All he does is laugh. “Whatever you want, Ry,” he tells me. “Looks like the choices are all plastic tonight, though.”
“I could care less as long as the pussy is real,” I remark while my eyes scan the room. “You know what? Scratch that. I don’t care what they were born with either. Just as long as it’s warm and wet.”
“You’re fucked in the head, Ry,” Maddox laughs again.
He’s not entirely wrong. I am pretty messed up. It’s the result of a narcissistic mother. It’s compounded by a bastard of a stepfather that couldn’t give two shits about me, half-siblings that can’t see beyond our mother’s lies, the death of my father and sister, and a girl stomping my heart under herredand white Converse. It’s more loss than I think is fair. Guess that’s why they say life isn’t.
Eventually, we are allpulled in different directions. Angelis tugged away by some actor friends of his mother. Jake and Dane are talking to Jamie Craig and Tyler King from the band we used to open for,Dirty Minds. I see Liam off in a corner,talking to some woman. Whoever she is, he doesn’t look thrilled with the conversation. I watch as Maddox slinks off to only God knows where.
I wander about for a while, saying hello to people I’ve known for years but have actively avoided most of my adult life. A few more hellos to influencers and such who want to use my face to increase their following. Unfortunately, no one seems interested in having any real fun. It is all for show.
A while later, I’m in deep conversation with Lexi DeCropolis and Lani Sanders. They are socialites who had made headlines more than once with their extravagant spending and a reality show or two, all made possible by their mogul father and designer mother, respectively. I’ve known them most of my life.Lexi’s father may be a mogul, but he comes fromold money, and Lani’s mother was adear friendof Margret. Although, the truth is, my mother doesn’t have any dear friends. Only people who she deems worthy of her presence. People who will dote and fawn over her like she’s the Queen of England. My mother claims to know her as well, but I’ve never seen proof of it.
“It’s been such a long time, Ryder,” Lexi tells me while not so subtly running her hand up my arm.
I look at her hand, then back to her with an appraising glare. “Is there something you want, Lex?”
She cast a glance toward her friend, who shrugs. “We were wondering if you…” she trails off like she’s not sure how to finish her statement.
I wave my hand at her, encouraging her to continue. “Get on with it.”
When she says nothing, Lani takes over with an eye roll. “She wants to know if you still like to go with more than one.”
“You want a threesome then?” I ask with a wry smile spread across my face. Normally, I wouldn’t entertain girls like Lexi and Lani. They always have an agenda. A desperate need to be seen at all costs. But for some reason, the idea of breaking the two little butterflies in was intriguing.
Lani is the first to nod, followed by Lexi, whose face had turned a bright cherry red.
Yes. I was going to have loads of fun with them.
I spot Maddox coming out of a room. He’s rolling his sleeves down and tugging his jacket back on. When he notices me, I cock my head in question.
He completely ignores my curiosity. Simply gives me a wide, glassy smile. My stomach rolls with dread at what was going on in that room. He doesn’t invite me along very often anymore, and I worry what that means too.
I decide to let it go. It won’t do me any good to say anything now, anyway. When he stands directly behind the girls, I let my cock do the talking. “If you wanna go, why stop at a threesome?” I nodded my head behind them with a smirk.
The girls turn around to see Maddox looking at them with knitted brows and the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement. Lexi’s throat bobs while Lani’s confident demeanor falters at the sight of him. He has that effect on people.
Maddox Masters is nothing, if not electrifyingly sexy and charismatic. There haven’t been many to turn him down. Only one had ever broken his heart. A heartbreak he still hadn’t recovered from nearly a decade and a half later.
But that was just the surface that everyone saw. Not many were allowed the privilege to know more. I was one of those privileged. As far as I knew, only a coupleof otherswere part of that select group of people. And I had known Maddox long enough to know even I didn’t get to see all of him.
“Why not make it four?” I continue my conversation.
Maddox looks down at the girl with a cocky smirk, almost daring them to say yes. Both girls’ blue eyes grew wide. After a few stuttered words, Lexi finally whispers, “but doesn’t that make it just— like regular sex?”
I lean over to her ear, but my eyes stayed focused on Maddox’s blue ones. The pinpoint pupils made my gut churn. I push it down, but I know the time is coming when I have to say something. Not something I’m looking forward to, but we have always been honest with each other.
I joined him in the deepest depths of hell when he fell off the wagon. I joined him to ease my own rage. But also, to stop him from going too far. He is an addict. No one can stop him unless he wants the help, but that didn’t stop me from being by his side, keeping him from doing one line too many or taking that extra drink.
The problem has become the sneaking off. More and more he’s high when I haven’t touched the stuff. When I haven’t seen him do it. My best friend is free falling, and I am helpless to stop it. I can’t lose anyone else, but I can see it coming if something doesn’t happen soon.
“Love,” I begin, taking her ear lobe between my teeth for a second. I chuckle as she shivers. “If it’s just regular sex, then we aren’t doing something right.”
Her head snaps to Maddox, then back to me. Her breathing is so rapid and heavy, I wonder how she hasn’t hyperventilated.
“Instead of talking about it—” Maddox winks at them.
They carry on a silent conversation before nodding to both of us. Maddox grins broadly while I let my lip curl into a wickedsmirk, I know has their heartsracing. I’m not arrogant, by the way. I’m just aware of the effect I have on people.
