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Elouise
After grabbingmy purse off the counter, I went out through the garage, leaving without saying anything else to Beckett.
The drive to BeanBag passes in a blur. My mind still focused on what he admitted crouched before me on the porch.
I’m glad I put on halfway decent clothes before facing Beckett because I didn’t even think to check over my appearance before leaving.
Finding a parking spot, I climb out of my car and head into Maddie’s shop. The familiar scents of coffee and pastries greeting me when I pull open the door.
After having Beckett answer my phone, I’m sure she knows I need the full Best Friend Treatment, which means privacy. But Maddie’s busy ringing up a customer, so I make my way behind the counter and help myself to our Freak Out Spot.
It’s a square of extra thick squishy mat that’s been here for years and has been strategically placed behind the tallest section of counter. Lowering myself to the ground, I settle my butt into place and tip my head back against the cupboard.
Maddie and I discovered the privacy of this spot back when we both worked here in high school, Maddie has just made it a little more comfortable. It’s mostly used for panic attacks, and while I might not be quite there, I’m close. So, I close my eyes and listen to Maddie’s movements as she makes a pair of lattes, trying to compose my thoughts.
A few minutes pass and my heart rate is finally slowing back to normal when I hear the door open then close as the customers leave.
“So…” Maddie trails off, her footsteps stopping at my side.
“So…”
“I take it the volunteering last night went well?”
Maddie’s question has my eyes slowly opening. I watch her for just a second and see the guilt written across her features.
“You’re the one who told him where to find me?” I shake my head, realizing how stupid I’d been to not even think about how he found me.
Maddie drops to sit on the floor facing me. “I’m so sorry! He just came in here looking for you and you know how I am with confrontation!” Her eyes widen, “Not that he was confrontational or anything like that! I just mean-shit Lou… Beckett is super-hot!”
A loud laugh bursts out of me, “Oh, trust me, I get it.”
“I really am sorry,” she says, quieter this time.
“It’s okay.” I blow out a breath, “Honestly, I’m glad you did it.”
“Yeah?” Maddie perks up, clearly relieved, “Want to tell me what he was doing still at your house this morning, answering your phone?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
Her brows raise, “You just had a hot guy sharing your bed all night, but it somehow wasn’t like that?”
I roll my eyes, “I mean he didn’t sleep over.”
Maddie scrunches up her features, “So what, he came over for breakfast?”
With I sigh, I tell Maddie everything that happened. About him showing up at the High School. About the tickets and sitting through the play together. About me bailing on him and then me waking up to him fixing my porch.
“That’s…” Maddie shakes her head, “wow.”
“That’s just the start of it.” I sit up straighter, “Do you remember that kickball game when we were like seven? The one where Beckett threw the ball at that kid who knocked me over?”
“Remember?” she snorts, “You talked about that game for weeks afterwards. It was the day you fell in love with Beckett.”
I swallow, “He brought that game up today.”
The memory of his words hits me square in the chest and I barely notice Maddie’s gasp.
I know he didn’t have the same sort of crush on me as I had on him. I get it was different. But if my younger self had known…
