Make Me Bad - R.S. Grey Page 0,19
to navigate this mission she’s just thrust upon me. I keep waiting for her to break character, crack up, and tell me she’s been teasing me all along, but she doesn’t.
We’re back in the storage room now and it’s a complete mess. Apparently, she’s been asking her intern to come down and rearrange some of the boxes for a while, but she hasn’t gotten around to it, so that means the task now falls to me. It’s my first duty as a volunteer.
“The boxes are kind of heavy,” she laments before glancing over at my arms. Her brows lift before she jerks her attention back to the boxes. “But I guess that won’t be a problem for you.”
Her phone rings at her desk and she has to run to answer it. She tells me to come find her if I have any questions, but like I said, this isn’t groundbreaking stuff. The boxes are labeled and easy enough to lift onto the shelves.
I’m left back there by myself, alone with my thoughts. It’s probably for the best. I have some things on my mind anyway.
On the surface, it might seem like I have a schoolboy crush on Madison. I obviously find her attractive. Her personality, while a little different, has a strange appeal. I like her honesty and openness. There’s no cool facade to her. She is who she is and it’s a refreshing thing to encounter in an age when everyone’s so obsessed with filters and false appearances.
The dreams I’ve been having about her would further confirm my crush, but then I remind myself that they probably don’t mean what I think they do. That night a few weeks ago was a harrowing experience for the both of us. I came to her defense when she was in a life-threatening situation. Obviously, it had some kind of impact on me.
The alternative—that I’m dreaming about her because I’m harboring feelings—is out of the question now.
By revealing her birthday resolution, by laying every bit of herself on the line for me, she effectively stamped out any potential there was for us. I might not be a complete gentleman, but I’m also not such an asshole that I’d pursue and toy with the emotions of a girl like her. She’s innocent, and not just when it comes to matters of the bedroom. I can’t believe how honest she was with me, a perfect stranger. I could use that honesty against her. A lesser man probably would.
It suddenly feels like I’m her confidant, her accomplice in a daring mission. She wants to change her life and check things off her bucket list. Some might find it a little ridiculous, childish even. To me, it’s daring. So many people wake up and repeat the same things day in and day out. How many have the courage to shake things up? To reject the safety of their routine? I haven’t stepped out of my comfort zone in years, and maybe I need this as much as she does.
Even all of that aside, the final nail in the Ben and Madison coffin was hammered home when she openly rejected the idea of sleeping with me and then followed it up by casually mentioning the idea of doing so with one of my friends.
The thought stings a bit, so I shove it aside and get to work moving boxes.
I’m down there for two hours, tidying the place up. When I’m done, the closet is ten times more organized than it was when I found it. Madison can hardly believe her eyes when she comes down to see it. Eli’s with her, and I could hear them talking and laughing out in the hall. Apparently, they’re good friends, not just work colleagues, and I wonder why in the world he hasn’t tried dating her—or maybe he has? Maybe he’s stuck in the friend zone?
Madison steps inside and spins in a circle with her arms outstretched. “Oh my gosh, Ben! You’re amazing! There’s so much room in here now!”
Eli swoops in and grabs her hands, spinning her around and around. I watch from the doorway, curious about their friendship. They seem so comfortable with one another. He wraps one arm around her back then dips her low and she goes with it, trusting him completely. Her dress slides up her creamy thigh just enough to catch my attention, but then he yanks her back up to stand and they switch.
“Okay, do me! Do me!” Eli says, forcing her arm