Page 20 of Mr. Irrelevant
NINETEEN
MADDOX
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
Hey lover boy. This is Livvy’s sister, Sydney. Are you busy?
ME:
Ummmm hi. No, I’m not busy. Is everything ok?
SYDNEY:
Depends on your definition of ok. I need afavor.
ME:
Alright.
SYDNEY:
I’m with Livvy at Club Tilt. She hit the vodka cranberries a little too hard, and now she’s sitting at the bar with her head in her hands. I ran into my old situationship and he’s looking a lot like he wants to be cuffed to my headboard later. Would you come get her so I can live my life child-free? Our parents will kill me if I call them this late.
ME:
I’m on my way. Can you get her to the VIP entrance?
SYDNEY:
Yeah. I think so.
ME:
Be there in 30.
I shovemy phone in my pocket, throwing on a thick hoodie just in case I need to go incognito before grabbing my keys and heading to my truck. When Livvy said she had plans to go out for drinks with her sister tonight, I decided to skip team bonding. Because I knew if we were both in the same public place, there’s no way I’d be able to keep my distance—especially after last time, when I almost kissed her on a dance floor full of people. I can’t imagine it’d be any easier to stay away now that I know what she tastes like, so I wasn’t going to risk it.
Traffic in the city isn’t bad for a Friday night, and Imake it to the club’s underground garage with about two minutes to spare before the girls come walking out. Well, Sydney is walking. Liv is leaning her entire body weight on her sister, all four wobbly limbs loose and unsteady as she focuses on the ground under her feet. I’m idling in front of the door—totally illegal, but whatever—so I hop out of the driver’s seat, heading over to help them.
At first, she doesn’t notice me, too busy with the task of keeping her balance to worry about anything else. But as my footsteps approach, bringing her attention forward, a silly smile stretches across her beautiful face. She’s flushed and sweaty, probably from the heat of the bodies pressed together inside, but she’s glowing as she looks at me like I hung the moon just for her.
“Maaaad Dog,” she says with an adorable tilt of her head, her voice slurring just the slightest bit. “Hi.” She drops her arm from Sydney’s shoulder, stumbling forward just a couple of steps. “Don’tpush me!” she says loudly, whipping her head back toward her sister and almost falling on her ass as she does.
“I didn’t touch you,” she deadpans in response, rolling her eyes. She clearly has her hands full tonight, and I’m sure she’ll be glad to get back inside once Liv is safe and sound with me.
Livvy tries again, shoving her hair out of her face and taking another staggered step before realizing she isn’t steady enough to walk without assistance. I expect her to turn back to her sister for support, but she doesn’t. Instead, she stays put, extending her arms out toward me until I close the final few feet that separateus. As soon as I’m within her reach, she falls forward without abandon, her face pressing into my chest as though it’s the most natural thing ever. Her small arms wrap around my waist, and she inhales my scent for a moment before looking up at me.
“Hey there, Dimes,” I reply, peering around to make sure it’s just the three of us before sinking a hand into her hair and ghosting my thumb over her heated cheek. “You look pretty tonight.” She smiles softly, melting into me and making my heart pound wildly inside my rib cage. I know she’s drunk, but the way she’s pressed to my body, with all the familiarity and trust in the world, has me feeling like this is so much more than it is. I need to reel this shit in—and quick—because I like what Liv and I have. There’s no pressure to reprioritize the things in our lives, and we both respect that our careers have to come first right now. Not to mention, itcan’tbe more. Anything beyond a friendship with occasional fucking will never be in the cards for us as long as I’m in the league, so we may as well enjoy the time we have together at face value.
“Thanks for coming,” Sydney says, drawing my attention. I nod tightly, even though I want to thank her for calling me instead of putting her sister in an Uber and hoping she found her way home. But those words sound entirely too boyfriend-ish, so I keep them to myself. “You may want to take her back to your place to sleep it off. Her building has top-notch security with cameras everywhere—not to mention the chance of lurking paparazzi with all the other high-profile tenants that live there.” That’s a good point. It’s one thing to behere in this dark, empty parking garage together, where I can clearly see the corridor that people would walk down before pushing through the glass doors. But chancing it at a well-lit luxury apartment building? Terrible idea.
“Yeah,” I reply, focusing back on Liv. She tilts her head up again, her baby blues sparkling radiantly before fluttering closed for a second. It’s adorable.She’sadorable. “What do you say, sweet girl? Wanna have a sleepover?”
“Mhmm,” she hums, swaying for a moment before losing her balance, her ankle bending unnaturally in her stiletto. I tighten my grip on her waist, hoisting her into my arms bridal style so she doesn’t end up hurting herself. She gives me a sheepish look before burying her head into my neck, and I can’t help but chuckle under my breath at how funny she is when she’s drunk. I may be singing a different tune when I’m up all night making sure she doesn’t choke on her own puke, but for now, I’m thoroughly enjoying this silly, cuddly girl.
We say our goodbyes, and Sydney leaves us, disappearing back into the club. I carry Liv to the passenger seat of my truck, carefully setting her inside and reaching to fasten her seatbelt. As soon as I lean over her body, a set of warm, wet lips presses to my neck. My cock thickens inside my sweatpants at the contact, a low groan climbing up my chest as her tongue begins to trace the sensitive skin. I start to get lost in the sensation, but thankfully, I have just enough sense to pull back before we get carried away.
“Bad girl,” I scold with a grin. She bites her lipinnocently, but the look in her eyes screams that her thoughts in this moment are anything but. “You can’t be turning me on in public like that. You’re going to get us in trouble. I’m a weak man—far too weak not to bend you over my tailgate and turn that ass red if you aren’t careful.”
