13. Ethan
13
ETHAN
I just helped Madison with the dogs for the evening, then came home and showered. My short hair is still damp, but I want to smell like myself, not like the hospital when we’re exploring each other tonight.
I thought I might have to adopt a dog as an excuse to spend more time with Madison. But now, it seems like helping with her dogs is excuse enough. I’ll take any reason I can get.
I check on the frozen dinner, and it’s almost ready. The cheese on the top of the lasagna is just starting to bubble and turn brown.
I hear Madison knock, and I head to the door, checking on my button-down shirt and jeans to make sure I haven’t managed to spill anything on them.
I’m reminded of the first time Madison knocked on my door, and a mix of emotions hit me. I felt so turned on the first time I saw her. I thought she was coming here to be my date. Tonight, she really is.
We both know what’s going to happen after dinner .
But I also feel annoyed, somewhat at myself for the way I treated her, but also at her for asking me for money.
Still…if she hadn’t come over that day, I wouldn’t have known she was worth paying attention to. And none of this would have happened.
I open the door and study Madison. She’s wearing a long-sleeved white and pink dress that is open enough at the top to give me a good view of her breasts. It’s hard to keep my eyes on her face as I open the door for her.
“Ready?”
“Yes, I’m interested to see what…” She lifts her nose into the air and starts sniffing.
“I think you’ve been spending too much time with your dogs. You’re starting to look like them,” I tease.
Madison cuts her eyes at me, but I can tell she’s amused. “What are you making?”
“Lasagna.”
Madison’s eyebrows rise. I don’t meet her expectations. “It’s a frozen lasagna, but it’s a good brand. I’ve had it before.”
“You know, I could have eaten a frozen meal at my own house.”
“Yes, you could have, but you wouldn’t have had the entertaining company I’m going to provide. Come on into the kitchen. Would you like a drink?”
We head into my kitchen where I’ve added some candles for a romantic effect. The lights are dimmed just enough to create a warm atmosphere. There’s something about having Madison here that makes me want to put in the effort.
“Sure, I’ll take a little something, but just a little. I’m not a big drinker.”
“I remember.”
I pour her some chardonnay, and she takes the stem of the glass from me. Our eyes meet, and I feel something behind her gaze. She’s watching me with a hunger I’ve seen before. She wants me, but she doesn’t want to admit it.
“Make yourself at home.” I pull out a chair for her. She smiles, a bit hesitant, but she sits down, and I can tell she’s a little out of her comfort zone. It’s kind of endearing actually, seeing her like this. Normally, she’s so confident. The first time she showed up, she was more than a little pushy.
But now, it’s like I’m seeing the real her behind the front.
I head to the oven to check on the lasagna, and I see the cheese definitely has a brown, crisp crust on it now. I open the oven and pull it out, setting it carefully on the stovetop. I wonder what Madison is thinking. I didn’t plan this to feel like a date, but now that we’re here, it kind of does.
Once everything’s ready, I bring the food to the table and top up Madison’s glass of wine. It might be a little fancy for a casual dinner at home, but I wanted tonight to be special. She doesn’t protest when I hand her the glass back, just offers me a grateful smile.
There’s a brief, awkward silence as we both take a sip of our wine, but I don’t let it linger. “So, you’re really good with dogs. Did you learn all of that just from Samson or do they give away college degrees in dog care now?”
She shakes her head, setting her glass down. “I mean, I’ve always done some dog-sitting and walking, that sort of thing. But this is my first professional dog experience, and I don’t know if I would call it really good. I might be really good at losing them, but…”
We both laugh a little, and it’s enough to break the tension.
“Well, I think you handled them well, considering they’re both about the same size you are.”
Madison fingers her glass and avoids eye contact. “ Thanks. But I don’t know if I’ll take them back if the owner goes out of town again. I prefer the smaller dogs.”
“Smaller dogs are louder though. I haven’t heard those two barking at all.”
Madison gives me a look. “Maybe because you’ve been at the hospital all day.”
I shrug and concede.
“How is it…working at the hospital? I would think it’s really stressful.”
“It depends on the day.” I don’t particularly want to talk about my job, but people are usually curious. I’m used to answering a few surface questions about what I do and how I do it.
“What about today?”
“Today was okay. I had two surgeries, both standard and small. Nothing life-threatening. I helped a patient who’s been in physical therapy for a couple of months. She’s improving a lot. That’s always encouraging to see.”
“I have a question…” Madison is staring at her wine glass like it’s going to be the one answering.
“Yes?”
“I just want to know. Honestly.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t you have to see…naked people a lot in your job? Naked women? Does it ever…”
I shake my head quickly. “No, it’s not like that. They’re not men and women when I’m on the job. When I’m doing surgery or…whatever, it’s more like they’re science experiments.” I press a hand to my face as Madison starts giggling.
“That sounds so bad.”
“I know. I know! Let me rephrase. They’re… I don’t know how to put it. I can’t put it any better than that. ”
“So, each time you see a patient, it’s just like you’re doing a science experiment. You don’t ever get…”
She glances at me and shrugs.
I reach across the table and grab her hand. “No, I don’t. Do I detect some jealousy here?”
That must have been the wrong question to ask because Madison immediately becomes serious. “I’m not jealous. I was just curious. I’ve never talked to a doctor personally. I just wanted to know. Sorry if my question offended you.”
But her tone is very formal, and I can tell that I’ve set things off on the wrong foot. I take a bite of lasagna to buy myself some time to figure it out.
I am literally drawing a blank. I can’t think of anything to ask her that isn’t too similar to something I’ve just asked or something that is way off base—like her favorite sexual position.
Madison also looks distinctly uncomfortable, and for the first time, I realize that this night might not end how I had planned after all.
I really stretch my mind to bring us back onto common ground. “Have you spoken to Aurora recently?” I ask brightly.
Madison glowers at me. “Why do you want to talk about her? If I think about her too much, then I realize what an idiot I am for even being over here for dinner. Did you know that she invited me and the girls to get coffee, but I chose to come here?”
I, of course, have no way of knowing that. So, I just think about it for a second, realizing it means Madison chose me over her friends. Either she really needs to save money on food, or she really likes the sex. I’m choosing to believe the second .
“I didn’t know that. I appreciate it. I want to get to know you better.”
“Why?” Her question is blunt, and I’m sensing some of the animosity that came out during her first visit over here.
“Because I’m…attracted to you, and when I’m attracted to a woman, I want to get to know her better.”
“Why are you attracted to me?”
I want to start naming her physical features that most attract my attention, but I don’t think that’s the answer she’s asking for.
“I like how hard-working you are. Not a lot of women would have the grit it takes to deal with multiple dogs all the time. I also like how honest you are. You don’t pretend to be one thing and then really act like another.”
Madison is starting to smile, so I throw in a little flirtation too.
“It doesn’t hurt that your ass is round and easy to grab.”
Madison laughs and rolls her eyes.
I can see her start to relax though, and the conversation starts flowing more easily. We talk about the neighborhood and about how Madison ended up with her parents’ house. I find myself telling her stories about some of the worst dates I’ve been on. There’s something about Madison that makes me want to open up, to let her see the side of me that’s usually hidden.
And as we continue to talk. I also get the strange feeling that our age gap isn’t so big. I’m not looking at her like an adult who’s barely old enough to function in society. I’m looking at her as an equal.
As we clear the table, I catch her glancing at her phone a few times, and I can tell something’s on her mind.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I need to just put it on silent. I think working with the dogs all the time has made me too accessible. People expect me to respond to a text within a few seconds.”
I wonder if one of those “people” is my daughter, but I don’t want to bring up her name again.
I carefully stack the dishes in the dishwasher. When I’m done, I turn back to Madison who is sitting at the kitchen table, drinking the last of her wine. “Would you like some more?” I point to her glass.
“Thanks, but I shouldn’t.”
I walk over to her and hold out my hand. She stares at it for a beat too long before taking it and letting me pull her to her feet. When she’s standing, she’s only a couple of inches shorter than me.
“Now, you’re in charge. You can either go home and spend the rest of the evening being rubbed all over by your canine companions. Or…you can spend time here and let me be the one who fondles you.”
Madison giggles. “When you put it like that…”
I raise an eyebrow.
“Why don’t you give me a tour of the house? I’ve seen a lot of the rooms before, but never your bedroom.”
Well, I don’t know how else to take that than as an invitation to explore Madison’s body again. I tug her toward the stairs, eager to show her everything.