Her Elusive Price (Book 2)

Eight

Maddox

“Where are we?” Sydney asked as she looked through every window the car has as I pulled up my driveway. “My house.” Her jaw dropped instantly. “What?” I questioned because I’m not sure if she’s horrified with the idea that I took her home with me or if she just wasn’t expecting me to bring her home with me. What was I supposed to do? Bring her somewhere public while she’s soaking wet from head to toe? She didn’t want to go home, so bringing her here seemed like a good idea so that she doesn’t catch a cold or die from hypothermia.

She kept twisting the hem of her shirt around her fingers which is a definite sign that she’s very uncomfortable. “Look, relax. You’re safe here. No one’s gonna hurt you or anything. You just need to dry yourself off and when that’s done, if you still feel like you don’t want to be here then let’s talk somewhere else, Got it?” She nodded slightly biting the tip of her lower lip which made my eyes land on them in an instant and they stayed there for about three minutes. Okay, f**k. That was creepy even for me. Gathering my equilibrium, I stepped out of the car and surprised even myself when I walked to the other side to help her out. I don't know. maybe I just feel sorry for her sudden emotional outburst that it’s making me act like a solid gentleman when in reality, I’m anything but chivalrous. Maverick and Sky, yes. Jaxon, kinda. Me? not really.

“Come on in and feel at home. The dryer’s through the door there behind the kitchen. I’ll go grab some clothes for you to wear right now. Unless you want to take a hot shower upstairs,” I told her as I ushered her in. She blinked a couple of times as she looked around the house from where we are standing and I couldn’t help but smile at her reaction. Honestly, my place is rather modest. It is a simple modern cabin-like house with huge windows surrounding the ground and upper floor. There are three bedrooms, three and a half toilet and bath, a living room, a TV room, a kitchen, and a dining area. What’s not modest though, is the size of the land and backyard pool which is mostly used by my nieces and nephews when they visit. Basically, I splurge on vintage cars instead of houses or any other things for that matter. Hence, the massive lot to house a huge garage.

“You have a lovely home,” Sydney said as she walked further inside the house. “Thanks,” I replied, as I steer her gently towards the stairs to the second floor with my hands clasped on her shoulders and once we were at the landing, I led her into my room and through the walk-in closet so she could choose what to wear. In the end, she chose a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants. “So, the bathroom is that way,” I pointed. “Sorry, I don’t have any other bottles of body wash and shampoo that are less masculine in scent but feel free to use them. I’ll head downstairs to the kitchen to hunt for food cause I’m starving. I’m pretty sure you are too based on the aggressively loud sounds your stomach is making.” Her head quickly whipped to look at me and I couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction. “I’m kidding!” She smiled at me showing her straight pearly teeth. “I’m pretty sure the growling came from you,” she teased back and I just shook my head at her while smiling.

“Come find me when you’re done,” I replied before starting to walk out with my hands inside my pockets. "Hey, Maddox?" I turned to face her once more. "I wasn't thinking that I'm not safe here earlier. I was just feeling embarrassed that I'm invading your privacy and that I'm relying too much on you today," she explained looking so unsure of herself. "You shouldn't feel that way. It's fine. Trust me." I smiled turning towards the door and I vaguely heard her say thank you.

“Hope an end-of-the-week deli sandwich is okay.” I pushed the plate towards her as she perched herself up the barstool on the other side of the counter, looking fresh and smelling like me, and s**t it actually feels kinda nice. “This is more than okay, thank you so much,” she smiled, rubbing her hands together as if she was about to eat the most delicious food in the world and it was f*****g adorable. Leaning back on the kitchen island behind me, I took a bite from mine and chewed slowly as I watch her take the massive sandwich in both her hands. I don’t exactly know what I was waiting to happen, but I watched her like a hawk. When she took her first bite she groaned in loud satisfaction that had me stopping mid-chew. She had her eyes closed, swaying slightly from side to side while she chowed down giving me more time to assess her closely. God, she’s really gorgeous even without make-up on. “Good?” I asked swallowing hard because watching her eat and make those noises is making me feel all sorts of foreign things. “Uh-huh...” she mumbled happily as she licked her index finger and thumb.

I don’t know what came over me but the next thing I knew was I reaching out to her, swiping the line dressing on the side of her lip with my thumb before licking the said thumb. She didn't exactly flinch, but her widening eyes are a dead giveaway that the gesture surprised the hell out of her. Heck, it surprised the hell out of me too. Okay... that was awkward as f**k and now I have to do something to defuse the tension and the embarrassment that is growing thick by the second. Think Maddox... Think! I turned to place my plate on the island before heading to the fridge to hunt for something to drink. "Orange juice?" I asked lacing my voice with as much calmness as I can. "Yes, please," She croaked as she swallowed.

I led her inside the living room afterward so we can start discussing the music video, but before I could say anything, my phone rang with an incoming call from Colin.

Me: Hey, Colin. What's going on?

Colin: You busy?

Me: Nope, just hanging out at home.

Colin: Home? You sick or something?

Me: No, I'm perfectly fine. Is it that weird that I'm home right now?

Colin: Uh... Yeah. You hang out at home only when you're sick or if you have a massive hangover with the exception of your family visiting for a cook-out. Anyway, there's been a change with the concept of the music video.

Me: Oh? Change how?

Colin: To cut the story short, we only need one actress or model and you're the only one who's going to be doing the heavy acting. Fun right? So, if your friend who Maverick mentioned can do it, that'll be great. So, please talk to her as soon as possible so we can meet and get this rolling. Alright?

Me: Uh... Heavy acting?

Colin: Oh, you know... The usual. Making out, crying, laughing, singing, and everything in between.

Me: What are the other guys doing?

Colin: Oh, you know... The usual, Pretend to play with their instruments while you do the heavy acting.

Me: Huh...

Colin: Should be great. So, when can you talk to your friend about this?

Me: I'm with her now.

Colin: With her? In your house? Wow...

Me: O...kay... I'll let you know how things turn out.

Colin: Awesome...

I slowly turned to face Sydney who is sitting in the middle of one of the couches. She just smiled at me when I looked at her so I sat on the couch across from hers. "So that was, Colin, our uh manager," I started as I placed my phone on the coffee table between us. "And uh, I think we only need you for the video, that is if you accept the role. I know it's not exactly an award-winning kind, but it could be interesting." She nodded her head once clasping her hands together. "Can you tell me something about it?" She asked and I straightened myself up. "You'll be the main character and my love interest in the video. What's going to happen is if you agree, you'll meet with the director and Colin to discuss the terms and the contract. And once all the parties agree, we start shooting which could take about one to four days, depending on the concept that the director has in mind. I'm sure you already know this. If we have to shoot in different locations and at different times of the day we'll make sure that you're safe and well-taken cared of. If you're worried about your job at Jive, I'm sure Roman won't mind if one of us talks to him."

Silence. Blink. More silence. Blink. Blink. "So... what do you think?"