Sweetest Confusion

Chapter Eight: Mixed Emotions

"Maddie?"

"Oh my God!" My eyes widened. I threw myself at the boy. Without thinking, I planted my lips on his. Daniel's hands moved down from my waist to cup my ass as we deepened the kiss. 

"We should probably get out of the public eye." He said when we finally broke away. I followed him into an empty bedroom, closing the door behind me.

This time he initiated the kiss, tangling his fingers in my hair. It was a passionate kiss, as his tongue slipped into my mouth and his hands roamed down my body. I felt his hand travel up my skirt and at first, I was okay with it until he travelled too high for my comfort. Still kissing him, I took the hand our from underneath my skirt and wrapped it around my waist.

Before anything more could happen a couple burst into the room, oblivious to the fact it was already occupied. "Oh sorry, we didn't know this room was being used. Guess we'll have to get another one," Taylor giggled as she pulled Jamie out the room again.

My eyes widened as I say my best friend drag her ex-boyfriend out of the room. "Oh don't worry, we were just leaving. The room is yours," Daniel called. In their drunken stupor, they just laughed and fell onto the bed. I laughed softly before closing the door to give them some privacy. Once we got downstairs he placed his hand around my waist as he manoeuvred us through the mass of sweaty teenagers, most of them already on the verge of passing out. The fresh air hit me as soon as we stepped outside. I breathed a sigh of relief, my mind still clouded by the alcohol. Daniel held my hand as I stumbled along behind him as he led me to his car. 

"The night is still young, what do you want to do?" He asked.

"Honestly, I just want to go home," I admitted.

"Okay, I'll drop you home then."

"Maddie!" I heard Drew call out to me. I turned sharply to see him approaching us.

"Cooper?"

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Daniel is going to drop me off."

"Daniel?"

"Oh yeah, sorry. Andrew this is Daniel, my childhood best friend. Daniel this is Andrew, my... uh friend," I introduced. The boys didn't exchange handshakes but they did seem to be sizing each other up.

"Do you need me to drop you home? I'm pretty much sober," he offered.

"No, that's okay. Daniel said that he would." I smiled. As much as I wanted Daniel to take me home, somewhere deep down I wished that I had taken Drew up on his offer but I pushed the thoughts away. The look of hurt on Drew's face almost made me reconsider my decision but it was gone before I could say anything.

"Okay. Bye," He muttered before turning back to head into the party.

"One second," I said quietly to Daniel. I ran up to Drew, catching his hand.

"Are we good?" I asked him.

"We're fine," he muttered, shrugging my hand off and walking into the crowd. I tried to ignore the pang of hurt I felt before placing a smile on my face.

"You alright?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah let's go home. We should probably Uber home because we're both too intoxicated to be driving."

"Nah it'll be fine. I'm not drunk."

"Daniel, please. I don't want to take the risk." I took out my phone and called an Uber.

"The car will be here in a few minutes. We can come back tomorrow to pick up the cars." I said, sitting down on the front lawn. We were quiet till the car arrived, and for that I was grateful.

"Why did you never reply to my letter?" I asked Daniel.

"I never got your letter," he replied.

"You could have called,"

"You could have called too," he looked at me.

"What happened to us?" I said sadly.

"We just grew apart. That happens sometimes with long distance. We shouldn't dwell on it much."

"Yeah, you're right. So catch me up on your life. What have you been up to?" I asked cheerily.

"Oh, you know the usual. My life has been pretty boring if I'm honest," he laughed. "I was on the basketball team in my old school, junior prom king, and I restored my dad's 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 with him. Pretty normal, standard high school shenanigans."

"You guys restored the car? That's amazing! I'm proud of you." I smiled. 

"Yeah took us a couple of years, but we got it done." He smiled. "In fact had we taken my car, you would have gotten a chance to sit in it."

"How long are you in town for?" 

"For a while."

"Stop being coy, boy." I nudged him. 

"Okay, actually I transferred here for senior year." 

"That's great!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around his neck. I frowned when I saw my reflection in the glass. The excitement I had in my voice didn't reflect in my eyes. I couldn't understand why I felt this way. Surely, having my best friend back after almost 10 years should be the best thing right now but all I could think about was how I left Drew at that party. 

"Thanks," I shot to the driver when we reached my house. The living room light was on, meaning that my mom had come back from whatever country she had travelled to. 

"Mom?" I called as I wiggled out of my ankle boots. 

"In the kitchen dear." She answered back.

"Look who I bumped into." I grinned as Daniel walked through the shadows into the kitchen light. Her eyes widened when she recognised the boy standing beside me

"Oh my. Daniel, you have grown so big! How is your mother doing? How long are you staying? Are you guys hungry?" My mother bombarded him with questions. 

"Mom calm down. Daniel is transferring for senior year so you'll have plenty of time to question him." I laughed.

"Mom is good. I think she was thinking of coming here for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the plans aren't finalised yet. She also sent a few things over for you, I'll have to come by sometime to drop it off." 

"Are you guys hungry? I ordered pizza earlier. I'm not a big eater so I think there will be enough for both of you," Mom said. 

"Yeah, that'll be great. Can I take it up to my room?" 

"Sure honey. Mind if I have a quick word before you go up?" 

"Yeah sure. Daniel, my room is on the second floor. You can't miss it." I shoved the pizza box in his hands.

"How long are you going to be in town this time mom?" 

"Maddison, don't be like that." She looked at me sadly.

"Just tell me, mom," I sighed. 

"I'm here for the weekend and then I'm flying to New York for a few days."

"Okay, so you'll be back next weekend then?"

"Yeah. I won't know exactly how long I will be staying until I get to New York."

"What about dad?" I grabbed a jug of water from the fridge and poured myself a glass. 

"He's still in China. When I spoke to him last he said he would still be there at least a couple of months." I couldn't hide the disappointment on my face. "I'm sorry honey. I'm sorry that we're away all the time. You know why we do it right? For us to send you and your brother to good schools and colleges, to pay off loans and afford this house we need to work."

"I get it, mom. You don't have to explain it to me. I'm not complaining. It's totally fine." I shot her a quick smile before joining Daniel in my room.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

edit: 06/02/2020