Love At First Hate (Love At Firsts Book 2)(69)

“For now. I don’t know how long it’ll last, but I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll move you in with me if needed so I can keep an eye on you,” I tell Maddie.

“Really?” She sounds happy about it.

“Yes, of course.”

“Brilliant! That means I can hang out with my new friends a lot more and it’ll be easier for classes and just in general.” She claps excitedly.

“Aren’t you living on campus?” I’m confused now, why is she so happy about it?

“Yeah…”

“So? Why would it be easier?”

“Because then I’m not stuck with Robert paying for my dorm, and since I have my college tuition, I don’t have to actually be in touch with him.”

“Did something happen while I was gone?” I’m expecting the worst.

“Yeah, but I really don’t want to talk about it now. Matt knows, he’s the one who helped me. He’ll tell you. Just enjoy being with him again.” She hugs me tightly. “I love you, bro.”

“Love you too, Maddie.” I kiss her head and let go of her as she, Jessica, and Haven bounce to the dance floor, shouting the lyrics to the song loudly.

“Finally she’s found a new victim to go on the dance floor with her.” Matt chuckles as he wraps his arm around my shoulder and playfully bites my neck.

“I know. I was watching you two for a while.” I chuckle.

“You were huh?”

“Yeah. I didn’t like that guy hitting on you.”

“Jealous?” He smirks.

“I’m not jealous, I’m territorial. I’m protecting what’s mine and you, Matt. You. Are. Mine. And I’m never ever letting you go again.” I kiss him passionately, holding him close to me.

“I’m so glad you’re not afraid of PDA anymore.”

“I’m adapting to it with you.” I smile, and he kisses me again.

We stay in this embrace for a while, just happy to be with each other again; laughing at the show the girls are putting on for us.

“You two should come dancing,” Haven whines.

“No chance.” I laugh at her pout.

“We’re going to head home anyway. Are you ready for me to drive you back home?” Matt asks her, and she groans.

“No! I’m having fun. Don’t spoil it for me.”

“I can drive your car if you want. I haven’t had a drink. I’m a good driver, you can ask Nate,” Maddie tells Matt.

“We can all crash at mine. I live the closest to here and next door to Valentine so he can check on us when he gets home.” It’s Jessica’s turn to give Matt an explanation as to why he should leave Haven in their hands.

“I’ll make sure they get home safely. I’ll leave at the same time as they do.” It’s Valentine’s turn to chime in, and I can’t help but laugh.

“If anything happens to my car or Haven, you’re all dead.” He glares at all of them playfully and hands Maddie his car keys.

“Thank you. You won’t regret it.” Maddie jumps in his arms and kisses his cheek over and over.

“Alright, alright. Calm down.” He laughs and puts her down.

“Have fun, you two,” Haven says waggling her eyebrows.

“We will.” Matt winks at her and hugs her.

We say our goodbyes to everybody and not two steps away from them, we see John, walking toward us with a sour expression on his face.

“Fancy seeing you here,” he says to Matt and glares at me.

“What do you want, John?” Matt asks him sounding exasperated.

“I want you, baby.” He takes a step toward him and places his hand on Matt’s chest.

“Tough luck. Not gonna happen.”

“We had something good together. You can’t throw that away!”

“You should have thought of that when you became an over controlling bastard and f*cked a woman.”

“It was a mistake. I told you already. Now stop being a little bitch and come home with me. I’ve missed you, and I can forgive you for f*cking that guy. I know it was just rebound sex. I won’t hold it against you,” John says in a heated voice.

“You’re funny, John, but that’s not going to happen. I do not love you. Come to think of it, I never loved you. I never was in love with you. You were tracking my every move, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I was going to break up with you the night I saw you with that blonde girl. You just made it easy by f*cking her. There are absolutely zero chances of us ever getting back together, so stop trying to make it happen. I do not want to see you again,” Matt tells John calmly, and I’m proud of him that he’s able to keep his calm. I know I’d have gone bat shit crazy on him.

“I don’t care what you’re saying or thinking, Matthew. We are getting back together. Whether you like it or not,” John spits at him and grabs Matt’s arm. I’m ready to step in, but Matt withdraws his arm and swings at John. One punch is all it takes to knock John out.

Security quickly steps in, as well as Valentine. He ushers us out through the back exit.

“I can’t believe what he was doing,” I huff as we get into my car.

“I’m not surprised. He’s always been a controlling *. He didn’t change one bit.” Matt sighs as he gets in the car.