Chapter 28

As I watched the elevator doors shut with my boyfriend behind them, I was fuming. Cade and I were the only ones left, so I turned on my heels and headed straight for him, flailing my arms and screeching so loud that I was sure the entire building heard.

“How dare you?”

He seemed surprised when I came at him, ready to punch him in the face. Somehow, he’d managed to catch my wrists and keep me in a tight hold. That didn’t stop me from desperately trying to make him feel some kind of pain. When I couldn’t break my arms free, I kicked my legs out, hoping to hurt him the same way he hurt me.

“I hate you, Cade.”

He didn’t say anything, which only infuriated me more and forced me to lash out further. “I hate everything about you.”

“You don’t hate me,” he said almost casually, which ticked me off because it didn’t sound like he was breaking a sweat. Then he brought my arms over my head to turn me around. I was stuck in his hold with no way out .

“Right now, I do.”

“Well, I gotta be honest with you, MB. I’m not your biggest fan either right now. I mean, seriously, Madison. You’re in a towel in my dorm. Go put some clothes on so I can take you home.”

“No. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.” Letting all my aggression out, I screamed, kicked, and punched until my limbs were aching. I hadn’t managed a single blow because Cade was so much stronger than me. My head was hung low, and I stared at our bare feet because I couldn’t bear to look at him. With my chest heaving, tears pooled in my eyes. Why did it feel like everything was over before it could truly start? This was exactly what Dash was afraid of, and he was right. We never had the chance when I had an overprotective asshole for a brother. “Why?” I asked with a meek voice.

“Why what?”

“Why’d you beat Dash up? He’s your best friend.”

“Really? You want me to answer that? Doesn’t the towel you’re wearing give you enough of a clue?”

“I like him, Cade.”

“I like him too. He’s my best friend.” Cade dropped my hands and walked over to the kitchen where his jacket was draped over one of the barstools. He took it and tossed it at me. I accepted it and put it on, feeling much less exposed. “He should have told me about his feelings before even thinking about acting on them.”

“It’s not his fault. It’s mine. I was the one that kissed him at The Draft.”

Cade’s head whipped up in disgust. “The Draft? You kissed him at The Draft?” I nodded. “This has been going on for over a month?” Then he dropped his head and thought about it. “Oh god. Were you Little Miss Pop My Cherry the whole time?” My mouth hung open because I didn’t know what to say, but he closed his eyes and raised his hand, stopping himself from retching. “Don’t answer that. I don’t want to know. I’m already going to have to pretend my best friend doesn’t have a functioning dick to survive this.”

“I love him, Cade.”

“I know you do.” Cade ran a hand across his face and growled out in frustration. “I’ve always known that you’ve had a crush, I just never expected you to act on it, much less for him to want you back.”

“Why?” I straightened up. “What’s wrong with me? You make it sound like I’m the ugliest person in the world.” He looked down. “Clearly, I’m not that bad if Henry wanted to date me, and your best friend does too. What’s so wrong with me that I don’t deserve to be happy like everyone else?”

Cade looked surprised, but his features softened. “There’s nothing wrong with you, MB. It’s just you’re my baby sister, so I’m always going to want the best for you. After everything that happened with Henry, I thought you’d want a nice, nerdy guy who would treat you well. Not some knucklehead hockey player.”

“He’s not just a knucklehead hockey player, though. He’s Dash. Your best friend and the guy that defended me when he found out Henry was playing me.”

“Exactly, my best friend. That you’ve been sneaking around with. Why does your happiness always seem to involve my teammates?”

I closed my eyes because he just wasn’t getting it. “It doesn’t. Henry was the biggest mistake of my life. Dash is the best thing that ever happened to me. I love him.” Cade’s jaw clenched as he looked at the floor. “Dash is a gentleman, and you know it. He’s much better than any hockey or football player out there.”

“Dash or a football player? Are those the only options because you’re not giving me much of a choice there?”

“Frankly, Cade, you don’t get a choice. This is my life and my relationship. I get to choose who I date, not you. You can complain all you want, but you can’t stop me from being with Dash. You can either stand in the way and lose your sister and your best friend in the same day, or you can try to be happy for us like we’d be for you.”

Silence fell between us because what was I supposed to say now? Cade knew, and he wasn’t happy about it. Dash was in the hospital because they thought he had a broken nose. Word would get out and everyone would know soon. I just hoped this wouldn’t be the end for us. But as I looked at how angry my brother was, I felt like it could be.

I could see how it was going to play out. Cade was going to give Dash an ultimatum, and Dash would always pick Cade. I knew that when I kissed him the first night; I just didn’t think he would ever have to choose. Salty tears started to well up in my eyes, and I took a deep breath, doing my best to hide my emotions because I didn’t want Cade to see just how upset I was over everything.

Sighing, Cade looked over at me. Resigned, he said, “Come on, MB. Go get dressed.”

I tried to bite back my words, but the more I thought about everything Cade had done, the angrier I got.

“You know what?” I started, and Cade looked shocked by my outburst. “I am not that na?ve sixteen-year-old anymore, Cade. You can’t wrap me in bubble wrap and still expect me to breathe. I’m nineteen. I know what I want, and you should let me make up my own mind. I’m happy and in love with Dash. If you don’t like it, well, screw you, but I’m damn well not going to let you ruin the only good thing that’s going on in my life.”

“That’s not what I was trying to do.”

“You sure about that? Because that’s exactly what it feels like.”

“I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like you couldn’t make your own decisions, but that doesn’t give you the right to sleep with my best friend behind my back. Now, will you hurry up and get dressed?” He stalked toward me, but I stepped away from his touch. He was trying to kick me out, and, in a way, I deserved it. He was right. I should have learned my lesson with Henry. I should have kept my hands to myself.

“No. I’m not leaving here with you pretending like nothing happened.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

Standing firm, I realized that we were at an impasse. There was nothing that either of us could say that would change the other’s mind. I hung my head as I walked over to Dash’s room. The mood was frosty, and I knew it would be a long time before Cade and I could fix our relationship, especially if I did keep dating Dash, which I planned to do.

“Come on, MB. Hurry up. We need to get going.”

“And where exactly are we going?”

“To see Dash.” My eyes widened, but Cade’s face remained expressionless. “I’m not going to hurt him, even if he deserves it. I need to talk to him, and you need to check on him.” Raising his hands, he eased out an unamused smile. “Hey, if you and Dash love each other like you say you do, then who am I to stand in the way?”

What the hell just happened?

Was this Cade’s way of offering me an olive branch?

“But you just said you didn’t want me to date him.”

“That’s not what I said. I actually said I didn’t think you’d want to date an idiot like him, but as I’m turning over a new leaf, I’m going to let you make your own decisions and decide what’s best for you. So, if you do want to date an idiot like him, go right ahead.”

“Cade.” I smiled, not knowing what to say. That was the closest I was going to get with his blessing.

“Besides, I know Dash wouldn’t act on his feelings with you unless he was serious. Don’t hurt him. He’s been through a lot.” I tipped on my toes, holding back a squeal of excitement because his words sounded a lot like acceptance. Raising his finger, he said, “That does not mean I’m happy with the way any of this went down or that you can come gallivanting in here whenever you want. In fact, you’re banned. I only want to see you outside or at games. No sleepovers because I will vomit if I have to hear things. I already need to look into how to bleach my ears because I’m pretty sure I’ve already heard things I didn’t want to.”

I bit down on my bottom lip, holding back a smile. “Okay. That sounds like a reasonable request.”

“Good.” Tight-lipped, he closed his eyes. “Now, get changed. Let’s go.”