Search Me(7)

“Have fun, honey,” Dad replied through a mouthful of popcorn.

“See you in the morning,” I said before closing the front door behind me.

As my flip-flops crunched along the gravel path to Maudie’s, I grinned when I thought about how Maddox had approached me earlier in the week. I’d just finished ringing up some customers when his head poked over the top of the register.

“Hey,” he said with a lazy smile.

“Hey yourself,” I said casually while trying to keep my cool with him so close.

“Listen, I’m having a Bon Voyage Party Friday night, and I want you to be there.”

My eyebrows rose in surprise. “R-Really? Me?”

“Hell yeah.”

“Thanks. I’d love to come.” As I sprayed down my lane, I cocked my head at him. “So does Maudie know about this little shindig you’re having?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, she does. In fact, she’s giving me the house for the weekend while she goes outta town for an art auction.”

“I see.”

“So you’ll be there?” he pressed insistently.

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Maddox winked before swaggering off. I had been staring at his retreating form so intently I didn’t notice when the next customer came up. She had to clear her throat to get my attention. “Sorry,” I’d mumbled.

When I started up Maudie’s porch steps, I glanced down at my phone. It was a little after nine, and I couldn’t help but feel disappointed there wasn’t a Where r u? text from Maddox. From the sounds of the inebriated crowd inside, the party had been in full swing for hours, so he should have wondered where I was. The moment I stepped through the front door, people stared at me. Nervously, I shifted my purse on my arm and scanned the room for Maddox. The crowd appeared to be made up of Maddox’s friends from high school, and they didn’t seem at all into talking to an underclassman and outsider like me.

After grabbing a strawberry wine cooler from the kitchen, I eased down on the sofa next to a couple who proceeded to go at each other like rabbits the moment I got comfortable. Nervously, I sipped my drink as I waited and waited for Maddox to come find me.

But he was nowhere to be found. And there were no texts from him either. So I played wallflower for an hour while couples drank and partially hooked up around me. Finally, with a defeated breath and crushed spirit, I grabbed my purse and headed for the door.

After I walked outside, the creak of the porch swing drew my attention. I squinted down the length of the porch. “Maddox, is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

I walked over to him. “What are doing out here by yourself?”

He shrugged. “I just needed some air.” He raked his hand through his dark hair before sucking in a deep breath. “You aren’t leaving, are you?”

“Oh, um, yeah. This really isn’t my scene.”

Maddox grinned. “Why am I not surprised? You’ve always been too much of a goodie girl for parties and drinking.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t know anyone here, and the host of the party, very rudely, wasn’t around to make introductions for me.”

He quirked a dark brow at me. “Is that right?”

“Yes it is.”

“What a bastard. Someone should totally kick his ass for being such a dick to such an amazing girl,” he mused.

I grinned at him. “Yes, they should.”

Maddox’s gaze roamed appreciatively over me. “Did you wear that smoking hot dress just for him?”

Oh hell yes, I did. “Not exactly,” I lied.

“Good. He doesn’t deserve a girl as fine as hell like you.” He shook his head slowly back and forth and then smirked up at me. “What a package you are, Lane. Sexy and sweet and bad and good.”

I then waved the half empty bottle in my hand. “I dunno about being so good. I did have a wine cooler,” I protested.

A teasing, but sexy, gleam burned in his dark eyes. “Ooh, you’re so naughty.” Leaning forward, he grabbed my arm. Electricity shot all the way up my shoulder before sending tingling feelings over my entire body. “All joking aside, don’t leave. Sit down a minute.” Maddox patted the wooden seat beside him invitingly. Of course, it wouldn’t have taken much for me to flop down next to him.

The swing barely held the two of us, and I found myself practically in his lap. The heat from his body seared the bare skin on my thighs and arms. He reached over and grabbed two beer bottles off the side table. He handed me one, and reluctantly, I took it. “How about a toast since I’m leaving?”

“Okay.”

His forehead scrunched as he fought to find the right words. “How about, here’s to all the crazy shit we’ve done together since we were kids, and all the crazy shit we’ll do when I get back?”

“Sounds good.” I clinked the neck of my beer bottle to his. “Here’s to our past and future,” I murmured before taking a dainty sip.

Maddox snorted, causing me to jump. “Why don’t you get the stick out of your ass, prove me wrong for once and chug that thing?”

Lowering my bottle, I gave him the stink eye. He knew I hated when he dared me to do something—it was usually the reason why I got into trouble when we were younger. Part of me wanted to tell him to forget it, that I wasn’t falling for his usual goading. The other part of me wanted to show him that I really wasn’t just a ‘goodie girl’, as he liked to call me, and that I could be the right one. It was especially important since it was now or never time with cementing our relationship.