A reluctant friend made by circumstances? Probably, she thought.
Well, she’d make sure of it, she decided with determination.
***
A few minutes later, their friendship seemed well on its way to ruin.
“What do you mean you’ve never watched the Harry Potter movies?” Maddy gawked at him, her ears ringing at the absolute blasphemy.
They’d been looking around for a good twenty minutes. Judging from the way they initially split into completely different directions to peruse completely different genres, Maddy thought they would be there for some time. Until their conversation brought her to a screeching halt.
Nate shrugged, uncaring about the vicious blow he was dealing her at that moment.
“I just haven’t. Seemed pretty juvenile at the time.”
Juvenile? Had he just said juvenile?
Maddy could feel her mouth opening and closing like a fish’s but no words came out.
Witnessing her fuming state, Nate let out a bark of laughter. “What’s the problem? Did you, like, invest money in the movies or something?”
He wassonot improving his situation. “Of course not. It’s just the principle of the thing.”
He kept chuckling as he continued to browse the higher shelves.
“Laugh all you want,” Maddy threw back at him. “But I don’t think I will recover from this. I’m hurt. Like physically hurt.”
“Wow, dramatic much?” Nate raised an eyebrow at her, his amusement evident.
She did not share his amusement.
“Well, the way I see it, there’s only one way for you to redeem yourself,” she said, nodding to herself. “Go grab the first two movies.”
Nate turned fully towards her at that.
“Weren’t we supposed to choose what to watch together?”
Maddy was already shaking her head. “Nope. This is too great an offense. It requires swift action.”
Nate studied her for a bit, his gaze piercing. Probably assessing just how serious she was.
“Okay, Madison. If it means that much to you.”
“It does,” she admitted softly.
Nate’s gaze felt like a caress on her face.
“Alright. But you get no say in what I choose next time. Deal?”
“Deal.”
***
Approximately an hour later, they were entering Nate’s house, armed with their DVDs and a heap of so many different sorts of chips, popcorn and candy to send someone in a food coma. She didn’t know who exactly was going to eat all this but she had a vague suspicion that a certain 6 ft plus guy fit the description perfectly.
The moment they entered, Nate’s sweet mom, or Beth, as she insisted that Maddy call her, rushed to greet them and help them carry everything inside.
It was easy to see how much Nate took after her. They looked very much alike, Beth’s hair in short, wavy hair perhaps closer to mahogany than Nate’s chestnut. And significantly shorter than him, but still taller than Maddy. Her soft smile, though, reminded Maddy very much of Nate’s when he was unguarded and relaxed. And she saw that the smiles they aimed at each other spoke of love and care.
