Movie Night

MADISON

The obnoxious beeping of her alarm woke Madison abruptly.

She’d been having a very nice dream—about the twins, of course—and she really didn’t want to wake up just yet.

She fumbled for her phone to make the awful noise stop, but it was too late. She was awake.

She blinked her eyes a couple of times, trying to adapt to the bright light of morning, and as she did, a delicious smell hit her.

On her nightstand was a mug of coffee, still warm, with a note propped up against it.

~We wanted to make sure you made it back last night but didn’t want to wake you… Enjoy the coffee, talk later. Ezra & Liam~

Well, that was sweet. Overprotective, but sweet.

But considering the sexy dream she’d just been having, her brothers coming into her room while she was sleeping made her uncomfortable.

After a deep drink of the rich coffee, she slipped out of bed and out onto her balcony.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was up and bright, the sky was clear and blue, and the warm summer air felt luscious on her skin.

A feeling of warmth spread from the inside out as she sat on her small outdoor loveseat and sipped her coffee.

Her phone sounded again, but this time it was a welcome interruption. On the screen, the icon for “The Three” message group had popped up.

A huge smile spread across her sleepy face, and joyful anticipation replaced any lingering feelings of guilt about lying to her brothers.

She felt like a teenager on the edge, like Juliet Capulet. She was even on a balcony, for heaven’s sake.

Levi

Good morning beautiful, hope you slept well

Ethan

And that we were the reasons why

Madison

Good morning to you both. I did, yes, and maybe a little because of you. Did you sleep well?

Ethan

Not really

Levi

Same here

Madison

Poor boys, how so?

Levi

Too much thinking.

Ethan

Yeah. Plan for today?

Madison

I’m going to the gym in a bit and then catch up with Sam. What about you, do you have plans?

Levi

Yes, unfortunately. We have to go to court tomorrow, so we have to spend some time preparing. Hopefully we’ll manage to see you later.

Madison

Hopefully

Ethan

Have a great day Flake, think about us

Levi

We’ll be thinking about you for sure

***

By 4 p.m., Madison was completely out of energy.

She spent the morning at the gym, where she’d run into both of her brothers. When they asked her about her date, she’d just waved her hand, said something generic, and changed the subject.

Fortunately, it seemed to work.

Then, halfway through her workout, Liam got called to the new site and asked her to take over a couple of boxing classes for kids.

It was fun, but if she’d known she was going to work today, she probably would have skipped the hour and a half of exercise for herself.

Weekends for gym owners were rarely relaxing, since that was the gym’s busiest time, but her brothers had been flat out these past two weeks. She’d barely seen them.

As tired as she was, she needed to tell them she’d start pulling her weight tomorrow.

Vacation time was over. Her brothers needed her.

But right now, she needed to meet up with Sam, and she was already thirty minutes late.

She hated being late, but she’d been stopped after class by the father of one of the kids she’d trained, and he didn’t let her go for a good twenty minutes. And then she’d had to shower and change.

But knowing her friend like she did, there was still a chance Madison might get there first.

But just as she’d gotten out of her car, her phone dinged with an incoming text.

Sam

Where are you? I’ve been waiting for the last thirty minutes

Madison

Here!

Of course, the ~one time~ she was late, Sam was on time.

A second later, Madison waved at Sam as she rushed up to her.

“Jesus, girl!” Sam greeted her, her bright blue eyes wide with feigned alarm. “You had me worried sick! In the seventeen years I’ve known you, you’ve never been late.”

Sam’s ability to keep things lighthearted no matter the circumstances was one of Madison’s favorite things about her. Though sometimes she wondered if it was a defense mechanism.

“Sorry. I went to the gym and Liam had to go, so he asked me to take over his afternoon classes. And then I got held up afterward.”

“By what?”

“You know that kid Carlos? The kid whose parents are divorced? Well, his father picked him up, and let’s just say the man was trying hard.”

Sam laughed. “Look at you. Barely two weeks back, and there’s already a line behind you.”

“Stop it! I have my hands full right now.”

“That you do. So how was the date?”

“Great. We went to that restaurant at South Paloma Beach. Dinner was amazing, and the twins are just so—”

“Hot? Sexy?” Sam interrupted.

“That too, yes. But so…~good~. So attentive. I mean, they teased me all night long. But every kiss, every touch…” She shook her head. “I can’t explain it.”

“So what happened after?”

“Nothing. They took me home. Said there’s no rush.” She sighed in frustration, and Sam burst out laughing.

“Hmm. So now you can’t wait to lose that V-card, huh?”

“It’s not that. Not really. It’s that I want to do…~more~.”

Sam smirked. “I bet you do.”

“But enough about me, what about you, Sam? Anything new going on?”

Sam waved her hand dismissively. “Nothing worth mentioning. At least nothing so exciting as dating twins! Anyway, we should probably go in. The mall is going to be packed.”

***

When Madison got home after shopping with Sam, she expected the house to be empty, since her brothers hadn’t been home much lately.

But to her surprise, she heard noises coming from the home theater room as she walked through the hallway.

When she poked her head in, the scene that greeted her threw her back a few years.

Lying on separate couches, Liam and Ezra were watching a show and laughing, deep belly laughs that filled up the room and made her smile.

Just like when they were kids.

Madison kicked off her shoes and put down her bags, then took her mass of still damp hair out of its messy bun and walked in, fluffing it with her fingers.

“Hey, Maddi,” Ezra said.

“Little sister!” Liam made space on his couch for her to cuddle up to him, just like they used to.

“What have you been up to tonight?” Ezra asked.

“Shopping with Sam,” she said, glad she didn’t have to lie about where she was—or who she was with. “Why?”

“How is she?”

Surprised by Ezra’s question, Madison frowned and shrugged. “Um, good, thanks. At least I think so. I got the impression she’s hiding something.”

~Like me.~

She winced internally at the thought but schooled her features into a mask of casual calm.

Ezra studied her for a moment, eyes narrowed. “So where’s your date tonight?”

She sighed. “Busy.” Which she really hoped was the truth. She hadn’t heard from the twins since this morning.

“Hardworking man, huh? Anyway, we weren’t sure you were going to be home, so we made plans with the twins tonight.”

A knot formed in her throat. She hadn’t heard from them all day, but they’d had time to make plans with her brothers?

It kind of bothered her.

“They didn’t want to go out,” Liam added. “They wanted to come over with some pizza and watch a movie. You cool with that?”

She instantly felt better.

But her relief was short lived at the prospect of hiding her feelings for the twins in front of her brothers.

“When did it ever bother me before? And when did you ever ask for my permission?” She laughed to hide her nerves.

“Well, you were a kid before,” Ezra explained. “Now you’re a young woman, and this house is just as much yours as ours. So…”

“Don’t worry about me. I can handle the four of you just fine.”

The delicious smell of pizza made Madison turn toward the door. Ethan was standing there carrying a stack of pizza boxes, and he winked at her right before Ezra stood to greet him.

Liam got up too and took the boxes from Ethan just as Levi walked in holding two six-packs of beer.

“Lucky for you, ’Flake, we thought you might be home and brought some extra.”

“Yeah,” Ethan added. “Your brothers thought maybe you’d be on a date.”

“Nope. My date was too busy to even text me today. So thanks for the pizza, I guess.”

“I’m sure he had every intention to,” Ethan said, and he and Levi both gazed at her with puppy-dog eyes.

She felt a nervous giggle bubble up, but fortunately, Ezra and Liam seemed more interested in the pizza than her conversation with the twins, and soon everybody was grabbing for a slice.

Ethan beat Levi to the seat next to Madison on the smaller couch, so Levi was forced onto the other couch with Liam and Ezra.

“I really did mean to text you,” Ethan whispered while her brothers were busy stuffing their faces.

Madison licked sauce off her lips and winked at him. “I know.”

Her phone pinged, and Levi’s name popped up on the screen.

Levi

I’m so jealous right now.

When Madison looked up, he was staring at her, his eyes dark with an emotion that made her shiver.

It was definitely going to be an interesting evening.