Chapter Twenty - Braden

 

There are too many levels in this game, and I'm not ready for the one it's climbing to. That level has a big fat fuckin' neon sign declaring the game over, and reality starting. Reality, with Maddie?

Reality, with anyone?

When I was six, I assumed I'd grow up and marry Meggy, like all little kids do. You marry your favorite person, and at six that's your best friend, right? Yeah. What a laugh.

Now, Meggy is my little sister. She's the one person I'd go to hell for. I'd take a bullet for her, I'd kill for her, and I will protect her until she doesn't need it anymore – and I'll probably do it even then.

Saturday marks two weeks since this game started, and with every day that passes I get to know Maddie a little more. She's guarded. There are a lot of secrets behind those pretty green eyes, despite how revealing they are for her emotions. I want to know what those secrets are, because despite it all, I'm starting to fucking care about her.

I'm starting to care about the sadness that appears and the wall she puts up whenever her brother is mentioned. Ever since we spoke about him two days ago, she's been more and more fidgety. She keeps checking her phone, the clock, her phone, the clock. It's a repeated cycle that is driving me fucking insane because I have no idea what's going on.

“Update?” Ryan sticks his head in my door.

“Getting there.” I don't look up from the TV where I'm playing – but not focusing on – the Xbox.

“How close is getting there? Two weeks left.”

“Just over.”

“What?”

“Just over two weeks.” I take off a zombie's head. “Don't sweat it, man. I'm fine.”

“I could tell that from the show you two put on in the park.”

“Fuck off,” I reply, a protective streak suddenly sparking in my body. “It's gotta be done, you know that.”

“Alright. Whatever, Braden.”

My door clicks shut, and I shake my head. Megan's words come back to me. Decide if Maddie is something with a pulse or something more than that.

I shoot several zombies in a row. Eh. What the fuck does she know anyway?

I die. I drop the controller on the floor and huff, lying back on my bed. Stupid game. Stupid challenge.

I hear a light knock at my door. “Come in.” I raise my head from the pillow, and Maddie pushes the door open, her arms full of books. I jump up and take them from her, letting her shut the door.

“Afternoon.” She smiles and takes her books back.

“Good afternoon, Angel.” I smile back at her, bending for a quick kiss. “I didn't realize you were bringing the library with you. If I knew, I would have met you there instead.”

“Oh, ha ha ha. Funny.” She drops the books on my desk. “I still have to do that English paper.”

“Which one?”

“On the themes of love in Much Ado.”

“You haven't done it yet?” I raise an amused eyebrow.

“No.” She shakes her head. “I've been somewhat distracted lately. You would know all about that, Braden.”

I grin and walk to her, wrapping my arms around her waist from behind. I push my face into her hair, still grinning. “My fault?”

“I'd say it's a high possibility,” she murmurs in response. “So now I have to write it.”

“Really?” I move my hand across her stomach, her hip, and leave it to rest at the top of her thigh. “You're here, in my room, and you want to do schoolwork?”

“Braden!” She slaps my hand. “Yes. It is possible, you know, to be in a room with a girl and not have sex with them.”

“But it's not possible with you.” I breathe into her ear and brush my lips along her lobe, placing soft kisses down her neck. She shivers.

“Braden,” she warns.

“Fine.” I sigh. “I'll just sit here and watch you, then.”

“Are you actually going to do that?” She spins in my arms and looks up at me.

I drop my head and capture her lips, cupping her ass and holding her to me. I suck on her bottom lip, putting my hand in her hair. She grips my waist, and I dip her back slightly, deepening the kiss. Her hands slide to my back, her fingers spreading.

My dick hardens, and I walk backwards, pulling her towards my bed. She falls back without any resistance. One of her hands finds the hem of my shirt and slips under it, her palm hot against my bare skin. The urge to rip her clothes off is too much, way too much.

I pull my lips from her mouth and ghost them along her jaw, stroking her thigh at the same time. She tilts her head back, and I kiss down her neck, my tongue flicking out at the tender spot where her neck meets her shoulder. She moans, and I carry on exploring the top of her body with my mouth, kissing along the tops of her boobs.

My tongue traces inside the cup of her bra, her skin hot and soft.

“Braden,” she whispers in a breathless voice.

“Maddie,” I mumble against her skin, my breathing hard. Her chest is rising and falling in a steady rhythm, her heart pounding.

I slide my hand inside her skirt, my fingers slipping to find her underwear. She wears a thong. Fuck.

Her breath hitches and with my thumb gliding across the smooth material of her underwear, I pull my lips from her skin and meet her eyes.

“Angel?” I say softly.

Her eyes are full of heat, and she grips my hair tighter, moving her hips into me. Her movements answer my question, and I drop my mouth to her jaw, pressing little kisses to her.

I move my hand under the fabric and my finger slips inside her, gliding through the wetness easily. Her muscles tighten at the invasion, and her fingers dig into my back. My thumb creeps up, finding her clit, and I rub it in slow, gentle circles. Another finger inside her and her hips buck.

She moans again and I cover her mouth with mine, swallowing it. Her tongue runs along my top lip and I follow it with mine. I sweep the inside of her mouth, stroking her tongue in a similar way to how my fingers are stroking her below.

Her breath catches. Her muscles tighten.

I rub harder, move faster, kiss deeper. She cries out my name before she relaxes, her muscles limp and her breathing fast. I end the kiss and remove my hand, pulling away with regret.

Her eyes open slowly, the sparkle in them a contrast to the flushed red hue of her cheeks. Her hair is fanned out across my white sheets, her lips slightly parted.

And she looks fucking beautiful.

“What.... Was that?” she breathes out.

“That, Angel, was an orgasm,” I reply, grinning at her.

“I know that.” If she could, she'd slap me now. “But where did it come from?”

“Can I tell you a secret?” I run my nose along her cheek, and she nods. “I've wanted to do that since I saw you.”

Another truth.

She laughs silently and turns her face, kissing me softly. “Oh. Are you happy now?”

“Very,” I murmur against her lips. “Are you?”

“Mm,” she murmurs back. “I think so.”

“Good.” I kiss her once more and brush some hair from her forehead. “Now you can do your English work.”

She laughs – out loud this time – and smiles. “Give me a minute.”

Maddie closes her eyes, and I roll to the side of her, pulling her body into me while she recovers from her orgasm.

I know three more things.

Maddie Stevens is fucking beautiful after an orgasm.

I know I'd like to put that look on her face many, many more times.

And last, her apple-smelling hair drives me fucking insane.

For real.