Page 10 of The Ruckup
Maddie’s teeth pinch her lower lip as she reaches into a pocket hidden in the seam of her dress. Pulling out her phone, she gives me a shy smile. “Okay.” After unlocking the screen, she passes it over. There’s no hesitation. No worry I’m going to do anything but add myself to her contacts.
And damned if that doesn’t make me even more hopeful she’s going to use the number I give her. Maddie is too trusting. Too sweet. The kind of woman who could easily be taken advantage of by the wrong kind of man.
Or worshipped by the right kind of man. A man like me.
After quickly adding my number, I pass her phone back, watching as her lips curve into a little smile while her thumbs tap across the screen. A second later, my own cell phone buzzes in my pants.
“There.” Her eyes lift to my face. “Now you have my number too.”
“Am I allowed to use it?” I need to know the rules. The boundaries and limitations. Because I want to be sure I’m better than whatever asshole came before me.
And there have been quite a few hints that there was an asshole before me. Between my mother warning me off her and discovering her parents would lecture her for being alone with me, the math isn’t hard to do.
Coupled with how surprised she seemed by my desire to make her feel good, and it’s pretty easy to deduce the guy she’s breaking up with is a world class twat. And an idiot. Because only an idiot wouldn’t fucking love having Maddie coming on his tongue.
“Of course you’re allowed to use it.” Maddie’s dark eyes move over my face. “I’d actually really like it if you did.”
That’s all the encouragement I need. She’ll be lucky if I’m not texting her before she leaves the fucking house tonight.
I’m not telling her that though. I’m going to at least attempt to play it cool for the next half hour. After that, all bets are off. There’s a high likelihood Ms. Miller’s going to realize I’m a fucking simp before the clock strikes midnight.
I tip my head toward the door. “You go out first. If anybody asks, tell them you got lost on your way to the bathroom.” I thumb over one shoulder in the general direction of the door I used earlier to enter from outside. “I’m gonna sneak around and come in a different way. Hopefully it keeps our parents from figuring out we were both in the same place.”
Maddie gives me a shy nod, like she’s not sure how to act around me now. “Okay.” After offering a little wave, she quietly creeps out into the hall, closing the door behind her.
I wait until she’s completely out of sight, and I’m sure she’s not coming back, before I grip my aching dick through my jeans. I almost came in my pants when she locked those pretty thighs against my ears, and now I’m suffering. Miserable enough I take an embarrassing amount of time to consider jacking off in my parents’ bathroom before finally deciding against it.
I’m a grown fucking man. Grown enough that I’ll survive a little jizz buildup.
After taking a few deep breaths and waiting for my body to calm down, I go to the back door, pausing when I find the doorknob unlocked.
Didn’t I lock it behind me when I came in earlier? Maybe not. I was pretty eager to get close to Maddie Miller. I’m probably lucky I managed to get the door closed at all.
I let myself out, and this time I make sure to lock everything up. I don’t want to give my parents any reason to start wondering who might have left the door unlocked. There aren’t many options, so they’ll quickly begin trying to recount my actions. And I can’t have that.
Because I’d hate to have to tell my parents to kiss my ass if they try to get me to leave Maddie alone.
After creeping back across the deck, I slip in through the back door. It’s mostly hidden by the gigantic Christmas tree my mother set up, so it’s easy enough to get inside without being noticed.
What’s not so easy, is trying to not do any noticing of my own.
My eyes immediately swing around the space, looking for Maddie. I don’t see her on the little sofa she was on earlier, and she’s not in the kitchen when I go to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. Maybe she’s taking her time coming back, doing a little reconnaissance of her own in an effort to avoid her parents’ suspicions.
Except I don’t see her parents either.
As I pace through the house, checking every spot I can think of for any sign of the Millers, my frown deepens more and more.
She’s gone.
Is it possible her parents noticed Maddie and I were both missing from the party and jumped to conclusions? Made her leave because of it? I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but surely they wouldn’t hate the thought of their daughter being with me so much they’d force her to go home to keep her away from me.
But Maddie and her parents aren’t the only ones missing. I don’t see Gavin or my sister either. It’s pretty normal for Alexis to be gone by this time, my best friend never ducks out of the Christmas party early.
“What the fuck is going on tonight?” I mumble under my breath as I do another lap of the house I grew up in, ignoring the look my mother shoots my way from where she sits in the dining room with the rest of the wives. It’s decidedly unfriendly, so I have to guess Maddie’s parents might not have been the only ones who noticed our absence.
After searching for five more minutes, I finally cross paths with my best friend. “There you are.” I stretch both arms out, palms up. “Where the fuck were you?” My eyes zero in on his shirt, confusion pinching my brow. “And why the fuck are you wearing my dad’s shirt?”
There aren’t any other women here for him to impress, so I don’t get why he changed.
