You can Bet on Me

Part 19 ~ First Kiss

Michael
I drove Maddison back home, and she avoided my gaze the entire ride. I wasn't sure what she was thinking, but she seemed dazed. When I had stared at her earlier, I had been mesmerised by her beautiful green eyes that sparkled and shone like the sun, except brighter and lit up with joy. I couldn't bring myself to speak after that, so we ate awkwardly and now, I was driving her home.
"Are you... okay?" I hated how my voice sounded so unsure. So wobbly. What happened to me? Something about this girl just made me suddenly consider how she felt. Care what she thought of me. Made me nervous as heck and made me doubt my every decision.
She was different for the other girls. Sometimes her stubbornness drove me crazy, but other times, I couldn't get enough of her.
"Yeah," she nodded, but still adverted my gaze to look out the window. I swallowed. Had I done something wrong? Not that I could think of.
"Do you want to go somewhere?" I asked.
"Where?" Maddison's voice was curious as she asked.
"It's a surprise. You'll have to come with me to find out," I replied, falling into my teasing demeanour easily. She laughed. Her laugh was bright and sincere, and the more I heard it the more I wanted to be the one to make her laugh. Her laugh made Sarah's seem so much faker and Maddison's entire existence and place in my life made Sarah seem completely fake. If anything, Sarah was completely fake. She was a fake bitch with a fake smile, nails, eyelashes, hair, and hell, she even had plastic surgery to fix her. But no amount of surgery could ever make her look good, because no matter how attractive she was, she was ugly on the inside.
"Then take me away," she said, finally turning around to meet my gaze. Her eyes sparkled and all of a sudden, I got the urge to just dive in and kiss her, but I held back. What would she think of me if I just swooped in and kissed her without a warning? What if she didn't want it and I just forced her first kiss on her? She would hate me, I thought, suddenly realising how much I didn't want that. How much I would hate for her to hate me.
I gave her a quick grin and turned the car around.
"So, I still want to know where we're going," Maddison pressed, edging closer. I could barely focus on driving when she was near me. Even where she sat, an arm's length away from me with her beaming smile, she made my heart flutter and my focus go out the window.
"Nope, it's an absolute surprise, and a surprise would be a surprise with, you know, the element of surprise," I replied.
"Since when did you spit riddles?" she grinned, lying back into her seat and laughing. "For all I know though, you could be kidnapping me."
"And why would I want to kidnap you? I'm not that much of a bad guy," I replied, her infectious laugh making me laugh.
"Are you though?" Maddison's laughter dissolved as she looked at me, her emerald eyes sparkling with amusement.
"Maybe I am, but I wouldn't go so far as to kidnap you," I took my eyes off the road for a split second to turn to her and smile. She fell back into her seat again and avoided my gaze. I laughed and turned back to the road.
"We're here," I said, parking the car. We both got out and I quickly took the chance to use my hand to cover her eyes so she couldn't see.
"You really are kidnapping me, aren't you?" she laughed. A warm feeling spread in my stomach that she trusted me as I heard the teasing tone in her voice, the casualness of her words.
"Who knows, maybe I'm a kidnapper in surprise, and I specialize in kidnapping beautiful girls," the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Maddison froze, and even though she couldn't see with my hand covering her eyes, she looked up at me. I could practically picture her bright green eyes looking up at me with curiosity and I stopped short.
My breath hitched and she suddenly burst out laughing.
"I'm not sure if that's supposed to be a compliment, but thanks." Softer, she added, "no one has ever told me that before."
"Well they should," I replied, smiling though she couldn't see me. "Because you are. You're the most beautiful girl I ever met."
"Really?" her tone was filled with doubt. "I'm sure that there are many other girls far prettier than me. Even your ex is beautiful."
"Let's not talk about my ex. She was a bitch, now and forever, and besides – I'm over her. She dumped me, so she's in the past now. What matters is that she's only pretty on the outside, and so are all the other girls. But you..." I paused. "You're beautiful everywhere."
She remained silent, and I wished I could see her eyes to find her reaction to my words, but that would most definitely ruin the surprise. Slowly, I led the way, every once in a while telling her to step over a rock or turn left or right.
"Why is the ground so soft?" she asked eventually.
"We're almost there. You'll find out soon." I replied, purposefully avoiding answering her question as to give away the surprise. Finally, I took my hand off Maddison's eyes and she gasped.
In front of us was the soft ocean crashing gently against the shores and the bright stars above were casting reflections in the gleaming water. The moon was mostly visible, but a small, soft cloud covered part of it, yet the moon's light was so bright that it illuminated through the cloud to make the cloud light up beautifully. We stood on a cliff overlooking the ocean and a beautiful view of the night sky, and soft, green moss was beneath us. Down below on the beach, there was sand everywhere, gently being moved around by the wind and the ocean's waves.
"It's... beautiful," Maddison whispered softly.
"I know," I couldn't stop the smile from creeping up my face as I sat down to admire the view. No matter how many times I saw it, I could never get over its dazzling beauty and every time it made me smile. Maddison sat down beside me and leaned back on her hands. When she looked over to me, the wind picked up slightly and her long, wavy brown hair flew out sideways. When the wind stopped, her hair fell back down in a cascade of waves and I could see her sparkling green eyes. I realised just then how lucky I was, to have such a beautiful girlfriend right there with me with the sweetest smile and a laughter that sounded like ringing bells.
I wanted to kiss her so badly, but I still held back. I licked my lips and my eyes automatically fell down to hers. Flickering my gaze back up to her eyes, I was immediately captured by their beauty and the stars seemed to reflect off them like an entire galaxy all in someone's eyes.
I was almost disappointed when she quickly looked back up to the stars to admire the beauty of my secret spot.
"How do you know this place?" she asked.
"I've been here before," I replied. "I used to come here all the time." Sarah hated it, I was about to say, but then I realised that this night wasn't about Sarah – it was all about Maddison. "It was a spot where I would relax and unwind after a pressured day."
"What do you mean?" Maddison's eyes remained looking up at the sky.
"My parents want me to take over their company when I'm older," I hated how my voice sounded so weak and the mere reminder of my set future was killing me. "But I don't want that."
We sat in silence for a little while until she broke it.
"Then you don't have to," Maddison's voice, when she spoke again, was soft and gentle and caring and I suddenly wished that I had seen how amazing and beautiful she had been before the bet. Before my life got complicated.
"But I do," my voice sounded sad. Defeated. Just like how I felt, sitting before my own pre-decided future, all planned out for me.
"What do you want to be?" Maddison's question caught me off guard. What did I want to be? As a child, I had already had my whole life planned out for me – grow up, take over the company. That restricted my imagination to dream. To dream of what I wanted and not what my parents wanted.
"I've... never thought of it," I replied, suddenly feeling vulnerable before this girl that could make me open up all my deepest darkest secrets that I would have never told anyone with just a smile.
"Alright then," Maddison turned to me. "Whatever you choose, I'll be with you every step of the way. I hope." Her words made my heart quake. My head filled with all kinds of stupid ideas suddenly and the only thing I wanted to do anymore was to be alone with Maddison.
I wish... this wasn't a bet. I suddenly thought. Maybe when the month was over, I wouldn't break up with her. But guilt would ride on my back forever if I knew that we had only been together because of some bet, and if she didn't know, I would be stuck with this terrible feeling that I knew I had betrayed her trust. I counted the weeks we had been together, so far. It had been more than three weeks, and after next week, the month would be over. Suddenly, the money didn't matter anymore. I could imagine the look of hurt and betrayal that Maddison would have on her face when I told her the real reason. I didn't want to hurt her – I wanted to make her smile and laugh every day. But how could I do that when I was the one who'd made the mistake?
My thoughts were interrupted when Maddison suddenly said, "um, sorry, could you drop me home? It's past my curfew already."
I nodded, not trusting my stupid mouth to speak at that moment. We got up and got back in the car and I drove off into the night, still stuck with my stupid thoughts. I really wish that this wasn't a bet because I don't want this to ever be over.
It didn't take long for us to reach Maddison's house. Her address had somehow been saved in my car's GPS system and it was easy to find which house was hers. She got out of the car and we both stood in her driveway, both unsure of what to say next.
I had expected her to leave and go inside her house as soon as I dropped her off, but she didn't. She stayed for a little while, swaying side to side while adverting my gaze. I didn't get why she refused to look at me. It frustrated me, but at the same time, I was open to the challenge.
"I had... fun tonight," she said slowly, as if she were still piecing the sentence together. Her eyes still refused to meet mine or even look at me, and the same frustration welled up in me all over again. Calming myself, I nodded.
We stood in silence in her driveway, the street quiet and abandoned. I caught her eyes flickering to meet my gaze and she quickly looked away again. I wasn't sure how much longer we would be there, but I strangely didn't want to go.
Without a warning, she whipped her head to look at me and before I could react, she leaned forward and kissed me. Her lips were soft and I couldn't get enough, and it seemed all too short before she pulled back.
"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—" before she could finish her sentence, I threw my arms around her waist and pulled her in, closing the small distance between us and kissing her. Her eyes were wide for a moment, but then she relaxed and her tense arms relaxed against my chest. She was warm – warm and beautiful and mine, just for tonight. She mirrored the movements of my mouth and I throat went dry. When she opened her eyes again, she seemed to suddenly snap out of whatever trance she was in and pushed me away.
"I-I'm sorry." She squeaked, taking a step back from me.
"There's no need to apologise," I looked at her, studying her expression and face and demeanour.
"Well, uh, goodnight." She quickly raced off towards her house before I could do anything or even reply. I smiled. Maddison was everything I could ever want and more. That was when I was absolutely certain and ready to admit – I loved her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~