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Her eyes sparkled as she lifted her eyebrows, taking another sip. Her tongue darted out, and fuck, my cock took notice. “You can always try harder. And I love cupcakes. And maybe you could drive me home on that bike you rode by Magpie that day.”
Challenge accepted, baby girl.
“Deal. And, baby girl? I will try even fucking harder.” I snatched her glass and drained it. “Right after I feed you.” Maddie watched as I refilled the glass then handed it back to her.
A comfortable silence filled the air as I finished preparing our midnight meal.
“Can I ask you something?” Maddie asked, voice soft and timid.
I hated that she sounded that way talking to me, so I nodded. Hell if I would be the reason she ever felt like less of herself.
Sitting up straight, she tilted her head. “What happened, that made you this way?”
“This way?” I plated her food, and made another for myself.
We ate in silence until I finally spoke. “It was my third year in the league. I had signed with Unified Sports Agency right before I was drafted, but I had an injury my first season. Got traded. And suddenly things clicked. Top of my game. The endorsements rolled in. I had more money than I knew what to do with.” I let out a sigh, forcing myself to continue.If this was our only night together, she deserved to know why. “I met with my team at the agency one day, and there was this intern. Smart, sexy, and beautiful. We started dating. And then, I fucked up.”
“How?”
“Ever meet someone, and they seem to be struggling with things that maybe you can help them with?” She nodded. “So you do. Once. Twice. Then it becomes a habit? And when you question why, they tell you reasons. Whether they make sense or not. So you try even harder to help them? Justine was the other female intern Unified had. She was a former cheerleader and knew all the things to say to reel someone in.” My vision went red when I thought of how she used me. Set me up. “Anyway, I had been dating Serena for maybe six months, when Justine started pushing things. Texting me at 1:30 in the morning. Sending pictures. Sob stories about her past. How her boyfriend was an alcoholic and didn’t treat her right. Then, it got intense. She told me she thought she was falling for me, and wanted to leave him to be with me. All along, I thought I was helping her out. But, I was also partying more and more, and Serena was still in college.”
“So this girl was trying to use you.”
I nodded, taking a bite. Loving how every time Maddie did, it was like the first. She savored every single forkful. Fuck. Me. “And I let her, because it was easy. She fed my damn ego. And my performance started suffering, but I covered well enough that it took awhile to notice. Then, it was time for the internships to end.” Recalling how Justine begged me to help her get the position because Serena had connections she didn’t. I fucking fell for her sob stories. “I realized I wasn’t in love with Serena. And I fucking showed it by almost sleeping with Justine. I didn't, but I did get Serena out of the running by insinuating she was only with me to get the job so Justine had a better chance.”
Maddie gasped. “Asshole,” she muttered.
“It didn’t end pretty. And the clusterfuck was that I didn’t even realize how far into crazy the cheerleader had gone into my life. Messaging anyone who followed me on social media. Showing up at events and making sure we were photographed together. Calling or texting at all hours. Screenshots of our conversations. She even went after one of my teammates' wives she thought was hitting on me after a charity event. Tried to sell some made up story to fucking TMZ.”
“No. Way.”
“And so I threatened her. Told her I’d share her messages about how she manipulated me and cost Serena her job. The pictures. I’d leak them all, and she’d lose her job and the life she built. It was ugly, but in the end, she fucking stopped. But, I fucking refuse to let anyone use me like that again. So, here we are.”
She stood, and made her way around the island and nudged my knees apart. “You may have reacted like an asshole, Sebastian, but you aren’t one. And even if you don’t believe me after this, tonight, to me, you are the safe place, the spark I needed. That person, the one I see? Not an asshole. Not even close.”
A strange sensation washed over me as she ate another forkful, and closed her eyes in ecstasy.
Fuck, she was so sexy. And way too young to look haunted. But her spirit? It burned bright.
No one would break my girl.
“Since we’re sharing…” I let my words trail off.
She finished chewing, and pushed what was left around her plate. “My last boyfriend wasn’t exactly,” she murmured, and drew in a deep breath, not finishing the sentence. Spine straight, she ate a final bite, sat down her fork with a satisfied smile. “Typical bad boy. Lead singer of a local rock band.Smitten by the thought that someone so sexy and worldly would look twice at me, let alone ask me out. Anyway, things went downhill. I lost my dream job, but he ‘let’ me stay at Magpie. Mostly because I think he thought Reid would fail. First mistake. Then, he started controlling everything. What I wore, my hair, where I was. And one day, I woke up and no longer recognized the girl in the mirror.”
The growl came out before I could stop it. I grit my teeth. “Did he ever lay a hand on you, baby girl?”
Her snort was adorable, but it didn’t soothe the beast simmering below the surface. “No. Though I’m sure it was heading in that direction. The verbal and mental abuse weren’t exactly keeping me ‘in line’. Nowthat’san asshole. Don’t worry, Owen, Reid’s fiancé, took care of AJ,” she chuckled. “You don’t cross Owen.” She flinched. “Sorry, I just stuck my foot in my mouth. I know you don’t-”
I put my hand up. “Any issues Owen and I have, past or present, have nothing to do with this.”
“Because just one night, right?”
Fuck.
Why did she have to say it that way?
And why did I hate the sound of it so much?
