“Hey, how are you? Is everything okay?”
“How long have you been fucking Maddox?”
Oh, shit. “What?” I asked to buy time, my voice rising two octaves. I was so busted. “What do you mean?” As if there was any other meaning for that.
“Don’t even try to deny it. He already admitted it and he may be an asshole who banged my sister but he’s not a liar.”
I was offended. “Don’t be crude.”
Steven snorted. “Oh, okay. Sorry, how long has Maddox been making love to you?” His voice was mocking and dickish.
That really annoyed me. “None of your business. Why do you have such an attitude right now? I’m allowed to have a personal life.”
“I don’t disagree with that. But you’re a single mom for a reason. You get swept up in romance, in the idea of a future.”
That actually stung. A lot. So much so that I couldn’t think of a single thing to say.
Which didn’t matter, because he wasn’t done telling me his opinion of my dating life. “Maddox has had a crush on you since ninth grade. The kind of crush that involves hand lotion and a catch-all sock.”
“What does that mean?” I asked. A sock?
“He was jerking off to thoughts of you, that’s what it means.”
Oh, geez. I got the sock reference then. Yuck. “So what? That was ten years ago.”
“This was his plan. To finally get in your pants. The nerd gets the hot girl.”
“I think you’re exaggerating. Maddox is no nerd these days and frankly right now, I’m not the hot girl. I wear a lot of sweatpants.” I was longing for them as we spoke. I’d put on a cute dress for my meet-up with Adam.
“He’s taking advantage of you being lonely and vulnerable.”
I took a deep breath. “Steven. I appreciate you caring about me. But I am not some desperate chick who falls on the first guy who shows her interest.”
Even as I spoke the words out loud, I wondered if that was a total lie.
I did do that.
Holy shit.
Wait. No, I didn’t. Maybe in the past I’d been a little too eager, but look at how I had turned down Yates Caldwell, the DJ whose name I couldn’t remember, and Michael the widower. I was a strong and independent woman unwilling to settle.
Or was that because I’d already gotten emotionally attached to Maddox?
That was an uncomfortable thought.
Because yes, I was emotionally attached to Maddox.
“How did you find out about us?”
“He was on the phone talking to someone about it. I heard him.”
That bothered me. “Talking to who?”
“I don’t know. He said something about being a fuck boy.”
“What? What the hell does that mean?”
“It means he’s there for you to fuck whenever you want.”