AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews! You guys are so sweet! I saw Secret Window for the second time yesterday, bought Chocolat and watched that, and am currently watching Pirates, so I am ready to write! Please don't forget to review, savvy?
The next morning, I woke up to find that I I felt hot breath on my neck. My head moved up and down evenly, along with Rainey's breathing. It soothed me, kinda like the sounds of the ocean. I layed there for a moment, just enjoying the serene moment between us, listening to him breathe. His body was warm, mine was cool, so we mixed well together.
Suddenly, the man turned on his side and I suddenly realized that I appeared to be under him now. His face was buried in my hair, and his arm was still around my waist. Our legs were entangled, and I realized how sheltered I felt. With him right there, I realized no harm would come to me.
Glancing out the window, I noticed a light snow beginning to fall. I smiled warmly, and buried my face in Rainey's chest, enjoying the warmth but questioning the goose bumps that began to make their presence all over my body.
"Am I squishing you, Madison?" he mumbled in my hair.
A hot blush crept on my face as the goose bumps quickly disappeared. He knew I was awake? He felt me snuggle up against him?
"Just cutting off my air supply," I joked, hoping the blush would soon disappear.
He chuckled, which did not do me any good; just made my body more hot than it already was. "You know you can push me off you or wake me up, right?"
Why would I do that? I thought incredulously. How could I do that when your face is so serene? Honestly, as each day passed by, I began to like Rainey more and more each day. Too much than I would have ever imagined. I almost even forgot he was a murderer.
"Thanks for telling me," I said as he moved off of me. But I don't think that's gonna happen any time soon..
"Madison," Mort said, breaking me out of my train of thought. "Would you mind going with me to buy a tuxedo for the WCB?"
I smiled, knowing he meant the Writers' of the Century Ball. "Sure." On the outside, I looked calm and tired, but inside I was ecstatic. I hadn't been out to shops in a long while, and going with Mort would be an added bonus.
He flashed me a smile and got up, stretching. His shirt raised I caught a glimpse of his toned stomach. I blushed and immediately glanced out the window. After hearing the door close, I quickly threw on my forest green and my only pair of capris. Quickly running a brush through my hair and over my teeth, I bounded down the stairs, slipping on my shoes when I got downstairs. There, I impatiently awaited Rainey.
Ten minutes later, Rainey walked down the stairs, a rolled-up newspaper in his hand. I quirked an eyebrow and he shot me a smile.
"Why are you wearing capris? Don't you know that it's cold out there?" Rainey asked, pointing outside.
I shrugged. "It's the only thing that's clean." Trying to hide my impatience, I tried to stop my right foot from tapping, but it was in vain.
"What's the rush?" he asked as he walked into the living room, throwing the newspaper carelessly onto the coffee table. "Gotta hot date?"
I smiled. "Don't you know?"
He stopped and stared at me for a moment, a look of curiosity on his face. "You gotta hot date?!"
I laughed. "No," I said. "No. It's just..." I looked away, a hot blush creeping onto my face. "I haven't been out, really, unless I had a job. I'm just kinda excited... that's all..."
He smiled. "Let's go, then."
Twenty-five minutes later, Rainey parked his black Jeep and I got out, glancing around. A cold breeze picked up my hair off my shoulders as I wrapped my arms around myself. I felt a hand touch the small of my back and I turned. Rainey held on old Greenbay Packers hoodie. I smiled sheepishly and threw on the hoodie, a slight blush caressing my face. I guess in all my excitement I forgot a jacket or something to keep me warm... which wouldn't have been the first time.
We walked into the tuxedo shop, the only one in Tashmore Lake, and I smiled. The shop was small and cozy, with racks and racks of multi-colored suits. The scent was that of new car, which irritated me, but I quickly forgot about it as Rainey led me through the store.
"What color are you gonna wear to this ball?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow at a bold, lime green suit.
"Black," he said, still swiftly walking to the back of the store.
"Good," I said, glad that he wasn't going for a powder-blue or a scarlet-red tuxedo.
He craned his neck and quirked an eyebrow, smiling at me. "Why?"
"'Cause you'd look better in black," I said nonchalantly. "You know, 'cause you're kinda pale, so black would accent your facial features."
He stopped walking, finally, and quirked an eyebrow at me, smiling. "And you know this how...?"
I stuck out my tongue at him. "'Cause I do."
He poked me in my stomach and a giggled loudly. He chuckled and began to look through suits on a rack. Deciding to help him, I walked over to another rack with just black tuxedos and began to go through them.
A girl, a little older than me, with straight, brown hair hair and dark brown eyes was looking through tuzedos, a couple of racks over. I recognized her from the post office. She used to be my manager but didn't work the same shift as me. She fired me for being late more than once.
I noticed a shorter woman by her side, with greying-brown hair and blue eyes. She had a slight hump on her back and she wore thin-rimmed glasses. I assumed that was her mother.
"Did you hear about Rainey, Summer?" the woman asked in a hushed tone. "He's gotten a maid."
"I know Mother," Summer replied. "Her name's Madison; she used to work at the post office with me. I had to fire her for being late all the time."
"Let's hope Rainey fires her," the older woman said stiffly. "Who knows what that man is capable of."
"That's not gonna happen," a masculine voice told the two. My heart dropped. What the hell are you doing here, Dad?
My father continued to speak. "Sure, Madison can be late, and opinionated, and... stupid sometimes, but she knows her place." I felt Rainey come up behind me but I didn't turn. I continued to listen intently to what my father had to say about me, as did Rainey. "She's probably sleeping with the guy already, which is a good thing, because he'll probably pay more. Hope she's a good little fuck... her mother was."
Tears began to prick my eyes as I thought, God, don't you know not to cuss in front of women, you fat, ignorant slob?
"Will you hold this?" Rainey asked me politely, handing me a plain, black tuxedo. I nodded, not daring to look at him.
"Excuse me, sir?" I heard Rainey say, and my eyes shifted from the ground to my employer. I quirked an eyebrow. What was Rainey doing, talking to my father? I also noted that the two women fled the rack, after Rainey's abruptappearance.
"Ah, Mr. Rainey," my father said, acting as though he said absolutely nothing.
Without warning, Rainey raised his right arm and socked my father, sending him backwards. "Don't you ever talk about Madison like that again, you greedy little bastard. I'm not paying you anymore because you don't deserve any of Madison's pay and you never did." He shook his hand a bit, and I noticed it was red.
Rainey walked back to me, a humble smile on his face. I smiled widely and threw my arms around him, kissing him on the cheek. "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me," I whispered into his ear. "Thank you."
He smiled. "It's no problem. But we should get going. I need to pay for that suit and get some ice for my hand."
I giggled and nodded, following him up to the register.
Once we got home, I immediately insisted Rainey sit on the couch while I put the suit safely away in the closet and to fetch his hand some ice. After wrapping three cubes in a damp paper towel, I walked over to Rainey and kneeled in front of him, gently taking his hand in mine.
The author watched intently as the girl gently took his hand in hers. The touch sent something through him though he couldn't quite figure out what. He noted that it was familiar and pleasurable in a non-sexual way.
Madison slowly put the cold towel on his bruised knuckles and he flinched. She shot him a comforting smile and he seemed to settle down, just enjoying watching her take care of him. He liked having her fingers touching his skin and he liked how she took care of him.
Her left index finger softly brushed his knuckles and his eyes shot into hers. Her left cheek picked up into a half-smile which he returned.
"I can't believe you did that," she said quietly, now staring intently at his still-swollen knuckles.
"He was being disrespectful," he murmured, once again watching her work. "Someone had to put him in place."
She smiled softly. "I don't know about that. He knows where you live. Just be careful."
He squeezed Madison's index finger softly and replied, "Why do worry about me so much?"
Her eyes raised to meet his and a slight blush crawled onto her face. "'Cause you're my best friend. I don't want anything to happen to happen to you."
Shifting her weight, she picked up his hand a little and said, "I'm going to try something that my mother used to do with me whenever I got cuts or bruises. It always used to make me feel better."
He nodded, his eyebrows lifted in curiosity. He watched intently as the girl slowly and softly caressed his knuckles with her fingertip and then she slowly bent her head down and softly brushed her lips on the middle of his knuckles.
Mort slowly gulped. The feeling he was experiencing was going in the wrong direction. Thinking of cold showers, he opened his hand and shut it, smiling at the girl.
"All better," he said softly and she smiled, getting up.
"That's good," she said and sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. He slowly wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him so he could smell the faint scent of strawberries on her body. "You know, what your father said wasn't true, right?"
She nodded against him but didn't answer. There was a moment of peacefulness between the two, one silently thinking about the other, and they each smiled, despite the day's events.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: There's the eighth chapter! Wow, action and fluffiness rolled into one!! Savvy! I smiled as I wrote this; it's actually my favorite chapter so far! I would die if Mort Rainey socked someone for me. Yeah... anyways, please review!