Page 69 of Love me, Maddie Mendoza

“For me?” She lifted her eyes from the needle to look at me.

“What other nutjob with a yarn obsession do I know?” I replied, closing the door behind me.

Maddie smiled, not her usual, but it was something. Today, she had the same silky shorts and tank from last night. Her hair was twisted in two perfect braids, starting from the crown of her head. Her glasses still on, I couldn’t miss her sneakers neatly placed to the side of my bed. I groaned. “You jumped the trees.”

Of course she did. I was having dinner with my parents and none of us saw the barely dressed Maddie coming in the front door.

“I was able to jump before you.” She reminded me.

“Yes, because it was a long time ago and you were taller than me.”

This time she grinned, “Good times.” Taking the embroidery kit, she waved it at me. “What’s this?”

“Thought you’d like to start.”

Maddie looked down to it, leaving crochet behind. She opened the kit and stared at the new set of needles, different thread, and a circular thing that I knew it was important to the process, even though I wasn’t one hundred percent sure why.

“I can’t start with new hobbies every time tragedy strikes.” She said, now looking at me. A shallow laugh followed her statement.

I acted on instinct, coming to the bed and lifting her up. I sat and put her down on my lap. “No tragedy had struck. Ever.”

Maddie sighed, her head falling on my chest. “You told me I was so strong during your injury. But that’s not true at all, Z. I was so scared.”

“It doesn’t mean you didn’t pull it off for me, though.” I breathed in her hair. “Whatever you were feeling, you put aside. No one is asking for you not to be scared.”

“I know…” She nodded. “But I am. And I know I shouldn’t be getting ahead of myself…”

“Yes, you shouldn’t. But let’s hear it, anyway.”

A little chuckle. “If it is cancer? What are we going to do? And if she needs chemotherapy? Mom will hate being that fragile… Dad is going to fall apart without her. God, I’m going…”

I held her tighter. “Forget what I said, let’s not hear it anymore.”

She laughed, and it brought up a hiccup. “Tell me something else then.”

I thought for a second as I rearranged us in bed. I moved over to rest my back on the headboard, holding Maddie against my chest. Her legs to the side, her head falling on my throat and my arm on her back. I kissed her temple. “Remember when you tried to learn how to skateboard?”

Maddie groaned. “Don’t we have flattering memories?”

I grinned even though she couldn’t see it. “You got all the gear.My Little Ponyskate gear. All shiny and new just to fall right on your face on your first try.”

She sighed. “My cheek was destroyed. Of all the gear I had, I guess I needed something to save me from falling onto my face.”

“That’s call balance. You were never great at it.”

She huffed. “I climbed the tree.”

“Don’t remind me of the times you were ready to fall to your death.”

“Don’t be a drama queen. Tell me more stuff.”

“So I brought you over to the skate park and I could see the determination on your face. You do that thing with your lip…” I looked down at her just to catch her doing the same thing. Pouty lips with a little snarl, curling her upper lip. She was such a badass. “And you marched over, with the skates under your arm. We practiced at home… You knew all the mechanics… So tell me, Mad Max, how the hell did you trip over your own feet and fell right onto your face on the smallest ramp?”

She giggled on top of me, tipping her head up. Her laugh brought me home. I felt lightheaded. A collection of the stories of our lives played on the loop in my mind. Memories at school, things she said, secrets we shared. When she followed me to Statham when I got into the team. My injury, and now her mother.

Intertwined.

My hand closed on her waist, Maddie’s breath whispered on my neck. All of a sudden, I was aware of everything. Her ass on top of my lap, the way she jiggled when she laughed. Her bottom lip I wanted to bite. I did it once, didn’t I? I had that bottom lip right between my teeth. And I sucked her tongue and held her close to me like it was her place.

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