Page 25 of Rule Breaker
Dane nodded. “He hightailed it outta here as soon as we came to a stop.”
“Figures.”
Dane started down the aisle, and I followed.
“You guys were talking at dinner,” Dane said over his shoulder. “How’d that miracle happen?”
“I have no freaking clue. I kept talking and asking him question after question. And he finally cracked.”
“Maybe you should consider a job as an interrogator with the CIA instead of playing professional hockey.”
“Hilarious, D.”
We stepped off the bus and into the crisp night air. I glanced at my phone, 12:30 a.m. I was tired, but now that I was awake again, wired. Then I remembered I’d exchanged numbers with Maddox.
Kayden: Hey bestie! Did you get back to your room safely? TTYT
I didn’t expect Maddox to reply. If anything, he was probably going to block me.
By the time we made it back to the dorm, I was more than ready for my bed. I said goodbye to Dane and headed to my room down the hall. My dorm roommate, Darby, was already asleep. I tried to be as quiet as possible, though it was never the case. But since Darby was a pothead, he never woke up when I stumbled around. It was a good match.
I glanced at my phone again. No reply from Maddox. I’d expected something. A ‘fuck off’ for sure. But, nope.
My head hit the pillow, but my brain was running a hundred miles an hour. Thinking about the loss today, the next game, whether I was going to hit my GPA goal…
To distract myself, I put in my ear pods and pulled up a music app. But instead of my usual tunes, I searched for ‘90s grunge.
Maddox was still a mystery, but at least I finally had one clue.
The next day
I was in the gym, doing a workout, when my phone pinged.
Maddox: Meet at the library at 3. Second floor, near the elevators.
It was 2:50.Thanks for the heads up, Mad.Shaking my head, I slowed the treadmill to the lowest setting, hopped off, and headed off to change. There was no way I’d have time to shower. Whatever. I quickly got dressed and ran like hell across campus, arriving at the library at 3:05. When I headed up to the second floor, I looked around. No sign of Maddox. What the fuck?
“You’re late.”
I startled, whirling around. How was it that this guy could sneak up on me like that? Was my hearing going or something? And then, I could hardly breathe. Probably because I ran like a track star to get here.
Maddox wore a tight denim button down, sleeves rolled up, ripped jeans, and chucks. He hadn’t shaved, and the scruff really suited him. No matter what he wore, he was always effortlessly cool. Strands of his black hair fell into his eyes, and I had the strange urge to reach out and push them off his face.
Uh, no.I was overtired. Or lightheaded from that run. What was wrong with me?
Maddox glared at me like he was about to ask the same question. Then I remembered that I’d come from the gym. I was hot, sweaty, and probably not smelling my best. Or looking my best. Not that I should care what I looked or smelled like. Not with him.
“Where’d you come from?” I asked.
He pointed to the far end of the floor.
“I booked us a room,” he replied. “Come on.”
He started off, and I quickly caught up to him.
“Just the two of us?” I teased. “Aw, Mad.”
“It’s because I know you won’t shut up and I don’t want to have everyone in the library staring and telling us to be quiet.”