Page 70 of Pucking Grey

“I’m serious, Crew. I need to talk to Grey first. And just so you know, he’s only coming to this party because Ryan insisted.”

“And Ryan only invited him because you were living with him.”

I keep my frustrated gaze on him. “Which was none of his business.” I scowl at him because he’s the reason my brother found out about this living situation in the first place.

Crew defends himself. “Why do you think I live with you, Maddie? Your brother just wants to make sure you’re safe.”

“I am safe, Crew! I don’t know why you hate Grey so much, but he’s seriously not as bad as you think he is.”

“I’m on the same team as him. Of course, I know how bad he is!”

Sydney stops us. “Okay, you two are fighting like brother and sister. Crew, she’s just asking that you give Grey a chance. And Maddie, he’s just saying he doesn’t like Grey. We have hours more to drive, so let’s not make this awkward.”

“Too late,” I mutter.

Crew says, “Maddie, I saw him… with Poppy. You know that I only told you because I’m looking out for you. I have your back.”

I nod, gulping down the reality of it. “I know, Crew. Thank you.”

My brother’s house is ridiculous in size. When we show up, Baddie Addie is exiting the house. She comes to my driver’s window and hugs me through the window. “I’ve missed you,” she says, smelling like roasted coffee.

“Ditto. Crew’s in the back.” She waves at him. “And you remember, Sydney, my best friend that is also obsessed with coffee.”

“Hi, Baddie Addie,” Sydney says with a wave.

She laughs.

“Hey, are you going to your shop?” I ask her. “Sydney, do you want to go? I mean, we’re just setting up here.”

Sydney shrugs. “Sure, if you don’t mind.”

I turn back to Addison, “Sydney loves coffee, and maybe she’ll want to open her own shop one day.”

Addison smiles at Sydney and then glances at me. “Yeah, of course. And I got you in last minute with my hair girl. I’ll send you the address. You need to be there in an hour sharp.”

Sydney hopes out and trots off with Addison as I thank her for setting up that hair appointment for me.

When it’s just Crew and I in the car, I ask, “You’re not going to make this really awkward for me tonight, are you?”

He shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it. Not as awkward as it was with Matt.”

I nod and park the car. “Is he coming?”

“Yep, unfortunately, he is. Ryan still doesn’t know about what happened, but that’s what you want, right? Keeping all these secrets to yourself?”

I turn off the car and pull out the keys, death staring at him. “Crew.”

“I’m just saying that you shouldn’t protect anyone. They are who they are, and they can own up to it. You don’t need to put on a façade for anyone. Matt, who I actually care about, fucked up. Someone like Grey was bound too.”

“Crew. Ryan knows about Matt. I told him about the cheating, but I didn’t tell him about the video he was showing off to you guys in the locker room.”

His face turns pale.

“Yeah,” I mutter. “I know about that. That will be kept a secret from my brother because if he says anything, Matt could be ruined. Maybe even expelled. I’m not trying to do that.”

Crew nods his head, staring at the ground.

I ask, “Do you know for sure if Grey slept with her?”

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