Page 25 of Love me, Maddie Mendoza

I thought it was a good sign. They met at one of my games. He saw how much she cared for me, platonically. It was the recipe for a good relationship. She was happy, and it was her happiness and determination that carried me those months.

They were a brand-new couple, but I needed her and he seemed to understand. She brought me to physiotherapy three times a week. She cooked and came over to check on me all the time. I needed my best friend. There was no way around it. I was scared, so goddamn scared, and it didn’t matter how much I pretended to the guys I was fine. Maddie knew best. The injury caused a shift in my life; it forced changes.

Things got better eventually. I couldn’t go back to the court but my injury healed, and I was allowed to exercise and play for fun. It was then that I’d learned Peter didn’t actually like basketball; he was dragged to my game by his friends. After that, every time I hung out with him the more I disliked the man.

I sighed, shaking the thoughts about Maddie and Peter out of my head. Jason never asked me what was on my mind, or if I wanted to call it quits and go to bed. We played game after game; he dealt and only then announced what we were playing. Changing it all the time kept me on my toes and out of my head.

Around two in the morning, our front lock clicked open and rushed voices flooded the kitchen.

“Shh, you’re so loud. The boys are sleeping.”

“Let’s wake them up!” Aisha’s voice replied.

They giggled at her suggestion, and my heart relaxed. They figured things out, and she was back. It was all good.

The first one to come over to the kitchen was Nick. He was painfully sober, and I pitied him for having to deal with Aisha and Maddie’s drunkenness. I could hear by their giggle they were more than a handful. Without asking us why we were still up and playing, Nick circled the table, reaching for the cupboard on the right to get a bottle of whiskey and three tumblers.

We heard the girls in the background, tumbling around, tossing shoes and whatnots. Finally they joined in no shoes. Maddie had the cutest shade of pink nail polish on her small toes. Sometimes it was hard not to be blinded by the smallest things about her.

“Whiskey?” Jason asked.

They had enough to drink; I was sure, but Aisha nodded, dropping on the chair at the head, between Nick and I. Leaning dangerously over, she grabbed the bottle from Jason at the other side of the table and giggled when she sat back.

Maddie followed her lead, but instead of sitting on the vacant chair on my right, she sat on me. Wouldn’t be the first time I had her on my lap, but she was usually crying. She didn’t sit on my knees though, no. Her ass came all the way back, her back resting on my chest as her legs opened with mine in between.

“Am I too heavy?”she whispered, turning her head just a little to the side.

I almost laughed.She was tiny. I brought my arm around her waist and shifted her just a little on my legs to have us both in the perfect position as I whispered back,“You’re fine.” Maddie relaxed again, and I breathed in. I always enjoyed being “the one” for her when she needed.

Nick was dealing the cards while he watched us, but it was Nick. He wasn’t going to say a thing. People weren’t ever sure of how to deal with Maddie and me. Even our closest friends - the people on that very table- weren’t completely aware of how many layers our friendship had. Sure, it was all platonic, but we were never afraid of showing our love for each other. I had her in my arms plenty of times before, and I was going to have her many times after.

It was just Maddie, right?

Aisha grabbed her cards and gave us a look I could barely decipher with Maddie’s hair on my face.

“Are you going to dump his ass, girl?” she asked.

My back went rigid, bringing us both a little apart. Maddie remained silent.

“What did he say tonight?” I wanted to know.

She puffed and took her hair to the side, giving us a little space to look at each other. “Pete’s too jealous.”

“We weren’t doing anything wrong.” I felt the need to say. We were just joking around, playing with our friends. I never came on to Maddie, not in sixteen years, and I definitely wasn’t going to start when she had a boyfriend. It didn’t matter how annoying he was.

“There’re other things too.” Maddie waved me off.

“The sex is bad.” Aisha revealed.

Maddie screeched, “Aisha!”

“Put the cards on the table.” She chuckled at her own card joke, “It’s all between friends.”

Maddie rubbed her temple. “I mean, it’s ok.”

“Baby girl…” Aisha tsked.

“How bad it is, baby girl Maddie?” Jason asked, following Aisha’s lead.

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