AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He stares down at the floor with a pinch in his brow, but then he sighs heavily, never lifting his head. “Fine, then. I’ll take you home.”
Like the flip of a switch, Maddox grows silent and broody. I wait for him to put a shirt on, and then he takes me back out to his truck.
The drive back to my place is uncomfortable, but I’m not sure what to say. I got what I needed, what usually works for me. But this time? I don’t feel good afterward. Honestly? I feel like absolute shit.
I can tell that Maddox wants to say something, that words are on the tip of his tongue, but he never speaks. And without knowing what’s going on between us at the moment, I’m scared to say anything myself.
When he pulls up to my townhouse, he puts the truck in park and then leans over the center console to plant a kiss on my cheek. “Have a good night, Penelope.”
“You, too, Maddox.” I exit the truck and turn back to get one last look at him, but he’s not looking in my direction. He shifts into reverse and leaves just as quickly as he came—and I’m left standing there wondering how an amazing night turned so terribly wrong so quickly.
I’m pretty sure I have no one to blame but myself.
Chapter13
Maddox
“You look stressed, QB.” Vince comes up beside me as I’m walking out to my car after practice. “Definitely weren’t yourself out on the field today.”
Yeah, that’s one way of putting it. “My head and heart just weren’t in it today, man.”
The truth is, I’m having trouble focusing on anything right now, especially football. It’s Tuesday, and I haven’t heard from Penelope since Friday night. Since I dropped her off at her house after our date.
Our date. Yeah, not sure how the perfectly planned evening was so fucking amazing and then soured so quickly, but Penelope made sure I knewexactlywhere we stood by the time I dropped her off at her home.
And fuck if it’s not building this irritation inside of me, this mounting anger that she took the first opportunity to push me away again and ran with it.
“This wouldn’t have to do with Penelope, would it?”
We stop at my truck as I unlock it and throw my bag inside, turning to lean up against it. I meet his eyes. “And what makes you think that?”
“Oh, just a lucky guess.”
I run my hand through my hair and blow out a breath. “Fuck, Vince. The woman is making me insane.”
“News flash, Taylor—that’s what women do.”
“But you’re married. It’s different.”
“It is, but that doesn’t mean my wife doesn’t do or say shit that sends me into a tailspin sometimes, even after being together for eight years. Did something happen between the two of you?”
“I took her out Friday night. Things were going well, and then we, uh...”
“Slept together?” he clarifies.
“Yeah. Again.”
Holding a hand up, he makes the sound of screeching brakes. “Hold up.Again?”
Chuckling, I lean back against the truck further to get comfortable before going back to almost three months ago when Penelope and I met the first time.
“Holy shit. No wonder the sexual tension between the two of you was wound so tight.”
“Well, we released some of it Friday night, but then right after, she bailed.”
The corner of his mouth tips up. “I see.”
“I know I’m coming on strong, but fuck... I’m in uncharted territory here. The woman is... not the commitment type.”
