I sidestepped into his path. Maddox squared his wide shoulders, standing taller, and his eyes narrowed on me. “Move.” There was a warning in his voice, but I chose to ignore it.
“Are you okay?” I asked before I could stop myself.
I told myself I wasn’t worried nor did I care, but still… the question popped out before I thought it over.
Maddox leaned down toward me, bringing our faces closer and crowding into me. I fidgeted with the straps of my school bag, holding myself in place and refusing to step back. He didn’t intimidate me.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you care, Garcia.” My breath caught in my throat when our eyes made contact. He held me there, in the moment, before he flashed me a sardonic smile. “What is it? Finally decided to sit on my dick? I might make an exception for you. I’ll tell you all about my day if you let me in your pus–”
“You know, two minutes ago, I actually cared. But never mind, I take it back now. You’re still a jerk, Coulter.”
Maddox pulled back, straightening to his full height again. “Always have been, always will be. Remember that, Sweet Cheeks. Ain’t no pussy gonna tame me and definitely not yours.”
Good. Lord.
The urge to smack him was strong, and the urge to slap myself for being stupid enough to care was also strong.
I came to a very important conclusion: I preferred Maddox silent. Why did I even try to get him to talk? The moment he opened his mouth, I realized why I despised him. He was an asshole, through and through.
I shuffled through my bag and took out two very important items, shoving them in his hands. His dark eyebrows pulled together in confusion.
“Tampons and chocolate,” I explained with a fake smile. “You’re welcome. Have a good day, Maddox.”
I pushed past him, and just before I walked away, his lips twitched.
Did I just get Maddox Coulter to smile?
“Can you stop following me?” I paused and then turned on my heels quickly. Maddox caught himself in time, coming to a halt, so he wouldn't bump into me.
After our ‘conversation’ right before lunch, the rest of the day took a sudden turn. Maddox decided to follow me around; he was like a lost puppy – Riley’s words, although I only found him to be irritating, so maybe more like an annoying puppy.
I wished we could go back to ‘silent, brooding’ Maddox. That version of him was ten times better than this.
I looked up at his bruised face, making sure to harden my heart at the sight of him battered and bruised. “Stop. Following. Me.”
He shrugged, nonchalantly, and then stuffed his hands into the pockets of his beige slacks. “Can't do that. I’m having fun looking at your ass. By the way, do you mind if I warm my hands up?”
Exasperated, I let out a tiny growl from under my breath before I could stop myself. He was smiling now. As if pissing me off was his favorite pastime.
“That's sexual harassment, Coulter.”
“You looking at my dick print is sexual harassment, too, Garcia.”
My eyes widened at his words, and I felt the air being sucked out of me. “Wha-at? No…no I wasn't,” I sputtered. My gaze fleeted to his crotch before I could stop myself. Shit. Biting on my lip, I blinked and looked away – anywhere but at him.
Maddox let out a throaty chuckle, and my eyes snapped back to his. He gave me his signature smirk, his dimple popping, creating a sexy indent into his left cheek. “You were, Sweet Cheeks. You were probably calculating how thick and how long I am, too.”
My jaw snapped together, and I hissed through gritted teeth, “Shut. Up.”
“Want me to tell you?” He quirked up a mocking eyebrow. “Or, you want to check for yourself? It's a little cold today, maybe you can warm my dick up with your little hands.”
He acted as if he was reaching for my hands, but I slapped him away. In a blink, his arm snaked out, and he gripped my wrist, pulling me closer until our bodies were almost touching. My neck craned up, so I could stare into his face – he was too tall compared to my own tiny height. The top of my head barely came to his shoulders.
“You are disgusting,” I hissed, feeling my cheeks warming up under his dark, teasing eyes.
His breath feathered over my cheek; his lips way too close to my ear. “I am proudly filthy, Sweet Cheeks, and so are you. For having these dirty, dirty thoughts.”
I suddenly felt hot. Sweat beaded on my neck and between my breasts. My chest heaved with a shallow breath as my insides shuddered at the mere proximity of him.
His lips grazed my earlobe, and my body tensed. I tried to twist my arm out of his grip, but it was pointless. My other hand landed on his hard chest, and I shoved him back. “Fuck off.”
He let go of my hand and took a step back, his bruised lips quirking up on the side. “See you tomorrow, Garcia.”
I flipped him the finger and started walking away. Asshole.
8
Lila
I felt him before I saw him.
His enticing scent engulfed me as he pushed against my back, barely touching, but still way too close.
“What do you want, Coulter? Was today not enough for you?” I asked with a heavy sigh.
It was not a good day, not after the stupid prank Maddox pulled on me. My wet hair was currently soaking the back of my Berkshire’s blouse, the soft material sticking to my skin. I was irritated and absolutely exhausted. One more class left and then it was the weekend. Two blissful days without Maddox.
“Looks like you were able to wash your hair.” He chortled at his own lame joke. “Sorry about the feathers, but it was payback. Don’t be such a grumpy ass, Garcia. You can be a sweet ass, though. I’ll eat it.”
I swiveled around and leveled the douchebag with a glare. “You think gluing feathers in my hair is funny?”
I wanted to throttle him and his stupid, smirking face.
“Don’t exaggerate. I didn’t use glue. I used flour, water and feathers. Simple and harmless. Anyway, you looked cute with a nesting head.”
Mr. Asshole here glued, oh wait, my bad – pasted feathers into my cute beanie with flour and water. So, naturally, when I put on my beanie, all the sticky feathers transferred to my hair. No, I didn’t look at my beanie before putting it on. Who does that, anyway?
My fists clenched and unclenched as I sucked in a deep breath and held back a snarl. Maddox rubbed his jaw, and against my own accord, I took notice that his face was healing up nicely. His bruises were barely noticeable, and his left eye was no longer swollen, black and purple.
He was back to his sexy, irritating self. God give me patience.
Maddox closed my locker, leaning against it like he owned the thing. I gave him a blank look, waiting for this to be over. The hallways were empty, except for the two of us.
“The pink hair prank? That was actually a good one, I’ll give you that. The feathers were payback for the pink hair you gave me.”
Ah, the pink hair. A few days ago, after Maddox left a butt-plug in my locker, a gift, he had written in his note – I decided to retaliate. The need for revenge was strong, and it was easy. I had sneaked into the locker room while Riley kept guard outside. I found his personal locker and switched his shampoo with temporary pink hair dye.