Okay, maybe she was getting a little bit excited about tonight.
Satisfied with her choices, Maddy skipped to take a shower and start getting ready.
***
At a few minutes to eight, the doorbell rang, and after one last look in the mirror, Maddy went to answer the door.
Her parents had left a while ago for a Friday night outing, so she’d already heard the ‘be careful and call us if you need us anytime’ speech. Maddy had practically had to shoo them out the door while telling them to have fun and not to worry about her.
As she opened the door, Maddy immediately realized that she should have focused more on getting mentally prepared for the evening than giving all her attention to her appearance. Because at the first sight of Nate, whatever breath was in her lungs left her with a whoosh that would have been embarrassing if she hadn’t covered it up with a cough. Which was a good way to produce some saliva for her suddenly very dry mouth and throat.
God, this was going to be a very long night.
Nate looked every part the handsome devil, his chestnut hair falling around his face slightly overdue a haircut in a way that made her hands itching to push the strands off his face, clad in a black jeans and dark green button down combo that hugged his body to perfection, under a black leather jacket that made him sinful.
Well, her friend certainly wasn’t holding back tonight.
She just hoped her glasses were enough to catch the eyeballs that would probably fall off their sockets if she kept looking at him for too long.
Maddy felt her temperature rise in a way that had nothing to do with heat. Or maybe it was a different kind of heat. One she wasn’t going to think about.
She hoped her face didn’t betray her thoughts, she really did. Because this was just a friendly invite, nothing more, nothing less.
Yes, they were going to this party together, but not together-together.
But come on, she had eyes. She couldn’t deny hotness when it hit her in the face like that.
Maddy was already shaking her head at herself when she realized that neither she nor Nate had uttered a word yet.
Chancing a look at his face, Maddy saw that he wore an undecipherable expression.
Nate seemed to be clenching his jaw really hard, which made his jawline very pronounced. And his eyes held a single-minded focus she couldn’t look away from. Nate’s gaze swept her form from top to bottom, missing nothing, and for the first time since they’d properly met, Maddy stopped for a minute to actually wonder what it would have been like if they had met in their own time, as the people they’d grown into.
There was no point wondering about things that would never happen, especially when they could just enjoy their night ahead.
“Hi,” she said, feeling the smile that pulled at her lips.
“Hi, yourself,” Nate replied in a deep voice that sent a small shiver through her.
Okay, so maybe there was no harm in wondering for just a little while longer.
“So, how did it go?” Maddy swallowed, feeling her smile wobble under his intense gaze.
“We won,” Nate said matter-of-factly, a self-assured smirk tilting his lips, which did nothing to ease the tension she was feeling.
“Okay, arrogant much?” She busied herself, tearing her eyes away from that look before she was unable to. She slipped on her shoes and grabbed her bag and coat, as she waited for his answer.
“Is it arrogance though when that’s what usually happens?”
Maddy scrunched her eyebrows.
“Fair point.”
Shutting the door behind her, Nate moved to the side to let her pass, but not before she noticed the imperceptible way in which he leaned towards her. It was a barely there movement before he took a step back and placed a hand on the small of her back to guide her towards his car.
They’d almost reached it when Nate’s voice stopped her.
“Uh, Mads?”
