Page 5 of Broken Pieces

I pull on the cotton of my tank top, where it’s gathered in the crease of my stomach and push away the negative thoughts about my own body image.

Unfortunately, my brain thinks it’s a good idea to circle back around to Maddox’s body instead. All that black ink, the toned, tight muscles from working in the garage all day—no!

Enough thinking of him like that.

I need to get my hormones in check before they ruin a good thing. If the pair of them could see into my head, they’d think I was insane.

“What are you doing?” Max's voice comes from my doorway.

“Nothing!” I screech as I turn to face him, my hand still over my eyes with my fingers parted.

Embarrassed to have maybe been caught eyeing his twin, I quickly move my hand away and clear my throat.

“Maddox is home,” I say awkwardly.

“I can hear that,” Max laughs, raising an eyebrow as he looks at the half-open bathroom door. He goes over and closes it fully, before turning to me with his arms folded over his chest. "You were supposed to let me know when he got here."

“He only turned up a minute ago. Did you get whatever you were busy with sorted?” I ask.

Quietly, he nods then his tongue slowly runs along his lower lip and he looks like he wants to say something else. Instead, he abruptly looks away and goes to sit at my desk.

“So, what did you want to do tonight?” He starts thumbing through a textbook rather than looking at me.

Why is he actingso weird?

He’s never usually this cold or indifferent towards me. Max is the nice one out of the pair, well they’re both nice to me, but Max has a genuine softness whereas Maddox is usually the grump.

Reaching down under my bed, I pull out two bottles that I snuck from downstairs and hold them up.

“Thought we could play some drinking games and watch a movie or two.” I jiggle the bottles so they slosh loudly, making Max finally look at me.

“Sweetheart, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He offers me a weak smile as he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Oh, come on, it’s my birthday in…” I check my phone for the time, “forty-nine minutes. I want to be stupidly drunk with my two favorite people when I turn eighteen.”

The bathroom door opens, bringing with it a cloud of steam and Maddox with just a towel wrapped around his waist.

His chest is glistening with droplets of water that trail down to his stomach and my eyes can’t help but follow them all the way down to theVthat disappears under his towel. I force them back up to his smirking face as he dries his hair with another towel before dumping it on the bathroom floor.

“Yeah, come on, we can’t deny the birthday girl. She gets whatever she wants tonight.” He gives me a wink and my cheeks heat.

If he knew exactly what I wanted, he definitely wouldn’t be winking at me.

“Mad,” Max says sternly, his eyes darkening as they bore into his brother. Maddox’s shoulders sink slightly, his smile dropping for a second before he shrugs and leaves.

Ignoring the awkward tension, I grab my laptop to start picking a movie. I can feel how hot my skin is and I know the embarrassing blush is clear on my cheeks and chest. Hopefully it fades before they notice.

Once I’ve decided on the first movie, I settle into the middle of my bed with both bottles of alcohol and study the labels, deciding what one will be the least gross to drink tonight. I’m not a big drinker and the only times I am is when I’m with Max and Maddox.

Like good older brothers, they tell me I’m not to go out and get wasted at parties without them to look out for me. Lucky for them, I don’t like going out much anyway.

A few minutes later, Maddox comes in wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a baggy black t-shirt. His hair’s mostly dry now and sticks up all over the place where he’s not bothered to brush it. When he sits next to me on the bed, I run my hands through it, smoothing it down for him.

I feel the bed dip as Max comes behind me and he clears his throat loudly. “So what did you pick?” He takes the laptop from me and I turn to face him.

Maddox leans over me, his chin resting on the top of my head so he can look at the screen and he groans when he sees it’sThe Great Gatsby.

“Hey! I thought you said you liked this one,” I pout, tilting my head back so I can look up at him.

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