Page 58 of The Draft

“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 choosemysister 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.

Chapter 15