More late night Romance

A bit more, before the ending... And yeah, I've had a few drinks.

Rob and Maddy: 10
Tim Harvey

Rob's hand never left Maddy's as they pushed through the crowds and made their way to the car park. There was another band playing after Arcade Fire and most of the people had stayed to watch. This left the car park fairly deserted and Rob was thankful to finally be beside Maddy without anybody around.
He had never felt such a connection with another person, and although he was normally fairly reserved, throughout the day he had found himself doing things that he had never dreamt of. Holding hands, hugging, and finally kissing, were actions that Rob couldn't imagine himself performing with so many eyes watching him.
Maddy gave Rob the confidence to express himself. Either that, or she made him forget that there were so many other people around him. Thinking about it, Rob realised that Maddy had made him see that actually, nobody was watching or judging him. He felt a warm freedom when he was near her. A sweet feeling of comfort that he never wanted to let go.
He felt himself cringe when the sudden realisation that they had to go home hit him like a blow to the stomach. They reached his car, a battered white ute that he used for work.
'This is me,' Rob said, trying to sound as casual as possible, indicating the bomb. He squeezed her hand, one final gesture that he didn't want this to end.
'Nice wheels,' Maddy said with more than a hint of sarcasm. She looked up at him and offered a sweet laugh. Rob didn't smile though, still being caught up in the sick feeling of everything being over. She too gripped his hand, giving him hope for something more.
'So,' Rob trailed off, staring deeply into Maddy's eyes.
'So,' she repeated, and he could see his depressing thoughts mirrored in her gaze.
'Maddy,' Rob began.
'Yes?' She spoke quickly and eagerly, pressing up against him.
'Uh, where do you live?' Rob asked, feeling as if he should press against her too. The action might make her uncomfortable he decided, and held back from openly expressing his desire.
'Oh, up north,' Maddy said, 'It's going to be a hell of a bus ride,' she added with a grin.
Take her home, was the only thought Rob could muster.
'I can give you a lift,' Rob started, before hesitating. 'I mean, if the bus is too much trouble.'
'Where do you live?' Maddy inquired, practically.
Rob stifled a laugh, knowing how she might react, 'Down south.'
A deep frown formed on Maddy's face, 'It's too far,' she said after a long thoughtful pause.
Rob felt her grip on his hand loosen and she stepped away from him.
'Well,' Rob said, gripping her hand tightly and gently nudging her, 'You could always come round to my place for the night.'

He said it with all the warmth and safety that Maddy had expected from him. Although it was a joking remark, Rob said it with sincerity. Maddy wanted nothing more than to spend the night with Rob. She wanted to see how he acted alone in the safety of his own room. The ease with which he would slip off his shirt and press up against her was overwhelming.
But Maddy couldn't do it. It was too soon, too much, too big a gesture for a guy that she had just met. Something inside her said to feel him, to let them explore each other. Another part of her told her it would hurt too much when he couldn't be everything that she needed.
'Oh,' Maddy managed to get out. She gently slid her hand out of his grasp and caught the hurt look in his eyes.
'No, I mean,' Rob started, his face contorting into a look of horror.
'No,' Maddy said, trying to ease his mind, but he looked as if he had taken it the wrong way.
'I'm sorry,' he said after the most awkward pause Maddy had ever experienced. Rob took a step backward, a look of deep concern crossed his face. She knew that he would never force her into anything, it just wasn't in his nature. She knew that it would only take one word and he would do whatever she wanted, whatever she needed. The more she thought about that, the more she became unsure about Rob.
Truthfully, Maddy needed someone who could do their own thing, someone that wouldn't be dependent on her. At this moment though, on this day, she needed a guy whom she could safely say “no” to. She needed Rob today, but was he really the kind of guy that she needed long term.
Maddy shook her head, trying to dislodge her concerns for the future from her mind. Why was she even thinking about a future with a guy that she had just met? Why did the idea of her and Rob, together, even cross her mind? Something in his kiss? Something about his personality?
'I'm,' Maddy began, holding tears back. It was too much, too soon, too powerful. A wave of sadness rolled over her, sucking her into the depths of internal torment. She should never have thought about her and Rob, why did she think that?
'I'm sorry,' Maddy said and turned away from him. She began to walk.
'Maddy!' Rob called, causing her to pause. 'I'm sorry.' He said it with such conviction and sincerity that she felt her heart jump in her chest and her stomach twist into a painful knot of regret.
She began to walk again, to move far away from that hurt in his voice, and that look of pain on his face. Every step brought her closer to tears, but some powerful force drove her forward against her will. Each step made her sadness grow, and she walked into it, her face streaming with regret.

The blow was sickening. The force against his stomach, loud and deafening. Rob watched as Maddy marched across the car park, her hand rising to her face intermittently. He could almost crumple over and collapse with the pressure weighing down on him. Why did he suggest that she spend the night with him? Why did he think that she would want that?
Her breakup was less than a week ago. Rob saw how she was with her ex. He saw how she looked when she spoke about him, and he knew that anything more than a physical connection was completely off the cards. Rob held his hand to his face.
They were two lonely people at a music festival, nothing more. There was nothing there. But why? Why couldn't he dream about getting with her? Why wasn't he allowed to think that they could be something? Something more than a stupid one off thing.
Rob's fist slammed against his dented door, adding to the rumpled indents in the steel. He should never have asked her, but she could have told him that she didn't want it. She could have given him a flick of her eyes and a gentle slap on his shoulder, and told him that it “wasn't going to happen.”
It hurt her, he realised. To draw that reaction from her, it must have hurt her. Was she so scared of the possibility of sex? It couldn't be. He could tell that she was the kind of girl that would let him know if he was going too far. Rob hoped that she knew that she was safe with him. But it was too late anyway. She was gone.
What if it wasn't the subtle notion that he wanted to sleep with her that was bothering her? What could have scared her so much that she would run away from what he thought was a good thing? Rob shook his head, he couldn't imagine what had scared her away, but it was something terrifying to her.
Rob swallowed a deep sigh and wiped his moist eyes before getting into his ute and heading home.

Maddy was done crying by the time that she was on the bus. Apart from a few tears when she imagined Rob sitting alone in his car, Maddy was spent. She wished she had stayed, but the force of emotions that rocked her when she caught herself contemplating getting into another relationship so soon was too much to handle.
She cried again at the knowledge that she should have wrapped her arms around Rob and held him close when she started worrying. He would have made it better, and he could have taken her away from all the doubt and regret that filled her right now.
Maddy wiped her warm cheeks and wished that she had at least gotten his number. It would have been okay for her to run away if only she could call him and tell him not to worry. He probably thought it was his fault. At that moment, Maddy wanted nothing more than to tell him he did nothing wrong.
She wanted to hold him, and she wanted him to hold her tight. She had never felt that way about a guy before. Apart from the physical, Rob was not the type of guy that she normally felt this way about, and she had never felt it so strong before. She felt her mouth form into a weak grin when she thought that he was exactly what she needed that day.
Maddy didn't normally buy into fate or anything, and she still didn't. But Rob was really the closest thing that she had known to make her think that way. He was an impossible fit in her troubled life. She didn't even know how much she wanted him, until he was gone.
The tears flowed again down Maddy's cheeks with that thought. As fateful as their meeting had been, as magical as her day was, it was over. She didn't have his number, she didn't even have his last name. He was Robin the landscaper from the southern suburbs. There was no way of getting in contact with him, there was no chance of anything more.
Maddy let out a deep breath, it was over.


Just to confirm, this is NOT the ending! I repeat, this is NOT the ending. I thought I needed to add some tension between the couple. I feel that a really romantic, happy type ending at this point would be unrealistic and I think it would just feel cheap. I don't want to cheapen something that I've now spent quite a bit of time working on, so the tension in this edition is based on, what I think are, realistic feelings that a couple in this situation would have.

I would have written the epilogue right away, but I'm fairly tired. Should be up tomorrow, hopefully. Stay tuned!