Madeline's POV - August 2017

Manny had a great voice, so you bet your butt he loved karaoke.

"I know sometimes it's gonna rain, but baby can we make up now 'cause I can't sleep through the pain"

My phone started ringing and I glanced down at the screen to see it was Cody.

"Hello" I said answering the phone.

"I see someone gave Manny a microphone"

I laughed and stood up. Jon and Mel headed back to San Diego a bit ago, and the only ones currently here were Manny, Mady, Kelsey, and Blue. Nate and Noah were sitting on the couch watching the craziness develop.

"Can you FaceTime?"

"Yeah, give me a second" I replied.

I excused myself and ignored the catcalls I got from the girls. Once I was in my room, I ended the call and called him through my laptop. My phone was nearly dead, so I put it to charge.

"Good evening" I greeted as Cody appeared on the screen of my laptop.

He offered me a smiled.

"Tired?" I asked.

"Yeah, I could use a good cuddle"

"I'll see you in two days" I told him.

He frowned a bit.

"That's too long"

"Go cuddle with Joc or Corey" I suggested.

"They're too hairy for my liking"

I laughed.

"How was your day?"

"We went to Disneyland, might as well put my annual pass to use" I replied.

"That's nice, did you get to watch the game?"

I nodded.

"Yes, we got back just in time" I answered.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Tired?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I could talk"

"How was your day?" I questioned.

"Long"

He scrunched up his nose.

"Joc woke me up super early"

"He's a shitty roommate" I commented.

He smiled as shuffling was heard and Joc appeared on the screen.

"Oh hey Joc" I greeted.

"Is Kelsey still there?"

Both he and Cody raised an eyebrow as they heard,

"BABY I KNOW SOMETIMES IT'S GONNA RAIN!"

Cody chuckled as Joc pulled his phone out and called Corey.

"BUT BABY CAN WE MAKE UP NOW 'CAUSE I CAN'T SLEEP THROUGH THE PAIN!"

"Dude, it's late!"

Joc rolled his eyes.

"Listen!"

"GIRL I DON'T WANT TO GO TO BED MAD AT YOU AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO TO BED MAD AT ME. NO I DONT WANT TO GO TO BED MAD AT YOU AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO TO BED MAD AT ME!"

Corey chuckled.

"What is going on?"

"Karaoke" I answered.

"Who's the guy?"

Leave it to Corey to ask that.

"It's my friend Manuel" I replied.

Cody rolled his eyes.

"He's harmless, I promise"

I nodded agreeing.

"I'm going back to sleep. Good night"

"Night" I called out.

Joc excused himself to go shower, giving Cody and I some privacy"

"Are you bringing Poppy to Arizona?"

"I don't know yet because the girls want to see him, but then he'd have to be in his carrier for more than five hours" I replied.

He nodded.

"He doesn't mind his carrier though"

That was true, Poppy did not mind being in a carrier. As long as he recognized people around him, he did not mind. Mom told me he genuinely enjoyed the road trip from Florida to California. He was occasionally let out of the carrier and he looked out the window the entire time. Poppy was a curious kitten, but he was also cautious.

"You're getting there Monday afternoon, right?"

I nodded, we (Manny, Mady and I) would be leaving at around 6AM to get there around noon.

"Would it be mean if I stole you for the evening?"

I shook my head, I'm sure Manny would find a way to keep himself busy.

"Take a nice dress, I'm taking you to dinner"

He smiled.

"Ashli told me you got a really nice dress when you two went shopping in Miami"

I got a two piece dress.

"I now have a reason to wear it" I told him.

He grinned.

"Well you refused to model it for me"

I laughed.

"You'll see it in two days" I stated.

"I'll be counting down time"

He winked.

"To see you in general, you have no idea how much I miss you"

His eyes softened a bit as he said that, and I couldn't help but smile.

"I miss you too" I confessed.

He let out a sigh of relief as he smiled, his eyes crinkling a bit and his smile lines getting more prominent.

"I STILL HEAR YOUR VOICE WHEN YOU SLEEP NEXT TO ME!"

I couldn't help but scrunch up my nose as Cody laughed.

"I STILL FEEL YOUR TOUCH IN MY DREAMS, FORGIVE ME MY WEAKNESS BUT I DON'T KNOW WHY"

I laughed as Cody mouthed along the chorus.

"CAUSE EVERYTIME WE TOUCH I GET THIS FEELING AND EVERYTIME WE KISS I SWEAR I COULD FLY! CAN'T YOU FEEL MY HEARTBEAT FAST, I WANT THIS TO LAST. NEED YOU BY MY SIDE"

I smiled and joined him.

"CAUSE EVERYTIME WE TOUCH, I FEEL THE STATIC. AND EVERY TIME WE KISS I REACH FOR THE SKY. CAN'T YOU HEAR MY HEARTBEAT FAST SO I CAN'T LET YOU GO. WANT YOU IN MY LIFE" I mouthed along.

He smiled as we both moved our shoulders dancing along to the music. Thankfully, they toned it down with the noise downstairs.

"We have yet to karaoke"

"When you get back" I promised.

"It's a date"

I turned my attention towards the door when I heard a light purr. Poppy slowly walked in with Blue behind him. He hopped into his tent bed Cody got him, where as Blue curled up on her pillow bed.

"These two are done for the night" I stated.

"Who?"

"Poppy and Blue" I replied.

I moved my laptop so Cody could see Blue on her pillow and Poppy in his tent.

"He's in it!"

"Yes, he's been sleeping in there since you gave it to him" I let him know.

He leaned back against his pillows and let out a sigh.

"God I love you"

My eyes widened a bit because we had yet to say the big "I love you" to each other. His eyes widened because it was likely that it slipped.

"Um"

And just like that the call ended.

😅