my dick. A few weeks ago, you were choking on it.”
Lila narrowed her eyes on my face; she avoided looking below my waist, as I pulled my boxers on. “Do you have to be so crass?”
My lips curled. “That’s my charm, Garcia.”
I sauntered over to the nightstand and grabbed the joint I had left there. The necklace on the surface caught my attention. Lila’s gaze, as if she could read my mind, followed mine. Her hand came up to her bare throat, as if to grab her dreamcatcher, but it wasn’t there.
I lit the end of the joint, rolling it in my fingers, before taking a long drag. I held it in, for as long as I could, before I slowly breathed the smoke back out.
I held it out to Lila. “Don’t be shy. It’s not like we haven’t shared one before, Sweet Cheeks.”
She crossed her arms, her lips thinning into a tight line. “What are you doing, Maddox? Just look at yourself.”
I took another drag, running my fingers through my hair. “Oh, I do. I look in the mirror and I see the effect of Lila Garcia.”
Her cheeks reddened, and she stalked toward me, until we stood a mere breath away. Her chest brushed against mine. “I don’t want to be here,” she hissed in my face. “But I am, because I care–”
I scoffed, exhaling a cloud of smoke into her face. She blinked, her nose wrinkling. “Believe what you want, Maddox, but our friendship didn’t end with our relationship.”
“You want to act like an asshole, go right ahead.” Lila poked me in the chest, pushing me back a step. “But I’m here because I know you need your best friend, right now. Not a girlfriend.”
“I needed you before. I don’t need you now,” I barked in her face.
Her neck flushed pink, and Lila looked at me with such heartbreaking eyes… Fuck.
Her fingers circled my wrist, and she brought my hand up. Her thumb brushed over my swollen, bruised knuckles. “You promised that you wouldn’t ever stop being my friend, and I vowed that no matter what, we wouldn’t let our fuckedupness get in the way of our friendship. I’m not here as your ex. I’m here as your friend. So, either you shower, get dressed and eat breakfast like a normal person, or I will drag you. Got it?”
Lila let my hand go, and she stalked away, only pausing at the door. She cocked her head to the side, looking at me over her shoulders. “And trust me, I can, and I will. You might be a hundred pounds heavier than me, but, remember, you trained me in how to use my weight against someone heavier than me.”
Goddamn it.
An hour later, I found myself shoveling breakfast in my mouth. Colton tapped his fingers over the countertop, looking everywhere but my face. “Why did you let her in?” I said, around a mouthful.
Colton cleared his throat. “I didn’t. I tried to close the door, but she kicked it open.”
I dropped the fork on my plate. He was kidding, he had to be. “You’re telling me, that you couldn’t stop a hundred-pound woman from entering your home?”
“She threatened my dick, man.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “She’s legit a psychopath. No wonder you two suited each other so well.”
Fuck that. I shoved another forkful in my mouth.
“Your mom called me again,” Colton said, slowly.
“Same shit?”
“Your father is sick, Maddox.”
“Yeah. So? This is probably another trick of his to get me more involved in his business. Not that I have any plans to take over.”
“I don’t think–”
I kept my face blank. “If he dies, thank fuck. Good riddance.” My chest tightened, even as I said those words. Real, fucking pain sliced through me, and I clenched my jaw.
Colton winced at my choice of words. “You know Lila is not going to give up, until you go see your father in the hospital.”
I knew that and to stop her from bothering me again, I was going to play along. Go to the hospital, visit my father, listen to what they had to say and walk away.
“Where is she?”
Colton nodded toward the door. “Outside.”
“Let’s get this over with.”
18
Maddox
I parked outside of the hospital but didn’t get out of the car. “Now, what?” I drawled, drumming my thumbs over the steering wheel.
“I can’t force you to talk to your parents, Maddox. I already did what I set out to do.”
“And what is that?”
Her lips twitched. “Get you out of bed. Take a shower.