Chapter 11: Chapter Eleven

Madison tossed the empty box onto the pile by the front door. “That’s the last one.” She grinned, looking around at their new apartment.

“I’m so glad everything is unpacked. All those boxes were driving me nuts.” Lil laughed, then sighed. “Promise no more moving until we’re graduated and leaving to face the world.”

“Deal.” Madison opened the front door and dragged the pile of empty boxes outside. “Did you say there was a recycling bin or pile somewhere?” she called over her shoulder.

“No, Liam offered to take them to the recycling center for us. Hang on.” Lil pulled her phone from her pocket. “Let me text him to come help.”

Madison straightened, eyebrows raised. “Since when do you have Liam’s number?”

Lil shrugged. “He gave it to me the other night, said to give him a call if we need anything.” There was a hint of a blush on her cheeks, though, and Madison knew Liam’s offer wasn’t just to be neighborly.

A sick feeling coiled in her stomach. She knew Liam had hooked up with Erica—she hadn’t shut up about how great he was in bed—and now he was making a move on Lil? This was going to go so badly for all of them. Before she could say anything to Lil about it, though, Ryder and Liam appeared around the corner of the house.

“At your service.” Liam smiled, then gathered an armful of empty boxes.

“Thanks,” Lil said.

Ryder grabbed the rest of the stack, winked, then carried them to Liam’s truck. Madison watched his retreating form, noticing the way his shoulder and back muscles ripped with the effort and the way his cargo shorts hugged his ass so perfectly. She sighed, and Lil covered a laugh with a cough.

“What?” Madison asked.

“You stare any harder and you’re going to burn holes in his back.”

“Shut up.” Madison laughed and nudged Lil, who shoved her back.

“Have you asked him about Vegas yet?”

Madison’s smile vanished, and she crossed her arms. “No, and I’m not going to. Neither are you.” She leveled a hard stare at her friend.

Lil rolled her eyes. “I really don’t know what the big deal is. You need to get home, and he’s going there. You couldn’t have planned it better if you tried.”

“Drop it, Lil. I mean it.” Madison’s tone was harsher than necessary, but she needed to get her point across. She was not going to spend days on a road trip with the one guy she was going out of her way to avoid. Plus, it wasn’t fair to Ryder to make him think she was interested. Because she wasn’t. “I need to get ready for work.” Without another word, she headed back inside.

Madison changed into a pair of comfortable jeans, a pizzeria T-shirt, and her favorite pair of sneakers. Grabbing her messenger bag, phone, and apron, she let out a heavy sigh and flicked off her bedroom light. She shouldn’t have snapped at Lil like she had. Lil was only trying to help. Madison would apologize before leaving for work.

She’d barely stepped out of her room when Lil barged down the hall. “Madison, before you go—”

Madison held her hand up to silence her friend. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. That wasn’t cool. I know you’re just trying to help, but please. I’m begging you. Drop this thing with Ryder, okay?”

Lil opened her mouth then snapped it shut. She nodded. “Okay.”

“Thank you.” She gave Lil a hug. “Are you going to Waffle Wednesday tonight?”

Lil laughed. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Well, have fun.” Shaking off any lingering disappointment Madison felt about not being able to go, too, she left for work.

****

“I seriously just want to stand on the counter and yell at everyone to leave,” Erica said with a laugh.

They’d been non-stop busy tonight, and they’d finally hit a lull that would hopefully last longer than ten minutes. “Yeah, I’m sure Brenda would love that.”

“I’d love what?” Brenda asked as she came out of the kitchen.

“Our smiling faces.” Erica folded her hands under her chin, smiled sweetly, and batted her eyelashes.

Brenda waved off the silliness and shook her head. “Why don’t you go on and take your break now, Madison?”

She didn’t need to be told twice. She untied her apron and tossed it under the counter. After retrieving her phone from the back, she headed outside for a bit of fresh air and checked her messages. There was a text from Lil. It was a picture of her and Liam with their thumbs up and a heaping platter of waffles in front of them. Madison chuckled. Those waffles did look good. Too bad she was stuck here at work instead of there, with them, eating delicious waffles. She sent a quick reply. yum! wish I had some.

She idly wondered if Ryder had invited someone else since she’d declined his invitation. Part of her hoped not, but maybe if he had, it would be for the best. She sat outside for ten minutes, basking in the cooler evening air before heading back inside to finish her shift.

The rest of the night progressed quickly, and by the time Madison arrived home, she was exhausted. She yawned and headed toward the back of the house.

“How was work?”

“Jesus.” She gasped. “You scared me.”

“Sorry.” Ryder sat on the front porch steps.

“What’re you doing sitting outside at midnight anyway?”

“Waiting for you.”

A thrill shot up her spine, and before she could stop herself, she walked toward him and then sat beside him. He smelled as good as he always did, and she took a moment to savor his unique scent. She probably stunk of fryer grease and pizza sauce.

“Work was busy,” she finally said.

“I have something for you.” He twisted around, then produced a plate stacked with waffles. Hot, buttery waffles slathered in maple syrup. Her stomach grumbled.

“You saved me some waffles?” It was ridiculous how happy that made her.

“Mm-hmm.” He nodded. “Chocolate chip ones. Lil said they’re your favorite.” He held up a fork and grinned.

She set the plate on her lap, then took the fork from him. “Thank you.” She hesitated for a moment. Would it be rude to eat in front of him? She was starving, but she didn’t exactly want to leave him just yet, either.

“Better eat up before they get cold.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Nope.” He twisted around again and then produced a second plate of waffles. “Got my own.”

She laughed and took a large bite. The syrup and chocolate melted in her mouth, and she moaned with delight. The only thing that would make it better would be a tall glass of ice cold milk.

“These are so good. Did you make them?” she asked.

“Brayden did. I have no idea why he’s going into law when he really should be in culinary school.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” She swallowed another bite. “So, why are you going to Vegas anyway?” She adjusted so she could see him better. The porch light didn’t offer much illumination, but facing him, she could actually see his face.

“Just need to get away for a few days.” He shoved the last of his waffles into his mouth, then set the plate behind him.

“You know it takes a few days to get to Vegas, right?”

“I know.” He grinned. “I’m actually meeting my brothers there for fall break.”

“Oh.” She didn’t have a smart comeback for that. “So, you’re leaving for Vegas soon, huh?”

“Yeah, sometime next week, early Thursday morning.”

She tilted her head, confused. “Fall break isn’t until the first weekend in October so…why are you leaving so soon? It only takes four days, tops, to drive to Vegas.” By her rough estimation, that would put him in Vegas almost a full week before fall break.

“I know. I’m going to take my time, do some sightseeing.”

“Oh.” She chewed on her bottom lip, contemplating her options.

Asking to go with Ryder would solve her problem of getting home. It would also stop from disappointing her cousin. And it would save her a crap ton of money. It wouldn’t, however, solve the issue of showing up to the wedding with a fiancé on her arm. Not to mention she’d have to ask for even more time off from work. Brenda had already been so understanding; Madison didn’t want to take advantage of that.

She was going to have to give this a lot more thought. “How many brothers do you have?”

“Two. Tanner and Xander.”

She nodded. “Are impromptu trips to Vegas a normal thing?”

Seriously, what college kid could afford a trip like that? She swirled her fork around in the leftover syrup on her plate. If she was going to ask to go with him, now was the time. Yet, she couldn’t get the words to form.

“No, this is a first. We normally hang out at the coast during school breaks.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “My brother called and begged me to meet him there. My other brother will be there, too.”

That was strange. “So, it’s like a family reunion?”

“Yeah, something like that.” He smirked.

“Why?”

He shrugged. “No idea.”

“So, you don’t know why they want to meet in Vegas, but you’re going anyway?”

He laughed. “Yes. My siblings are…well, they can be impulsive at times.” His sexy, brown eyes sparked with mischief. “What’s with all the questions?”

“Nothing.” Her heart tripped over itself. She set down her plate and wiped her palms on her jeans. “I’m from Vegas.”

He raised a brow. “Really?”

She nodded and licked her lips. “I’m actually planning a trip home. My cousin’s getting married in a couple of weeks.”

“That’s cool. When are you leaving?”

Madison shrugged. “I’ve been looking at flights, but none of them are doable with my work schedule.” Lifting her head, she met his gaze. Her heart was in her throat. Just ask him! “Lil’s been harassing me to ask if I could crash your road trip.” She laughed nervously.

“Absolutely,” he said without hesitation.

Her eyes widened. “What? Seriously? You’d let me go with you?”

“Yeah, why not?” He shrugged.

Madison hesitated, an unpleasant ball of dread uncoiling in her stomach. By the tone of his voice, she knew he thought her decision to go to Vegas with him meant something more than it was. But it wasn’t. And it was wrong to let him think that, especially when she was more determined than ever not to get romantically involved with him.

“I’m leaving at five a.m. Thursday morning. If you want to go, you’re more than welcome to go. No pressure.” He smiled sincerely.

Her shoulders relaxed. “Thanks.”

“So, your cousin’s getting married, huh? Weddings are always fun.”

“Yeah, I don’t know about that,” she said. “I didn’t even know she was dating anyone seriously.”

“Wait.” He shifted so his body was angled toward her. “What?”

Okay, he was kind of adorable when he was confused. Knock it off, Madison. He’s not a damn puppy.

“Heather and I used to be inseparable when we were kids, but then I left for college, and we drifted apart.” Madison shrugged. “I didn’t stay in touch as much as I should have. Life has a way of moving on, y’know?”

“Tell me about it.” A twinge of sadness laced his words. “So, if you’re not that close to her anymore, why are you rushing to get home for her wedding?”

“I agreed to be her maid of honor.”

Ryder whistled. “Damn. Guess you can’t really miss it, can you? Lucky for you, you’ve got a ride lined up.” He playfully nudged her shoulder with his.

“Yeah, if I decide to go. I can still change my mind.”

“And disappoint your cousin?”

“She’s marrying my ex.” Madison rested her elbows on her knees and blew out a breath. She couldn’t believe she was telling him all of this. “And she didn’t even have the guts to tell me. I had to hear it from my stepmother.”

“Ouch.” Ryder gave an exaggerated wince. “I can see why you’re still so undecided about going.”

“Right? I mean, does anything scream loser more than being the maid of honor in your ex’s wedding?”

“It doesn’t scream loser to me,” he said.

She turned to look at him. “It doesn’t?”

“No. If anything, it’s like a big, fat middle finger in his face.” Ryder laughed. “You’ve moved on with your life, and you’re happy, right? If it were me, I’d go there and show him just how great you’re doing without him.”

“You’re just saying that so I’ll agree to spend a week in the car with you.”

“Busted,” he said with absolutely no remorse. “But seriously, Madison, don’t let what your ex thinks have any bearing on what you want to do. If you want to go to Heather’s wedding, then go.”

“And if I don’t?” she whispered, somewhat ashamed.

“Then I guess you’ll have to miss me until I get back from Vegas.”

Madison groaned. “And here I thought we were having a decent conversation, and you had to go and ruin it with your arrogance.”

“Ruin it?” He clutched his chest as if she’d physically hurt him. “Words hurt, you know.”

If she stayed out here with him a moment longer, she was going to do something she shouldn’t. She stood. “I should probably get inside. Thanks for the waffles.”

“Any time.” He winked and stood, bringing his body much too close to hers. “Just so you know, I plan to take my time getting to Vegas. And I’ll be staying in hotels each night, too. You okay with that?”

Fuck. She hadn’t even thought about the costs associated with a road trip—food, lodging, tolls, and she should really offer him some gas money. How was she going to afford all of that for four or five days with only a hundred and fifty dollars in her bank account? Her stomach dropped, and her face heated with embarrassment. She could not tell him she was broke, because she wouldn’t put it past him to offer to pay, and she didn’t want to take his money. Of course, Lil had offered to not cash the check for the apartment…

“Madison?” His tone was firm, yet imploring and soothing all at the same time. “If money’s an issue…”

“It’s not.” She smiled. “I’ll think about it and let you know, okay?”

“Sure.” He gathered the dirty dishes. “Have a good night, Madison.”

“You, too.” She headed around the side of the house to her apartment. There was no way in hell she could survive a road trip with him. But did she really have any other options?