My body stiffens at his touch. “Yeah. I’m glad I decided to come,” I say, forcing a smile. “Being able to see Adriana again was a great experience.”
“You look so beautiful tonight,” he says, snaking his hands through my hair.
Then, without warning, he crushes his lips to mine.
I’m shocked at first as his lips move against mine in a sloppy kiss. It takes a second to wake the hell up—but when I do, I kiss him back, hoping it extinguishes whatever I’m feeling for Maddox.
Everything I feel for him is so damn confusing. I don’t want to trust him again after what he did, but I can’t deny that he’s become a safe space for me, just like he used to be.
And unfortunately for me, kissing Lucas isn’t changing my feelings for him in the slightest. It doesn’t help that when Lucas’s lips first met mine, I didn’t feel a single thing. Not a spark, or even a twinge of anything remotely romantic.
I felt more when Maddox was just standing in front of me. I can still feel his touch lingering on my skin, burning into the depths of my soul.
Lucas finally pulls away, a dazed grin on his face. “I’ve waited eight long years to do that. I’ve had a crush on you ever since I laid eyes on you in our ninth-grade history class.”
Not knowing how to respond, I smile back at him.
And that’s when I realize that kissing Lucas only makes me more confused about my feelings for Maddox.
The trees outside sway violently in the wind as the sound of thunder rumbles through the lobby. Driving to work today was terrifying. The rain was pouring down so heavily that I could barely see the road.
I’m extremely late, but I’m grateful that I made it in one piece.
The doors to the elevator are about to close so I race toward it, spottingMaddox inside.
“Hold the elevator!” I call out. He presses a button and the doors open again.
“Thank you.” I smile at him, expecting him to return it or make some kind of flirty remark. Instead, he doesn’t acknowledge my presence, and his eyes remain glued to his phone.
“Man, this weather is insane. It felt like I was driving through a hurricane,” I say, attempting to start a conversation, but he continues scrolling through his phone.
Ever since we came back into each other’s lives, we’ve been at each other’s throats. Last weekend was one of the few times we'd had a normal conversation without getting into a heated argument.
We shared a moment on the rooftop at Chandler’s party. We nearly kissed, and I can’t for the life of me figure out what could have happened between then and now to explain his change in behavior.
In all the years I’ve known Maddox, he’s never been one to remain silent. He’s always been vocal and has never had trouble expressing himself. Something has to be seriously bothering him to act this way.
“Okay, what’s wrong—” The elevator jerks, causing me to fall forward. “Shit!” I gasp, grabbing on to Maddox to steady myself.
It comes to a complete stop, and everything goes dark.
Using the flashlight on my phone, I shine it on the panel and press the emergency call button, but the only sound coming from the other end of the line is static.
Fucking great. I nearly died on the way to work today, and now I’ll be stuck here for Lord knows how long. What a fantastic way to start my week.
Not wanting to be in complete darkness, I pull my water bottle out of my bag and place it on top of my phone to create a makeshift lantern. “We might as well pass some time, since I don’t know when someone will come by to get us out. How’severything going with the collab?” I try again, hoping to get a response out of him this time.
He continues wearing a blank expression and starts watching videos on his phone.
“Are you seriously ignoring me?” I groan. “Weren’t you the one who said we should be cordial?”
He rolls his eyes. “Good morning, Annalise. There. Are you satisfied now?”
“Why are you being such a freaking jerk?”
He straightens to his full height, brows furrowing with sharp irritation. “Oh, so it’s okay for you to ignore me, but when I do it, I’m the bad guy?”
Dragging both hands down my face, I release a groan. My back thuds against the cold metal wall as I glare at him. “Ugh! I can’t believe out of all people, I have to be stuck in an elevator with you!”
