More Romance Experimentation

More Rob and Maddy, as requested.

Rob & Maddy: 2
By Tim Harvey


Rob noticed her sheepish grin turn to a look of embarrassment at the drinks in her hand. He took a deep calm breath and looked into her eyes. She had trouble holding his gaze and he was sure that she was thinking about the drinks.
With a quick smile Rob lifted the can of beer to his lips and sculled the rest. The cool beer sat heavily in his stomach and the usually pleasant taste had turned excruciatingly bitter by the end of the can. Lowering his empty, Rob looked back to Maddy. She didn't look impressed but she certainly looked calmer.
'Big drinker?' She asked with a raised eyebrow.
It was Rob's turn to be embarrassed now. He shook the empty can and tossed it into a nearby bin.
'Actually no,' Rob answered truthfully and stifled what would have been an embarrassingly loud burp. He usually had a few with his mates but he would never consider himself a heavy drinker.
She looked down at her own drinks with a smile and raised one to her lips. She paused for a split second with the cool can touching her full lips and flicked her eyes devilishly up at Rob. The moment was gone within an instant, but the look in her eyes stuck in Rob's mind as she knocked the can back and drank the lot.
'Big drinker?' Rob asked with a smile when she tipped the empty can upside down to prove it was all gone.
'Maybe,' she offered, turning her body away from him. She flashed him another wicked look before her eyes did a quick sweep of his body. He was sure that she intended him to see it. She then began to walk away.
Rob felt his usual dejection as he watched her walk away. But her body language, and that look in her eyes, stuck with him and he jogged up beside her, matching her pace.

'Still want this?' Rob offered Maddy the can as they walked side by side through the fairgrounds.
She didn't know why she had given him that look. Her day would have been fine without any company. She wanted some time to wander around alone for a while. The last week had been a nightmare, especially since her boyfriend had broken up with her.
'You keep it,' she answered Rob with a smile and resumed her wallowing. Her boyfriend, no, her ex boyfriend, hadn't broken up with her. He had dumped her. The part that she didn't quite understand was why he was allowed to dump her after she caught him cheating on her. This Rob guy seemed nice, he was definitely cute, but he was probably the same as her ex. Probably the same as all the other bastards here, she thought as she scanned the crowd.
'Who are you seeing now? I've got a program thing, did you get one?' Rob's voice interrupted her thought process, very frustrating. Maybe flicking him that sultry look wasn't such a good idea, now she had him following her around.
'I didn't get one,' she answered quickly and noticed his pace drop slightly. She instantly felt stupid. How could she just assume he was a jerk?
Maddy stopped and turned to Rob, 'Can I get a look at it?'
He smiled eagerly and pulled the folded guide out of the back pocket in his shorts. A handful of coins dropped to the ground as he slipped the guide out.
'Shit,' he muttered and handed her the guide.
She began to flick through it but didn't make it past the first page as she watched him awkwardly pick up the coins from the ground. Maddy looked at Rob bending over, scrambling for his change for longer than she knew she should have, but the image was equally amusing and transfixing.

'Sorry about that,' Rob said as he stuffed the handful of coins into his front pocket and stepped over to where Maddy was furiously reading the festival guide.
'Huh?' She answered without looking up.
'Oh, I dropped some change and... nevermind,' Rob answered. He was silently thankful that she didn't see him looking so awkward, her eyes were fixed to the guide.
Rob noticed that Maddy's cheeks had grown a deeper shade of red than they were a moment ago.
'Wanna get out of the sun?' He offered.
'Yeah,' she mumbled before looking up. She blinked and gave him a bright, refreshed look, 'Sorry, I was reading this,' she smiled. 'Yeah let's get out of the sun.'
'Cool,' Rob answered and looked around for some shade. He spotted a large pavilion where a band was playing that looked like a good spot.
'Over there looks good,' Rob pointed to the pavilion. As Maddy looked over, Rob noticed his had was raised behind her back. It hovered only inches from her lower back. He wanted to guide her to the pavilion, just a gentle touch.
Maddy began to walk towards the shade and Rob's hand remained just inches from her.
He shrugged and lowered his hand to his waist again, he could almost feel the soft easy curve of her spine beneath the shirt. The gentle warmth radiating from her skin. The vivid flash of her wicked, eyes as he made contact with her.
He wanted to just give her that gentle push, but she was already on her way to the shade. Rob sighed as he realised that she didn't need a guide and once again jogged to catch her up.
'Who's playing in here?' Rob asked when he got up to where she was.
'Just checking,' she replied as she flicked through the pages of the guide.
Maddy held the guide up to Rob, her finger on the name of the band. 'Heard of these guys?'
Rob shook his head, 'Nope. They sound okay though. Wanna check it out?'
She flicked her eyes up to his and smiled, 'Sure.'

Rob wasn't one of the usual jock type guys and Maddy was sure of it. The way he sheepishly asked what she wanted to do and followed her through the crow told her that. She also knew that one of those guys would have tried to push or drag her towards the pavilion.
Maddy felt even more comfortable around Rob because of this, but she did wonder what his large warm hands would have felt like, gently pressed against her back. She wondered what it would have been like to feel his fingers caressing hers as he guided her through the crowd.
Once they reached the shade of the pavilion, Maddy let out a deep sigh and looked up at Rob. 'That's better.'
'Yeah, bloody hot day,' he replied, looking back out into the sun.
'Good day,' she said after taking a slow sip of her cool vodka.
'I know, right,' Rob answered, looking down at her with a big smile. He looked excited and she could see a vibrant life of activity in his blue/green eyes. The look sent another set of tingles flaring in her fingers and she felt her cheeks heat up.
'Want to get a better view?' Rob asked as he looked over to the stage at the back of the pavilion. There were at least a hundred people already crowding the stage as the band played.
The music was cheery and Maddy felt a bolt of energy surge through her as the chorus began. The sharp bass kicked in, and yes, she definitely wanted to get a better view.
Maddy gave Rob a wide grin and began to walk through the crowd, but paused. She turned back to face Rob, who was smiling sheepishly, ready to follow her. A hint of fear rose into her stomach as she realised what she was going to do. His excited eyes and sweet smile gave her all the confidence she needed to take action.
Holding her hand out, she hoped Rob wouldn't notice the slight tremble in her fingers. He paused for a moment and looked at her hand, the hint of fear rising into full blown nausea in her stomach.
Rob's powerful arm swung up and he gently rested his hand on hers. Maddy hesitantly gripped his hand and her feelings of fear were washed away when she felt his large fingers wrap around hers.
His eyes lifted to hers and she could see a mix of relief and great excitement in them. Maddy felt the feeling course through his body, down his arm and into her, through their connected hands. He had sucked all her anxiety out and replaced it with comfort and joy.
Maddy smiled, and feeling her cheeks begin to burn again she turned and pulled Rob through the crowd.


Might continue this after all, having fun writing the characters and letting them do their own thing. Although I don't know if it'll turn into a full blown story. I might just finish it off at the end of the music festival and make it an extended short.