11 MADDY
MADDY
He’s actually really good at this
Ryan and I step onto the sand, and it feels like walking straight into the heart of the town.
The fire pit is already stacked high, flames just starting to catch.
Blankets and lawn chairs are scattered everywhere, and strings of lights sway between wooden poles in the evening breeze.
Kids race past with sparklers already lit while a cluster of teenagers has taken over the volleyball nets.
And then there’s us. Still holding hands, which feels stiff. Like remembering where to put your hands in a group photo.
His fingers tighten briefly around mine just as my phone buzzes. I glance down.
KIARA: can you grab drinks?? stand by the volleyball nets is still open
“Kiara’s asking if we can grab drinks.”
He nods easily. “Yeah, sure.”
We angle toward the drink stand closer to the water, where a short line has already formed—three, maybe four people ahead of us. The setup is a wooden counter half sunk into the sand, a chalkboard menu with half the letters smudged, and coolers stacked behind it.
Ryan and I step into line, still shoulder to shoulder. I loop my free hand through his arm, because I’ve seen couples do that. His sleeve is warm from the sun. And solid. Very solid actually. Since when are his arms this—
Whatever.
“Alright, this is it,” I mutter under my breath as the line inches forward. I lean closer. “Okay, act like you just said something funny.”
He blinks down at me. “What?”
Before he can stop me, I let out a laugh. Loud. The kind of laugh that turns heads.
“What are you doing?” Ryan mutters. “You sound like a parrot with a bad cough.”
“Play along,” I hiss. “Be cool.”
“I don’t know what I’m playing along to.”
“Just say something.”
He opens his mouth, clearly blanking for half a second, then goes, flatly: “Yeah. That was hilarious.”
I wince, rubbing my free hand over my face. “Oh my God.”
“You told me to act normal.”
“That was not normal.”
He huffs under his breath and I jab him lightly with my elbow. “Put your arm around me or something.”
His brows lift. “Bossy tonight, eh?”
But he does it anyway, his arm slides around my shoulders in one easy motion. From the outside it probably looks convincing. But from up close not so much. I immediately lean in and whisper, “Why are you holding me like that?”
“Couples in lines do weird shit.”
“No, they don’t,” I mutter.
He exhales through his nose and adjusts, loosening his hold, which is already a lot better.
The line moves forward so the woman behind the counter looks up, and then does a very visible double take. Up close, I recognize her. It’s Mrs. Keller. She owns a cute clothing store on Main Street, with overpriced items. Her eyes bounce between us and go a little wide.
“Oh—Ryan,” she says, surprise slipping into her voice. “Hi.”
Ryan straightens a bit. “Hello, Mrs. Keller.”
She presses a hand lightly to her chest. “Well. This answers a few questions.” She takes a little pause, then lands her gaze on Ryan. “I’m so sorry about that thing with my cousin’s daughter last week,” she adds quickly. “I didn’t realize you were already spoken for.”
Ryan’s grip on my arm tightens for half a second and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.
“It’s all good,” he says easily. “No harm done.”
“Well,” she waves a hand, already recovering, “drinks are on me tonight. Least I can do.”
“You really don’t have to, Mrs. Keller—”
“You can still call me Karin, sweety.”
Ryan lets out a quiet breath. “Right. Well, thank you, Karin.”
She looks between us expectantly. “What can I get you two?”
I jump in, still a little surprised as to how good that worked. “Uhm, two beers for Noah and my dad, please.”
Ryan nods. “Two wines for Liam and Mel.”
“Kiara wants something colourful,” I add.
Mrs. Keller—or Karin scribbles it down while the other woman starts lining up cups. “And for you two lovebirds?”
“Beer for me.” Ryan’s eyes flick to mine. “What’re you having, babe?”
I blink once and then recover fast. “Cocktail, please.”
“Good choice,” Karin says.
Ryan grins at her. “Just don’t put too much alcohol in it. Things tend to go… wrong.”
I snap my head toward him and I see a small smirk on his face like he knows he is messing with me.
“Oh, yeah,” I say sweetly, fake glare fully activated. “Don’t I handle my drinks so well?” I smack his arm, hard. He jolts his arm, but tries to recover with a fake smile.
A minute later, the drinks are lined up across the counter. Ryan grabs most of them, balancing cups in both hands. Karin slides my cocktail over with a wink. “You two have fun tonight.”
“Always do,” Ryan says easily.
We turn back toward the fire, music and voices swelling louder the farther we get. The second we’re clear of the stand, I lean toward him. “I am not that bad when I’m drunk.”
Ryan laughs, adjusting his grip on the drinks. “I know, it’s just that your reaction was absolutely hilarious.”
I shake my head, then lower my voice. “Okay, but… did that seriously just work?”
His mouth twitches. “I think it did.”
I let out a quiet laugh, a little disbelieving. “That was disturbingly easy.”
“Yeah,” he says. “We might actually be good at this.”
I shoot him a look. “Don’t get cocky.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
I roll my eyes as we make our way to the group gathered near the bonfire. Heat rolls off the grill where Dad’s stationed, spatula already in motion, his grill master apron on, while Noah stands beside him looking equally occupied.
“Well, look at that,” Dad calls when he spots us. “You two made it.”
Mel looks up first from the blanket, her smile slow and immediately suspicious. “Hey, you two.”
She’s wedged between Kiara and Liam, the three of them very clearly mid-conversation before we arrived.
“Well,” Kiara says, lifting her chin slightly. “Hi there.”
I just give her a look and an innocent smile. “Hey, guys.”
Liam accepts a drink from Ryan, one eyebrow creeping up. “Evening.”
“Here,” I say, passing the rest of the drinks around as I drop onto the blanket beside Mel.
Ryan hands the last drink to Noah, who takes it with a short nod. Dad glances over from the grill. “Food’ll be ready in ten.” He points the spatula toward Ryan. “You mind helping me plate everything?”
“Yeah, of course,” Ryan says easily, already stepping over to join them.
The second I turn back, I feel three pairs of eyes locked on me. “What?”
Liam gestures vaguely toward Ryan at the grill. “That,” he says. “Explain. Now.”
I only shrug, trying to look innocent and suspicious at the same time.
Mel tilts her head. “Didn’t you both swear off dating?”
I shift my weight. “Yeah, well… we kinda made an exception for each other.”
God. That sounded way too romantic.
Mel’s expression softens anyway. “That’s really cute.”
Liam’s grin widens. “It really is.”
Kiara, meanwhile, looks like she just won the lottery. Her gaze flicks between me and Ryan by the grill, excitement practically vibrating off her. “You’re being way too calm about this,” she says. “Because I am so here for it. I expect full details. I’m your wing woman now.”
I huff a laugh. “I do not need a wing woman.”
She scoffs. “Yeah. Right.”
I shake my head, laughing. Then she lowers her voice. “Just promise me you’ll do it safely.”
I nearly choke on my drink. “Kiara!”
Mel coughs into her hand, laughing. “Subtle, K.”
“Alright, burgers incoming,” Dad calls from the grill, and I could honestly hug him for the timing.
Conversation loosens again after that, food getting passed around, music creeping a little louder, everyone talking over each other the way they always do.
At some point, Ryan shifts beside me. He’s still in the middle of whatever story Liam’s telling and then his hand settles lightly on my thigh. A quick shiver runs up my arms.
Which is probably just the breeze.
Ryan leans in just enough for me to hear him. “Jacob just got here.”
I go still and glance past him. And there he is. Jacob’s cutting across the sand with a couple friends, laughing too loud like he owns the beach. His gaze sweeps the group and lands directly on us. On Ryan’s hand.
Something tightens in his expression; quick and sharp. A slow, deeply satisfying warmth blooms in my chest, and Ryan moves his hand even higher, sending another small shiver up my arm. He keeps direct eye contact with Jacob, who doesn’t look too happy about it.
Eventually, Jacob looks away first, his gaze turning back to his friends, but that same expression stays. Somewhere in the back of my brain, a tiny villain voice starts cackling.
A little while later, Dad wanders over with a plate of grilled corn, eyeing the group. “Talking about the town’s disasters again?”
“Only the important ones,” Kiara says sweetly.
Dad snorts, setting the plate down and then his eyes drop. “You keep your hands where I can see them, Drayton.”
Ryan nearly inhales his drink. “I—sorry?”
“Just doing my job,” Dad says mildly and that gets a laugh out of everyone. I groan and drop my face into my hands. “Oh my god, Dad.”
Noah lobs a marshmallow at him. “Leave them alone.”
Dad catches it one-handed, grinning as he heads back toward the grill. “Fine, fine.”
I feel Ryan’s hand slowly retreat from my leg. Which is good, because that whole moment was dangerously close to killing me.
I’m still recovering from the embarrassment when the cool air finally catches up to me, goosebumps prickling along my arms. “I’m just gonna grab my sweater real quick,” I say, setting my drink down in the sand. “Be right back.”
Ryan glances up and gives a small nod.
“Don’t let Kiara cheat and look at my cards,” I call as I start backing away.
“Excuse you,” Kiara fires back. “I would never!”
I snort and jog toward the house. The night air is quieter the closer I get, the bonfire noise fading into a distant hum.
The porch light spills a soft yellow circle across the wood, and for a second it feels like I’ve stepped out of the chaos and into something calmer.
I tug my sweater off the railing and shake the sand from the sleeves, pulling it over my head. I’m about to head back so I turn—
“Ah. There you are.”
I stop short. Jacob’s leaning against the side of the porch, arms crossed like he’s been there a while.
“Are you stalking me now?” I ask lightly.
“Just getting some air,” he says. His gaze flicks past me toward the beach, then back. “You and Ryan looked close.”
Bingo.
I shrug, easy. “Well. You know.”
He exhales slowly through his nose, not quite a laugh. “Didn’t know you two were like that.”
“Like what?”
His eyes hold mine a second too long. “Together.” Then, quieter, “Is he your boyfriend?”
I tilt my head a little. “That’s not really your business.”
Jacob shifts his weight, pushing off the porch and drifting a step closer. “How long’s that been going on?”
I give a small shrug. “Why do you care?”
His jaw tightens slightly. “Just asking.”
I pick at a loose thread on my sleeve. “You’ve been doing a lot of that tonight.”
A small pause settles between us.
“I mean…,” he says slowly. “You know I still care about you, Mads.”
Before I can react, Ryan walks up around Jacob. He steps up beside me like the timing was planned down to the second, his arm settling easily around my shoulders.
“Hey, babe,” he says, smooth as anything.
Jacob lets out a short breath under his breath. “Wow. Of course.”
Ryan finally looks over. “Oh—hey, Jacob. Didn’t see you there.”
Jacob’s mouth tightens. “The cop has arrived.”
“I think you mean boyfriend.” Ryan spits back immediately, like he had that answer ready. And I notice Jacob’s jaw clenching while glancing over at me. Clearly not happy with the actual answer to his question.
Ryan’s eyes drop to me, voice dipping just slightly. “Everything good?”
“I’m fine, babe,” I respond, giving him a sweet smile.
“We were just talking,” Jacob cuts in. “You got a problem with that?”
Ryan tilts his head like he’s actually thinking it over. “Not really,” he says calmly. His arm tightens just a fraction around my shoulders. “I just don’t love people cornering my girl.”
Wow, he’s good at this.
Jacob’s eyes flash and I can’t help but notice that he looks small compared to Ryan. “What are you even doing out here?”
“Came to find her,” he says easily. Then his mouth tilts just slightly. “I don’t usually like going too long without her.”
Holy shit, he’s really good.
“But I’m sure you know how that is,” Ryan adds.
Jacob’s jaw ticks and for a second, nobody says anything. But then he steps back, already smoothing his expression into something careless. “Right,” he mutters, turning his gaze towards mine. “I’ll see you around, Mads.”
He turns and heads back toward the beach. Ryan doesn’t move until Jacob disappears into the crowd.
I lean a little closer. “Wow,” I murmur. “Didn’t know this was your secret talent.”
Ryan huffs a quiet laugh. “Well, what else is new?”
“You enjoyed that way too much.”
“Maybe a little.”
A laugh slips out of me before I can stop it.
“Well,” I start. “The plan seems to be working.”
“Oh yeah,” he laughs. “That guy is jealous as hell.”
I shrug my shoulders. “I mean who wouldn’t get jealous of being with me?”
Ryan shakes his head at my joke. “Now you’re getting cocky.”
I let out a chuckle and Ryan jerks his chin toward the beach. “Come on. We should get back before Noah starts winning at something.”
I snort. “Oh, yeah. We are not letting that happen.”
We walk back toward the fire, Jacob’s expression replaying very clearly in my head.