<b>Chapter </b>15
Harper
<b><i>77 </i></b>
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Grayson’s eyes were locked on mine and unreadable. There was something about the way he stood with his hands balled into fists at his sides that made my chest tighten. I wondered what he wanted to tell me about Maddox and he already made it seem like once I found out about it, it would put an end to whatever he and I had going on. With that in mind, I braced myself.
In a quiet voice, he said, “Maddox inherited his father’spany right after graduation. He’s currently under a lot of pressure and is leaving town soon so he won’t be back for a long time. If he’s promised you anything that sounds serious, you need to forget about it.”
It took me a few seconds to respond while I stared at him, still processing what he had just told me. Then, smallugh slipped from my lips, almost involuntarily.
“Did I say something funny?” Grasyon furrowed his eyebrows at me, his voice a little sharp.
<b>“</b>Is that what you needed to tell me about Maddox?” <b>I </b>tilted my head. “That he’s busy and leaving town?”
He didn’t answer right away, but exhaled slowly in defeat.
“Judging by the look on your face,” he finally said, his voice softer this time, “you just won’t listen because you don’t want to stay away from him.”
While I could’ve ended it right there, something reckless in me finally wanted to say more.
“Maddox and I are just having a good time.” My tone was t. “That’s all it is.”
I watched him closely, expecting him to feel some relief that I wasn’t falling for Maddox, but what I got instead was silence as he looked at me with an expression that seemed like it had a flicker of pain. I told myself I was just imagining things.
“I should get going now,” he said, looking away with his jaw clenched. “I only got back from my honeymoon and I have so much to do starting tomorrow. I need the rest.”
He didn’t meet my gaze even once <b>as </b>he began to make his way out of the kitchen.
I stood there for a few seconds, shaking my head in disbelief. He had been constantly warning me to stay away from Maddox, so why did he just drop the topic when I told him it meant nothing?
He heard me loud and clear, so if he wasn’t going to ask, I wasn’t going to push for him to say something
about it.
I quietly followed behind him until we were outside.
He quickened his <b>pace </b>as if he wanted to leave as soon as possible, leaving me behind and I wondered if 1 should say something, anything.
He reached the driver’s side and opened the door without looking back. Judging by the continued silence between us, I was certain he would leave just like that. It actually began to bother me.
<b>7:23 </b>Tue<b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>16 </b>
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<i>77 </i>
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Then, he turned back around to face me and approached with an intense gaze that caught me off guard. It left me frozen in ce, my anticipation of the unknown quickly building up. He pulled me in for a gentle hug and I felt stupid for thinking he was going to kiss me. Why would he?
That moment still made my heart flutter. It felt like I belonged in his arms and his breath against my hair only made me feel warmer than I already did in his embrace. That was how easy it was for him to make me feel a rush. He didn’t have to do much.
While I wanted to hug him back so I could also hold him like he belonged to me, I knew I would only hurt the moment he would let go and return to his wife.
“Goodnight, Harp.”
I was still stuck on the vibrations of his voice when he suddenly dropped his hands and took a few steps back, returning to his car without waiting for my response.
I was glued to the same spot until his car turned at the corner, wrapping my arms around myself like I didn’t want to forget thest few seconds with him. My heart still hadn’t learned its lesson.
My heart still pounded hard, but it wasn’t the same wild rhythm Maddox made me feel. With him, it was losing control in the heat of the moment. Once again, he made me forget the past and the present right against the wall, on that couch and in that shower, but all it took was Grayson to show up and I was reminded that <i>a </i>few hours of intense pleasure still weren’t enough to get rid of all the feelings I had bottled up over the years and was still bottling up.
When I got back inside and finally finished with theundry, my phone buzzed with a message notification. The sender was Maddox and when I opened it, my jaw dropped.
“I just got home and not to rm the situation or anything, but there’s a slight difort in my cock and it’s definitely because of you. I’m just not sure if it’s your mouth or that part of you that I love the most.”
I burst intoughter and felt a slight difort in my throat. I thought it was because I hadughed too hard, so I carried on like it was nothing.
After reading his message over and over again while shaking my head with a smile, I replied with a hrious apology.
I pressed the send button as I walked into my bedroom but before I could even get on the bed, my phone buzzed again.
It turned out that he was just messing with me.
His unfiltered yfulness kept a smile on my face as we continued to chat and I needed that. It was also the reason I went to sleep that night without focusing too much on what I couldn’t have.
I was usually filled with energy in the morning while on my exercise routine, but that day was different. Not only was I still a little sore from the hot sex I had with Maddox, but something just didn’t feel right in my body. I still had that feeling of difort in my throat. It was there throughout the night.
I took it easy on myself during my morning jog, running past a few familiar faces that were now my
neighbours<b>. </b>
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I was usually faster but couldn’t do much. I even had to cut down the time in half and began to make my way
back home.
Just <b>as </b>I turned at the corner, I felt someone’s presence beside me.
“Beautiful morning, huh?” He smiled, a little out of breath.
I nced at him and recognized him right away. “Yes, it is. Hey, I know you.”
“That’s a relief.” He grinned. “I was wondering if you would remember me, considering how your boyfriend dragged you out of the barst time.”
I scoffed, stopping in my tracks to catch my breath. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
He followed suit and stopped right beside me. “That’s hard to believe. I’ve never seen Maddox like that.”
My eyes narrowed. “You know him?”
“He doesn’t personally know me, but he broke my cousin’s heart some months ago. Who doesn’t know Maddox Aldridge?”
“Right.” I nodded in agreement. “I’m just surprised you were able to recognize me when my face looked like <i>a </i>messst time.”
“The hair kinda gave me a hint and I took my chances anyway. I’m Dean.”
“I’m Harper. Do you live around here?”
“I do now. I only moved to this neighborhood yesterday. I guess we’ll be seeing each other more often.”
Just as I was about to respond, my phone began to ring and I looked down, Maddox’s name on the caller ID. It was a video chat.
“I better run now, literally,” Dean chuckled. “I’ll definitely see you around.”
He quickened his pace, widening the distance between us.
After holding up the phone and swiping up to answer, Maddox appeared on the screen. He was shirtless, hair clinging to his sweaty forehead and that white towel around his neck only drawing my attention down to his bare chest.
He was so out of breath that when the sound of it came through the speaker, it only reminded me of what that sounded likest night, when he was thrusting into me with his lips right against my ear.
“You look like you just ran a marathon,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Ten miles.” He grinned, then drank from his water bottle. “And you?”
“I couldn’t do much. My body isn’t up for it today.”
<b>7:23 </b><b>Tue</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b>16
“I’m not surprised.” He smirked.
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His tone was <b>so </b>suggestive that I rolled my eyes. “It’s not just that. There’s also a difort in my throat.”
He smirked. “Hmm, in your throat?”
“Yup.”
“Maybe it’s because I hit the back of your throat with my c-<b>” </b>
“Stop.” I chuckled. “It kinda feels like a sore throat. I’ll take care of it.”
“I might check on youter on my way back. That’s if I feel like it,” he said with a hint of arrogance.
“On your way back from where?”
“I’m going to my dad’s estateter this afternoon.” He huffed.
My eyes narrowed. “Why do you sound like you don’t want to go?”
“He insisted that I needed to be there so we could talk. Margot mainly nned for this because Tiffany and Grayson are back from their honeymoon.”
My heart sank. “I see.”
He was in the middle of telling me about how long he was going to be there when Tim interrupted him for something that urgently needed his attention.
His gaze lingered on the screen for a few seconds before he finally said, “I’ll call youter.”
When the call ended, I made it back home, immediately stepping into the shower to freshen up. I closed my eyes, the water cascading down my body to make me feel refreshed.
I then opened my eyes, picturing Maddox right in front of me the same way he came in with nothing on.
I had even thought about him when I nced at my living room couch and a certain part of the wall. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like he had fucked me everywhere, except in the kitchen.
That only filled my mind with dirty thoughts even as I sat down with myptop so I could work.
I was a few hours in when I decided to take a break, an iing call from Zoey shing on my screen as l came to the kitchen for something to eat.
“You know, it’s funny how the universe works. I was just about to call you and E. Looks like you beat me to it!” I said with so much enthusiasm.
“Wait, why do you sound so excited when things are so messy right now?” Her tone was serious.
“What do you mean?” My eyes narrowed.
She sighed. “I guess you don’t know.”
7:24 Tue, Sep 16
“What happened?” She began to worry me.
“It’s Tiffany.”