VRP4

I load an arrow.

“That's him...” one of the warriors say.

The warrior points at me. It's clear I'm a threat to these guys. It's clear the two men who had attempted to rape me got away and went to get help from the rest of their guild members. There is no black assassin to help me now. I'm alone. I don't run. Even if I could get away Sarafine wouldn't be able to. At level 1 she didn't have the agility points.

I was cornered. I was a mouse caught in a trap with nothing but a bow. I raise my bow. I stare intensely at them. My hand is shaking. I'm sweating. I'm surrounded by warriors. They have on their helmets. Most of them have on the same armor. I keep wondering if this was the way that I was going to die.

Sarafine opens up her menu.

“The guild is called the Warriors of Light. The one in the gold armor...that's the guild leader. Tiger.”

I look over at the man in the gold. I point my arrow to him. I don't have time to open up my menu.

“What level?” I whisper to Sarafine.

“60.”

Fuck!

I hadn't come across someone who was level 60 yet. I was just level 45.

The leader takes a few steps forward. He removes his helmet and puts it in his inventory. He had an axe...similar to the one that Demona carries. That means he's a warrior with a champion specialization. The axe glows a neon color though. The weapons that glow neon mean that they are special weapons. He smiles something sinister at that moment. In a weird sick way, he was attractive. He was a white boy, blond hair and beautiful facial construction. He has on heavy armor that makes him look like a goddam giant that glistens a gold color.

He takes few confident steps towards me.

“Close enough.”

He looks me up and down. How the fuck did this guy get to level 60? My heart was racing. He was tough. I wouldn't be able to take him down let alone kill the guys with him.

“My name is Tiger,” he tells me, “One of my guild members tells me that you attacked him.”

Tiger is talking to me. He's calm. He opens up his menu. He's reading my stats. There is no way to hide my stats from him. Only assassins had a skill that was able to do that. He reads me like an open book.

“It was self-defense. Your people attacked me first.”

“Is that right?” he asks.

He is confident. Cocky and a little rude. He looks over at me. The other warriors are looking at me right now as well.

“Yeah. I don't want any problems.”

He nods, “The girl with you. I can't read her stats. How come?”

I look over at Sarafine. I didn't realize you couldn't see her stats. The only thing I remember seeing was the fact that she was level 1. I couldn't see her Health Bar or anything else. It was definitely something strange.

“It must be some kind of game glitch,” I tell him.

Tiger looks over at Sarafine, “Come here...girl. Open your inventory for me.”

Sarafine looks scared. She probably has a reason to be. There was something uncomfortable about this Tiger guy. His guys attacked me and he didn't even seem to be concerned about it. He was just talking as though nothing was going on. There was something I didn't like about Tiger. There was something I didn't trust about him.

“Stay where you are,” I tell Sarafine.

Tiger looks at her hard, “Listen, lil' archer. You aren't in control here. I want you to drop your weak ass bow and open up your inventory. Both of you. NOW."

Sarafine looks at me for leadership. More of this.

I was sweating. Tiger seemed to be getting impatient. He takes a step towards me. There is nowhere for me to go. His men have surrounded me from the back. I'm surrounded! Sarafine will be no help if a fight breaks out right now. She's level 1.

“If you take one more step...I'll shoot.”

Tiger smirks.

He takes one more step.

I shoot my arrow! The arrow scratches the air and hits his armor. It causes his health to go down by 5 percent. I take out another arrow. It's a higher level arrow. Tiger seems annoyed as he squirms in a little bit of pain when the arrow I shot crystallizes.

“It'll take 30 of those to kill me,” Tiger explains, “You do understand that right?”

“I have all day.”

“You really don't...because you're about to die, smart ass,” Tiger says, “Kill THEM!”

His men run forward at that moment. 14 men! 14 men running at Sarafine and I. They approach fiercely with weapons drawn.

“BARRIER!” Sarafine says.

All of a sudden Sarafine and I are glowing yellow. A barrier has formed around us. I had heard of a mage skill called barrier. The barrier kept you from receiving physical harm for a certain amount of time. The higher your skill level was for the barrier the longer you could go without being hurt. The fact that Sarafine has this barrier up right now seems to blow my mind.

Tiger holds his hand out at that moment and all of them stop.

I’m not the only one shocked that Sarafine is able to do that.

“How do you know that skill at level 1?” Tiger asks her, “Mages can't learn that skill until level 20 at the minimum.”

Sarafine doesn't answer. She comes next to my side...so close that she almost hides in my shadow. I don't lower my arrow.

“Please walk away,” I tell him, “I don't want to fight you...”

Tiger is barely noticing me. His eyes are on Sarafine.

“Archer. Killian, was it? I think that's what your name read. Why don't you walk away? Give us the mage and we’ll leave you alone.”

I shake my head.

“That's not happening.”

“You do realize if you die out here you die in real life right?” he asks me, “You willing to risk your life for this girl?”

I look over at Sarafine. I don't know her but I do know one thing. Sarafine is depending on me. I wasn't going to let her down.

“Come at me,” I say.

Tiger raises his hand about to give the order for his men to attack the barrier around Sarafine and me. All of a sudden I hear the sounds of a motorcycle. It's coming from over the hills. As the motorcycle approaches, I recognize the face.

“Madden!”

Madden looks different. He has a little bit more facial hair and a little bit more swagger. Madden gets off his motorcycle when he appears. The warriors separate for him. I look over at Madden wondering what is going on when they do it.

“Tiger...stop,” Madden says.

Tiger gives Madden a look, “You know this guy?”

“He's a friend of mine.”

That's when I open up his menu and I see that Madden is in Tiger’s guild. He is a Warrior of Light...

=======================================================================================

“Welcome to our guild house.”

“House? This place looks more like a fortress,” I say.

I look around when we arrive at the Warrior of Light guild house. The place is right outside of Origins City. It looks like some type of Medieval fortress. The fortress faces the woods a little away from the road. There is a huge moat. There are defensive barbicans and huge towers where some players were posted keeping an eye out. Madden leads Sarafine and I throughout the outer court. To get to the courtyard we have to pass through a huge gatehouse and a bridge. As we walk there are stables where some horses are parked next to motorcycles as though it was the most normal thing in the world. This place was amazing. I'd never seen a guild house before.

“We upgraded a lot. Every guild needs a strong gatehouse. Everyone donated to make this happen,” Madden explains to me, “It took a lot of work.”

“Is that why I haven't heard from you in months?” I ask Madden.

Madden puts his hand on his head, “Yeah. I'm a little embarrassed by that. I've been leveling so much. I just made level 52.”

He was 7 levels above me. I smile and act as though it doesn't bother me. He looks stronger than when I first saw him. He still has his sword and shield but they are neon. That means they are special weapons. They are stronger than normal weapons. He walks with confidence but still has that beautiful look on his face. He still has his man bun too and it's tied in a tight knot on top of his head.

“Congratulations,” I state, “This looks like some place you fit right in. These guys look...tough.”

Tough was an understatement. In the courtyard are the barracks and the training grounds. I watch as shirtless male warriors are training one another in the pits. All I see is sweat, mud, muscles and swords. I feel like I'm in some sexy gay porn fantasy. Everyone looks tough. Everyone is handsome. Everyone looks like they are some kind of ideal man. Sarafine silently looks at the warriors like I am. I swear this is a girl's dream...or a gay guy's dream for that matter.

I could watch these men all day sweat, grunt and throw around their testosterone.

“We try our best,” Madden explains, “Tiger explained the miscommunication.”

“Miscommunication? He was about to kill me and this girl,” I explain.

“He was just defending his guild,” Madden explains, “I promise you. Tiger was just bluffing. He wouldn't have really hurt you. He just has to look strong.”

I shake my head. I don't want to argue with Madden about this right now but honestly, I don't trust Tiger or these Warriors of Light. He had come at the end of it. He hadn't seen the look in Tiger's eyes when Tiger wanted me to leave Sarafine with him. He hadn't seen how crazed Tiger looked when he wanted to get his way. Something was wrong with the guy.

“How well do you know these people Madden?” I ask him.

Madden gives me a hard look.

“Listen. This is a tough game. People are competing not only for money. They are competing for their lives,” Madden explains, “Things get intense. OK? Try to be understanding. Tension is high. OK? Let's just ...move on. Tiger is having a feast today.”

“We don't need to eat in the game...”

“It's not real food. It's just digital stuff. It tastes like food, though. You can put on some weight -in game. Trust me. It's amazing. You have to try it. How about you let Tiger make up for what happened earlier...”

“I don't know...I have to get my other friends. They are waiting for me. You remember Demona and Noah.”

I look over at Sarafine. She doesn't seem to talk much when other people are around. She is looking at me silently as though trying to figure out what decision I'm going to make. For some reason, I feel responsible for her. After basically jumping in to save her twice I felt like I owed her enough to get her through the day.

“I can send some guys out to bring them back here. We can all meet and hang out,” Madden says.

He really wanted me to stay...for whatever reason. I have to admit after months of not seeing Madden I definitely wanted to at least get the chance to really get to know him. The problem was this place. As beautiful as this fortress was there was something not right about Tiger. I didn't want to stick around to find out what it was.

“I don't know,” I say.

“Please,” Madden says touching my shoulder, “For me...”

I look over at Sarafine, “Are you OK with staying the night? I can take you to Origins in the morning.”

Sarafine nods, “Yes.”

I nod in agreement, “Fine...

=====================================================================

Madden shows us our room at first. It's a huge room with multiple beds in it. Then he takes Sarafine and me to the dining hall in the huge camp. This place is so big that I'm shocked Madden knows how to find his way around. It feels so real. The brown stone walls are perfectly realized. The “Warriors of Light” banner is this huge yellow, gold and orange banner with crossing swords. Everywhere Sarafine and I walk we see the banner. She isn't much for conversation. She doesn't talk at all. She just looks at me with those big eyes of hers. She seems to not like when I leave her either. I get some food and she follows me the entire time.

“KILLIAN!”

There's only one person I know that is that loud. It's Noah. I watch as he waves me over to a table in the corner of the room. He's sitting with Demona. I have to admit I've never been so happy to see them in this room with me.

“Told you I'll bring your friends for you,” Madden says and smiles.

“Thank you.”

Madden stands there for a minute and smiles at me, “God...”

It's awkward the way he smiles at me. It feels good, though. He looks at me at that moment like no one else in this room exists. Just seeing me smile seems to cause him to smile a little longer...a little harder. I feel beyond special when Madden gives me this look he's giving me. Noah and Demona seem to notice it too. It takes Demona to clear her throat.

“You guys having a staring contest?” Demona bluntly asks us.

Madden shakes his head and laughs a little bit seeming to get embarrassed, “Sorry. You just. God. It's crazy this feeling I get when I look at you.”

Demona, Noah and I exchange looks. I can read their minds. They were wondering what I was wondering. Was Madden flirting with me right now?

“Really?” I say.

Madden does something even weirder at that moment, “That face. Wow. Um. Well, I should stop staring at you all day and let you go talk to your friends for a little bit. Hope you guys enjoy the dinner. I have to go meet with Tiger about some things.”

“Sure no problem...”

“Killian?”

“Yeah, Madden?”

“Can you maybe---I don't know. Come to my room before you go to bed?”

I smile. Why the fuck am I smiling so hard? It takes me forever to respond. My heart is beating. I can feel it. I am thrown into a trance. Noah literally has to step on my shoe for me to get out of my daze.

“He'd love to,” Noah says.

It's awkward that my friend has to answer for me. I'm glad I have the backup though. Madden...the man of my dreams, was asking me to come to his bedroom tonight.

Madden smiles, “Great. I've been waiting forever to confess something to you. I don't think I have the guts to say it in front of everyone, though. It's kind of personal...you know?”

“No yeah. I get it...” I state, “I'll be there.”

Madden bites on that lower lip of his. He does it in the sexiest way possible. His stare is just set on mine. He stares at me for a long while again. He literally starts smiling. I nod thinking that he's going to stop staring at me but he doesn't. Madden is still staring at my face. His eyes are still glaring at me. They are still just watching me. I'm just blown away by it.

Noah, Demona and I sit at a table. Noah grabs me and pulls me in almost, “I knew it. Aren't you glad you listen to us?”

“Stop over exaggerating,” I state, “Madden just probably wants to be friends.”

“Bullshit. Look at him. He's still staring at you,” Demona says.

I turn slow. Demona is right. Madden is staring at me from the other side of the room. He is talking to Tiger but he stares at me. He licks his lips. He clears his throat and then he goes back to talking to Tiger as though it was nothing at all.

“I can't believe you're going to be the first one to get Virtual sex,” Noah says.

“I'm not going to have sex.”

“Bullshit. He had a confession,” Demona explains, “Didn't you come here to confess your love to him? This is like Romeo and Juliet. I don't believe in love, though. We all know how Romeo and Juliet ended.”

“Thanks, Demona. You're not hating at all,” Noah tells her, sarcastically before adding, “You sound a little jealous.”

“I said don't fall in love with Madden,” Demona tells me, “I didn't say that Killian shouldn't get some digital dick. Hell, all these fine ass men in this guild I might get some dick tonight too...”

“You're disgusting,” Noah rolls his eyes, “Besides how do you know Killian isn't a top?”

“Can you guys stop?” I ask, “There are more important things going on besides your imagination that I'm going to get laid tonight.”

I was almost killed today. I bite into my chicken. It tastes real. It doesn't fill me up, though. It seems as though it goes into some blank empty hole. Even though I'm not full I don't get hungry either. I'm eating simply for the taste. It's a nice distraction from my friends getting on me about this Madden situation. The last thing I was worried about was whether I was a top or not. Or at least. that's the last thing I want to worry about. Honestly, in the back of my mind, I keep thinking about the way Madden was looking at me. There was emotion there. I was sure of it. No one ever looked at me like that before. That stare was...deep.

I was still breathing hard remembering how hard Madden stared at me.

“Yeah there are more important things for us to worry about,” Demona explains, “Like who the fuck is this weirdo eavesdropping on us...”

My mind is so distracted by thoughts of Madden that I don't even remember Sarafine standing there.

Sarafine mouths a soft whimpering, “Hi.”

“Did Manolo mute us again?” Noah asks.

“Guys. Stop being mean,” I state before moving over so that Sarafine can sit, “This is Sarafine. Sarafine...these are my friends Noah and Demona.”

Noah raises an eyebrow as Sarafine sits. He stretches his arm out to shake it at least, though. Demona doesn't seem interested. Demona doesn't waste any time pulling out her menu and scanning Sarafine in the rudest way.

“Level 1? Is this some kind of joke?”

Noah opens his menu, “What? You're lying...”

The two of them take turns in disbelief that Sarafine is still level 1. Sarafine looks over at me. She's nervous. She's intimidated. I know the feeling of having people judge you for being shy. I can tell they are both being a little aggressive in the manner they are looking at her.

“She doesn't remember how she got here. I'm thinking it may have been some sort of glitch in the system when she logged in. It must have erased her memory. I'm not sure.”

“Sucks for you,” Demona says.

I elbow Demona. She rolls her eyes. Being nice is like brain science for Demona.

“She's actually very special. She has some interesting skills. She was able to scan from a long distance and she was able to cast barrier...which is a level 20 white mage skill.”

I'm trying to make Sarafine feel more comfortable. She smiles slightly when I call her special.

Noah fortunately looks over at Demona and smiles in a gentler way, “Is there anything that you remember? Anything at all?”

Sarafine's voice is so low that we can barely hear her over the loud guild members in the hall, “I just woke up and I was with other guys. The warriors in this guild killed them before I got the chance to talk to them.”

“Wait this guild PK'd someone?” Noah asks.

“Yeah. They almost got Sarafine and I too. Luckily we were saved by this black assassin,” I explain.

“Wait...this guild PK'd someone, almost killed you and we are here eating dinner with them?” Noah asks me.

The more he says it the weirder it sounds.

“Can you be any more of a pussy?” Demona asks.

“Can you be any more of a dumbass Georgina?” Noah asks Demona before turning to me, leaning in and whispering a sharp harsh, “We should get out of here.”

He's probably right.

“We'll leave first thing in the morning,” I explain.

“We can be dead first thing in the morning...” Noah states.

Just at that moment, someone walks up to the table. It's Tiger. The guild leader. He has a few of his warriors with him. Tiger standing there makes me nervous. If I'm nervous Noah seems completely about to piss his fucking pants.

“Hello again,” Tiger says.

His eyes dig on me. He has a smile on. There is something so uneasy about this man. There is something that makes me so fucking nervous. Noah, Sarafine and I all seem to be on the same page. We all are staring at our plates.

Annoyingly one of my friends has more balls then all of us combined.

“Hey Dickhead. Did you try to kill my friend?” Demona asks him.

I want to hide. I can't believe her. Noah's mouth drops open the moment Demona calls Tiger a dickhead. I am sure I am going to get an axe to the head. We aren't in a system city. This was a PK zone. They could kill us in guild houses. Demona was fucking ridiculous for going after him right here and now with all of his people around.

“She doesn't mean it,” I immediately add in.

The crazy thing about Demona is that she did. Demona could care less that we were in a guild of what seemed to have at least 40 members. They were all warriors like she was but they were all fucking tough as nails. There was no way in hell that we'd get out of here alive if Demona started swinging that battle axe of hers.

Tiger surprisingly laughs, “It's OK. I actually came over to apologize. You see I had no idea that Madden knew you. It was all a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding? Man! Fuck that---” Demona starts off about to stand up.

Noah grabs Demona and covers her mouth, “Hey, Killian, how about Demona and I meet you back at the room. The guys showed us where we are sleeping tonight. We'll let you and this level 60 warrior with special weapons talk.”

It's nice how he throws Tiger's level in there as if I hadn't noticed. It's awkward at that moment when Tiger sits at the table because Sarafine remains at the table. Even after Noah is dragging Demona out of the dining hall.

“Sarafine did you want to go with Noah and Demona?” I ask.

Sarafine looks at them. She looks at me. She scoots closer to me, “No.”

This girl was drawn to me at the hip. It was a little annoying. Luckily Tiger doesn't seem to mind. He gives her a look and smiles at her.

“She's very special.”

I don't like how Tiger is looking at her.

“Yeah. I'm planning on taking her to Origins tomorrow,” I say.

Tiger smiles, “I see. I was hoping that you could stay.”

“Stay?”

“Usually, we just let male warriors in the Warriors of Light...but I am thinking about making an exception.”

“You want me to join your guild?”

He nods, “This is an offer.”

“What about my friends?”

“Actually. They won't make the cut, unfortunately,” Tiger explains, “Just you. And perhaps your friend Sarafine here.”

I'm confused.

“What's so special about us?”

“ Well, you seem very dear to Madden. I'm very interested in her. Sarafine seems to be an anomaly in this game. ”

I am suspicious of Tiger. The more he talks to me the more I'm turned off. I don't get why he is so interested in Sarafine. Sure she lost her memory. Sure she was a level 1 who seemed to have skills that were above her. Maybe it was just a bug somewhere in the game that messed up her data. I'd seen it before in other games. I guess because this was some sort of virtual reality he felt like it was different.

I'd come across guys like Tiger. Cheaters. People who wanted to use the game to their favor. That's why he wanted Sarafine. I wonder how Madden never caught onto this guy.

“You are close to Madden?” I ask.

“That's my ex.”

I'm confused.

“Ex what?”

“Ex-boyfriend,” Tiger laughs.

Holy shit. I don't know how to react to this. EX!

My mouth drops open, “Nu uh...”

Tiger laughs at that moment, “Um. Yeah. We dated for two months. He's my Deputy Guild Leader and for a time, he was my lover.”

I'm shocked. I mean not really. I remember how Madden was looking at me. He was looking THROUGH me. There was a connection that Madden and I had.

He was gay.

I'm scared to ask, “What happened?”

Tiger was sexy. He was high level. He had his own guild. The fact that Madden broke up with a guy like this blew my mind. I mean a game wasn't everything but this game was now our reality.

“He broke up with me. He said there was someone else he had feelings for. He didn't want to commit to me. He said there was someone from the outside world for him. Someone he missed. Someone who he was in love with...”

I'm shocked.

No. That was impossible.

I clear my throat, “Who is it?”

He shrugs, “He never told me. You would imagine my surprise when you show up all of a sudden. You knew him in the outside world right?”

“Wait are you saying that I'm the one Madden is in love with?” I laugh.

He nods, “It would make sense. So. How about I make a deal? You tell me the truth behind you and Madden and I may let you in my guild.”

I look at him hard. This Tiger guy was...odd...

“There's nothing between us,” I tell him as confidently as I can, “And sorry. I was planning on starting my own guild. I can't join yours’.”

“You...starting your own guild?” he laughs, “You're level 45."

"I know what level I am," I state, feeling offended.

"Suit yourself. The girl stays with me.”

Was this guy serious? I shake my head at that moment, “It's up to her what she wants to do.”

“I'm joining Killian's guild,” Sarafine says.

She stands at my side. Tiger gives her a hard look. For a minute, I think he's going to do something. I think he's going to attack me or worse attack Sarafine. He could 1 hit kill her if he wanted. She was only level 1.

“That settles it,” I state, “Unless you have something else you want to say.”

Tiger stares at me for a long while. A sinister smile crosses over his face, “No. It's settled. Have a goodnight, young archer...”

I get up off the table and leave feeling Tiger's vicious eyes at my back...

=====

“I don't trust him,” Sarafine tells me in the hallway.

She's talking about Tiger. She isn't the only one who doesn't trust him.

“Do me a favor Sarafine. Go to the room. Let the others know we'll leave first thing in the morning for Origins,” I tell her.

I have to leave tomorrow. It's not safe to stay here much longer. I feel it. So much tension is in the air.

“I want to stay with you.”

“Sarafine. Please...”

She sighs a little bit seeming more like a child than anything. There is something very odd about her but I don't want to say anything about it. Sarafine finally smiles and leaves at that moment walking away without saying anything else.

I find myself walking over to Madden's room.

I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight unless I confessed my own feelings to him.

I am at Madden's door knocking at it. I can tell its his door because it says Deputy Guild Leader on it. After a few seconds, Madden answers the door. He's standing there with nothing on but boxers! I look up and down his body. He has these sexy pecs, thin small waist, chinky eyes and tan skin. His nipples are this deep rich camel color! His lips are big and pink. They look soft and kissable. There is a natural tent in his boxers showing the huge print of his dick. He adjusts himself when he sees that it's me standing there, grabbing his crotch and rearranging it a little bit. He opens up his menu almost immediately when he sees me.

“Shit sorry...I expected one of the guys,” he says, “I'll put on a shirt.”

He clicks in his menu and all of a sudden a shirt appears over his muscular chest. The shirt luckily is tight so even though he is concealing himself he still looks sexy as fuck. I am tempted to just lunge myself forward and kiss all over him right now. Every part of my body tingles at the sight of him.

“I'm not one of the guys?” I ask.

He laughs, “You know what I mean. Come in.”

I walk into his room, “You definitely customized this place.”

The room is nice and huge. It overlooks the courtyards. The place doesn't look like an old castle how he has it decorated. He has a more futuristic feel. There are Play Dead posters hanging up on his walls and unique looking statues around the place.

“Yeah. I drag and dropped a lot of things that I found around Play Dead.”

I sigh, “I never thought about that. Usually, I just keep potions, arrows and weapons in my inventory. Maybe a teleportation stone, map and a tent once in a while.”

“You can store almost anything you see in the Virtual world in your inventory,” he explains, “As long as you have the space that is. Then all you have to do is open up your menu and drop it where you want.”

He opens up his menu and clicks on something. He points to a desk and candle appears.

“I should have stuck with you more,” I state, “I would have learned a lot more.”

I sit on the couch that he has in his room. He sits next to me. I can't help but look up and down at Madden. He smells so good. He keeps licking his lips over and over again. He must be nervous about something. I'm not sure. I don't know him well enough to tell. He bites his lower lip though and it seems to drive me crazy.

“That's why I wanted to talk to you,” he explains, “I know that I stare at you a lot and it's kind of obvious. I felt like I should explain myself a little bit more.”

“Nothing to explain. I don't mind it,” I state.

I liked it. No. I loved it.

He shrugs, “Well I kind of feel like I need to explain. You ever feel like you've had a crush on someone from far away for such a long time? You never get the chance to tell them how you really feel? You never get the chance to tell them...like...wow, I'm in love with you. You pretend like you want to be their friend but all the while you want to spend the rest of your life with that person.”

My heart stops.

This was happening. This was happening. He was looking at me like that. He was looking at me like that right now.

“God. I feel that way with you too.”

I throw my arms over him. I plant my lips on Madden. His lips are so fucking soft. I was kissing Madden! I was doing it! I was kissing the fucking man of my dreams right now!

Then I realize something.

Madden isn't kissing back.

I let go of Madden and he seems confused as fuck...

“What the hell was that about?” Madden asks.

“You said that there was something between us...”

“What?” he asks, “I never said that...”

My heart is racing. No. This isn't happening. I didn't just misread all of his signals.

“Madden. Tiger is your ex. He said he was your ex-boyfriend?”

“He said that?” Madden asks shaking his head, “Jesus. He's lying. Tiger is straight. He's just nosy as hell and I think he was just digging for information. Me and Tiger never dated.”

Fuck. Tiger was a snake. I knew that guy couldn't be trusted.

I can't believe I just let him embarrass me like this.

“So you aren't gay?” I ask.

Madden shakes his head, “I am...”

I'm so confused by Madden. I swear I want to break down and start crying at this moment. I have never been so confused in my entire life.

“Wait. So if you're gay then how did I get it wrong? The way you look at me. I just assumed you felt the same way about me that I felt about you.”

“Damn...” he states, “You got it all wrong Killian. Damn...sorry about that. Bro.”

Bro? Bro!

Madden won't even look me in my eyes. He thinks I'm pathetic. I can tell that he does.

“What?”

“I look at you all the time because you remind me of someone,” Madden explains at that moment looking down at the ground, “I'm not in love with you, Killian. I was in love with your brother Shaunie...”

To read the next chapter in advance go to www.crushedcrown.com