Bruises- Shane Madej

16. The Car Wash

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When Maddie slowly opened her eyes the next morning, she was a startled to see someone's t-shirt collar about 4 inches away from her face.

Then, she remembered where she was. 

The wall of pillows that Shane and Maddie had constructed the previous night had done absolutely nothing to separate them.

Maddie's arm was flung haphazardly over Shane's chest, he had her ankle sandwiched between his shins, and his hand was intertwined in her messy hair. 

The blankets were ripped off of Shane as Maddie quickly rolled away from him, who began to stir. 

"Why'd you take the blanket," he mumbled sleepily. 

Maddie rolled her eyes and fixed it, pretending as if the two had stayed on their own side of the bed the whole night. 

"What time is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

Maddie checked her phone. "Quarter past ten." She hadn't slept in that much in a while. 

"Do you wanna get breakfast?" 

She swung her feet off the bed, combing through her hair with her fingers. "Yeah, lets go."

After breakfast, Maddie and Shane decided to see The Golden Gate Bridge. They had lunch at a cafe.

Maddie thought it felt kind of like a date, but she didn't say anything to Shane about it. 

Then, it was time to go to the wedding. It was on the beach, surrounded by lots of palm trees. 

The wedding reception took the group to a pavilion area just inside the tree line. It was basically just a big party; lots of dancing, drinking, and cake.

Maddie had a few glasses of champagne, but was careful not to drink too much; she still had a long drive home that night. 

Before she knew it, it was getting late and the wedding was coming to a close. 

Their baggage was already in Shane's car, so all they had to do was get in and go. 

"Are you sure you don't wanna change?" Shane asked. 

Maddie shook her head. "No, I'm fine, this dress is comfy. What about you?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'll just take off my tie." 

She nodded. "Ok!" 

"What do you wanna listen to?"

"Hm... Do you just have an oldies playlist?"

He nodded, handing her his phone as they pulled onto the freeway. 

The drive took about six hours, but it felt a lot shorter than that to Maddie. She and Shane just talked to each other and that really seemed to pass the time. 

It was around 1 in the morning when they finally reached Los Angeles. 

"Hey, um Maddie, I know you wanna get home but is it ok if we just take a small detour to the car wash?" 

She nodded. "Yeah, totally, I can wait." 

They pulled into a car wash. Shane aligned his car with the automatic track and then set the car in neutral. The car started moving forward as it was sprayed by water. 

Maddie sensed Shane feeling nervous. She didn't know why. 

Maybe he was scared of car washes.

She tried to set him at ease by making conversation. 

"So, I got these new shoes and they gave me major bruises on my feet," she laughed. 

Shane took a deep breath, not acknowledging her attempt at conversation. "Maddie?"

She looked at him. He seemed really nervous now. "Yeah?"

"I'm in love with you." 

"What."

"I love you."

What?

What was he saying? 

Before she even registered what she was doing, Maddie felt herself reaching up to Shane's face and pressing her lips against his. 

What's happening? Is this real? 

Shane was surprised for a second but, then, he put his hand on the back of Maddie's head, kissing back. 

When she broke away for air, Shane pulled her right back in for another kiss. 

She felt like there was a whole herd of butterflies in her stomach.

Just then, they rolled forward and Shane was reminded of where they were. He cleared his throat and took hold of the wheel as the car glided out of the car wash. 

Maddie felt a blush rising to her cheeks and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, trying to comprehend what had just happened. 

She didn't know what to say. What was she supposed to say? 

There was no denying that she liked kissing Shane. 

Did he feel the same way? 

Before the kiss, he said he loved her. She realized that she never said it back. 

Just as Shane pulled up to her apartment building, Maddie cleared her throat, taking a deep breath. 

"I love you, too," she said, before getting out of the car and hurrying into her building; not looking back. 

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