6. Madelyn
Miles is leading us down the stairs when I notice Kaitlin.
She’s leaning up against a wall in the living room talking to Chase, who’s leaning up beside her with one arm, the other in the front pocket of his jeans.
He has a cocky look plastered on his face as he speaks.
Meanwhile, Kaitlin looks entirely uninterested.
“Hey, let me at least let Kaitlin know you’re walking me home, so she doesn’t worry.”
She honestly looks like she needs some saving, so I hope she doesn’t mind me leaving without her.
Hand in hand, Miles walks us over to them.
She spots me headed her way and her eyes shoot up in excitement.
I can practically hear her mentally thanking me for interrupting whatever Chase was boring her with.
“Maddie! Oh my gosh, you remember Chase, right?” She points towards him with her thumb while simultaneously trying to push past him to get over to where I’m standing.
Miles shakes his head and grins at Chase, then says, “Leave the poor girl alone. She’s too good for you, brother.”
He’s absolutely right. Kaitlin is way out of Chase’s league, but he laughs at what he says anyway, shaking his head at Miles while being in complete denial.
Miles nods towards Chase, signaling to talk to him somewhere away from Kaitlin and me.
He’s probably going to tell him about his window.
I feel bad—his window wouldn’t be broken if it wasn’t for me.
I can’t afford to fix it though, so I keep quiet.
“Hey, you alright?” Kaitlin asks, her voice full of concern. “You look shaken up.”
I’m grateful for her. I can tell she’s going to be a good friend.
“Yeah, I’ll be alright. Just tired.”
I don’t bother telling her what happened. She doesn’t need to worry, and I can see Miles and Chase making their way back towards us. Chase doesn’t seem too upset, thank god.
“Hey, so I’ll be walking Maddie home tonight, so no need to wait up for her.
You’re welcome to leave whenever you want.
She’ll be in good hands.” Miles tells Kaitlin.
He’s so stern and assertive when he talks, confidence emanating from him with every word that flows off his tongue.
I beam up at him in total awe and wonder how he got so confident. I wish I had his level of assurance.
“Oh, umm…alright. I guess I'll just call you later. Maybe we can go get coffee tomorrow. I’m gonna need it after tonight.” She laughs, but I can tell she’s a little upset about me leaving without her.
I really don't blame her, seeing as she's the one who invited me, but I try not to overthink it.
I nod and say, “Yeah, of course. I'll see you then.” Miles gives my hand three little squeezes for reassurance and I smile up at him.
We're walking out of the frat house when a blonde girl bumps into us and scowls at me.
“Miles. Who’s this? Got yourself a little girlfriend now?”
Who the hell is this girl?
When I met Miles, he was leaving the female-only dorms. Could this be the girl he left that morning?
She's really pretty, I can’t deny it, and I can’t help but feel the pang of jealousy that courses through me when I glance back over at Miles and see the look he wears on his face.
He seems angry, but also sort of proud—like being here with me is his revenge on her.
“That’s none of your business, Izzi. We were just leaving, so if you wouldn't mind–” He tugs on my hand that he's holding, pulling me out the door and causing me to bump into Izzi’s shoulder.
I turn back to look at her, ready to apologize, but she’s giving me the death glare. Well, fuck that then. I'll give her a wicked smile. Something to remember me by, bitch.
Miles is still holding my hand as we walk down the dimly lit street.
It’s quiet outside, and despite it being the middle of August, a slight breeze has formed, causing me to shiver.
Miles notices and lets go of my hand, pulling me into him and putting his arm around me.
Reluctantly, I wrap one of my arms around his back.
“If I knew it was going to be windy, I would have brought you a jacket, Princess.” He laughs a little, squeezing my shoulder before continuing, “Hey, you alright?”
“I’m just worried. I don’t know why anyone would be doing this and the idea of someone trying to hurt you because of me…I just feel like this is all my fault.”
“Hey, let me stop you right there.” He stops us and turns me to face him, his hands heavy on my shoulders as he straightens his stare on me.
“You have no reason to feel like any of this is your fault. I’ll be alright.
No one and nothing is going to stop me from being around you, especially after what happened tonight.
Do you understand?” I nod and he kisses my forehead. “You’ll be safe. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Why do you care what happens to me? You don’t even know me.” He looks at me intently and I wish I could take the words back and swallow them.
“You’re right, I don’t.” His gaze softens when he sees the look on my face.
“But I want to. If you’ll let me.”
His right hand cups my cheek and I lean into it.
He looks my face over as if committing it to memory, and brushes a loose strand of my hair behind my ear.
I watch him as his eyes move to my lips, and for a moment, I think he’s going to kiss me.
Part of me hopes he does, the other part of me is scared that if he does, we’ll get hit by another brick with better aim.
The thought causes a dark laugh to bubble out of me and he smiles.
“What’s so funny, Princess?”
“I just thought you were going to kiss me, then I thought maybe we would get hit by another brick.”
He smiles a little at that. I try to contain my laughter, but I can’t hold it in. I snort so loud, I end up laughing even harder. Miles bursts into laughter, and soon we’re both laughing alone on the dark sidewalk.
My body vibrates with a feeling I’ve never experienced before and it sends chills throughout my body.
The sound of his laugh echoing throughout the empty street gives me butterflies, and that smile—he has a smile that’s brighter than a thousand suns.
I can’t stop looking at him. He’s absolutely magnetic.
He catches me staring and I look away, clearing my throat. He grabs me by the waist, turning me to face him. I gasp as he slides his large, strong hands down to my hips. I don’t know where to place my hands, so I instinctively place them around his neck.
“Would it be so bad if I did?” His blue eyes darken as he stares intently into mine. I can feel my chest tighten, and I realize that I’m holding my breath. I lick my lips, preparing them for what’s about to come next, and say, “Not at all.”
His eyes deepen and dart back down to my parted lips, hunger written all over his face as if he’s been waiting for them his entire life.
He cups my face with both hands and leans in, his breath tickling my cheeks.
My eyes flutter shut, anxiously waiting to feel the press of his lips when I feel them gently kiss the corner of my mouth instead.
I open my eyes, confused, and see him staring at me.
“I want to kiss you, Maddie, fuck do I want to kiss you. Just not like this, not after a night of drinking. When I kiss you, we’ll both be sober and I’ll have your full consent. I would never touch you without it, and I’ll hurt anyone who tries.”
And with that, he grabs my hand again and we walk down the dimly lit road to my dorm.