Page 15 of The Love We Make

“You’re not going to tell me what a dick he is?”

Kristin started waving a hand in the air, “No girl. He has it sobadfor you. So, I am not surprised. That’s all.”

My eyes widened with her statement. “He doesn’t have it bad for me. He is just my best friend, a brother.”

“Yeah, ok,” Tiffany said as she waved a server down, “We need shots.”

“I’m serious,” I urged. “He is just being protective of me as a friend.”

“Look, Madison. I have never been around you two and he wasn’t all over you. Hugging you. Kissing your temple. Eyeing any guy that dared to even speak to you. This isn’t new from Ethan, you’re just now noticing it.”

“Kristin is right,” Sarah added. “He has always had eyes for you. You are the only thing he sees.”

If I could roll my eyes in a complete circle around the back of my head, it still wouldn’t be far enough to fully relay the amount ofdumbcoming from their lips. I wasn’t even going to respond.

Plenty of people had assumed Ethan and I were a couple. Even when we were younger, all the kids used to sing, “Ethan and Madison sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” I would get so mad and embarrassed. After a while, it stopped bothering me and I got used to it. I stopped caring what others thought when it came to my friendship with Ethan.

To this day, we still dealt with that assumption regularly.

But from these girls? My friends? They should know better. And I was about to tell them so, even though it wouldn’t do any good. It would be a waste of breath.

Luckily, I was saved by the server who showed up with our four shots.

After passing them out, Tiffany stood up.

“A toast… to another night of trying to get Madison laaaaid.”

She yelled it. Fucking yelled it.

I was beet red and sick to my stomach. How could she embarrass me like that?

The other girls laughed because it was ajoke, we were allsupposedto laugh. But I was tired of my virginity being the joke. It wasn’t funny anymore. Instead of laughing with them, they were now laughing at me.

Despite my stomach feeling tight, I took the shot. I would need it to get through the rest of the night.

To give me a minute of reprieve, I lied to my friends and told them I needed to use the restroom. Instead, I headed to the bar. One more shot should be just enough liquid courage to either get over it or bail.

“Shot of vodka,” I ordered. Then added, “Top shelf,” before the bartender was completely turned around. I wasn’t sure what Tiffany had given me, but if ordering my own, I went top-shelf. That was the “spoiled best friend of a millionaire baseball player” coming out in me. Ethan always ordered the best. And despite my limited funds, I started treating myself to the best as well.

The bartender sent my shot glass over and smirked at me while he waited for me to shoot it straight. Like he didn’t think it was possible.

I grabbed my glass and looked up to the TV screens just in time to see the highlights of the Kings game and a recap of Ethan’s interview.

“Jerk!” I said quietly and brought my glass to my lips. I tilted my head back for the shot, preparing myself for the fire that would soon be spreading through my veins.

Only, I didn’t get that far.

As the glass touched my lips, I was suddenly knocked from behind by someone walking by. The force caused me to not only slam forward into the bar but also lose my expensive vodka right down the front of my dress.

“Ahhh,” I squealed, trying to right myself.

“Hey! Watch yourself!” I heard the voice before I saw the face. Not a voice or a face I recognized, but one I was instantly drawn to.

“Me?” I asked. I was minding my own business, how could he tell me to watch it?

“No, sweetheart. I was talking to the guy that just ran behind you. I was behind him. Are you ok?”

I looked up and into the eyes of the stranger. His eyes reminded me of the sky during a storm, dark with flashes of light. His hair was jet black, short, and intentionally messy. He had a slight five o'clock shadow on his square jaw that I instantly wanted to rub my cheek on. More than anything, I noticed how tall he was. I was an average 5’5 and he stood a whole foot above me.

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