likely never say no to my peanut. It was why I agreed every time she wanted to go explore up and down the river.
Several weeks after the incident at the bowling alley with America and Loretta, I was sure I was in the clear about her mother remembering seeing me in that alley with America way back. I knew Madeline would’ve mentioned it because America did come up a couple of unnerving times since. The first was when Loretta’s van was getting serviced one day this past week and Maddie and Maggie picked her up at the end of her shift. They’d gone into the feed store to look around since they got there early, and Madeline said she’d met the new girl in town.
“She’s pretty,” she’d said a bit strangely to which I didn’t even respond.
I’d been in the middle of checking Madeline’s bug’s engine for a weird noise she said it was making, so it’d served as a perfect excuse to seem distracted. Oddly enough, Madeline left it at that and didn’t mention it again. So I figured if her mom had said anything more about America, Madeline certainly would’ve had something to say about it.
The next time was a few days ago when we agreed to meet by the lake Friday night and I got there before her. I’d been standing with Xavier, Nolan, and a couple of other guys when Tracey walked over to talk to Xavier with America and Rebecca in tow. I was as indifferent with America as I always was now with any other girls. But she still walked over to me to ask how I was doing. Of course with my luck it was when Maddie’s bug drove up.
America may have been new to town, but even she knew the drill now. Even before Madeline and I had become sexually active, we’d made it pretty obvious to anyone who might think otherwise that we were both off limits. So before Madeline had even gotten out of her car, America walked away to the other side of the group I was standing with.
I’d had a feeling something was up when Madeline didn’t immediately approach me. So I’d walked over to where she, Maggie, and Shelby stood by her car. To my surprise, she smiled as brightly as ever and kissed me openly in front of everyone. It was something she’d only begun doing after we’d first made love. Before that, we’d still been trying to at least make it seem like the rumors about us were just that, rumors.
They say time flies when you’re having fun, and this past year sure as fuck had proved the saying. I couldn’t even believe it when she first mentioned it, but Madeline’s eighteenth birthday was fast approaching, and she’d already told me she was telling her mom first thing. I was dreading it as much as I was anxious to get it over with. But trying to talk Madeline into keeping it on the down low just a little longer wasn’t going to happen and I knew it. So her kissing me openly didn’t even surprise me. What did unnerve me that night was her odd behavior and her glancing back in the direction of America.
Then Shelby and Maggie walked away for a moment to chat with a few other girls, and it was when Madeline explained. “Those girls,” she said, glancing back at them again. “You mentioned the night you went bowling that your brothers hung out with them after.” She’d paused to look at me. “It’s why we had the house to ourselves, right?”
I’d nodded, afraid to say more because it felt like a trick question, and my heart was already pounding nervously. After all was said and done, she’d made me promise not to say anything, but apparently Maggie and Nolan kept in touch the whole time he’d been away. Only Maggie being the opposite of her sister preferred they keep things way on the down low. Since he’d gotten back, they’d hung out a few times, and Maggie had begun to think there was more between them. Now she’d heard a few rumors about him and Rebecca.
It explained the strange behavior and why the girls had all stayed away rather than approach us as they normally would’ve. I was even more relieved now that Madeline didn’t know more about America and me because her reaction to the rumors of Nolan and Rebecca was a clear indication of how she might react to hearing something similar about America and me.
“She’s not gonna admit it, Nico, because I think she’s embarrassed, but I’m sure she’s a little hurt. He knew she’d be here tonight. Why the fuck is he standing there so blatantly flirting with that girl?’
I explained the girls had just walked over and that I doubted he knew those girls would be here tonight. Thankfully, before she could finish telling me not to make excuses for him, Nolan had the sense to walk over to where Maggie was and hung out with her instead.
But I’d since concluded that if Loretta was going to rat me out, she would’ve done so already. It was silly to think Loretta might still be buying that the ongoing stories about Madeline and me were still just rumors. Her telling Madeline about the night in Kings Falls would be something she’d gladly share, if she remembered it or had made the connection about America.
Already seeing Jenna anywhere in or around town when I was with Madeline was awkward as fuck, and it always took a while to snap Maddie out of the weird mood it would get her in. The last thing I needed was another chick making things uncomfortable for us.
Then the river cave happened.
During our many river explorations for the perfect secluded spots, we found a cave way out, and, of course, Madeline convinced me to help clean it out so that it’d be our place. We’d been out several times and even bought and placed snake repellent in and around it since we’d seen a few the times we’d gone out. Not even her sister had gone out with us because Madeline was adamant the cave be our special place.
Because of the incident by the lake and America obviously being around more, I was all for doing things away from the town’s crowds. It was just safer and less unnerving.
We both had the day off, and we were out at our cave again. I was in the middle of carving a huge M&N with a heart around it in the cave, one I started the first time we were here, when Madeline stepped out of the cave to take a call.
“It’s Mama and the reception sucks in here.”
She kissed my cheek as she walked away, and I hardly gave it any thought since I was so engrossed in what I was doing.
Several minutes later she stormed back in. “You and America?”
My heart nearly stopped as my head jerked away from my carving to look at her. She looked ready to spit. But before I could even respond, she went on. “You fucked her in an alley? When were you planning on telling me about this?”
I dropped the rock and took a step toward her, but she flinched and stepped back. I held out my hand cautiously. “That was a long time ago.”
“So you really did?” Her voice went up a few notches. “Mama said it looked like maybe you two were making out in that dark alley, but you really did fuck her?”
I shook my head, feeling like a fucking idiot, and took another step toward her, even as she backed away again. “We’d only been out there a few minutes; we were interrupted by the car your mom was in.”
“Why hadn’t you told me?”
“It was a long time ago. Way before you and me.”
“So you’ve slept with her? This bitch that twice, that I know of,” she said even louder, “has approached you since she moved here. Is she trying to hook up with you again?”
“No.” I shook my head as she backed up into the cave’s wall behind her. “We’ve barely exchanged a few words.” I reached out to touch her, but she slapped my hand away. “Calm down.” I held my hand up in front of me cautiously.
“But you slept with her?” I shook my head. “Don’t lie to me, Nico. I know you too well now.”
Gulping, I reached for her hand again, deciding just to be honest. “I did.”
She slapped my hand again. “Don’t touch me!”
“Baby. . .” I reached out and caught her flailing hands in mine. “It was a long time ago,” I said calmly even as she tried to pull her hands away from mine, but it only made me hold her tighter. “I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d be upset for no reason.”
“What do you mean no reason?” she screeched as I pressed my body against hers to keep her from struggling with me. “You don’t want me even talking to guys who only kissed me, but it’s okay for you to stay in touch with this alley whore you fucked?”
“Stop saying that.” I pressed my cock against her because even seeing her get this worked up was strangely arousing, and I was already having visuals of fucking her in this cave.
“Why?” she snapped, but her fight seemed to wane when I rubbed myself against her again. “It’s the truth, isn’t it?”
I ignored the second question but answered the first. “Because it sounds ugly and this mouth”—I nipped her bottom lip— “is too beautiful to be saying ugly shit like that.”
Her eyes dropped down to my lips for an instant but were right back up glaring at my eyes in the next second. “I don’t want you around her.”
I let go of one of her hands so I could slip my hand into the back of her jeans. “Whatever you want.”
She brought her hand to my chest and tapped it. “I don’t wanna hear that you’ve even been talking to her.”
“Done.” I undid the buttons of her pants with my other hand.
“I mean it, Nico,” she said even as she wrapped her arms around my neck, and her body trembled when I yanked her pants and panties down. “If I even hear that—”
My lips were on hers as I kissed her roughly because I was done talking about this. She had to know I’d never do anything to risk losing her. Working fast because I needed to be inside her now, I pulled her top over her head. “Take off your bra.”
Her blue eyes twinkled as she did what she was told. She even slipped her feet out of her pants and panties as I undid my pants and pulled out my aching cock. I had her just the way I loved her, perfectly naked. I started to suck each of her tits like a crazed man but then spun her around because I knew it was how she loved this. “Bend over, hands on the wall.”
Just like before, she did as she was told, and I groaned at the sight of her beautiful ass up and ready for me. I plunged into her with another groan. It was a good thing this cave was so far out and secluded because, within minutes, she was moaning loudly as I fucked her hard.
I had no doubt now that her mother was onto us. Why the fuck else would she call her just to tell her about America and me after all this time? I fucked her even harder as the angry thoughts invaded my mind. But the anger was fleeting since hearing Madeline cry out in pleasure inevitably had me smiling. This was my girl now, no matter what Loretta might have to say about it.
Still, I thrust even harder, with a purpose each time, until she was crying out my name in ecstasy. With one last thrust, I buried myself in her as my cock drained every bit of the tension that built up over this whole America bullshit.
Leaning against her, I wrapped my arms around her warm naked body and kissed her nape. It took a minute before I caught my breath enough to be able to speak. “I love you, Madeline, and I’d never do anything to hurt you,” I said into her ear. “You believe that, right?”
She didn’t immediately respond until I squeezed her a little tighter and she nodded. “Good,” I said, kissing the side of her face. “Because I never wanna see you this upset over another girl. There may’ve been plenty of girls in my past, but there’s only one in my present and future. I’ve known it since the day I first kissed you.” I slapped her naked ass lightly. “Never forget that. I live for you, baby.”
Turned out Loretta hadn’t even been sure America was the same girl in the alley she’d seen with me. I fessed up for nothing, damn it. I didn’t really want to talk about it anymore, but I had to know. Was Loretta really trying to cause problems between us over something that happened so long ago?
Madeline explained that, for weeks, Loretta had been saying she was certain she knew the new girl at her work from somewhere else. Because of the not-so-common name it’d finally come to her that she was the same waitress that waited on her way back in that restaurant in Kings Falls—something I was not aware of.
Even then, she hadn’t put America and I together in that alley. I’d been right about her not having gotten a good look at America in the alley. It wasn’t until my dad went into the feed store the day of the confrontation in the cave. America and one of the other girls who worked there began gossiping about the Cortez brothers loud enough for Loretta to hear. America mentioned how I drove out to see her a few times when she lived in Kings Falls. Loretta realized she just might’ve been the girl out in the alley with me that night. But she couldn’t be a hundred percent sure about America being the same girl in the alley. She was only sure she was the same America who’d waited on them.
Curiously, Loretta said she didn’t ask America about it because she said she didn’t want to embarrass the girl. But she did say the only other female waitresses there that night were older and the rest of the servers were guys.
Still, I could’ve gotten away with just denying it, had I not panicked so quickly. In hindsight, though, I know now, just as Madeline could be sneaky when she wanted to be, she’d approached me using words she knew would rile me and get the truth out of me.
“Dude, you’re nuts,” Quino said as he walked into the back room, carrying the bouquet of M&M’s that apparently had just been delivered to the shop.
The big Mylar balloons attached to it all read things that made my stomach cringe: I love you and Happy anniversary. Even the Happy Birthday ones were all heart-shaped. But today was the day. As predicted, Peanut’s grandma wouldn’t be leaving the hospice any time soon. She’d lost both feet now, was completely blind in one eye, and they’d likely be removing her lower right leg soon if the infection she’d picked up didn’t clear up soon.
Through it all, Madeline said her grandmother was still the same firecracker she’d always been. She was still arguing with the nurses and Loretta. She hated being fussed over when clearly in her delicate state she should have been.
“Who’s that for?” My dad started to ask but then seemed to realize and shook his head.
“She’s eighteen today, Dad,” I explained.
“So what? That girl’s mama’s claws are still just as long.”
“Well.” I stood up to examine the bouquet I didn’t realize would be so big. “Maddie seems to think now that she’s eighteen she’s free to date whoever she wants. If you think Loretta’s a demanding spitfire, there’s no denying Maddie’s her mother’s daughter. Loretta’s baby girl is legal in every way now. So it’s on.”
I smirked, despite my churning insides. I’d known this day would come for a year now. Still, my heart had been pounding about this every time I’d thought about it, for weeks. Madeline’s grandmother had known about our relationship for months now, and she actually approved. Madeline had told her all about our plans to join forces and expand my dad’s business together. Apparently, her grandmother was all about soul mates and didn’t care about the Cortez brother’s bad rap.
“She said if anyone could straighten one of you bad boys out that’d be me.” Madeline had laughed when she said it, but her grandmother was spot on. Before Madeline, the only thing I’d done any planning for as far as my future was concerned was the possibility of expanding the shop to sell bikes. I’d put zero thought into starting a family someday or building my own place. With forty acres of land on my dad’s property, he’d always talked about all four of his boys building their homes there someday and staying close together. He’d love it if he knew I’d already started looking at plans for building a home for Maddie and me.
A year ago my brothers’ jaws would have hit the floor if they knew, but at this point, I didn’t think anything regarding what I’d do for Madeline would surprise them. Like everyone in town must have known by now, even Loretta for that matter, I was a changed man because of Madeline. Though my grandma would argue there wasn’t a whole lot of changing that needed to be done.
“Boys will be boys. So you all were a little wild and you like your tattoos. You were raised to be respectful, and that’s all that matters. It’s why that guerrita is so hell bent on fighting for this relationship in spite of her mother’s reservations about you.”
I told my grandmother what Madeline had said about how her mother would love me too, and my grandmother said she didn’t doubt that for a minute.
“All we mothers ever want for our kids is someone that’s going to love them with as much passion as we love them. And you, Mijito”—she’d smiled, shaking her head— “estas perdidamente enamorodo.”
Apparently, Ama said she’d been nervous about it from the moment way back when she’d caught the way I appeared to be struck by Madeline that very first day at the café.
“There’s no way her mother won’t see it. You couldn’t hide it if you tried. That alone will win her over.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Xavier said, staring at the box-shaped outline on my front shirt pocket. “What the fuck’s that?”
I nearly groaned with exasperation as his question got the attention of my other brothers and dad, and now they were all staring at me. “It’s our anniversary too,” I said with a shrug.
“So you’re gonna propose?” Xavier asked, even more wide-eyed.
“What?” Quino and my dad asked in unison, taking a few steps closer to me.
Nolan was already laughing it up, bringing his fist to his mouth. “Dude, you’re insane.”
“No, I’m not proposing, ass,” I said, trying in vain to step away, but I was surrounded now, so I stopped and dropped my head back. “It’s just a little something I got her for our anniversary.”
“Let’s see it,” Xavier said, and before I could protest, he swiped the box out of my pocket.
“Probably his balls, so she can hang them from her rearview mirror,” Nolan said, cracking himself up. “Dude, she really got you this twisted?”
I stopped short of telling him to shut the fuck up, only because my dad was there, smirking too. Clearly, they were all getting a big kick out of this, so I’d let them have their fun and not turn this into something ugly.
“This is a ring.” Xavier stated, quieting the chuckles as the smile he was just wearing went flat.
“A promise ring,” I said before they tackled me and tied me up because it felt like they just might. I shrugged, trying to play it down. “We’ve been together a year now. I’d say that’s about right.”
I explained quickly how we both still had lots of things we wanted to do—accomplish—before we started talking anything crazy like getting married. “This just sort of symbolizes a promise that it’ll happen sometime way down the line.”
Quino leaned in to get a better look at the ring. “Kind a diamond is it?”
I shook my head with a shrug because I didn’t even know. I was on a budget, and I’d been clueless about how much diamonds really cost. So when reality hit, all I was concerned about was price. Nolan leaned in now to get a better look too. “I’ll tell you what kind that is?” We all turned to Nolan, surprised he’d know anything about them too. “That’s a Knarly diamond right there.”
I glanced at the ring then back up at him. “How do you know?”
“Knarly see that shit!”
In the next second, they all burst into laughter, and I snapped the box out of Xavier’s hand. “Alright, I’m done.” I stalked away as they continued to laugh heartedly—even my dad.
I grabbed the bouquet and headed out the front door even as my idiot brothers and my dad yelled out a few more cracks about the tiny chip of a diamond. I should’ve known they’d bust my balls about it, and if it weren’t for my knotted-up insides about where I was headed, I might have been chuckling too.
But I wasn’t.
Madeline was finally taking me to meet her grandma at the hospice today. She couldn’t wait even a day after her eighteenth birthday to get this out in the open officially. The plan was I’d meet her grandma first before Loretta got out of work. When she did get out, she’d head straight to the hospice as she always did, and I’d be there with Maddie and their grandmother. God help me.
When I arrived at her house, I was greeted with the usual giddy hug and kisses I was used to. She was especially full of squeals this time, given the huge bouquet I arrived holding. After handing the birthday gift to her, I pulled out my anniversary gift and she went silent.
She set the bouquet down on the table just inside the door. Before she even took the other gift, her hand was already at her mouth.
“Happy anniversary,” I said, handing it to her.
She smiled even as her eyes welled up and she reached for it. I hoped the fact that I wasn’t down on a knee was heads-up enough before she got too ahead of herself about what it might be. She opened the box and her hand was back over her mouth. “I know it’s not much, Peanut,” I said with a wince. “But it’s just a promise ring. A promise that someday I’ll have so much more to offer you.”
With her face already crumbling and her sweet brows pinching tight, she took it out of the box, but I reached for it so I could slip it onto her finger. “It’s more than I could ever ask for,” she said, wrapping her arms around me the moment the ring was on her finger.
After a long satisfying extra-tight hug, she pulled away to look at it again. “It’s beautiful, Nico. I love it.”
“Yeah?” I asked with a slight wince but kept my brothers’ comments about it to myself.
Nodding, she kissed me again then wiped the tears away from the corners of her eyes. “I can’t think of a more perfect anniversary gift. Thank you, baby. I love you.”
I kissed her again, and we held each other for a few moments. Feeling her sigh so deeply had me smiling big and forgetting about the angst I’d felt the whole way there. But it was fleeting; in the next few minutes, we were getting ready for a trip to the hospice.
“I’m not gonna lie, babe,” I said as she hopped in my dad’s delivery truck. “I’m nervous as fuck.”
“Don’t be,” she said, looking back with a big smile at the embarrassingly big bouquet she insisted on taking to the hospice for her grandma to see. “I’m not worried about it at all. Even Maggie’s noticed how Mama’s toned her comments about you way back lately. Mama knows me too well. As passionate as I am about everything, she knows we’ll be butting heads—ugly—if she keeps trying to argue that you’re not the absolute best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
After a long deep kiss and another one of her reassuring smiles, I felt a little better, but my heart sped right up again and my insides roiled as we walked into the hospice.
I walked behind Madeline, turning heads as nurses and others we passed glanced up at the giant bouquet and all the balloons. We walked into the room where her grandma, who was wearing an eye patch and looked surprisingly frailer than I expected, glanced up at me with her good eye and smiled.
“I’m diabetic, boy.” She turned to the M&M bouquet. “I can’t have candy.”
Madeline laughed. “They’re for me, silly. I wanted you to see what my sweetheart got me for my birthday.” She smiled coyly, looking up at me, then added, “And our anniversary. I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Nicolas Cortez.” Madeline reached out and slipped her hand into mine, squeezing it in the process with a big giddy smile. “Nico, this is Grandma Betty.”
With one hand full of the bouquet and Madeline’s hand in the other, I nodded with a smile. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, ma’am. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Her grandmother had that same animated brow Madeline shared with her mother and twin. She cocked it but smiled. “Nice to meet you too, young man. I’ve heard oodles about you.”
I cleared my throat and laughed nervously. “All good, I hope.”
“Not all,” she admitted with a shrug. “But then if I sat here and named a single person I’ve known in life who was all good, then I’d be a liar. Maddie hasn’t exactly been all good either now, has she?”
Madeline turned to me with that naughty smile I loved so much; only now it made me uncomfortable as shit. How much had she told her grandma about us?
Feeling a little sweaty suddenly, I put the bouquet down where her grandmother motioned for me to do so.
“I gotta tell you,” Betty said as we both took seats next to her bed now. “You always know who’s gonna turn out good kids and who’s not. Your daddy and grandma done good with you boys, despite what all the talk in town’s always been. Your mama dying at such an early age of your lives couldn’t have been easy. And I don’t care what my uptight daughter thinks. I think all those tattoos suit you boys just fine. Just don’t get any on your face. It’s too pretty to muck up.”
“Pretty.” I smiled a little easier now and turned to Madeline. “Now that’s another one I’ve never been called before.”
We sat and talked with Betty for a while longer, interrupted by nurses who, to Betty’s obvious annoyance, came in and checked on her often. About forty minutes later, when I was finally feeling a little relaxed, my heart nearly stopped when Loretta walked in the room and froze on the spot when she saw me.
“Mama.” Unbelievably, Madeline was smiling big as she stood up to greet her. “Look what Nicolas got me for my birthday.”
I wasn’t sure whether to continue sitting or if I should stand as Loretta turned to the bouquet and I watched her read the balloons. All I knew was I was having trouble breathing—swallowing.
That Hellman cocked brow appeared, and her mother turned to me then Madeline. “Madeline Avery Hellman. Anniversary? So the rumors are true?”
“Oh, Mama.” Madeline giggled, and now I was on my feet. “You know if I’d owned up to them, you would’ve never allowed it. But we’re in love. Isn’t that the sweetest bouquet ever?”
Loretta turned to me, brow still arched sharply. “I suppose that giant M&M pillow she sleeps with every night is from you too?”
Before I could even respond, Madeline was giggling again. “And the necklace, the sweatshirt, the boot slippers. All of it, Mama. He really is a good guy.” She turned to me with that same enamored smile I’d seen so often and took a deep breath. “Treats me like a princess. You can ask Maggie. It’s why he’s here today. Look what else he got me today.” She held out her hand, and Loretta’s reaction was similar to my brothers’ reaction, so Madeline went on quickly. “It’s a promise ring. We wanna do this right and with your blessing because we have plans.”
Now Madeline turned to me, giving me the floor. Was she fucking kidding me? But I was just as annoyed with myself. Why hadn’t I thought to go over what we were going to say to her mom.
I cleared my throat because they were all looking at me as if waiting. “First of all,” I said and cleared my throat again even as Maddie squeezed my hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally officially meet you, Ms. Hellman.” She nodded but didn’t say more, so I went on, trying not to speak too fast, but I was nervous as shit, so I started to blurt it all out. “My dad’s gonna expand the shop. Maddie and I have been working on designing a new logo and more custom-made designs for the biker apparel. Maddie’s already looked into taking some business courses so she can be fully hands-on once . . .” I turned to Madeline, not sure if I should tell her mom everything we’d been talking about, but Madeline nodded, giving me the go-ahead. So I turned back to Loretta. “. . . once my dad retires and we get married and take over with my brothers.”
As expected, her mother’s eyes widened again like they had when she had seen the ring, and she turned to Madeline. “Get married? Madeline—”
“We’re talking a few years from now, Mama. His daddy won’t be retiring until at least that long, and I wanna get my business degree before then. But we’re only telling you now because we want you to know this isn’t a silly little fling we’ve been having.” Madeline turned back to me, slipping her hand in mine. “We’re in love and this is very serious.”
“Well, I think it’s great, sugar,” Betty said, smiling big then frowning when the nurse walked in. “Come over here so I can see that ring? Madeline happily walked over and let her grandma examine it. She looked up at me with a wink as if I did good then turned to Loretta. “I think once you get over the initial shock of it, you’ll think so too, Lori.”
For a few minutes, any talk about Madeline and me took a back seat to Loretta’s inquiries for the nurse about her mother’s latest test results. Even after she was done with that, Loretta didn’t say too much about everything we’d just laid on her. I got the distinct feeling she was waiting to talk to Madeline alone and I was right.
One thing we had discussed prior to arriving was that I’d only have to be in that uncomfortable setting for a little while. I could excuse myself once we’d told Loretta everything, and Madeline would call me and let me know when I could come over and pick her up. I did just that, and mercifully, I walked out of there not too long after Loretta arrived.