Madison
Madison stepped carefully out of the shower, grabbing her fluffy pink towel from the rack. She carefully squeezed her hair out over the tub and wrapped the damp tresses up in a towel, turban style. She bemoaned her tiny bathroom, but the apartment she shared with Darling was pretty nice considering its East Village location. The rent was high but manageable, and they each had their own tiny bedrooms, an eat-in kitchen, and a decent sized living room. All in all, not bad for two college girls living in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
The last three days at the tattoo shop had been taxing. She’d had appointments booked back to back with barely time to breathe in between. Her boss had been sending everyone looking for mythological or portrait-style tattoos to her. That had meant twelve-hour days of heavily detailed inking. Lori was certainly getting her money's worth out of Maddie's tattooing.
Maddie lathered her nighttime moisturizer all over her face and décolleté. She was looking forward to a good night’s rest. She brushed her teeth and rubbed the towel against her damp hair, finally throwing her bathrobe on and exiting into the living room. Darling sat on the couch flicking channels on the TV. She glanced at Maddie intently as she chewed on her fingernail. What was the matter with her? Madison hoped Darling hadn't heard anything bad about her internship application.
"Hey Madison, I think I did something I shouldn't have," Darling quietly mumbled with a finger still in her mouth.
Oh, now what? "Did you mess up your interview for the internship?" Maddie asked.
"Ah nope, that's all good. But, I answered your cell phone. It just kept going off while you were in the shower and I started thinking it must be something really important for the person to call back over and over again. And, well…it was Robert. He really laid it on that he wanted you to call him back and that he missed you and hoped you are doing well and that he’d be in the States for a conference in a few weeks." Darling shrugged her shoulders and waited.
"Damn, I've told him very clearly we’re done; thanks, but no thanks. I hope he didn't accept an invitation to a conference as an excuse to see me.” Maddie sighed. "It's okay though, Darling. Robert just hasn't given up on the idea that we broke up. He really wants the whole wife, kids, and a dog thing, and I just never felt that way about him," Maddie said the rest as she walked down the narrow hall to her room. She wanted to get changed into a comfy pair of sweatpants and an oversized cotton T-shirt. She was all about comfort at night.
When Darling had started saying something about her cell phone, her heart soared thinking perhaps Link had called. They'd exchanged a few text messages since the night earlier in the week when they’d crossed paths at the hospital, but everything had been light and casual, which is how she wanted it, wasn't it? His text messages had been flirty but not over the top, mostly stuff about a new band he heard or something he was writing. He’d invited her to a couple of clubs but she’d declined. He hinted about giving her another music lesson, and of course bragged about his high score on Sky Fox. For her part, she'd been texting back how busy the shop was and agreeing to a video game rematch but not just now. She wanted him to keep his distance, right? Yeah, right, Maddie, that’s why your pulse doubled when you thought he’d been the one to call, and you keep ogling the pictures of him at various nighttime hotspots.
Madison had been shocked seeing him at the hospital. It was like Schneider’s painting of Icarus came alive and appeared at the door, all strong lines and gorgeous man. Once she recovered her brain she’d been terrified that he’d say something in front of Isabel, but he came through with the obvious explanation for their recent encounter. After the men left the room and Isabel's doctor gave the all clear on the baby, her sister began the inquisition. She pinned Madison with her best teacher look and simply said, “Spill it.” Madison explained about the tattoo and doing the detail work for her boss and even mentioned sharing a couple slices of pizza with Link. She waited for the inevitable warnings and groupie stories. But Isabel surprised her, saying how she thought Link was a lot more sensitive and lonely than most people knew. Maddie almost blurted out the rest of the details of what had been going on to her sister, but Isabel let out a chuckle and began an involved story about some movie actress tweeting all kinds of details about her recent night with Link Jacks. Perhaps not the best time to mention her current adventures.
Madison came out of her room in a black mini dress and high heels. “How about we go out for a couple of hours, flirt, have a drink, and maybe dance?” she asked Darling, enjoying her roommate’s shocked expression.
“Remember what happened last time you said we should live it up a little bit?” Darling got off the couch and examined her dress, tugging the hemline down an inch. “Damn though, you do look hot in that dress.” She smiled.
“I know. I guess the idea of staying in just got to me. I feel suffocated. Robert wants me back but I don’t want him, and Link…Link is off limits.” Madison let out a sigh and adjusted her straps to better cover her bra. “So, want to go out for a while? I don’t have to be at work until late tomorrow.”
Darling threw her hands up in the air and headed to her room.
“Wear something cute!” Madison called.