“Ummm…Bryan? Brock? Brent?” She shrugs as she pulls out of my driveway. “Couldn’t tell you. Ask him. And why not?” She points her finger at me. “You’ve been acting weird the past few weeks. What gives?”
“Nothing, I’m just…exhausted, and I guess a little antsy about turning eighteen. And next year…I don’t know, college stuff.” I start rambling off the standard things kids our age have to be stressed out about to keep Sasha from getting too close to the truth.
“I know girl, me too. But this is why you have to let loose from time to time.”
“I let loose plenty.”
“Not recently! I feel like I’ve hardly seen you since before Thanksgiving. It’s almost Christmas. Speaking of which, what are we doing for your birthday?”
Hopefully me and Cal in nothing more than our birthday suits. I roll my eyes at my corny pun and shrug. “I have some plans with everyone, but nothing crazy.”
“That’s stupid, it’s your eighteenth! I’m sure Aria and Cal have something fun planned for you. Like a surprise party!”
“Wouldn’t you know if there was a surprise party?” I raise an eyebrow at her.
“Not necessarily, they know I can’t keep secrets from you.”
Sasha turns on some music and I’m grateful for the sounds of Lana Del Rey to stop the conversation and to quiet the thoughts in my brain. I let her melancholy voice calm me slightly when I feel a text buzzing in my bag.
Superhero: Just you and Sasha?
Me: No
Superhero: Who else?
Me: Her boyfriend and some other guy
Superhero: So, like a date?
This is one of those times that I wish I could be completely transparent. I want to tell him that I feel backed into a corner, and that I don’t want to go out in the first place. That I wanted to be home when he got there, tucked in his bed and waiting for him. That I didn’t want any other guy. Just him.
But I can’t say that.
Me: I wouldn’t call it that.
Superhero: Sounds like it…and you know all guys have to be cleared through me.
Me: Cal…
He doesn’t say anything and a sinking feeling washes over me that I’m walking into a disaster.
Brad Richards has bright blue eyes that almost completely match the shade of mine. His blonde hair is cut short, almost buzzed if not for the fact that it sort of falls in his face in the front. He’s tall, much taller than me and Sasha, and even has Mike by an inch, making me wonder if he is well over six feet. He’s ripped from what I can see under his letterman jacket that has his name proudly stamped across the back. “This must be the famous Maddie.”
I pull my brown leather jacket closer around me. “I didn’t know I was famous.” A polite smile finds my lips before he pulls me into a hug, much to my surprise. I pull back and put some space between us and give him my hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
“So formal.” He smiles, revealing a smile with a slight gap between his front two teeth. Objectively, he is still handsome. The slight flaw makes him seem more real and not the perfect All-American boy that he appears to be. He shakes my hand and pulls it to his mouth, brushing his lips over the skin. I slide my hand out of it, wondering why he’s so handsy when we literally just met, and he frowns.
I think he’s going to say something in response to my aloofness when something over my shoulder catches his attention. His eyebrows furrow and I hear Sasha groan. “Oh, for the love of God.”
My scalp tingles in preparation for the storm I know is headed my way. I have no idea how Cal is going to stake his claim over me, but I know without a doubt, that I won’t be at this restaurant for much longer.
“Ladies.” Hungry brown eyes meet mine. Well to me they’re hungry, to everyone else I’m sure they’re the eyes of a cop who doesn’t take any shit. He turns towards Brad and Mike, glowering at my ‘date.’ “Gentlemen.”
“Is there a problem?” Brad looks him up and down, not realizing who he is, and thus getting a different vibe from him. Please don’t start a pissing contest with him. I’m just about to explain who Cal is when Brad continues, “Because they’re with us.” He points at me and Sasha.
“Is that so?” Cal looks at me, an evil glint in his eye, and I already don’t like where this is going. “Madeline.”
I try to stop my body from reacting to his use of my full name but it’s no use. My chest deflates, my heart begins to race, and a pulse begins to flicker betw