Page 127 of Between Hate and Desire

“Shut up, Mads,” Sophie hisses, her cheeks turning pink.

“He was. You’re a badass with that violin. Looking all serious up there, and then you start playing, and your whole face lights up. Mason was…entranced, to say the least.” She slowly enunciates her last word, smirking at Sophie, teasing her. What cracks me up the most is they’re so busy giving each other shit about Mason and Liam, they nearly forget about me and Hunter.

“He couldn’t take his eyes off you,” Maddie continues.

“Must’ve been too entranced to hold a conversation with me then.” Sophie’s tone makes me snort, and I shake my head.

“Well, the only time he looked away was to dodge all the girls parading around him,” Maddie explains. “I had to shoo them off more than once. Now that I think about it, he used me as a buffer to ignore them. He put his arm around my shoulders, and I wrapped my arm around his waist as we walked around. No wonder he was being so…friendly. Asshole was using me.”

That causes me to laugh. “Sounds like he was killing two birds with one stone,” I say, then take a large bite of my sandwich. They both look at me with curious expressions. “To make himself seem unavailable and to make Liam jealous.”

Sophie smirks. “That’s why Liam’s jaw was about to snap in half.”

Maddie slams her palms down on the table. “I gave him every opportunity to… basically do anything to me! One minute, he lets his guard down, and then it’s as if he suddenly remembers I’m a virgin and puts a wall back up. Ugh! Being a virgin sucks!”

Her voice goes up an octave, and the people sitting next to us look over, giving us death glares at her outburst.

“Might wanna say that louder next time, Mads. Don’t think the church down the street heard you,” I quip.

“I’m this close to selling it off to the highest bidder,” she says, pinching her fingers together.

“Maddie, stop it!” Sophie tries to cover her mouth with her hand, and I snicker at them. It’s like we’re kids all over again.

“I doubt that’s the reason Liam is acting this way. It has to be something else. Maybe he’s preoccupied with his job. Isn’t it something serious?” I ask, hoping it comforts her. I haven’t known Liam that long, but I’m sure he wouldn’t write her off because she’s not experienced in the bedroom.

“Maybe. He’s a bounty hunter or something, and chasing down bad guys sounds intense. Maybe that’s his problem,” Sophie chimes in. “He travels for it too sometimes.”

I hold my hand out toward her. “Yes, see? Or he has small dick syndrome. Or he’s covered in warts or something. Definitelynotyou.”

“Eww.” Maddie scrunches her nose. “Well, I doubt that’s the case. His phone was blowing up with messages from Serena all day long.” She rolls her eyes to emphasize her disapproval. “Whoever the hell that is.”

“Hmm…I’ll ask Hunter. Maybe he knows.” I shrug and continue eating until my food’s gone. “Are you going to finish those chips?” I ask Sophie when my plate is clean.

“Nope, all yours.” Sophie pushes them toward me.

“Hey, did you know Liam and Mason have another roommate?” Maddie asks, stealing Sophie’s pickle.

I furrow my brows, thinking back if I remember hearing anything about it, but nothing comes to mind. “No, I don’t think so. I thought it was just the two of them.”

“Apparently not. Mason casually mentioned her,” Maddie adds.

“Her?” I nearly choke. “They live with a woman?”

“Well, not for long,” Sophie chimes in. “Guess she’s moving out soon.”

“Who is she? An ex? A friend? A seventy-year-old grandma?”

Maddie snorts. “Nope, but I’m pretty sure she’s a little older than them from what I overheard.”

“That’s odd. Brandon never told me that.” Blinking, I think back to all the times he’d go over there to hang out. “Brandon and Hunter partied there a lot before I moved in. I wonder why it was kept a secret.”

“Well, now that you and Hunter are…friendly,” Maddie says, smirking, “perhaps you can bring it up and ask. Then give us all the details.”

I scoff. “I’m not gonna go all Nancy Drew on him.” Though I am curious.

“Oh, come on! You wanna know just as badly as we do.”

“If there’s a casual way to bring it up, then I’ll try,” I concur.

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