Page 27 of Cry Madness
“What?” he asks with a baffled and slightly nervous laugh. Again, he tries to squirm away, but I keep him right where I want him. Nice and close. “The fuck, man?”
“Yo, Brant, let it go.”
I nod at Kent with my chin. “Yo, you have a smart friend,” I tell Brantley. “You should heed his advice.”
Brantley bunches his shoulders, and this time, when he tries to slip out from beneath my arm, I let him. It’s adorable how he puffs out his big ol’ jock-chest as if that’s supposed to intimidate me. “You’re a fucking freak, man.”
Aaannnddd…here we go.
I heave out a dramatic sigh a second before I grab him by his hoodie, staring deep into those baby blues. “Wouldn’t it be a crying shame if those pretty eyes stopped working because you got too close to the wrong fucking person?”
His head whips to the side, his wide-eyed stare landing on Alice, who is waiting near the bathroom for her turn in there. Brantley’s gaze swings back to me. “Maddox, man, I didn’t realize you and Alice are still a thing.”
“Bull. Shit.” I give him a hard yank. “Let me be clear. Alice and I? We’ve nevernotbeen a thing.” I release him, only to rustle his blonde hair. “Now be a good boy and focus your attention elsewhere. It would be tragic if you suddenly needed a cane and a dog to help you navigate the world.”
Brantley swallows hard, nodding vigorously. “Yeah, sure, Maddox. Of course. Sorry, my dude, won’t happen again. Swear to God.”
“Of course it won’t.” I haul him in, slamming his chest into mine and whisper, “And if youevercall me a freak again, we’re going to play a game I like to call Let’s See How Far You Get with a Severed Achilles Tendon.” I shove him away, then slap my palm against Kent’s chest. “I’ll be highly upset if I find out you boys left the party early.” I toss my hands in the air and yell over the music, “The night is young.We’reyoung. Drink and be merry!”
I stroll away, frisky as fuck. Ready to cause some chaos. Ready to grab hold of Alice, and…
Damn.
Cherry Riding, the petite redhead who lives out in the woods with her reclusive grandmother, exits the bathroom, with Alice slipping in after her. I flinch when the door shuts like she slammed it in my face. Guess it’s time to make a terrible decision. I’ve made worse ones, and before I second-guess what I’m about to do, I say, “Fuck it,” out loud, to myself. Feeling around on the upper ledge of the picture frame near the locked door, I grab the key we hid up there. After that one shitfaced guy passed out in here and we had to kick in the door to get him, we hid the key above the picture to save us future hassle.
I unlock the door and inch it open, silently chanting,Please don’t be peeing.Women are weird about that sort of thing. Bad enough I’m barging in on her. Alice would probably never forgive me if I caught her with her skirt around her ankles, mid-stream.
Oh, thank gawd.
She’s at the sink washing her hands. Her head snaps to the door, and there’s a loud gasp right before a growled, “You.” Followed by, “You’re such a dickhead.”
“Shocker, right?”
Whomp, whomp.
My attempt at humor hits like an unflushed turd.
With a roll of her eyes, she shuts the water and declares, “I don’t have time for this.” Then strides past me toward the door, hands still wet.
Goddamn, she’s quick in those big-ass black boots on her tiny feet. But I’m faster, and I snag her by the elbow. I spin her around and slide admiring eyes over her, ignoring her outraged glare. “You look stunning tonight, as always.”
Alice’s nostrils flare, and she pinches the bridge of her nose before asking, “What do you want, Maddox?”
“You.” Direct is always best.
“Oh, my God, seriously?” She backs away until her ass bumps the sink. “You can’t have me. I’m not yours.”
“Really?” I destroy the distance between us, stopping within arm’s reach of her. Close enough to cast her in my shadow. Her cheeks flush with fury, and the blue fire in her eyes burns me right down to the remnants of my sinful soul. “Dare to test your resolve?”
“You’re delusional.” She tries to storm by me, but I block her. “Hate to burst your bubble— Actually, no, I’m wrong. I’m happy to burst it. You and me? We’re not happening. What we did, it was a one-off. We’re not having a do-over of a mistake we made three years ago. Not tonight, not tomorrow,not ever.”
Mistake?
Goddamn, that would sting—if I thought she believed it, which I know she doesn’t. The way she’s staring at my mouth, like she wants to dive inside it, screams otherwise. “Sure about that?”
“Fucking yes,” she shouts. I’ve always loved that I’m the only person who can rile her up with barely any effort. “You need to leave me alone.”
I lift a brow. “Give me a reason to stay away.”