Page 76 of Dirty Dix

“Madison and I share something in common,” he says smugly, and I look at Madison for confirmation.

She nods, her hand covering her mouth to contain her laughter.

“This I gotta hear,” I say, opening the fridge and grabbing three beers.

Passing Madison one, she accepts with a smile, and Hunter reaches for the other. However, I slap his hand away and shake my head. “I have a feeling I’ll be needing this,” I clarify, and Hunter seems to weigh up my comment for a second before nodding, obviously agreeing with me. “So what on earth couldyou…” I point my bottle in Hunter’s direction. “Have you in common with Madison? I mean—”

But Madison cuts me off, clearing up my puzzlement. “We’ve both got a nickname for one another,” she says happily, taking a sip of beer.

“Oh?” I reply, as this cannot be good.

“Yup. He accidentally called me Cherry Pie.” The moment the words leave her lips, I blanch and internally visualize ripping off Hunter’s arms and beating him to death with them.

But I remain composed and arch an eyebrow. “Why ever would he do that?” I ask, glowering at Hunter, who laughs.

“Well, he said my top reminded him of cherry pies.”

I look down at her tight red tee, checking out her amazing rack along the way, and see the colorischerry pie-ish.

“How very observant of him,” I sarcastically reply, but I should be thankful he didn’t reveal the real reason behind her nickname.

“Yeah, but anyway, I have a little…quirk, I guess you could call it, where I use stupid nicknames for people, too. I’ve been doing it since I was little, ever since I nicknamed Mary, Lamb.”

I nod, as I briefly remember her mentioning this during our texting marathon. We all have our little eccentricities, and this just happens to be Madison’s.

I’m afraid to ask what pet name she has given to Hunter, but I bite the bullet. “Let me guess, you’ve dubbed Hunter, PITA,” I say, and Madison raises an eyebrow, confused. “Pain in the ass,” I clarify, and she bursts out laughing.

“No,” she replies, still chuckling. “Debbie.” I almost spit out my beer.

Hunter cackles loudly and shrugs. “Hey, I like it. I’m totallydownwith being Debbie.”

“Yeah, you would,” Madison and I both reply at the same time, which sets Hunter off.

“Dix, I love this chick. Can we keep her?” He laughs, interlacing his fingers into praying hands, while Madison devilishly joins in with his laughter.

I still can’t believe we’re talking about porn in code, in my kitchen, with Madison. But I should have known, never underestimate this little…diavolo.

As Madison excuses herself to use the bathroom, Hunter lunges forward and pokes his finger into my chest.

“If you do not have sex with that girl, then I will.” I slap his hand away and dodge his pokey pointer before he decides to get another case of the crazies.

“Okay, whatever,Debbie,” I retort, rolling my eyes.

“Hey, only Maddy gets to call me that. I think she’s sweet on me,” he teases with a grin.

I can’t help but laugh because I thinkHunteris the one who’s sweet on Madison.

After a few episodes ofDexterand a dozen beers, Hunter was looking at Madison with stars in his eyes. But I must admit, so was I.

The beers seemed to loosen her up, and as the night progressed, I saw her guard slowly slip and she appeared completely relaxed and at ease. She even laughed at Hunter’s ridiculous jokes, which shows just how relaxed she was.

It’s now midnight, and by Madison’s sleepy yawns and heavy eyes, I know she’s a little inebriated and tired, which is a blessing, as I’m hoping the minute her beautiful head hits the pillow, she’ll be out like a light. I don’t trust myself with her, plain and simple, and after seeing her so laid-back and getting along with Hunter, I’m beginning to like her even more, which is dangerous for us both.

“Dix, I’m going to tell you this once, and once only. You’re crazy if you let this one go. I’m actually jealous ’cause I want a Madison of my own,” he says, dead serious.

I pull back, stunned, as catching Hunter with his serious face on is a rare occurrence.

“Thank you, Dr. Phil. But I don’t have her, so technically, I can’t let her go. She has a boyfriend, remember?” I whisper, not wanting Madison to hear us.

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