By your side (Rúben Dias)

Chapter Three

Another day Maddie woke up in a bed that wasn't hers...but this time there was someone by her side. And she suddenly remembered how last night had started...but didn't know how it ended. Her clothes were still on, though. So that was probably a clue for what hadn't happened.

"Rúben".

He opened his eyes immediately. And when he saw Maddie, he smiled at her. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused. Why am I here? In bed with you".

"You tried to sleep with me last night", he said, casually.

"I did what?"

He laughed when he saw her blush. "You were so drunk, your friends called me to pick you up. And when we got here, you tried to kiss me. And didn't like it when I stopped you".

"Why did you stop me?"

"Because you were drunk", he said, remembering how hard it had been to say no to her advances. "You don't even remember getting here. What else was I supposed to do?"

Rúben tried to get out of the bed but Maddie grabbed his arm. He turned to face her and saw the softness in her eyes. When she looked at him like that...

"You're always so good to me", she said, not really thinking about what she was saying or doing.

"Why wouldn't I be good to you?"

"Because I've hurt you".

"You haven't, Maddie".

"Yeah, I have. I've friendzoned you so many times. I've always called you to help me, knowing you'd do it because you like me".

Her honesty was a shock to him but at least they were going to have this conversation while she was sober.

"It's life", he chuckled. "You had a boyfriend when I met you. I made my peace with that. I knew I could only be your friend".

"I don't have a boyfriend anymore".

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Instead of answering, she moved closer to Rúben and kissed him. There was a part of him that knew he should stop this but it had been so many years spent daydreaming about this exact same thing happening. And now it was happening. So he placed his hand on the back of her head to keep her close to him while he kissed her back. And soon, she was straddling his lap.

"What are we doing, Maddie?"

"What we both want to do".

Not giving him time to respond, she wrapped both of her arms around his neck and moved even closer to Rúben. He had also been sleeping right next to the woman he had been dreaming about for years, so it didn't really take much to get him ready for more.

"We should stop...", he said, even if he didn't mean it. He just felt it was the right thing to do. And he needed to do the right thing when Maddie was involved.

"I know you want it. And I want it too. So why not just...".

"Because that's not what I want with you, Madison. I think the whole world could tell I want more".

"I know", she said, staring into his eyes. This felt so intimate. So much more intimate than the kisses and the way their bodies touched. "And I want that too, but...it's all too raw. I'm still hurting and don't know if I can jump into another relationship so quickly. Even if I know it's with someone like you who will treat me well".

"I understand that".

"But we could just do this casually. Get to know each other in this new way. And then...then we can see how well it works".

"I guess".

"Rúben...Rob wasn't just jealous of you because of you being sexy and famous. He could tell how much you mean to me and he felt threatened by that. I'm done playing with your feelings. I just need to go slow".

Rúben understood what she meant and it filled him with hope. This could work and he was going to make it work.

"Slow...but you're literally straddling me and driving me insane".

"Not slow when it comes to this. I think we've both waited long enough".

Even if he still had doubts and worried this would ruin their friendship...Rúben finally stopped making excuses, and let Maddie make him fall even more in love with her.

**

Maddie said she wanted something casual. That she wasn't ready for romance, basically. And she got her wish granted to her in a funny way.

"I have to go!"

"What?"

Rúben ran out of bed when they were cuddling because he realised the world didn't stop just because he was experiencing the happiest moment of his life. It kept going and he was going to be late for training.

"We start training in 20 minutes".

He was running around the room, picking up clothes and trying to get everything ready to leave as soon as possible while Maddie stayed in bed laughing.

"I'm sorry I'm leaving so fast after sleeping with you. It feels awful but I really need to be there on time".

"It's fine, Rúben. Just funny".

"You can stay here for as long as you want, ok? No need to hurry".

"I might take another nap. And then I'll make the bed before leaving".

"You don't have to make my bed".

"It's the polite thing to do".

When he was ready, he looked back at her. He didn't expect to ever see Maddie in his bed. But he especially didn't expect to see Maddie in his bed in this context. He almost wanted to take a photo to capture this moment.

"Weren't you going to be late?"

"Yes. We'll talk later, ok?"

She nodded, getting comfortable in his bed to take the nap she mentioned. "Rúben? I don't hear you leaving".

"I'm going now. Bye!"

"Bye bye".

There were no words to describe how hard it was for him to leave the apartment at that moment. To leave Maddie there. But she promised they would try to make this work. And that was all that mattered. Because he'd make sure it worked.