Page 63 of Breakaway Hearts

She sighs, like she’s trying to decide if she should trust me with the truth. “He was going to keep saying no so he could keep me company, since this is the last place I want to be.” She gives me a bratty smile. “But he deserves to be celebrated, so I’m sucking it up.”

“How can I make this less horrible for you?”

“Send everyone home.”

“So it’s just the two of us?”

I must look overly eager, and incredulous, but she shakes her head.

“Including me.”

I sigh, then clear my throat. “Listen up everyone,” I start.

“No, don’t!”

Madison pulls on my arm to stop me.

“Carry on,” I tell the few people who listened.

“You’re an asshole,” Madison tells me.

“I’d do it in a heartbeat,” I promise her. My teammates might hate me after, tease me mercilessly for it, but I would have followed through if she hadn’t stopped me.

I see her nodding to Jason with a smile, a clear signal of ‘I’m okay’ before he goes back to talking to one of Tab’s sorority friends, flirting her socks off.

It shouldn’t, but it makes me really fucking happy that Madison isn’t pleading for him to rescue her.

I sing along under my breath when Donovan puts a Willow Hayes song on, then turn to see Madison looking like she’s about to bust a rib from trying not to laugh, so I go all out until she’s shaking her head and pretending not to know me, but she’s smiling. And I don’t think it’s conscious, but I make it my mission to make her laugh, even though I’ve never been the funny one.

I make up fake conversations for the people around us, something my dad used to entertain us with. At first, Madison looks at me like I’m insane, then bursts out laughing when I add silly voices. Before long, she’s improv-ing with me, usually the man’s lines, which I think is because she laughs every time I do my best Mrs. Doubtfire impersonation for the women, who realistically sound nothing like an older British nanny.

I’m not entirely sure if the music is getting louder, or if we’re talking lower, but Madison keeps moving closer to hear me better. We’re not even looking at anyone else anymore, just having a conversation in silly voices which is entirely fake, about absolutely nothing, but somehow feels incredibly meaningful. Especially when Madison looks up at me like she wants me to kiss her.

“I love this song,” she says with a sigh I don’t think she’s conscious of when Vanilla Moon comes on.

“Would you like to dance?”

It’s slow, which means I would get her close, and the way she’s biting her bottom lip and considering my offer makes me think more than a dance is on the table.

“I’m sorry that took so long.”

I could kill Hargraves.

Madison nearly jumps three feet away to distance herself from me, like her roommate didn’t already see us when he was walking over.

Jason looks between us, scrunching his eyebrows like he in no way thought I could win her over this much. “I’m ready to head out when you are, but I’m also good if you wanted to stay…” he lets it hang.

“Nope, I’m good to go,” Madison says quickly, then turns to me. “Thank you for having us tonight. It wasn’t as terrible as I was expecting.”

My smile is instantaneous. “I’ll take that as⁠—”

“Don’t let it get to your head,” she warns.

“Already has, Mads.”

She shakes her head at me as she follows Jason out.

“She turn you down again?” Mike asks, like he feels sorry for me rather than teasing, which is so much worse.