Page 12 of The Love We Make

Ethan: No. I will call you in 15 minutes.

Madison: If I ruined your night, I’m not mad about it lol.

Ethan: You didn’t ruin my night, let me cash out and get settled.

I looked up to Eddie and I guess based on the look on my face, he already knew my plans had changed.

“What? No! You’re bailing on me, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“How did one text change the plan?”

“Madison needs me,” I shrugged.

Eddie got a look on his face that I couldn’t distinguish. I was worried he would be mad. Or annoyed. Or even give me more shit about Madison.

Instead, he started nodding and turned around, “Ok.”

Huh?

“Just because I am out, doesn’t mean you have to be,” I told him as he walked toward the bar to close the tab.

“I’m too tired anyway,” he waved.

He paid both of our tabs and smiled, shaking his head every once in a while. I am sure he thought I was comical, giving a night up for Madison. But he didn’t say a word as we climbed into a taxi and made our way to the hotel.

A quick stop by the reception desk for my room key was all it took and I was in my room. My bags had been brought up earlier so I quickly changed and fell into the bed. I was exhausted from the game, traveling, and the time spent at the bar.

But I did exactly what I needed to do.

What I wanted to do.

I called Madison.

Chapter 6

Madison

Work was slow. Being a research analyst was usually fun for me, exciting even. I loved my job and the work I got to do for my company.

But today, I had spent most of the day yawning and the rest of the day wishing I was asleep.

Same thing.

See? I was exhausted and couldn’t even think straight.

Last night I couldn’t sleep. I ended up staying up all night talking to Ethan about random things that we thought up in our heads.

Our parents.

The Space Force.

Our favorite wing sauce.

But we never talked about how ridiculous he was by being worried about my virginity. We never mentioned Chase stalking me or my upcoming girls’ night. We were just us—Ethan and Maddy.

We fell asleep with our phones pressed to our ears, the same way we used to when we were growing up.

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