When I arrived at Pike’s Crest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Madeline had already made one thing clear. It was all or nothing when it came to us for her. My being here was confirmation that I’d agreed. But I had to stay mindful that even she knew her mom wouldn’t approve. Even if she did assure me she could handle Loretta, we couldn’t be too blatant about this. Though I had every intention of making it even clearer to any guy who thought before today maybe she was off limits, that she absolutely was now.
I was only happy this was happening on a weekend when all my brothers were gone. Nolan was still in Radcliffe, working his internship in the tattoo shop and would be gone for a few more months. Quino was out of town with my dad for the weekend at some techy convention, and Xavier had been disappearing a lot lately on the weekends. As private as that guy had always been, something told me it had everything to do with a girl. Regardless, I was glad none of them were here because even I wasn’t sure what to expect. I just knew, despite what a risk taker Madeline could be, I’d be doing my best to be discreet about this. At least when there were this many people around.
As I sat on my bike near a bridge that overlooked the river alone, staking the place out, like I was known to do, I pulled out what looked like a cigarette and lit up because I was nervous as shit. After just one hit, I felt slightly calmer, but I took one more just in case.
“I love the smell of that stuff.”
I turned to see Madeline and her crew walking toward me. There was one other girl with them, a girl I recognized from seeing her around Madeline and her sister before, but I didn’t know her name. I wasn’t sure what to think of the smile on Madeline’s face. I’d been watching her so closely for almost a year now. I was pretty sure I would’ve noticed or at least heard about her smoking weed. Even though it was legal in most states now, I knew it still had the stigma of being as bad as some of the more hardcore drugs. So it surprised me to see her smiling about this—and especially to hear her say she loved the smell of it.
“Care to share?”
“Hell no,” I said, sticking it back in my pocket.
As expected, her eyes widened, but I shook my head. It was one thing for our moving things forward to possibly get back to her mother when Madeline seemed so unconcerned about it. But to supply her with drugs . . . Even if it was only weed and legal here now, it was still not for anyone under eighteen. That was one chance I would not be taking.
“You shouldn’t be doing that anyway,” the girl whose name I didn’t know said. “It’s bad for you.”
“Alcohol’s worse,” Madeline said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
“It is,” Maggie concurred. “Marijuana is all natural. Trust me. I’ve done my research.”
“You guys use?” I asked, beyond surprised.
“Not yet,” Madeline said, lifting her chin. “I don’t trust the people who sell it on the down low, and the dispensaries won’t sell it to us until we’re eighteen. But as soon as I am, I’d rather do that than kill my liver with alcohol.”
“It’s not for everyone,” I warned her. “Not everyone reacts the same way to it.”
“We tried it once,” Madeline said, further surprising me, then nodded, obviously reading my thoughts. “Shelby’s cousin had some once when he came to visit and let us try it. I liked it. It was very relaxing and it’s true, June.” She turned to the other girl. “Her cousin’s pre-med, and even he says it’s nowhere near as toxic on your body as alcohol is.”
I smirked, and though this made me even more nervous, already I could tell I’d have my hands full with Ms. Risk Taker. Even this was something I was certain she’d wear me down about if she tried hard enough. I felt like I needed to watch my girl before she actually was, and it was about to worsen tenfold. Because there was no question about it now. Just standing here this close to her, I had to refrain from pulling her to me and kissing her. There was no way we weren’t moving forward with this—no matter what qualms I still had about her mom.
“Oh, there’s Autumn,” Shelby said, turning to a car that turned into the area where most parked their cars tonight. “She got an ombre highlight done down at Daisy’s today. I wanna see how that turned out. I’m thinking of doing the same.”
Maggie and June started off with Shelby, but Madeline stayed put. “I’ll be there in a minute.” She turned to me with that mischievous smile, and just like that, she had me smiling from ear to ear too.
“How was your birthday dinner?”
“Delicious.” She took a few steps closer to my bike. “Mama made all my favorites: barbequed ribs, creamed corn, macaroni, even baked me a homemade sweet potato pie. So far this has been my best birthday ever.”
“Ever?” I asked, smiling even bigger as I opened the saddle bags in front of me on my bike. “That’s a pretty bold statement. I’m sure you’ve had plenty of good ones.”
She shook her head, and I hesitated to pull out the gift I had for her, but once again I was struck by her beautiful gaze. “The absolute best,” she said softly. “I was afraid you might change your mind about coming here tonight. So driving in and seeing you already here made it even better.”
There was no way I’d be able to go much longer without pulling her to me, so I took a deep breath and pulled out the tiny gift bag and handed to her. Those big eyes went even bigger. “Oh my God. You didn’t have to get me anything. Just being here is enough.”
That had me smiling big again as she took the bag, and I knew now the gift wasn’t a mistake. “I don’t know a whole lot about what you like yet. But I know you like painting. So I drove out to Fayette to the mall, hoping I could find something that had to do with it.”
She pulled out the small box in the bag, her eyes growing even bigger. I knew what she was thinking, so I explained before she freaked out. “I wasn’t having any luck, and then I saw this in one of the windows and thought it was perfect. At least I know for sure you’ll like this.”
I watched as she opened the box, knowing full well she was thinking it was a ring and that I must be insane. So I was relieved when she finally saw it and pulled it out with a huge smile. It was a necklace with a red M&M character charm. The little M&M character was holding a gold heart.
As if that weren’t perfect enough, when I walked into the jewelry store to ask about it, the lady showed me the cheesy inscription on the back. I almost didn’t get it but then decided actions speak louder than words. What I was feeling for Madeline felt so much heavier than it should have this soon. If my dad picked up on it weeks ago, it was just a matter of time before Madeline did too, if she hadn’t already. So maybe the inscription would help tone it way down.
“This is too cute!” She turned around as if anxious to show someone else, but her sister and friends were too far, so she turned back to me.
“Turn it around.”
She did and read what it said. “I’m sweet for you.” Bringing her hand to her mouth, she looked up at me, her eyes suddenly flooding, and instantly, I was panicking.
It was meant to be my lighthearted way of admitting I had a thing for her. “Don’t cry, sweetheart,” I said, getting off my bike, and as soon as I was off, she wrapped her arms around my neck.
I glanced around nervously, but powerless to keep my arms from wrapping around her, I squeezed her. “Happy birthday,” I whispered against her ear, but she turned, and instantly my lips were on hers.
Before the kiss could get too deep, I started to pull away, and she gazed at me. Touching my tensed arms, she slid her hands up and down them. I closed my eyes, dropping my head because I was feeling dazed again just as I first was in that photo booth. I knew this was a huge risk I was taking here, but I was helpless to stop this. I felt her kiss my temple once, then again softer, then a third time, and I was magically giving into this. Just like that. I glanced up at her. “You think your sister and friends will mind if we disappear for a while?”
Smiling big again, she shook her head. Within minutes, she’d told them she’d be back, and we were off. It was the first of many rides I was sure we’d be taking away from the gaping eyes of those around us because I needed to get her alone and devour that mouth for much longer than just that measly kiss.
Instead of cliff diving the way she thought she’d be spending the evening, we spent it rolling around in a nearby secluded meadow. It hadn’t even been one full day of this, and already I knew I was hooked.
With our mouths and lips staying more than busy with other things, we didn’t do a whole lot of talking. But with what little she did let me in on, she managed to blow me away. During one of the many moments we’d pull away to take a breath and gaze into each other’s eyes, she breathed in deeply, caressing my brow as she lay on top of me. “It’s so unfair.”
That had me lifting a curious brow. “What is?”
“Your eye color. It’s a perfect blend of olive and lime, which in itself is rare, but for someone with skin as tan as yours, it’s even rarer.”
Her smile went a bit timid, like her sister and so unlike Madeline. It was almost alarming that a simple change in demeanor could possibly be what might have me confusing the two sisters. “Don’t think me a stalker or creepy, okay?”
The slight alarm I’d begun to feel was replaced with even more curiosity as I wrapped my arms around her even tighter. “Okay.”
“I’ve painted your face many times, specifically these eyes.” That timid smile was back; though she kissed the corner of one of my eyes and ran her hand through my hair, taking me in as if in awe. “It’s how I know what the exact shade of your eyes is. I had to play with many different colors of paint on my palette until I got the perfect blend.”
“You’ve painted my face?” I asked, feeling warmly flattered but even more relieved.
For a minute as I’d begun to feel completely crazed when our kisses had gotten a bit carried away, I’d begun to wonder if I hadn’t made a mistake. As much as she seemed to be enjoying it, I just couldn’t imagine her feeling what I was.
Her face tingeing with color had me smiling even bigger. “Why does that embarrass you?”
And then it was almost as if she’d read my lovesick thoughts because once again I was sucked into those awestruck baby blues. “Because now you know,” she said softly. “As if what your kisses do to me wasn’t enough of a giveaway. I’ve been obsessed with you, Nico, for longer than I care to admit.”
With a groan, my lips were back on hers as we rolled over, and I ended up on top of her, mindful not to crush her petite frame. “I’ve been just as obsessed,” I admitted. “Probably more.”
Thankfully, before I freaked her out, I couldn’t take my lips off her long enough to admit to more. I didn’t have to make what she did to me with a single smile so pathetically obvious. I wouldn’t have plunged into taking this huge risk if she didn’t make me so insane, and she had to know this.
When we arrived back to meet her sister and Shelby by the bridge, there were a lot fewer kids out there, so I agreed to Madeline’s request that we pose for a photo that’d capture our first night out officially together.
I leaned against my bike as she leaned against me, facing forward. Wrapping my arm around her neck, I kissed her temple just as Maggie took the photo. Already this felt perfect. There was no doubt about it anymore. For me, there was no turning back after tonight, even as my heart continued to race with both excitement and utter dread.
But I made sure to get things clear. We needed to keep this on the down low. We couldn’t have any more slips like the one we had today. Thankfully, she was in agreement, In private, there would be tons of what we did tonight, but on the surface—in front of others—everything had to stay the same. This shouldn’t be too risky.