Trust Me .(13)

Reality starts to set back in when someone drops a beer bottle in the trash, breaking the private trance we are in. I throw some bills on the bar, gather my group’s drinks, and head back towards the back. Heather is looking over my shoulder towards Avery with a curious and jealous expression on her face.

“Isn’t that Jake’s little sister?” she asks.

“Yep.”

She throws her arm back around my waist and gives me another flirty giggle as she takes her drink from my hand. I catch her glare at the back of Avery’s head when she thinks I’m not looking, and I know there is no way in hell I am heading back to Heather’s place. I turn my attention back to James and try to disentangle myself, again, from Heather, but she’s just not budging. I sense I’m going to have to be rude to her which I hate, but enough is enough. Last call is finally announced, and I know that now is the time to get out of here.

I see Avery stand up from her barstool and give a little sway. Yep, she’s plastered. Holly is giggling next to her as they try to steer each other towards the front door. Gabe hollers at Avery to wait and offers to give her a ride home after he gets the bar closed up. Fuck that! No way in hell is she getting into that douchebag’s car.

I turn quickly to James and tell him I’m going to give Avery and Holly a lift home. Since it’s my weekend to work, I only had two beers over the past three hours with a lot of water in between, plus that shot with Avery. I don’t feel any effects of the alcohol and know I’m fine to drive.

Heather looks up at me with a questioning gaze. I peel her arm from my waist one last time, tell her to have a safe night, and head towards the front door without so much as a backwards glance.

I approach Avery and Holly as they weave towards the front door and tell them to come with me. I hear Gabe speak up as he ensures me that he’ll give Avery a ride home. I’m pretty sure the look I give him tells him he is in no-way going to get Avery in his car. I grab a hold of Avery’s hand, whose other hand has a hold of Holly’s hand, and we head out through the front door into the cold early morning darkness.





Maddox’s hand feels so big and warm wrapped around mine. He’s pulling me along towards his Silverado which might slightly resemble dragging me since I’m having a hard time getting my legs to work properly. He unlocks it and helps me and Holly inside the cab. It’s a big blue crew cab truck that takes some effort getting up into. He helps us both into the front, me sliding into the middle space. I don’t question the fact that he put us both in the front seat. Despite the slight smell of smoke and alcohol, Maddox smells delicious, and I take the opportunity to sit close and lean against him.

The entire ride to Holly’s house, we’re chatting about our pool games, Jake and her ultimately losing to Maddox and me. I throw in a few smart aleck remarks about her being a sore loser and laugh at her when she starts hurling them back at me. I love our back and forth banter.

We pull up in front of Holly’s duplex, and Maddox gets out, helping her out of the truck. I lean into her and give her a big best friend hug, thanking her for talking me into going out. “I love you,” I say into her ear.

“I love you, too,” she whispers back. She glances over her shoulder at Maddox as he approaches her door to help her out, and turns back to me with a wide grin. “Enjoy your night. Don’t forget the condoms¸” she says just loud enough that only I can hear. Holly laughs hard as she slides out of the truck and takes Maddox’s hand. He walks her to her front door and makes sure she gets inside safely before heading back towards his truck. That’s one thing I’ve always found attractive about Maddox; he’s always a gentleman.

As he slides back into his truck, I consider sliding over to the passenger seat. He doesn’t say anything about it so I keep my mouth shut and stay firmly put in the middle of the bench seat.

“So did you have a good night?” he asks while he’s driving towards my house.

“I did. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to go out and cut loose a little. Between work and Brooklyn, I just don’t get to do this very often.”

“You’re a great mom. I can see it every time I see you and Brooklyn together. She’s your first responsibility and you handle it well.”

I look at him for a moment, not really knowing what to say. So I go with, “I’m sorry I ruined your night.”

He gives me a questioning look before returning his eyes to the road. “What are you talking about?”

“Heather. I thought you would be taking her home with you. I’m sorry you are stuck babysitting me tonight.” Maddox must be surprised my comment because he whips his gaze back over to me. I glance quickly away, breaking our brief eye contact, not really wanting to see the truth in his eyes.