Pick me. Bold and brash and terrifyingly honest. It’s on brand for Mimi, or at least the Mimi he’s come to know during the last few days. Although he expects her to be frank, he doesn’t expect the school girl simpering energy that radiates from her. Not unlike a Disney Princess, her eyes are a twinkle and a girlish smile takes up her whole face. Was it a result of wanting to be picked first, or the natural afterglow of their ravenous fucking? He can’t imagine it’s because of some personal likeness - Mimi barely knows his last name. Nonetheless, he smiles back, warm and ego fluffed by her adoring eyes. Well, he could get used to this.
“You’re the top of my list.” Maddox confirms, two plates in hand from the cupboard and set beside the pan. It was an easy decision to come to, one made without Mimi’s signature pout or Jenny’s peach-perfect tits around to distract him. He and Mimi got on, in bed and outside of it. As it stood, she was the one to beat. He comes closer, the heat of her body radiating against his. At the very least, he’s got this part of the recoupling sorted. But she makes a good point, and Maddox can already see the gears turning in her head. Determined to do things different from the Prince Prick of all Pricks, he faces her question head on.
“I think I’d make Jenny’s list. But then again, so would you.” He says, charm laced to soften the unvarnished truth. “I’d enjoy getting to know her. I won’t deny that.” Maddox places a hand on Mimi’s shoulder, thumb resting along the pulse of her neck. “But if we’re ranking my priorities, you already know where you stand.” Chewing on the corner of his lip, he pivots. It’s his turn to ask the question.
“And what about Rhys? Are things truly done, or are we just bidding time till the finale?”
mimi’s had her suspicions. she’s grown to recognise his tells in the attentive way he looks at her when she talks about home, the mugs of tea he leaves beside the daybed should he wake before her ( trauma porn, considering luke had tried to wean her onto the bitter british beverage, too ), the darkness in his eyes when she touches him just so, a look that makes her feel like he’s hook, line and sinker. maybe emotionally he’s not there, and now and then she has to ever-so-slightly readjust his chin to turn his head back towards her, but hearing that she’s the top of his list warms her in a way that could make her stupid giddy if she didn’t keep it in check. it wasn’t until his confession that mimi even realised she’d been seeking reassurance.
she flips the omelette, a brown crust sizzling on the side she’s uncovered that makes her stomach rumble. there’s no point asking him if the order would be different if jenny were thrown in with the rest of them and didn’t have first pick. sure, she wants to know, but she doesn’t need that insecurity gnawing at her if it doesn’t go the way she plans. she’s thankful that she’s facing the pan so that he doesn’t see her tense when he tells her what she already suspected. somehow, in her blood, she already knew. damn. jenny moves fast. somehow she’s weaselled her way in with not only josh, but maddox too. is seb next ? is rhys ? “ okay. well i appreciate you being honest. and it’s not like we’re coupled up, so...” her words falter when she feels his hand on shoulder, thumb against her neck, ( her fucking neck ) and something inside her buckles, want hot and hungry rippling up inside of her and prompting her to drop the spatula. “ maddox... ” she breathes, both a warning and encouragement. jesus, she’s weak. doesn’t he know she turns to putty when he touches her ? “ maddox, all i can focus on right now is you, ” she starts, her hand finding his on her shoulder and drawing it away ( though not without sliding it down her side, over her chest, over her hip, over her bum in the process ). away from the heat of his hands, it’s easier to focus — both on the omelette and his question. he’s asking about rhys, and it puts a sick little smile on her lips, because if he’s worried it probably means he cares. or rather, he cares slightly more than either one of them initially planned on caring. this isn’t the no-strings-attached rebound she’d initially planned to get over luke, but maybe it’s better. if they can make it through this breakfast without one of them trying to jump the other’s bones, they’ll be breaking tradition. “ why... are you jealous ? worried he’s a better fuck ? ” amused and vindicated, mimi slides the spatula under the omelette, retrieves it from the pan, and slices it down the centre, half on his plate, half on hers, a weight finally off her now that there’s no sizzling pan to set fire to because she was too busy grabbing for his dick.
“ we’ve got history, ” mimi states, slicing a corner of tomatoey goodness and sliding it into her mouth. her fork reaches for another piece, this time delivering it to maddox’s lips. “ and while currently i’m not running off to rekindle things, i can’t say that rhys feels the same. i mean, he did follow me onto the show. who does that ? ” he’s given her total honesty, and perhaps she should give him the same. she doesn’t want to jeopardise her chances with maddox — because like fuck will she find some other guy in this villa willing to make her feel that good — but if she stays, she doesn’t want this coming back to bite her on the ass. and since she might be leaving, there’s hardly anything to lose. “ i don’t want to get him back. what i want is you. but if rhys tried something... ” she starts, swallowing, one hand reaching to squeeze against his hip and pull him towards her. “—if rhys tried something, i don’t think i’d shut him down. ” her eyes scan his for answers. is that a deal-breaker ? to continue to sleep with maddox, does she have to shut down the possibility of anything ever happening with rhys ? if maddox is allowed to get to know jenny, surely it’s unfair to deny her that same opportunity, even if it is with her ex. she knows that rhys cares about her, that he has the capacity to develop actual feelings for her that go beyond wanting to rearrange her guts, but with maddox she’s not so sure if he even possesses the emotional depth. “ i’m not saying i want to get back with him, ” she states, in an attempt to reassure him, if he even needs her reassurance beyond the mutual desire. the hand on his hip offers a squeeze, while her other hand slides up his back. “ i’m not saying i’d pick him over you. i wouldn’t. but we’re all in here to find something real. ” she pauses, attempting to gauge maddox’s reaction to what’s potentially ground-breaking information. the nails on his back trail their way over his skin, her knee sliding up between his thighs. “ at the end of the day, it’s love island not fuck island, babes. ”
