Between You and I

E
VERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2016 Beth D. Carter

ISBN: 978-1-77233-955-0

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Audrey Bobak

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.  No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

Thanks to C. R. Moss.

This one is for B.R.E.  Your critique and guidance on this project was priceless, and I’m thankful to have your friendship.

BETWEEN YOU AND I

Beth D. Carter

Copyright © 2016

Chapter One

“There’ll be a lot of us celebrating your birthday!”

Madeline winced and glared at her cell phone. As her best friend’s voice chirped out of the speaker, she flipped over a new layer of hair so she could continue to color her roots. “Could we not tell anyone, Lacey? Let’s just celebrate the festive season and not the fact I’m another year older.”

“Oh, come on. It’s not every day that you turn forty.”

“Excuse me!” Madeline snapped. “I’m only thirty-nine, which, as my best friend you should know.”

Lacey laughed. “I know. I’m just teasing you. What are you doing right now?”

“Uh … hiding the few strands of silver that dare show themselves in my dark hair.”

“See? You won’t look a day over thirty-eight.”

“Tell me again why I’m friends with you?”

Lacey snorted. “You and I both know you seemed to have found the fountain of youth. You don’t have a wrinkle in your forehead, you bitch.”

“Thank you,” Madeline murmured. “I definitely need my ego stroked.”

“Speaking of being stroked—”

“No,” Madeline said, shutting Lacey down immediately.

“Come on, you don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

“When it involves the word stroked, I
do
know what you’re going to say and no, you are not setting me up with anyone.”

“Who said I was setting you up?”

Madeline pursed her lips and wished she could see Lacey’s face. No doubt her friend wore a sweet, soft smile framed by an innocent countenance that couldn’t quite mask the wicked spark in her eyes. She’d been BFFs with Lacey Smith too long now to be fooled by her sweet-sounding persona.

“I was only going to inform you that your birthday isn’t the only one we’ll be celebrating tonight.”

Madeline sighed. “And will the second birthday person be male?”

“Mmmm … could be.”

“Tall?”

“Very.”

“Dark?”

“I believe he is of the Italian variety.”

“Handsome?”

“Definitely.”

Madeline glared at her phone. “If I so much as see you urging me with your eyes to talk to this birthday boy, I’m going to … to … post your prom picture on Facebook.”

A horrified gasp came through the phone speaker. “You wouldn’t dare!”

“Try me, Lacey Marie Smith. No set-ups!”

“Fine. But you’re no fun.”

The line went dead. Madeline smiled at herself grimly in the mirror and finished adding the root touch-up. Although she’d only had a few strands of silver, the light color stood out in stark relief against her nearly black hair. Since she parted down the middle, she saw the silver every damn time she brushed, and she hated the reminder that she was getting old. Thirty-nine. Tomorrow. The thought depressed her on so many levels. She’d had so many plans for her life, but here she stood, coloring the gray and using every anti-aging product on the market in the hopes of fending off feeling like an utter failure. The days seem to go by so quickly, the years blending together in a whirlwind. And she faced each of them alone.

Madeline slipped off the plastic gloves and tossed them into the trash. She glanced at the clock to count down the twenty minutes until she rinsed off in the shower. With a clip holding her hair, she headed into her bedroom to grab her e-reader and wait.

She worked hard to afford her small luxuries, books being at the top of the list. Her bedroom had four bookshelves stuffed with paperbacks and hardbacks, translated Japanese manga, and even dime store romance books she’d once found at the grocery store. Every single one of them had happy endings. In her experience, the real world was nothing but bleakness and heart break, so she liked being able to escape into a fantasy where love and magic conquered all.

Twenty minutes later she hurried to rinse off the strong smelling hair dye. She watched the dark color swirl down the drain and thought about tonight. The plan was to meet up with Lacey and their other friends for the annual karaoke holiday bash, which also let them celebrate her birthday since it was so close to Christmas. Hence the need to color her roots as soon as she’d woken up. She may be old, but she’d be damned if she
looked
old.

Madeline dried her hair and pulled it up into a pony-tail for now. She had to walk her dog since she would probably be out all night. She quickly dressed in comfortable sweats before heading downstairs to greet her German Shepherd puppy. Although at nine months the dog, Portia, weighed about fifty pounds, so Madeline was hard pressed to still call the beast a puppy.

Portia had the pointy ears, the sloping tail, and the brindle color typical of her breed. Her tail thumped as Madeline opened the crate door to allow Portia to practically fly out in excitement. The dog jumped for joy and almost knocked her over before heading straight for the front door.

Madeline bundled up in a scarf, hat, and jacket before snapping the leash onto Portia’s collar, and then off they went for a walk. December in Nevada was downright cold, especially in the mornings. Her house backed up against a local park which held a roller hockey rink. As she passed through the gate that separated her housing division from the park’s parking lot, she noticed a local league had organized a game. Deliberately, she yanked on Portia’s reins to slow her down because Madeline really wanted to watch the game. Being a huge fan of ice hockey, inline roller hockey fascinated her. Sometimes she tried to watch from her bedroom window, but trees blocked a lot of her view, and she was too damn intimidated to just walk up and hang out. She tried to keep Portia interested in the area around the rink, but her dog wasn’t picking up her mental vibes because the pup was all about following every scent. All too soon they were leaving the game behind.

The park overlooked a huge water run-off that also served as a place to let the dogs run around and greet each other. Madeline used the area to get in her daily running exercise, holding on to Portia’s leash as they both tore across the even plain. Twenty minutes later, Madeline was completely out of breath, sweating despite the chill, and ready for some lunch. As they walked past the hockey rink on the way back to her house, she watched the game as much as she could, and saw one player score a goal. She smiled and, for a second, their gazes met. It was brief, and she couldn’t really see his features since the sun glinted off his face shield, but she gave him a thumbs up. Then Portia yanked her arm and off she went, through the gate.

****

“Why are we lugging all this here?” Madeline asked as she carried the heavy bag full of food up to the Korean karaoke bar.

“You have to bring your own food,” Lacey said. “Alcohol too, although you have to hide it.”

“That explains all the red cups.”

“Which means we have to take all the empty booze bottles with us as we go,” Lacey said in a mock whisper. Her voice echoed down the hall. “But keep that on the down-low. Technically, I lied. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited here.”

“No shit,” Madeline said dryly. “Well, that’s good to know that we’re breaking the law.”

Lacey sat her bag of goodies on the floor as she arranged the rental booth with the cashier, handing over her driver’s license. The cashier laid down a general release form. As Lacey read it over, Madeline glanced at the side wall where blown up driver’s licenses hung with disparaging remarks of clientele not paying the bill. Truthfully, the place had an air of neglect about it, with a layer of dirt piled in the corners.

“Okay, this says we agree not to trash the place and no sex in the karaoke booths,” Lacey said.

“Got it,” Madeline replied. “No orgies. We’re only here to sing, and sing badly.”

Lacey signed with a flourish. “Awesome.”

“You’ll be in booth five,” the clerk said in a dead-pan, bored tone. Obviously, he’d heard it all before. Without looking at them, he pointed down the left hallway.

An attendant was in the room turning on the equipment and testing the two microphones when they entered, and then that person slipped out without saying one word to either of them. Madeline looked over the room and spotted something icky-looking on the couch.

“Charming,” Madeline said. “Got any antibacterial wipes so we don’t catch
E. coli
?

“Of course.” Lacey tossed some wet wipes on the table. “This place is super cheap and they have a good selection of songs, but even I have a certain standard of cleanliness. Now help me set up.”

Madeline grabbed the wipes and proceeded to clean every square inch of surface they would touch. Lacey set up the platters of finger food and put out the plastic cups to hold the liquor.

“So who else is coming?” Madeline asked.

“Sarah and Andrea, of course. And the three Js. Oh, and their friend, Hunter.”

“The Italian birthday boy?”

“Yep. He works with one of the Js. Jason, I think.”

“All the Js work together.”

Lacey frowned. “I thought Jake worked across town.”

“Nope. Same advertising company.”

Lacey grunted but didn’t say anything. Jason, Jake, and John had been friends all their lives, growing up beside each other. As adults, they worked together and even owned a house together. To the world and everyone else, they were simply known as the Js. Lacey and John had been friends with benefits for far too many years. But that was the nice thing about their friendship. Madeline didn’t nag Lacey to get a ring on it, and Lacey didn’t set her up on blind dates. Oh, scratch that. Now Madeline was going to have to start humming the wedding march whenever Lacey and John were canoodling.

The karaoke door opened and Jason’s smiling face greeted them. “Hi, honeys! We’re here!”

He was the boisterous one out of the three. He was followed by Jake, who was more the charmer. Madeline had seen him melt more panties with his wicked smile than all the Thunder from Down Under men combined. John was the last, carrying a tray of cookies, which he handed over to Lacey and then promptly kissed her.

“Dum, da da dum,” Madeline sang with a grin.

Lacey flipped her off.

“The birthday girl is in the house!” Jason boomed, his deep voice carrying. He was the one who never needed a microphone. He picked her up in a bear hug and swung her around.

Madeline squealed and pounded his shoulders. “Put me down, you Neanderthal!”

He slapped her butt and sat her down. “Birthday swat. Now how many should I give you?”

“You do, you die,” Madeline warned, holding up her hand.

“You’re not fun,” Jason said with a hang-dog look upon his face. “It gives me a reason to touch your butt.”

“Well you better not try that with me.” The husky voice from behind Madeline had all her nerve endings coming to life.

She turned, and indulged herself for a moment to take in the delicious piece of manhood she’d never been up close and personal. Sure, she’d been to the male revues all over Vegas, but most of the time she’s been too embarrassed to sit up close, never mind stuff money into a G-string. Hunter looked younger than her, early to mid-thirties. Dark hair a little too long to be fashionable. Scruff on his cheek and mustache area. Eyes that rivaled the Adriatic Sea, cerulean pools of infinity. Madeline felt like she could happily drown in them and then had to shake herself at the fanciful thought.

Fool! That boy has muscles bulging under his shirt. There isn’t any way on God’s green Earth he would ever be interested in dumpy old me.

“Hi, I’m Hunter Calegari,” he said smoothly and held out his hand. “You must be Madeline.”

“Uh, yeah. Madeline Shaul.”

As soon as she took his hand, electricity zinged up her arm and electrocuted her brain because all she could do was nod like a ninny. For a nanosecond, everything disappeared. The karaoke, their friends … all that remained was them in some sort of alternate universe where she held his hand and giggled like a school girl.

Nope, wait.

Reality check.

Heat engulfed Madeline’s face as she hastily let go Hunter’s hand and turned to pretend that something needed straightening on the table. Shit! Almost thirty-nine years old and she let hormones get the better of her, which was saying something since she hadn’t felt desirable in four, almost five, years.

Luckily, Andrea and Sarah showed up right then, diverting everyone’s attention off her embarrassing hiccup. Andrea was pretty, but Sarah was the knockout of the group, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a model-thin body. What was worse, Madeline couldn’t hate her because she was so damn nice. Still, it didn’t please her at all when Hunter took Sarah’s hand and leaned closer for the introduction. Madeline sighed. Every damn time.

More food, more drinks, and everyone decided to get a little buzzed before braving the karaoke machine. Madeline wanted to sit next to Hunter, but she decided to hug the far edge instead because she couldn’t trust the combination of wine, frisky hands, and hormonal surges. She kept stealing glances at him, though, even when she tried
not
to look his way. God, it was like she was back in high school! Several times she caught him looking at her, a frown between his eyes.