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"Look at her," Maddy laughed from behind me. Inwardly, I groaned, rolling my eyes. I scanned the parking lot. There was nowhere to escape. The parking lot was empty except for us. Everyone was still celebrating on the field. "She thinks she's so special." A loud squeal of girls laughing followed Maddy's sarcastic cackle. I was determined to keep walking and ignore them. "It's kind of sad. She actually believes she is Maddox's girlfriend." Their laughter got louder as if the thought of it was so outrageously funny.
"She must be a virgin." Brooke laughed. They were closing in on me. I picked up my pace.
"Of course she is," Maddy scoffed. "Look at her. Who would want to touch that?" That was it. I'd had enough.Stopping, I whipped around, squaring my shoulders ready for a fight.
"What is your problem, Madison?" I hissed, drawing out her full name as I spun to face the leader of the group of mean girls.
"You," Maddy said, pushing a finger into my shoulder hard enough to shove me backward. "Maddox Parker is mine. He may wander occasionally, but he always comes back to me." I knew she was right. Maddox and Maddy had been on again, off again for as far back as I could remember. But I also knew things had changed, and now Maddox was with me. Maybe he was tired of his toxic relationship with Maddy, and now he truly enjoyed my company. Or perhaps he tolerated her because she was easy—a relationship of convenience.
"Why would you want that?" I asked, honestly feeling sorry for her. I would never understand why a girl would let a man treat her like that. Maddy was beautiful on the outside, not so much on the inside. She had long blonde hair with icy blue eyes, lean and tall with long legs that looked even longer in her tiny cheer uniform. She could have anyone; why would she want someone who didn't want her?
"Maddox is going places," Maddy said, flipping her straight hair over her shoulder. "And when he gets there, I'll be the one on his arm. He's my way out of this shitty town." She didn't want to be with him because she loved him. She wanted to be with him because she thought he was her ticket to bigger and better.
"If you say so." I shrugged, not knowing what else to say.
"Don't fool yourself, Addy," Maddy hissed, fisting her hands on her hips as she leaned into me. "You are just another tally in his book of virgins." The corners of her lips turned up as she turned to look at her friends. "How many of you lost your virginity to Maddox Parker?" Every single girl raised her hand, including Maddy. I fought to keep my face flat and not show my emotions, but I wasn't sure it was working. "You didn't know he had a thing for virgins, did you?" She barked out a laugh. "Which is the reason he's suddenly interested in you." She frowned dramatically, acting sad. "You're a short-term goal for him. I'm his long-term. He already asked me to homecoming. So, he obviously wasn't planning on you sticking around." My chest clenched at her words, but I tried desperately to hide the hurt in my eyes. I didn't know if she was telling the truth, but I knew they were running together for homecoming queen and king. So, it wouldn't be hard to believe they were going together as a couple. "So do us all a favor and fuck him. Get it over with so he can move on, and you can stop making a fool out of yourself prancing around the school in his jacket like anyone here actually believes you are his girl."
Maddy knew she was getting to me; it was written all over her face. I had no response to anything she said. I had no idea if she was telling the truth or not. So, I did the only thing I could and spun away from them, storming towards Maddox's truck.
I stood silently staring into space, waiting for Maddox to come out, replaying everything Maddy said repeatedly. I didn't want to let anything she said bother me, but it did. Still, Maddox deserved the right to defend himself, to tell me his truth. This new fear, thanks to Maddy, was that he wasn't being honest with me even though I had no reason to believe he wasn't.
SEVENTEEN
MADDOX
Standing around the pool deck, I couldn't take my eyes off Addy, who was still wearing my letterman's jacket. If you'd told me a week ago that I would be attracted to Addy, I would have laughed, and yet here I was, watching her laugh with Brooks and Bailey as flashbacks of what happened in my truck before the game came flooding back.
"Did you hear me, Maddox?" Maddy asked, snapping my attention back to her.
"Yes, Maddy," I lied. I hadn't heard a word she'd said, and I didn't care to either. "I have to go." I was ready to leave and spend some one-on-one time with Addy. I was tired of sharing her.
"Mad Dog," Brooks chanted when I stepped into their circle, throwing a possessive arm across Addy's shoulder.
"We are heading out," I said to Brooks.
"What?" he scowled. "The party's just starting." He handed Addy a red solo cup. "Try this." He'd been feeding her drinks to try all night after finding out she'd never had an alcoholic beverage before.
"We are headed back to my place," I said, watching Addy take a sip of the drink and turn up her nose like it smelled bad.
"Man," Brooks smiled, slapping me on the back, "y'all go upstairs, pound it out, and then come back to the party." He was drunk. He didn't usually talk like that.
"Yeah, Maddox," Addy slurred. "Why don't you take me upstairs, pop my cherry, and get it over with." My eyes blinked wide, flashing from Addy to Brooks and back to Addy. What the fuck was up with her tonight?
"I think you've had enough," I snatched her cup out of her hand and dropped it on the ground. I had no idea what was going on with her. "We're leaving." I offered a tight smile before wrapping an arm around Addy's waist and practically carrying her out. She'd been acting off all night, hell, all day. I thought we'd squashed everything before the game, but she'd only gotten weirder after.
"What was that about?" I asked once we were in the privacy of my truck. She didn't answer. "Addy?"
"Do you have a book of virgins?" she snapped. A laugh started to bubble up at the pure ridiculousness of the question, but I choked on it when I realized she was dead serious.
"Addy," I said, trying to keep a straight face. "Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?"
"That's not a denial," she accused.
"No," I snapped. "I don't have a book of virgins or any other sexual escapades."
"Do you have a thing for virgins?"
"What?" I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Who told you this?" She shrugged. I didn't even know where to start. "Addy, I'm not into you because you're a virgin. I couldn't even tell you how many girls that I've slept with were virgins except one, and that's because we lost our virginity to each other." She visibly relaxed. "Addy." I reached for her hand, pulling it to me. "I like you, and it has nothing to do with you being a virgin."
