Page 89 of Love me, Maddie Mendoza

I went back and reclined on the seat, looking away from her face. I scratched my cheek. “Yep.”

“And that has never happened between us before.”

I shook my head slowly. “Never.”

“Are you freaking out?” she asked, making me turn.

Was I freaking out? A little. But it was more to do with what she thought than what I was feeling. So I shook my head and looked straight at her. “You look like you are.”

She snorted. “It’s the proper response.”

My lips twitched up. “That’s your response to everything, Mad Max.” I said, sitting up a little higher, getting comfortable in my skin again.

“That’s such a lie! I’m easy-going most of the time.” I scoffed. “Z! I have a reason to be a little…” She tilted her head to the side. “Your hand was…” she stopped herself. “Your fingers…” and stopped again.

“Are you going to finish those sentences?”

Her face crumpled. “I’m trying.”

I took a deep breath and reached for her, pulling her arm toward me. Maddie laced her fingers in mine, that cute pout of hers still in place as she watched our connection with worried eyes.

“Stop freaking out.”

Her eyebrows went up. “I thought I was handling it pretty well.”

I chuckled. Yes, she was handling it surprisingly well by her standards. She even waited a whole eight hours before bringing up the subject. “You can’t even say where my fingers were, Mads.”

Maddie scoffed, I laughed. She tipped her head up to rest on the seat. “I was trying to find the right words.”

I licked my bottom lip. “Yeah, you always struggled with the word pussy.”

She gasped, “Not the right word for…” she cleared her throat, “vagina. I was trying to think what to say to you.”

I didn’t know what to say to her either. I wanted to leave it alone, but instead, I said; “You can tell me anything, Maddie.”

My claim was weak. I looked away, watching the other students park their cars and drag themselves to class. I looked anywhere but at Maddie.

“I’m not sure how you’ll react.”

“What do you think is going to happen?” I shook my head. “Whatever you say, we’ll still be us. Unless...” I gulped. “Unless you’re angry at me.”

Maddie squeezed my hand. “Why would I be angry with you?” When I looked at her, she was frowning. “I was the one who got off.”

That was enough to do it. I barked a laugh. She was so funny, with a deadpan tone and a curl on her lip.

I tugged her hand. “Come on, just be honest.”

Maddie chewed on her bottom lip, seemed to be lost in thought. Before I could ask for her words once more, she said. “I think it was… nice.”

“Nice?”

“Yes. Last night.”

“Last night was nice. Is that it?”

“It doesn’t sound right when you say it.” She frowned.

“Ok, so answer me this; were you afraid to tell me because you thought it was just nice?”

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