Page 42 of The Draft
So, not only had she left me, but she’d left me and was running around with no clothes on somewhere. I growled, annoyed that thinking about her naked was making me hard all over again. Walking over to my door, I opened it and stuck my head out to check that she wasn’t outside talking to the guys. There was a blanket strewn over the couch, but apart from that, the place was completely empty. Madison wasn’t here, but that begged the question: Where the hell did she go?
I felt numb as I walked over to the elevator for no other reason than not knowing what else to do with myself and clicked the call button. She wouldn’t still be in there, but as I watched the number climb to our floor,my chest constricted because I really hoped she was.
Traitor. Traitor. Traitor.
There it was again. The guilt bubbling in my gut, causing the stomach ulcer of a lifetime, no doubt. I was a traitor, but it was the only bad thing I’d ever done in my life, so could it really bethatbad?
When the elevator doors opened and all I saw was my pathetic reflection in the mirror at the back, my body slumped. Madison left me. After I took her virginity, Madison didn’t even have the decency to stay long enough to say goodbye.
I lingered at the elevator for a little longer than necessary because trying to process what just happened was taking most of my brain cells. I’d just had the best sex of my life with the girl of my dreams and woke up to an empty bed and the need to talk to her. My ego was bruised, but my heart was in a worse condition.
I groaned at my own thoughts. Calling Madison my dream girl and claiming a broken heart would never end well because my best friend’s little sister shouldn’t have that kind of hold on me.
But apparently, life was cruel like that, and it was the truth.
We fucked up.
That summarized our encounter. Yes, it was amazing, and I would have totally been up for another round if she hadn’t left, but we fucked everything up. Our friendship. My friendship with Cade. One night was such a lie because how the hell was I supposed to look at Madison again without remembering what it felt like to be inside her? How the hell was I supposed to stop my heart from beating like it was trying to punch its way out of my chest every time I looked at her?
“Dash.” His voice was like a splash of ice-cold water. “What are you doing out here? Oh, did reporter girl just leave?” Cade teased. I tried to remain cool as I looked down the hall to find him fully dressed and ready for practice. “What’s her name again?” The only good thing about Madison leaving was that she didn’t need to hide away from Cade at least.
“Sienna, and yes, she did,” I quipped, lying out of my ass to save my face. Unfortunately, when Cade smiled at me eagerly, all the guilt I was ignoring came back to the forefront like a tidal wave because the reality of the situation was that I was willingly betraying him.
Traitor. Traitor. Traitor.
Shut up, brain!
I was fooling around with his sister behind his back and lying about it. What kind of shitty best friend did that?
Me, apparently.
After everything I’d been through, he was always there for me. The guy was like my brother, and lying to him felt impossible when he was standing in front of me, rooting for me and the girl I slept with last night.
“It was a mistake,” I added in my own frustration. Yes, it was a shitty thing to say, but I wasn’t thinking straight. This wasn’t how I wanted Madison. Hidden and illicit. She deserved to be more than a girl I snuck around with. She deserved to be front and center because that was just who she was. It was why she deserved someone who wasn’t me.
“Didn’t sound like a mistake when you were banging her against the door last night. Not to mention how much your bed shook the entire dorm. Did you know it did that? Probably not. She’s the first girl you’ve had over since we moved in.”
Fuck.
He was talking about his sister. I deserved the death penalty for this.
“Funny, Sienna doesn’t strike me as the type to be so vocal, either.”
“Oh, really?” I cleared my throat. “Because I think the noise goes with that angry reporter vibe she’s got going on.”
He huffed out a laugh and elbowed me. “You dirty dog. You never bring girls home. That must mean she’s something special.”
“She’s sure special, all right. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to shower before we go to practice.” I didn’t want to wash the memory of Madison off my body, but I needed to if I was going to regain any of my sanity. She left without leaving a note, which was so unlike Madison. The girl was so unsubtle, I was almost surprised she hadn’t left my dorm singing and dancing to a routine fromThe Greatest Showman.
As I walked past Cade toward my room, he clasped my arm.
“Before you go….” I stopped in my tracks and looked over my shoulder at my friend. His eyes were downcast, and he was frowning. The expression alone was enough to catch my attention.
“What’s up, C?”
“I know this is going to sound crazy, but have you, uh, spoken to Madison recently?”
I stopped, not sure what to say. Was he fucking with me? Did he know she was just in my room, and this was his way of playing with his meal before he killed me for touching his sweet, innocent baby sister? Wait a minute. What if she left me to go to Cade’s room to cry it all out? What if he already knew I was a traitor and I was making it worse by not coming clean?