Chapter 8

Maddox “Please just put me down…” Michelle begs. I’m still carrying her like a hunting trophy. She is seriously lightweight and needs to eat something. But the fact that I can handle her so easily kinda turns me on.

What is wrong with my head?

Michelle keeps squirming. “This is embarrassing! Please put me down! Maddox…”

Embarrassing? Pfft! I don’t give a fuck. I’ve glared at every fool who has stared at us, and not a single one has kept looking This is fine.

“We are almost by your apartment.”

“Maddox… P-please… Blood is rushing to my head…”

A sigh escapes me. I don’t do friends or girlfriends. Relationships aren’t for me, yet I relent when the little thing begs me to put her down again. She is like a tiny little rabbit. Defenseless, and it does weird things to my brain. It shouldn’t be legal for a girl of this stature to walk out alone…

“Maddox…”

“Fine,” I grumble.

I grab Michelle and put her down next to me. The fabric of her jacket slides up her flat stomach, and I blink at her breasts. If you could even call them that…

Those tiny little things in her bras are smaller than my pecs.

Wait, why am I even looking at her?

“Here,” I help pull down her jacket and grunt at her. “You’re giving the entire street a free show right now…”

Her cheeks turn even redder than a moment before. “Oh…”

I crouch to smooth down her jacket to ensure her belly button isn’t showing and pull at the fabric.

Michelle freezes to stare down at me. I know that look on her face. She is unsure why I’m nice to her;

hell, even I’m unsure why I’m not acting like my usual asshole self.

It confuses the hell out of me.

I meet her eyes. Michelle is blushing, cheeks all pink, and with her electric brown hair flying around her head, she is… Adorable.

“Thank you.” Michelle beams up at me. “You’re welcome,” I stand up. “Now, shall we continue? Your apartment isn’t far from here, right?”

“I’m still mad at you.”

I roll my eyes and sigh. “Of course you are. You’re a woman-it’s installed into your DNA to be mad for no goddamn reason.” “Wow, you’re really disrespectful!” I sneer. Michelle is right about me being an asshole. Not that I see a reason to change myself. I’ve always been like this, and I would have to be a whipped fool to change myself for another person. I’m getting by just fine being like this… Yet, I don’t feel entirely good about myself. Guilt is gnawing at me, so I glance at Michelle and decide to… Open up a bit.

“You’re not the only one with troublesome parents. Mine wants me to get married and take over the family company.”

Michelle walks by my side, glaring up at me. “Is this your excuse for being angry and disrespectful all the time? That you have parents that want you to be married and successful?”

“They are ignoring what I want!” I correct her and narrow my eyes. It makes me bitter thinking about my family. “I wish to be taken into the NFL. Football is my life. But my parents are convinced it’s a phase and that I will stop loving the sport.”

Michelle’s fierce expression turns sympathetic. “That is actually terrible. Parents are supposed to support their children.”

“Right?” I laugh bitterly. “I’ve learned the hard way that people fucking suck. Even those close to you will let you down. Football is the only thing I can count on to be there for me. It’s my life. The thing which makes me happy, yet my parents are still trying to make me marry this woman they have found.

A total stranger.”

Michelle is blinking up at me. “An a-arranged marriage? Wow, I-I didn’t think you were serious about that…”

I plance down at her while we walk. “You didn’t?”

“No, I thought that thing only happened in the movies…”

“Nah, it’s secretly common amongst the elite and rich people, and my parents are wealthy assholes.

They want to ensure a woman doesn’t simply marry me for the money, so they have found another wealthy person to be my wife”

“I see.”

Silence “And I take it you don’t want to marry her?”

“Nope,” I laugh. “I’m not stupid enough to believe in true love and all of that shit. I don’t need a woman, a partner, or even friends. I’m a lone wolf, but I want my parents to stay off my back.

I stop in my tracks and peer down at Michelle. Poking her nose with my finger and my tired eyes finding hers “That’s where you come in. You’re my fake girlfriend now, and I expect you to show up at my games.”

Michelle pouts. “Then I expect you buy me lunch tomorrow.”

“Okay.” “The luxurious choice, and with a coca-cola.” “Done… Anything else?” She taps her chin. Dork “Not that I can think of…” “Great,” I fish up a piece of paper from my pocket and grab her tiny hand to fold it under her fingers. “This is my schedule. My parents sometimes show up to practice and shit, so be there.

She stares at me. “Your parents?”

“Uh, yes?” I arch an eyebrow, close to raising my voice. Michelle needs to have her ears checked since she repeats everything I say. “That’s what I just said.”

“W-what am I supposed to say to them?”

“How about hello?” I shake my head. This woman is unbelievable sometimes…

“Just that?”

“And that you love me and shit-how am I supposed to know? Tell them I’m funny and nice and that we do pottery together; whatever makes girls love their boyfriends.”

Michelle’s lips twitch, and then she bursts out laughing in the middle of the goddamn street. What is happening? What is so goddamn funny? Why is she wiping tears from her eyes?!

I don’t understand!

“What is so funny?” I demand.

“I-I don’t think your parents would… Believe me, if I said you voluntarily went to sculpt pottery with me.

And no offense, but you’re not funny, at least not by choice!”

“What about kind?” I ask.

Michelle cracks up again, and I stare down at her. Is she making fun of me again?! “Whatever,” I grunt, nodding up at her apartment. “You live right there and can walk the rest of the way. We are cool, right?”

She dries a tear from her eye with her sleeve. “Yeah, you’re still an asshole, but… We are cool for now, Maddox.”

The way she smiles at me gives me flutters.

It makes little sense to me.

Michelle is puny, defenseless, and possibly the unsexiest girl on the entire planet. Yet here I am, blushing in the dark. All because she is smiling at me with her pearly set of teeth.

“Cool,” I crack my shoulders. “See you tomorrow then.”

“T-tomorrow?”

I turn around, glaring at her with irritation blowing up my chest. She is blinking at me, all confused “Yes, tomorrow.”

“What is happening tomorrow?”

Seriously?!

“THERE IS A GODDAMN GAME TOMORROW. CHECK THE SCHEDULE, WILL YOU?!”

Michelle winces, but instead of fighting me, she laughs. “Okay, okay! Take it easy! I will be there!”

My nostrils flare. “You better.”

I turn around again, hands down in my pockets. It’s a fucking long way back to my car…

“Good night, Maddox!” I will be damned, but my lips curl; I’m so grateful Michelle can’t see me right now. I must look like a pussy smiling like this. “Good night, Michelle.”