Three
CLAIRE
The following day, after I ended the night taking an extremely long bath while watching old episodes of Bridgerton, I woke up with puffy eyes and an upset stomach. It probably wasn’t a good idea to follow up the champagne with an entire bag of Sour Patch Kids.
I grimace when I find a group text with my girlfriends already firing off. Audrey has been the most recent addition, and I’ve loved having her there. She’s the most similar to me. Much more introverted and analytical than the rest of the women.
Natalie
I don’t believe you. Seriously, you must have the wrong woman. No way did she bid ten grand on an athlete.
Audrey
I swear! I thought it was out of character, too, but he really aggravated her.
Hannah
I asked Luca, and he said Maddox is a ladies’ man. Does Claire know that?
Kate
Oh, I love this for her!
Arianna
Aud, how much alcohol did Claire have last night?
Audrey
I’m not sure. Why?
Kate
Oh hell. I forgot about that.
Audrey
What?
Natalie
Well, Claire is the most even-keeled and realistic person on the planet … UNTIL she drinks. Then she tends to make some incredibly off-the-wall decisions.
Audrey
I know she had at least two glasses of champagne, but I wasn’t tracking her intake. It was a little chaotic for me last night.
Hannah
Your picture even made our gossip website in Eternity Springs!
[sends attachment]
Kate
Audrey, you looked beautiful!
Natalie
Check out how he’s staring at her. That man is down bad!
Hannah
Wait. There’s a pic of Claire and Maddox, too.
[sends attachment]
Arianna
OH SHIT
Kate
Damn.
Natalie
I really hope she fucks him. We need to know how he is in bed. He’s giving major BDE.
Audrey
BDE?
Audrey
Oh damn. Forget it. Big dick energy. I should have known.
Arianna
If Nat ever gives out an acronym, just assume it’s something sexual.
Audrey
Good to know.
Audrey
Can someone explain what the rules are for adding a new friend to this chat?
I already have some of you in a chat with her, solely for guinea pig owners, but I think she could benefit from meeting everyone.
Her name is Layla. She’s relatively new to Denver.
Wait. Maybe none of you are in the guinea pig chat.
Kate
Lowkey want to be added to the guinea pig chat, not gonna lie.
Isabella
As fun as that sounds, I don’t have time to handle any more critters.
Ella
I don’t even have time to keep track of this chat, so please don’t add me anywhere else.
Natalie
I’m cool with it. The more the merrier.
Kate
Please give her a disclaimer that we get a little chaotic in here. And that Nat regularly forgets to filter her thoughts.
Natalie
I make no apologies.
Arianna
It would have been nice if you’d apologized after asking me if I was sure I wanted to wear that big dress that one time.
Natalie
You looked pregnant.
Arianna
I WAS PREGNANT.
Natalie
YOU HADN’T TOLD ME YET.
Arianna
YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO COMMENT ON A WOMAN’S BODY.
Natalie
I thought you’d want to know, so you could change if you wanted to! And since you DID in fact change, I didn’t see the need to apologize. You told me you thought you looked like a beached whale.
Arianna
You weren’t supposed to agree with me about it, though.
Natalie
Okay, my mistake. Next time I’ll either keep my mouth shut OR figure out a more eloquent way of telling you you’re rivaling Shamu in the fashion department.
Me
What the hell did I innocently walk into?
Arianna
Oh, yay! The woman of the hour! Did you really spend ten thousand on a date with Maddox Lawson? I don’t like accusing my friends of being liars, but that seemed a little outlandish, even for you.
Me
Unfortunately, Audrey spoke the truth. In my defense, there was champagne involved.
Hannah
Ahh. That explains it.
Kate
Dang, I’m sad I missed it. All I hear is the “when Claire gets drunk, she’s borderline feral,” and I really want to experience it in real time just once.
Natalie
Honestly, it’s only sometimes fun. The rest of the time, we are tasked with babysitting.
Audrey Carrington added Layla Holmes to the chat.
Audrey
Poop. Layla, don’t read backward! God only knows what they were talking about.
Layla
Okay?
Layla
What an odd way to say hello.
Arianna
Welcome to the shit show, Layla.
Audrey
Layla is dating Max Callahan from the Rocky Mountain Raptors. He shares the same agent as Jamie, and it just so happens that she came into the relationship with guinea pigs.
Hannah
So the guinea pig chat must have Becca and Cassie in there, then.
Audrey
Yes! We had to bring all the piggie moms together.
Kate
On second thought, don’t add me to anything. Dominic would murder me if I came home with a guinea pig or two.
Arianna
I can’t take on any more animals. That stupid marmot has basically taken up residence in our backyard since Hannah and Luca installed all that anti-varmint stuff in their yard.
Hannah
Don’t lump me into that conversation! That was all your brother, trying to protect his coveted NHL merchandise.
Me
No matter what happens, I want you all to know I’m never moving to Eternity Springs. It sounds like absolute hell up there.
Audrey
I need more information on the marmot. What’s the elevation of Eternity Springs? Typically, marmots live at or above treeline, so living in a town is surprising.
Natalie
Well, this marmot seems to have a screw loose. Especially since everyone decided to name it Mason, and only recently found out Mason is a FEMALE.
Arianna
I hate Mason, but even I’ll admit baby marmots are adorable.
Ella
I think I’m too pregnant to keep up with this chat. Don’t take it personally, but I’m muting you so I can take a nap. Goodbye!
Kate
I want to take a nap too. Why were we talking?
Kate
Oh! Claire bidding on the hot footballer!
Arianna
He really is hot. Don’t tell my husband.
Arianna
Crap. He walked by and saw the screen. Whoops.
Me
It was an error in judgment, but he won’t let me get out of it now. He doubled down, claiming he can make me beg him for sex. Unfortunately, the champagne made me take the bet.
Natalie
He’s in for a rude awakening. You’re one of the most stubbornly patient people I know.
Me
My brain is. But my nether regions are ready to stage a coup. He smiled, and I was close to mounting him. You know how much I love green eyes, and his are like seafoam. They’re absolutely beautiful.
Arianna
So what do you plan to do?
Me
I’m honestly not sure. He says we need two dates: one for him to put the moves on me, and one for me to put the moves on him. He feels we both need adequate time to work our magic.
Kate
So your goal is also to get him to beg for sex?
Me
Originally, it was solely to make his life miserable. I figured I could plan a date using every bad thing I could find about it. Figure out what he dislikes, any fears, or things that he really despises. But now I’m wondering if I should put the moves on him, just to see if I can make him beg.
Natalie
Oh, as much fun as that could be, I kinda like the first option. Make him miserable.
Arianna
I agree. We need some recognizance. Audrey?
Audrey
Yes?
Arianna
You need to use your man. Find out what Maddox hates and what he’s scared of. You’re going to be our mole.
Audrey
I’m not entirely sure how to do that. And you mean figurative mole, correct? Not a literal one.
Arianna
Yes. Literal moles have no place in our shenanigans.
Arianna
We only allow marmots and guinea pigs, evidently.
Layla
I don’t really know what I’m supposed to say about moles and marmots, but yay for making a man miserable!
Kate
I love this chat.
I snort as I turn off my phone’s screen, dropping it next to me on my bed. I’m not sure if my girlfriends helped me much with this predicament, but they certainly made me laugh. Poor Layla, just dropped into the middle of that debacle.
After getting out of bed and freshening up, I amble into my kitchen to make coffee.
I can tell from where the sun is slipping through the curtains at my south-facing apartment windows that it’s probably past lunch, but I need coffee to start my days, whenever the start may be.
I’m fueled by caffeine most of the time, but it’s my only truly bad vice, so I let it slide.
I’m a healthy eater, I work out regularly, and I seldom drink alcohol.
It just so happens that when I do, I make really bad decisions.
As if he instinctively knows I’m thinking of him, the specific ringtone I’ve chosen for Maddox blares from my phone.
Yes, I chose Darth Vader’s The Imperial March as his ringtone.
I chuckle a little as I pick up the call.
No sense sending it to voicemail. I have a hunch Maddox would either be the type to leave a ten-minute voicemail or the type to keep calling until I pick up.
“Hello,” I snap.
“You sound thrilled to be answering my call, Sunshine,” Maddox says smoothly.
“I’m not.”
“I was being sarcastic.”
“I wasn’t.”
He chuckles, the sound deep and raspy, and the sound reverberates against my ear, sending goosebumps down my spine. “What do you want, Maddox?”
“I hoped we could compare schedules to figure out the best time for our dates.”
“I still don’t think two dates are necessary. Just split one date in half. If you don’t get me begging after two hours, we’re done. I win. End of story.” I know he won’t take the bait, but I have to try.
“Not a chance, Claire. And it’s not done automatically if you don’t beg. We can both lose. It’s only fair that you have an opportunity to try to get me to beg.”
“Why?” I ask, my tone petulant and aggravated. Frankly, I don’t want to try to get him to beg. I know myself and how attractive I find him. If he begs, I’m pretty damn likely to give in. Unfortunately, I think he knows this.
“I have more willpower than you think I do, even when someone is as gorgeous as you,” he says with another chuckle. God dammit. I’m really going to need to up my game here.
“We need ground rules,” I spit out.
“Okay. Like what?”
“No compliments, for starters.”
“What?” he asks with a loud laugh. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t like it when I’m getting played.”
Maddox is quiet for a moment. “Me complimenting you makes you think I’m playing you?”
“Yes.”
“What if the compliment is true?” he asks.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“I think it does matter,” he replies. “I just called you gorgeous. Do you think it was a lie? Or that I’m buttering you up for something?
Rest assured, Sunshine, it was neither of those things.
It was a fact. You’re gorgeous. I’m not flirting or doing anything that could be misconstrued as such.
I’m not the kind of man who doles out compliments for his own gain. ”
Whether that’s true or not, it makes me uncomfortable. “I don’t want any comments about my physical appearance then. How’s that?”
“Am I allowed to tell you that you look nice on our date?”
I think for a moment. “I guess that’s okay.”
“Alright. I can handle that. What other rules do you have?”
“Keep your hands to yourself.”
“Nope.”
“Why not?” I ask belligerently.
“Because I’m a touchy guy. If it’s a real date, I’d be holding your hand, putting my arm around you.
Maybe kissing your temple. It’s who I am.
If you want to get specific and say I can’t stick my tongue down your throat, fine.
But I think a little PDA should be allowed.
” Maddox makes sense. He’s not asking for much.
But how am I supposed to tell him that even the thought of holding his hand makes me want to climb him like a spider monkey?
“Can I make game-time decisions on that one?” I ask quietly. “If you do something I feel has gone too far, can I tell you?”
“Of course,” he answers. “Fuck, of course, yes. You’re in control here, Claire. I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Any other rules?”
I think for a moment. “No, that should cover it. Oh, I’d like to ask if our dates can be somewhere off the beaten path. I’ve already seen my face online enough today. I’d rather not be Denver news fodder for the foreseeable future.”
“I can understand that. I try not to look online anymore. Well over half the things they print are wrong anyway. It ends up pissing me off too much, so I stopped reading things. My agent gets alerts for my name, and he only tells me about things that have to be addressed.”
Color me intrigued. “What constitutes something needing to be addressed immediately?”
Maddox sighs. “Outright lies. Anything that has to do with my dad. A few months ago, a woman came forward claiming to be pregnant with my child. I’d never met her before.
The pregnancy would have happened right when we were making a playoff run, and I don’t fuck around during the playoffs.
Something like that has to be dealt with immediately. ”
“May I ask what might come out about your dad?” I ask.
Maddox is quiet for a few long moments before he finally speaks. “My dad and I have a very volatile relationship. I’m sure it’s typical for a lot of athletes who had a parent who was very passionate about their development as a child.”
Something about his statement seems very practiced. Like he’s said it so many times, it just slips right off the tongue. I know there’s more to the story, but I’m not pushing it with him.
Maddox clears his throat. “Will next Sunday work for you? And do you have any food allergies?”
I look at my schedule. “Sunday is fine, and no food allergies. I don’t really like seafood or sushi, though.”
“You’re missing out,” Maddox says with a smile in his voice.
“I highly doubt I’m missing — wait!” I shout. “Sunday? Are you going to make me go to a football game? That’s not off the beaten path, Maddox.”
“It’s still pre-season, Claire. We play on a Friday night next week, which is why Sunday will work for me.”
“Oh,” I murmur, feeling like an idiot. The Coyotes are all over the news right now. I know I’ve heard about their schedule a ton, and my dad has even asked if I’d like to go to a game this season. It’s possible I’ve started consciously blocking their content out, so I don’t think about Maddox.
And here I am, forced to go on two dates with the man.
“Sunday is fine,” I state in a rush. “I have to go.”
I end the call before Maddox can say anything else. I can already feel my willpower slowly sliding away, like a path of magma inching its way across my heart. I just know this is going to end badly for me because there’s no way I’m going to walk out of this in one piece.