by E B Brooks
“I had no idea what to expect, but it wasn’t this. It’s so decadent with the cream, red, and black. He has a flair for design. Maybe I should ask him for some help with my apartment.”
“I know he wouldn’t mind. He’d love to see your mural. Ready for the next one?”
At her nod, Jace took her across the hall and went to turn the handle, but it was locked.
Unsurprised, he let the handle go. “Cody normally locks his door when we have a party. Let’s go see the cave.”
Rolling her eyes, she laughed. “Of course, a bunch of men would have a man cave.”
Jace took her hand, and they headed to the basement.
16
Maddy
Wood paneling covered the basement walls in the same color as the hardwood flooring. Maddy’s mouth dropped open when she saw the TV at the back of the room. It almost took up the whole wall.
“Told you.” Jace rocked back and forth on his feet.
A U-shaped, gray sectional sat in front of it with two blue bean bags on the floor. A gaming system was set up on a small table. Off to the left of the sectional, a round poker table held six seats.
Maddy shook her head in amazement. “You four have talent. This house is just plain gorgeous. After you graduate, are you planning on selling it?”
“That would be up to Ryder and Cody. We’ve spent most of our lives rebuilding houses with Dad, but this one is a little different because we’re living in it. I’m proud of it.”
“You should be. It’s beautiful.” She squeezed Jace’s hand.
What she didn’t tell him was that this house was very close to what her dream house would be. She could only hope to have a house like this one day.
Jace ambled over to the couch and leaned against the back, waving her over.
“Go talk to him, baby,” Jace whispered into her ear as he nodded toward the other room.
Skylar sat on one of ten stools set up in front of a dark wood bar that ran the length of the wall. The front of the bar had an intricate design carved into it. The same design was etched into the mirror that hung on the wall behind the bar.
She walked through the archway into the other room. In the center of the room was a pool table, and around the edges of the room were high stools and small, rounds tables.
Wow, the boys went overboard for their man cave.
Skylar didn’t notice her heading toward him. He was too busy staring at the bottle of dark liquid in front of him, an empty shot glass cradled in his fingers.
She touched Skylar’s arm, and he turned to face her, revealing red eyes. “Damn, Maddy, I’m so sorry. Please tell me I didn’t ruin everything? I promised you I wouldn’t do anything unless you wanted to…”
“Hush, Skylar, enough. Did I tell you no or to stop?” She placed a hand on his bicep.
He thought about it for a minute. “No.”
“Did it seem like I wasn’t enjoying it?” She smirked.
The corner of his mouth lifted. “No.”
“I don’t mind what we did, but I don’t think we should go any farther. It’s obvious we all have a problem with being just ‘friends’.” She used her fingers as quotes. Uncertain, she ran her foot over the brass bar on the bottom of the bar. “I just don’t want there to be a girlfriend out there somewhere.”
Skylar let out a deep breath. “I’m glad I didn’t screw things up. I don’t know why I can’t keep my hands off you. If I cross that line, please do whatever you have to do to stop me. I don’t know what it is about you, but I just lose control. And no, there’s no girlfriend. I’m so screwed in the head I don’t know which way is up sometimes.”
He grabbed the liquor bottle to fill his shot glass again.
She put her hand over the shot glass, and he stopped and looked at her. “You know you can talk to me about anything. I’m here for you.”
She removed her hand, he filled his glass, shot it back, then slammed it back down on the bar. Slipping an arm around her, Skylar rubbed her arm up and down. “I know, baby. When I’m ready, I will.”
Ryder and Jace joined them, and Ryder walked behind the bar to lean on the counter. “So, Slugger, what can I get you to drink?”
Maddy scrunched her face up. “I don’t know. At Inferno last night, I had a husky shot. What do other girls drink?”
He got a wicked grin on his face and searched the bar before setting salt, lemon and a bottle of tequila on the counter.
“Are you sure about this?” Jace said in an uncertain tone.
“She’s a big girl, Jace. Relax.” Ryder smiled.
She placed her hand on Jace’s chest. “I’m putting you in charge. Don’t let me get too drunk and do something stupid.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there for you.” His eyes told her she had nothing to worry about.
She looked at the items on the bar. “All right, how do I do this? Skylar, are you going to do a shot with me?”
“No, I hate that shit. Plus, I think I’ve had enough for now. If you need a body to do the shot off of, I’m game.”
Maddy’s face turned pale. “I’m doing this off a body?”
He shot a glare at Skylar who just smirked at him. “No, no body shots for you. We’re doing this the old-fashioned way.”
She glanced at Jace, asking if he wanted a shot.
“Sure, why not? There are some rules I want to go over before we start drinking, though. Since this is your first party, do not accept a drink from anyone other than Ryder, Skylar, Cody, or myself. The second rule is, if you set your drink down and don’t have your eyes on it, do not drink it. Someone could put something in it. Just go get another one. Okay?”
She saluted him. “Got it, boss.”
“One more rule. Don’t go off with anyone other than us,” Ryder warned. “Okay, enough rules. This is a lemon drop. Here’s how this works. You’ll do it in this order: lick the salt off your thumb, take the shot, then suck the lemon. Lick in between your thumb and pointer finger, like this, then put salt on it.” Ryder watched her face as he demonstrated.
Her nose instantly scrunched up, wondering why she had to lick her hand, but she’d follow his instructions.
Ryder poured three shots, placing one in front Jace, Maddy, and himself, and put a slice of cut lemon beside the glasses. They each took turns putting salt on their thumb.
Ryder smiled at her. “On the count of three. One… Two… Three.”
Maddy licked the salt, grabbed the shot, and threw it back.
Holy shit, that burned. She’d forgotten about that part. The taste was way different from the Huskey Shot from last night. She started coughing, and Skylar handed her the lemon. She put it in her mouth and sucked, her whole body shaking from the taste of the alcohol.
That was nasty.
Ryder laughed. “Oh, my god, that’s funny. The look on your face! I wish I took a picture.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. The warm tingly feeling she remembered from last night moved through her body. “Whiskey goes down a lot easier. One more before we go play some video games.”
They did the process again. “One… Two… Three.”
She tossed back the drink, grabbed the lemon, and sucked. That one didn’t taste so bad.
Skylar rubbed his hands together. “Ready to get your ass kicked?”
“Bring it on.” As she stood, her foot caught in between the stool spokes and she stumbled a bit.
Skylar laughed again. “Lightweight.”
“Pff. My damn foot got caught. What the hell do you mean lightweight?” She slapped his chest. “I’m all right.”
They walked back to the first room and sat on the couch while Jace put on a car game where they could all race each other.
It took her a while to understand and get used to the controller, but once she did, she gave the boys a run for their money.
She was having such a good time that she didn’t notice when people started showing up for the party until a group stampeded downstairs.
One of them walked up behind Skylar, out of Maddy’s line of sight, and messed up Skylar’s hair. “Young Anderson finally made it to college! Is Cody keeping you under control?”
Skylar looked over at her and crossed his eyes. Letting out a breath, he got up. “Scott, great to see you. How are you doing?”
“Doing well. Our first game is next Friday. Who’s the sexy thing beside you?”
Maddy, who’d been concentrating on racing until Jace stood and turned off the game, looked up at the guy Skylar was talking to. Shit, it was the asshole she met at Inferno and didn’t like.
“This is our friend, Maddy. Maddy, this is Scott. He went to high school with us. Well, with my brother. He just transferred to Lockhaven. He plays center for the Huskies.” By the sound of Skylar’s voice, he didn’t like this guy, either.
Recognition struck, and he gave Maddy a wink. “You sure make your way around, don’t you, sexy?”
His eyes roamed all over her body, and a chill ran down her back. She suddenly felt filthy.
Desire flickered in his eyes. “As I said last night, you and I need to go out sometime, sweetheart.”
Jace wrapped his arm around her waist. “Sorry, Scott, she’s busy.”
Scot gave Jace an icy glare. “So, beautiful, you’re dating Kacey here? Well, when you get bored, and I guarantee you will, come see me, and I’ll show you what a real man is.”
Maddy’s blood boiled. Who the hell did he think he was?
She snorted and jumped up. “His name is Jace, and I doubt I’ll ever be bored enough to—”
“Sorry, Scott, I see someone I want to introduce Maddy to.” Skylar grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the bar.
She yanked her hand away. “Why did you pull me away? He’s an asshole.”
“Because he’s someone you don’t want against you. Do you think I’d put myself through his shit without a reason? Stay away from him.” Skylar sat her down on the last seat at the bar and said hi to the guy next to him.
Jace stood behind them. “Maddy, I want you to meet Gary and his girlfriend, Lisa. Gary runs the underground fighting league here at school.”
“Hi.” Lisa gave Maddy a once over.
“Nice to meet you, sweetheart.” He turned to Skylar. “She’s cute. So, when are we going to get you in the ring like your big brother?”
Maddy could actually see dollar signs in the guy’s eyes.
“You fight?” Maddy cocked an eyebrow.
“I guess you two haven’t been dating for long?” Gary snickered. “Cody’s one of my best fighters. I’ve been trying to get Skylar here to fight. It would be epic to have both Andersons in one night. We would all be rich. Come on, Skylar, just one night,” he pleaded.
“Hey, it’s not me you have to convince.” He put his hands up. “Cody is absolutely against me fighting.”
“I guess I’ll have to wear him down.” A look crossed his face that Maddy had seen a lot of. He would do whatever it took to get Skylar in that ring.
Maddy didn’t like the idea of Skylar getting hurt. When she thought about it, she didn’t like the thought of Cody getting hurt, either.
She leaned closer to Skylar. “You’re not thinking of doing that, are you?”
“It’s no big deal. I did it when I was in high school. But Cody says it’s too dangerous here. Which is bullshit.”
She needed to talk to Cody. Why was it too dangerous for Skylar and not him?
About to tell Skylar she was glad Cody told him no, she didn’t get the chance.
A blond goddess slid in between Skylar and her, almost pushing Maddy off her stool.
She lets out a gasp as Jace steadied her. Who the hell did she think she was?
Another blond placed herself on Skylar’s other side. They each wore pink shirts that said Alpha Phi. Skylar seemed to enjoy being surrounded by them.
Whatever.
Turning to say something to Jace, she discovered he wasn’t beside her anymore. Maddy scanned the room and what she could see of the other room from where she sat, but he seemed to have disappeared into thin air.
Her heart plummeted, reality sinking in. She wasn’t as important to these guys as she thought. She was by herself again.
Nikki’s voice rose in her mind. “Just face it, no one will ever give two shits about you. You’ll be old and all by yourself.”
Ryder walked down to her end of the bar and slid a shot over to her.
Maddy didn’t even bother with the salt or lemon, just taking the shot.
“Well, if it isn’t the famous Ryder.” The blond on the other side of Skylar said, her voice like honey. “So, are you going to do your famous panty raid this year? You should bring Skylar.”
She leaned so far over that Maddy could see right down her shirt.
Ryder sure was taking in the view.
The blond who pushed her way in between Maddy and Skylar whispered something into Skylar’s ear, and he got a shitty grin on his face.
Maddy was going to be sick. This was not a good idea. She never should have come. She couldn’t watch them flirt with other girls. It hurt.
Noticing Ryder left the bottle of tequila on the bar beside her, she poured herself another shot. The taste didn’t even bother her anymore.
“I don’t know, Amber. Skylar might have his eyes on someone else.” Ryder nodded toward Maddy.
Thank you, Ryder, at least he remembered she was alive. She raised her now empty shot glass to him in salute, then let out a snort. The look on Amber’s face was priceless. She could almost guess what the other girl was thinking. How could Skylar think of someone else?
With her nose turned up, Amber turned and raked her eyes over Maddy.
Maddy was just about to ask the bitch if she wanted a closer look when the bitch turned her back on her with a flip of her hair. “She’s not Alpha Phi material.”
Maddy laughed and slapped the bar with her hand.
Amber eyes narrowed her nose wrinkling. “Something funny?”
“Yeah, that you thought I wanted” —she started laughing again and put up one finger, telling Amber to wait. She put her head down, then stopped laughing and came up with a serious face— “anything to do with your fuckin’ sorority. You all are backstabbing bitches that aren’t worth my time.”
Calmly grabbing the tequila, Maddy poured herself another shot.
Amber got in her face, screaming, “Who the hell do you think you are?”
If she wanted to fight Maddy, she was willing. The bitch wouldn’t know what hit her.
Maddy jumped off the stool, and it slammed onto the floor. “I’m your worst nightmare, bitch!”
Skylar pushed his way between them. “All right, ladies, that’s enough of this.” He took Amber’s elbow. “Amber, can I talk to you for a minute?”
As he ushered her away, Maddy’s mouth fell open. What the fuck?
Amber’s counterpart stood there glaring at her with a smug look on her face before heading over to the next room. Other people took the abandoned stools, and Maddy bent to pick hers up. When she straightened, her whole world started spinning, and she grabbed the bar to steady herself.
“Maddy.” She raised her head to find Ryder standing there with a bottle of water. “You’ve been walloping the shots. Sit and drink this.”
She nodded and accepted the bottle.
Ryder took the shot glass, still full of the shot she never got a chance to drink. “Skylar means well. He’s just trying to protect you.”
“Oh, is that what you guys call it? I’m so sick of people trying to protect me. I can take care of myself. Thanks for the water, Ryder, but leave me alone.”
He shook his head and disappeared through the archway into the other room.
How could Skylar and Jace just leave her like that?
Taking a drink of water, she glanced up to the mirror and spotted Jace in the other room. He looked to be in a heated conversation with a guy. All she could tell was that the guy was big. He pushed Jace against
the wall, and Maddy was just about to get up when the guy started kissing Jace. She watched as Jace struggled for a bit, then stopped. When the guy lifted his head, Jace scanned the room, then opened a door and shoved the other guy through.
Maddy dropped her head into her hands. That hurt a lot more than she thought it would. This was a mistake coming here. She thought she could handle being just friends with these four, but watching Skylar take off with Amber to some back corner, then seeing Jace just now ripped her heart to shreds. Out of all of them, Jace was the one who she thought was ready for a relationship. Should’ve known it was too good to be true.
“No one will ever give two shits about you.” The prediction swirled in her mind, despite her best effort to silence her childhood tormentor.
Seeing a bottle of alcohol in front of her, she grabbed a red solo cup and filled it halfway. Maybe if she drank herself into a stupor, her heart wouldn’t hurt as much.
She set the bottle down and lifted the cup, tipping her head back. Through the mirror, she saw Skylar making out with Amber in the far corner of the room.
Oh, fuck this shit. She wasn’t staying here anymore.
“You deserve better,” a voice whispered in her ear from behind.
Spinning around too fast, everything around her blurred. She closed her eyes in the hope her vision would clear, because that voice sounded exactly like Mike, and that was impossible.
She blinked open her eyes and searched the room. Where was he?
A group of people headed upstairs, and a guy in the middle looked exactly like Mike from behind.
Maddy jumped up and stumbled her way upstairs.
The music grew louder as she made her way to the first floor. The furniture had been removed, and people moved every which way, bodies grinding against each other. She searched the room for Mike, but couldn’t find him. She knew she saw him; she wasn’t losing it.
“Maddy?”
She spun around, falling into Cody’s arms. “Cody, did you see a guy about six feet tall with black hair and blue eyes?” She patted his chest as she spoke.
His face scrunched up. “There are about twenty guys who fit that description.”