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“It makes me uncomfortable,” Oakley confesses.
“You don’t have to be comfortable with it,” I insist. “This has nothing to do with you.”
Madison glares at me, silencing me with a look. Her eyes soften when her attention is back on my sister. “I know it’s weird; it was strange for me at first too. But things just … sort of … happened.”
The moment stretches as Oakley and Madison search one another’s faces.
Finally, Oakley speaks. “So, you’re more than friends?”
Madison looks at me while she answers, “We haven’t put a label on anything. We’re just … hanging out.”
“Well, really,” Oakley starts, “the two of you are living together. But I won’t mention that.”
I narrow my eyes at the girl who looks like a female version of me. She smirks and then exhales dramatically. I roll my eyes and chuckle beneath my breath. This is more drama than I was anticipating tonight.
“I need a drink,” my sister declares.
“I could use one too,” Madison chimes in.
“On it.” Chase speaks for the first time, moving into the line at the drink stand.
Oakley and Madison follow behind him and keep speaking softly to each other. I give them some space, shove my hands in my pockets, and wait.
Glancing around, I notice that the crowd has grown since we arrived. The place is swarming with people. I can hear Kurt Cobain’s band playing in the background. I’ll grudgingly admit that they’re good. But I’ll never say it out loud.
My attention lands back on the tall blonde standing with my sister. The strapless dress she’s wearing is casual yet sexy. It fits tightly across her chest and stomach and drapes around her hips. It’s a pretty pink color that matches the shade of her nails. The wind is playing with the seam, reminding me of the thong she’s wearing beneath it. Her legs are tan and toned and on full display in her wedge sandals. Her hair is long and flowing with waves, courtesy of my sister.
Madison has no clue how beautiful she is.
I’ve watched all night as dozens of male eyes found her and stared, just like they are right now. Most of the time, she’s oblivious to the attention. My protectiveness flares every time I see it happening, but even I have to admit that it goes deeper than that. I’m protective of Oakley, too, but I don’t want to rip someone’s head off for simply glancing in my sister’s direction. With Madison, it’s almost a primal instinct of sorts. I can’t stop other guys from noticing her; she’s gorgeous. But if she was on my arm, I could keep them away. I have this innate desire to show everyone here that she’s mine. That she’s with me. Especially my hockey friends.
McMann and Sims were pawing at her again when we arrived tonight. Sometimes, I think it’s their sole goal in life to drive me to insanity, though I realize that’s unfair since no one knows about us. That’s the main reason I dragged my old teammates a safe distance away from Madison when we gathered in the performance area. It was either that or allow my fist to find its way into one of their jaws. At least now, the two of them are distracted by Dallas and her friends. That’s a bonus. I’m hoping they can take the brunette off my hands for good. If not, maybe Madison will be willing to help me in that department.
When Chase, Oakley, and Madison return to the spot where I’m still standing, the girls are holding clear plastic cups with bright pink liquid inside of them.
“What the hell is that?” I ask them.
Madison’s lips tilt upward as she stirs and then sips her drink.
“Vodka cranberry,” my sister clarifies. “I needed the strong stuff after you dropped that bomb on me.”
“I need a stiff drink every time I’m around you for too long,” I quip.
Oakley rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. It seems that the storm has passed. For now at least. I’m guessing my sister is not really upset that Mads and I are happening. I think she’s angrier that she wasn’t let in on the secret.
Oakley and Chase lead the way back to the main stage, weaving through the thick crowd of people. Madison and I fall into step behind them, but I drag my feet to put some space in between us.
“You good?” I ask her.
She stumbles when someone knocks into her shoulder. I glare at them over her head and reflexively put my arm around her to pull her into my body.
“Yeah,” she answers.
She’s so soft beneath my hand. And she smells so good. All that exposed skin is bound to be the death of me tonight.
“You look beautiful,” I tell her, leaning close to her ear.
Her skin pebbles where my breath hits her neck. I place a chaste kiss right over her pulse point.
