Page 32 of Real Forever
“Yes, your dancing, but it’s more than that. How you speak, how you move, what you wear. You are so unafraid of being you.” Jake’s eyes were intense, examining.
“I—” Madison was relieved when the DJ interrupted.
“Ladies and gentleman, thank you so much for having me tonight. It’s been an absolute blast, and from all the family at NorAsana, thank you so much for coming out. This is your last dance of the evening.”
The first slow, sultry beats came over the speakers and Jake held out his hand to Madison. Holding his gaze, she stepped toward him and allowed her fingers to tangle together with his. Jake wrapped his other hand around Madison’s hip and pulled her into his chest. She inhaled the warm, musky scent of his slightly sweaty skin, the scent of his cologne barely lingering. Her breath trembled on the exhale. Jake guided her body, rocking her hips steadily from side to side. He took her hand and placed it at the point his neck met his shoulder and grazed the edge of his hand down the back of her arm and along the side of her ribs as he brought it to rest on her lower back. She arched into him in response to his touch, pressing her stomach and breasts against his chest.
Their bodies intertwined, Madison’s skin grew hot and dewy. She felt the heat growing through her core too, pulsing between her legs. Jake tipped his head down alongside her neck and she felt him breathe her in. He pulled back slightly, locking eyes with her. The kind, friendly twinkle in Jake’s eyes was replaced with a piercing, carnivorous shine.
Madison was afraid to open her eyes as the last beats of the song faded. Afraid the clock had struck midnight and this beautiful night had turned back into a pumpkin. She felt Jake’s hands move back up her body to take her hands from the back of his neck. He entwined the fingers of their left hands and let them fall to their side, but her right hand he kept raised at his shoulder. Madison’s mouth fell open and her breath caught in her chest when she felt Jake’s warm lips press into her upper arm, just above the inside of her elbow. She opened her eyes and lifted her head to find him staring hungrily at her skin.Upstairs. Now.
Madison grabbed her purse from the table she’d left it on next to the dance floor, and she and Jake made a beeline for the elevator. Rounding the corner into the lobby, Madison stopped dead in her tracks, causing Jake to bump into her from behind. She pulled Jake behind a luggage cart and ducked, tugging him down with her.
“Tammy,” she whispered.
“What? Where?”
Madison nodded her head in the direction she’d spotted Tammy and they both peeked up above the pile of suitcases. It was Tammy, all right. She was facing them, speaking to a man whose back was toward them. Madison rifled through her purse for her phone.
“What are you doing?” Jake whispered.
“Pictures. What if it’s the guy she’s screwing?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. It looks like they’re just—”
Madison clamped down on Jake’s forearm and they both fell silent as Tammy reached behind the man and grabbed his ass, pulling him toward her.
“Holy shit. I know she’s, like, the devil and all, but that was a fucking boss move,” Madison whispered.
Jake snickered. “Hurry and get your picture.”
Madison poked her phone up between two pieces of luggage and snapped photo after photo as Tammy and the man groped and jammed their tongues down each other’s throats.
“Okay, this is getting gross now.”
Madison giggled and dropped her phone, which made a loud crack on the marble floor. She and Jake both winced and ducked down even lower. Madison peeked back up, relieved they hadn’t been noticed. She kept snapping as Tammy grabbed the man’s hand and they walked away together down the hall.
“Oh my freaking god,” Madison shrieked. “I can’t believe we did this.”
“You did this,” Jake said, squeezing her hand.
“No.Wedid this. There’s no way I could have done this without you, Jake. I mean it. Between these photos and the warranty law thingy you found… she’s going to have to give Lauren her money back, right?”
“I sure hope so, Madison.”
She wasn’t sure if she’d heard Jake say her name before. Surely, she must have, but right now it felt like she was hearing it for the first time. It sounded like a dirty word coming from his lips. A deliciously dirty word. She stared at his lips and remembered the hurry she’d been in to get him up to their room. All thoughts of Tammy and Lauren fell away.
They made their way to the elevator and Madison noticed Jake’s foot tapping impatiently as they waited for it to reach the lobby. Ding. The elevator doors opened to reveal an elderly couple, each holding the handle of a bright red rolling suitcase. The man smiled and stepped to the side to make room, while the woman gasped and grabbed her companion’s arm.
“Oh my, what a lovely dress. You look stunning, my dear.”
Madison blushed. “Thank you so much. It’s so kind of you to say.”
“Oh, look at them, Harold. Heading in from a night of dining and dancing. Remember when we used to dance all night?”
Harold and his wife shared a wistful glance while Jake ran the back of his knuckles up Madison’s spine.
Ding. The elevator doors opened again. Jake took Madison’s hand and tugged her out of the elevator, Madison smiling politely at the couple, and they dashed down the hallway toward their room. Jake nearly tripped trying to hurry down the hall and dig the keycard from his wallet at the same time. Reaching the door, he pressed the card to the sensor box beside the door handle. Red light. He pressed it again. Red light. He dropped the card. Picked it up. Pressed it. Red light.
