Chapter Forty-Six
Maddie
For the next week and a half, I’m floating on cloud nine.
I’m in a delirious state of giddiness, constantly smiling and grossing out my best friends through every FaceTime I’m forced into.
According to them, they’ve never seen me quite so lovesick and folded for one guy, let alone four, each of them more than supportive of my new relationship.
In fact, each of them has agreed that it takes more than one man to handle the chaos I bring to one’s life, and I couldn’t agree more.
My brand of crazy is a lot, but with every day I spend with Baxter, Rayne, Ryan, and Caiden, I’m learning that it isn’t all that bad.
They seem to enjoy every second, never once throwing out a complaint or suggesting I tone it down, and it’s forcing me to realize the shit Toby implanted in my mind doesn’t hold as much truth as I used to believe.
“So, when are you going to tell Mom and Dad?” Ashton pushes from her little square on my cell, fiddling with her design pen as she stares at me through the phone.
I shrug, spreading butter over my perfectly toasted slice of bread, taking my time getting ready this morning since Baxter woke me early enough for us to enjoy one another’s company for an hour, leaving me with plenty of time to get ready for work and time to spare.
The reminder of my morning makes me shiver as I reminisce over Bax’s beard scraping along the skin of my thighs, of how his hair felt between my fingers as he ate me out like a man starved, and how he bent me over and fucked me until my voice grew hoarse and I collapsed in a sweaty heap beneath him, only following me over the edge after he wrung four orgasms out of my exhausted body.
“Oh, God. She’s got that look on her face again. Someone stop it,” Zelda groans from her own square on my screen, and I roll my eyes at the bitch, drawing out a laugh from all of them.
“Whatever. Just you guys wait until you end up in an unconventional relationship with men who know how to treat you and wreck your body in the best way possible,” I volley, and each of them makes sounds of protest and denial, sure it won’t happen to them.
I shake my head and mutter, “Never say never, ladies.”
“Never,” Ashton bluntly replies, grinning when I flip her off. “Back to my question. When will Sasha and Nikolai finally learn their little girl is getting railed to kingdom come by four guys every night?”
I pause, blinking at my cell before nodding slowly. “That’s one way to phrase it. How do you think they’ll take it?”
“Probably with a celebratory bottle of wine or something,” Zelda snickers, knowing my parents well enough that we’re already aware of how chill they’re going to be when they learn I have four new men in my life.
Snickering, I nod in agreement. “They’d throw a party, for sure. Make sure you get your outfits pre-planned.”
“What do you think the theme would be?” Henley wonders, dropping her chin into her hand as though she’s actually pondering the question.
As though we’re sharing the same brain cell, AJ, Zelda, and I blurt at the same time, “Dick-themed.”
Laughing, AJ notes, “I wouldn’t put it past Sasha to host a dick-themed party to celebrate her only daughter falling into a relationship with four different guys. I’m thinking bachelorette-style. Dick straws, dick confetti, dick-shaped balloons. I feel like we should make that happen.”
Just as I open my mouth to agree, there’s a knock at my door.
“Hold on,” I tell them, brushing my hands on my wide-legged slacks. “If it’s another delivery of Caiden’s protein shakes, I’m going to start charging him per package I accept.”
“It’s not the only package you accept from him,” AJ yells, and I snort loudly as I head toward the door.
Peering out of the peephole, I only just spy Tanner standing outside my apartment looking mildly overwhelmed, and with good reason.
He’s carrying what appears to be the entire floral shop, several enormous bouquets of flowers tucked against one side of his body, while an oversized teddy bear is hugged tightly to the other side.
In the hand attached to the arm guarding the bear is a box of chocolates that used to be my favorite before they started making me sick, and hanging on the arm holding the flowers is a gift bag that looks to be holding a bottle of wine.
What the hell?
Opening the door, I blink at Tanner.
Tanner blinks back.
“Should I be concerned about possible rich enemies or something?” he asks, and a startled laugh slips free, just as a shriek floats from my cell phone.
“SHOW US!” AJ demands from my phone, and I hurry over to retrieve it before rotating the camera to show the girls the delivery that has appeared.
Henley gasps softly, Zelda raises an eyebrow with no small amount of suspicion, while AJ immediately declares, “Oh, one of those boys of yours is definitely trying to get pregnant.”
“Oh my God,” I laugh, shaking my head.
Tanner grins, amused but very used to the nonsense my friends and I bring, before he steps into the apartment and deposits everything on the kitchen island carefully.
The teddy bear lands on his very own stool, the flowers take up most of the counter on the island, and Tanner hands me the wine and chocolates directly as he says, “There wasn’t a card on the flowers, so I’m not sure who sent everything.
It all arrived at the same time, so I didn’t get a chance to ask any of the delivery men who the sender was. ”
That kind of makes my stomach dip slightly, the rush of surprise fading. Still, I assume it’s one or more of the guys being adorably romantic in the most dramatic way, so I say, “Just a sec. I’ll ask the guys.”
Tanner nods, so I find the group chat I need and type out a quick message.
MADDIE: I don’t suppose any of you sent me enough flowers to financially ruin any nearby florists? I’m not prepared for botanical warfare today, so who declared war in the form of peonies and roses?
Eyeing my new emotional support bouquet, I shake my head again, stunned by the sheer size of it. I wonder how Tanner managed to carry it without dropping the thing.
Checking my cell, I find two replies already waiting for me, and I read them one after the other.
CAIDEN: If I was going to seduce you, I wouldn’t do it through the art of photosynthesis.
I snort.
BAXTER: Just how much have you received? Are we talking hostage-level amount of flowers?
Rolling my eyes, I type out a reply.
MADDIE: It looks like there’s enough to trigger seasonal allergies in neighboring countries.
I’m talking about enough romantic foliage to qualify for garden tax.
And that’s not all. I also have a teddy large enough that it looks like it needs its own bedroom.
There’s also chocolates and wine. Which of you are trying really hard to get laid tonight?
More replies come quick, like they were waiting on me to respond.
BAXTER: I mean, if the offer stands ;)
CAIDEN: Is that all it would take? I took you more for a woman who’d prefer to have a store’s worth of books and iced coffee delivered. Never would have taken you to fold for a floral bandit. I’ve been doing it all wrong, damn it.
Jesus Christ.
Thankfully, the other two are a little more in touch with their serious sides, their responses direct and to the point.
RAYNE: I didn’t send anything, mayhem. Is there a card?
To Tanner, I ask, “Is there definitely no card or note?”
He shakes his head, propping his hands on his hips. “Nothing, Mads. I kind of assumed it was one of the guys in the apartment below. It wasn’t them?”
I check my cell again and shake my head as Ryan’s text comes through.
RYAN: If we wanted to make you swoon, we’d buy you dinner, trouble.
The smile on my face disappears in an instant, slipping from my face like melting wax, and a cold feeling creeps up my spine.
AJ notices first, tentatively asking, “Maddie?”
No card. No name. Just… gifts.
My eyes drop to the chocolates I used to love, eyeing the box while I try to remember the last time I ate them. The only memory that comes to me was a year and a half ago, when Toby was apologizing… for…
Toby.
Oh my fucking God.
“Hey,” Henley says softly, instantly picking up on the shift of my expression. “You okay? What’s going on?”
Swallowing hard, I shake my head and force a smile, lying automatically. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I just remembered I have to get to work a little earlier than I thought, but I’ll talk to you guys later, okay?”
They all agree, sounding mildly worried, but I end the call and tuck my cell into my pocket before retrieving my purse and camera bag.
When I head back to a concerned-looking Tanner, my stomach now feeling so sick I might expel the toast I barely ate, I ask him, “Do you think you could help me carry all of this to my car?”
His expression sharpens, and he nods once. “Sure. Absolutely.”
I throw everything out into the dumpster behind Static less than an hour later. Every damned thing. The flowers, the poor innocent teddy, the chocolates and wine, hearing a harsh smash of the bottle the moment it hits the bottom of the dumpster.
I thought I’d feel a little better watching it all disappear, knowing deep in my heart that the sender was Toby.
But I don’t. In fact, I spend my entire day looking over my shoulder constantly, spacing out during shoots, and staring mindlessly at my laptop instead of checking over emails I should be responding to.
It’s as though my brain has checked out, replaced with a renewed wave of worry that Toby is genuinely going insane.
By the time I’m actually done editing, the process lasting far longer than it should have, I realize the studio is almost completely empty, only a couple of stragglers loitering in the lounge and Freya seated behind her desk.
Only a few lights remain on, the reception desk dimmed to a warm glow, casting shadows across the parking lot outside.