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He startled and hastily dragged his eyes back to the screen. I flushed and looked away too. It didn’t matter that I dated a lot back home. It was different with him.
Halfway through the movie, the rest of the couples were all making out. Philip was making some rude comments about Natalie’s infamous stripper performance. Maddox rolled his eyes and adjusted his seat, which somehow put us even closer together.
Then, I looked up at him again. He flushed but didn’t look away.
“What?” I whispered.
“I like you like this.”
I arched an eyebrow. “How?”
“Passionate. I know how much you love films.”
And I did. My dad had gotten me a collection of black-and-white movies, and I watched them until I could quote them backward and forward. I might have been a drama queen, but it was because I’d been born in the wrong era. I should have been a black-and-white star. I still couldn’t get over the desperate feeling I'd gotten the first time I saw Casablanca or the thrill of seeing myself in A Letter to Three Wives.
“I do,” I finally said.
Then, Maddox’s hand covered mine, where it lay against my thigh. My stomach flipped as sparks shot up my arm at that one touch. When I didn’t immediately pull away, he turned my hand over in his and drew circles into my palm before threading our fingers together.
A shiver went through me at the contact. And I could see how much he wanted to kiss me. I could let him. But I’d promised Marley that I wouldn’t break her brother’s heart. I should show him that I wasn’t interested, but I didn’t want to stop either even though I knew it couldn’t work when I was four hours away.
So when he slipped an arm around my shoulders, I fit my body against him, laying my head against his chest. His other hand went to my knee. I wasn’t used to guys who went this slow either. Guys back home would have had that hand up my skirt and tried to drag me out of the party a minute later.
Maddox was slow. This meant something to him. And it made butterflies erupt in my stomach. I’d never felt this way when I was with anyone else. I’d always gone along with things because the guy was hot, and why not? It hadn’t occurred to me to care whether or not I could fall in love with them.
I was realizing how stupid all of that had been.
Was this what it was supposed to feel like?
The thought scared me. Maddox was here. I was in Atlanta. I’d be back in the summer, but that wasn’t how relationships worked, and there was Marley to contend with.
Suddenly, I couldn’t concentrate on one of my favorite movies anymore. All I could hear was Maddox’s rapid heart rate in my ear. And how good it felt to be in his arms. And how much I needed to stop this from going any further.
When the movie finished, I got to my feet and retreated to the bathroom to calm my own racing pulse. Maddox waited for me at the basement door, and after saying our good-byes and receiving a knowing look from Philip, we got back into his truck.
He didn’t start the truck immediately. He just sat there, clearly trying to work up the right words to say.
“That was fun. Different than what I’m used to at home.”
“I had fun too.” His dark eyes were set on my face. “With you.”
His hand found mine in the dark. He drew me closer against him. I swallowed. My heart was pounding. I shouldn’t do this. I couldn’t give him what he wanted.
“Josie,” he whispered into the night.
And I knew exactly what he wanted with that look. I could see every single thing he was thinking. It would be so easy to give in to that. To lean forward and press my lips against his. But where exactly was this going? We were sixteen, and he was four hours away. And no matter what my body wanted, Maddox wasn’t the kind of guy I could have a fling with.
“We should probably get home,” I said, scooting back before he could go through with that kiss. “Marley will be home soon.”
Hurt flashed across his features. “Right. Sure.” He started his truck and pulled out of Philip’s driveway.
He didn’t say anything when we got back to Gran’s. Just shot me one more look, filled with longing that I had to ignore. Pretending I want that kiss was one of the hardest things I’d ever done.
I half-expected him to drag me to him and steal the kiss he wanted. But Maddox wasn’t that kind of guy. He didn’t steal what didn’t belong to him. He had no clue that I would be more than willing to go along with it. Years of friendship stayed his hand.
