Page 41 of Pucking Grey

“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?”

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