Chapter 14

Madison: So, Big Man, I was thinking about you last night. Do you want to know what I was doing?

I shook my head, refusing to dignify Madison with a response. She was taunting me, and I was going to be forever goaded by her messages because I refused to engage. Two weeks had gone by since I slept with her, and although the world seemed darker because I knew I'd never experience something quite so good as her again, she was still somehow coloring my thoughts with visuals that I couldn't get out of my head.

Madison: Well, since you're shy to respond, I'll give you a hint. It involved a shower head and imagining what it would have been like if you'd used your mouth instead of your fingers on me that fateful night.

Madison: Too bad we never got that wet.

Case in point. Another day and another NSFW visual that would crop up in my mind at the most inappropriate time, giving me a boner incredibly hard to ignore.

Grumbling, I shoved my phone in my pocket and adjusted my pants so my half-mast erection wasn't on show when I left my room. This one-night deal was seemingly biting me in the ass at every opportunity.

My phone buzzed, but this time I ignored it. Giving any indication that her goading was working would make her worse. I knew her better than she thought, and I'd always admired her persistence, but she forgot that I was patient. She was the one that left me that night and was insisting we follow the rules of the pinkie promise.

When I stepped out of my dorm room, I immediately stopped in surprise.

What the fuck was going on?

All twenty-two teammates were sitting in our living room watching a baseball game. I knew we were having everyone over today because that was what we did on our weekends off, but right in the middle of the horde of men was Madison. Nestled right in the center, she was eating popcorn, watching the Catfish game like she was their biggest fan.

“Guys?” I said to everyone, but my gaze was firmly on Madison and she knew it. A whisper of a smile played across her lips as she snuggled between Scotty and Alex. As per usual, Alex looked like a frightened deer caught in headlights, which Madison seemed to enjoy bringing out of him.

“Oh, hey, D. You're finally up. You ready to watch the game? Looks like it's going to be a good one.” Erik raised his pizza slice from his slumped position on the floor. “We've got more in the kitchen.”

He tipped his chin to the boxes of pizzas, but I walked straight past them, more interested in the blonde bombshell in the middle of the pack.

“I'm good,” I quipped.

“Aw, is it because you're still holding a grudge against pizza because Cade made your room smell like a pizza oven for two weeks? The smell's gone now, I promise.” Erik barked out a laugh at his own joke. Good for him, since everyone else seemed to find it as funny as me, which wasn’t at all.

Cade was chomping on his own slice across the room and raised his hands in defense. “Hey, I thought it was helping him out. Who doesn't like to make out to the smell of old cheese? Besides, it clearly worked for you the last time you had Reporter Girl over.” Cade's eyes bore into mine and his eyebrows wiggled. “That sounded like one hell of a time.” I clenched my jaw, annoyed that he had to bring up Sienna again. “Come to think of it, Reporter Girl hasn’t been around much. Have you been sneaking off to hers to get a little privacy?”

Instincts took over, and I couldn’t stop myself from taking a quick glance at Madison. Yeah, she was pissed at that reference. Well, she could join the club, considering I was pissed that she was sitting in between my teammates whilst sending me dirty texts. What the hell was she thinking? Scotty already knew there was something going on, but what if Alex saw the texts?

Flat-lipped, I waved him off and found a spot at the end of the sofa beside Brooks. “That's not why I don't want pizza. None of us should be eating that kind of stuff during the season.”

I was well aware that I hadn't outright rejected the idea I was sleeping with Sienna, but that was because I couldn't. If I did, Cade would then ask who I was about to finger against the wall, and I assumed the real answer could get me killed.

The reality was, I'd pretty much forgotten Sienna’s name the minute Madison kissed me at The Draft. Madison clearly hadn't forgotten, though, and she might have enjoyed taunting me, but she didn't enjoy hearing about potential flings, no matter how fictitious they were.

“But we need the carbs.”

I tried to play it cool and watch the game, but with Madison sitting next to Alex, and cozying up to him, I couldn't help but feel something in the pit of my stomach. Anger? Jealousy? Maybe a little frustration that she was still flirting with him now that we'd had sex, but what did I expect her to do? Become a nun after I fu-

“Home run!” Brooks, the only one of us that actually watched baseball, stood and clapped as Tate Sorenson rounded the bases.

“Look at him run,” Madison crooned, bringing my attention right back to her. It wasn't like I didn't think about her almost every second of the day. What were a few more? “I swear those baseball pants are so see-through, it's obscene.”

“Madison,” Cade warned with a mouth stuffed full of pizza. He didn’t look at her because he was too busy dipping his crust into some nacho cheese.

She thew her hand in the air, pointing at the TV accusingly as she glared at her brother from across the room. “What? You expect me to sit here and not comment on the fact that I can see every muscle of Sorenson's glutes? I know Dash has thighs of steel, but Sorenson is about ready to bust out of the seams.”

There it was again. That pit in my stomach. That hot anger because Madison was focusing her boy-crazy attention on another guy. What was worse, she was comparing him to me. Her lips curved slightly, suggesting she was holding back a smile.

And that answered everything I needed to know. She was still taunting me. Even though we were in the same room with more people than I could count, she was openly goading me to see if she could get a reaction.

And I was concerned she was about to get one.

This was so wrong on so many levels.

Scotty leaned back so he could look her in the eye. “So, it's not just football guys you have a thing for now? It's baseball too?”

That made her slump her shoulders as her lips quirked into a smile.

“When they look like that, how could I not consider my options?”

“He's married,” I deadpanned, drawing the attention of the entire room. Well, shit. That wasn't how that was supposed to go. Scotty rolled his eyes, leaning back onto the couch and shook his head. Okay, maybe that was a little too obvious. When I glanced at Cade, he wasn't paying much attention, seemingly more interested in his pepperoni slice than my anger over Madison’s non-existent affair with a too old and taken baseball player.

“No, he's not,” Brooks said, correcting me. “He's got twins with a woman that works in the Catfish marketing department, but they aren't technically married.”

“Oooh,” Madison cooed playfully. “Guess that means I've got a chance. Now the question is, do I want to be a stepmom this young?”

“Considering you live in California and he's full time in North Carolina, you might have trouble getting his attention,” Scotty answered saving me from any potential embarrassment, I presumed. “Besides, you switched allegiances fast. I doubt he’ll dump his baby mama for someone as fickle as you. ”

“Fickle?” Madison’s mouth hung open as she stared at him in shock and disappointment. “Et tu, Brute?”

Cade hummed out his disapproval but didn't say much else. Instead, he stuffed his mouth with more nachofied pizza.

Madison nodded, conceding. “I know. I know. I just find it hard to focus when there are so many guys around.” She elbowed Alex on her other side and winked when he gave her a weary look. The poor guy had no idea what he got himself into. “But let's be real, the hockey team will always be number one in my heart.” She drew a heart in the air with her fingers and shimmied her shoulder against Alex's side, who was doing his best to pretend he didn't notice.

Wait a minute, was that sweat dripping down his temple?

“Can't a girl just appreciate the hours and dedication it takes to look like that?”

“I think I'm going to throw up.” Cade hopped off the sofa and walked to his room without another word. With that combination of food, I wasn’t surprised.

Scotty raised his brows and blew out a breath. “I don't know how your brother deals with you. If Amelia was this extra, I think I'd have a heart attack.”

“Get with the times, Hendricks. I'm a young, independent woman, and I'm going to enjoy my youth while I can.” She raised her nose in the air, subtly checking my reaction. I was just watching this conversation play out with annoyance but refusing to show it.

It took everything in me to turn my head away from her and watch the game instead of gazing at her beautiful face. Yeah, I was becoming a stalker.

“In fact, I'm going to enjoy my youth so much that I'm going to the football game tonight.” The smug satisfaction in her voice immediately piqued my interest.

“No, you're not,” I replied sternly and without thinking. All the guys looked at me with confusion. All of them except Scotty who was clearly bored with this cat-and-mouse game Madison and I were playing. He'd be having another conversation with me soon; I just knew it.

I ignored everyone else and kept my focus on Madison .

Her mouth was open, and she was doing her best to look upset, but she wasn’t the best actress. “What do you mean I'm not going? You guys aren’t playing, so I don’t need to cheer Cade on. I might as well cheer on the Wildcats instead. Especially since they invited me as a special guest.”

My lip curled because who the hell was inviting her to a football game as a special guest?

Was she still speaking to Adam and Devin? Or worse, had she decided to give Aiden a shot?

I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about all the different things I was going to do to Aiden, and they were all ten times worse than a broken nose. “Does Cade know you’re going?”

“Cade isn't my father, and I can do what I want.” She waved her hand flippantly.

“Guess we'll see you there, then.”

“Wha— Wait, who’s we? All of you?” She pointed to the rest of the guys sitting around her. Most were ignoring her antics now since they were used to her, but I was watching. I was always watching.

“No. Me and Scotty. If someone’s giving you special seats, then I’m sure they’ll be able to wrangle a couple of extra for us.”

“Oh, no,” Scotty rolled out before falling back onto the sofa.

She looked between me and Scotty a few times, her mouth hung open like a fish. “You're not coming. This is my thing. I'm going on my own without chaperones.”

“We aren't chaperoning you. We'll just be there.”

Madison narrowed her eyes, and she finally got it. If she wanted to play games, I could too.

“Fine. I’ll speak to my friend and see if he can get any extra tickets, but I’m not promising anything.”

Friend? She wasn’t willing to give up a name.

I glared at her in disbelief because I knew she was lying. “Great. I’m sure if he can’t wrangle up the tickets, then we can use Scotty’s name to get them.”

“Great,” Scotty said sarcastically. “Just throw me into this mess.”

Madison knew she was losing, and I was going to cock block any attempt to make me jealous with the football team. So she scooted a little closer to Alex, tapping him on the knee. When he met her gaze, she lifted her shoulder and batted her eyelashes at him. “Are you coming too, Alex? It'd be nice to have you there.”

“I'll see,” he replied hesitantly, and I shook my head, getting up and going straight to my dorm room.

“Wait, where are you going, Big Man?”

“To get ready. We’re going in an hour,” I reluctantly replied. Watching football on my only weekend off sounded like a nightmare, but I wasn’t about to let Madison hang out with those football idiots alone. “Want to give your friend time to get those good seats.”

When I opened the door to my room, I jumped back in surprise. “Why the hell are there always people in my room?”

Cade was sitting at my desk, cracking his knuckles like he’d been waiting for hours. It wasn’t unusual for him to be in here, but that didn’t mean I was happy about it. Cade watched as I made my way to my bed, grumbling about my lack of privacy.

“Please don’t tell me you were using my bathroom to get through your nacho/pizza combo?”

“No.” He laughed. “I’m here because I want to know if you’ve found anything out yet?”

“Anything out?” I raised my brows, trying to remember any conversation between us that involved homework. I’d been so focused on trying to stop Madison from teasing me that I hadn't thought about much else.

Cade lifted his chin to the door. “My sister. Have you found out who she's dating on the football team yet?”

Oh, shit. How did I forget about that?

“No,” I said, thinking fast. “But I'm going with her to the game tonight. I’ll be able to see for myself just how close she is to these guys.”

“You are?” His brows raised in surprise. “Thought you hated football.”

“It's not my favorite.”

“But you’re going for me.” I nodded, letting him believe it. Then, he walked over to me and clasped my shoulder. “Appreciate it, man. I always know you'll have my back.”

I gulped down the disappointment I had in myself.

Traitor .

It was a constant low whisper in my brain now.

This thing between Madison and me had to stop. It was like a slow hit of poison every time I thought about her. She’d be my downfall; it was just impossible to admit it out loud with her brother standing in the room.

“Why don’t you come with us?”

Cade’s brows furrowed, but it made perfect sense to have him there. It also blocked any possibility of me touching Madison. “Why?”

I shrugged. “Fun night out. Scotty’s going. Alex might too.”

He mulled it over. “What time are you leaving?”

“Soon,” I replied curtly as he walked to the door.

“Fine, but it’s only because I don’t have anything better to do tonight.”

Just as Cade’s hand touched the doorknob, something came over me.

Traitor. Traitor. Traitor.

“Hey, Cade.”

I was just about to admit it. Tell him the truth that I’d slept with Madison, and it would never happen again, but just as I tried, I couldn't.

There was more to the story than just sleeping with his sister.

I'd taken Madison's virginity. She told me she wanted it to be me. In telling my secret, I was also telling hers, and I wasn't sure that was fair. Not until I got her consent.

Fuck me.

I did this all wrong. Thinking with my dick instead of my head put me right in the place I never wanted to be.

“Are you sure she’s with a football player? Have you ever thought that this was all a decoy and that she might be dating one of those guys out there?”

It was the closest I was going to get to outing myself, but a pretty damn big hint if he was willing to take it.

Cade pursed his lips and silently assessed me. Then he threw his head back and barked out a laugh. “Really? You think one of those guys is stupid enough to try something with Madison?”

“Why would you say that?”

He blew out his breath and laughed. “Isn't it obvious? That's the worst move any one of them could make. There are at least twenty thousand other people on this campus, and they'd choose my sister to date? ”

“Why not?”

“Really? Do I have to explain it to you? You were there in high school when Henry did it. He was outed as a traitor then, and it’s not surprising to me that he’s had issues on his team since. It also helps that everyone’s now seen what you did to his nose after, so I know for a fact that no one on the team is going to mess with her.”

No one but me.

“Besides, they’ve seen firsthand how it fucked the team dynamic when Henry came on board, and we’ve only just gotten back on track. We all want to get into the Frozen Four, and the only way that’s going to happen is if we focus on the task at hand—winning games. Sneaking around with my sister goes directly against that.”

I nodded, silently taking in everything he said.

He was right. This was screwing with the team dynamic. Scotty knew about it and was so close to spilling the beans. Alex had somehow been drawn into this mess, which could potentially create a bigger problem. Telling Cade the truth felt insurmountable in the moment because I wasn't the type of guy that caused trouble. That wasn't who my mother raised me to be.

But as much as I tried to ignore it, my feelings for Madison were getting in the way of everything else.

“Good point.”

“I’ll go and get my stuff.” With that, Cade left the room, unbeknownst to him, leaving me to fester in my own thoughts.

I fell back onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. My bedding was fresh, but the memory of Madison wrapped naked in my sheets would stain this room forever.

How the hell could I forget a night like that?

Why was it that every time I vowed to do the right thing, I ended up going against it?

Traitor. Traitor. Traitor.

I growled in frustration, covering my face with my palms and cursing myself for ever thinking I could just play it off as one night.

I needed to get Madison off my mind. But first, I needed to make sure she wasn’t on any football players' minds either.