Anyone Else But You

Chapter 20 - Friends No More

                                        Coldplay – Till Kingdom Come

Maddie looked at the moped in front of her with huge apprehension, Jasper really expected her to get on the back of that. It didn’t look like it could carry one person let alone two, it was the vintage Vespa he used when he delivered pizzas. If she’d seen it this close up she wouldn’t have agreed to the lift, Jasper was taking her to her team’s football match because her dad had to drop  her mum, sister and Lily off on the way and she wouldn’t fit in the car with her brother there too.

“You really want me to get on that thing? It doesn’t look safe.” She glanced up at Jasper with a worried look clouding her features.

“Betty is perfectly safe, she’s a classic they don’t make them like this anymore. She’s had two people and ten pizzas on her before.” Maddie smiled as she watched Jasper run his hand over the leather seat and looked at his scooter with so much love she felt a twinge of jealousy. “I guarantee when you get to the other end, you won’t want to get off her.” Maddie looked at him in disbelief but her features broke into a grin followed by a bubble of laughter.

“You call your Vespa Betty?” She tried to stop laughing but couldn’t. He shook his head at her then bent down to the moped and whispered.

“Don’t listen to her Betty, she’s just a little nervous about the ride.” Her laughter continued as he straightened up and pulled her into him, his face was centimetres from hers when she finally stopped chuckling. Raising his eyebrows, he leant into her and caught his lips in hers making her breath leave her body completely. If she’d known he was such a good kisser and could make her feel this way, she might have admitted to her feelings earlier.

Jasper pulled back and Maddie reluctantly let go of him, if they didn’t get going she would miss the start of the match. “We better get off.” Jasper climbed onto the Vespa and looked at her expectantly, Maddie hesitated taking one last look at the contraption in front of her. She was trusting her life with this thing!

After a minute of staring she took the hand Jasper was offering her and lifted her right leg over the machine and settled into the seat behind Jasper. It was surprisingly comfortable and being so close to Jasper’s warmth calmed her nerves a little. He started the engine and drove off down the road, Maddie had to wrap her arms around his chest and hold on for dear life. By the time they reached the football ground she’d nearly fallen off five times and three of those had been when the bike wasn’t even moving.

They were playing a team from Newham away from home, the same team had drawn with them earlier in the season and were unlucky not to win. Maddie almost fell off the moped again when jasper had pulled up in the car park, she got her foot caught behind his leg and stumbled off the bike. She noticed her dad’s car parked three spaces away and headed over to grab her kitbag.

Before she got a foot away Jasper pulled her back into his body, his lips caught hers and she didn’t want to move. After a few seconds he pulled back and looked into her eyes. “Good luck, go and score for me.” She smiled back and eased out of his arms, she headed over to her dad’s car where he was waiting for her.

“Be careful M&M.” Maddie took her kitbag and looked at him with her brows furrowed in confusion.