by Lylah James
He chewed on his toothpick, thoughtfully. “You hurt me,” he said, simply, as if he was announcing the weather.
“When? How? Oh right, probably in your nightmare.” I punched in the code to my locker, opened it, and slammed my textbooks inside.
He finally stared down at me, his lips crooked and his eyes lit with mischief. “So, you agree, you’re a pain in my ass?”
Me, a pain in his ass? This was the joke of the century.
“I’m not roses, Maddox. If you’re going to make my life difficult, I’m going to be the thorn that pricks you. Don’t expect me to be all smiles, hearts and googly eyes. I’m not that girl.”
He kept the toothpick in the corner of his mouth as he spoke. “I know you’re not.”
When I didn’t answer, he slowly rolled the sleeves of his white shirt up to his elbow. The same arm I bit yesterday. He shoved his arm into my face and a huge, red bite mark stared back at me.
My eyes widened at the angry looking mark. I grabbed his forearm for a closer inspection. That couldn’t be from when… I bit him, right?
"You hurt me,” he said again.
I… did.
“Look at it. It hurts so bad; my arm has been aching the whole time.”
My gaze flew up to his, and I would have thought he was serious if I didn’t notice the twinkle in his eyes.
“I don’t remember biting you that hard, and it was yesterday morning. It’s been a whole twenty-four hours. It’s impossible that the bite mark would still look like this, except if…”
I let my words trail off, and I squinted at him, now suspicious.
“You think I bit myself? Damn, Garcia, you really are cruel. Why would I cause such pain to myself when I have you to do it?”
He shoved his arm in my face again. “Now kiss it better,” Maddox demanded, “or, I'll tell the principal you bit me.”
Sweet Jesus, he really was impossible.
“Go ahead," I hissed under my breath. “I'll tell him how you’ve been harassing me!”
Maddox had the audacity to look innocent. He let out a mock gasp before his bottom lip jutted out in a small pout. “Me? You’re the one who got physical with me, Sweet Cheeks. Every. Single. Time. If I didn’t know better, I would say you’re trying to get me to touch you.”
My stomach dipped, and my frustration bubbled to the point where I thought I’d do something worse than bite him. That’s it. I couldn’t deal with him anymore.
I threw my hands up in defeat. It took everything in me to accept it, but I was done. “You know what? Truce. We’re even with each other. Let's stop here.”
Maddox looked at me for a second longer. His gaze seared into mine, burning through my walls and forcing itself to peek into my soul. I clamped up and met his gaze with a hard look.
He lifted a shoulder, a lazy shrug. “Fine. Truce. But you need to kiss my boo boo better first.”
Is he fucking serious?
So, this was his game? He really wanted my lips on him, somehow. Jerk. But fine, I’d play. “Fine. I’ll kiss your boo boo better before you go running back to your mommy crying.”
I brought his arm closer and slowly bent my head down to the bite mark. It did look ugly and painful. For the briefest moment, I felt bad and guilt gnawed at me before I pushed it away.
Before my lips could touch him, Maddox crowded into my space. I sucked in a harsh breath when his arm curled around my waist and he pulled me into him. Our bodies collided together softly and time came to a halt. Tick…tock…
His heat seeped through his clothes and mine, and I could feel the flush on my skin. My heart skittered, and I could feel the beat of his own heart against my chest.
Something pulsed between us, electrifying and powerful… a brief moment in time… something that lasted for only a nanosecond.
His other hand came up and his fingers slipped behind my head, curling around my nape.
My brain screamed at me, angry and confused.
His breath feathered over my mouth; I blinked, and his lips crashed against mine.
I gasped into his hungry lips. My hands landed on his chest, and I tried to push him back, but he clutched the back of my neck as he deepened the kiss. With his arm still locked firmly around my waist, he swiveled us around, and my back slammed into the locker. My heart dipped into my stomach when he pushed against me, and he lifted me up, only allowing my toes to touch the ground.
I didn’t know if I should kiss him back… push him away…
My mind went blank as he licked the seams of my lips. His chest rumbled with a small groan when his teeth grazed my bottom lip before he bit down. I hissed into his mouth, even though I was trembling in his arms. The gentle bite stung, and I could feel the blood rushing through my ears. Slowly, he pulled his mouth away. The taste of him, mint and tobacco were heavy on my swollen lips.
“Now we’re even. Truce, baby,” he whispered in my ear, his voice deeper and darker.
My breath caught in my throat as he untangled himself from my body, and I slumped against the locker. I couldn’t… breathe.
Shock and rage coursed through me, a sea of mixed emotions, too deep while the tides were too violent, I was drowning into the bottomless ocean.
Maddox gazed down at me, and he lazily swiped his tongue over his red, swollen lips as if to taste the remnant of our kiss. “You taste sweeter than I thought.”
His lips twitched, and with a ghost of a smile, he strutted backward and away from me. I let out a choked gasp… finally able to breathe.
I inhaled sharply, sucking in desperate breaths as he winked at me, and then rounded the corner out of my sight. My hand slowly crept up to my chest, and I left it there, over my rapidly beating heart.
His lips had tasted like… sin.
And I hated myself for reacting the way I did to his kiss.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Lila
I walked through the door of my grandparents’ home and stumbled onto the couch. Gran leaned against the kitchen’s doorway, having heard the door open. She watched me closely. “What’s with that face, sweetie?”
“Nothing,” I grumbled, rubbing a hand over my face.
“That sigh tells me it’s definitely something.” She took a seat on the opposite couch, waiting for my answer. I knew she wasn’t going to rest until I told her what was actually bothering me. “Is someone bothering you?”
Someone? Yes, your precious helper aka Maddox, my enemy.
I groaned in defeat. “There’s someone…”
She gave me a knowing look. “A boy.”
“Yes, a boy.”
“What boy?” Grandpa came down the stairs, and he settled beside me with a hard scowl on his face. He was a tad overprotective.
The last boyfriend I had was two years ago. We dated for about four months before I lost my virginity in the back of his dad’s pickup truck, in the dark. The next time we made out, he noticed my scar and the look of disgust on his face still burned through my memory. Leo broke up with me the next day. When Pops found out, without any of the nasty sex details, he lost his shit. Since then, he had been wary of any boys who came around.
“It’s someone from school,” I finally admitted, leaving Maddox’s name out, since they both thought highly of him and it’d break my Gran’s heart if she ever found who the real Maddox was. Granted, yes, he was the perfect helper on Sunday, and he really did work hard, so I couldn’t really ruin his image just because he was an asshole to me in school. Right?
“Is he being rude to you? Do I need to file a complaint to the Headmaster? Molly, where is my rifle?” He stood up, his back straight and his jaw hard as granite. My sweet grandpa, even in his old age, he was fierce.
I grabbed his arm and pulled him back on the couch again. “No, no. He’s just… a bit annoying.”
“A bully?” Grandpa inquired. His intense stare burned holes through the side of my face. This was his if-you-lie-to-me-I-will-find-out look.
“Not exactly. I won’t let
him bully me. You could say I’ve been a pain in his arse, too. I dyed his hair pink.”
Gran snickered. “Did you know that’s how our love story started?”
“You dyed Pops’ hair pink?” I gasped, my jaw going to slack.
“Not exactly. It was during summer camp. Your grandpa was a sweetheart, but his friends were vexing. You see, I didn’t mean to dye his hair. It was meant for his other friend who stuck gum in my hair.”
“She had to cut off her beautiful locks.” The forlorn look on his face as he stared at Gran, as if he was remembering that day very clearly, made my romantic heart sing
“Yes. But Sven went into the shower first and… he came out with white hair.”
“Jack Frost,” Pops mumbled under his breath.
“A handsome Jack Frost.” Gran lifted her chin, a twinkle in her pretty brown eyes. “That’s how our love story started. We hated each other until he kissed me at the end of summer. We parted ways, but he followed me. He said he was going to marry me, and he’d win me over. He did.”
I was already shaking my head before she could finish her sentence. Love story? Maddox and I? Ha. I refrained from letting out a mocking laugh. “Oh no. There’s no love story between us. He’s my….”
My what? My nemesis who kissed me? Confused, I couldn’t find the right word to describe him. The definition of our relationship was… complicated. He was a jerk, but he wasn’t exactly a bully, since I fought back just as hard. Sure, he was my enemy, but he also kissed me, and my treacherous heart had done something weird in my chest. We were both passionate about our ongoing war, but it wasn’t hate.
Pops patted me on the knee, always on my side, always so encouraging. “If he’s making your life hard, make him miserable. Don’t be shy. Make him bend the knee,” he said fiercely.
I swallowed past the knot in my throat, refusing to admit that Maddox and I had anything more than war between us. It was a battlefield between us. Turning to Pops, I gave him a tender smile. “You’ve been watching Game of Thrones again?”
“It’s… interesting.” He gave his wife the side-eye, his lips twitching with a half-smile. There was something in his look, and when Gran’s flushed under his appraising gaze, my own eyes widened, and I fought a gag. Oh shit, I didn’t want to know.
“Right. I need to shower, then I’ll help with dinner.” I got up to kiss Gran on the cheek and Pops on his balding head. They both chuckled as I walked away.
***
The next morning, I walked down the halls of Berkshire. It was a whole hour before the bell rang, to indicate the start of the school day. There were barely any students roaming the school halls. Berkshire was participating in a science experiment, and if we won Regionals, we would be representing our State. Today was our first meeting. I, of course, joined. Science was my drug, plain and simple.
I was marching down the halls when something caught my eyes, making me come to a halt. Not something: someone. Through the window, I caught sight of Maddox sitting outside on a bench.
I didn’t even think he’d be up this early since they didn’t have football practice today. Why was Maddox here?
He stared at the empty field; his elbows perched on his thighs as he smoked his cancer stick.
It was starting to grow cold in Manhattan, and we now needed a sweater or thicker jacket before stepping out. Maddox was only wearing his Berkshire uniform, as if the cold wasn’t bothering him, as if he had grown immune or numb to it.
But that wasn’t what made me stop and stare. No, he was alone.
He was never alone; he was always either surrounded by his fangirls or his friends, or he was annoying me.
I placed a hand over the window as I studied him from afar. There was no reason for my heart to ache, but it did. Something clenched in my chest, like a fist holding my heart tight. Sitting on the bench, in the cold, with a cigarette between his lips, he looked like a sad, lonely god.
Maddox stood up, his longish hair falling across his face, hiding himself from my view. He took one last inhale before dropping the cigarette on the ground and stepping over it.
His hands curled around the back of his neck, and he looked up at the sky. His blond locks fell away from his face as a gust of wind breezed past him.
Eyes closed, he turned toward me and…
The agonized look on his face made me suck in a harsh breath.
His pain was stark and on display for all to see, but there was no one looking at Maddox except me.
He looked like a beautiful canvas being torn apart as sorrow bleed through him.
For the first time since I’ve met Maddox, I felt something other than annoyance. I really shouldn’t have cared. I convinced myself I didn’t, that I only felt bad for him because I had a habit of tending to strays.
But Maddox wasn’t a stray or a wounded animal.
He wasn’t mine to soothe.
But still…
“Why do you always think the worst of me?”
For the first time, I decided to not be a judgmental bitch and wondered what his story was.
“See, that’s your problem. You assume too many things.”
I did assume a lot of things, but that was only because Maddox had only ever showed me one side of him – the asshole side.
This side of him? The pained, broken one – it spoke to the inner part of me, my little caged heart. Because I remembered staring into the mirror, my own reflection staring back at me, with the same expression on Maddox’s face.
Broken.
Lost.
Lonely.
Scared.
His eyes opened, and my lips parted with a silent gasp as our gazes met. He couldn’t see me… right?
But oh, he did.
He watched me, silently, as I’d done to him.
Something unspoken crossed between us, something… personal.
He lifted his chin in silent acknowledgement before he walked away, fading out of my sight.
The heavy weight on my chest didn’t lift away. My heart cracked for a boy who probably would forget about me soon enough.
My fists clenched. I shouldn’t care.
I didn’t care.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Lila
“I didn’t know you were a stalker, Sweet Cheeks.” His whisper crept along my neck, causing me to shiver. I didn’t hear him approach me. I had been too lost in my thoughts; I hadn’t even felt him coming closer.
It was after school; the bell had just rung, and all the students were filing out.
I swung my bag over my shoulder, closed the locker and turned to face him. “I wasn’t stalking, Poodle.”
“Poo-what-the-fuck-dle?” He asked, confused.
I didn’t even know why I said that. Maybe because he caught me off guard, or it was the fact he insisted on calling me Sweet Cheeks, and I needed to retaliate. Or maybe it was because I needed to feel in control again after what I saw this morning. I barricaded my heart, feeling the coldness seeping through me.
But one thing was true.
Maddox was definitely a Poodle.
One eyebrow popped up, and I stared at him, watching as realization dawned on him. His hand came up, and he touched his curly hair. “Poodle? Seriously, Garcia?”
“Poodle,” I said again.
His nostrils flared in brief annoyance before he turned the table on me. “So, stalking is your new hobby?”
Clutching my bag tighter to me, I repeated, “I wasn’t stalking.”
“I caught you red-handed,” Maddox said, his voice gruff.
“What’s your problem, Coulter?”
What I really meant to ask was… what… who hurt you?
He cocked his head, scanning me. “You.”
“Huh?”
“You’re my problem, Sweet Cheeks.”
Maddox stepped closer. “That kiss…”
“Won’t happen again,” I finished for him. “That was your only taste of me, Coulter. First and last. Memorize it and tattoo that kis
s in your brain because it’s the only one you’ll get.”
“Harsh,” he mumbled. “I like you when you’re a spitfire, like a little annoyed dragon.”
I lifted my chin, squinting at him. “I’d like you better if you were nicer.”
“Nice?” He let out a booming laugh that had other students turning around and focusing on us. “If you’re looking for Prince Charming, you kissed the wrong frog.”
Maddox Coulter was neither Prince Charming nor the… villain.
He was something else, and I didn’t know where exactly to place him.
“I didn’t kiss you. You kissed me.”
“Same shit.” He combed his fingers through his hair, pushing the stubborn locks away from his eyes.
“We’re going in circles, Coulter.” I pushed past him, making sure we didn’t touch. “Have a good day.”
His hand snaked out, and he grabbed my wrist, pulling me back into his chest. His heart thudded against my back, and I stayed still. The crowded hallway faded away as his voice lowered to a mere whisper, speaking only for me to hear. “Next time, make sure you don’t stare at me with such a heartbreaking expression. Anyone would have thought you cared, except I’m no fool.”
He was referring to his morning, when he had caught me watching him through the window.
Oh God.
His deep voice rolled down my spine. “Don’t fall for me, Lila. I’ll break you.”
Conceited much? Why would he think I’d fall for him out of all the other options I had? Maddox was the last person I wanted in my heart.
“Falling in love with you is the last thing I want. Rest assured, even if you were the last man on earth, I would neither fuck you nor love you; you’re too ugly for me.”
“Me or my heart?”
“Both,” I breathed. Lies.
He let go of my wrist, and I could feel the burn on my skin, where his touch had just been. His breath feathered next to my ear. “Good.”
I took a step away from him. He followed, to my irritation. “One last thing. If I can’t kiss your lips, can I kiss your pussy instead?”
My… what?
