"Boy, are we in trouble." Chase's voice broke through my dream of Dani standing in my kitchen with a newborn in her arms. I don't even know where that dream came from but I could kill Chase for ruining it for me.
"Fuck off," I closed my eyes, praying for that slumber to pull me back asleep.
"Ryan, get the fuck up. Madison is here." Chase kicked my foot as the words washed over my body.
"What?" I sat up, waking Danielle in the process.
"What's going on?" Dani yawned, looking at me and then up at Chase. "Well, shit."
"Shit doesn't even cover it." Chase shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. "I tried my best to stall her, but she's getting pissed off that you're not here. I said you went for a morning jog. It was the best I could come up with. I didn't even know you weren't here."
"Fuck." I cursed, jumping up and looking up at the house.

Big mistake.

Madison stood at the edge of the balcony, looking down at the beach. There was no denying the fact that she saw me with Dani. My heart sunk, this was not supposed to happen this way. I wanted to tell her on my own terms, not when they were forced.

"Ryan," I looked at Dani, she had a sad smile on her lips, "go to her, she needs you now more than ever." I swallowed a lump in my throat. I hated this. This is not how it was supposed to happen!
"I'll call you when I can." I kissed her forehead and thanked Chase for doing what he could.

I slowly walked up the stairs and into the house. It was eerily quiet and I knew there was a storm brewing. I found Madison sitting on the edge of a sofa next to her suitcase. She must have taken the redeye here to surprise me.

That made me sick to my stomach.

"I thought I was doing the right thing, catching a flight to surprise my boyfriend, to tell him that we can work out whatever is going on between us. I really thought when I got here, you would be so happy to see me and that our little fight would just fade away like it didn't even happen. Boy was I wrong." She laughed dryly as she wiped away a tear that fell down her face.
"Madison..."
"No, let me talk, please?" I nodded my head to let her continue. She sat there, twisting her fingers together. Finally, she sighed and looked up at me and shook her head. "Erin warned me this would happen. That you and Danielle would end up together in the end. I didn't believe her, because you didn't look at her the way you looked at me. I had you. You came home to me every night, and woke up by my side. I had that, not her. I said that to Erin and she said something that stuck with me that day."
"What did she say?"
"She said that just because I had you, didn't mean I had your heart. She told me all of the selfless things you've done for Danielle over the years. A friend doesn't do those things for someone they don't care about. I was naive to think that what Erin was saying wasn't true. You've already told me at that point you loved me, why would I believe what Erin was saying?" Madison sighed, wiping away her tears and I wanted so badly to hold her in my arms and fix her broken heart, but I knew she wouldn't want that.

There was no fixing this.

"Was any of this real for you, Ryan? Or was I just someone who came into your life to fill a void?" I opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out. She just laughed and shook her head. "Thanks."
"Madison, no, it wasn't like that." I huffed, running my fingers through my hair and sat down next to her. She allowed me to take her hand in mine. I knew this was going to be the last time I ever will.
"You came into my life when I needed you the most Madison. I honestly fell in love with you. You turned my world around. I wasn't in a good head space when I met you and now I can honestly say that I am, and that's because of you."
"Then what changed? Why her? Why not me?" Tears stung my eyes when Madison's voice cracked as she looked up at me.
"Madison, I love you and I always will. What we had was enough, but was it really enough for you? I don't think I can give you the love that you need and deep down I think you know that, too." She sighed, resting her head on my shoulder as she interlock our fingers together.
"I hate that you're right, I really do. I thought we were just having a bump in the road, but looking back at it now... I wasn't happy, even when things were okay. I felt like something was missing and it was you. Your heart belonged to someone else and neither of us knew it. I love you, Ryan."
"Love you, too, Madison." I took her in my arms, kissed the top of her head and pulled away from her.
"I'm sorry for breaking your heart, this was not how it was supposed to go. I wanted to tell you when I got back home."
"How long?" I raised my eyebrows in question. "How long have you known that you were in love Dani?"
"I think I always have, but I'm just now realizing it."
"Does she love you?"
"Yes." I tried to hide the smile but Madison saw it.
"It really is sweet though, childhood friends falling in love with each other. You know I'm a hopeless romantic at heart. I want you to have your happy ending, Ry, you deserve it."
"Madison," I sighed, not believing how calm and collected she's being right now, "I want that for you, too. I know when you find him, your soul is going to know. You're going to feel it so deep that you won't question anything and that you'll just connect. It's going to be like two lost lovers finding each other and it's going to be magical."
"That's how you feel for her, isn't it?"
"Words can't even describe how I feel." Madison looked up at me, giving me a soft smile.
"Don't break her heart."
"I don't plan on it."

Tears began to stream down Madison's face as I took her in my arms, holding onto her tightly as she cried. I hated this, I hated that I was the one who broke her heart but I was also relieved that we had this conversation and she wasn't throwing anything at me. It's really a testament of how sweet her soul is and how easy it was for me to cling onto that in the beginning.

At that moment Chase came through the back door, not realizing we were both here talking. He looked at Madison in a way that I've never looked at her before and I couldn't help but wonder if he could be the man she needed. I know Chase just went through his own nasty break-up so he could relate.

"I'm sorry, I can go." He turned to leave, but Madison spoke up.
"It's okay, Chase. Ry and I are done talking. Besides, I'm the one that should go now."
"Um, you could stay? I mean, there's extra room. I don't mind, Ryan?" Chase looked at me with a plea and I really wasn't surprised at all by this new development.
"I don't mind."
"Let me?" Chase walked up, grabbing her suitcase and started walking down the hall. Neither one of them looked back at me while I stood there a little dumbfounded.

**

"I think Chase and Madison are a thing now." I glanced over to Dani who was curled up in the front seat of my rental with a book in her lap as she dazed out at the endless desert.
"What?" She looked at me in disbelief.
"One minute her and I are talking and the next thing I know they're sitting very close by the fire pit. It was his idea for her to stay."
"How does that make you feel?" She took my hand in hers, interlocking our fingers together. I still couldn't believe that she was by my side and we were actually together now.
"Relieved? If I'm honest. I hated how things panned out - I should have ended it a while ago when I realized my heart wasn't in it anymore, but somehow, I think it was supposed to happen this way. I told her she was going to find someone who could love her the way that she needed to be loved and I can't help but think Chase is that guy."
"Chase is a sweetheart and a great friend to you, so I know he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that."
"How did things go with Erik?"
"He didn't even realize I was gone." Dani's voice cracked a little when she said this. I looked over to her and she wouldn't look at me. I hated that she was hurt by that. "I mean, it doesn't mean anything, because I want to be with you, but it hurt knowing he really didn't care. I was packed and out the door when he came stumbling out of the bedroom hungover. I told him we were through and that I'll see him at the track."
"Dani, I'm sorry. Please know that I'll never treat you like that. I'll for sure know if you weren't laying by my side at night. I hate that he had that with you because I would hold onto you so tightly and never let you go." I pulled her over to me, placing my hand on the back of her neck and briefly kissed her.
"Promise me that?" She held my eyes for a second and I knew this would mean the world to her.
"I promise."

Dani smiled brightly at me and my heart did that funny skip. God, I loved her so much.

"So! Where are you taking me?"
"What makes you think I'm taking you anywhere."
"The exit to Phoenix was fifty miles back." I laughed loudly, realizing I was outed.
"A little piece of paradise."
"Paradise is when I'm with you, Ry, you don't have to take me anywhere as long as I'm with you."
"You make me so happy, you know that, right?"
"I hope I can make you feel like that forever." I grabbed her hand and kissed it before holding onto it tightly.

The sun was beginning to set behind us when we finally reached our destination. I happened to find an Air&B in the middle of the desert last minute and I thought it would be perfect for Dani and I to actually spend the night together without anyone else around.

I wanted it to be just her, me, and the moon.

"No. Freaking. Way." I barely had the car in park before Danielle was running away from the vehicle. "A tepee? Are we really staying here tonight?" She ran up to the campsite and even though the place we're staying at was breathtaking, I couldn't keep my eyes off of Danielle. She had a huge smile on her face as she ran inside of the tepee and then out to the kitchen area and where the outdoor shower was.

She stopped, looking up at the stars that were starting to glow brightly and then she looked at me and my heart stopped.

Is this what true love felt like? I've never felt this way with Madison, but Dani? It was so easy, it felt so right. I didn't care about the campsite, I just cared about making this woman in front of me happy.

Nothing else in the world mattered right now.

"This place is beautiful, I can't believe you surprised me with this." Dani walked up to me, wrapping her arms around my neck and stood up on her tippy toes, "thank you." She pressed her lips to mine softly and pulled away to smile at me.
"I want to make you happy, Dani."
"You already do, Ry, you have. I just can't believe we're together now, I've waited so long for this."
"It feels like I waited a lifetime for you."
"I'm here now, Ry, that's all that matters." She looked into my eyes, proving to me that the words she's saying are true.
"You're my everything."

I kissed Dani, implying the truth to my words. She truly is my everything. The reason why I have an extra bounce in my step, the reason why I smile every time she crosses my mind. She's the reason why my heart is so full that all I want to do is shower her with love and adoration.

I was a lovestruck fool and I didn't care.

I tilted her head to deepen the kiss, she moaned when my tongue caressed hers, sending a shockwave of pleasure down my spine.

Another reason why I booked this campsite, is the fact that no one else would be around for miles. This is truly in the middle of nowhere and I wanted this to be our first night together. I wanted to make love to this woman, to give her the ultimate pleasure that she's been desiring.

I took pride in the fact that I was her first in everything up to this point and deep down, I was praying I would be her last.

"Jump," I whispered against her lips. She did, wrapping her legs around my waist. She kissed me as I walked blindly into the tepee and laid her down on the queen sized bed. Soft lights cast a halo around her as I looked down at her. How did I get so lucky to have this angel in my life?

She pulled me by the front of my shirt so I would kiss her again. I laughed into the kiss, loving the fact that she was as desperate as I was. So I kissed her, licking and biting my way into her mouth, sucking on her tongue as I moved to her jaw, peppering kisses until I got to her ear. "I want to make love to you," I whispered and I felt her shake beneath me. Her only response was to moan, arching her back into me so her center brushed against mine.

"I need you to, Ry," she said breathlessly, holding onto me tightly, "but..." she trailed off, suddenly looking away and she blushed.

Oh.

"Dani, I don't care about that."
"Not for my first time, Ry, I'm really sorry." I hated hearing the sadness in her voice and I knew she was upset about this. I kissed her, distracting her from the fact that we couldn't be together how we both wanted, but that wasn't going to stop me tonight. I was going to give her pleasure in another way if she'd allowed me to.

"Let me touch you," I asked against her lips, "in the shower... I can make you feel good without worrying about anything." I sucked on her bottom lip, letting out a sigh when she whimpered beneath me.
"One promise?"
"Anything for you."
"Let me suck you off." I clenched my jaw and bucked my hips against hers when she asked this. "Ryan, I want to taste you." I groaned, closing my eyes as she breathed heavily in my ear telling me how she's gotten off on just the thought.
"If you keep talking like that, I'm going to take you right here, right now." She gasped when she felt my hardness move against her and she knew how serious I was when I shifted enough to where I knew I was pressing hard enough to rub her clit.
"Ryan," she moaned, wrapping her legs around me, "harder." I did as I was told, rocking against her, not caring we were both fully clothed. If I could get her off this way first, then I was going to.

I continued kissing her, both of us losing our breaths at the fast pace I was setting. "So close," I pushed up her shirt, pulling down her bra so I could get my mouth on her breast. She arched into me, calling out my name as her body shook slightly beneath me.

I about lost it when she fucking giggled into the crook of my neck. "I can't believe we just did that like we were high schoolers." I couldn't help but laugh as well, until her hands snaked their way down the front of me and to the obvious bulge in my pants.

"Now it's my turn to have some fun."

**

A/N: Shout out to YRB for giving me inspiration for this chapter.  & if you didn't know, the place he stayed at DOES have an outdoor shower which we will read fully about in the next chapter.

Until then... thank you so much for the amazing comments and votes. I really means the world to me!

Only a few more chapters before I wrap this story up.