Page 57 of The Draft

“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 toAlex, 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.