Taste of Love

chapter Ten




Madison was rinsing suds out of the large garden tub in her bathroom when she thought she heard a knocking sound. She turned the water off and listened closer. This time, she heard it. Now it was more of a pounding.

She ran to the door, hoping that whoever it was didn't wake her neighbors. Was something wrong with Chase? Was something wrong at the restaurant? She threw the door open, not bothering to look through the peep hole, too intent on quieting the person down.

"Cameron!" she exclaimed, pulling him into her apartment and shutting the door. His eyes were a little glazed over, and he was stumbling. She was amazed to see him - he should still be at the backstage soiree, kissing blondes.

"What in the world are you doing here?"

"Why didn't you come backstage tonight?" he asked, dropping onto her couch. "I gave you those passes, and you didn't even show up on my last night in town for a while," he told her with a mixture of disappointment and amusement.

Madison could tell that he was inebriated, but not enough that he didn't know what he was saying or doing. She stared at him for a minute, not sure whether to tell the truth or not.

"I was there," she finally admitted, not really caring if he knew the truth. "You looked like you were busy, so we left."

"I was waiting for you," he told her in a petulant tone.

She couldn't help it. She let the short, indignant chuckle out of her mouth. "No, I really don't think you were waiting for me. It looked to me like you were fairly pre-occupied."

"Would you stop skirting the issue and tell me what's wrong?" Cameron was starting to sound annoyed.

Madison shook her head. "This is so stupid!" she muttered, running her hands through her hair in frustration.

"What's stupid?" he asked.

"You want to know what's wrong? I was there tonight. I don't know what I was thinking, but I was excited to be there, naive person that I am. And the first thing I saw when I found you was some girl sitting on your lap, with your tongue shoved down her throat, fondling her for the whole room to see. Did it bother me? Yes! Do I know why? No! All I know is that it felt wrong for me to be there, so I left. And now, I'd like you to leave." Though she had started out calm, she had ended up yelling at him.

Cameron looked up at her in shock. He couldn't deny that it had happened, because it had. But he had no idea that Madison had been there to see it. And worse, he had no idea why it would bother her. Wasn't she seeing Thomas, after all?

Cameron rose from the couch. "I have to leave anyway. My tour bus is waiting around the corner and we're leaving as soon as I get back on," he said quietly. He walked to the door with Madison following him.

He turned to face her. "I'm sorry about what you saw tonight, but while I'm gone, maybe you should work out why it upset you so much."

Madison looked at the floor and nodded. She knew that he was right, but she was still angry. Trying to find the reason she was upset was a great idea, but not something easy to do.

"Have a good tour, and be careful," she told him, finally looking back up at him.

"Thanks, I will." He smiled. "Don't work yourself to death while I'm gone. Take a break to enjoy life once in a while."

He watched her nod her head, tears forming in her eyes. He took her face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs softly over her cheeks. "Hey, I'll be back before you know it, and then you'll be wishing that I'd leave again."

A tear rolled down her cheek, and he leaned in and kissed it away. For good measure, he kissed her other cheek too. Then before either of them realized where they were going, their lips connected, their tongues passionately dancing together. Soon they were both lost in the kiss, only aware of the sweet sensation coursing through their bodies.

Reality hit them like a tidal wave when Cameron's cell phone began to ring. Madison backed away, quickly wiping her mouth, and again running her hands through her hair. Cameron answered his phone with frustration, then flipped it shut after a few, brief words.

"I have to go," he told her apologetically.

"I know."

"I'll see you soon," he whispered, touching her cheek again. Then he was gone, though she could still feel his touch on her face.

She sat down on her couch, letting the exhaustion engulf her. It was all too much for her to think about. She needed a good night's sleep before she could make heads or tails of any of it.



Over the next few weeks, the restaurant seemed to be busier than ever. Madison finished training her new staff members and opened the banquet room to everyday diners. She was pleased to fall back into her daily routines with minimal interruptions.

On occasion, she would go to the theater with Thomas, or attend a charity function with him, but for the most part, her schedules were back to normal. For that, she was grateful.

Her friendship with Austin was getting back on track too. For a while it had seemed he was annoyed with her, and her lack of presence at the restaurant. However, since Cameron's tour started, their friendship had begun to mend.

The one thing that bothered Madison about Austin lately was his need to bring tabloids to work with him. Every trashy magazine he bought featured a story about Cameron. Many had his picture on the front, exposing his latest flavor of the day. A lot of the girls looked the same, and they were usually in some sort of compromising position.

Austin made sure that Madison saw the pictures, and often read the articles to her. Little by little, it was eating away at her. She knew that Austin was trying to point out how wrong Cameron was for her.

With every picture and every article, it was more and more evident to Madison that Cameron lived a very different life than the one that she led. Madison was certain that his lifestyle was one she would never be comfortable with.

So, no matter what feelings she thought she may have had for Cameron, reason told her that it just wouldn't work out, and that she should stop wasting her time and move on. Her heart, however, heard a completely different tune.



About a month into Cameron's tour, Madison sat at the all-night Laundromat a couple of blocks down from her apartment. She was reading through one of the tabloids that Austin had left in her office. She was studying the picture of Cameron and some blonde, focusing in on his pale skin and dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, rather than what the girl was doing to him.

Her cell phone rang and she damn near jumped out of her skin. Since it was the middle of the night, she cautiously answered it, even though she didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" she asked, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. She was always nervous when she received calls so late.

"Hey baby, miss me yet?" A deep voice purred in her ear.

"Cameron?" she asked, with an instant smile on her face.

"The one and only," he confirmed. "Still doing laundry?"

"Yeah, I'm almost done though. But it's kind of funny you called, I was just looking at an interesting picture of you. How're you doing?" She kept looking at the picture, which somehow made her feel closer to him.

"I'm alright. So what's the interesting picture?" he asked, curious, but at the same time a little ticked since he knew how the tabloids were.

"Oh, you know, pretty much the same as every other one I see. Some girl either kissing you or looking like she's ready to go down on you," she told him, with an air of indifference. "You look like shit though. Are you feeling alright?"

Cameron laughed at her honesty. "I'm fine, just a little tired out by my schedule. Every time I feel I'm getting too old for this shit, I keep thinking about the Stones or Aerosmith, and figure if they can do it, so can I."

"When's your next break?" she asked, noting that even his voice sounded tired.

"I think we have one coming up in a few weeks, but I'm not sure. All the dates and all the cities blend together," he told her. Then in a sarcastic voice he said, "But here's some great news. Since we're so in demand, and everyone's loving our show, we've had a few more dates added. We get to tour for at least three more weeks now!"

"And you sound so excited about that," she laughed.

"I'm used to it, but I was really hoping this wouldn't turn into a long tour. For the first time in my life, I really miss being at home."

Madison didn't know what to say. She didn't want to tell him how much she missed him, especially since it wouldn't matter anyway. "Well, at least you have plenty of girls to keep you company."

Cameron sighed. "I'm sure that the tabloids have made it look a lot worse than it actually is."

"Don't forget that I've seen it firsthand," Madison reminded him.

"You saw me kiss a girl. That's all I've done, kiss the girls. I don't sleep with groupies anymore. And still, so many of them claim I fathered their babies, I should keep a DNA sample on record to refute their claims. I've lived and learned, and I'm not going there again."

Madison was hurt. She didn't know if he was talking about her when he mentioned the DNA sample or not, or if he meant that he had learned from her miscarriage. No matter what he meant, she knew she was nothing like those women in the tabloids.

"I'm not a groupie," she choked out.

Cameron could have smacked himself. "No! I wasn't talking about you, Madison. I'm sorry. That sounded pretty insensitive, but I wasn't talking about you. I just meant that I've grown up, and the whole rock star thing is getting a little old. I love making music, but I'm sick of the parties, and especially girls, drawn like bees to the fame and fortune. I know you're not a groupie, and I'd never label you as one."

"It's alright. I probably better go anyway," Madison told him, saddened by the tone of their discussion.

"Wait, don't go yet," he pleaded. "I miss talking to you. I'm sorry if what I said hurt you. Just a little longer?"

"My clothes are almost done, but I guess I can talk for a few more minutes," she relented.

"So, you haven't answered me. Do you miss me yet?"

"Yeah, a little, but don't read anything into it," she warned.

He pressed on. "Yeah right, I know you love me. I can't wait for the day when you realize it."

"It's not going to happen. Even if I had feelings for you, nothing would come of it. It wouldn't work between us. We're too different, and would end up hurting each other," she told him honestly.

"You say that now," he told her, leaving it open ended, like a promise for the future.

The dryer next to Madison buzzed. "I have to go now Cameron. My clothes are done, and I have to fold them before they wrinkle."

"Ah, my domestic goddess," he laughed. "Ok, I'll let you go, but I'm going to call you again soon."

"I'm not going to hold my breath. Get some sleep. I don't like you looking like hell in those pictures I see."

"Yes ma'am." He paused. "Good night Madison. I miss you."

She smiled. "Pleasant dreams," she replied, before hanging up and closing her phone. She missed him too, more than she wanted to admit.