Page 82 of Love me, Maddie Mendoza

She rolled her eyes. Not in the cute way she usually did. She was pissed. “Sure thing. And you have fun trying to sleep with your friend’s girls.”

“What?” I reeled back.

“Cathy.” She over pronounced like I was dumb. “She’s Jay’s girl.”

I brought her closer. She craned her neck, looking defiant, but didn’t ask me to leave her be. Maddie looked angry and ready for a fight. She was dying to tell me off.

“She isn’t Jay’s if he does nothing about it.” I argued.

“You don’t have to eat the yogurt to…”

“Don’t even finish that sentence, Maddie. I don’t think is wise to compare women to yogurt.”

That infuriated her even further somehow. She usually praised me when I was being a feminist ally.

“You said you wouldn’t date her.”

“And I am not. Am I allowed to talk to her?” I taunted.

She didn’t miss a beat. “You know she wants you.”

“Does she?” I tilted my head.

“She wanted to date you!”

“She’s a good friend. You used to like her.” I accused. “So much so, you begged me to date her.”

“I didn’t beg. I wouldn’t beg.”

“You couldn’t wait for me to date the woman and now I get in trouble for talking to her?”

“That was before,” she said simply, lifting one shoulder.

“Before what?”

I watched her, the fabric of her dress in my hands. I shook her a little, demanding a reply.

“Before we knew Jay was into her,” she finally said.

I drew a breath. “I wasn’t messing with Cathy. We were talking. She’s cool.”

“She’s cool.” Maddie scoffed in a way that was very unlike her.

“Calm your goddamn tits. I will not hurt little Jay’s feelings.”

“While Cathy likes you and he likes her, it will hurt him,” she said with her head upright.

“Is that true?”

She agreed but evaded my eyes, suddenly interested in a piece of lint from the collar of my t-shirt.

“Well, she doesn’t like me that much. She wasn’t hitting on me… we were talking about something else.”

“What?”

“Basketball. Life.” It got tangled anyway.

Maddie relaxed a little, her mouth pouted. “Do you like her?”

---