Page 21 of The Nice List

I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Mads. It’s not that Iwantto lie to her. I just know she won’t approve since he’s…” My mind searches through all the reasons that Alexis won’t approve of my relationship with Cory before settling on, “older.”

Maddox furrows his brows. “How much older?”

“Ten years,” I admit. “Well, nine and a half, I guess since I’m nineteen now and he won’t be twenty-nine until June.” I’m rambling and now that I’ve started, I can’t seem to stop. “We met when I visited Thorngrove in January and we’ve been talking and texting since then. Then, we started seeing each other when I moved there, and I know I should tell Alexis. I just don’t know how…” I stop to take a breath.

“Livvy,” Maddox cuts me off before I can say any more. “Who…” He shakes his head. “No, don’t tell me who it is. Just tell me how serious it is.”

I sigh. “Really serious. Like, we’re head over heels in love serious,” I admit with a wide smile, because it feels so good to just tell someone…something about my relationship.

“Are you sure he feels the same way?” Maddox continues before I can answer him. “I don’t want to rain on your first love parade, but he could just be using you for sex.” He winces at his own words.

I laugh. “No. I mean…yes, he feels the same way. No, he’s not using me for sex because he refuses to sleep with me until I tell Alexis about us.”

“So, he knows your sister?” he asks and when I just nod in response, Maddox lifts his hand to run it over his short hair. “You need to tell her, Livvy. The longer you wait, the more it will break her heart when she finds out.”

I scoff at the idea of anything breaking my sister’s heart. “I’m going to tell her…soon.”

“Good.” Maddox nods. “She’s gonna give you shit—and she’s gonna be pissed that you waited so long to tell her—but it will all work out in the end. You’ll see.”

“I hope so,” I say just as Alexis and my parents join us in the living room with a tray of spiked warm apple cider shots and Christmas cookies.

Chapter 14

Cory

I’m pretending not to listen to her conversation with Zack as I fill a frosted mug with a local IPA and slide it across the bar to Alexis.

“I don’t have anything else to do since Maddox is stuck at the training center. So, I told Olivia we’d go to the party,” she tells him with a huff of disappointment.

My boss laughs. “It won’t be all bad. Most of the teams make an appearance at those parties. So, your crowd will be there. Let the girl enjoy college life in her own way.”

Alexis lifts her beer to take a sip before nodding. “You’re right. She likes all that bubbly, outgoing stuff. I guess I can suck it upfor her this time since she’s let me drag her in here to watch the games so often.”

I barely hold back my scoff at the idea of Alexis letting Livvy be her own person as I tell Zack that I’m headed out back to a smoke break.

Once my cigarette is lit, I pull my phone out and send a text.

Me: You still think it’s okay if I make an appearance at your girl’s party tonight?

Joey: Only if you do me a real solid. Show Skyler a good time. She’s a thick girl with red hair. She’ll probably be attached to Tracey Sheppard’s hip.

Me: What do I look like? A pimp? No thanks, man.

Joey: Come on, man. I’m not asking you to hook up with her. Just make her feel special. You like thick girls anyway. I’ll owe you one.

Maybe a little jealousy will push Livvy into making a public move.

Me: I’ll do you one better. I’ll make all the single ladies feel special.

Alexis is already gone when I step back into the bar, so I make my way to Zack. “Hey, you think I can take off early tonight since it’s dead?”

Zack laughs before giving me a knowing look. “You’re headed to that party, aren’t you?”

I shrug. “I thought I’d check it out.”

“Yeah…go ahead, but don’t do anything stupid.” He points his finger at me.

I grin. “I’m a lot of things, boss man, but stupid ain’t one of them.”I hope.

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