The Key To Micah's Heart (Hell Yeah!) (10 page)

At times like this, Madison needed someone to talk to. She picked up her cell phone to call her mother, but quickly realized she couldn’t. Sunny used cheap burner phones. Although her mother always had Madison’s number, she never knew how to contact Sunny. Sonya was the closest thing she had to a best friend, so she quickly called her.

Madison had rarely been in the same school long enough to make and form close friendships. She’d managed all on her own for a long time. But now, she just needed someone to talk to for a few minutes. “Dang.” Sonya’s phone went to voicemail.

Snapping her cell shut, Madison placed it on the nightstand. To her shock, it rang right away. “Hello.”

“Hey, there Fellows.” It was Micah.

Madison almost bit her tongue in excitement. “Oh, hello. How nice of you to call. How are things?” She cringed at her own words.

“Pick a color.”

“What for?”

“Just pick a color.”

“That’s a loaded question.”

“Is it?”

“Yes. I don’t know what I’m picking the color for. Could be a dress or a scarf. A car or a…”

“A car?”

“Not necessarily a car, but you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I know what you mean. Your ass did look pretty damn fine in that skirt. But sorry to say, Fellows. I’m not buying you a car. Okay let’s do it this way. Blue, black, red or pink?”

“Pink.”

“Really?”

“Is that wrong?”

“No. For some reason I just thought you’d say black.”

“Why?”

“Most people do. Black is safe. It looks good on everyone.”

“So, this is about clothing.”

“It might be. Silk or fleece?”

The sound of his voice made Madison’s head swim. She wasn’t used to talking to boys on the phone. “Silk, of course.”

“Of course. Six in the morning or six at night?”

“Morning.”

“Elephant or giraffe?”

“Giraffe.”

“Why?”

“I like their elegance.”

“Fair enough. Beer or wine?”

“What is all this about?”

“Uh-uh, little missy. I’m asking the questions here. Beer or wine?”

“Wine, of course. I’m a lady.”

“Oh, you are that for sure.”

“What is all this about?”

“Maybe I’m buying you lingerie and a zoo that can be converted to a bar at night. You’d better send me a picture of you in your underwear just to be sure.”

“And why would I do that?”

“So I can figure out what type of lingerie would look best on you, of course. Try to stay with me here, Fellows.”

Micah was a whirlwind for sure. He had an answer for everything and a way of teasing that had Madison giggling helplessly. “My phone doesn’t have a camera.”

“A damn shame. All kidding aside though. I bet you’re standing at your closet trying to figure out what to wear on our big date.”

“Actually. I hadn’t gotten that far yet.”

“Still lying on the bed freaking out, huh?”

Madison jumped from the bed as if it were hot. “Of course not.” How did he do it? It was like he was watching her. Strangely enough, the thought gave Madison a little charge. Sitting down on the bed, she laid back and began to run her hand slowly up her thigh. “What am I doing right now?”

“Hold on, let me adjust my binoculars. You are scribbling
Mrs. Madison Wolfe
on your binder over and over again. In…blue marker. No wait. It’s black. How adorable.”

That same sexy urge she’d felt the first time she met Micah was welling up inside of her. Oh how Madison wished she were the type of girl who could start talking in a husky voice and tell Micah to do something sexy like ‘take it out’. She’d never had phone sex before but she was eager to try it right now.

Who was she kidding? She was freaking out.

“Still there, Fellows?”

“I’m here.”

“All right. Pink it is. Have you decided where we’re going Saturday?”

“Me?”

“Just kidding. You’ll get a phone call around six o’clock on Saturday. Be ready to go. Dress warm.”

“Are you always this mysterious?”

“Why? Do girls like that?” She could almost see the smirk on his face. “Night, Madison. Sleep tight.”

Madison didn’t know what the hell had just happened. She’d gone from being excited to being nervous, back to excited, fearful and then horny and confused all at once. The only thing she knew for sure was that she couldn’t stop smiling and she liked it.

His ‘dress warm’ edict didn’t give her much to go on. It had been pretty cold out lately. Maybe they were going to ride a giraffe. No. That was silly and Madison pushed the thought out of her head.

She spent the rest of the night staring at every article of clothing she owned, laying it all out on her bed and wondering what he’d meant with all his questions. One thing for sure, Micah had her mind racing and her heart pounding in her chest.

Things get complicated…Micah

For Micah, Friday was one hassle after another. He’d made progress in one area and taken two steps back in another. His ranch foreman called and told him a damn grass fire had destroyed his best hay meadow. The Hays County VFD were called in and the fire was extinguished before a great deal of damage was done. He owed Titan Sloan a big debt of gratitude. He’d have to send him a fruit basket or something.

The other thing that had gone to hell in a hand basket was his new release–Hard Times. Not that it wasn’t flying off the shelves, it was. He’d probably make more money off this one than the last. No, what bothered the hell out of Micah was something a reviewer had said. They’d praised the book, but went on to say his ‘style was changing’. Don Juan was famous for his sexy, no holds barred books. This reviewer, a woman by the way, had said there was a pleasing amount of romance and emotion–that he was now officially more of a romance author than an erotica author. What the hell had happened?

God, next they’d be putting him in the same category as Sable Fuckin’ Hunter–sugary sweet. He made a funny gagging face, then laughed. Hunter was successful and while she did put a lot of emotion into a story, there was always a story–and a lot of hot sex. He could be compared to worse, he guessed.

At least there was good news on the Angel Rubio front. According to Saxon, they’d been granted some kind of reprieve on the hit. The chatter had changed, apparently something big was going down and she’d been put on the cartels back burner.

Saxon said the exact quote was: Este nuevo local funcionará mucho mejor. Un nuevo envío entrando el lunes. No perdamos el tiempo persiguiendo a la perra, vamos a atraerla aquí y hacer su parte del espectáculo. Translation: This new locale will work much better. A new shipment coming in on Monday. Let’s not waste time chasing the bitch, let’s lure her here and make her part of the show.

“What in the hell does that mean?”

“It means we have a few more days to locate her. Santiago has Lucia and they’re going to make some forays over the border. Lucia is plugged in to the neighborhood. Vance and Roscoe think she can get people to talk, tell her what they’ve heard, what they’ve seen.”

Micah let out a long sigh. “I’ll be glad when this is over. I know Noah wants to be reunited with his mother and I want it too, but it’s like waiting for the other shoe to drop.” But as much as he wanted it to come together quickly, he needed this weekend to be free. He had a date with the intriguing Miss Fellows. Picking up the package on the edge of his desk, he smiled. What had possessed him to buy her a cell phone?

Hell, he knew. He didn’t really have to ask himself that question. There was just something about her that brought out his protective streak. Kyle always accused him of picking up strays and even though he’d found her in a homeless shelter–that wasn’t what this was about.

“Hey, are you guys hungry?”

Micah was starving and Hannah’s happy voice was welcome. “Well, it’s about time. I wondered what someone had to do to get food in this dump?” He rose, smiled, and kissed the pretty lady on the cheek. “Nothing like being served by the First Lady.”

“Watch your mouth, Wolfe. That’s my lady you’re talking to.” Kyle whacked him on the shoulder with his golf cap. “Do you guys want to hear something crazy?”

“That you’ve been elected Governor?” Micah asked, then hit his forehead. “Oh, right–that crazy has already happened.”

“Yes, the Republican Governor who married an illegal Mexican immigrant!” Hannah held up her hands, adding to the hilarity.

“Hey, it all worked out. There’s already talk for me to run for President in 2020.” Kyle held up his coffee cup for a toast.

“I have got to move. I wonder if the Canadians would take me.” Micah mumbled.

Saxon pulled out a chair and sat down. “What were you going to tell us before the comedy routine started?” he asked Kyle.

“Oh, yea. It’s about the rock throwing mess. We haven’t had an incident in a few days, and we’ve got all of the sensors and cameras into position, just like you suggested. So either, we’ve scared him off with all the tech attention or he’s left town. Funny thing…they had an incident in Fort Worth yesterday. Their first.”

“Damn, probably some copycat. I hope this doesn’t turn into some type of national trend like shootings on college campuses.” Hannah said, laying out the sandwich materials she’d brought up from the kitchen.

“Yep, Canada’s looking pretty good.” Micah noted as he slapped some ham between two pieces of bread.

“They wouldn’t take you, Wolfe. Our friends to the north have standards.” Kyle laughed.

“Yea, but they’re measurements are so cool. Here my cock is eight inches long, there its 20.32 centimeters.” He held his hands about two feet apart.

Kyle put his hands over Hannah’s ears. “Would you hush?”

“I love you guys, but I’m outta here.” Micah picked up his laptop, Madison’s present, and his ham sandwich. “I have to go write a sex scene. And don’t look for me tomorrow, I have a date.”

“A date? What’s her name and address, I’ll send her a sympathy card,” Saxon joked.

Micah shot him the finger and left with a grin.  

Things get complicated for Madison…

For Madison, Friday was a nightmare. Without warning, her car conked out on her in the parking lot of her apartment building. “Stupid piece of crap!” After kicking it one good time when it refused to start, she reconciled herself to walking the few blocks to wait on the bus.

Most of her day at work was spent with mindless data entry and fretting over her car troubles. The only saving grace she could think of, was that her mother and Rudy had left of their own accord. Madison hadn’t been forced to dip into her savings to pay for a place for them, but now her car was on the fritz and there was no way she could protect her savings from that. The repairs would eat up every spare dime she had.

Buzz! Madison jumped, almost knocking the keyboard off her desk. She grabbed her phone, glad of any distraction from the doldrums she found herself in. “Hello?”

“I was going to text you,” Micah said from the other end of the line, “but you wouldn’t have been able to respond with any words that had J, K or L in it.”

Madison smiled at her desk. “Stop making fun of my poor phone.” Just the sound of his voice made her nipples grow hard. She propped her arm on the desk so if anyone passed by she wouldn’t feel on display. “There’s still a lot of other words I could spell.”

“Figured out something to wear yet?”

“What do you think?”

“Still struggling, huh?”

He didn’t realize it, but her wardrobe was sadly lacking. “I’m a girl. What can I say?” Madison shifted in her chair, her thighs were tingling.

“What are you wearing right now?”

“Oh, my God!” She laughed. “You’re incorrigible!”

“What?”

“I’m at work.”

“And?”

“I don’t think my boss would appreciate me having this kind of discussion during work hours.” She chastised him, but secretly she loved his teasing and hoped he didn’t stop.

“Let me see if I can guess. Black skirt. Gray sweater.”

“Are you watching me again?” She looked over her shoulder and peered through the window out into the street.

“No. I have people to do that for me. I’m at your place going through your underwear drawer.”

He said it so quickly and with no change it in his tone that Madison momentarily panicked as if it were true. “You’re what!” She stood up from her chair and everyone in the office looked at her with interest.

Micah laughed from the other side of the line. “Just kidding. Relax. I’m just calling to make sure you haven’t made other plans for tomorrow.”

“I haven’t.” Of course she hadn’t.

“Good. Don’t. Bye, Madison.”

He was gone before she had a chance to say goodbye.

What was this man doing to her? He had her on pins and needles every waking second, wondering what he would do next. She had no idea what they’d do on their date–and it didn’t really matter. All she wanted to do was spend time with him. She didn’t care if all they did was go to the park and sit on a bench to eat an ice cream cone.

Suddenly her phone rang again. “Micah?” She was catching on.

“One more question.”

“Okay.”

“Paper or plastic?”

“Paper, of course. I’m from Austin.”

“Good girl. Smart as well as sexy. Gotta go. Bye.”

Madison sat back down in her chair and happily spun around in a circle. Oh what the hell did it matter, everyone in the office was already looking at her anyway.

For the rest of the day and the next, Madison remained edgy, excited. Until…finally…at six o’clock Saturday when her phone rang.

“3825 Lake Austin Blvd. Be there in one hour or the president dies.”

The line went dead. Madison was already dressed for the evening in the very best that she had. If there had been extra money in her account, she’d have gone all out, but the repairs on her car were going to be just as expensive as she’d feared. She’d gone no farther than getting an estimate–but that was far enough to know she was screwed. So, here she was in a simple little black dress with spaghetti straps and a low-cut back. The skirt swirled around her knees and there was a velvet bolero to wear with it that had rhinestone buttons. Her only concession to her urge to splurge had been the sexy stiletto heels she’d found at Goodwill for five bucks. Hopefully she wouldn’t embarrass herself or Micah.

Running to her laptop, she opened it up. Punching the address into a search she saw the name Mozart’s Coffee Roaster’s. “Okay.” She’d heard the name in passing, but had never been there before. The map told her it was only half an hour away, so she checked the bus route and made sure there was an exchange she could catch on her street that would take her in the vicinity of the riverfront.

As Madison headed out of her apartment, she stopped a moment to stare at her car, a car that hadn’t moved from the spot where she’d left it. She’d put off making the decision of what to do about it until tonight. Rudy was a mechanic, she probably could’ve called up her mother and asked if he would come look at it or at least advise her what to tell a mechanic. As Madison considered this scenario one last time, she shivered. Seeking out Rudy’s company on purpose just went against the grain. No, she couldn’t do it. She’d have to see a mechanic and hope she had enough money to pay the bill. If not, maybe he would let her pay the balance in installments. With a heavy sigh, she decided to push her worries aside and concentrate on the evening ahead of her. Walking to the bus stop, she let herself smile. Tonight was going to be amazing!

The roar of the bus engine forewarned her it was pulling up to the stop sign. She ran to climb on, then daydreamed about Micah the rest of the way. When they drew near to the corner of Lake Austin Blvd and Enfield Road, Madison waved to the bus driver. “You can let me out here.” There was a closer stop, but she’d rather walk the rest of the way so she wouldn’t suffer the embarrassment of Micah seeing her arrive for their date on a bus.

The walk was short but pretty. Only a few blocks. Something was always going on, there was usually a festival like atmosphere to this part of town. Everything from Eeyore’s Birthday Party to SXSW to Austin City Limits kept the days from becoming monotonous. Lake Austin flowed in front of her and she enjoyed watching people jog or walk their dogs along the riverside. Close proximity to Sixth Street ensured that live music could be heard almost anywhere. By the time she reached Mozart’s, the sun was already down and the whole place was ablaze with lights. The sound of a guitar drifted out from either Mozart’s or the nearby Hula Hut restaurant. All of the businesses on this street shared a dockside with a marina and a River Boat company that ferried people from the dam to the other side of Pennybacker Bridge. Someday she wanted to splurge and see all of this from the deck of a big steamboat. She could remember seeing beautiful photos of the Christmas light display and the romantic setting this place provided on the waterfront.

Mozart’s was huge for a coffee shop and when Madison stepped up to the entrance, she feared she might not see Micah right away. She shouldn’t have worried, for the moment she planted her foot on the bottom step, she could see him coming to greet her. His tall silhouette was unmistakable. He had on a gray motorcycle jacket zipped all the way up and a pair of dark jeans. All other details of his appearance faded away because she was so fixated on his smile. She held her breath as he approached her and before she knew what was happening, Micah placed one finger under her chin, bent down and planted a kiss right on her lips. It was delicate. Soft and sweet. And just as soon as it had begun, it was over.

Micah took a step back. “Smack me if you want, I’ll understand. But nobody knows how a first date will go. You may not have a good time or you may decide you hate me. Lord knows you wouldn’t be the first woman to come to that decision, but I wasn’t going to live another moment on this earth wondering what your lips felt like against mine.”

Madison knew she should have said something, but he’d stolen her ability to speak. All she could do was look into his eyes and smile.