Page 22 of Game Changer (Hidden Attractions #2)

Maya

Since Maddie is only in town for the weekend, she wanted to split her time between me and her parents, so I agreed to grab coffee with her in the morning before she drove to Wickenburg with Cameron.

The coffee shop on campus is closed since it’s the weekend, so we choose the closest place that offered caffeine, which happens to be Happy Endings.

When it’s not alive with nightlife, the daytime menu offers brunch on the weekends, but I didn’t come here for the food, and I suggested Maddie avoid it as well. It’s a recipe for food poisoning.

Maddie is still perusing the menu when Tabi approaches the table. Since Tabi and I are co-workers, she doesn’t hesitate to say, “I hope you aren’t ordering any food.”

Maddie arches a brow. “Is it really that bad?”

“Yes.” We reply in unison.

“Fine, fine.” She sets the menu down, wincing at the stickiness of the booth. It doesn’t matter how many times we wipe the tables down, it’s like beer is forever coated on the cheap wood. “I’ll just get a coffee with cream and sugar.”

“Same. Thanks, Tabi.”

“No problem. Be back in a few.” She grabs our menus and disappears, leaving my best friend and me alone again. Maddie stares at me unnervingly, her chin resting in her palms.

“What?” I ask.

“Oh, nothing.” She sighs dramatically. “Just waiting for you to tell me what happened last night.” Fuck.

I try my hardest, but I can feel the heat prick along my neck and cheeks.

I know the redness is giving me away, and Maddie grins.

“So something did happen. Did Ethan make a move? Ugh! I wish I didn’t get so drunk. I would have witnessed it myself.”

“There was nothing to witness.”

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“Maddie.” I didn’t come to have coffee and talk about her brother.

Despite what happened, Ethan is still her brother .

I’m not one to be shy when it comes to sex, but it feels awkward when the man who went down on me last night is related to her.

She may act like it doesn’t give her the creeps, but I know better.

“Let’s talk about other things, shall we? How’s school?”

“Good. I’m still at the top of my class.” She waves her hand like she’s shooing a fly. “It’s all boring stuff. I want to talk about something exciting . Now, are you with Ethan or not?”

Tabi picks the perfect time to deliver our coffees. She catches the tail end of the conversation and says, “Ooh. Are we discussing the man who gave you three orgasms last night?”

Oh god .

Maddie blows out a harsh breath. “Wow. Go Ethan.”

I’m too mortified to speak. Yes, I texted Tabi this morning after I woke up to an empty bed because who the fuck else would I text?

Certainly not Maddie when she’d blow things out of proportion and probably cuss her brother out before I could ask him myself.

Tabi isn’t emotional. She’ll give it to me straight, which is why I confided in her about last night.

Quickly regretting my choices.

“Erm.” I clear my throat, feeling the burning on my cheeks only worsen. “Tabi, this is Maddie. Ethan’s sister .”

She winces. “Oh, shit. Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Maddie says. “I’ve known about them for a while now. It’s nothing new.”

“There’s nothing to know, Maddie.” Slumping back in the booth, all my efforts to hide this from her dissolve. She’ll figure it out eventually, either by sleuthing or by breaking me down until I finally cave. “He wasn’t there when I woke up this morning, so . . .”

Tabi gives me a stern look. “Stop assuming the worst. Maybe he had an assignment to do. Or maybe he had plans with that guy he was with. You said his friend was visiting, yeah? The one the girls were drooling over?”

“That’s my boyfriend.” Maddie seems proud, sitting up a little straighter. “His name is Cameron.”

“He wasn’t supposed to meet up with Cameron until later today at the football practice,” I admit.

“And I know Ethan. He wouldn’t—” He wouldn’t just leave .

He thinks everything through. He plans five steps ahead before deciding something.

Irrational decisions aren’t his thing, and if something came up, he would have told me.

Which means . . . “He regrets it, and I can’t say I blame him.

Not when I treated him like shit after spring break. ”

“Do you want me to text Cam?” Maddie suggests. “Or I could text Mark. Either of them would snoop for more details.”

Tabi suddenly stills, paying a lot more attention to my best friend. “You know Mark?”

“Um.” Maddie chews on her bottom lip as she tries to find an answer. “Sort of? It’s complicated.”

“Complicated how ?” Tabi props a hand on her hip, her eyes narrowing slightly. It’s obvious she would not be okay if something had transpired between Maddie and Mark, and my best friend suddenly looks like a deer in headlights. Not that I can blame her. Tabi is intimidating.

So I help her out and come to her rescue. “Mark asked her out over spring break, but when the day of their date arrived she chose to be with Cameron instead and basically stood him up.”

“Wow.” Maddie hums. “Way to make me sound like a bitch.”

“I’m not trying to make you sound like a bitch! It’s over and done with, right? Mark was fine with it, and there wasn’t any awkwardness when we were around each other last night.” My focus shifts to Tabi. “Nothing happened between them.”

Tabi fidgets with her apron and rolls her eyes. “It doesn’t matter if anything did. We’re not a thing.”

I arch a brow. “And yet you let him linger by your side like a lost puppy all night while you delivered drinks.”

Maddie squeals at this new information. “You guys would make such a cute couple! I could totally see it. Opposites attract, you know? You’re like a badass biker chick, and Mark’s the golden retriever who sneaks into your life whether you want him to or not.”

“We are not together,” Tabi reiterates.

“You also dressed up like a cat. Is it a coincidence that Mark calls you Tabi cat? I think not.”

Tabi huff s at the ceiling, her cheeks turning bright pink. “All right. Enough about me. Aren’t we talking about your shit show of a love life?”

Maddie, who takes the hint, sighs and takes a sip of her coffee. “Ethan doesn’t regret it, Maya. He’s been pining for you since, well, since forever .”

“Then why would he leave?” I’ve been fighting the ball lodged in my throat all morning, but tears prick the backs of my eyes before I can stop them.

I’m not a crier, but Ethan leaving without a word is one of the most hurtful things that has happened to me in a long time.

I shouldn’t be surprised when I basically did the same thing to him after we first slept together, but I am.

I thought we were past that, but maybe he wasn’t.

Maybe he was seeking his revenge, and . . .

No .

Ethan wouldn’t do that .

“I already told you what you need to do,” Tabi says. “Just talk to the guy. Communication is simple. Straight up ask him why he left, and you’ll have your answer.”

And get my heart broken again in the process?

The thought of embarrassing myself is horrifying when I have so much to lose.

Ethan is the guy I want to be with, and last night was the eye-opener I needed.

I was set on visiting home as soon as I could get the time off work to see my parents.

I was going to do whatever it took to get them to come around to the idea of Ethan and me, but waking up alone ripped both those ideas and my heart into tiny little pieces.

How can a night so memorable turn into such a nightmare?

I wish I had woken up to him leaving so I could have asked where he was going.

I wish he hadn’t given me so many orgasms so I could have kept my eyes open once he was finished.

The last thing I remember is him holding me against his chest and then nothing .

The blinding sunlight woke me up to dirty sheets and empty promises.

“I agree with Tabi,” Maddie says, mulling it over. “My brother is a lot of things, but he’s not a dick. He wouldn’t leave you after doing something like that without good reason. You still haven’t told me why you ghosted him in the first place, though, so I don’t exactly know the whole story.”

Because admitting to Maddie that my parents don’t approve of her brother is hard for me to confess. My parents are nice people who only want the best for me, and I’m sure if they got to know Ethan, they’d love him. They just wouldn’t love him for me .

“It doesn’t matter,” I reply. “Honestly, I think my ego is taking the biggest hit. Waking up alone was . . . new. I’m normally kicking guys out of my bed, not the other way around.”

I’m not used to fighting for anyone. Guys would do all the work, get what they were after, and then I’d go on with my life with no strings attached. My feelings were never invested, but they are with Ethan, and knowing he’s the first guy to ever truly hold my heart is terrifying.

“What if I’m afraid of the reason?” I continue. “I know communication is the best idea. I could call and get it over with, but what if he says something I’m not prepared to hear?”

Maddie reaches over to squeeze my hand. “Then I’ll be here to pick up the pieces.”

“Me too,” Tabi adds. “Inner circle, remember?”

My heart swells at the potential of having not one true friend but two .

“Thanks, guys. I’ll think about it. In the meantime , I’d like to chug some caffeine after my lack of sleep last night.

” I can’t do anything without a clear head.

I’ve been irrational regarding all my decisions about Ethan, so I’m trying to do better.

Be better. I want to be someone he deserves.

Although I don’t know why he left me in the middle of the night, Ethan’s heart is too big to intentionally do something so cruel. There’s a logical explanation for it.

I just have to grow a pair and get the courage to ask.