Ice Dreams Part 1 Page 4

  They were interrupted by another group of fans as Hunter looked apologetic at her.

  “Just a couple of autographs, I’m having dinner, ok?” he explained to his excited fans.

  Madison smiled as the fans received their autographs and left them to finish their meal. “It has to be thrilling to have to people love you so much.”

  “I’m very lucky to have the career that I do,” Hunter explained.

  As they ate, they continued their small talk. Madison learned that Hunter loved to fish and was a true outdoorsman. She loved his passion as he talked about his family and career. He appeared to be a very level headed man. He always had his goals in mind but he always wanted to have time to just enjoy his hobbies and relax.

  As they left the restaurant, he drove along the ocean and pulled into a small deserted parking lot. He ran around the truck and opened the door for her. “Hunter, it says private beach.”

  He smiled at her. “It’s ok. I’m friends with the owner. I told him I would be by tonight.”

  Madison grabbed his hand and walked down the pathway and onto the beach. Hunter quickly turned around and reached for her waist. His hands tightened around her and gently placed her on the small concrete wall.

  “What’s going on?” she asked nervously.

  “As much as I love these sandals, I don’t want you to ruin them or twist your ankle.” He said as he started to untie them. She noticed his fingers lingering around her ankle as he placed her shoes next to her on the wall.

  She held her breath as Hunter moved between her legs and placed his fingers around her neck, holding her in place. She looked up into his eyes and saw them darken.

  “Hunter, you don’t know how badly I want to kiss you right now but there is something I need to tell you.”

  “What’s on your mind?” he asked as he leaned in closer.

  Madison closed her eyes and whispered, “I’ve never been kissed.”

  Hunter didn’t let go of her but pulled back slightly. “Open your eyes, Madison.”

  She opened them as he smiled at her. “You’ve never been kissed? Not even on a dare in grade school?”

  Madison shook her head. “I was never in a situation that allowed me to have the opportunity.”

  Hunter took a deep breath. “I really like you, Madison and Lord knows I want to kiss you right now but I don’t want to take this moment away from you."

  “Are you saying that you wouldn’t be able give me a memorable first kiss?” Madison smirked.

  “I would love to share that memory with you, but you need to say the words to me,” Hunter stated in a smooth sexy tone. "Tell me that you want me to kiss you."

  She looked into his eyes and bit her bottom lip softly. “Kiss me, Hunter.”

  He smiled as he slowly leaned in but stopped right before he reached her lips. Madison closed her eyes and felt his lips lightly touch hers. Her hands gripped his chest as if she was bracing herself. She felt the pressure against her lips become more intense as her instincts took over. She felt him part her lips as she matched his movements. Her lips moved with his as her heart raced. His fingers moved into her hair as she felt his tongue play with hers. She surprised herself when she heard a soft moan escape her lips.

  Hunter backed away and smirked. “Well, that's one for the memory books.”

  She slowly opened her eyes and enjoyed him being so close to her. “Is that what all first kisses feel like?”

  Hunter laughed. “No, I was in fourth grade and it was truth or dare game. It was over in two seconds.”

  “I’m so happy that I waited.” She chuckled.

  He smirked at her and helped her off the wall. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  As they walked down the beach hand and hand, Madison smiled every time that a wave lapped over her feet. The cold water sent a chill throughout her body but she didn't care. As they rounded the bend, she saw the lit bamboo torches in the distance. She turned to look up at Hunter and smiled at the way his hair blow in the wind. Everything about him sent chills racing through her body. “What’s all of this?” she asked.

  “My friend has a private bungalow and was nice enough to offer it to me tonight. It’s my secret getaway from the limelight.”

  Madison grinned. “How many girls have you snuck away with?”

  Hunter laughed wholeheartedly. “What a deadly question. Honestly, I have only brought one other girl here and that was my last serious relationship.”

  “What happened?”

  “People grow apart sometimes. She had a major problem with my busy schedule. When you date an athlete you have to realize that during the season, we are barely around.”

  Madison nodded. “I understand that.”

  “I’m sure you do,” Hunter paused and clearly wanted to change the subject. “Are you excited about your birthday party?”

  She smiled. “For the first time in twenty years I can honestly say, I am.” She sat down on the padded bench and watched the water pour onto the sand in front of them. As she looked around she noticed a small table with some appetizers and two wine glasses. He had put some thought and effort into the evening and it warmed her heart. She felt him sit down next to her. “I heard that you helped Alicia with the plans.”

  Hunter nodded as he sat down next to her. “You are going to have a blast,” he paused mid thought and looked at her as he reached for her hand. “I just want you to know that I don’t normally ask a girl out after about five minutes of meeting her. There is just something about you that I’m just drawn to.”

  Madison reached for his hand and gently ran her fingers over his knuckles. She leaned over and kissed him lightly.

  Madison kept her eyes closed when she heard him whisper, “You are a natural born kisser. Feel free to do that whenever you want to.”

  “I'm happy that you approve," Madison chuckled as she opened her eyes and caught him as he intensely stared at her. She felt her body temperature as it started to rise, everything about Hunter turned her on.

  “Can I ask you a personal question?” Hunter asked nervously.

  Madison nodded slowly. “Ok.”

  “Since you just experienced your first kiss, I assumed that you don’t have any experience when it comes to,” Hunter said as he stumbled over his words and looked away from her.

  “Are you asking if I’m a virgin?” Madison asked nervously.

  Hunter slowly nodded as he locked eyes with her again. His fingers traced her cheek lightly.

  “Yes, of course I am. My parents never allowed me to go out nor have boyfriends. Everything I know I learned in school so I’m sure I don’t know anything. I read romance novels but,” Madison stopped talking and turned red.

  “Hey, you can tell me anything,” Hunter said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

  She continued, “I always dreamt that my knight in shining armor would come and take me away from my current situation. In high school I watched Jessie, who is my closest friend, go out on dates and tell me about her sex life but here I am about to be twenty one and I still haven’t experienced anything. I just feel very insecure as I sit next to someone who is experienced.”

  Hunter stopped her. “Ok, number one, never feel insecure around me. You are so out of my league and deserve better than me, you just don’t realize it. Secondly, I’m very excited that you allowed me to be a part of this with you. If you continue to allow me to be in your life, I promise you, we go at your speed. Madison, you are in the driver’s seat.”

  She felt her heart race again and started to feel overwhelmed. She didn’t want to show how naïve she was but her nerves got the best of her. “Do you mind if we head back to Carter’s?”

  Hunter looked into her eyes as if he tried to read her thoughts. “Of course not, I will get you home.”

  They smiled at each other. He grabbed her hand and led her back towards the truck. She felt guilty about ending their evening so early.

  When they reached the wall, she blushed as she thought
about her first kiss. She grabbed for her sandals and slid them back on. She quickly stood up, not realizing that Hunter was right in front of her. Her hands fell against his chest, she felt as his heartbeat raced. He looked down at her and their eyes locked on each other. She parted her lips to say something to him but it was too late, his lips covered hers quickly and she lost her thoughts.

  His arms tightened around her waist as her arms slid up around his neck. She pressed her body instinctively against his and felt his response to her. He deepened the kiss more as she felt herself pressed against the small wall.

  She pulled back and took a deep breath. She couldn’t find the right words that she wanted to say to him but she could hear his deep breaths and knew that he experienced the same response that she had.

  “I’m sorry, Madison. I just had to do that again.”

  She looked from underneath her lashes and smiled at him. “I never knew a kiss could be like that.”

  “It's normally not but you keep surprising me. Come on, let’s get you home.”

  As they pulled into Carter’s driveway, Madison noticed that Carter left the porch light on for her. Hunter hopped out of the truck and walked over to open her door.

  “Thank you for a wonderful evening and I’m sorry that it had to end so early,” Madison explained as he walked her towards the house.

  “It was my pleasure and I hope you realized that I’m a good listener, Madison. I’m fascinated by you and tonight was just the beginning, I hope.”

  He leaned in slowly and was about to kiss her when the front door swung open and Carter walked out. “Hey Guys.”

  Madison pulled away as she heard Alicia yell at him from inside. “Carter, your timing is amazedly perfect as always.”

  “Just making sure my little sister was doing ok.”

  “I’m fantastic, Carter. I was just about to ask Hunter a question.”

  “What’s up?” Hunter asked as he grabbed her hand.

  Madison closed her eyes and tried to gain some confidence. “Would you like to escort me to my birthday party tomorrow?”

  She felt his body press into hers as his arms grabbed the handrail behind her. He leaned towards her ear so she could only hear him. “Madison, open your eyes. We need to work on that confidence of yours, I love seeing those big brown eyes as they look back to me and as for your question, I would be honored to be your date.”

  Madison smiled as she ran her hands into his long hair and kissed him good night. She could hear Carter as he cleared his throat behind them.

  “Good Night, Hunter," Madison whispered as she smiled and went into the house.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Madison woke up with a smile on her face and could swear that she heard birds chirping outside of her window. She replayed her date with Hunter over and over in her mind until she fell asleep. Jessie called her first thing in the morning and Madison re-lived her first kiss again.

  Alicia also wanted all the details as soon as Madison crawled out of bed. She enjoyed being the center of attention. Her birthday party started at five and was told to wear something comfortable but warm. She asked Alicia if she could help her apply her makeup again and for the first time Madison felt like she was a part of a real family. After she dressed and was ready to leave, she headed downstairs and found Carter on the phone.

  “Mom it’s her birthday, be nice to her.”

  Madison sighed as Carter turned around and handed her the phone.

  “Hello Mother, how are you?”

  “I’m doing well. How’s your day?” she asked.

  “It’s been wonderful so far. I can’t wait to see what else is in store for me.”

  “Carter told me that he’s throwing you a party today,” her mother said very nonchalantly.

  “I’m very excited about it.”

  “I hope you decided to stay at his house and not disturb him at the all star game. He needs to focus on the game and not all the distractions around him.”

  “I haven’t decided yet but he did invite me to tag along with him.”

  “He’s just being nice. Stay there. I need to run, bye.”

  Madison handed the phone back to her brother. “Let me guess, she didn’t actually say happy birthday to you.”

  She shook her head. “Nope but I’m used to that though. Do you really want me to go with you tomorrow?”

  “Of course I do, why? What did she say?” Carter sighed.

  “It’s nothing. Let’s just enjoy today and I will make up my mind about tomorrow this evening.”

  Carter hugged her, “Happy birthday, Maddy.”

  **********************

  As they drove through town, Madison got more excited. Alicia told her that Hunter was going to meet them there but that’s all she had managed to get out of them. She smiled from ear to ear when they pulled in front of the local ice rink. “Are you guys taking me ice skating?”

  “It was Hunter’s idea,” Carter said.

  “Do you like it?” Alicia asked.

  “It’s fantastic! Oh my God, let’s go inside.”

  As they walked inside, she heard, “Surprise!” She looked around and spotted Alicia’s parents and a lot of strangers which she assumed were friends of Alicia’s and Carter’s. Then she spotted those familiar green eyes as Hunter approached her.

  “Happy birthday, Madison,” Hunter said as he leaned down and lightly kissed her lips.

  “Thank you and thank you for all of this, it’s perfect,” she said as tears formed in her eyes.

  Hunter wiped her tears away. “Please don’t cry.”

  Madison laughed. “I will be fine.” She turned back to Carter and hugged him. “Thank you.”

  “I’m just sorry that it took us so long to give you a proper party,” Carter answered.

  She smiled as Alicia grabbed her hand and introduced her to her family and friends. She was overwhelmed with the well wishes and presents that she received from people that she didn’t even know.

  “Ok everyone, we have the rink until seven, so you can grab your skates and don’t break your ankle!” Alicia called out to everyone.

  Madison looked around and spotted Hunter as he talked with one of Alicia’s friends. She walked over and touched his arm.

  “Hey Madison, how’s the party?” He asked.

  “I’m overwhelmed but it’s so fantastic. But, I wanted to skate. Did you want to come with me?”

  “Absolutely, let’s go.” Hunter grabbed her hand and they laced up their skates. Once they were ready, he reached for her hand again and led her out onto the ice.

  It took her a moment to familiarize herself with the process of skating again but in no time she kept up with Hunter. The music played overhead and she skated around the rink with him next to her. She kept glancing up at him and smiled to herself. She felt lucky to have him next to her as every woman in the rink glanced at him as he skated by.

  He quickly turned as he pulled her into an embrace. His dark eyes looked at her as he leaned down and lightly kissed her. She felt as if she could melt the ice just by kissing him. As he pulled away, she sighed softly. “I’m really happy I waited for my first kiss because you are really good at it.”

  Hunter threw his head back as he laughed. “You have nothing to compare it to, that’s what I love about it!”

  They both shared a laugh as she cuddled against his chest. She whispered softly, “Thank you for all of this.”

  Hunter kissed the top of her head. “You are very welcome. Thank you for taking your vacation down here. I’m so happy that we were introduced.”

  As the birthday celebration continued, Madison was surprised by all the love that was shown towards her. Alicia revealed the beautiful birthday cake and Madison couldn’t help but cry again. They designed a specialty cake for her. It had layers of purple fondant, which was her favorite color and a very large twenty one sat upon the top layer with two huge candles.

  Carter wrapped his arm around her. “Are you ok?”

  �
��Just overwhelmed, I always wanted something like this but I can’t believe it actually happened.”

  Carter smiled at her and handed her a card. “Here’s my gift for you.”

  “Carter, you didn’t have to buy me anything. This party was enough.”

  “Don’t be silly,” he said as he put the envelope in her hand.

  Madison smiled at him as she opened his card. She noticed that Hunter slowly made his way to her as she opened the envelope. She pulled out the card and started to read his message to her.

  Maddy,

  I will never be able to repair the damage that my hockey career did to your childhood but I’m going to try. When you are ready, I will pay for your college education. I want you to follow your dreams and be successful. I believe in you and know that you will make this world a better place.

  Carter

  Madison stared blankly at the card. She couldn’t process the information that was just presented to her. Was he really going to pay for her education? How did he even know that she wanted to go to school?

  Her eyes quickly found Hunter’s as he smiled at her. The light bulb went off in her head. He had told Carter about their private conversation. She couldn’t control her breathing and quickly started to hyperventilate. She bent over and placed her hands on her knees.

  “Madison? Are you ok?” Carter asked as he put his arm around her. Before Madison closed her eyes and blacked out she saw Alicia running towards her.

  She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she started to open her eyes again. She laid on top of a hard surface but not sure where she was. She could hear Carter in the background as she blinked a few times.

  She softly whispered. “What happened?”

  “You passed out, Maddy. Are you ok?” Carter said grabbing her hand.

  As she opened her eyes again, she could see Alicia standing next to Carter and she tried to sit up.

  “Wait Maddy. Are you sure you are ok?”

  “Yes, I just need to get some fresh air,” Madison said as she quickly realized that she was laying on one of the tables.

  “I will take a walk with you,” Carter said as he reached for her.