Page 121 of The Draft
“And you didn’t tell me?” Cade groused.
Erik raised his hands, his gaze flicking over to Scotty. “I have my own problems to deal with.”
“Go downstairs and bring a car to the front of the building. Madison, you stay here,” Scotty said, taking control of the situation.
Alex rushed over to us and raised my other arm over his shoulder, so I was effectively being dragged out of the room by the two of them.
“No. I’m not leaving Dash.”
“You’re staying here, Madison,” Cade said sternly. “We need to talk.”
As we got to the elevator, Madison came toward me and kissed me on the cheek. Looking up at me with her big blue eyes, she said, “I love you.”
Swallowing blood, I smiled. “I love you too.”
“Stop,” Cade wailed. “I’m going to be sick.”
When the elevator opened, Scotty and Alex dragged me in, only turning me to face the common room when the doors were about to shut. “No one tells Coach,” Scotty yelled before they did.
“I told you fucking around with Madison would get you in trouble,” Scotty mumbled under his breath, but Alex just laughed.
“I still can’t believe it took Cade this long to figure it out,” Alex said.
“You knew, too?” Scotty asked, leaning so he could see over me.
“Yeah. Took me a minute, but when you start looking, it’s pretty fucking obvious that the two of them are hot for each other.”
That was the last thing I heard before the woozinesstook over.
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. Ihateyou.” 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.”