Page 6 of Cold As Ice

“Fine.” She shoved it back in her purse and gave me a weak smile.

If I had been Noah or Connor, I might have asked her if it was an ex. But I wasn’t. And I’d already put myself out to walk her to her building.

“Okay, well, this is me.” She pointed to a building up ahead. We were right on the edge of campus, but my place was around the other side.

“I guess this is where we say good night, then,” I said, drawing to a stop. I could watch her walk in from here.

“I guess it is.” Madison peered up at me. “Or… it doesn’t have to be,” she said hesitantly.

“What?” I frowned because, surely, she wasn’t saying what I thought she was.

“I think you heard me…”

“Yeah, and it sounded a lot like you were propositioning me after you just told me you weren’t going to sleep with me.”

“I did say that, didn’t I?” Her nose screwed up but she looked so fucking cute. “But you could come in for a coffee, or we could watch a movie.”

A movie?

Shit. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t make a habit of hanging out with girls I wasn’t fucking. Fallon was the exception to the rule, and look where that had gotten me.

“Is that code for Netflix and Chill because—”

“Forget it,” she rushed out, filling the awkward as fuck silence that had descended over us. “It doesn’t matter. It was a dumb idea. Bye, Austin. Thanks for walking me back.”

Madison went to leave, but before she could take a step, I grabbed her arm. “Wait.”

“Yeah?” She looked at me with big, hopeful eyes.

Alarm bells started ringing in my head. This was a bad idea—the worst kind. But instead of telling her no, or letting her walk away, I found myself nodding.

“Okay, I can come up for a little bit.”

CHAPTER2

MADISON

Austin Hart wasa tough nut to crack.

For a second, I thought I’d be walking back to Fawn’s apartment with embarrassment and dejection nipping at my heels. But then he’d grabbed my arm and stopped me.

It was apparent the Lakers goalie was an intense guy. In our brief interaction, there had been a dark shadow in his eyes and a permanent frown tugging at his brows. But something about him made my tired, weary soul light up.

Somewhere during our flirty back and forth, I’d gotten a glimpse of the girl I used to be. Before life smacked me in the face and ripped the rug out from under my feet.

And I wanted to hold onto that.

Of course, Fawn and her college friends had been insistent on plying me with enough alcohol to even contemplate talking to the good-looking guy sitting all alone at the bar, hiding under his ball cap.

But she was right. I didn’t get many opportunities to be the old Madi. Fun and carefree. A little bit reckless and wild.

As Austin and I walked side by side up to Fawn’s apartment, I realized how nervous I was. I’d drawn a line in the sand when I’d declared that I wouldn’t sleep with him, but it didn’t stop me from imagining what it would be like to let go.

What would it be like to pretend for one night that I didn’t have responsibilities and pressures that most twenty-one-year-olds would never have to deal with?

“I apologize in advance for the mess,” I said. “We had drinks here before we headed out.”

“I’ve spent the last three years living with a house full of guys. I don’t think there’s anything behind the door that will shock me.”

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