Maybe the fact that he seemed reluctant to let her go as well was her imagination. But she wasn’t ready to burst her bubble of wishful thinking, yet. She was just happy to soak in this feeling that made her equal parts elated and content.
She would also be happy if she could blame her overheated face to the temperature in the room.
“Is it hot in here?” she mumbled mostly to herself, touching her cheeks with the back of her hand.
“It certainly is, Mads.” Nate’s devilish smirk did absolutely nothing to improve her situation.
In fact, judging from the giggle that escaped her lips before she could contain it, it was probably safe to say that Maddy was slipping deeper and deeper into trouble. She wasn’t even sure if she’d ever produced that kind of sound before in her entire life.
But she guessed thatthatwas the Nate Keaton effect.
“I’ll just go freshen up a bit,” she said pointing to the general direction of where the bathroom should be. She hoped the smile that felt permanently plastered on her face didn’t make her look as smitten as she felt.
“Okay, I’ll be here talking to the guys while you’re gone.” He motioned to a spot on his right where Maddy saw that Cooper and Liam stood waving at her with twin gleeful expressions on their faces. Not knowing what to make of them, Maddy simply waved back, smiling.
She turned around to make her way through the sea of bodies but not before she noticed Nate shooting daggers with his eyes at his friends, to which they apparently started laughing.
Shaking her head, Maddy headed down the corridor that led to the half-open door of a blue-tiled bathroom. The house was surprisingly easy to navigate.
After splashing some cold water on her cheeks to cool down a bit, she chanced a look at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were wide and glassy, her skin flushed, her lips slightly rosy from unconsciously nibbling on them. She looked happy and excited. And she loved that look on her.
Finishing up, Maddy closed the bathroom door behind her and made her way back to the living room where the party was in full swing. Or she would have if her path hadn’t been blocked by a tall guy right before she could set foot in said living room.
The guy wasn’t anyone Maddy thought she knew. She tried to place his face but she didn’t think he was one of her classmates. Not that she really noticed anyone at school.
“Heeey, pretty girl,” the guy muttered, his words slightly slurred.
Okay, maybe he wasn’t even talking to her. He seemed drunk enough not to know who he was talking to. Though a quick glance behind her told her that there was no one else down the corridor.
“Hey, yourself.” There was no reason to be rude.
The unidentified guy leaned a meaty arm on the wall close to her head in an attempt to box her in. “Are you here by yourself?”
“Um, no actually. I was just getting back to my friend,” Maddy said while visibly trying to sidestep him.
Of course, such cues were beyond him at the state he was.
“Aww that’s a pity. ‘Cause I was gonna ask you if you wanted to get a drink with me, maybe have a little fun.”
Okay, that was a firm no from her. Plus, he was still blocking her way which was starting to annoy her.
“Thanks, but no. I really have to go back to my company. But have fun yourself. Excuse me,” Maddy said, fully intending to push through him.
Except that was the moment he apparently decided to grasp her arm in his tight grip.
“What’s the matter? Why can’t you be nice? I’m being nice to you.”
Well, if he had been nice to her, he wouldn’t be squeezing her forearm hard enough to bruise. But upsetting him wouldn’t solve anything since his slurring was only getting worse.
“You think you’re too good for me?” the guy almost spat out, his face turning into an ugly sneer.
Okay, she wasn’t touching that with a ten-foot pole.
“Nope, I didn’t say that.” Now she was definitely getting annoyed. And clearly politeness wasn’t helping her but she would hate to kick him where it hurt and cause a scene. She was seconds away from doing that though if he didn’t let go of her arm immediately. She just wanted to get back to Nate.
“Please, let go of my arm,” she said in a firm, steady tone that brooked no arguments.
The choice, however, was taken out of the guy’s hands when Nate’s tall, seething form loomed in the entrance of the hallway.
