Page 80 of Pucking Grey

Ace sighs. “Maddie, I’ve never seen Grey like this before. But I can’t answer that for him. Just talk to him.”

“Should I call him?” I ask, not liking that idea. “But he’s three hours away. I have this party. I can’t just leave.”

Knox adds, “Then call him. Or text him. Enjoy the party and see him tonight when you drive down.”

Sydney nods.

I nod and say, “Okay.”

Chapter 25

I just missed Ace’s call, but I don’t want to hear how fun the fucking party is. I don’t want to hear about Matt hitting on Maddie. I don’t want to hear Knox in the background telling me how happy Maddie is without me around. I don’t want to hear any of it.

Which is why I’ve driven almost three hours to get to this party. I’m sitting outside of the house inside of my truck, psyching myself out. There are too many vehicles here, and I don’t want to make a scene because truthfully, I have no idea what’s going on in there. I’ve barely spoken to Maddie. The entire three hours of driving had me overthinking and wondering if I should turn around and head back home. And I almost did about twenty different times. But I’ve reached the destination, and all I need to do is walk into the fucking house.

Get your two feet out of this truck. Get your ass off of this seat. Walk to the front door and fucking open it.

When I do, it’s not quite like the college parties I’m used to. There are little humans running around with men and women happily watching them. The conversations fill the air more than the music does. There are no keg stands, no beer pong, and no drunks jumping into the jacuzzi. It’s mellow. It feels like a family party.

I’m only a few hours late, but the food is almost gone. There’s not a piece of trash in sight. Everyone is being respectful in this Wilder household, and I dig it.

Ryan greets me as I shut the front door behind me.

“What’s up, Cress? I’m glad you made it. There’s food over there. Honey Badgers are in the back. You can introduce yourself to some of the guys.” Ryan pats my chest, and my heart is fucking racing because this encounter is the complete opposite of our last talk. I thank him and he smiles. “Between you and I, Cress, Maddie told me everything. Just do the girl a favor and don’t mess with her heart.”

I observe him. Beer in hand, happy as can be, clean and cut, and too fucking nice of a man like always. He’s easily the nicest guy I’ve ever met.

“Tell her how you feel. She’s convinced right now that you’re not coming. You know what? Go down the hall, second door to the left. I’ll have her meet you in there. Go.”

I do as he says, keeping my eyes peeled to see where she is, who she’s talking to, what she’s doing. I don’t see her, but I catch a quick glimpse of Matt in the backyard with Harvey.

I step into the quiet room and notice her bag is in here along with a few others. I steal a glance through the blinds and wait a few minutes standing around. My heart’s fucking racing. I don’t know what to do with my hands, or my body. It suddenly feels hot in here. I’m just standing around because Ryan told me too, and if he said Maddie told him everything, what the fuck does that mean? Likeeverything?

I hear voices down the hallway. “What is it, Ryan? You’re stealing me away from the party right when I was starting to have fun. This better be good.”

Maddie opens the door, and my heart stops beating. She’s not even looking at me yet, but the color of her hair throws me for a loop. Maddie in brown hair is shockingly gorgeous, and not that she wasn’t before, but I see every bit of her face in a new way. Her cheekbones are high, her nose is perfectly pointy, and her lips are full. But hell, her eyes. They widen when they spot me across the room. I’m stunned by how different she looks, so nothing comes out of my mouth. Not even a simplehi. I’m in shock.

She pushes Ryan, whisper yelling at him. He forces her shoulders into the room that she clearly doesn’t want to be in.

Ryan peeps his head in and says, “Keep it PG.”

I nod and wave as he shuts the door behind her. She turns to it and hits it. She grunts and then slowly turns to me.

“I’m not tying you up and starving you,” I mutter, staring at her face that is fucking beyond gorgeous with brown hair. Is it the contrast? “I promise.”

She is too quiet, and it’s making me nervous.

“You came,” she finally says. And I nod, watching her carefully.

“Your hair. It – uh, looks really good.”

“Do you like it?” she asks, grabbing it.

“Do you?” I ask because I feel like this is a trick question. I don’t think she knows how beautiful she is if she’s asking that question.

She nods. “Yeah, I look grown. And it brings out my eyes.”

I nod, staring straight into her eyes. “It definitely does. And you’ve always lookedgrown.”

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