More Rob and Maddy

More Rob and Maddy.

Rob and Maddy: 4
Tim Harvey


Rob and Maddy were almost the last two people to leave the pavilion after the band had finished their set. The bright sun blinded them for a moment as they stepped back out into the day, hand in hand. The warmth washed over Rob and he felt a strong rumble in his stomach. He just remembered that he had skipped breakfast this morning, and it was almost midday.
'Hungry?' Rob asked and Maddy nodded.
They headed through the bustling crowds to where the food vans were parked. Leaving the pavilion last, might not have been such a good move, Rob realised as he saw the audience from the last set all seemed to have the same idea.
One van looked relatively free of people, the large hot dog sign visible through the crowd. Rob could go a hot dog right now, although he could eat anything. He stepped towards the van and felt an awkward tug at his arm.
Maddy was facing towards a large van with a bright logo that read; pizza.
She turned and looked to Rob with a grin, 'Feel like some pizza?' She raised her eyebrows as she asked it and Rob suddenly felt like some pizza.
He was about to agree instantly when he spotted the enormous crowd of people at the pizza van, just over Maddy's shoulder. Her flame-red hair sat on that delicate shoulder, just daring him to brush it away.
'What about a hot dog?' Rob asked, looking over to the empty van.
Maddy laughed, 'Come on, these guys do the best pizza.' She tugged at his arm again, but he didn't budge. Was this how today was going to go? He wanted to follow her, but his stomach wanted food, now.
'What about the line?' Rob asked cautiously.
Maddy turned to inspect the line and shrugged, 'So?'
'I haven't eaten today. Totally starving,' Rob offered.
She turned back to him with a frown, her heart must have been set on pizza. Rob could feel her fingers twitch against his, as if she was about to break out of their gentle grasp. Sensing this, Rob pulled her over to him, her frown growing deeper.
'We can get pizza later,' he said, hoping she would just listen.
'Well,' she began, and shook her hand out of his, 'You go get some food, I'm going to get pizza.'
She gave Rob one of her trademark sultry looks as she turned to go, heading over to the pizza line. Rob wasn't sure what had just happened, why couldn't she just go eat with him? Usually, that meant a girl wasn't interested. But the look in her eyes told him to follow her.

Maddy walked over to the pizza van and stood at the back of the line. What was Rob's deal? Who cares about the line? For a fairly easygoing guy, he seemed pretty impatient to eat. Maybe he was really hungry? Maddy relaxed as she saw a shadow move up behind her.
'Changed your mind?' She said as she turned, gasping when she saw that it wasn't Rob behind her. 'Sorry, thought you were someone else,' she offered to the guy standing there. He looked completely wasted and probably didn't even register her remark.
Where was Rob? Maddy stood on her toes to try to get a better view through the crowd. She didn't know where he said he was going. A feeling of rejection burst forth in her mind, but for some reason it hit twice as hard as it should have.
She peered through the crowd again without spotting him. 'Damn,' she muttered to herself.
A flash of white caught her eye through the mass of people. She craned her neck and tried to follow it. Catching another glimpse, Maddy saw Rob awkwardly excuse himself as he stepped through the line to another food van.
Without making eye contact with her he moved to a nearby table and sat down. In his hands was a hot dog and he raised it to his mouth eagerly. Flicking his eyes up to hers, Rob smiled and bit deeply into the hot dog. He chewed, and gave an expression of mock ecstasy. His eyes widened and he went in for another bite, throwing her a playful glance as he did.
She couldn't help but smile at his cheeky performance.
'This is so good!' Rob called out to her.
'I'll bet!' Maddy called back, giving him a big grin.
'I was going to wait for you, but that line looks really long!' Rob called out, making Maddy giggle. Other people in the crowd groaned and flicked him disapproving glances.
'And this hot dog is so good!' Rob continued. 'There wasn't even a line!'
Maddy smirked at him and felt her stomach rumbling. She had to admit, he was right. She giggled again as she noticed a few people behind her leave the line and head towards the hot dog van.
'Cheers champ,' one guy said to Rob as he tapped him on the shoulder.
'No worries, man,' Rob replied and raised his eyebrows at Maddy.
She gave him a little applause and couldn't contain her giggles when he gave her a little bow, still sitting at the table, hot dog in hand.

'Okay smart-arse,' Maddy said to Rob when she finally made her way over to the table, pizza slice in hand. Rob like the way she said it. Even though she looked frustrated before, he got an amazing burst of confidence every time she went along with his teasing.
Normally, Rob struggled in that area. His jokes always fell flat, but not with Maddy.
'So, Maddy. That's short for...' He asked, when he suddenly realised that although they both shared an amazing moment, they knew nothing about each other.
'Madolyn,' she said with a mouth full of pizza. She raised her napkin to her mouth after saying it, looking slightly embarrassed.
'Chew,' Rob said with a smile.
She flicked her eyes up at him and narrowed them, 'Shut up,' she exclaimed with a smile.
'What about you? Rob is short for Robert, I'm guessing,' Maddy said after she had swallowed.
'Robin,' Rob replied, looking away. He hated the name.
Maddy stared at him for a moment before breaking out into a burst of hysterics.
'What?' Rob asked, trying to force the smile off of his face. 'It's a family name.'
She held her napkin to her mouth again, 'Sorry. It's just...'
'I know,' he said.
'Robin?' She questioned with a smile, her eyes watery from the laughter and her cheeks brightly flushed. Rob wanted to feel their warmth.
'I'll have you know, plenty of men are called Robin,' he said, matching her smile.
'Sure,' she nodded, before looking down and taking another bite of her pizza slice.
'So, Madolyn-' Rob began before being cut off.
'Maddy, please,' she said as she chewed.
'I know exactly what you mean,' Rob answered.
'So, Maddy,' Rob accentuated her name, causing her to smile. 'What do you do with yourself?'
She finished chewing before replying, 'I'm a teacher... Well studying to be one. I'm in my final year, so I've been a student-teacher for a while.'
'Like it?' Rob asked.
Her eyes lit up and Rob felt a great energy coming from her vibrant gaze. She leaned in to him, causing a lock of hair to fall across her face. Her eyes crossed as she looked up at the lock and she frowned as she blew at it, trying to move the annoying strands. Rob noticed her hands were full, with the pizza and napkin, he should brush it away. A wave of nausea rolled through his stomach, probably the hot dog. What would she do if he just leant over and brushed it away? Was that weird? Rob's heart raced and he remembered their incredible embrace in the pavilion. The nausea was replaced by confidence and he leant over and gently slid the red lock out of her eyes.
She looked up at him, her face straight and her full lips parted slightly. Her mouth slid into a warm smile and she thanked him.
'To answer your question,' she said. 'I love teaching.'

'What do you do?' Maddy asked. She didn't know anything about this guy except that he was nice. She felt a strange bolt of energy and anticipation when he had brushed her hair away from her face. He did it so easily, she thought. Did he do that for all the girls?
'Landscaping,' Rob answered her question. That explained the shoulders, and that chest.
'You're a gardener, Robin?' Maddy said, giving him a comforting smile.
'Very funny,' he said sarcastically and she knew that the smile had worked. 'There is gardening involved, but I do a lot of other stuff too.'
'Like?' She asked, wanting to know more about him.
'Landscaping stuff,' he said with a grin.
'Very funny,' she repeated his line with her own brand of sarcasm and bit into the pizza slice.
It tasted good, but it was extra greasy and plenty salty. She normally didn't indulge in food like this, but she always made exceptions for music festivals. Rob seemed like the kind of guy that had been to a few himself. Although he still carried a festival guide, amateur.
'I like your shirt,' Rob said, snapping her out of her thoughts.
'You like Arcade Fire?' She asked, 'Or just the shirt?'
'I like the band,' Rob answered before leaning in with an hint of excitement in his blue/green eyes. 'But, I love that shirt.'
Maddy felt her cheeks go red and hoped that Rob didn't notice. 'Yeah, well I like your shirt,' she answered quickly, feeling stupid after she had said it. It was just a plain white tee, well fitting, but plain. Her eyes drifted to his shoulders, she loved the way that the material stretched tight over his upper torso, but was looser down towards his slender waist. She had been so transfixed by his chest that she hadn't thought about what the rest of his body might look like.
'Thanks,' Rob answered and Maddy silently thanked him for breaking her out of her devilish thoughts.