Page 39 of Stuck Together

She smiled against my lips and wrapped her arms tight around my neck.

This was heaven. This was perfection. And I hated that tomorrow we’d head home, and I’d likely lose her all over again.

***

THE MORNING LIGHT SHINEDbrightly on my face, dragging me out of a peaceful and satisfied sleep. I rolled over expecting to feel Madison beside me but instead found a cold and empty bed. Groaning at the lack of her warm body beside me, I sat up. The bathroom door was open and dark, so she didn’t get up to use the bathroom. At least not mine.

“Madison.” I called out with no reply.

Tossing back the covers, I got up, pulled on some clothes, and headed out to the main living area. The cabin was dark, as was her room. Madison was gone.

There was no note or any signs indicating where she might have gone and the disappointment I felt was unsettling. Technically, Madison and I were not a couple. The intimacy that development between us over the last couple days was not planned and we hadn’t discussed what it meant yet. It happened so quickly, neither of considering the consequences.

For all I knew, she wasn’t interested in continuing this relationship once we were back in the city. I hoped that wasn’t the case, but at any rate, I shouldn’t be upset that she wasn’t in bed curled up beside me this morning.

But I was.

Checking the time, it was a little past eight. I slept late for me. We had stayed up late into the night enjoying each other—something I hadn’t done in years.

A quick look outside gave promise to being able to head home today. The sun was shining brightly, and the sidewalks were clear. Hopefully, that also meant the roads were clear enough to drive. As much as I was enjoying this time with Madison, I missed Rylee. I rarely left her for more than an overnight trip and four days without my little girl was too long.

A part of me was ready to go home, get back to my daughter, work, and a regular schedule. And the other part of me was more than willing to stay a couple more days alone with Madison.

I hadn't expected this trip to lead to intimacy. In fact, I was hell bent on making sure nothing even remotely close to that happened before we left on Wednesday. But I can’t change the way I feel about her. I wanted her in my bed, hell I still want her in my bed when we get home.

Now that I had her again, I didn't want to let her go. We fit. I'd never fit with another woman quite like this before. Every feeling, emotion, and desire I had for her when we were young came back.

I knew, even back then, that what I felt for Madison wasn’t something that happened all the time. What we had was rare and special and like an idiot, I threw it all away because I was scared.

Madison was back in my life and I needed to find a way to convince to stay in my life, and not as my friend but as my lover.

***

IT WAS ALMOST NINEwhen Madison returned. I had showered, check the road conditions, and packed my things to prepare for our drive home in the time since I woke, and she returned.

“Hey. Where’ve you been this morning?” I wanted to pull her into my arms and hug her close, but she looked upset.

“I went to get some breakfast and read for a little while.” She sat a book down on the counter before she shrugged off her coat.

It didn’t go unnoticed by me that she avoided looking at me. “I would’ve joined you if you’d woken me.”

“I needed some time to think and I wanted to be alone.” Her words were cold and distant. She was already pulling away from me and I didn’t like it.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, it's fine.” She opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. “I hear the roads are clear and it's safe to leave. I figured we should head out soon so it’s not too late when we get back. Did you already get your stuff packed up?

“Yeah, I'm packed, whenever you're ready to go, we can hit the road.”

“Good, it won't take me long to get my stuff together.”

“I’m gonna head over grab a quick bite and call for the car. Meet me in the lobby when you’re ready.”

“Okay.” She disappeared into her bedroom and shut the door.

Shit. Not exactly what I was hoping to see from her after what we shared. Exactly as I feared, she was pulling away from me.

I took a quick walk through the cabin and my room to make sure I didn't leave anything behind. When I was certain I had all my belongings together, I left and headed over to the main resort. I ordered a coffee to go and grabbed a couple pastries to hold me over until we stopped for lunch.