Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
PARKER
L eading Maddie down the sidewalk of Main Street fills me with a sense of pride and peace I haven’t felt in a long time. The way her hand fits perfectly in mine, how her head comes to perfect shoulder height, how everything about her lights me up from the inside out.
Yeah, I’m fucked for this girl.
And luckily, Amelia is too. The conversation I had with her two nights ago filled me with hope.
Amelia’s sitting in the living room at my mom and dad’s as I walk in. “Hey, squirt,” I say, ruffling her hair as I collapse down next to her. “Whatcha doing?”
She looks up at me, her eyes bright. “Just reading this new book Maddie gave me.” She hands me the book, and I look at the cover. “It’s fantasy,” she rushes to add. “Lots of dragons and magic.”
“Sounds like you’re enjoying it,” I chuckle, handing it back.
“Uh huh, it’s so good.”
I don’t know how to broach the subject, so I just go with it. “I know we’ve both been spending a lot of time with Maddie, and I, uh, was wondering how you would feel if I started dating her?” I rub the back of my neck, my cheeks blazing red.
Amelia smiles. “I think that’s a great idea, Dad. I love Maddie and think you’ll both be good for each other. She’s softer when you're around,” she muses.
My chest puffs out at that. “She is, is she?”
“Yup.” She beams, clearly pleased with herself.
I stroke the hair on her head, emotion clogging my throat.
“I know you don’t have the greatest relationship with your mom, squirt, and for that, I’m so sorry, but no one is trying to replace her.
And if you decide later in life to get in contact with her, you know I’ll always support you.
Maddie can be like a big sister or something? ”
I’m fucking this up. Am I fucking this up? There isn’t a manual for shit like this.
“I already feel like Maddie’s a big sister, Dad.” She laughs before getting serious. “I don’t know how I feel about Mom, but I do know I love Maddie. I love being around her. Even if she is a bit grumpy at times.” She giggles. “Let’s just see what happens and go from there?”
My eyes tear up as I look at my beautiful daughter. Hauling her in for a hug and kissing the top of her head, I choke out, “When did you get so smart, huh?”
She nestles into me, and I can’t remember the last time we did this, but it's nice. My baby girl is growing up too quickly.
“I’ve always been this smart, Dad. You just don’t listen.” She nudges my side, making me laugh.
The busy street brings me out of my thoughts, the town alive with people doing last-minute Christmas shopping. Maddie clings to my hand tighter at the sight, and my protective instincts kick in. Loosening my hand from her grip, I put my arm around her shoulder and pull her closer.
Maddie doesn’t complain. She just wraps one hand around my waist and brings the other one up to my arm that is resting on her shoulder, entwining her fingers with mine. If I could do a happy dance right now, I would, but I don’t; I keep it locked down tight, ready to let out later when I’m alone.
As we round the corner, a gasp sounds from her.
“Thought I’d take you ice skating.”
She glances up at me, her eyes wide and an intrigued look on her face. “I’ve never been ice skating before,” she says shyly.
“Good, that way we can laugh at each other when we both fall on our asses,” I tease, squeezing her gently.
Every year, over the frozen lake on the outskirts of town, an ice skating rink is set up with Christmas booths dotted around. A thick blanket of snow covers the mountain backdrop, and that, lit up with the town's lights, just emphasizes why I didn’t make a mistake moving here.
Ice skating’s one of my favorite things to do, and now, I get to share it with her.
Grabbing her hand, I tug her along to the booth renting skates. Maddie’s looking around, lost in her thoughts, but just like with the Christmas lights being switched on, I can see the awe and amazement on her face—I was watching her from the other side of the street like some stalker.
Heading to the bench, we lace up our boots before standing and wobbling our way over to the ice. We’re both laughing and out of breath by the time we get to the barrier, Maddie’s face a dusty pink highlighting her cheekbones.
It’s quiet, so it’s just Maddie, me, and a couple of kids messing around on the ice.
Snow falls gently, the fat flakes getting caught in her eyelashes as she concentrates on putting one foot on the ice while she grabs the barrier in a death-like grip.
I glide around like I’ve been doing it for years, which, to be fair, I have.
“You’re just showing off now,” she grumbles.
Once she gets both feet on the ice, she immediately starts flailing like Bambi. I’m doing my best not to grin, but yeah—no chance.
Before either one of us can react, she’s flat on her back, legs in the air. I rush over to her, laughing as I sit her up. “Oh god, I’m so sorry,” I choke out.
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” she mumbles, making no move to get up. “It’ll be all the more amusing when you land on your ass.”
In a move so quick I didn’t know she had it in her, she pulls my arm, causing me to lose my balance. I topple over, half of my weight landing on her in the process.
“ Oof .”
“Maddie,” I scold. “You could have hurt yourself. Are you okay?” I brace myself above her, my elbows on either side of her head.
She shifts, rubbing against my dick. I groan, knowing it’s been far too long since I’ve had a woman underneath me—or on top of me, for that matter.
Hearing my groan, Maddie peers up at me, lust filling her gaze. “You okay there, hon?”
“Yup,” I squeak. “All good. Nothing to see here.” My voice rises higher in octaves the more I speak.
Maddie laughs at my discomfort, only adding to the awkward moment.
“I… I didn’t… what I mean?—”
I sound like a complete idiot.
“It’s okay, Parker.” She laughs, her eyes twinkling with mirth. “But… as much as I’m enjoying this, my ass is kinda go ing numb, so if you could—” She gestures with her head for me to get up.
“Oh, shit!” My eyes go wide, and I push up. “Sorry.” I hold out my hand and pull her up, brushing off the snow.
“You could at least buy me dinner first,” she quips, her cheeks flushing.
“You got all the jokes tonight, haven’t you, sweetheart?”
“Apparently so. I’m not sure where they’re coming from… must be the company.” Her cheeks flush further at her admission, and I take the opportunity to lean in and kiss her.
I cup her cheeks, deepening the embrace as she clutches onto my arms, kissing me back with just as much heat. There isn’t a single thing in this world that could be as right as kissing my girl.
“Come on, I’ll buy you a hot chocolate after.” I wink, reluctantly pulling myself away. I know that if I don’t, there’s a high probability I might try and fuck her here and now.
“You sure know how to spoil a girl,” she retorts playfully.
“Baby, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Maddie’s cheeks flush again, and I’m left with the urge to see how far that flush goes. Ignoring my lustful brain, I shake visions of a naked Maddie away and concentrate on trying not to let her fall over.
After an eventful hour of Maddie landing on her ass not once, but twice, we eventually gave up, surrendering to the call of a hot drink to warm us up. I’m not surprised, really. I’m pretty sure she was sitting on the ice more than she was standing on it.
“Remind me to never go ice skating with you again,” she says as we wait in line, pulling at her leggings. “I’m soaked.”
“You’ll get better with practice,” I reply, putting my arms around her waist and nuzzling my head into her neck. “Maybe lots and lots of practice.”
She shivers, goosebumps rising on her neck where my lips are brushing. “Practice is good,” she pants.
We’re called next, so we shuffle forward, placing our orders.
“I had fun tonight,” Maddie admits while we’re waiting. A blush creeps up her face, and she bites her lip.
“You seem surprised, sweetheart.”
“I’m a self-professed grump, so it takes a lot for me to have fun.” She shrugs. “But I really enjoyed tonight, so thank you.”
Brushing a hair behind her ear, I ask the question she keeps avoiding. “Why are you a self-professed grump?”
Maddie sighs, stepping back. I feel like I’ve just fucked up, but I don’t know how. She cups her hot chocolate in her hands and brings it to her lips before walking over to a bench away from the few people dotted around the booth.
I sit down next to her, holding my drink in my hand, and brace my elbows on my thighs. I gaze out across the ice rink, waiting for her to start talking.
It takes a while, but finally she says, “I grew up with people that shouldn’t have been allowed to have kids.
” I nod; she told me this a while back. “They were mean, either ignoring me or beating me out of anger. It was a difficult situation to grow up in.” She stops, sipping her drink before continuing.
“After being told so many times that you’re a piece of shit who won’t amount to anything, you kinda lose trust in people.
Lose the ability to see the good in people.
“So it was easier just to be by myself. If I didn’t make friends with anyone, they couldn’t hurt me, mentally or physically.
” Maddie sighs and sits back against the bench, wiping a stray tear.
“Add in a few terrible experiences with ex-boyfriends and we have the me you see today—a grumpy loner that doesn’t know how to let people in. ”
I have no words for what she’s been through, and nothing I say will make this better, so I do the one thing I know how to do—be there for someone. I wrap her in my arms, tugging her close and lending her my strength. Because sometimes, words aren’t needed, but a hug can mean the world.