“What sort of guy am I then?” I held my breath, waiting for her answer.
“You’re the guy I’m going to marry.”
I burst out laughing at her words and shook my head. She really was a Loony Tunes character.
“I think you’ve had too much time on your hands this summer.”
“Have you ever seen The Notebook or Love Actually?”
“Nope.”
“Well, have you ever seen any romance movies?”
“Nope.”
“Well, when people are meant to be together, they just know.”
“Maddie, I have no interest in getting married, and if I did, it would not be to you.” I let the words linger in the air and felt her flinch at my words.
“I hope you don’t think—”
“Look, Maddie,” I cut her off and pulled over at the end of her street. “This isn’t a romance movie or book or whatever. There is no happily ever after for us. I don’t know what game you’re playing. I’m sorry I slept with you. That wasn’t fair to you. But listen to me carefully: we are nothing. I don’t know you, and I don’t care about you.”
My eyes blazed into hers and I could see tears welling in them. I broke away from her gaze and looked at the tree-lined street of mansions. I stared at her house, with the colonial columns and the porch swing, and my blood boiled. There was no reason for me to feel sorry for Maddie; she had everything she could ever want. She was just some silly college girl, caught up in some fantasy of getting with a bad boy. I knew her type.
“That’s how you feel?” Her voice was strong, and I was surprised that she wasn’t crying already. I guess she inherited her backbone from her piece-of-scum father.
“Yes.” I looked back at her and stared at her slightly trembling lips. They looked so pink and luscious, and I could almost feel them on mine; soft, moist, and sweet. I wanted to pull her towards me and hold her tight. I wanted to kiss her again. Shit, I wanted to take her in the backseat of the car. All I would have to do is throw the baby seat out.
“Well, I guess that’s it, then.” She opened the door. “It was nice to meet you.”
“I wish I could say the same.” I turned away from her harshly. Let her hate me. I needed her to hate me. I couldn’t afford for the lines to be blurred. I was already feeling shitty, and I just needed to get away from her.
“I stole the cop car because I wanted to meet you,” she whispered before she slammed the door.
“Wait, what?” I sat there in shock. “What the f**k is she talking about?” I cursed at myself as I opened the car door and jumped out. “What do you mean?” I called after her as I hurried to keep up with her. She was walking fast and I ran to stop her.
“Wait.” I grabbed her arm and stopped her. “What do you mean you stole a cop car to meet me?”
She turned around slowly and my heart froze as I saw the tears streaming down her face. She looked up at me, and her cheeks were blotchy. I pulled her towards me subconsciously and held her in my arms. She rested her head on my shoulder and I stroked her hair and buried my face in her black locks. I felt her body pressed mine, and I ignored the stirrings of lust that grew in me.
“Why do you hate me?” She looked up at me with wide eyes, her irises cloudy and unsure. “I don’t get why you’re trying to hurt me.”
“I don’t even know you, Maddie. We just met. I’m not trying to hurt you.”
“You’re not a cruel guy.” She shook her head. “You changed after we had sex.” She sighed. “I guess it’s my fault.”
“I didn’t change because we had sex.” I shook my head and rubbed her lower back, pulling her closer to me. “We’re two people who shouldn’t have …”
“Shhh.” Her eyebrows crept together. “I don’t want to hear anything about being from opposite sides of the track or whatever. We’re both adults here. Yeah, I know you’re a criminal, a petty criminal. But I also know you’re a smart guy. I know what you do to help others.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I looked away from her. How did she know so much about me? I thought I had hidden my tracks a lot more carefully.
“It doesn’t really matter now.” She pulled away from me. “You’re just a guy, and I’m just a girl. I know you like to go to the pier to steal cars at night. And you know that I like to watch romance movies.”
“I see.” I frowned. If the fact that I liked to steal cop cars at the pier was well known, then I had to choose another spot.
“I wanted to see what it felt like to be a car thief.” She shook her head and frowned. “I wanted to be in your head.”
“Why?” I looked at her in confusion.
“I don’t know. I didn’t think it through properly. I figured maybe you would wonder who the new thief in your territory was, and maybe you’d come find me.”
“Now who’s watching too many movies?” I laughed and ran my hands through my hair. “I can’t say I really understand, but I guess I get it.”
“I just wanted to …” She shook her head. “Oh, what does it matter? I’m too tired to explain.”
“I want to know.”
“Are you going to take me out tomorrow night on a date?”
“No.”
“Are you planning on ever seeing me again?”
I looked at her and at that moment, I wished that I could give her a different answer. “No. No, I’m not,” I replied honestly, I didn’t tell her that I wished that the circumstances were different. It didn’t matter what I wished; they weren’t now and would never be.
“So it doesn’t matter then. I was just a stupid rich girl.” She let out a quick self-deprecating laugh.
“You’re not stupid.” I shook my head, wishing I knew what I could say to make her feel better. My intent had been to hurt her, but now, seeing her crushed and disappointed face, it didn’t feel as good as I had always hoped it would.
“Whatever. It was nice finally meeting you, Logan Martelli.” She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and pulled away from me. She walked slowly up to her house and I stood there in impenetrable silence as I watched her walking away from me. I saw her at the front door and then walked back to the car. I sat in the driver’s seat and stared at the house, unseeing. I didn’t even have to have my eyes open to picture every detail of that house and lawn. I’d been here so many times, sitting in a car, staring and listening to stories. I’d hated this street and this house for more than half my life. I’d hated the family that lived in that house for as long as I could remember. Even though I’d seen the mayor and his wife before, I’d never seen Maddie. We didn’t even know she was called Maddie; we knew her as Maddison. I had hated Maddison Wright and her family with every bone in my body, and now I sat in my car with a ball of confused emotions. Because I didn’t hate Maddie, not even a little bit. I didn’t hate Maddie at all. But there was nothing I could do to ever let Maddie know that.