Page 11

Poppy has a serious staring problem, and I hate that Greyson isn’t helping the situation.

“What are you fuckers up to?” he asks when he closes the basement door behind me.

Ace answers, “About to grab dinner. You wanna come?”

Grey doesn’t look at me to see what I want. He automatically says, “No.”

I step closer to his side and ask, “Why not? We should go.”

“No,” Grey says without hesitation. “We already have plans.”

“No, you have plans. I don’t recall agreeing to anything. Where are you guys going?”

Poppy is still staring at me. The guys are quiet as they watch Grey. Kason shakes his head to himself as I wait for someone to answer me.

“What’s the plan, Grey?” I murmur to break this awkward tension. I’m clearly not invited if Grey won’t be there.

He speaks. “They’re going out, and we’re staying in.”

Poppy is scowling while fists clench at her side, but she quickly loosens it when she catches my gaze.

“What if I want to go out?” I ask.

Kason says, “This guy can make a mean dinner. Fuck, she can take my spot, Grey. I’ll have a romantic dinner with you.”

Grey is clenching his jaw at the sound of that. I don’t think he likes being seen as soft. Grey snaps, “We’re staying in.” He walks away, staring at Kason.

I glance around the room, and everyone is still quiet. Greyson must be a real piece of work for nobody to be making a joke out of this.

“We’ll join you guys next time,” I smile and walk into the hall.

I hear Kason say, “Well, that’s a first.”

Poppy says at the same time, “What the fuck does he see in her?”

I pause in the hallway, listening to them. I can tell Poppy exactly what he sees in me. Revenge against Matt. I have one step up to her now. Insecure, bitch. I couldn’t stand the way she was looking at me.

Ace doesn’t say anything.

Knox says, “Yeah, she’s our new roomie.”

Poppy scoffs. “She’s living here? With Grey?”

Knox says, “Hey, you didn’t hear it from me.”

The front door closes. Knox laughs. “Shit, dude. Poppy would kick Maddie’s ass.”

My gut twists as I imagine yanking Poppy around by her hair. That chick doesn’t stand a chance. I may look nice, but I can play dirty.

Ace says, “You’re so fucking dumb, bro. Don’t meddle in Grey’s shit. You know what happened last time.” The room falls silent. Ace continues, “He kicked your ass. You two are good now, so stay the fuck out of it.”

I walk into Grey’s bedroom right as Ace cuts the corner. We make brief eye contact and I scowl at him. I hate gossip, but it’s good to know Ace has Grey’s back. I shut the bedroom door behind me while Grey sits on the bed with his head down.

“What the fuck was that?” Grey whispers.

I don’t know what to do with my hands besides squeeze them into fists. He frustrates the hell out of me.

“I was trying to get to know your buddies better. And then you stormed off like a baby.”

He stands, clearly furious. His dark gray eyes scare the shit out of me. “Don’t fucking argue with me in front of people.”

I scoff. “You are such a hypocrite! You’re in there demanding me like I’m some kind of pet!”

“Keep your voice down,” he whispers. “Take a fucking hint, bunny. If you don’t learn to follow my lead, they’re going to catch on. Then this whole thing is for fucking nothing.”

That reality hits me in the gut. “Follow your lead? You don’t ever tell me anything that’s going on. I didn’t know you wanted to cook dinner.”

His jaw twitches. “I wasn’t fucking planning on it.”

“So, I’m supposed to just read your mind?”

He steps closer to me. “Lower your voice, bunny.”

I step even closer. “Or what.”

We stare at each other, nose to nose. His gray eyes are intense. The crevasses of his eyes are a deep blue. The rim that outlines his eyes matches that same deep color, making his eyes ridiculously beautiful like a gloomy beach day on the coast. I feel his breath on me, and I would normally crawl into a hole at this intensity, but his friend’s comments pissed me off. Poppy’s stare pissed me off. I squint at him, accepting whatever challenge he throws my way.

He steps back, finally cool as his eyes skim my lips. His expression loosens. “Or I won’t cook you anything.”

I gasp, looking at his lips as the words come out of it. “Are you starting the starving phase?”

He bites his lip. No, he chews on it like he’s annoyed.

I step forward, blood rushing to my face. “Are you? At what point are you going to start the tie me up phase?”

He steps into my face, and this time I’m scared. He touches his forehead to mine as I take a few steps back. My back crashes against the door causing a loud bang. He grabs my wrists and holds them above my head. I don’t fight against him as my heart leaps out of my chest. I gulp as he leans his body on me and whispers, “If you don’t stop yelling at me, I will tie you up and shove a sock in your mouth.”

“I bet you would love that,” I mutter as I try to get loose.

He whispers in my hair, “I’m not keeping you hostage here. I’m being strategic. What do you think Matt would say if we went to dinner with him and the team, huh?”

I can’t even think about Matt or dinner or the what-ifs. Not when he’s this close to me. I feel the heat of his body, and it’s warming me up.

“Anybody who knows me.” He bangs the door with his palm, and it startles me, so I gasp. “Knows that I’m all about fucking. I can’t be fucking you if we’re out at dinner, can I now, Maddie?”

I gulp, shaking my head. My breath falters as he bangs the door again.

He says, “Good. Now don’t fight with me in front of people. We sound like two goddamn children.”

When he bangs the door again, I turn my head to look at him. He’s so close to my face that I feel his breath on mine.

“Moan,” he demands.

My heart drops on his rollercoaster ride. “What?”

He bangs the door again. “Moan.”

I whisper, “I… I can’t.”

“Yes, you can,” he grits through his teeth.

I argue, “They’re not even home. They already left.”

He shakes his head, bringing his finger to his mouth. He hits the door again and buries his face into my hair. “They’re still here. Now be a good puck bunny and moan my name.”

I gulp, meeting his eyes. I don’t think I can do it. And he knows it, so he nips at my shoulder with his teeth.

“Ah,” I scream at the intense graze of his mouth on me. It wasn’t much of the teeth that made me yelp but the sensation of his lips and tongue. I think he made out with my shoulder in that split second. The thrum of his lips on me tingles. He attempts to do it again, and I mutter, “Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.”

He flashes me a devilish grin as I get out of his hold and whispers, “That’s more like it.” He nods at his bed and whispers, “Let me throw you on it.”

I giggle as I run away. “No fucking way, Greyson.”

He storms toward me as I run onto the bed. Right when he’s about to grab me, Ace’s voice enters the hallway. “Knox!”

I pause, glancing down at Grey. I lift my hands up to ask him what I should do.

He looks up at me standing on the bed with an intense glare. He mouths, “Moan.”

I can’t on command. He moves his bed to make it sound like it’s moving, and I yelp as I fall on my knees. Greyson cocks his head at me, hiding his smirk. He smacks his own ass. And I cover my mouth to stop myself from giggling.

“Do you like that?” Greyson says in a deep husky voice. My brows furrow as I continue to laugh. “I said, do you fucking like that?”

“Mhm,” I laugh, keeping my hand over my mouth. He starts clapping, and now I’m rolling on the bed because my stomach hurts from the laughter that hit me so hard that I can’t breathe. The more I try hard to not laugh, the funnier this gets. Greyson is laughing quietly as he stands above me while clapping.

“I like it,” I mutter through the laughter. It came out so squeaky and high-pitched that I’m on the ground now because I am laughing so hard. This is what dying of laughter feels like. My gut hurts, my cheeks are sore like they ran a marathon, and I’m winded. There is no air getting to my lungs. Greyson nods at me in approval as I laugh my head off. I start panicking because the heat of the room is reaching my face and the ground is so uncomfortable.

He finally stops clapping and sticks out a hand for me to take. I don’t expect much help from him when I take his hand, but he lifts me up in one swift motion. And then I’m on my feet.

“Are you okay?” he asks in a regular tone. Thank God we can talk normally now.

I nod, pressing the backs of my hands to my cheeks. They’re beyond sore. “I think so.”

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

I wince before looking at him. This sounds like a post-sex conversation starter. He probably uses that line pretty often, maybe he practices it in the mirror. I start to giggle again as I mumble, “Yeah. Are you satisfied?”

He glares at me and shakes his head. As in no . So, I hit his arm playfully. He still just glares.

Now I moan. “Do you have any idea how to have fun? Loosen up a bit? Not everything is so serious. Laugh a little. It’s fun.”

“They don’t call me morally gray for no reason.”

I lift my hands up. “Who calls you that? I’ve never heard anyone call you that. Ever.”

“People who know me.”

“I think you probably just need more sleep at night. And you need to find something that puts you in a good mood. Then you’ll learn to have a little fun.”

“Yeah, because you know all about it.”

“Hey,” I scold him with my tone. “I’m just trying to help. I doubt you were born morally gray. Nobody is unless they’re a psychopath.”

“What makes you sure I’m not one?” He walks over to his dresser and says, “Life isn’t all fun and games.”

I don’t know what to say, so I change the subject. “What should we eat for dinner?”

He slaps his books and says, “Homework.”

“Great,” I say, pulling out my phone. I have a text from Sydney.

Sydney: The house isn’t the same without you

Maddie: Trust me, this isn’t any fun either. I had to pretend to have sex with Grey

Sydney: WHAT!

Maddie: Not like physically but he was banging the walls and moving the bed and telling me to moan. I don’t think I laughed so hard in my entire life

Sydney: LMFAO! Did it work?

Maddie: I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out if his roommates tell Matt when they go out to dinner tonight.

Sydney: Oh, yeah. Crew mentioned that

Maddie: You should’ve went

Sydney: Haha I’m not a hockey girl. Wasn’t invited. He just mentioned it in passing.

Maddie: How rude

Sydney: What’re you doing then

Maddie: *Sends picture of Grey sitting at his desk

Sydney: Boo

Sydney: I should probably do homework too

Maddie: I’ll let you get to it

Maddie: I probably should too. Talk later.

Syndey: Good night