* * *
What did you have in mind?
* * *
Almost instantly, Maddox’s response appears:
* * *
Why don’t you come by my house later and we can discuss it?
* * *
Hmmm. His house? Does that mean Axel and Declan will be there too? I wouldn’t even consider it, but maybe Maddox really does need legal help. And his marketing business is pretty successful; working with them would look great on my resume.
Still at my desk, even though everyone, including the professor, has left the classroom, I pull out my planner. Clara always makes fun of me for using a paper planner instead of my phone’s calendar like everybody else, but I like having everything written out in front of me.
I turn the pages and check my schedule for this week. I don’t have to go into the office tonight, but it looks like I have a quiz tomorrow that I blocked off this evening to study for.
* * *
I’d love to help, but I have to study tonight.
* * *
I sigh, thinking I made the right choice. Then, the phone lights up again.
* * *
I won’t take up too much of your time. Just come by and I can tell you about it. I can even help you study here if you want—no distractions, I promise.
* * *
I purse my lips, unsure of what to do. I ask:
* * *
Just legal talk? Promise?
* * *
I can almost see Maddox’s smile in his response:
* * *
Just legal talk and maybe some studying. Friends, remember? ;)
* * *
The wink at the end has me a little suspicious, but Maddox is a flirty guy. I decide to at least go see what it is he wants to talk about.
The day passes by in a blur of classes. I try to focus, but I’m too anxious about seeing Maddox. I’m not sure what to expect.
When it’s time for me to meet him, I dress carefully. I want to look nice, because it’s Maddox, but not too nice, like I’m trying too hard. I settle on dark skinny jeans and a celery-green, soft cotton V-neck T-shirt. I pull my blonde hair in a thick braid down my back and then study myself in the mirror. I look casual but put-together. Perfect.
Maddox offered to pick me up, knowing that I don’t have a car, but I declined and asked him to text me his address instead. In case he has anything in mind besides legal help, I want to be able to leave whenever I want. Not that I feel unsafe around Maddox—I know him well enough to know that he would never force himself on me or anything like that. But if we’re going to meet at his house, in his territory, I want to feel like I have at least some control over the situation.
Now for the tricky part.
“Clara?” I call out hesitantly.
“Yeah?” she hollers back, and I can hear that her voice is coming from the living room. I walk the few steps from my bedroom to where she is parked on the sofa watching TV, an open bag of steaming microwave popcorn on her lap.
“Do you think I could borrow your car for a couple of hours tonight?” I ask uncomfortably. Clara always lets me use her car when I ask, which isn’t very often. Classes, the library, and even the office are all walking distance from our apartment, as long as I give myself enough time to get there. I only ask to use the car if I’m running very late and know Clara doesn’t need it, or on the rare occasion that I need to go somewhere farther away.
“Sure, what are you up to?” asks Clara nonchalantly, shoving a fistful of popcorn in her mouth. “Want some?” she says, offering me the bag.
“No, thanks,” I say uncomfortably. I practiced what I would tell her, but I hate lying to Clara. No way can I tell her I’m going to meet her brother, though. She knows he has my phone number, but she doesn’t need to know we are spending time together, even if it is for a legal thing. “I’ve got to meet a study group at a coffee shop downtown.”
Clara looks me up and down, appraising me. “You look nice,” she says suspiciously. “Someone special in this study group? A boy, perhaps?”
“No,” I mumble quickly, looking down at my feet.
“You’re blushing! You totally have a crush on someone!” Clara crows. “Who is it? Do I know him?”
“It’s nobody, it’s nothing,” I say, throwing my backpack over my shoulder and grabbing her car keys from the glass bowl on the coffee table where she keeps them.
“Fine, fine. But you know you’ll have to spill eventually!” Clara cackles, eating more popcorn and turning back to her show.
That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.
In the car, I tap Maddox’s address into the GPS app on my phone, careful not to use the device programmed into Clara’s car like I normally would. It shows the last few addresses you searched, and I don’t want Clara to see where I’m going. I hate being deceitful, especially with Clara, but I have no choice.
Driving to Maddox’s place, I fiddle with the radio, trying to find a song to calm my nerves. It’s no big deal. You’re just meeting a friend to go over some legal talk. That’s all. There’s nothing to be nervous about.
But with Maddox, I’m always nervous. I care what he thinks and I’ve always wanted to impress him. Only very recently does it seem like maybe he really does see me, and that perhaps he even feels the same way.
Not that it matters, I remind myself. I have to stay focused on the more important things: school, the office, and preparing for the bar exam. Nothing else can stand in my way, not even Maddox West.
It turns out that Maddox’s house is only about a fifteen-minute drive from campus. Even with the proximity, it makes sense that Clara hangs out with him at his place or out at other places. I guess it would be weird for someone a few years older and so successful like Maddox to come hang out around a bunch of college students.
But he did spend time on campus for me when he hardly ever came around even for his sister. I try to push the thought away and not read too much into it.
As I drive closer to the destination, I notice that the area is considerably nicer than the little suburbs around campus. The houses are larger, fancier, and have sprawling yards enclosed by fences.
I pull up to Maddox’s address and my jaw drops.
I knew he and Axel were successful, based on what Clara has mentioned to me about their marketing company over the past few years. But, from the look of this house, I had no idea just how successful.
It’s a gorgeous two-story home made of painted white wood, with black shutters. The front lawn stretches on forever, and I notice the grass is a little overgrown. I wonder if Maddox mows the yard himself or if he hires somebody to do it for him.
I approach the gorgeous double front doors and lift the brass knocker, rapping it firmly three times. I clear my throat and wait.
Maddox answers the door in a pair of jeans and an unbuttoned shirt, exposing his muscular, tan chest and abs. His hair is still wet from the shower, and the smell of soap and manliness wafts off him. My jaw drops again and I blink rapidly, trying not to stare at his hot body.