Page 19 of Before the Chaos

She makes a face. “Assuming that wasn’t what he was asking her just now.”

“Well, I’ll try to run some interference for you if we run into her at the bars.”

“So you can take her home?” She studies my face.

“If she goes with me, she can’t go with him, right?” I don’t mean it. She’s not my type and after just that little taste of Madison, I can only imagine everyone else will pale in comparison. I’m just saying it to test her reaction.

“I guess. Where are you going to take her? Not like there’s anywhere at our place.”

“You didn’t have roommates fuck in the bed next to yours in college?”

“Uh. No. My roommate this year was even quieter than I am. I don’t think she’s ever looked at a boy, or even let one see her ankles.”

“Her ankles?” I raise a brow as we hit the self-checkout line. I glance up, thankful that Tobias isn’t here to see what she’s buying and that I’ve been meandering around the store with her. I’ve rarely seen Tobias get pissed off, and I’d like to keep it that way.

“Never mind.” She laughs. “Inside joke.”

8

Madison

I glanceat the time on my phone. I haven’t been able to sleep. It’s almost two. All the guys and Shelby are still out, and I’m alone in this place—still too young to hit any of the bars they were planning to go to. At least when I go on my gap year trip I’ll be able to go out. I can drink and get in to all the clubs and bars. I won’t be stuck home alone wishing I could be out.

I’m not sure it’d make much of a difference to how the night ends but at least I wouldn’t be sitting here wondering. I sigh and flip back to the website I was looking at on my phone.

It’s the real estate listing for the house Quentin and I saw today. It’s even prettier on the inside, perfectly kept by someone who has tastes similar to mine. I’ve been daydreaming about what it’ll be like to have my own money and have a house like this someday. Something that fits my tastes. A home I can make all my own. One that actually feels warm and cozy.

This place would be perfect for it. But I definitely can’t afford it now. Would never be able to afford it without a good job—if I ever figure out what I want to do for a living. I’m half-stuck in the daydream when I hear laughter burst through the front door in the distance and loud male voices that eventually disperse down the hall to bedrooms.

My heart skips when my door doesn’t open. If he went home with someone, I doubt he’d bring her back here. So if he didn’t come back with the rest of the guys, it means he’s probably not coming back tonight at all. My time with Quentin might be up before it’s barely started.

I wait another couple of minutes, but I don’t hear anything and my heart bottoms out. It takes me a full minute to remember I’m not even supposed to care about Quentin. This is all supposed to be about Xander. He’s the one I was after—the one I was trying to get into bed—that I’ve had this ages-old crush on. But all I can think about is Quentin. Quentin’s eyes. His hands. His tattoos. The way he smiles at me. How he sees me in a way no one really has. How he treats me like an equal and not some half-pint sidekick of my brother’s.

I should have said something today. Should have told him that he’s the only one I want. But I was too nervous. Because with Xander, nothing’s really on the line. My crush on him isn’t exactly a secret to anyone, including Tobias, and because as much as I might crush on him, the way he treats me like a kid has made it pretty clear there’s no chance. But with Quentin—it felt real. Even if it wasn’t.

A flash of him with some other woman has my heart in my stomach again, and now I need something to numb the pain. I climb down the ladder of the bed and put a T-shirt and shorts on. I thought I was so clever waiting for him in my bra and panties like some kind of seductress, and now I feel foolish. At least I thought to buy some ice cream when I’d ambitiously bought condoms.

I check to make sure the coast is clear when I head for the kitchen, but all the lights are off and the only voices I hear are muffled behind closed doors. So I hurry down the hall and across the living room, quietly pulling out a bowl and spoon before I grab the ice cream out of the freezer. I heap one large scoop first and then another for good measure because fuck it, my heart needs the comfort right now. Then I slide the container back into the freezer.

But when I turn to head back to my room, I hear a noise from the deck, and I notice the door is ajar. The screen slider’s pulled across, and the glass is pulled back like someone’s stepped outside.

“Hello?” I call.

I hear another sound. A little like a crash and then silence.

“Who’s out there?” I try to lean forward to see, but there’s not enough light from this angle.

I hear another sound, like someone sitting in one of the chairs out there, and now I know someone’s fucking around. I’m half worried it’s an intruder. I’m pretty sure if this is a horror movie, this is how I die. Heartbroken with my ice cream in the middle of the night. At least it’ll buy Tobias and Xander time to escape.

I pull the screen back and step out into the night. The air is a little chilly, and my eyes have to adjust to the moonlight, but then I see Quentin, sprawled out on one of the deck chairs next to the hot tub, a bottle of water in hand and two more on the side table next to him. He looks at me like a deer in headlights.

“What are you doing?” For once I get to raise my eyebrow at him.

“Sobering up.” He looks guilty as he holds up the bottle of water.

“And outside on the deck in the middle of the night is the best place for that?” It’s an odd place to be but at least he’s here and alone.

“It seemed like it.” He shrugs, amusement dancing over his face.

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