Page 28 of The Ruckup
Maddie groans. “You can’t be late.” She rolls away. “Your parents are already not thrilled with us talking. If you’re late, they’ll blame it on me.”
“They won’t blame it on you.” I slide my hand across the sheets, savoring the warmth of her spot on the bed as she stands. “They don’t know you’re here.”
Maddie pauses on her way to my bathroom. “You didn’t tell your parents about what happened?”
Her question is careful. Her voice even enough I can’t tell what sort of feelings she has about me keeping what’s happening between us private.
“No.” I toss the covers off my body and stand. “It’s none of their business.” I turn the question back on her. “What about you? Do your parents know?”
“I haven’t told them.” Maddie’s shoulders slump. “But my dad’s friends with my attorney, so I’m sure he’s heard.”
I narrow my eyes. “Isn’t that illegal?”
Maddie lifts her brows. “Do you seriously think they care about that?”
“Why don’t you get a different attorney?” I don’t like the idea of her lawyer running to her parents and telling them her business. Especially knowing how they’ve treated her through this whole thing. Like she’s the one who’s done something wrong. Like she should have known her ex was an awful person.
Like she should be facing all of this alone.
“Because I can’t afford a different attorney.” Maddie twists the hem of the oversized T-shirt she slept in. “When I left Drake, I left with nothing. I needed a lawyer, and my dad’s friend offered to help me for cheap.”
“Sounds like you overpaid.” I scrub one hand over my face. “Maybe later we can talk about coming up with a new plan.”
I already know what I want the plan to be. I want to hire her the best fucking attorney on the East Coast. A shark who’ll serve her ex his asshole on a silver platter.
And will keep their fucking mouth shut about Maddie’s business.
Maddie gives me an uncertain smile. “Okay.”
I feel like she’s placating me, and that’s another thing we’ll talk about later. I wish I had time to address it now, but I want to getthis thing at my parents’ over with. And the later I am, the longer it’s going to drag out.
I quickly get dressed, pulling on the ridiculous set of pajamas my mother insists on everyone wearing for Christmas morning. I’ve never minded doing it, because honestly I felt bad that she worked so hard and I knew damn well my dad didn’t do shit to help. The least I could do was put on a pair of flannel pants.
But this morning, I’m feeling differently. We didn’t end on the best note the night of their Christmas party, and I haven’t talked to them since. I’ve been busy spending time with Maddie, and my mom needed time to cool off. The distance needed to happen, but now I don’t know what I’ll be walking into.
It's got me in a bad mood that’s only exacerbated by knowing I’m not the only one who’ll be facing their parents today. I don’t like leaving Maddie to deal with her parents alone. I know that’s the way it has to be—my presence certainly isn’t going to make things less volatile—but I don’t like the idea of anyone trying to tell her what to do. And the last time her parents told her what to do, they pushed her into a marriage with a dangerous piece of shit.
Once I’m dressed, I go to find Maddie. She’s in the kitchen making herself coffee using my Nespresso. I’m pretty sure she likes the thing better than she likes me, and I can’t wait until the box of pods I ordered for her arrives. I think she’ll be almost as excited by those as she will be by the extensive set of high-quality spices I have on the way.
When her beverage is finished, she lifts the cup to her mouth, letting out a soft moan at the first sip, sending a flare of heat coursing through my body.
Fuck my life. I thought it was difficult keeping my hands off her when we were sitting in her apartment watching TV and sharing food. But that was nothing compared to the difficulty of sleeping next to—and under—her at night. Especially when I know how easily she melts into me. How good it will be when we finally do all the things I want.
The night of the fire at Sweet Side Apartments hasn’t left my mind, and not because a crime was committed, even though that is a pretty big problem. I can’t stop thinking about it because I can’t stop thinking about how good Maddie’s mouth tasted. How perfect her body felt against mine.
The way her thighs hooked around my waist.
Fucking hell. I’ve got to stop or I’m going to walk into Christmas breakfast with a raging hard-on.
Raking one hand through my hair, I direct my thoughts to a topic I’m confident will douse any hint of arousal in my body. “Are you going to be okay going to your parents’ by yourself?”
Sure enough, just thinking about the people who set Maddie up for failure, and then judged her for it, has my dick shriveling at a record pace.
Maddie takes a deep breath, offering me a weak smile. “I’ll be okay.” Her brows pinch together. “What about you? Do you think your parents are going to give you more shit?”
I wiggle my brows at her, grinning because I don’t want her to worry about me. “I guess we’ll find out.” Because I can’t stop myself—and don’t want to—I go to where she stands, leaning down to press a kiss to her lips. “If they do, at least we’ll have something to talk about over Christmas dinner.”
Her full lips flatten. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.” Sadness pinches her expression. “I don’t want to cause problems between you and your parents, Leo.”
