Page 10

Oh, Madison.

She has no idea how fun it is to mess with her, especially when she’s drunk, she shuts right up. Making her uncomfortable is, unfortunately, the most fun I’ve had in a while. Lucky for her, I haven’t had much sleep these past few weeks, I haven’t been getting laid as much because well, Matthew Pearson brought his girlfriend over to his mom’s jacuzzi where I happened to be sitting upstairs about a week ago, and I haven’t had a clear mind since.

Watching her pull off her jacket and slip off her jeans was probably the moment I knew I had to look away. But I simply couldn’t. Not with how hard her nipples were, shivering seconds before stepping into the jacuzzi with Matt. I thought for sure they would hook up in it. For a few minutes, I watched the two of them. I considered Matt lucky back then because she’s the type of girl that lights up a fucking room. Someone like her wouldn’t dare to look twice at me. So, the fact that I have her in my bed right now is a goddamn miracle.

I readjust myself and close my eyes. I will be sleeping fucking great tonight knowing that Matt’s girl is in my bed.

When I wake up to my alarm, I sit up quietly. I glance over my shoulder at the beautiful Madison Wilder asleep in my bed and wonder what the next month will hold. I walk into the bathroom and shower. When I walk out, Maddie is waiting at the door like a sad puppy. Her eyes widen when she sees I’m not wearing a shirt. She huffs, bumping my shoulder, and pushing the bathroom door open.

“Everything alright?” I question as she slams the door in my face and locks it.

“Why am I here, Greyson?” she shouts in frustration.

“Because you lost a bet. You’re only as good as your word.”

“Please, just leave,” she demands.

I get dressed and gather my things. I question if I should ask her if she’s okay again. I decide not to and get on with my day.

The locker room is chatty this morning as I walk to my locker.

“There he is,” Ace hoots.

Knox grabs my shoulders with a smirk, and I shake my head. Nosy fucks.

“Pearson doesn’t believe us, but we fucking told him,” Knox says.

I shrug his hands off me.

Ace says, “And we didn’t see her leave early this morning. We stuck our heads in your room to make sure we weren’t seeing shit last night.”

“What the fuck, you guys serious?”

They laugh.

“Jesus Christ. Do I have to put a padlock on my door?”

“We just don’t understand.”

Matt walks in, forgetting something from his locker. The guys go quiet. He says, “What the fuck are you guys talking about in here?”

Knox can’t help his mouth when he opens it. He says, “Maddie. She’s still in Grey’s bed.”

I roll my eyes, clenching my jaw.

Matt drops whatever he has in his hand. “Grey,” he snaps. I am reluctant to glance at him, but I turn my head to him. “Whatever the fuck you’re doing… Stop.”

We stare at each other. It’s an intense moment that would normally end with us punching each other on the ground. We can’t do that shit here. I wish these two would keep their mouth shut, but then again, isn’t this what Maddie wants? “Maddie can do whatever she wants to do. She chooses me.”

He walks up to me. “You’ll never deserve her. She’s too fucking good for you.”

“And you do?” I snap, fuming. My blood feels like it’s boiling. Fuck, I could punch his face right now.

He walks up to me and stops himself from putting his hands on me as he grits his teeth. “No. No, I’m not. But I’m a step up from you .”

I step closer to him, wishing someone would just lock us in a room for ten minutes so I could show him who’s the fucking baddest one here. “I would never fuck an ugly bitch like Michelle Swift and be dumb enough to lose Madison Wilder. And I’m positive that I’m about five steps up from you.” I whisper now, “Because you’re a spoiled piece of shit that will never amount to anything.”

He pushes me, but I stay still, holding in my retaliation. If I fight back, it would be good for Matt. It doesn’t matter how many times I fuck this kid up, he still comes back for more.

“Whoa,” Ace says, pushing Matt away from me. Knox grabs Matt too.

Matt points at me and says, “Stay the fuck away from my girl.”

I scoff, needing to release this anger somehow. Hearing him call Madison his girl is fucking hysterical. “Guys. Guys, what did you say again? Didn’t you tell him that Maddie is staying with me?”

Ace and Knox look at each other.

“You don’t win this one, Matt.” Fucking golden boy of the year. “She’s with me now.”

I walk past him, bumping his shoulder as I make my way to the rink.

At the end of the day when I finally reach my house, I wonder if Maddie is in my room. When I walk in, to my surprise, she’s sitting on the bed with her laptop on.

“Hey,” I say, feeling relieved that she’s in here.

She barely glances up and then she double takes. “Oh, hey,” she says. Her hair’s messy and her glasses are on. She looks fucking adorable. She closes her laptop and says, “Sooo…”

I put my things down and turn my attention to her.

“Matt is blowing me up. He’s mad that I’m here. Like so mad.”

“What about you?” I ask. “Still mad that you’re here?”

She shakes her head, removing the glasses from her face. “No, this is great. I could hug you, but you know.” She puts her hands up. “No touching zone,” she says in a weird voice. “I’m in your bed. There’s no need to make this more awkward than it already is.”

“Than you’re already making it… just for yourself. I don’t feel awkward.”

“Yeah because this is your house,” she scoffs.

“Oh, would you like me to move into your place?”

She says, “Maybe.” “With your little next-door neighbor?”

“What?” she asks, not knowing who I’m referring to.

“Nixon.”

“Oh my god. Do you have beef with him too?”

I lick my lips as I glare at her. “If I’m staying with you, it’ll be him with the problem. But no, we’re cool. He’s Matt’s boy.”

“He is not Matt’s boy!” Now she’s totally lost her cool. “Crew is my brother’s best friend since they were little kids, which means that Crew is like one of my brothers. I’m closer to him than I am to my other two brothers. So if you stayed at my place, he would respect that. He knows what Matt did to me, and he isn’t okay with it.”

I scrunch my face to piss her off with my questionable nature. “I don’t think so, bunny. They stroke each other’s hockey sticks for fun at practice.”

She winces like she didn’t want to know that.

“But are you saying that you told Crew about us?”

She shakes her head. “No, I told him I’m with you but not to worry about it. It’s temporary.”

I click my tongue. “Yeah, one month.”

The room falls silent as we stare at each other. I wonder what’s going on in her head.

“Does that mean you’ll stay at my place?” she asks, perking up.

My eyes widen at the thought.

“Come on. I can paint your nails. We can have movie nights on the couch. I’ll make us really good snacks. Sydney can be a third wheel. And – ”

“And it’s not happening. I don’t need Nixon on my fucking ass too.”

“He won’t be,” she argues.

“He will be if we’re in front of his face at your house. Just stay here. Are you comfortable here?”

She glances around the room with those blue eyes. Her messy hair on top of her head is turning me on. It looks like sex hair. “You are surprisingly clean, so yeah. But I don’t know about the rest of your house.”

I stand. “Follow me.”

“Why?”

I leave the room without another word. She comes out, following me down the hall. Ace and Knox are in the living room with Kason and Poppy.

“Hey, guys,” Ace says.

Poppy stares at me, but I ignore her. I turn to Maddie, reaching out my hand.

Knox teases, “Where you two going, huh? The man cave?”

“The man cave?” Maddie questions as I open the door to the basement. She follows me down the steps and asks, “Is this where you tie me up and starve me?”

I flick on the light to a finished basement. The homes around here don’t usually have finished basements, but this finished basement is the owner’s pride right here.

“This is so cool,” she says, releasing my hand. It’s just like a living room area but lots of more space. A huge TV, a couch that fits six guys, and it’s decorated. “I think I’ll come down here a lot if that’s okay.”

“That’s okay,” I say, noticing her bright smile.

“What’s with that girl?” she asks, pointing upstairs. “The one you fucked that one night.”

I inhale because if I could be myself, I would grab her face to tell her not to say such a dirty word around me. But because I have self-control, I shrug.

“She’s really pretty. You should go for her,” Maddie nods. We lock eyes, and she’s serious. Does she not catch a hint?

“I would never go for her.”

“But you would sleep with her?” Madison’s face is utterly disgusted by my reply.

I nod. “Yeah, she’s not my type.”

“Not your type?” she scoffs. “That’s funny because I’m pretty sure she is exactly your type.”

“An easy fuck doesn’t mean she’s my type, bunny. Easy.”

Maddie takes a breath as she looks around. “Okay, Grey. Whatever you say.”

“Yeah.” Whatever I say is right.