5. Maddox
Maddox
I usually do my laundry on Sunday mornings, but seeing as I suddenly have a tutoring session tomorrow, I force myself to do it right when Caleb and his friends drop me off. Carrying my overflowing hamper, I make my way to the basement.
God, my right arm aches. Why did I think it would be a good idea to play several rounds of bowling?
There are two other people when I get there—Chey, the girl who stays in the room next to mine, and a guy I’ve never seen before.
I give Chey a polite smile when she nods at me.
She and her friend are standing near a running machine by the entrance.
My clothes go into an empty machine a few feet from them, and as I’m rummaging through my wallet for coins, I feel eyes on me.
I turn my head to see Chey and her friend giving me curious looks.
“Yes?” I ask.
Chey giggles, making me frown. I don’t know much about her, even if we’ve shared a wall for years.
She tends to play her music loud and has people over even at odd hours.
The noise is irritating, but otherwise I’ve always found her to be pleasant.
The few times I couldn’t take it anymore and knocked on her door to ask her to keep it down, she was always apologetic.
We don’t talk much, though. She’s never looked at me before with so much amusement, and her friend is giving me a matching smile .
“We saw some of the guys from the hockey team drop you off,” Chey says. “I didn’t know you were friends with them.”
I can sense the disbelief beneath her friendly tone. Me, the campus nerd, spending the day with four players on Camrose U’s hockey team? It’s unheard of.
“I grew up on the same street as Caleb Jennings,” I tell her. “He’s one of the wingers.”
The man lets out a soft laugh. “Oh, we definitely know who Caleb Jennings is.” He must see the confusion on my face because he tacks on, “I’m Levi. Maddox, right? I’ve seen you around.”
“Yes. Hello.” I give him a weak smile and go back to searching for coins. When I finally find what I need, I pop them into the slot.
“Do you hang out with the team a lot, or was this the first time?” Chey asks.
I try not to slump my shoulders, disappointed that the conversation’s not over. Shaking my head, I say, “It’s the first time I went out with them.”
“How was it? Killian was there, too, right?”
That gets my full attention. Blinking, I turn around and lean back against the slightly vibrating machine to face them. “You know Killian?”
Levi points a thumb at Chey. “She has a massive crush on him. Chey’s been trying to ask him out on a date, but she’s scared he’ll say no. Killian’s only ever interested in fooling around.”
Chey’s cheeks redden and she pushes him. “Stop! Maddox doesn’t need to know that.”
“It’s true, though.”
“You asked him out once and he said no,” Chey counters. “He’s not the dating type, is all.”
“Yup. He prefers things casual.”
The implication of it hits me like a truck.
They’ve both fooled around with Killian?
I purse my lips together. While I know that Killian’s a playboy and that it’s none of my business, having to face the reality of it makes my chest twist .
Chey and Levi laugh to themselves, exchanging words I don’t care about. She grins at Levi, and I wonder if I can sneak out now. They might not even notice I’m gone. But just when I’m about to leave, Chey tilts her head at me. “What did you think of Killian?”
I shrug. “He’s okay? He asked me to tutor him.”
The two of them exchange an amused look that only makes my skin crawl.
“ Study and chill. ” Levi snickers. “I’ve heard that one before.”
My chest constricts.
I shouldn’t ask. It’s none of my business.
It’s not.
But I can’t help it.
“What the hell does study and chill mean?” I ask.
Maybe there’s something weird in the tone of my voice, but that gets both of them to stand up a little straighter. It makes the swirling sensation in my stomach even worse.
“Uh,” Levi says. “Studying is foreplay for Killian. We were study partners… well, I mean, we actually did study at first, but that didn’t last long.
It came to a point where we would text each other study and chill when we wanted to hookup.
” He looks at me from head to toe, smiling.
“Though, yeah. I kind of get why he’d ask you to tutor him. You’re really hot.”
Yeah, I’m ignoring that last part. “Are you implying Killian asked me to tutor him just so he could hit on me?”
“Definitely. He doesn’t care about studying at all. I can totally see Killian doing that.”
“Damn, Levi,” Chey grumbles. “Tone it down. I don’t think Maddox is into that kind of scene.”
“I’m not,” I snap out. “To each their own, really—but if I’m going to make an effort teaching someone, it’s irritating if they’re not actually there to learn.”
She glares at Levi. “Well, maybe he does need you to tutor him and Levi here is only being an asshole.”
Chuckling, Levi shrugs. “Hey, I’m just telling you what I know from experience. No need for either of you to get huffy about it. ”
I’m done with this conversation. I don’t need some stranger I met five minutes ago telling me not to be huffy. Glancing at the washing machine, I see that it’s got an hour left—I’ll be back for it. Heading for the staircase, I say dryly, “Nice meeting you, Levi. See you around, Chey.”
I’m not sure if they respond because I’m out of the laundry room in record time, irritated at the way my chest is tightening.
Honestly, it wouldn’t be the first time someone pretended to want to study so they could hit on me.
Still, it pisses me off all the same.