“Oh no. I’m so sorry.” I look down at the drinks emptied all over the floorandhis shoes.
“Never apologize to me, Mads.”
My eyes fly up to a familiar deep rasp. The intensity of Nate’s stare has me stunned until my brain catches up with me.
“What are you doing here?” I snap. “You weren’t invited.”
I wasn’t hallucinating.
I take in his tight dark tee under his tailored blazer and perfectly fitted jeans, and of course, he looks like the tastiest snack I’ve ever seen.
His dumb smirk lifts his lips. “You’re cute when you’re drunk.”
I poke his hard chest, and regret it instantly when the fire under my fingers pulls me in to feel more. “I’m not kidding, Nate. You’re not welcome here. I hate you.”
Nate’s face falls, and if I’m not mistaken, moisture pulls in his eyes. “Please don’t say that, Mads.”
“And don’t call me that. You can call me Maddie Grace or Madeline. Or better yet, don’t use my name at all. You’re not worthy.”
The words fly out before I can stop them, causing me to suck in a breath, shocked at myself with the hurt spewing out of my mouth.
“That’s not happening, my beautiful goddess.” He pauses. “And even if you hate me, I still love you.”
“Don’t.” I shake my head. “Just don’t.”
This can’t happen tonight. I push the now-empty glasses into his hands and bolt.
“What’s wrong?” Camila and Addie ask at the same time when I run over.
“I want to be so mad at you.” I glare at Camila, taking a deep breath, ignoring my overly beating heart. “But I can’t, especially today. So I’m going to ignore the fact that you didn’t tell me your brother was going to bombard me and continue to dance with you until I can’t feel my feet anymore.”
“Clarity” by Zedd starts playing over the speakers, so I close my eyes and begin dancing by myself.
The room starts to spin, a clear sign I need to cut myself off. From here on out, I’ll be ordering water with lime.
“Hey.” Camila grabs my arm to face her. “I didn’t know he would show up. He didn’t fly with us. But…”
“But?” I raise a questioning brow.
She shrugs. “He loves you. Of course, he wanted to watch you graduate.”
“You needed a ticket to graduation.” The second the words are out of my mouth, I know it’s stupid. Nate Davenport gets what he wants, and a ticket wouldn’t stop him. “And he doesn’t love me.”
She rolls her eyes. “Please. He’s obsessed.”
“Who’s obsessed?” Leo dances over with a girl I recognize from last year, one he used to hook up with on the regular.
“Hi Maddie!” She smiles.
I wave and smile back because I can’t remember her name for the life of me, which would have never happened if I were sober.
“Nate. He’s obsessed with Maddie.”
Leo nods enthusiastically. “Totally.”
I turn a menacing glare toward him because he knows everything about Nate. “Why didn’t you tell me he was here?”
“Oh no,” Addie cuts in, her eyes widening.
