8. Ian

Watching Maddie inhale her dinner was satisfying beyond measure. She had never been a big eater, except when it came to her endless candy stash, so when he could get her to eat more than just a few bites, he was happy. She finished the plate of food and then rubbed her stomach.

"That was so yummy. I forgot how good it was. Are there enough leftovers for tomorrow? Next day spaghetti is the best," she said enthusiastically.

He chuckled and nodded, "Of course. I made extra, just so you could have your next-day leftovers."

Some people might have found Maddie to be quirky. She wasn't overly social as a teenager. Instead, she usually had a book to occupy her time. She had friends, but she didn't do the usual girl slumber parties or shopping at the mall like many other girls in high school. Despite being quiet, she had never had a hard time making friends as a kid.

The things that some people would find quirky or strange about her, he found to be endearing. She was passionate about things she liked and didn't pretend to be something she wasn't just to appease other people. She was kind to people as long as they were kind to her, but if she was backed into a corner or faced with a fight, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. It was one of the things he loved most about her. It kept him and Cam on their toes when she was younger. Of course, she was a little touchier back then. They chalked it up to hormones which got them chewed out by her for assuming it was always her lady problems making her cranky.

"Come on, let's go watch a movie. How about Thor?"

Maddie crossed her arms over her chest and scowled, "You said we could watch Lilo and Stitch."

Ian grinned. If he didn't know any better, he'd think she was a Little. She had so many of the telling mannerisms, and at the moment, with her arms crossed and her bottom lip sticking out, she looked just like a Little about to have a tantrum. Which might have been done on purpose because he knew they would be watching the movie she wanted to watch, but he wanted to ruffle her feathers a little. It was too cute not to whenever he could.

"Fine, fine. We will watch your movie. But next movie night, I get to pick."

She grinned, "Okay!"

Little brat.

He knew she was only agreeing because even when it had been his or Cam's night to choose a movie, she usually ended up being the one to choose. Yeah, she was a little spoiled. But she deserved it. She also deserved to have her cute bottom spanked soundly at times, but unfortunately, that had never happened, which was too bad because he really liked the vision of her stretched face down over his lap with her bottom turned a lovely shade of red.

Calm down. You can't think about Madison like that. She's your best friend's sister.

Ian discreetly adjusted himself. Maybe gray sweats weren't the best thing to wear around the house when just seeing and thinking about her gave him a raging hard-on.

Movie nights had been a weekly occurrence when they had all lived together. It was something that Maddie had insisted on. She made the rule that they had to be done with work at six o'clock on Friday evenings, and they had to spend the evening ordering takeout and watching movies while eating a ridiculous amount of candy. It got to the point that Ian had begun looking forward to Friday nights. Even if they did get conned into watching the same movie for the millionth time. He was looking forward to starting the tradition again.

Sitting down on the couch, he plopped a throw pillow on the floor in front of him and pointed for her to sit. She sat down and handed him her brush. She sat quietly for several minutes as he ran the brush through her silky hair. Knowing how much she had loved having him wash her hair, she was probably in heaven having her hair brushed. At least she wasn't making the sounds she'd been making earlier in the bathtub.

Washing her hair had been painful for his cock. Her little moans and whimpers nearly had him coming in his pants. He didn't think she realized how sexy those little noises were, and he'd felt bad for having thoughts of her making those noises while his mouth was on her pussy. Ian couldn't remember the last time his cock had been so in need, but it seemed like every second he was around her had it saluting its appreciation for her.

After he'd brushed out all the knots, he sat back on the couch and waited for her to come up and snuggle next to him. It was how they would often watch movies. She would snuggle up against either him or Cam and usually fall asleep before the movie was over. He couldn't count the number of times they'd carried her up to her bedroom because she didn't want to wake up enough to go up to her room to bed.

Maddie sat next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder while he started the movie. She pulled her knees up to her chest and sighed.

"I miss him so much."

A lump formed in his throat. He ached for her and himself. They'd both lost an amazing person in their lives.

"I know, baby. I miss him too."

Ian wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer against him. She didn't say anything more, so he didn't either. It seemed that she just needed to say it out loud. Maybe talking about Cam would help her, he wasn't sure, but he would do whatever she needed to help her heal.

Her eyes lit up as soon as the movie started, and he couldn't help but smile to himself knowing that she had probably watched the movie enough times that she knew it word for word, but she still got excited about it.

When she was a teenager, Cam and Ian had come up with the idea of having a family codeword, so if Maddie was ever in trouble or needed to be picked up by someone other than them, they used the codeword. She'd chosen the word Ohana because of the movie Lilo and Stitch. It meant Family, and in the film, Ohana was a word used frequently and meant nobody gets left behind or forgotten.

Maddie had only texted Ian once when she was a senior in high school and said Ohana. Cam had been out of town on business, and she was supposed to be at her friend's house for a sleepover. She had rarely ever gone on sleepovers, so Ian was happy that she had shown interest in hanging out with a friend and hadn't questioned it. It turned out that she'd actually snuck off to a party and gotten drunk.

When a guy started getting pushy with her, she'd sent the text, and he tracked her phone. Despite the party being halfway across town, he'd sped the entire way and gotten there in record time. When he stormed into the party and found her nearly blacked out and a guy with his hands all over her, Ian had gone into a rage and punched the guy, who was in college, and then carried her out of there. He'd never been so scared in his life as he had been that night, and he hadn't even had feelings for her then.

About halfway through the movie, Ian looked down and saw that Maddie was asleep next to him with her thumb in her mouth. She looked angelic and peaceful as she slept, and he couldn't help but lean down and kiss the top of her head.

I wish you could be my little girl.

Sadness filled his chest as he remembered his best friend and the thought of never being able to have Maddie as his Little. He would always be there for her, and he would walk her down the aisle when the time came, even though the thought of that gave him chest pains. Knowing she could never be his and that he would never find anyone who came close to what she meant to him caused him to tear up. He would be alone for the rest of his life rather than settle for something less than Maddie.

After the movie was over, Ian carefully picked her up, carried her bridal style up the stairs, and tucked her into bed. Her eyes fluttered briefly before she sighed and snuggled her stuffed toy close to her chest.

"Night, baby girl," he said as he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"Night, Daddy," she whispered.

Ian froze and stared at her for several minutes before he backed away and left the room. Leaning against the wall outside of her room, he ran a hand over his face and told himself that it meant nothing. She was asleep and didn't know what she was saying. Only the vision of her saying those words would play over in his mind all night long and make his cock ache even more.