Her Elusive Price (Book 2)

Maddox The band was enjoying the downtime after a successful album release and a bunch of in and out-of-country tours. It's Sky's wedding night and they have rented out the bistro of our friend Roman as this is where the newlyweds decided at almost the last minute to hold their reception. Only close friends and family were invited and I gotta hand it to these two for wanting simple things over extravagance which makes them all the more awesome if you ask me. They're both stinking rich but they're not about the fancy A-lister s**t people go insane about. I mean who the hell serves pizza, burgers, fries, banana splits, and lots of beer on their wedding day? That's right, only these two. Simplicity with a pack of punch and lots of personality was always their thing, so it didn't surprise anyone how the wedding turned out. Everything was absolutely intimate from start to finish that it felt so real yet unbelievable. The only downside of it all is there were not a lot of bridesmaids or a certain maid of honor to flirt with. It's either they're taken or I've already had an unpleasant history with. I may be a man w***e, but I don't meddle with people who are already involved. But that's alright, this day isn't about me anyway and it's not like I'm that desperate for a lay. It's my best friend's wedding, and that I understand clearly. I just think it could've been better for a bachelor like me, you know? James, who seems to be becoming hotter while pregnant, kept tearing up that Sky had to keep wiping her tears away in the most adorable and sweetest gesture there is. It was so sweet that it made me want to throw up a couple of times. Why? Think about this for two seconds, how many PDAs can a guy take in one day really? No offense, I'm very happy for them, but the sappy romance just isn't my thing. It never was and it probably won't be. I'm more of the bed-hopping kind of guy. I don't do the boyfriend-girlfriend thing. Why complicate things? Apparently, Sky seems to like the hearts and flowers kind of thing, so to each his own. Anyway, overall this is a pretty banging night. Here we are having a great time jamming, entertaining, and being our goofy selves without being judged by the outside world. So, everything's golden. We took turns with our speech and the hilariousness of it all made everyone's night. Jaxon started his with a hallmark-like quote which didn't make sense for a wedding speech no matter how sweet it sounded and it went crazy as f**k from there. He even went on about how each of us was attracted to James, which I'm not denying, but damn I bet big G would've kicked his dumb ass out if he wasn't such a funny guy. He teased Sky about being a p***y since day one, and everyone kept laughing like they're watching a stand-up comedian on stage. He stole the show for about 15 minutes there, but it was all good. Jaxon is Jaxon, the funniest motherfucker there is. Maverick kept his speech simple, but so sincere. The guy can't go wrong when it comes to timing and heartfelt words. He's sweet and caring by nature. Also, among the four of us, he's the mellow and stable one. He's just super clueless about how to deal with women who throw themselves at him sometimes. It's entertaining to watch him try though. He's not a virgin though, he just prefers to sleep around less unlike Jaxon and me. As for my speech, it was more like starting from how I met Sky and how we grew up together. Then I moved on to James who probably was the only girl I treated as one of us. It was a pretty standard speech, but it came from the heart. I'm not exactly good with words. I usually s**t things up when I need to say something serious which is the reason why Sky's the writer of the group. I'm more of an action kind of guy, so I did the best thing I could come up with to show my love for the newlyweds. I ended mine with a song called Forever by Kiss which had everyone singing with me until the end and let me tell you, it was epic! The party went on merrily and when it was time to leave, I decided to hang for a bit at the back alley with Cody, my personal bodyguard for a smoke before heading home. I leaned my back on the wall next to the bistro's back door and lit my cigarette. As I puffed the smoke out two people, a man and a woman caught my attention a few feet down the alley and it looks to me like they were having a not-so-pleasant conversation. I straightened myself up and turned towards them. "What's up boss?" Cody asked and I lifted a finger to my lips. He stood beside me to check what I was staring at, wanting to make sure that there were no threats looming around. "Looks to me like a lover's quarrel," he said in a hushed tone and I slowly made my way closer to them. I normally mind my own business, but for some reason, I was intrigued. For starters, the woman looks like she works for Roman. She's wearing a black collared shirt and black jeans. Her blond hair was tied in a neat bun and also she's just loaded trash bags in the dumpster. The guy though was probably an outsider since he's wearing regular clothes. "For the last time Damon, I'm not gonna go out with you," the woman exclaimed clearly irritated. "Oh, stop playing hard to get will yah," the man slurred clearly a bit intoxicated. The woman tried to walk past him but didn't make it that far since the guy grabbed her elbow and yanked her towards him a bit too roughly. "Let me go!" She demanded, but it only made him pull her closer to him more. She tried pushing him away exclaiming all sorts of profanity, but it was all futile. What a d**k! I don't know what came over me but I was suddenly dragging my ass down to where they are with Cody following close behind sporting a confused look on his face. "Yo! Ready to go?" I shouted which had them both turning my way. I shot the guy a cold look before turning my attention to... Huh, I can see why he's forcing himself on this one. I gave her a megawatt smile before repeating my question. She blinked ever so slowly with her mouth wide open. "Who the hell are you man?" The guy asked looking back and forth between me and Cody. I looked at him with disdain and took a hold of the woman's wrist gently pulling her next to me. "Me? I'm no one. Just waiting for my friend-" I quickly scanned her chest hoping to find a name tag which thankfully she's wearing "Sydney here." His eyes grew wider as soon as he was able to get a good look at me. "You're... Oh, man! You're Maddox Price aren't you?" Oh, hey look at that, amidst all that slurring and foggy look, he was still able to recognize me. Now that's talent! I didn't bother confirming who I am, but instead, I gave Cody a nod and he immediately stood right in front of the guy to block him from advancing any further because he looked like he was about to come in for a hug. I honestly thought he was going to put up a fight, but he scurried away when Cody slightly shifted as if he was about to pull a gun out which was non-existent. "Well, that was interesting," I said stifling a yawn. "You alright?" I asked and she rapidly blinked. "I uh, yeah. Thank you," she replied unsteadily. "No problem." I stared at her while she slightly hopped from one foot to another. I don't exactly know what she's thinking about, but I'm sure she's feeling uncomfortable right now. "Aren't you going to go back in?" I asked pointing in the direction of the bistro's back door. "Umm no, I'm done for the day," she shyly answered clutching the strap of her bag tighter which I hadn't noticed. "Cool, need a ride?"