Chapter Eight Madison

“ G uys?” My voice rings out through Mrs. Kendall’s home as I set my purse down on the small table near the front door. The soft voices of Kylie and Knox drift through to me from the open living room doorway.

“We’re in here,” Kylie calls out.

Turning the corner, I come face to face with Kylie and Knox sitting amongst a mountain of boxes going through a photo album. Each of them takes their turn pointing at the photos within the album, laughing.

“What are you two doing?” I ask, soft laughter escaping me. “I thought we were working.”

Kylie turns to me, a sheepish smile upon her lips as she shrugs. “Eh, it’s break time.”

“Shit… I’m okay with that,” I mutter, taking my place next to Knox. “Where did you find these?”

“Where didn’t we find them?” Knox replies, shaking his head. “This woman has mountains of photo albums. Some look like they were from the fifties from how old the photos are.”

“Speaking of photo albums… my mom would like some of the albums if possible.”

Kylie’s eyes meet mine with a small smile. She knows how close my mother and Mrs. Kendall were and how much having the albums would mean. When we were little, Mrs. Kendall would bring them out and Kylie’s mom and my mom would look at them with her while we kids played amongst the treehouse.

“Of course… actually,” she replies, standing to her feet as she moves towards a stack of boxes taped up and waiting by the open doorway. “There’s a box in here with tons of them. You can take that for sure.”

Stepping over to where she’s stood, I take in the black sharpie markings that say photos and smile. It’s exactly what my mother is looking for and knowing Kylie’s amazing skills at organizing, everything my mother wants is in this box. “Awesome, thank you. She will love it.”

“Guys!” Knox calls out with more excitement in his voice than you would expect from looking at a photo album. “You have to see this.”

Kylie and I turn, making our way back to Knox as we glance down at the photo he’s pointing at. “Look at this… it’s from our last summer together when we were kids. Remember, Mrs. Kendall made us come take our senior pictures here and planned an entire cookout for us?”

The thought of that day comes flying back to me, not so much because of what Mrs. Kendall did. But because of the interaction I had with Jaxson that day. It was the first time I tried to tell him how I felt about him, and in the end, it blew up in my face.

Laughter escapes me as I watch Kylie and Sam go at it with Knox and Asher over the round of backyard volleyball we just played. As much as the guys boasted about being able to win against us, they didn’t. Which only made things funnier when we won. The torment that Sam threw towards Asher and Knox brings a smile to my face, that is until Jaxson steps out the back door of Mrs. Kendall’s home and my heart all but stops.

Shirtless and with nothing but loose black basketball shorts on, I watch as his eyes glance towards me and he sets off in my direction.

“This is pretty awesome for Mrs. Kendall to do for us, isn’t it? ”

Nodding, I lift my iced tea glass to my lips and take a drink. Trying to decide what I want to say, I told myself this morning that I was going to do it. That this was the year I’d tell Jaxson how I felt about him.

“Yeah, it is,” I say softly, clearing my throat. “Look, Jaxson, I was hoping—”

My words are cut short by Asher who quickly grabs Jaxson’s attention. “Hey! You made it.”

“Yeah, I had to finish up a few things at home first.”

“Awesome, well the girls are spanking our asses at volleyball so with you here now it will be three on three and we can show them who really owns the court,” Asher replies, bouncing the volleyball around in his arms as he walks backward gesturing for Jaxson to follow him.

Though he doesn’t. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Turning, his eyes find mine once more. There’s something within the depths of them that makes my heart patter just a bit as he takes a step closer, the sweat from the day's heat glistening over his chest as I slowly look up into his eyes. “What were you going to say?”

Opening and closing my mouth, I stare at him feeling smaller than I ever have as I try to muster the courage to continue our conversation. But I can’t. “Um— Nothing. It can wait till later… it isn’t important.”

He doesn’t seem to buy what I’m saying as he furrows his brow slightly. “Madi, if you have something to say… just say it.”

“Oh my God! Will you both come on? You can catch up later!” Asher yells, causing Sam to snap at him before the two of them go back and forth over God knows what. My mind is too focused on the man in front of me. The man whose mere presence makes my stomach flip with excitement and my body yearn to be close to him.

“It’s okay, Jaxson. It can wait till later.”

He hesitates for a minute, staring at me to make sure I’m being serious before he turns and jogs over to where Asher and Knox stand waiting on the other side of the net. My feet, unable to move as Sam strides over to me with a sinful smile on her lips. “Did you tell him?”

“What—” I gasp, my eyes turning to her with a look of shock. “Tell him what? I wasn’t going to tell him anything.”

She rolls her eyes, hand on her hip as she stares at me like my mother does when I get into trouble.

“As if we all don’t already know that you have been lusting over him for years. Kylie and I actually had a bet going on if you were going to tell him this year.”

“Are you fucking serious?” I exclaim, shaking my head. “It’s nice to know my nonexistent love life is the center of yall’s entertainment.”

“Oh don’t be like that,” she sighs dramatically. “Just tell him you like him… men are slow. They can’t read between the lines.”

I never did get up the nerve to tell Jaxson how I felt, and I still wonder how different things would have turned out if I did…

“Madi, did you hear me?” Knox’s voice pulls me from the memory, causing me to clear my throat.

“Sorry, what?”

Both Kylie and Knox look at each other and begin laughing. I’m not sure what it is that they find so damn funny, but by the look on Knox’s face, I have a feeling I’m about to regret asking. “Can one of you just tell me what’s going on?”

Knox takes a moment and then holds up the album. My eyes squint to focus on the photo he is showing me. It’s a picture of all of us from that day at the cookout, and within it, while everyone else is smiling, I’m looking up at Jaxson with a love-sick gaze on my face.

“You really did have a crush on him back then didn’t you?” Kylie says, making me blush as I turn to her with annoyance.

“No, it wasn’t like that.”

They laugh again. “Yes, it was… and I bet you still do,” she remarks, shrugging her shoulders as she begins surveying the room like a woman plotting her next mission.

I love my friends more than anything, but when it comes to Jaxson Rivers that isn’t a topic I discuss lightly. Jaxson made it clear years ago that he only saw me as a friend. In fact, the comment was made at the cookout they are referring to.

“Not everyone can be committed like you,” Jaxson tells Asher who wraps his arm around Sam’s waist, pulling her in for a kiss. “Some of us are still waiting to find the one.”

“Well, you and Madi are both single… why don’t you two hook up?”

I sputter and almost choke on my drink at the sound of Asher’s confession. My eyes go wide as I look towards the group, Kylie laughing hysterically at my side. Part of me wants Jaxson to come sweep me off my feet like Asher does for Sam, but the other part of me is terrified.

“Dude, what are you on?” Jaxson finally says with a sneer to his lips as he rolls his eyes, shaking his head. “You know we’re only friends. It will never be like that.”

Gritting my teeth, I square my shoulders and take a deep breath. “For your information, I don’t like Jaxson Rivers. I may have flirted with him in the past, but we were young back then. I haven’t even talked to him in years.”

Screw him . Even if he is fucking hot.

I move from the study where Knox was to the living room to continue the packing that Kylie had been doing. There’s a lot to get done and the last thing I need is to be distracted by trips down memory lane that weren’t always entirely comforting.

“Are you okay?” Kylie asks, walking to where I’ve set myself up within a few stacks of boxes wrapping old knicknacks. The concern in her eyes is evident with the wrinkles in her forehead creasing together as she frowns.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well…” she starts pausing for a moment as she steps closer to me. “It’s just that the topic of Jaxson has always been touchy for you. Even when we were kids. You always try to be strong for everyone, but I know you well enough to know that the sarcasm and bold words you say are just a cover for how you’re feeling.”

Damn, am I that readable?

Hearing her say that only further fuels the aggravation I feel inside me over Jaxson. For years, I thought I had gotten over my obsession with him. That I would eventually find someone who can love me the way I want to be loved.

But that all came crumbling down the moment he stepped into Mrs. Kendall’s house for the reading.

“Kylie… it doesn’t matter if I like him or not,” I finally sigh, giving into her persistence. “Jaxson doesn’t like me and I need to be realistic with my expectations. We aren’t in high school anymore and I refuse to ever again pine over a man I can’t have. Even if he does make me want to drop my panties at a single command. ”

“What the hell did I walk into?” Knox says out loud, causing both Kylie and I to burst into a fit of laughter as I wave my hand at him dismissively.

“It’s nothing.”

“Nothing,” he smirks. “Sounds to me like you want to… what was it again… drop your panties , for Jaxson Rivers.”

I open my mouth to protest, but his phone rings. As soon as he pulls it out of his pocket, he looks at me and his smile widens. “Jaxson! To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Oh shit. You better fucking not, Knox.

Jumping to my feet, Knox’s eyes meet mine with a mischievous glint as he wags his finger at me telling me “no” as he backs up.

“Don’t you dare—”

“Yeah, no.” He cuts me off while still talking to Jaxson. “Well, the lawyer gave me the keys to the house so we could get some of this stuff packed up… uh, huh… No–no. It’s me, Kylie, and Madi here right now… I mean if you want to come over and help, you sure can.”

My stomach flips hearing Knox tell Jaxson that he can join us. It wasn’t what I had in mind, and right now I look like absolutely shit. Leggings with paint marks on them from when my mom and I repainted the bakery, and bleach stains on my t-shirt.

For fuck sake.

“Yeah, I’ll order some pizza if you want to pick up a few beers— Yeah, see you soon.”

The moment he’s off the phone, I want to throttle him. I absolutely CAN NOT believe that he just did that to me. “Are you serious right now?”

Knox raises a brow in question. His arms cross over his chest as he glances at Kylie who only continues to find this entire exchange amusing. “Are you worried about something, Madi? Because I could have sworn that you and Jaxson were only friends… or so you say.”

My face turns red with embarrassment. I know what he’s playing at and it isn’t going to work. It’s not just me that made that statement. Jaxson told literally everyone that we were only just friends .

“Nope,” I lie, biting my tongue as I try to keep my composure. “Let him come over. At least then maybe we will actually get some work done.”

If I survive the torment, that is.