11. Ethan
11
ETHAN
There’s nothing sexier than pulling into my driveway and seeing Madison’s ass in the air. Unfortunately, there are jeans covering it, but just seeing it moving around as she is on her hands and knees gives my brain ideas that it should never entertain.
Madison looks exhausted from the effort of catching Bella, but every time she glances in my direction, all I can see is the way her ass was moving around.
Madison’s brother stands easily between us. He looks like a real adult now, not the tiny human I remember playing sports for hours on end in the driveway next door.
“Thanks for helping us get her,” Wesley says, offering his hand.
“Dogs are more trouble than they’re worth sometimes.” The truth is that I want the chance to talk with Madison alone. That’s clearly not going to happen with her brother hovering, So, I pretend to be interested in what’s going on with him.
“Where do you live now? Must be nearby if you could get here this fast to help Madison. ”
“Oh, yeah. I live down on the other end of Oak Island, closer to the mainland. I work in Wilmington, so…”
I nod. I’m not good at small talk. My patients and I normally talk about the weather then get down to business…unless they have already been put under. In that case, we don’t talk about anything at all.
“What type of work do you do?”
“At the university.”
I blink at Wesley. He hardly looks old enough to have graduated college himself. To say that he’s working there is like saying a sixth grader is teaching elementary school. “Good to hear you’ve found a good job. It can be hard in this economy.”
Wesley nods.
I let the silence extend until it’s too awkward for any of us to handle.
Madison nods toward her house. “Well, I’m going to get Bella inside. I keep thinking she’s going to dart at any moment and I’m going to lose hold of the leash.”
We both nod, and I watch as she goes. Maybe if I pretend to head to my house, Wesley will get the hint. Then, I can circle back and knock on Madison’s door.
I lift my hand in a wave toward Wesley. “Well, good seeing you. Good luck with everything.”
Wesley nods and heads toward his car. I walk toward my house, but very, very slowly. I’m barely at my front porch by the time Wesley pulls away. Then, I circle back to Madison’s yard. She’s on the back porch with her dog, Samson, and she looks much more relaxed.
“Oh, you’re back.” Madison stands up from the rocker, but I motion for her to sit back down.
“I just wanted to make sure you’ve recovered.” I lean against the porch railing. Samson trots over curiously and sniffs at me to make sure I’m really the same man who was just here. I absentmindedly pat his head.
Madison shakes her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever recover. Those dogs are strong. And I know I’ll have to take them out to at least pee in a few hours. I won’t make the same mistake of leaving them outside, though. Is it too much if I use two leashes?”
I laugh. “No, maybe that’s what they need. They’re strong. Look, I could help you with them.”
“What?”
“I could help you take them out… Exercise a little. I’ll fix the fence, and they could have a chance to run around inside. But we could leave the leash on them so that when it’s time to go back inside, you just step on the leash instead of actually trying to grab the dog.”
Madison’s eyebrows raise. “That’s actually a very good idea. How do you know so much about dog-sitting?”
“I’ve taken care of a few ill-behaved dogs in my day.”
Madison smiles gratefully, but then, she bites her bottom lip, and I’m instantly distracted. I think about what it was like pushing myself inside her and feeling her naked body next to mine. But it’s not right for me to just suggest we go inside and have sex again. I don’t want her to think I’m just using her.
I need to be more creative about how I bring this up.
“Do you have any more dogs coming in soon?” I ask.
Just then, one of the large dogs presses his face against the window just behind Madison. He howls and then looks at us again.
Madison jumps and presses a hand to her heart. “No, no more big dogs like this, but sometimes, people schedule with no notice. So, you never know.”
“It seems like business is good, then. ”
I remember when she marched into my house asking for money and wonder why. Is this her only stream of income? Is she relying on these crazy dogs to pay her bills?
Madison shrugs. “It’s fine. I’m starting to make a name for myself, but this isn’t something I want to do all the time.”
“Why not?”
Madison laughs. “Can you not see? I don’t need to constantly be chasing after someone’s dog. They all insist their dogs are great and they won’t cause any trouble. But they’re wrong. It makes me wonder if they lie intentionally or if they really don’t know how bad their dog is.”
Madison bites her bottom lip again and studies me. “Why are you standing here talking to me?”
I let my eyes drift down to where her breasts fill out her shirt, pressing against it. I remember the sight of her ass waving at me when I drove into my driveway. My mouth feels dry as I think about why I’m here, talking to Madison some more. I want something from her, but it doesn’t seem fair to just take, take, take.
I need to give her something in return. And I know what women want. They want to be desired, romanced. That’s something I can do. But I should be honest with her.
“Well?” Madison asks when I don’t answer right away.
“Look, I’m going to be completely honest.”
“Please.”
“I can’t stop thinking about the other night when we…had sex.”
I see Madison’s spine straighten just a little when I say those words.
“You wanted me to be honest. I’m being honest. I want you again. I want to…take it slowly and enjoy every second of it.”
Madison’s mouth opens just a little, but she doesn’t take her eyes off me. Instead, she combs her eyes over my body like she’s imagining doing just that.
“But I don’t think it’s fair to just have sex with you.”
Madison’s mouth snaps shut, and she seems to regain her composure. “So, you just like to tease me instead?”
“No, I want to invite you over for dinner. I’ll make you something nice, then we can…see where things go.”
I shrug casually like I have no idea where things “might go.”
I’m half-expecting her to laugh in my face then march inside her house and slam the door. But at the same time, I’m being honest. I’m not inviting her to dinner and pretending the reason isn’t that I want to have sex with her…the way a lot of guys would. I know there are enough reasons we shouldn’t be together that I have to be completely honest about my intentions with Madison.
“Okay, when.”
Her answer is soft, and Samson just then scrambles across the deck to bark at a squirrel. But I hear her clearly enough. And my body responds. Still, I need to calm down and stop acting as horny as a teenage boy.
“How about tomorrow night? I have to work at the hospital, but I’m off by five. Is seven okay?”
“Yes. I’ll come over at seven.”
“And I’ll help you with the dogs before then, so they’ll have had a chance to pee before we go over to my place.”
Madison nods. “That sounds great.”
I continue to stand there for another moment. A part of me wants to say, “Screw it. Let’s go inside right now and take those clothes of yours off.” But I don’t. I need to behave like a gentleman who knows how to exercise self-control.
Instead, I wave, say bye to Samson, and then head back toward my house, looking forward to tomorrow.