Ice Dreams Part 2 (10 page)

She smiled. “It’s understandable. I’m just thinking about how nice it will be to head back to the ocean.”

He smiled. “We can leave early afternoon. I should have everything packed up by then.”

She took a sip from her glass and glanced at him. He looked out over the city but she could see the stress in his face. He knew that his time was over here.

He snapped out of it when his cell phone rang. “I need to take this.” He disappeared into the apartment.

Madison
reached for her phone and wanted to talk with Jessie but it was so late that she didn’t want to wake her. She flipped through her contacts and settled on texting Mike.
How’s the drive –Madison

It only took a minute for him to respond.
Boring but getting closer. How’s Hunter? – Mike

He’s sad but I think he will ok. I should be home by tomorrow afternoon –
Madison

Can’t wait, sweet dreams – Mike

She couldn’t help but smile but quickly put her phone away as Hunter returned. “Is everything ok?”

Hunter sat down and grabbed his beer bottle. “Come on, let’s go to bed I’m exhausted.”

“Who was on the phone?”

He walked into the bedroom and changed into his pajama bottoms. He disappeared into the bathroom.
Madison followed him and watched as he gripped the side of the sink. “I know something is wrong Hunter. I wish you would just tell me.”

He didn’t look at her. “Can we talk about it in the morning? I’m really tired.” He walked into the bedroom and grabbed his pillow. “I’m going to sleep on the couch tonight.”

Madison watched him as he left the room. She didn’t know what to do. She climbed into his bed and laid her head against the pillow. She started to cry because she felt uncomfortable. Something wasn’t right. He was shutting her out.

She eventually fell asleep. When she woke up, she rolled over and felt the empty bed beside her. She got up and walked into the living room. Hunter was still sleeping on the couch with beer bottles surrounding him.

She felt the anger take over as she raced back to the bedroom and grabbed her cell phone. She quickly dialed Carter.

“Hey Maddy, how’s it going?”

“Not great. Hunter completely cut himself off from me last night. He got a phone call and went into a zombie trance. I woke up this morning and he’s passed out on the couch surrounded with beer bottles.”

“I’m on my way, Maddy. Don’t move!”

She got dressed and packed what little clothes she had. She wanted to go back to her place. About thirty minutes later, Carter arrived. She opened the door as he stormed passed her.

“Where is he?”

“Still on the couch,” Madison said as she pointed towards the living room. Alicia walked in with him.

“Come on, grab your stuff. I’m taking you home with me. Carter will deal with him and bring him home later.”

Madison nodded as she looked back towards Hunter. She wanted to help but knew she couldn’t. He wasn’t ready to share it with her yet.

They arrived back at the beach right before noon.
Madison was happy to climb the stairs to her apartment and be home. Hunter had attempted to call her but she allowed it to go to voicemail. Alicia wanted to stay with her but she just wanted to be alone.

She closed her door and leaned back against it as she started to cry. She heard the small knock of her door. “
Madison, are you crying?”

“Yes,” she responded to Mike.

“Open up, let’s talk.”

“Mike, I just need some alone time. Can we talk tonight?”

He paused. “Sure. I need to run out but call me if you need anything, ok?”

“Thanks.” She got up as she heard him leave the apartment. She headed into the bathroom and stripped. She started to fill her bathtub. She needed some time to herself. She wished that Hunter would let her in but instead he chose to get drunk and pass out on his couch.

She heard her phone ring again as she relaxed into the tub. She saw it was Carter’s number. “Hey.”

“He’s feels horrible,
Madison.”

“I’m sure he does. That’s what happens when you chose alcohol over talking with your girlfriend.”

Carter sighed. “He’s at the arena right now, cleaning out his locker. I really shouldn’t get involved but you should know.”

She closed her eyes as she sank deeper into the water. “Tell me.”

“His agent called him last night. Three teams are interested and he’s heading to the west coast tomorrow. He knows that one of these teams will pick up his contract and that means he leaves his home and you.”

She sighed. “Why couldn’t he tell me this?”

“He feels guilty that you moved here to be closer to him and now he’s leaving. I’ve never seen him like this, Maddy. Don’t shut him out, ok?”

“Ok, I will call him later.”

She finished her bath and changed into new clothes. It felt good to be back with her things. She heard her phone ring and saw it was Hunter. “Hey Hunter.”

“
Madison, please forgive me. I was an idiot last night. It seemed like everything was caving in on me.”

“What’s going on, Hunter?”

“I’m heading to the west coast tomorrow. A few teams need to speak with me. I will be gone for about a week. I feel horrible. We were supposed to be starting our summer together and getting you ready for your semester.”

“Hunter, you have a career. I understand that. Athletes have long distance relationships all the time. You need to communicate with me. We can figure this whole thing out if you would just talk to me.”

“You are right. I was stupid last night. Can I pick you up around five?”

“Are we still going to Carter’s?”

“If you wanted to, it’s up to you.”

“Sure, see you then.”

CHAPTER NINE

It was around four in the afternoon and Madison was finishing up getting ready for Carter’s picnic. She heard the knock of her front door as she opened it. Mike smiled at her. “Hey, feeling better?”

She nodded. “Yeah, it was a rough morning but I’m good.”

“You look fantastic,” he stated as his eyes ran over her black tank top with beige cotton shorts.

She blushed. “Thank you. Did you want to come in? Hunter should be here shortly.”

“No, I don’t want to bug you. Just wanted to make sure you were ok.”

“Thanks. We can chat tomorrow. Hunter is heading to the west coast for a week.”

“He is?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, looks like he will be traded.”

He reached for her arm as she tensed, he quickly pulled back. “I’m so sorry, Madison. That really sucks.”

She nodded. “We will figure it out somehow.”

He nodded. “See you around.”

He walked across the hallway and into his apartment. Moments later, Hunter arrived with a bouquet of flowers for her. “They are beautiful, thank you.”

He smiled. “You deserve more for putting up with me.”

She laughed. “Let me put these in water and we can leave.”

Hunter walked into the apartment and leaned against the wall, watching her. “I’m sorry again.”

Madison
turned around and looked at him. “We need to stop saying that we are sorry. It’s not helping anything. It just reminds us that we have a problem. We need to figure out the solution. Let’s just enjoy the cookout, ok? No worries tonight, just us.”

He nodded. “Sure, come on.”

They headed down the stairs and ran into Mike before they left. “Thanks for the tickets, Hunter. Sorry about the loss though.”

“No problem, glad you had a good time. We should do dinner when I get back into town.”

Mike smiled at Madison. “I would love that. She mentioned that you were heading out to the coast. Good luck with everything. This team will be lost without you.”

Hunter grinned. “Thanks. Keep an eye on her, ok?”

Mike smiled and winked at her. “My pleasure.”

When they arrived at Carter’s, they could smell the BBQ. Alicia waved at them as they walked across the deck.
Madison noticed a few other teammates of his sitting and drinking at the table.

Hunter introduced her to everyone as he grabbed her a bottle of water. Hunter was distracted as his friends asked him about the trade rumors.
Madison walked across the deck and sat by Alicia.

“With Hunter leaving tomorrow, it gives us a week to finish up the wedding details.”

Madison nodded. “Sounds good, what do you want to do first?”

“My friends are coming in mid-week so let’s plan on the fittings. I need your help with the favors.”

“I feel bad that we aren’t throwing you a shower, Alicia.”

She waved it off. “We don’t want one. We have everything that we need. The wedding is the most important event to us. That’s why we aren’t inviting a lot of people. It’s simple.”

Madison nodded. “So it’s going to be right over there?” She pointed to the beach.

Alicia nodded. “Carter rented the chairs this morning. We also rented an arch so we can stand underneath it. The florist will decorate it with roses in the morning. We have about thirty people coming. We are having a tent put up right at the bottom of the deck stairs for dinner. The caterers will have easy access to the kitchen, if they need it.”

“Sounds beautiful, Alicia. I really can’t wait to see everything come together.”

“How are things between you and Hunter?”

Madison frowned. “He keeps apologizing for everything but I’m tired of hearing it. We need to see what happens. Worse case, we have the summer together.”

Alicia pouted. “You cannot break up over this, Maddy! I have never seen him like this over a girl before. He loves you so much!”

“I know he does and I love him too.” At that moment, their eyes met and Hunter left his teammates and found his way over to her.

“Want to go for a walk?” he asked.

She nodded. “I would love that. We will talk wedding plans later on, Alicia.”

She smiled. “Go have fun! Dinner will be ready in about an hour.”

Hunter reached for her hand as they walked down the stairs and out onto the beach. “This is where it all started.”

Madison
smiled. “I know. I was so taken by you that night.”

“I thought Carter was going to kill me for asking you out.”

Madison laughed. “But, I’m so happy that you did.”

He smiled. “It’s amazing that it’s only been a short amount of time. You have become my world.”

She leaned forward and kissed him. Their lips melted together as he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her. He parted her lips as she moaned softly. She ran her fingers up into his hair and kept him tight against her. He bit her lower lip as he placed his forehead against hers. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Just remember this moment, this feeling when you are feeling depressed. I will be here waiting for you.”

He smiled. “God, I’m so lucky to have you in my life.”

She laughed as she pulled away and walked closer to the water. “At least you will be able to enjoy the summer with me. Plus, I will be busy with school so things will be ok.”

“Are you excited about school yet?”

She nodded. “I really need to find a job though. I’m going around tomorrow and seeing who is hiring. I need spending money.”

Hunter was about to speak up but she stopped him. “I know you will help me but I need to do this on my own, ok?”

He nodded. “Come on, I smell ribs and I’m starving.”

She laughed as they walked through the sand and back to the party deck. More teammates had arrived and Madison separated from Hunter. She felt out of place and lost with people she didn’t know.

She disappeared into the house for a moment of peace. She walked into the recreational room and looked at Carter’s collection of jersey’s and trophies. She heard the door open behind her as one of his teammates entered. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Madison smiled. “It’s ok. I’m Madison.” She reached out her hand and shook his.

“I’m Eric. I’m on the team with Carter. How do you know him?”

“He’s my brother.”

“Oh my God, you are his little sister? He talks about you but I never saw a picture. You are hot!”

She blushed and started to leave the room. “Thanks.”