This Trust of Mine (17 page)

"Are
you okay?" He whispered.

With those
three words and the tone in his voice, I suddenly realized why he had been so
slow and gentle with me. "I'm okay cowboy. I swear."

He pushed
the loose strands of hair from my face as he pulled me into him with his other
arm. "I was worried I would hurt you, or that you weren't ready for,
that."

"I
appreciate the worry, but I'm not a china doll. I won't break. Honestly, it
hadn't even crossed my mind. Not once, the entire time."

I watched as
relief washed over his face. I hadn't even taken into account that he would
even be worried about what had happened with Wren. Although it still felt fresh
in my mind, I could never let that affect how I felt when Madison touched me. I
stood on my tiptoes and planted a kiss square on his lips.

"Thank
you for telling me. I know how hard that must've been for you."

"I've
wanted to tell you since the first day I found out. When you were out here and
I had my breakdown, I had just overheard the conversation between the two of
them. Trust me when I say that I wanted to tell you. I need you so much Kayla.
I need you like I need air to breath. Without you, I feel incomplete."

As my heart
melted in my chest with every word he spoke, I couldn't help but wonder if this
was all we were for now. If we were still just friends, well I guess friends
with benefits now? I didn't have to wonder too long, because he was suddenly
answering my unspoken question.

"Be
with me Kayla. Be mine, forever, for today, for however long you want me.
Please just say you'll be with me."

"I
thought you would never ask." I smiled up at him and for the first time in
six weeks, I felt my heart beginning to mend. I was his and he was mine, plain
and simple.

"Kayla,
I really am sorry about today. I hope you know that."

"I know
Madison. I knew you would never intentionally hurt me like that. Although, Joey
seemed to think you were capable of it."

"Joey
huh?"

I knew the
minute the words left my mouth that I shouldn't have said it. Everything was so
perfect and then my big mouth had to go and ruin it. I pulled Madison down to
the ground with me with one strong tug. I crawled into his lap and he tenderly
wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought him
up."

"It's
not your fault he can't take a hint. Maybe now that we're
together
, he'll back off a bit."

I could tell
he was gettin' all worked up, but I needed him to understand that Joey and I
were friends, regardless of what anyone else thought. "Madison-"

"I
know, y'all are just friends. I believe that from you, but trust me Kayla, I
know how Joey's mind works. He was always goin' after the unattainable. Just be
careful, and try not to put yourself into situations with him that you can't
get out of.

"He's a
good friend Madison. Today, after you didn't show up, he was the one who took
me into town to get my mind off of it. And he didn't hit on me once." This
was a lie. Today hadn't gone as smoothly as I had hoped. After coffee Joey was
fine, but as we spent more and more time together, his innocent touching had
turned into flirty touching and when I finally told him to take me home, he
actually had the balls to try and kiss me goodbye. Now that Madison and I were
together I felt like I should tell him, but honestly we both had enough drama
to deal with, without adding Joey Green to the mix. Besides, if things were
goin' in the direction I thought they were with Glenn and Cami, we were gonna
have to get used to Joey being around.

"For
some reason, I don't believe you pretty girl." He let out a small chuckle
before he started to tickle my sides. In that moment, I was just happy to have
my
Madison back. Things were about to change;
I could feel it in the air. But good or bad, knowing I had Madison by my side,
gave me the confidence that we could get through anything.

Madison

I woke up
the next day feeling energized and refreshed. Kayla and I had spent almost the
entire night with each other out at our spot. We definitely didn't waste any
time "catching up" on what we had missed. Every time I was inside of
her, was like the first time all over again. My feelings had only intensified
for her over the last couple of months and if we kept at it like we were, I
could only imagine how intense they would be later on down the road.

I tried not
to make a big deal out of the whole Joey situation last night, but today I was
takin' it upon myself to have a little man to man talk with him. I knew deep in
my gut that yesterday hadn't quite gone down the way she had described it, and
I needed him to know that it was time for him to back off. I didn't want any
bad blood between me and Glenn's little brother, but he needed to know that his
feelings for Kayla were never going to be returned.

I made my
way downstairs, but stopped dead in my tracks when I heard Kayla's voice
carrying up the stairs. I went down a few more steps to hear a little bit more
clearly, but tryin' not to get caught.

"I'm so
glad y'all made up, Dear. I have to say, from the moment I saw you two
together, I knew y'all were meant to be."

"Oh did
ya, now?"

"Don't
you sass me little girl. I'm much older and wiser."

"Older
yes, wiser, I'm not so sure."

I couldn't
believe the way Kayla was talkin' to my gran, until they both broke out in a
fit of giggles, and then I knew they were jokin' around. It was nice to hear
laughter in the house for the first time in a while. I turned to head back
upstairs to check on my grandfather when Kayla's words stopped me dead in my
tracks.

"Lydia,
is it possible to know someone is the one at such a young age?"

"Why do
you ask?"

"I
think, no I know Madison is the one. I can feel it all the way down to my toes.
He does something to me that I can't quite describe. I can't imagine a life
without him. I know we just told each other that we love one another, but I
don't want anyone else, ever. Does that sound ridiculous?"

The air got
caught in my throat and I was finding it hard to breathe. Obviously, I knew
that
I
felt this way about her, but I
can honestly say I didn't think that
she
was at that point yet. Hearing her say so, just made me love her that much
more.

"No it
doesn't sound ridiculous. It sounds real and I feel exactly the same." I
jumped down the last two steps as I finished the sentence, bounding straight
over to Kayla's side.

"Madison
Raine, how dare you eavesdrop on a private conversation. You know better than
that boy."

"Yes
ma'am I do, but it's not my fault she was havin' the conversation with
my
gran in
my
house."

"Well,
you have a point there."

I bent down
and softly kissed Kayla's swollen lips. "Mornin' pretty girl. You ready to
go?"

"Mmmhmmm."

"Thanks
for keepin' her busy while I got ready Gran. I'll se ya in a little bit."

"See ya
then son."

I grabbed
Kayla by her hand and pulled her through the house and out the front door. I
turned back and pulled her into me, hard. "You know wearin' stuff like
this, knowing I can't be around you all day, drives me nuts?"

"Maybe
the point
was
to drive you
nuts." She kissed my cheek quickly before pulling away and runnin' towards
my truck.

The wind
caught her sundress at just the right moment and I suddenly had a nice view of
her tight little ass. A million different emotions flooded my brain in that
moment and I couldn't help but get stuck on, jealousy. I knew that Joey was
going to get to see her in that little dress all day and I wasn't. She must've
finally realized what I had just caught sight of, because when she turned
around her face was the most magnificent shade of red.

"Okay,
maybe the outfit was a bad choice today."

I made my
way over to my blushing girlfriend and gave her a boost into the cab.
"Can't say I didn't mind the show though."

I ran around
the front and hopped up in. Once I started the engine, I took notice that she
was still sittin' over by the door. "Sittin' a little far away, aren't ya
pretty girl?"

"Just
wondering if you would notice."

"I'm
not that dense, Darlin'."

After I
dropped Kayla off at school, I had a few errands to run before headin' back
home, to help out around the house. Just as I stepped inside the grocery store,
I spotted Taryn at one of the registers. I knew after graduation she had
started workin' here, but lately I had gotten lucky every time I had come in
and hadn't seen her. Today, not so much.

"Hey
Madison."

"Hey
Taryn."

I made my way
quickly through the aisles gathering the things I needed to grab and then
headed back up front to pay. Unfortunately for me, Taryn was the only cashier
workin' this mornin'.

"So,
how ya been?"

"I'm
good, Taryn. How are you?"

"I'm
good. But if I were you, I
wouldn't
be so good."

"And
why is that, Taryn?" I hated these little high school games she played.
For some reason or another she always wanted to get me riled up.

"Seems
Joey Green has been goin' around tellin' everyone that him and your little
girlfriend have been hookin' up."

I felt my
face flush red and my grip on the grocery basket became unbearably painful.
"Who told you this?" I knew the exact name that was goin' to be
coming out of her mouth, but I still needed to hear it.

"Joey
told me himself."

"Of
course he did."

"You
okay?"

"Yeah
Taryn, I'm just peachy. Can you please finish ringing me up so I can go? I got
shit I have to do today."

"Sure
thing love. You know, if it turns out to be true, you can always give me a
call."

I shook my
head in disbelief. Only a girl like Taryn would offer herself up on a silver
platter when someone else was caught cheatin'. "Thanks, but I'm pretty
sure what you heard is wrong."

Before she
could say anything else to piss me off, I threw my money down on the counter and
took my groceries. I drove straight home, took all the groceries inside and
then headed back up to the school. Kayla would be goin' to lunch soon and if I
knew Joey like I thought I did, he would be right by her side during that time.
There was no way I was goin' all day without sayin' anything to this prick.
Brother of Glenn's or not, I wasn't puttin' up with this shit.

I got to the
school just in time for lunch to break. They had open campus, but given the
fact that there wasn't much around to eat other than the cafeteria, I assumed
they would just stay here. I parked my truck on the other side of the school
from where everyone had lunch, just so Joey didn't have a chance to change his
attitude before he saw me. I caught sight of Kayla coming out of the cafeteria
with her tray of food and just as I suspected, there was Joey, arm around her
shoulder walking her over to a table outside.

I made my
way in their direction, trying not to attract too much attention from anyone. I
was curious as to what type of conversation these two had on a daily basis.

"So,
you wanna hang tonight? My parents are gonna be gone all night at some
function. We could rent a movie or somethin'."

I'm pretty
sure I knew what his idea of "something" was.

"I have
to work after school and then I'm gonna try to see Madison."

"Why?
You guys finally work out your shit?"

"Joey,
don't be a dick. As a matter of fact, yes, we did work our "shit"
out. Whatever that means."

"So are
you two officially
together
now?"

I watched as
that gorgeous wide mouth grin spread across her face, and I couldn't help but
be in awe of how she handled herself around that prick. "Yes Joey, if you
must know."

"Well
congratufuckinglations, I suppose."

"What
the hell is your deal, Joey? I thought you would be happy for me?"

I was about
to run over and beat the shit out of this kid, when I stopped myself, wanting
to see just how far he would take this.

"I
can't believe you can't see it KJ."

"See
what, Jo?"

I was
waitin' for World War III to ensue, but Kayla suddenly became distracted when
her cell phone started ringin'. I glanced down at mine to see what time it was.
Who the hell would be callin' her in the middle of the day? I turned my
attention back on Kayla just as she crumpled to the ground. I ran past a few
students hanging out on the sidewalk and jumped over the small fence that
separated the outdoor eating area from the parking lot.

"Kayla,
baby, what's wrong?" Her face was as white as a ghost and her lips were a
pale shade of blue. "Kayla, Kayla look at me darlin'. It's Madison. I'm
here. What happened?"