Page 84 of Breakaway Goal

I curl my hand over her bare shoulder and tug her closer. “Let’s listen to some music before wehave to get up,” I put on a mocking voice for those words, “since you’re so damn insistent that we do eventually.”

I reach for my phone and open my Spotify app, putting on a playlist I made of some of the songs I’ve been listening to recently. Almost every one of these songs stirs memories of Maddie. They’re songs we’ve listened to together hanging out. Just about every time we did, deep in the center of my mind there always glowed the warm fantasy of holding her just like I am now.

If thatmeof the past knew it would one day be a reality—well, he’d probably have died of joy and now I wouldn’t be alive to experience it. Talk about a time-travel paradox.

Poor Songby The Yeah Yeah Yeahs comes on, and the breath in my throat catches.

“Oh, I love this song,” Maddie exclaims. “Everyone knowsMaps,but I think this is actually my favorite from this album.”

Emotion rolls through my chest. It’s a lo-fi, stripped-down song where the lead singer sings about her love. It’s always made me think about Maddie, and hearing it right now, like this … I don’t have the words.

“Yeah,” I say when I catch my breath. “Mine, too.”

After a couple more songs, Maddie pushes out a sigh. “Alright, I do have to pee now.”

I groan out the blissful grogginess still lodged in my throat. “Fine,” I reply, a mocking whine to my voice.

Maddie clambers over me and out from underneath the covers. I damn sure appreciate the view as she stands fully nude, honey-gold morning sunlight kissing her creamy skin, before she steps into a pair of shorts and pulls on a shirt.

She grabs her phone, types out a message—to Jasmine I assume—and then heads to the bathroom.

I wait until she comes back to fling the blankets off and get up myself.

Maddie leans against her door, arms folded and crooking an appreciative look at me. “Was waiting for me to come back to get dressed an act of charity?” she quips as I stand up naked.

I make sure to flex my ass muscles when I turn around to pick up my boxers. “Well, you know how thoughtful I am.”

I get dressed and press my lips to Maddie’s as she’s leaned against the door. “You still coming over tonight?”

Tonight’s Halloween night, so the guys are going to be handing out candy to the neighborhood kids who go trick-or-treating. There are actually a lot of families in and near Cedar Shade, so there’s always a huge turnout, which is fun.

She nods. “Yeah. See you then.”

A smile warms my face. “See you then.”

“There he is!”Sebastian exclaims when I step through the door.

Lane shoots me a wry smile as he looks me up and down. I’m wearing my baseball pants and a wrinkled and untucked undershirt, my baseball jersey is slung over my shoulder, and my cleats are untied. “You look like you had a wild night,” he says teasingly.

Guilt laces through me. The first negative emotion I’ve felt since waking up.

Lying naked in bed with Maddie felt like being in a bubble of paradise, set aside from the rest of the world—but we’re still living in that world, and I have to reckon with it.

That includes the fact that I just slept with my best friend’s little sister, and he has no clue.

Coldness pools low and heavy in my stomach. “Something like that,” I say vaguely.

“Not gonna regale us with the salacious details?” Lane prods as I walk to the kitchen to make some coffee.

“You know I don’t kiss and tell,” I say.

Especially when it’s your little sister, a voice in my head whispers, those words stabbing at my chest so sharply I almost wince.

Lane drops his line of questioning and goes back to the video game he’s playing with Sebastian.

“Hudson and Tuck home?” I ask.

“Nah, they went back with Summer and Olivia,” Sebastian answers.

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