Chapter 42
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
maddox
The video of me speaking outside the restaurant and kissing Annalise went viral. Everyone around the world is shipping us, and people are calling us the “it couple.”
I’ve even had fans message me to say our love story inspired them and gave them the courage to go after “the one that got away.”
Annalise’s shop has been blowing up, and she’s been working overtime to keep up with orders. With our crazy schedules, we haven’t had much time to go on dates.
But to me, any time I get to spend with her is valuable—even if I’m just helping her pack orders, like I am now.
Building the office for her was one of the best decisions I ever made.
I love coming home to her after a long, grueling day of practice.
I gave her the code to my house after we got back from Hawaii, and she’s been spending almost every night here since then.
Every now and then she’ll go back to her apartment to spend time with Mazikeen.
With her around, my house finally feels like a home.
She passes me a pile of clothes and I carefully place them inside a box and seal it with packing tape.
“That should be the last of it.” She gets up from the floor, rubbing her back. “My whole body hurts. I think I overdid it. Thanks for helping me, Maddox. I’m sure this is the last thing you want to do after coming home from practice.”
Getting up, I place a kiss on her lips. “I don’t mind at all.
I love being able to help you. Seeing how much your shop is flourishing makes me so happy.
I’ll continue to be your assistant until you open your own physical store and get some official help—which will be soon, at the rate you’re going. ”
I wish I could buy her a space for a boutique so she can finally leave Dauntless. But I know that’s something she wants to do on her own, and I have faith that she will make it happen.
She fidgets with the hem of her shirt. “What if people are only buying my clothes because I’m your girlfriend? I’m worried that once we’re no longer a hot topic, they’ll stop.”
“We will always be a hot topic,” I say, smiling at her. “But you being my girlfriend has nothing to do with the success of your shop. That’s all you. I mean, would you purchase clothes you didn’t like just because they were made by a famous person’s girlfriend?”
She shakes her head, making a face. “Hell no. That would be a waste of money.”
“Exactly.” Taking her hand, I lead her to the bathroom. “Come on. Let’s go take a bath.”
The limo pulls up to Annalise’s apartment and I shoot her a text to let her know we’re outside. We defeated Seattle after six games and have advanced to the Western Conference Finals. I can’t believe we are that much closer to the championship.
The limo door opens, and Annalise slides in with Mazikeen and their friend Serena. Annalise has brought her up before in conversation, but we haven’t officially met.
“Hey, Dimples.” Annalise pops a kiss on my lips, and my stomach immediately flip-flops. “I hope you don’t mind that I invited Serena. She passed her boards and is officially a registered nurse!”
I pull Annalise onto my lap and wrap my arms around her. “I don’t mind at all.” My mouth curves into a smile and I extend a hand to Serena. “Nice to meet you. And congrats on passing your boards! That’s incredible.”
“Thank you so much!” She beams. “And congrats on advancing to the next round! I’m glad I’m able to fully enjoy the games now.”
Elijah sets down his drink and scoots next to Serena. “Nice to meet you. I’m Elijah.”
“You don’t have to introduce yourself—I know who you are.” She chuckles. “But it’s nice to meet you, too.”
Andrés waves from his seat. “It’s nice to meet you, Serena. This is my wife, Katie.”
Katie smiles at her warmly and gives a wave.
“Wow. I never thought I’d be partying with the San Francisco Dragons. This is definitely a treat after busting my ass in nursing school.”
“If I ever become hospitalized, I want you as my nurse,” Elijah says, flashing her a cocky smile.
“Dude, can you stop hitting on everything that moves?” Andrés lets out a groan.
“Leave her alone. She’s taken,” Annalise chimes in.
“Yeah, to a sorry excuse of a man,” Mazikeen mumbles.
Serena scratches the back of her neck. “He said he was too tired to come out and celebrate with me. He sent me a total of five texts telling me I better not dance with other guys.” She rolls her eyes. “I’ve never given him a reason not to trust me, yet he still acts like this.”
“Sounds like he has a lot of insecurities,” I say.
“Oh, he for sure does.” Mazikeen sits up straight. “She is way out of his league. He’s as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside.”
“Mazi…” Annalise hisses, giving her a look.
Mazi clears her throat. “Sorry. That was mean. But I can’t stand how he treats you, Serena.”
“Part of me wants to leave him, but part of me wants to stay and see if he’ll change,” she says, her voice laced with an unspoken sadness. “We’ve been together for almost four years now, and I’d hate to start over.”
“We just want you to have the love you deserve,” Annalise says softly.
“Have fun tonight, and celebrate your accomplishments!” I say. “Elijah, pour us some shots.”
“You got it!” Elijah grabs a bottle of tequila and pours it into shot glasses, passing them around. “To us moving on to the next round, and to Serena becoming a nurse!”
We all let out cheers, clinking our glasses and downing the warm liquid.
He pours another round of shots, but Serena holds up her hand when he passes one to her. “Oh no—I’m good with one. I’m a super lightweight.”
I laugh, shaking my head in disbelief. “There’s no way one shot is enough to get you drunk.”
Turns out, one shot was all she needed, because Serena is currently dancing on top of a table, waving her hands in the air.
“And this is why we call her One-Shot Wonder,” Annalise says with a laugh.
“That’s impressive.” I let out a chuckle. “I would save a fuck-ton of money if my tolerance was that low.”
Santiago walks in the club—we've rented Blackout again—and greets me with a hug. “Hey, man! Sorry I couldn’t make it to the game, but congratulations!”
“Thanks, man!”
“Hey, Annalise! So good to see you.” He walks over and gives her a one-armed hug.
“It’s good to see you too, Santiago! How’s the little guy doing?”
“Oh, he’s getting so big. He just turned four a couple of months ago.” He pulls out his phone and pulls up a picture of Isaiah at an indoor kiddie park, sporting a birthday hat and cake smudged on his face.
“He's so cute! He's literally your twin.” Annalise beams down at the photo. "Have you found a stepmom for him yet?" she adds jokingly.
Santiago chuckles. “Nah, it’s just been me and him. I’m not really interested in—” Something catches his attention and he looks as though he’s been placed under a spell. “Whoa. Who is that?”
I follow his gaze and see Serena dancing on the table, swaying her hips to the beat. “That’s Annalise’s friend, Serena.”
“She’s gorgeous.” He smiles, blush spreading across his face.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen him look at anyone like that. Isaiah has been Santiago’s number-one priority, and he’s always said he wants to put all his focus on his son.
“You should try and shoot your shot.” I grin, patting him on the back.
“I think I will.”
“I thought you said you weren’t interested in dating anyone,” I say, cocking a brow at him.
“I wasn’t… until now.”
“Are you not gonna tell him?” Annalise whispers.
I shake my head. “Where’s the fun in that? And who knows—maybe they’ll hit it off and Serena will leave her shitty boyfriend.”
Annalise lets out a giggle. “Maddox Masashi Kamado, you are a big hopeless romantic, you know that?”
I place a kiss on her temple. “That’s because I have you, the girl of my dreams.”
A huge grin appears on her face and her cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink.
After the club closes, we move the party to Elijah’s penthouse. Serena and Santiago have spent the last hour getting cozy and talking to one another while Annalise and I observe from a loveseat on the balcony.
“Aw, are we witnessing a love story unfold?” Annalise places her hand on her chest as she watches them through the glass door.
“I think he’s fallen in love already. Look how smitten he is,” I say, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.
“Santiago is a good guy. He would give Serena what she deserves.”
“Yeah, he would. After what Gabriela put him through, I hope he can open up his heart and allow himself to love again.”
Elijah slides open the balcony door and sticks his head out. “Get in here, ya lovebirds. I set up the karaoke machine.”
“We’ll be there in a minute. I gotta warm up my vocals,” I say.
He shuts the door and I refocus my attention on Annalise. “Are you ready for me to serenade you, Rosie?”
“I’m not looking forward to having my ears bleed,” she teases.
My phone buzzes with a new text alert. I glance at the screen—it’s a video message from an unknown number.
Weird. It must be spam.
I hesitate to click on it, worried that it might be a virus, but curiosity gets the better of me.
The video starts off with a blank screen, but what appears in the next few seconds has all the color draining from my face and my blood running cold.
Someone recorded us having sex on my private jet.