Beyond Broken(62)

Kyra's words rang in her mind.

You've always had a weird thing for him.

Weird, indeed. And stupid.

Finally, she settled on a half-truth, "He makes it hard to have feelings for him."

"I can imagine," Christie drawled. "We didn't exactly hit it off either."

"How so?"

Christie shrugged. "I had a run in with him at a grocery store when I first started seeing Adam. Caleb was a little … cold. He was that way with all of us. But eventually, he warmed up. It took time though."

Kate nodded in agreement and took a sip of her coffee.

Christie got a small, conspiratorial smile on her face a moment later. "Can I ask you something?"

"All right," Maddie replied, slightly nervous.

"Does Caleb have his nipples pierced?"

Maddie was glad she hadn't took a sip of coffee right at that moment because she would have spit it out all over the women sitting in front of her.



       
         
       
        

Kate sighed, shaking her head. "Christie … "

"What?" the blonde asked innocently. "It's a genuine curiosity. So does he?"

"Um," Maddie said, feeling her cheeks warm. "No, I don't think so." Oh no, she could feel a nervous ramble coming on. "I haven't seen a, um, barbell or ring poking through his shirt, if that's what you mean. I mean, he gets cold sometimes and he wears tight shirts, so his, um, nipples show, but-"

Christie burst out laughing and Maddie reddened even further, taking another sip to save herself from the word vomit. Even Kate tried to hide her grin, but ultimately failed.

"Oh my God," Christie said, wiping away a tear. "I love you. I think we'll be great friends. Damn." She leaned back in her chair. "I really thought he did. There go my fantasies, right down the drain."

"And what would Adam think about your fantasies?" Kate teased.

"Hey, my man is secretly a freak in the bedroom. And he knows I think all his friends are hot, Luke included."

That led to Maddie asking both of them how they met their boyfriends. And they each told her condensed versions of their own romances-Kate worked for Luke after she rejected him in a coffee shop whereas Christie and Adam had started out as friends and morphed their relationship into an odd friends with benefits type of thing before going exclusive.

"And what about you?" Kate asked. "Who was that guy you were with on Saturday night?"

"Oh, he was a blind date my friend set me up on," Maddie said. "I'm seeing him again on Thursday night for dinner and a movie. We'll see how it goes."

Maddie had hardly thought about Paul since that night, which she felt slightly guilty about. He was handsome, kind, and they seemed to really hit it off, despite Caleb's interference. But Paul gave Maddie a second shot and he'd texted her when she got home Saturday night to set up another date.

A part of her was looking forward to it. Being with Paul was nice. There was no drama, no fighting-at least not yet-and she'd really enjoyed herself on their double date. Would she think about Caleb on Thursday night and maybe wish that it was him taking her out instead? More than likely.

Kate glanced down at her watch. "Shoot, I didn't realize how much time has passed. Would you mind if I asked you a bit about the museum stuff? You know, what I originally asked you here for before my crazy friend turned it into an interrogation."

"I did not!"

Maddie laughed and realized that she could be good friends with these women. She felt comfortable around them. "Of course." 

So, Kate fired off some questions and Maddie answered them to the best of her ability. Christie chimed in with her experiences working in an art gallery and even though the two professions were different, Kate still had a good chunk of notes by the end.

When Maddie checked the time, she couldn't believe that she'd sat there with them for two whole hours. "Oh, I have to get going. I start work in a half hour."

"Where do you work?" Kate asked curiously.

"In my academic department," she said, standing and pulling on her jacket, flipping her hair out of the back when she was finished. "It's just administrative stuff, a couple times a week. Helps with the tuition, at least."

"I bet." Kate replied, standing to give her a hug. "Thanks so much, Maddie. You were so helpful. We'll have to get together again soon."

Christie gave her a hug as well and they all promised to meet up again for drinks or a girls' night. Even though Maddie wouldn't be able to squeeze in a library session, she wasn't too torn up about it. She'd had a good time and she tried to not think too much into what they'd told her about Caleb. Kate and Christie were technically a part of his group of friends, so she could only hope that nothing soured between the two of them.