Page 76 of Pucking Grey

“What did you do to your hair?” he asks. “Why do you look so different?” He sort of paces the room while glancing at me. He grabs a few things from the ground and then takes them to the backyard. He walks back in with Addison.

“Oh, my God!” she shouts, covering her mouth with her hand. “You look so good! You’re gorgeous! Not that you weren’t before, but the dark hair contrasts so nicely with your features and your blue eyes pop. Oh my god, this is your look, Maddie. Don’t ever go back. You’re a goddess!”

My cheeks are on fire from all the compliments. “Okay, so I didn’t make a mistake?” I ask.

Sydney and Addison both shake their head, sayingnoandnuh-uh.

But my brother nods. “You made a big mistake. A very big mistake.”

Crew walks in and says, “What’s taking so long?”

Ryan points at me. Crew does a double take in my direction. “Maddie? Your hair…”

I turn to Sydney who is still staring at me.

“Is everyone going to react like this when they see me?” I ask Sydney while Crew just stares.

She nods and whispers, “Just wait until Grey gets here.”

My stomach takes a spin at the thought of him being here. I stand taller. “Ryan, I’m going to help in the kitchen.”

He nods as I turn my back to them and start prepping for the party.

When the first hockey family arrives for the party, my brother is still looking over at me in disbelief because of my new hair. I know I look good, but it didn’t occur to me that I look that different andthatgood. When Ryan starts hugging the families pouring into the house, I race down the hall to the guest bedroom and get changed. Sydney walks in behind me as I take my shirt off.

She says, “Sorry. I put my bag in here.” She grabs her bag. “What’re you going to wear? I should’ve asked you if you wanted to borrow something before we left.”

I brush off her apology. Nothing she hasn’t seen before. “Actually, I took your advice and went shopping.” I pull out my brand-new outfit for tonight. The jeans are light-washed and distressed at the knees. My new top is a long-sleeved silk that wraps around and ties in the back. The red and black floral print really brings out my skin tone.

“Oh, my,” she says. “You’re going to look so hot. I might need to borrow that sometime.”

“Anytime,” I smile. “So,” I mutter, straightening out the top. “What am I going to do about Grey?” I huff, putting on the top. My mind has ran through dozens of scenarios that could happen between me and Grey. I need to be prepared. So much has happened that I’m not sure how to act.

“I don’t know,” she says, and that’s no help. “He didn’t tell you about the stepbrother thing, which is crucial information, by the way, and he hasn’t called or texted you, right?”

I nod. When she puts it that way, it sounds bad. The thought of seeing him tonight makes my insides squeeze. The thought of seeing Matt makes me want to hurl. I still can’t unsee that video of him and Michelle Swift. The more that time goes on, the more ick I get from the thought of him. And I hate using that word.Ick.The word itself is disgusting. I guess I never understood the feeling of that word until now.

“He hasn’t texted me since yesterday, correct.”

She shrugs, pulling out her clothes from her bag. “I think that means he’s guilty.”

I freeze at that thought and then exhale and grab my jeans. “Does it though?” I question that notion.

“I think so, yeah. Maybe you should text him.”

And with that in the air, I shake my head. “I will be attached to my phone all night, and if he doesn’t text me back, I don’t want to be disappointed.” The fear of further rejection from him looms in the front of my mind. His words,I’ll never have sex with you, gladly messes with my head in random moments like now. I throw on my jeans and jump to get them over my hips.

She exhales, leaning on the bed. She gives me a sad face, and I feel awkward at her sympathy. “You know to not expect anything from Grey, right? Remember when all of this started, I encouraged you to ask him to be your fake boyfriend because he was the perfect candidate. Yeah, Matt hated him. But I knew that it would never go anywhere with Grey. He’s the same as he’s always been, okay? Don’t let him get to you. Just let Grey be Grey, and you be you.”

“Yeah,” I say, grabbing my mini makeup bag. I’m glad for the mini pep talk. It serves as a good reminder. “Meet me in the bathroom when you’re dressed.”

She nods as I walk out. Everything she’s saying is valid, but it’s so opposite of what I’m feeling. I had so much fun with Greyson on the road trip and at the skating rink. I still can’t shake that hot kiss from that party, which was a while ago. All the nights I spent in his bed. How we pretended to be having sex so his roommates could hear. The quiet moments that passed between us randomly throughout the days. When his shirt was off. Wow. And I hope tonight when he sees my new hair, he won’t be able to take his eyes off me. I huff because since when did I care so much about a boy’s attention? When I settle into the bathroom and stare at my new hair color, I see how much it’s changed my face. Everything is sharper and edgier. My eye color pops. I think I like this new version of myself. My feelings are complicated and for the first time, I welcome it. I don’t need to know the ending to this one to be happy. Nope. I throw on un-expired mascara and try to dilute my eyebrows for a few minutes while I’m alone. Sydney joins me shortly later and then we hear a bunch of guys enter the house.

“Ready to have fun and flirt with some older hockey players?” Sydney waggles her perfect eyebrows at me. Her outgrown fringe is gorgeous, and it’s so unfair, but I love that my brown hair in the reflection can almost keep up with her beauty.

“I’m so ready.”

Chapter 23

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