Make Me Bad - R.S. Grey Page 0,20
around his back.
I chuckle then, wondering if he might not be interested in Madison the same way I am.
“Eli and his boyfriend have been taking ballroom dancing lessons,” Madison explains to me over her shoulder.
“I’m better at it than he is,” he confirms proudly.
“Is that one of the things on your list? Dance lessons?” I ask, watching Madison as she’s forced to use both of her arms to pick Eli back up from his courageous dip. His head nearly collided with the ground.
Eli glances between us with a frown as he straightens his shirt. “What list?”
Madison clears her throat and waves her hand. “Oh, I just gave Ben a list of things to do on his first day of volunteering—clean up down here, reorganize the shelves, that kind of thing.” She turns to me and her voice takes on a joking lilt. “Ha ha, no, Ben. No dancing is required of library volunteers.”
Her lie further confirms my suspicion—I really am her only confidant. Not even Eli knows what she’s up to. He nods, buying the terrible lie, but when Madison looks my way again, I arch a brow.
Her cheeks burn red before she looks away.
I like knowing her secrets.
I like seeing how flustered she is now, scared I’ll reveal everything. I won’t, of course, because where’s the fun in that?
We stay down there for a little while. I ask how long they’ve been friends and learn they both sought out jobs at the library right after college. Eli says Madison is great with the kids, patient and enthusiastic. She beams under his praise and then waves it off. “Anyone would do the same. It really is a fun job.”
No, not everyone would do the same.
“So you’ll be with us for the next few weeks, Ben?” Eli asks, giving me a quick once-over.
I nod. “Just until I fulfill my community service requirement.”
“Ben’s a hardened criminal,” Madison quips. “Didn’t you know?”
Eli feigns a damsel-in-distress faint. “As if you weren’t making us all suffer enough already.”
I smile and catch Madison’s gaze on me. She’s been studying me, stealing glances when she doesn’t think I notice. The fact that I’ve caught her sends her into a near tailspin.
“Right, well, the library is closing soon and I still need to go finish a few things,” she says, making a move to exit the room.
I step into her path and glance down at the top of her head. Good thing I don’t have any plans to kiss her because if I did, she’d need a step ladder.
“So we’re still on for tonight?”
She doesn’t meet my eyes as she nods, confirming she’ll be at the party.
I don’t actually think she’ll show.
“I need you on wingman duty tonight,” Andy says, rubbing his hands together like he’s got a plan. “I’m finally gonna go for it with Arianna. I’m not fully convinced she’s into me, into me, but I have it figured out. I just need you to stand there and not say a word. I mean, truly don’t say a word. Act like a bump on a log, and that’ll give me the chance to charm her with my witty conversation skills.”
“Can’t. I invited someone.”
We’re standing in Jake’s kitchen later that night. He has a new condo out on the beach. It’s nice, modern, not quite my style, but I can see the appeal. The entire back wall is made of glass panels that slide open, and if the weather wasn’t so cold, I’m sure he’d have them pushed to the side so people could mingle out on the deck. As it is, most everyone’s in the living room, except for me and Andy. He dragged me into the kitchen to go over his master plan.
“What? Who’d you invite?”
“Madison Ha—”
He jerks back from the kitchen island, hands flying to grip either side of his head like I’ve just admitted to murder. “NO. Tell me, for the love of God, you didn’t.”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen since his brown eyes get so wide. His reaction seems a little over the top.
“What? Why is that a problem?”
He starts listing things off with his fingers. “Umm, her dad’s the police chief. Her brother—also a gun-toting police officer, who by the way—hates your fucking guts.”
Eyes narrowed in thought, I ask, “How do you know her brother hates me?”
He starts to pace, hands digging into his hair. “What do you mean? Everyone knows that. You stole his girlfriend back in high school, remember? Kylie, Kira—something like that. She didn’t live here long,