twenty-four #2
Alexis’s eyes hadn’t moved of course from Nate’s form. He was probably the reason they had even approached her in the first place. Maybe they thought he made Maddy somewhat interesting enough for them.
“But I see now that maybe something else is taking up your time now,” Alexis continued undeterred. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
Not on your fucking life, Maddy wanted to say.
She didn’t though. Because she really was the bigger person.
“This is Nate,” she said, not offering any other sort of clarifying information.
Alexis, who really couldn’t take a hint, couldn’t hide her interest.
“Oh, it’s nice to meet you, Nate! I’m Alexis,” she said brightly, tossing her hair over her shoulder in a way that Alexis knew made people notice.
Maddy threw a quick glance at Nate who appeared so bored and disinterested that it looked as if he had just been asked to fold laundry for all eternity. He barely managed an up-nod and Maddy repressed the sudden need to chuckle.
Alexis seemed at a loss for words before she pulled herself together, pasting a smile on her face that was supposed to be kind and friendly but usually came off as condescending.
“Well, anyway! We’d been meaning to call you to get together and catch up. We didn’t think this would be your scene since you’re always trapped at home with parents and everything, otherwise we would have told you to come along.”
Oh wow, Maddy thought. Everything that came out of this girl’s mouth could be fodder for at least three full therapy sessions.
It had already been a month since she and Nate had been catapulted into this timeline, and she hadn’t heard a peep from either of them.
She used to be so blind back then—always forgiving behavior that made her sad and disappointed.
Always the one to reach out. Always hoping to be included, to be considered, to be accepted for who she was.
A little nerdy. A little weird. A little sarcastic. But always kind. Always present. Always there.
So much effort—for what?
Maddy shook her head.
Grace, of course, hadn’t uttered a single word during this whole farce. She stood there, unsure, fidgeting, cowering behind Alexis.
What a pity. If only she had the balls to speak her own mind.
Suddenly, Maddy had reached the end of her patience and her willingness to spend even one more second in the company of people that had never really wanted her or even appreciated her, when she could be spending her time doing something fun with someone who never made her feel less than what she was.
Maddy tightened her grip on Nate’s fingers which seemed to mobilize him into taking action.
“Well, this was nice and all, but we really have things to do so we’ll be going now,” Nate said gravelly, his voice completely devoid of the emotion and amusement it usually had when he talked to her.
Maddy spared one last look at the girls, and with one last “see ya” turned her back on them and resumed her leisurely walk alongside Nate.
They stopped close to a cusp of trees, where Nate pulled her onto his chest, hugging her gently but steadily. Maddy felt the tension draining slowly but surely from her body, finally relaxing against him. Nate’s hand rubbed circles on her back while his mouth pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.
“I sure know how to pick them, huh?” she tried to joke but it came out weak, her voice a bit choked and tinged with sadness.
Nate was silent for a few seconds before he tilted her chin to peer into her eyes.
“Their fucking loss, Mads.”
And if she wasn’t crazy about this man yet, she was pretty sure she was halfway there.
***
Maddy was determined not to let negative feelings put a damper on the mood she’d originally had. She was psyched to be there, even if actually doing the part of ice-skating was more daunting than thinking about it. On the other hand, Nate seemed completely at ease.
“You know, with your height, falling would hurt much more because you have to cover more distance,” Maddy said thoughtfully.
Nate was looking at the crowd gathered at the ticket office but his lips were twitching.
“Whilst I,” she continued, “am much closer to the ground, so maybe there’s less chance of me getting hurt.”
“You forget I’m not actually planning on falling though.”
“I know. I’m just making casual conversation. Involving potential injury, bruising, maiming, the usual.”
“Mads.” Nate’s soft, low voice made her seek his calm, serious expression. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” He squeezed her nape with his warm palm. “You’re safe, I promise.”
Maddy was powerless not to believe such an earnest expression so she just nodded.
The crowd around her was pretty much people of all ages.
There were a lot of families with children that were either squealing their delight at something or munching on greasy food with a look of bliss on their round, little faces.
She could also see many gaggles of friends here and there, as well as couples walking around hand in hand, pointing out things to one another or staring at each other’s eyes and smiling sappily.
Kinda like what Maddy was doing right then, gazing at Nate who was buying their tickets.
Apparently, buying tickets was a drool-worthy experience.
Maddy shook her head at herself.
When their time slot was up, they found the appropriate size for their skates and after a few minutes of fitting and tightening and standing upright, they were unleashed on the ice.
And now Maddy could say that she had intimate knowledge of what being a newborn calf felt like.
And she was only trying to keep herself standing while holding on to the side bars for dear life, while kids zoomed up and down around her.
Nate stood a few feet away not even bothering to contain his laughter.
She shot him a withering look she hoped he felt.
“You know,” he said, chortling, “the whole point of ice skating is to ice skate. That means letting go of the bar and actually trying to glide on the ice.” He was making a sliding motion with his hands as if he was explaining this to a toddler and Maddy had never wanted to kick someone more.
“Thank you so much, Nate. That is such helpful advice, I would never have thought of that myself,” she deadpanned.
Nate was still chuckling as he glided towards her gracefully. He held out his hands, his smile now warm, waiting for her to reach out. She did, gripping his palms tightly as he guided her through the movements patiently, until they were able to move side by side with only their hands threaded.
Okay, so maybe she wouldn’t break her face after all.
Sneaking a glance at Nate, she spied his red cheeks and nose, his bright eyes, his dark brown hair that kind of flopped on his forehead, his breath that came out in white puffs in the cold, and almost tripped at the picture he painted.
Her heart was pounding like mad and she was absolutely sure that it wasn’t because of the physical effort it took to remain standing.
It was because of this kind and beautiful man next to her.
He’d once told her that he liked seeing her happy. And she was. She was happy, and light, and more carefree than she could remember herself being.
She hoped it was the same for him.
They spent their half hour on the ice ribbing each other, narrowly escaping other skaters that seemed hell-bent on making her face-plant, and Nate grasping her tightly with a strong arm around her whenever she slipped.
Afterwards, Madison felt absolutely famished. Apparently physical and emotional exertion made one’s appetite sky-rocket.
Since Nate seemed to be as hungry as she was, they hunted down burgers that were as big as her hands. They went to sit on a bench to eat and people-watch, and when Maddy couldn’t finish her burger, Nate graciously finished hers as well.
“Thanks for coming with me, Nate. I really had fun today.” She could feel her face redden for more reasons than the cold.
Nate smiled softly and then tugged lightly on her ponytail.
“You don’t have to thank me, Mads. I am exactly where I want to be.”
Maddy felt some strange emotion clog her throat and she tried to clear it before smiling back at him.
“Plus,” he continued, “my reasons are completely selfish. I’m buttering you up so you’ll give me more of your grandma’s candy.”
Maddy’s boom of laughter attracted the curious looks of many passers-by.
“I bet it was the coffee ones, huh?”
“God, don’t remind me. I could eat twenty of them all in one sitting.”
“Are you one of those coffee addicts who need like five cups of coffee a day to even function?” she half-asked, half-laughed.
“Well, five is an exaggeration,” ‘most days’ he mumbled under his breath, “but I do love my coffee.”
Maddy paused in thought, her eyes drinking in the features of Nate’s smiling face.
“Do you ever think about it? Where you would be right now if you weren’t here? The life that you left behind?”
Nate’s intense gaze was impossible to look away from.
“Do you ?” he asked.
Maddy considered her words carefully.
“Is it wrong to say that I don’t?” Her voice was quiet, almost as if she was confessing something bad.
“Not really, at least. I might get these passing thoughts here and there, but then I see everything that surrounds me here, the people that know and love me, and,” she hesitated, her eyes never leaving his, “and the people I got to meet and get to know better, and it’s hard focusing on anything else.
Is it wrong to want to stay where I feel more loved and more safe than ever in my life?
” She scoffed, bowing her head. “I probably sound like a coward who doesn’t want to face life and would rather live in a bubble. ”
A few seconds filled with silence went by until Nate’s fresh scent enveloped her, a set of arms drawing her close and moving her to sit on his strong thigh. He was suddenly so close she could count his eyelashes, his nose almost brushing hers, his lips a hair’s breath away.
“You’re not a coward, my sweet girl. You just want to be happy,” he said, cupping her cheek, his thumb caressing her skin. “What’s so wrong about that?”
His eyes seemed both fierce and tender as he uttered those words. Almost as if he needed to believe them himself.
As she brushed her lips against his and let herself sink into that moment, Maddy thought that maybe they could believe those words, together.
She only wished she didn’t feel like there was a clock already ticking down.